“Remoted” – Workday Seven (Wednesday)

The coffee looked innocent enough, but
the half and half is on the way to ewwww.

The day was comprised of frustration, entertainment, and mystery in varying measure.

Frustration came early in the day. Before beginning work and while drinking coffee with half and half that is prematurely close to gross, time was invested in searching online for disinfecting wipes. Thanks to a new obsession with wiping door knobs, cabinet  handles, drawer pulls, and faucets, I’m low.

There were no disinfecting wipes in stock at Staples or Amazon, but a delivery of tissues, paper towels, and Mini Moo’s individual coffee creamers will soon be arriving. The slightly icky half and half from the fridge remains a mystery as it’s still a week until the date imprinted on the container. The last container I bought stayed fresh for a solid week beyond the date on the container.

During the search through the Amazon and Staples websites, Moose was on the couch at my side. Winston came over and stood before the couch, looking at me and barking. This is usually Moose’s move when he wants to go out. Winston’s barking is generally a response to a noise outside or a provocation from Moose. This time, it seemed quiet outside and Moose was innocently cuddled next to me. Winston looked at me and barked with the urgency as if he were Lassie and Timmy had fallen into the well, so I finally stood to investigate. When I got up, Moose jumped off the couch. No sooner had Moose hit the floor than Winston immediately stopped barking and jumped up to replace him on the couch. It was brilliantly executed and quite entertaining.

During the working part of the day, a bit more frustration kicked in. While working at the dining room table/desk, the daily annoyance in the wall kicked in. It’s some sort of  vibration. It reminds me of living in Clarksville, Tennessee when the military helicopters would fly over the house to and from Fort Campbell, and when soldiers were training in the field. In both situations, the crystal glasses would vibrate in the china cabinet and the frames would vibrate on the walls. 

There are three framed artworks hung on a wall near the corner in the dining room, and during the day when I’m working and the house is quiet, I hear them vibrating. The same thing happens with the framed photos in the bedroom upstairs in the same corner of the house. Whatever it is, it’s driving me nuts, and the destination is dangerously close already. I may have to start playing music during the day if I can’t get the vibration noise to stop.

Later in the day, a chapter of an ongoing mystery played out. Several times over the past week spent at home, a silver Chrysler SUV-Van type vehicle has been parked at the end of the street in front of the house next door. The vehicle backs into the spot, facing up the street, and two guys sit in it with the engine running for as much as an hour at a time. It’s been there at different times – nine at night, three in the afternoon, six in the evening. Sometimes, music blares from partially opened windows.

The first time I saw the vehicle parked there, at around the one hour mark I considered calling the police to report a suspicious vehicle. During one of the 1,000 times letting Moose out while the vehicle was parked there, one of the males got out. It's a guy who lives at the house next door. So now the mystery is compounded beyond the mysterious vehicle to why would two men sit in a running vehicle for hours at a time when they could just go inside the house where one of them lives? Maybe they are our neighborhood watch program on a patrol (is there such a thing)? Perhaps they are investigators working on the case of the mailman who parks the mail truck at the house across the street and goes inside and hangs out.  For the dead end of a dead-end street, it can be quite intriguing.