Random Thoughts from a Large Head

I reclaimed my house and my neighborhood in the name of all that is good this weekend. I spent a couple of hours in the front yard cleaning up the lawn, and every neighbor I saw got the story.

For the first time in the six months I’ve lived here, I did more than just wave at the people who live around me. I reached out, connected, got phone numbers, felt a sense of community.

I met Mike, who is in construction, and Lisa, whose mom Tina lives across the street (and has since the neighborhood was built in the early ’50s). I met Anna, whose husband Luis is going to help me out with yardwork. I met Sarah and Joe, who had been thinking about putting up more outdoor lighting anyways. I learned that a police officer lives three houses down across the street from me, so I went and introduced myself there, too.

I learned that besides a few car windows broken when people park on the street, for the most part this is a quiet neighborhood with few problems. My neighbors were shocked to learn what happened to me.

Tonight’s the first night I’ve actually been by myself in the house since then. I thought I was doing ok. I came home from work and it was dark out already, but I got in the garage and closed the door before getting out of the car. I got into the house and then went out the front door to check the mail. I made dinner and watched some tv.

I was fine until my garage floodlights, which fill the front area and driveway with light, started turning on and off.

Jim tried to help me over the phone, but all the good things he said to help me take control of the situation and feel better just weren’t helping. I snapped at him and got off the phone.

The tears I couldn’t find last week finally came, and poured hard. I sobbed for the theft of my security, the infringement of my safety zone, and the loss of innocence. And, when I was done crying, I opened this window and began typing all the good things I’d done to take this neighborhood and my house back for good.

Tina and Ru came by and diagnosed a faulty sensor in my lights. We made a quick trip to Home Depot and fixed it up and the blinking has stopped.

I’d thought I was ok before, but it turns out I wasn’t. I’m a little more ok now than I was a few hours ago. Hopefully each night I’ll be more and more ok.

Rest in peace, Miss Candy.

I pull into my garage shortly after 1am, exhausted from an evening of work and time with Jim and a late night run to the office to pick up some printouts for my business trip this morning. I leave the garage door open, as I always do so that I can pick up my mail from the front of the house. I get out of the car, turn around, and notice a man standing just inside my garage door.

“This is odd,” I think to myself, not really sure what he wants.

“Give me your money.”

It’s then that I notice the metallic end of a gun.

I freeze in place, unable to think of where I might have some money, or what I could give him, or what I should do. Frozen there, I scream and scream, not really sure where the scream is even coming from.

A look of panic crosses his face. He turns and runs off.

I stand there for a moment, unsure of what just happened. Did he really run away? Why didn’t he shoot me? If he had shot me, who would help me? Would my neighbors come out to see what happened? Would I be found dead on my garage floor? How did I get so lucky?

I notice then that I could barricade myself into the garage. I punch the garage door button, lock the back garage door, move away from the window, and call the police.

A few people asked where I got the “I’m Intenet Famous” shirt I was wearing yesterday. I couldn’t remember at the time, so I turned to my trusty friend Google. Turns out, I bought it from comet 7 (scroll down to the third shirt).

I’m on my way out the door to go to Austin for SXSW Interactive. For fun this year, I’m organizing a Photo Scavenger Hunt. Enjoy!

I went and got myself one of those boyfriend things. His name is Jim and he’s good people.

I’ve been sick since late Monday night with a crappy sore throat/slight fever ick that was still lingering despite two full days off work and in bed. Saturday afternoon, I went to the doctor where I was diagnosed with a fun bacterial sinus infection!

Now I have prescriptions which are making me feel worse than before. I have a decongestant/expectorant thing to clear me all out, but I wasn’t terribly congested, so there’s nothing there to really clear, so I just feel very dehydrated and achy. Boo.