I don't like to complain, but

one of my neighbors isn't happy with the Elks Lodge, and she can't understand why nobody wants to listen when she tells them why.

Friday she was complaining that the staff ignores her all complaints. She has problems with her breathing and the patrons of the bar downstairs have been smoking on the street under her window.

Yesterday she was complaining about the smells coming from the kitchen. The cooking bothers her. She doesn't like the metal door in the bathroom next to her room. She doesn't like the color of the curtains.

The man in the room next door snores too loudly, and he was farting in there Sunday morning.

The doors in the lobby aren't automatic. The washing machines are too loud. The elevator is too slow. The elevator walls are too red. The people she talks to are too rude.

And today she complains that someone wouldn't answer his door when she knocked.

Cops Rescued from Elks Rooftop

Good times at the 383. A trespasser who was trapped on the roof urinated over the top showering the sidewalk and possibly a few of Missoula's Finest. Showing your johnson to the police is a sex crime. And one of the officers told me that what was originally a routine trespass was now going to get the boy some jail time.

But that isn't all. After the police scaled the roof cornering the trespasser, they could not get back down off the roof, because the ladder was now considered too dangerous. The fire department was called in, and the hydraulic boom was used to rescue them.

New Keys

The Lodge locks the door to the lobby for the night. We use a key card to buzz ourselves in. Theoretically, only tenants are supposed to get key cards. But there is reason to believe they've been passed along to friends and strangers.

Because of this problem, the manager changes the code and gives out new cards every 6 months.

2 Days Off In A Row

I've asked my boss not to do that again. Work makes it easier for me to get through the night.

I think I might see if there is another job out there for me. I need to do something with my time besides remembering how good it would feel to get drunk.

Why does my memory do this? Getting drunk doesn't feel good. Not when you are an alcoholic. The best I can say about taking a drink is that there is a sense of relief when you're an alcoholic. Drinking is what you do to get back up to that neutral line.

Imagine the underscore line is neutral normal feeling.


X (This is where I was as young man when I was drinking.)
_____________________

X (This is where I am now as an old man when I am not drinking.)

But my memory tells me I will feel better if I have a drink. I wonder if I will ever make it back to the neutral normal place sober.

I need to do more with my time so I can stay sober.

It's A Struggle Every Day

I almost had a drink last night.

The Sugar Fairy

I caught an old woman leaving chocolate bars. She was setting Hershey bars against the doors in my hall. She might be new here. I've never seen her before.

She was 4 feet tall. She was wearing pink slippers and a red dress that set off her wild ratty white hair quite becomingly. She presented me with a toothless smile, and she had a twinkle in her eyes that was on the Santa side.

I am enchanted.

Another Necessary Eviction

The gentleman (and I use the term sarcastically) is to be evicted next week. A judge found in favor of Elk's Lodge, and gave him 7 days to move his belongings. He bullied other residents and two of the Elk's Lodge volunteers. He vandalised his room, and rigged the southside stairwell doors to admit a violent non-resident who then attacked a resident.

An hour after His Honor's judgement this bully was at the Poverello Center telling his friends exactly how he intends to retaliate. He purchased Shellac and means to pour it down the toilets on the 2nd and 3rd floors.

Fortunately, one of my neighbors was there and heard every word. I don't know if this means he will be escorted from the premises today, but it at least means he is on notice from the police, and should anything happen he will be the primary suspect.