Why I Hate People (Reason #572)

(Warning: incoming rant)

This afternoon, someone was frantically ringing my doorbell.

Now, I never answer the door unless a) I see the UPS truck outside or b) I'm expecting someone.  I have to go down three flights of stairs to get to the door so honestly, it is not worth it otherwise.  I did not hear screams of "fire" or "get out!  It's going to blow!" so I tried to ignore it.  Then the person started banging on my door.

As it appeared that this person would not give up, I trudged downstairs with the thought of "this better be good" as my hip pain flares up with each step.  I'll explain in a sec.

I find it to be my neighbor, which really surprised me as she has my phone number.  Why didn't she just call?

It seems she wanted to yell at me (and Bear) in person.

Now my dear reader, I know you are thinking "why would she yell at you?  Did you do something wrong?"

I think it depends on your point of view.

You see, she accused us--get this--of not "caring enough."  You see, our community is literally falling down around us.  The management company is insanely corrupt as everything in our town is owned by this one Family.  I kid you not.  They own at least half of it and our joke of a town government is in their pockets.  Those on the community board are either members of said Family or their lackeys.  My neighbor, along with all the other people in this community that do not seem to have jobs, decided to take on the Family and its cronies.  I told her "have fun."  Don't get me wrong, I would love to see the money I pay in dues each year go to something I can see, like fixing our stairs which rotted out about 15 years ago.

Why am I not getting involved?  To be honest, I do not have the energy to get involved, nor the desire.  When I come home after a very long day, I do not want to have to run to meetings or listen to the BS that the cronies are trying to throw at us.  I fight enough fights on a daily basis, so I need to pick and choose my battles.

Yet she would not even listen to me.  She called us "losers" and she is "sick" of hearing our "excuses."  She said "we all have problems."

Mind you, this is all coming from a woman who sits in front of her house all day trying to achieve immortality by turning herself into something that would be akin to the mating of Tan Mom and Cassandra from Doctor Who:

Imagine this with a tan...

Now, I get that we all have problems.  Some more than others.  However, I will ask you, my gentle reader, to see where I am coming from.  My problems include:

• Working two teaching jobs, going to grad school, and all that is involved in both.
• Suffering from fibromyalgia, amongst a host of other medical issues including severe depression.
• Living in excruciating pain as I developed bone spurs in my hip joint--I did not even know that could happen--from severe osteoarthritis, while I await the end of the semester so I can have hip replacement surgery.  Did I also mention that I am returning to work less than two weeks later?

These are my problems, I get that, but to her it seems we all have the same severity of problems.  If this was true, I really feel sorry for everyone else.  Oh wait.  Was she just claiming that I do not have real problems?  I would love to try to see her just attempt to do half of what I do with just the fibro.

The thing that really bothered me, though was accusing me of not caring.  Oh, if I wasn't cranky as fuck due to the pain she just forced me to endure by coming down those damn stairs, I would have laughed in her leathery face.  Me?  Not care?  Does she not have a fucking clue?  I am an ADVOCATE.  When was the last time she looked that up in a dictionary?  I spend every waking moment working with people trying to help them, find services for them, and just make their lives a little less miserable.  To give you an idea...

• I spent eight months working in a nursing home to bring some sense of fulfillment to residents who, when asked how they were doing would respond with "I'm existing."  This was with a supervisor who told me that her version of self-care is to just "stop caring."  I refused to follow her advice.
• Last week I wrote a letter to a judge on behalf of a student to make sure that jail time could be served on the weekends so this student would not miss any school.  
• Three weeks ago, I helped a student locate nearby food banks and social services outlets so that she could feed her family.
• Today, I reached out to a local domestic violence advocacy group to get information on  a training course to become a special advocate for domestic violence and sexual trauma victims.

And yet, according to her, I don't care.  

Wow.

You know what?   I've got bigger issues to deal with.  Real issues.  If she does not want to listen to me, so be it.  However, if anyone is the loser, it is not me but her.

I don't need this shit.

*drops the microphone and walks away*