For the things that never make any sense! XD

[Geektopian]

Daaaaaamn Okami, I hope that at least the rent is cheap! In all seriousness though, it sounds like the raid/bust/whatever is just one more piece in a tapestry of compounded "don't give a shite" that your neighborhood suffers from. I'm sure people in more polite environs call such a thing "neglect" but the situation you've describe suggests that the area passed neglect a long time ago.

I hope that you'll able to get out of there soon. Not only is it physically dangerous but as you know, it plays hell on your psychological well-being.

[OkamiKodomo]

That's the sad thing... the rent is not all that cheap. Comparatively speaking, it's not bad. We've talked the landlord down a bit, because when we moved in here, the neighborhood wasn't all that bad. It's really gone downhill over the last year though.

Granted, the "weekly shoot-outs" is an exaggeration. But it's definitely more often than it should be. Sometimes several times a month. The tenant in the apartment on the end of our building was broken into 5 times over the past eight months, the last one actually smashed in the glass door. And he had 2 full-grown dobermans.

I don't go anywhere after dark without carrying either a pocket knife, or pepper spray. My old roommate and two of his friends were mugged at gun-point back in August by some Bloods, or Blood wannabes but really, when you've got a gun in your face, are you really going to call someone a poser?

Sometimes I really do feel like I live in a really bad hood flick. I grew up in a tiny town in the Catskill region of New York. Moving to Orlando was a major culture shock.

[DollyKim]

Our old neighborhood is one meth lab away from what you're describing. The kids were already shooting each other and stabbing whomever they wanted. This is our guard/seizure alert dog http://youtu.be/aHAvvAWqJh4 She eventually got a bigger bark.

[OkamiKodomo]

Oh that was our old neighborhood. The house next to ours that I mentioned? With the DEA crawling the place during the raid? Yeah... There was always some rancid chemical smell coming from that place. The gas station on the corner was also a cesspit. I remember when the Guardian Angels came to town, the dealers scattered like roaches, but it didn't do much, in the long run. I lived right off Orange Blossom Trail, and a local euphemism around here for a prostitute is a "Trail Worker" because they work up and down Orange Blossom Trail. I was often mistaken for a hooker, even in my cargo pants and Bob Marley button-down that was three sizes too big for me... just by virtue of having to walk down that road at 2am every night. I worked the closing shift at a gift shop in the Bob Marley night club at Universal Studios, and had to take public transportation. The closest bus stop to my house was 6 blocks away. I would get people slowing down and going "How much?" or stopping their cars to ask me if I was "looking for work"... There was a shoot-out right in front of our house right around the 2008 election. We lived in a primarily black neighborhood, and my fiance had an Obama bumper sticker on his car. During the weekend of a monster truck rally (or as I like to call them, redneck conventions), someone drove down our street in a white Suburban and fired off 6 rounds from a Westminster 45 cal. We found the shells on the sidewalk in front of our house, and my fiance's bumper sticker was ripped off.

Another time, one of the dealers who patrolled the area on a bike, was stopped by a few cops. The guy had a crackrock on him, so he tried to hide in his mouth. The cops pinned him on the sidewalk, and were laughing as they made him swallow it at gunpoint. Then they got back in their squad car (still laughing, mind you) and drove off.

It sounds crazy enough that you'd think I'm making it all up, but I'm not. But at least the rent for that place was crazy cheap. x_x

One thing I still giggle about though, was that the SWAT that were involved in the raid, both in our old neighborhood, and this one, were wearing jungle camouflage.

[victoriavictrix]

Well. You could knock me over with a feather.

The aide called ME back without waiting for me to get back to him. Evidently some of my suggestions (only one of which is mine, what I call the 80% rule--any company in the US getting tax breaks, refunds, kickbacks or any other form of tax incentive in the US must have 80% of its jobs in the US) are simple minded enough to get his attention and that of the average DUH voter and he's using them.

Meanwhile I quoted James Madison at him, educated him on the Double Irish and Dutch Sandwich tax shelter schemes. I still hate Coburn with a passion, and I am definitely using a long spoon to sup with the devil, but it's a heavy irony that right now Coburn is less crazy than most of his party.

[Trethowan]

The 80% rule sounds like a good idea. I'd like to see American businesses bring jobs back home. I looked through his website. I'm assuming Dr. Coburn is a Republican. I might have to read through his Back in Black some time. No time today, too many assignments due.

[DollyKim]

Lived in Hollywood off Sunset and Highland at the turn of the century, and I know roughly where Universal is, did some late nights there on Ally McBeal. Once they opened the Red Line the bad element could jump a turnstile down town and reach Hollywood proper in the blink of an eye. When the McDonalds left the corner we knew it was time to move.

[OkamiKodomo]

Well I'll be damned VV. Are congratulations in order? Heh, that 80% rule does seem like a simple notion.... can't believe nobody thought of it before.


DK: I've been to Hollywood FL before. I'm not sure about the area you're talking about, but the places I visited were rather nice. O.o It's about a 3 hour drive from East Orlando, or downtown, which is where I used to live, so not an easy commute for most people.

EDIT: BLAH FML.... I needed to walk down to the post office today, (a two mile walk...ick) to mail out the red dress that was sold, now that the buyer paid me... and it looked like it was going to rain cats and dogs. So I waited for the storm to blow over. Cuz yanno, Florida storms... they only last twenty minutes. But the clouds just kept building and building and I'm sitting here watching them for two hours all "Dammit all I could've gone and been on my way back by now..." and when the rain FINALLY comes.... it's a sneeze. The sky went "ACHOO" and barely got the ground wet and now the clouds are blowing away. -grumps and gets her stuff together- Not severe enough a misfortune to go in teh suckz thread, but still an irritation. Guh I need more coffee.

[DollyKim]

I meant Hollywood California, Universal Studios is next to the freeway and the big cemetery where Andy Gibb among others are buried and it overlooks Warner Brothers studios. ~forgets there's Universal Studios in Florida too~

[OkamiKodomo]

And a Hollywood Florida XDD

Also....

Rain. Eff you. Clouds blew over, I went on my merry way. Went to the bank to deposit the money I scrounged up from my hubby's dirty laundry. Lucky me, the man never empties his pockets. $65 worth of spare change and bills smaller than $20 (I give the 20s back to him but anything under that is mine, and he knows it) plus $10 I put aside last week. The post office is also right next to the Jo-Ann's, Michael's, and Home Depot, so I made the rounds.... seeing as I can't make that walk every day and all... Shipped out the red dress for KarieChaos over on DoA, bought stuff -- if you're near a Jo-Ann's, hit up their Columbus Day sale...omgYAY -- went to go outside to walk home FURBLGURBLRAAAAIN OH EM GEE RUN FOR YOUR LIVES... starts pouring. Duck back inside, and wait. Downpour stops. Start home. SprinklesprinkleSNEEZEsprinkle. Ok not bad.... a little rain never hurt anybo--AAAAAGHH!! Run for nearest shelter... which happened to be the Tire Kingdom store. The clerk starts cracking up at the sight of me dripping wet and shaking water off my limbs, "Hiding from the storm?" "Duck and cover man... duck and cover." Rain lets up from a steady downpour to a gently irritating patter. Ok I can deal with that too. It's only another half mile or so to my house. Cross the parking lot... -SPLASH- Puddle. Up to the ankle. GODDAMMIT... -hop-hop-jump-skip-shake-water-from-foot-SPLASH- Other foot in a puddle. FML..... The kicker? It stopped raining completely right after that.