Cleanup Behind An Insane Clown Posse

 Since I'm only One Unpublished Post ahead now I'll start another.  My jacked up Knee I somehow hyperextended, is really sore, dammit.  When you get Older it is one thing after another in the way of complications and challenges, but, beats the alternative of pushing up dirt.  *Smiles*  So, I won't complain too much.  *Winks*  Being in some chronic mobility Pain is more inconvenient than anything else, it slows you way down and I don't need to even imagine my Knee will just give out and have a Senior Fall.  So, mebbe it's handy I Scored that Three Dollar all terrain Walker recently?

Okay, so, I'm not really READY to use a Walker full time, but until my Knee feels stronger and less painful, it might benefit me to temporarily.  I'll feel practically feeble and pitiful using it, so I'd rather go do some Physical Therapy at The Gym.  Still not sure after 2025 if my Gym Membership under Humana will replace the one I have under United Healthcare there yet?  It's all the Silver Sneakers Program, but The Gym there at Lifetime claims they have a long Waiting List and may or may not have a smooth transition of your Provider Changing???  We'll see, they already practice Ageism with their Medicare Members and try to Sell you on a Paid Senior Membership, even tho' Medicare offers it to you there for Free.

I suppose if you don't wanna feel like an unwanted Senior Member who they slap Age Attendance Restrictions upon, as to when you can use your Membership, some affluent Seniors might Pay Up to feel more appreciated or like an Elderly VIP.  I do see them Pandering to some Geriatric Members more than others, smells and appears like Money being the catalyst.  Each one I saw could barely shuffle in and were using Medical Equipment to have even the seriously limited Mobility they had.  But they LOOKED affluent.  I can't Imagine what their Workout Regimen looks like coz they certainly aren't capable of being Active Seniors by any stretch of the Imagination, but, Money Talks... even if it can't still Walk.  *LOL and Eye Roll*

I know, I sound like a Mean Girl, but, it Amuses me how Businesses and some People really Suck Up, Prostrate themselves, and are willing to Kiss Ass to the Wealthier Clients.  It goes beyond humility, and sometimes seems quite disingenuous.  Tho', some affluent folks are nice people, and if the individual is a decent person and a very good, long time loyal Client, I can understand showing preferential treatment and rating them as a VIP.  You do show appreciation for those kinds of Customers and it's Good Business to of coarse.   But, when you show pandering to the Wealthy, at the exclusion of your other less affluent long time Paying and Loyal Customers, that's when I do take Issue of a Double Standard.

Also, a lot of well known Rich folk and Celebs do expect everything to be Comped just becoz they are who they are.  Over Years, I've Witnessed many affluent and Celeb Clients not even be Good Customers, they just want everything for Free and feel Entitled to it being Comped them, as a 'Right' of their Social Status.  They can be some of the most miserly and Cheapest of folks to try to do Business with.  But they do have sway and so, it doesn't matter how some of them behave and they know it and count on it, arrogantly and with a Sense of their Privilege. 

 I'm not personally impressed with Wealth if the Person is deficient in Character.  But, I do know some very Nice affluent or Celeb folks and genuinely Like them.  They truly ARE just likeable Good People and not pretentious as fuck like some affluent can be. *Gak*   And I also know some Poor folks, who are the most Generous, Likeable, Decent, Wonderful People I've ever had the Privilege of knowing, Befriending, and being around.  

I actually much prefer living in a Lower Income Community, than one full of arrogant pretentious affluent Fucks, who I can't stand being around and aren't decent Human Beings at all.  Sadly, too many folks Worship at the Altar of the Almighty Dollar and who has it becomes godly to them and treated like gods by them.   And some obscenely Wealthy treat other Humans as just merely Currency.

LATER:  I think a big Lottery Win would be a Solution right now for us regular folks to make it thru this Administration's Fuckery.  *LMAOROTF*  I know I'm juggling finances like a Circus Performer on Unicycle, riding a Tightrope with no Safety Net below me, and scary Clowns like Pennywise on the Ground beneath me that are running the Three Ring Mad Circus... now there's a Visual.  *Winks* 

 I'm not even usually afraid of Clowns, it's not one of my Phobias, unless they occupy the White House and are the Ringmasters of this shitshow, then it IS Scary shit and not funny or entertaining in the least.  I just moved around more Money to ensure Christmas AND Bills were covered... hopefully.  I can keep a Collector on the Phone for HOURS and use them as Free Therapy if need be tho', so, there's always THAT.  But, I have a great FICO Score to Protect, so there's THAT too to consider.

I'm glad Princess T is giving me Cash for Christmas, and I'll be Depositing that into the Household Account Today, she's being exceedingly generous, Bless her.  She's the only one with Money coz she's squirrelling it away to pay Cash for her first Car.  Which is why, even tho' she's earning Minimum Wage, she won't try to Qualify for any Social Services, coz if you have a Savings it will disqualify you from any Help, no matter what it's earmarked for that is crucial, like Transportation of your own.  I don't think she'd make it thru an Interview anyway with her Social Anxieties.  She Cried at Work the other day becoz things became too intense to handle.  She wasn't the only one Crying, her Supervisor apparently was too, so things must have been very stressful for everyone.

 Everyone felt bad afterwards coz they know she has serious Anxiety Issues and is a very hard and conscientious Worker.  What happened wasn't even her fault, but it wasn't being handled and causing a very stressful Situation.  I'm glad she's Open about talking to her Management about Situations that arise, but sometimes she's too introverted to speak up or speak out until she's so frustrated she's Emotionally Raw.  I'm trying to get her to speak up and speak out before she's Emotional, it comes across from a Position of Strength then.  But, she's not an aggressive person like her Gramma Dawn.  *Winks*  She knows that, but still will solicit my Advice and value it.

 And so I know it's hard for her, coz she never wants any Co-Worker to be in Trouble.  She likes all the people she works with and they all like her too and for a Young Person that is more important sometimes.  See, I don't Care, if you're a Problem, I'm THE Solution to remove the Problem and I make it my Mission Statement to.  I'm Nice to everyone on the way Up, coz you never know when you're gonna meet them on the way Down, but, I don't tolerate problematic Co-Workers well at all.  I'd say in fact I have a Zero Tolerance Policy I've always worked in my Favor.  I'm not there to Win Friends or even to Influence Enemies, I'm all Friended Up, so, any Co-Worker can choose instead to be an Ally, or an Adversary, their Choice, but Play the Game Wisely and Strategically I'd suggest.  Coz when I'm Coming for you, I AM COMING FOR YOU.

I've had folks ask me if I'd come out of Retirement and Work for them coz I'd be an Asset.   And I would, be an Asset, that is... but I told them I'd rather not.   Coz then they surely wouldn't LIKE me as much as they think they do now, as just a Favorite Sweet Old Customer or Situational Friend they met at their place of Employment or their Business. *Smiles*  My Professional Life and my Personal Life are quite Two different Dawns.  As it should be.  *Bwahahaha*  That said, my Employees in my 1st Corporate Life did Like me and after I Retired most kept in Touch with me.  I had Nine of them I was responsible for, while running Collections, Foreclosures, Bankruptcies and Trustee Sales Departments for Financial Institutions and their wholly Owned Subsidiaries. 

 Coz they knew I had their Backs, Shared the Wealth when I got Corporate Executive Bonuses {most don't and won't, even tho' their Employees make them look Good enuf to GET Executive Bonuses}, and made our Departments run well and take no shit or Shinola from Upper Management Types who could be Problematic.  I'd go Toe to Toe with my Superiors if they were unfairly judging my People or had expectations that were ridiculous or absurd.  I refused to kowtow to anyone, I didn't Care if you were the President of my Financial Institution or the Head District Attorney, if you asked my Opinion, you'd surely get it, unvarnished and not at all Sugar coated.  You'd get what you Needed to hear from me, not what you just Wanted to hear.  That can land like a Lead Balloon or make you Valued, depending on your Superiors.

And I was Good at what I did, I Fix Problems, if you want your fucking Problems Fixed by a Good Fixer, you don't get in their way or think you could do it better.  If you could do it better, by all means, fucking DO IT then, I'll step aside and see how that Works out for you.  *Winks*  I did that a couple times and they had to relent and woo me back as just a Consultant on MY Terms and I made it really, really expensive for them to, with Great Terms for myself.  You get what you Pay for or Who you have Handling your Business.  That's why this Administration is FUBAR, all Nepo or Bromance Hires who don't have Qualifications or Experience, don't know what the Fuck they're doing, are out of their League and didn't stay in their own Lanes, but are so arrogant and delusional they are convinced they're Legends in their own Minds.  Recipe for Disaster. *Eye Roll*

   I'm Hopeful that any Replacement Administration gets some excellent Fixers in to run damage control and cleanup effectively behind this Insane Clown Posse?  I wouldn't envy them the Task tho', he's dismantled and compromised so much now.   And daily it's just getting so much worse that I doubt we can remain a sustainable functional Nation for Three more Years of this, I really don't, he's gotta GO.  The sooner the better IMO, not replacing him with those just like him either.

  They ALL gotta go and be Prosecuted for all the Illegal Activities they've been deeply involved with and thinking they've gotten away with impunity.  None of them should be Above the Law, not a Single One all the way to the Top.  Our Corrupted Supreme Court needs to be overhauled as well, with those who were complicit in enabling Criminal Activities and taking their Bribes.   Anyway, Moving On, since, we just HAVE to, for now.

Amber just brought over some Red Beef Tamales, still Hot and Fresh.  So, I had one before leaving for The Daughter's Housecleaning Job.  It also made sure The Man was fed before I left, sometimes he won't eat for anyone else, but he likes Amber's Tamales so eagerly is eating one.  That will now sustain me until The Daughter gets off Working, coz I don't really have the Budget now for eating out while hanging out as she's Working.  I'm putting the Money into the Household Account that Princess T is giving me for my Christmas Pressy to cover Bills.  Some came in lower than last Month, the Eighty Degree Weather has helped lower Heating Costs for Winter so far and being Desert Rats we can take a Hotter House than a Colder one, so I didn't have to turn the Air Conditioner back on either.  That lowered the Utility Bill for December significantly.

Eventually I'd like to install Solar on this Property, the Industry is being regulated better now, but installation is expensive.  If I hadn't of had to replace all our Air Ducts for our HVAC Units since the 1980 Ductwork was like Swiss Cheese, I could have gotten Solar instead.  But, you have to Prioritize what Upgrades you make to a Historic or Vintage Home to Modernize and Replace what isn't optimally functional anymore or worn out from Time.  They still are built better than any Modern Structure by far and will last longer.   The Villa McManse, tho' a Million Plus Dollar Build when they built it, was built like shit IMO and probably why the Luxury Home Builder got Sued and went Chapter 11 and is went into Reorganization Proceedings.  Many of our Neighbors were involved in the Lawsuits against the Builder.

For as much as they Charged, it should have been Primo Construction. Trend Homes, Inc. went into Bankruptcy in 2008, not long after they built that Luxury Home Subdivision we lived in, and had many Lawsuits over Construction defect Cases.  We only Paid $370,000 for ours when the Luxury Home Market Crashed, but the Original Buyers paid for than a Million for those Homes.   And they were not only seriously upside down in Negative Equity, owing way more than they're worth now, but, had shoddy Construction Issues to Deal with and pending Lawsuits to try to get the Builder to make it Right.   I Loved the Style and how Grandiose that Home was, but my Historic Home and this Vintage Home are built so much better and would last many Years longer than that one will. 

LATER:  The Daughter's Housekeeping Job went well and her Client gave her a generous Gift Certificate to "Bath & Body Works" as a Christmas Gift, which was so Sweet of her.  So we stopped at a location on our way Home for her to get something on their Christmas Specials with it.  It was 80 Degrees again all day and magnificent Weather so I enjoyed my time spent hanging out in Downtown Chandler waiting for her to finish her Work.  

I visited Olde Town Chandler and Photographed their Tumbleweed Christmas Tree {See Below}.  Only in Arizona Desert will you find the tumbling Tumbleweeds and not as much as you used to nowadays.  I remember thinking Tumbleweeds were so Romantic in those Old Spaghetti Westerns, tumbling around, 'til you know the Reality of those things being prickly and a nuisance Weed!  *LOL*  And can cause Accidents if they blow across the Road in front of you.

Lots of Tourists were having their Photos taken in front of the Tumbleweed Tree, while basking in Eighty Degree Arizona Winter Weather.  *LOL*   I Love a Desert Winter, I really do.  The Son had given me some CBD Balm to rub into my Knee before we left and it really did help coz I was able to Walk with very little Pain, but with a definite gimp to my gait.  I Hope it doesn't take too long to Heal becoz it is excruciatingly Painful and I have a high threshold for Pain, but, this is Agonizing and makes me feel like that Leg could go out from under me when the Pain is too debilitating and the Knee feels like it's gonna do a Flamingo on me!!!   You're Knee feeling as tho' it might bend Backwards is a very Weird Strange Feeling that isn't pleasant at all and HURTS! 

This is some Old Food Porn I hadn't yet Shared, I've been late in downloading Images from my Old School Camera, so have an Avalanche of them once I do.   The "Merchant Square Antique Mall" was really busy, long lines at Checkout and "The American Way Market Restaurant" was busy too.  I had trouble eating Today for some reason, tho' the previous Stomach Bug is over, my Appetite hasn't really returned yet and I don't feel great after eating just a little.  But, I did have a very good time and their Mall had a Big Sale going on, they allow their Vendors to set their own Individual Discounts from 10%-70%, so it really draws a Crowd and Stimulates Trade better than our Mall's lame Sales attempts.

One of my Favorite Vendor Friends there had an Orphaned Vintage Bling Christmas Tree too on Sale, so I did get that for myself.   Since Princess T did tell me she didn't want me spending all MY Christmas Money she gave me for Bills, she wanted me to Buy at least One thing I wanted from her and now I can show her that I did. {See Below}   Also the Vendor that has the Vintage Fishing Lures that The Man always Buys and Collects from them, they had a Sale too, so I got him Seven of them from the Kids and I for Christmas, he won't be expecting that and they're some really nice ones.

Several people stopped by my Cart and told me how much they liked this Vintage Jewelry Tree, so I'm Surprised someone else hadn't Scored it before I did.   The only other thing I purchased were some tiny Ornament sized Bottlebrush Trees in about 7 different Colors and dipped in a Snow-Like Topper then sprinkled with tiny Cupcake Like Colorful Decoration Balls that are Foam.  {See Below, tho' One Pix of them on Display is Blurry, Sorry, nothing is Wrong with your Eyes.  LOL}  I got One of each Color the Vendor had coz they marked them down 50% Off and they were already Cheap before the Discount.  I Love Bottlebrush Trees to Decorate with and these were so Cute.

The only other little Ornament I got also On Sale was the Vintage Christmas Bulb Light Painted with a Snowman and Snowflake Design.  I can get a Bagged Lot of these Bulbs at SAVERS and now will Buy some and do Art on them too to make them into Cute Ornaments with this one as the Inspiration.   I always Liked those Vintage Bulbs, they're so Colorful and I remember when our Christmas Trees growing up had those as the Light Strands on them, they used to get very Hot tho' and not as Safe as Modern Strand Lights.   The One I got has the Gold Top and is on top of the pile, I didn't like the ones she'd Painted the original Metal Top Red too... I liked it left the original Metal Color.   All of hers are Red, but the Bagged Lots at SAVERS are various Color Bulbs I can Paint with different Scenes with the Grandkids as an Art Project we can do Together.  They're both accomplished Artists.

I had a lot of Fun picking out inexpensive things that were all On Sale, it was some nice Pre-Christmas Last Minute Retail Therapy and enjoyable, without spending much at all.   It's crunch time for last Minute Gift Buyers and you could tell coz all the Stores were as busy as Hives of Bees.   I couldn't even get a Call thru to our Antique Mall so avoided going in, don't want them to ask me to Work when it's this busy and so close to Christmas, my Knee Problem would just potentially worsen being on it too long and walking too much.   Plus, I don't wanna Work, it's as uncomplicated as that, I wanna Relax and enjoy the Family and our Holidays uninterrupted now.

  Between "Sweet Salvage", "Ivy & Sage", "Merchant Square" and some other Shops I visited, I got 250 New Images for the Holiday Posts I haven't yet Created.  So, I don't hafta rehash any Images from previous Christmases at all.  *Smiles*  It is the last Outing before Christmas, so, I took full advantage of it with my Pathological Picture Taking for Blog Fodder.   You're Welcome.  *Winks*   I Love Photography and am that Weirdo that Photographs and finds Beauty in damned near everything around me that should be captured and memorialized thru the Eye of the Lens.  I like looking back at Decades worth of Photographs I've taken, of the Simplest of things and Moments, it evokes many great Memories. 

 

Especially of places and people who are no longer around.   If it weren't for the Pixs, most of the great Venues that used to be, wouldn't even be remembered hardly at all.   I still get Inspired from Images from Years and Years ago that were taken of something I really found Inspiring.  Remembering it all otherwise would be impossible.  Once we start Creating more Art again for Pleasure and to Sell, I have a multitude of Imagery to draw Inspiration from from the Past and the Present.  Often, something isn't being Created anymore and Customers are hungering for it or are seeing it for the 1st time if it's been absent for a long enuf time that it's New and Fresh to them.

Our Elderly Neighbors Sylvia and Tom, next door, brought over a large Gift for us Tonight.   I know they were thrilled with the Native American Vintage Gift Basket I filled with Gourmet Jams.  At their advanced Age they have everything they'd ever Need, so I find that Gifts of Culinary Treats are the best Received ones as indulgences they might not Buy for themselves.  I know when I'd send over Jars of Locally Sourced Honey from the Farms of Friends who are Beekeepers, Sylvia and Tom acted like I'd brought over Pure Gold!!!  *Smiles*  I know I personally prefer Gifts of Culinary Treats too during the Holidays especially.

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Much more to come... Happy Holidays from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian