I have spent a decent amount of time in Indiana this past month and working on stuff for the property in Indiana (from Atlanta) this week.

 The newest circus act came to me yesterday. Bats, bats and more bats are finding their way into people's apartments (and not the sporting equipment).

 

 

 

 I have no problem with bats. I actually think they are pretty cool. Not really a rodent, not really a bird. Sort of like Meerkats. They are just who they are.

While I was there I had numerous bat sightings. First came the near dead one crawling up the sidewalk. Luckily, by the time I gathered the material to scoop him up, house him for the evening and (ultimately) save his life, he crawled away; and logic set in. Rabies dumbass! And what are going to do when you go home? Take him on the plane with you?

 

 

The next day I found another in a vacant apartment that looked dead. Not that easy little missy! When the maintenance supervisor went to scoop him up, he threw out his wings, attempted to crawl away and began screaming! I ran to the back of the apartment (nearly in tears) and was devasted for a few hours. Poor little guy.

Later that evening I got to witness their exit from the attic of my building. These dudes are freaking HUGE. Cool stuff and there was a near full moon. Shame on me for not having a camera.

So the phone call did not really surprise me; 8 people have found bats in apartments or hallways just this week. Initially we thought, "they keep the bug population down so let them stick around!" But unlike me, some see them as rodents - or the forever link to Dracula.

 

 

Then the rabies issue (they are notorious for carrying)and really, they are just plain UGLY

 

 

So the phone call to the exterminator/animal trapper extraordinaire

Turns out the blood-sucking misconception and rabies is just the start. Guano (who knew that bats had a name for their poo?) produces a fungus called Histoplasmosis. Once the guano is disturbed (if present) the fungus becomes air-borne and causes respiratory infection; leading to death if not treated early. So the pest control guy needs to check attics for Guano.

Which brought the question of - how do they poop hanging upside down?!

 

 

I learned a lot about bats talking with this guy. Since they can fit thorugh a hole 3/8 of an inch in size and the babies reach flight maturity right about now, they are getting lost looking for optimal temperatures. Hence, ending up in people's apartments.  Luckily the rodent part does not hold true with reproduction! Babies happen only once per year.

After several hours of conversation, education and cost analysis - looks like we are going to trap and relocate the little guys, gals and babies.

Maybe tonight I will head over to the elementary school up the street and watch the bats fly out of the attic at dusk.

This is how the typical sighting starts:

Chanda: at computer in my office or on the phone in my office

Butch: walking by and yelling "shanna" at the top of his lungs

Dogs: going crazy trying to get through the fence so they can eat Butch (not really, but it sure looks like they want to eat him)

Butch: yelling at the dogs to shut up

Dogs: getting more crazy like maybe they really do want to eat him

Chanda: tired of hearing the yelling or a customer on the phone asking what that ruckus is, chanda gives in



The rest of our encounter will go 1 of 2 ways.....good or bad. Today's encounter was far from good.

A couple of years ago, Butch dug up some cool flowers in his yard and offered them to me (this was year 1 of my front yard garden). I accepted and just a few short months later, the big tree that was the centerpiece to my garden took a tumble during a hurricane. Wiped out the garden, or so I thought. In fact year 2 and 3 showed signs that the tree sort of helped. Several bushes and flowers sprouted that I never planted. I assume the tree tumble spread the seeds and possibly replanted broken limbs in new locations(whatever that techinical term is called).

With all of that said, these 3 flowers that Butch gave me have multiplied....A LOT!

A couple of months ago, Butch was helping (at the cost of lunch, unlimited cigarette supply and a small fee) clear weeds and get some new stuff put in. I found his empty McDonalds cup no longer empty, but 1/3 full of water and 5 of my flowers in it. He dug them up and was taking them. I would not have these flowers in the first place if it wasn't for him.

FINE. Not worth the argument and they were already dug up. I agreed to let him take them and announced that we are even for his (newly discovered to be conditional) gift from a couple of years ago.

Today he informs me that he will be back later to dig up some more flowers from my garden. He is moving to Chicago and needs to take some with him. I suppose I am the breeding farm for his flowers now!He gives 3 - I nuture (okay that is a little extreme. Maybe water is a better word)- mine mutliply from 3 to over 40 - he gets to reap the benefits by taking what he wants.

Well, if you have never seen a german/slavic, 100lb girl (still in her pj's) go postal, then I guess you weren't a witness to the rest of the conversation. But my HELL NO will you take any flower from my garden didn't sink in. He walked away muttering he has right since I wouldn't have them in the first place, if it wasn't for him.

I am used to demands from Butch and even put up with his insults (most of the time). He is in a bad life situation with too much pride. I overlook a lot of his crap because of this. I suppose I never drew a line (permanent enough) that he feels he can demand taking flowers from my garden.

If he returns I expect this to go one of 2 ways. Depending on how much more coffee I consume between now and then.

1- I will gladly offer him some flowers for the price of watering my garden to keep these flowers alive. 2 years x 25% of my water bill I calculate the cost to be $281.25, payable in cash prior to digging. No IOU's today.

2- I will call the police.

In all actuality, though, he will not be back for a few days and there will be no confrontation. But damn did that piss me off and start my day on the wrong side of the bed.

And now my day has turned around. A property/land survey is being done on Butch's house, or as I so affectionately refer to it "The Blue String-E Machine-E".

In this picture, the blue tarp covering the hole in his roof that produced strings throughout our yard is since gone, but the name has stuck




Of course, being the self-proclaimed "blogger of all things Edgewood Estates" I have to inquire. The guys say they are doing the survey for an individual. This is the most serious any potential buyer has gotten to date. And Butch says he is moving to Chicago.

A huge thank you to SixxRoxx/SixFootBonde and Prank for posting the article on Ani DiFranco over at Needs More Cowbell 

They accomodated my last minute submission and dressed Ani up nicely.  You are the bomb and the Blogstream award was appropriately handed up to you!  Way to go

 

doo-doo-doo-da-lada-doo-doo-doo-do-da. doo-dada-looda-doo dadalooda.

This fine musical tune accompanied only by midgetry on display

and a dancing bear with a tutu around his neck

Actually that did not happen BUT I did have to save a cable guy who fell through the ceiling of an apartment while doing an install for a different apartment;  take shit from the postal  delivery bitch for not having the office open (at her convenience while I was dealing with the cable guy stuck in the ceiling with his legs dangling in the apartment below) so she could use the copier for some personal bullshit and sit around in air conditioning for a couple of hours; chase down the cats that ran out of the apartment with the hanging cable guy because maintenance freaked and ran out of the apartment without closing the door so they can call me to come help; chase off 12-year-old kids from a hallway smoking pot and betting on dice (no hanging cable guys this time!); remove near death bats from people's apartments, which happen to find their way in via chimney's; the maintenance guy who informs of the common area, 9x6 storage closet that has the door kicked in and is decorated with flattened cardboard on the floor and a dozen plus condom in the room........and ultimately, I am there to help my client  get more people to move in or renew leases in this apartment complex.

Did I mention my plane ride was a joy.  Lightening hit it - big explosion sound at 20,000 feet and people screaming which sent the guy in front of me into hysterics and filled 3 puke bags.  Just glad he had the skill to make it all fit in the bags...one after another

I have 2 weeks off but I am sure I will be beckoned to return to the circus to further analyze and witness the crazy shit that happens in Indianapolis!

 

Waits has a distinctive voice, described as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months and then taken outside and run over with a car."

Lyrically, Wait’s songs are known for atmospheric portrayals of bizarre, seedy characters and places. Certainly my kind of thing!!!!!

Waits has also worked as a composer for movies and musical plays and as a supporting actor in films, including Short Cuts, The Two Jakes, The Fisher King, Mystery Men, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Coffee and Cigarettes, Night on Earth, At Play in the Fields of the Lord and Domino. My favorite (although not a quality movie) was Coffee and Cigarettes that filmed Waits and Iggy Pop conversing across a diner-style table.

The last tour he did in the US and the first time I saw him perform was in Denver at the Paramount Theatre on October 13th, 1999. He did a couple of shows in Eastern Europe in 2000 but nothing since then. Waits is touring for the first time since 1999.

 Tickets come at a price. Only 2 tickets per purchase, tixs are available at will-call only with ID and purchasing credit card. They are more costly than the average “big venue” show and sold out within minutes of sale time.

He stands for things I can certainly respect (other than his music and talent). Waits has steadfastly refused to allow the use of his songs in commercials and has criticized other artists who do. He was quoted saying, "If Michael Jackson wants to work for Pepsi, why doesn't he just get himself a suit and an office in their headquarters and be done with it."

He has filed several lawsuits against advertisers who used his material without permission. Quoted saying, "Apparently the highest compliment our culture grants artists nowadays is to be in an ad — ideally naked and purring on the hood of a new car, I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor."

Tom Waits was the best show of my life. Hands down and he won’t be touring the entire country this time around. This tour offers only 8 shows and his first time touring in the Southeast since the 70’s.

"We need to go to Tennessee to pick up some fireworks, and someone owes me money in Kentucky," Waits said in a statement about his motivation for touring.

Tom Waits is kicking off the tour in Atlanta at the Tabernacle on August 1st and we freaking have tickets! Rob this is the bestest of bestest surprises ever! Thank You