Would You Be My Neighbor?

As I posted in my previous blog, my apartment complex is pretty quiet. I am generally kind of a quiet person, but I am also really people-oriented, and I don't actually LIKE to be a quiet person. Go figure. A year or two ago, I read an article in a Psychology Today magazine about personality types. Under a section about "Misunderstood Personalities", there was something listed called a "shy extrovert". It totally described me; I was surprised! It said that I am interested in people and love being very social, but that I am shy and quiet around new people and thus sometimes give a different first impression than my acutal personality would suggest. Yep, so me! So, I try to keep that in mind while settling into my new place. I haven't been able to meet too many people in my building so far, but I don't think that's necessarily my fault. My landlord made sure to point out before I moved in "You don't have to go out of your way to make friends with the people here. You'll see them around and get to know them eventually"...or something like that. Awesome. Let me introduce you to some of my neighbors:

Duane "The Landlord":: Duane has been living on the property for something like 11 years. So, the people in charge made him the apartment manager and resident handyman and landlord. When you have a problem, you head to Apartment 9...like when I couldn't figure out how to turn on the community washing machine. Part of the reason that I chose this particular apartment was the fact that I liked Duane. Deshawn and I looked at another apartment in Ballard, but the landlord was...kind of...vapid. He may have suffered from Bell's Palsy in a previous life that makes it difficult for him to form facial expressions, but he seemed kind of bored and nervous the entire time. Not for me. I was relieved when I went to look at the Sand Point apartments, because Duane was very friendly and thorough, showing me all of the rooms available and making me feel comfortable and welcome. Aside from that, I also really liked the apartments, and I got to choose one with a lot of windows, and without anyone living underneath. Perfect for me! Now, he is also a well-meaning landlord. He excitedly went through the entire apartment with me, marking down spots that needed fixing. He was all amped up to fix the caulking in the bathroom, paint the walls, fix one of the kitchen cupboards, etc, etc, etc. and all in the 5 or 6 days until I would start moving my stuff in. Needless to say he didn't get to any of those things, or hang the second towel rack he promised, or add another set of closet doors, or change the locks on my door. I am perfectly happy, I wasn't expecting he'd be able to get to those things anyways. I'm also grateful that he bends the rules on some things. Like not charging a million dollars to get into your apartment if you lock yourself out. I haven't done that, but just in case...

Joe: Just Joe. He's my neighbor on the end of the upstairs row of apartment. He is very, very friendly. When Deshawn and I were moving some stuff in, he poked his head out of the door and introduced himself and told me that if I needed anything, that I could just ask him, which was nice. He's the only neighbor who's introduced himself to me, and I've only seen him two or three times.

Old Mr. Smarmy Pants: This guy lives next door to Joe. Luckily there is that empty room next to me. I've smiled at him, but he just looks old and cranky and never says a thing.

Bigfoot: I call him this not because he's gigantic and hairy (he's actually scrawny and I doubt he's got the testosterone to grow a beard), but because of a conversation I overheard him having on the phone. He had just gotten back from a camping trip or something with his dad in which they went out searched for Bigfoot. He was talking on the phone like he seriously thought he was going to find him. I don't remember the actual words (I don't really like evesdropping), but he was listing off all of these facts and ideas about what Bigfoot would do and where he would be. It was really interesting. I'm not sure if he lives in the apartments or if he just visits his girlfriend there...or he might live with his girlfriend, I dunno. He does tend to like to have conversations right outside of my window.

Vroom VroomA nod to Ellery, maybe? This girl gets her nickname because she pays extra to keep her dandelion-yellow sports car parked in the back, partially underneath my apartment. I think she thinks that the car is a person. She is constantly washing it and proudly parading it around the back lot. I think she and Bigfoot might have a thing going on, but I'm not really sure. The car is pretty ridiculous, but I guess there are worse things to be obsessed with.

Girl with a LOT of Emotional Baggage: There is a hedge in the back lot that separates my apartments from a group of condos. While I don't know any of the people that actually live there, I can hear them all the time. There is this one girl who like to have heated arguments, mostly about men, so that the rest of the complex, and possibly the neighbors down the street and up the hill, can hear. She whines to someone, who is obediently quiet, about "he did this" and "he did that". Lady, if you're having so much trouble, get rid of the bastard, ok? Your neighbors will thank you, and you'd probably feel loads better.

The Petting Zoo: One of the things that I love about these apartments are that they are cat friendly. No dogs, but cats are allowed, and most of my neighbors have one...or two. The condos allow dogs, and there are two (probably small) dogs that yap at each other constantly, but the cats in my apartment complex are so cute! Right across from me, the people own two white cats that sit on little perches in the front window. The people right below me have an orange cat that I'm fairly certain is named Holly. At least once a day someone calls out "Holly, here kitty kitty kitty! Come have dinner!" My favorites, though, are my landlords two cats, Squeak and Boo. Squeak is white and grayish, and is really outgoing. Whenever the landlord is outside around the complex, Squeak is allowed out and he follows him everywhere. When I was looking at the apartment, he followed us from room to room, nuzzling up against eveything and licking my calves like a popsicle. When we closed the door on him, he whined and cried until I went outside to keep him company. Boo is this adorable black cat who is very shy and likes to stay in #9. The other day, however, my landlord was doing some work in the empty apartment next door and Boo was hanging around outside. Big Kitty step for him!

Speaking of cats, I had the pleasure of meeting Chukkie, Al, and Nate's two new kittens recently. I went to the Boss house for dinner, and as always had a swell time. Natasha doesn't like her new siblings very much, and made herself scarce, but I had so much fun playing with them! They are soooo cute! Arturo is a few weeks older than his sister and is black and white, and Saci (I don't know how they are spelling the nickname, her full name is Sacajawea) was so tiny and cute! I have some pictures, which will definately make this post more interesting. Although it appears that Arturo has magical levitation skills, and the neck vertebrae of an owl, he is actually hunting flies on the open window screen. Hope I didn't disenchant anyone!






P.S. How do you post captions under or over the pictures? That would be so much cooler!