“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 609 (Monday)

When Monday is a work from home day, it’s the best sort of a Monday. Not as great as a Monday holiday Monday, but you know, better than the usual wretched Monday.

While I toiled calmly at the desk, the outside world chugged along. The trash, recycling, and yard waste were all picked up during the day, and in the process, nothing was destroyed on my fence (this week), so that is a big win.

Ouch. Thanks, trash truck.

A couple weeks ago, while the mechanical trash truck arms were emptying the neighbor’s recycle bin, there was an unfortunate incident. The fence post cap, which had previously been securely glued to the post, was forcibly removed. It was found lying in the flower bed with parts of it smashed to bits. Vinyl is final, but apparently only until the trash truck arrives. Since the event, the busted post cap pieces have sat on the counter, mocking me. 

The whole broken fence thing could have been avoided if the neighbor’s bins could be picked up from the front of her house. When the truck had two workers, one would get out of the truck and empty the bins into the truck, but recently it’s been a one-person operation. There were several weeks over the summer where the neighbor bins were left in front of her house and were not emptied, which was unfortunate. Also unfortunate is my current level of trash knowledge.

My favorite part is the section of the curbside collection instructions on the city website which states, and I quote, "All items must be put out in front of one's own property; it cannot be put out in front of another's property. Anyone found in violation of this is subject to fines up to $100." Except on my street, where the neighbor's bins in front of the neighbor's house are ignored for weeks.

I recently learned from the neighbor that some time ago, a trash truck ripped down some low-hanging wires running to each of our houses from the pole across the street. There are still many wires draped low and casually across the street, so, that’s still a real problem. I called the city to talk trash and asked what could be done about the pickups and the wires and was told the engineering department would look into the wires. It's been months with no change, but maybe someday, which is not an actual day of the week, something will be done about it. 

Also someday, I’ll get to either Lowe’s or Home Depot for a replacement to the fence cap. First, I need to scroll through old text messages, and hopefully, the ones from May or June 2020 are still there. That’s when former neighbor guy sent fence pictures, and hopefully there is a brand/style/store noted. Neighbor guy ordered everything and had all the paperwork, and also moved away several months ago. When I texted to ask where the fencing came from, he responded not so helpfully, "Either Home Depot or Lowe's." With luck the messages weren’t part of the recent massive cell phone purge, and if they were, well, then the real detective work will begin.