Katie's Story

Late Thursday afternoon,  Politician Woman posted a sign near some mailboxes about the HOA not taking conorovirus seriously.   While I was taking the dog for a walk, I saw her, it was around 4:30 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.  Her and I chatted for a bit.  She showed me the sign she had posted.  The sign didn't have any foul language or opinions, it was full of facts.  I didn't see anything wrong with the sign.  I told her to have a good night and went on my way. About five minutes after I left, everything changed.  I am relaying what is in the police report and what I have been told by witnesses.  Rabbid's (HOA board member) husband, yelled, "Go Fuck Yourself!"  He ripped down the sign, shoved her causing an injury to her arm,  pointed his finger in her face and threatened, "You don't know what this board can do to you."   At this time, I am not aware that the Rabbid man was arrested or fined. He may have been...

I ordered a new ice cream scoop.   Check out my new Ice cream scoop . (click on the underlined item) Why does this matter? The one I had with the spring no longer scoops well and I had to revert to using a spoon. It was a pain. 

Oh my what a wild day. The day started off on a great note (not really) the water to our street was shut off. Why? I am not sure what happened. I was lucky to end my shower just as the water went off.  My neighbor wasn't so lucky, she had to use bottled water to rinse the shampoo out of her hair.  My neighbor was furious that there wasn't any warning.  I was given a heads up, but I didn't know the exact time it was being shut off,  I was just told soon, so I hurried into the bathroom for a shower. I didn't rub it in that I was given a heads up because I didn't think it would help the situation.    Next up, a part in the tank to the toilet broke.  Yep, I flushed the toilet in the main bathroom, but then the handle spun around and was upside down. I opened the tank, the plastic part that connects to the handle had broken, so I pulled on the metal chain to flush the toilet. Luckily, I have two bathrooms, so I wouldn't have to manually flush t...

It shouldn't matter what race you are, if you commit a crime, you should be punished.  Due to recent events, we are being told that the police cannot help with the ongoing drug ring.  The cases that are being cited are George Floyd and Christian Cooper. To be completely honest, the police weren't doing much before, but now they are using these incidents as an excuse. All of our lives should matter. 

Today was  a different day Memorial Day than one I have ever lived through.  Who would have ever thought that services would be watched remotely?  It was a strange day. This is the first year I didn't get my poppy.  I have so many poppies hanging from my review mirror.  Some people, don't understand the symbolism, if you don't check it out here: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/a27419480/memorial-day-poppy-flower-symbol/   If you served or are currently serving, thank you for your service.  I cannot forget my favorite veteran, who we lost four years ago, John K. Kildare, I love and miss you each day!

It feels like I am on vacation, but cannot go anywhere because a lot of stuff is still closed.   How am I handling everything? Actually, I am really calm.  I really thought I would be in such panic for not having a job, but I think knowing I am moving soon, has made this transition easier.  I just left a few days earlier than I planned.  Since I no longer have to worry about awful things that are going to be said to me, I have removed that stress from my life. I am trying to keep a normal routine for going to bed and getting up in the morning. This is pretty easy to do because Millie doesn't let me sleep in. :) I have been getting more exercise, now that I am no longer chained to my desk and it feels amazing.  I didn't realize how much I hated not being able to move around during the day.  This was the first job where I couldn't get up and walk to the breakroom to get some water or go to the bathroom.  Having a little f...

Today, I received a link to fill out an exit interview.  I did it and I didn't hold anything back. Why?  What do I have to lose at this point? What are they going to do mark me as not rehireable?  If they do, that is fine, I don't think I will need to go back there and work again because I am moving on. Generally, one should be concerned about whether or not you burn a bridge with an employer because people talk.  This employer has so many connections to our private sector, it wouldn't be the best decision, if I was staying in the area.  I was fair about how I answered the questions. If I felt the mean ex-boss did something good, I marked it as such. If I felt she was a total dumbass, I marked it that way too. I also provided detailed examples such as she made me feel like she hate me when she would say, "You are the worst person on my team." Do I think there is any hope for her? Yes, I think if she would go through management training, she might be ...

So happy to find out that I can order Runza and have them shipped anywhere! https://www.runza.com/shop/product-detail?object=11393 If you have never tried one, then you need to do so!

I ventured out to the inside of a grocery store. I don't remember the last time I went into the store. Being home everyday has changed my meal prepping routine, so I needed a few items that I hadn't ordered.  Here is what I found: Some people wear masks, some not.  I am assuming this goes back to where some folks don't believe that coronavirus is a real thing.  A worker didn't have his mask on, so I asked him, "Sir, why are you not wearing your mask?" He didn't verbally respond to me, but he did take his mask out of his pocket and put in on his face.    Markings on the floor showing which way to go. Not everyone is following the arrows. I pointed it out to one lady and she said she hadn't noticed it.  (Yes, I  will tell you when you are wrong. I am that annoying lady in public. )  It is still very difficult to get ice tea. Why? I have no clue. I have enough to get through the next week, so I am good. I was going to pick u...

First of all, the neighbors found out that I am home during the day because the Mary Kay lady told one neighbor.  How did the Mary Kay lady find out? She is also a former co-worker. So here is the latest on this drama: Annual meeting is being pushed back till July 2020.  The three teams exist.. Team A - keep the original board. Team B - wants a new board. Team C - leave me out of the drama A group of six women were gathered in front of my living room window for  over 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, I walked over and shut my blinds because I didn't want them to think I was spying.  Not all of the women are on the same team.  A member of Team A, who is running to be the new board president was in the group. One member of Team A, who I call Angry Lady, has been doing the following: Telling people that they cannot sell their property without her consent  and involvement. Now if you don't get her permissio...

This HOA is a soap opera.  Here is what I have gathered: Team A -  Wants to keep the board entact.   Team B -  Wants a whole new board.  They think they are really pulling something over on Team A by convincing them that a lady is running for president of the HOA, but the lady isn't running for the board.  Now the head of Team B, Politician Lady, thinks she really has something over on Team A because a member of Team A is spilling secrets to her.   Has she thought that maybe the two are spilling their secrets to her and are giving her false information? Team C - Wants to stay out of all of the drama.   I am a member of Team C. I want nothing to do with any of this crap. I just want to move and stay out of all of drama, so why do I answer my phone? I am still trying to be cordial.   Hopefuly after June 9th (the date of the annual board meeting) the tension dies down and people...

I have received a lot of different messages about leaving work, some have been kind and some weren't very nice. I had to do what was best for me and frankly I don't give a fudge brownie what anyone else thinks. Here are some of the positive ones: Hi Katie - Sounds like your doggo will be a much more pleasant boss! ;) I applaud you for removing yourself from a situation that wasn't a good fit for you. Keep me posted on your moving plans - I hope we can get together for coffee in person before you move. Proud of you for doing what is best for you. You are a strong and courageous person. Hi Katie, So sorry you had to go through that. Hi Katie XXXX is a super b***h!     I have no desire to share the negative ones.

The HOA craziness doesn't slow down, it only gets worse.   I am being sucked in because I am now home all day. The first full day of retirement and this is what I get!! Okay maybe retirement isn't the right word, maybe vacation..... anyway you get the picture. I was making my healthy lunch, pork chop and veggies, when a neighbor called to vent at me and ask me for some information.  Problem today, one of the members of the HOA mentally stability is concerning.   Here is what has happened: On Monday (5.18.2020)  Angry Lady drove into the neighborhood at an excessive rate of speed with squealing tires, came to a sudden stop, exited her vehicle and slammed her driver's door numerous times. I have also learned that Angry Lady has yelled at five different widow ladies.  She gets about an inch from their faces and yells at them, if they ask her a question or inform her of a maintenance problem. All of the incidents have be...

My new boss is a little demanding. She didn't let me sleep in, we were up at 6:00 a.m. Today, she got her stitches out and hercone removed.  She may get to add the cone to her wardrobe again because she has an eye infection.  Her eye was matted when she went to the vet today.  The vet didn't think anything was serious until she was cleaning it up for her.  She has to have steroids drops in her eye every day for two weeks. Now that she doesn't have to cone, she is rubbing her eye.  Due to all of the rubbing, she has a slit for an eye, so I think she may soon be  wearing her cone. After the trip to  the vet, it was time to head to the pet store for some items.  It is certainly a different time right now when you enter the store; the pet store is limiting the number of people in the store and is requiring everyone to wear masks. The store also has markings on the floors asking  you to remain six feet apart, the cashier has...

Today, I walked out and quit my job. Huh? Am I serious? Yep, absolutely. Normally, I would tell someone don't ever do this, but sometimes a person has to do what is best for them.  Here is what happened: 7:50 a.m. Arrived at work. 7:50 a.m. to 7:55 a.m. Placed my lunch in the breakroom fridge, filled up my water bottle, and logged into my computer. Once I logged into my computer and saw the email, I decided to make today my last day. Why? Was it really that bad? My ex boss (I love how that sounds.) was demanding a meeting with me to go over my soft skills and discuss my future goals with the company.  This meeting was unnecessary, I had turned in my notice and my last day was to be on the 29th of May.  I couldn't get out of the meeting. It was mandatory.  Would the meeting really have been that bad?  Well, if it had been like past meetings, yes.  Historically, she doesn't have a positive thing to say, she puts me down, do...

I think this would be perfect for me. https://www.etsy.com/listing/787970308/womens-summer-shirt-flamingo-shirt-pool?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=flamingo+shirt&ref=sr_gallery-1-13&organic_search_click=1&col=1

With everything going on, I have been feeling a little down. I decided to take my dog out for a pup cup. The line was so long. People were parked in the street. The woman behind me tried to cut in front of me, but I didn't let her squeeze in.  The lady in the red SUV did cut in front of two other people. I was annoyed with her rudeness. After placing my order,I approached the window,  and learned I didn't owe anything. The woman ahead of me paid for my order.   I was so thankful for this little bit of kindness.

This is the first day of the pandemic, that I have gotten down and been so bored that I took an afternoon nap. Here is how my day went: 8:30 a.m.  -      Cody called, "May I come get your car?" (It was too darn early for that call because Millie had slept till 8 a.m. I was still in my jammies. I didn't want this man to see me in my jammies.) 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.     -  Cody picked up the car, to do some maintenance.  I had an adventure washing my hair. I am only 5'2", so you think I would fit comfortably between the toilet and the bathtub. I hate to bust your bubble, but nope I didn't fit too well. I chose to wash my hair over the bathtub because I took a shower the night before. My hair was absolutely gross.  I didn't want to take another shower because I had just cleaned the walk in shower.  I bent over the tub and began my adventure. I fit, but the pain I felt in my legs and back was awful.  When I fin...

 Here is what I am reading right now. https://www.amazon.com/When-Noonday-Ends-Carmen-Desousa/dp/1945143282 So far, I give it 👍👍.  The writer keeps your attention with how she describes each scene. I feel like I am right there; watching it all play out. It is my first time reading this author's work.  I don't think it will be my last. Here is except from Amazon about the book: When a new attorney accepts a pro-bono case of an abused woman suspected of attempted murder, he ends up with more than he bargained for. She's the ex-wife of one of the oldest and wealthiest families in Asheville, and her in-laws will stop at nothing to conceal family secrets. Unable to ignore his attraction, he gets closer than he should. But when all evidence points to the woman he's falling in love with, he will risk everything -- his reputation, disbarment, maybe even his life to uncover the truth.

Not the look I was going for…  It is so so so cold.  The office feels like it is 20 degrees. I am sure it is more like 60 degrees. I am wearing a gray sweater and leggings with white kitties and flowers.  I have covered up this great look, with my Raggedy Ann and Andy fleece blanket.  I know I am a hot looking chick with a very cold nose.  My fingers are also cold. No one is CPR or First Aid Trained I was shocked to learn this today.  I was told that they don’t do this because of liability issues. Ugh!!  We have an  AED machine on site, but we have no one trained to use it. This type of irresponsibility makes my head spin!! Today hasn’t been a fun day… A lady yelled at me because I wouldn’t break our policies.  Then she demanded my sup and said I was rude and unprofessional. Lady, I cannot break the rules.  Smoking Man told me that personal and professional parts of our lives must be kept separate at all tim...

I don’t have super powers Yep, sadly it is true…. Katie doesn't know all. I don’t know why you owe the state  $1000 in taxes. Please don’t call me and ask. Please call your tax professional. Please also don’t call me and ask where your stimulus check is or if we are going to get anymore stimulus money.  Please call the IRS. Please Proofread Smoking Man has been sending out a daily email.  Each day, I get to point out that there is a problem. This morning I did add “BTW Good Morning;” so I am not all bad. The problems with the emails are that they don't have an attachment or have the wrong attachment. He could easily solve this problem if he would proofread the document before hitting send.  I would suggest it, but heck he would probably yell at me!! Sad News Earlier in the week, an email sent out, notified us that one of our own passed away. The cause of death has not been revealed. I started receiving messages from people in anoth...

Made it till my first break without a member of the public or leadership yelling at me. Yeah, me!!! Talking about breaks.... Smoking Man and I are disagreeing over the number of breaks I get. I work a part day on Thursday. I asked him to remove an extra break on Thursday because if I didn’t it would be totally my fault.   I sent him an email requesting it be removed, so he sends me an email telling me to review the break policy. Okay is he saying that I am entitled to two breaks? I ask him to adjust my schedule on Tuesday because I work the same amount of hours and only get one break. He tells me the number of breaks on Tuesday is correct. I am super confused. If I work the same hours on Tuesday and Thursday, why do I get an additional break on Thursday?  While debating this break situation, I totally forgot to take my scheduled morning break, so I took it late.   Smoking man has now admitted he was wrong. I am only entitled to one break on both Tue...

Totally tried to be cool this morning and failed so hard…    A man was in the breakroom, when I entered to fill up my water bottle. He had a paper towel in his hands and the paper towel was being used to keep his hand from touching the fridge door. I decided I am going to show this man that I am cool too and don’t touch anything without a paper towel because it is the “in” thing to do.  I missed one important step, I didn’t dump yesterday’s water. Now I am drinking yesterday water filled with ice and filter water.  I don’t recommend doing this... it’s not that great tasting. Eight-ball… How accurate are these things? I am occupying someone else’s desk. Due to Covid-19, I had to move to another floor. It was either that or go home and work. So, here I sit working at another person’s desk.  I don’t have room for my stuff, so all of my notes are under my desk in a trash can. Yep, it is super-duper classy! Anyway back to the Eight-ball, each ...

The annual meeting is fast approaching and people are scrambling to get rid of the current board members. Some are even campaigning hard to get votes. One lady is super pushy and tells you things you want to hear. For example, she told me that I have my own “fan base” and everyone loves me there.  She followed it up by telling me how people want me to vote. A neighbor told me that the best way to describe her is a politician.  I started laughing and It took me a moment to regain my composure. Once I could speak without laughing I told her the woman is a politician, she lost to our current Congressman. The woman wasn’t upset she was a politician, she was upset to learn she is a Democrat.

Someone from another department called me on Friday, to tell me that I am too good to remain in my position. She asked if I had been offered a position to a new team that was formed months ago.  I said no. She told me that she was going to see what she could do because I deserved better. She was shocked when I thanked her but told her not to bother because I had turned in my notice. It made me feel good that someone thanks, I am great and deserve so much more. I am moving on to something so much better.

This is not a new blog. This is a continuation of a blog I started in 2012. I have chosen to move it for a few reasons. I used the previous blog to have electronic documentation of my abusive ex's continued harassment.  A lot has changed since then, I finally feel safe. I do say that lightly because I was safe once before for several years before he found me again.  2020 is a new chapter for me. I am moving forward to reach a new goal.  I hope you enjoy this new format. Please remember, everything I share is real, sometimes, I do change people's name to protect their privacy.  I sometimes change their name, so they don't sue me. :)   If this is the first time, you have stopped by. I hope it's not your last. If you are one of my loyal 128 followers, thank you for joining me on this new adventure.