Archive for June, 2007

The Mt. Dew

We went to get milk at Tom Thumb because we’d forgotten it earlier when we were at Central Market. The reason we went back to Tom Thumb to get it (and not Central Market, which has better milk) was because Tom Thumb has 20 oz bottles of Mt. Dew for $1.

Woo-hoo.

Unfortunately, 50% of the time they’re sold out, but Joey still tries just about every time. (Then, when they’re sold out, his morale gets really low and he wilts and walks around talking like Eeyore. It’s really sad.)

Joey had raided his change jar and, with his pockets weighed down with quarters, was ready to go get himself a Mt. Dew.

He ran into the entryway of Tom Thumb, stood in front of the vending machine and fidgeted.

“I can’t do it. I can’t push the button. What if it say sold out?” Joey asked me, hopping nervously back and forth.

“Just push the button.” I said.

He pushed the first button. Sold out.

He pushed the second button.

He pushed the second button again.

“They’re not sold out!” Joey yelled and instantly began digging through his pockets for change, and spilling it all over the floor.

“But, honey, you can’t buy it before you go in the store or you’ll have to buy it twice,” I reasoned.

“Good point.” Joey said, put the quarters back into his pocket and ran into the store. He was a man on a mission. We got the milk, checked out and were back at the vending machine in 5 minutes.

Joey pushed the first button. Sold out.

Joey pushed the second button. Sold out.

“What?!” He wailed, slamming the button over and over again, as though that would miraculously make more Mt. Dew appear.

“Somebody bought the last Mt. Dew while we were in there buying milk!” He wilted as he said this. “Come on. Let’s go home. I don’t need a Mt. Dew.” (Please picture Eeyore saying those last phrases and you’ll be just about spot-on to what Joey sounded like.)

“Give me the keys,” I took them from his limp hand, “I’m driving.”

“It’s OK. I don’t need any Mt. Dew.” He was completely expressionless. This whole going from having a Mt. Dew to not having a Mt. Dew was really throwing him for a loop.

We got into the car and went to two more Tom Thumbs in an effort to find $1 Mt. Dew. There was none to be had, so I finally took him to a 7-Eleven and told him to buy one for $1.29. He was pretty gleeful and happy, so it was all worth it. :)

And the Mt. Dew is gone now, but he’s currently swinging the power cord for the lappy at me and keeps hitting me with it. (I probably shouldn’t have encouraged him to get that Mt. Dew after all, he seems caffinated.)

Confirmed: The Downstairs Neighbor Has A Face

There has been some discussion regarding our Downstairs Neighbor. He’s rather mysterious in that he’s barely ever there, he often gets delinquent rent notices stuck to his door (I know this because I read them), has a very dirty balcony, and we’ve never actually seen him.

Until tonight.

We thought he was back because we’d suddenly been smelling this obnoxious, faint cigarette smoke coming up through our kitchen vents.

“Seems like Downstairs Neighbor might be around,” Joey commented.

I concurred. We’re not sure he smokes, but we know our other neighbors and they don’t smoke, so if we smell it we always blame it on Downstairs Neighbor.

But back to the previous discussions regarding Downstairs Neighbor’s face.

We’ve lived here for six months. (Yes, six months!) All we were able to ascertain about Downstairs Neighbor was that he has never fully shut the blinds in his bedroom (a table is leaned up against the window covering the portion that’s not covered by blinds; he probably has no clue they’re not all the way down) and he might have a cat.

I once saw him carrying what appeared to be a cat kennel as he walked away from his apartment. It was then that I first began to question his sanity.

Since the sighting with the cat, we have only seen the back of his head one other time leading us to wonder if he actually has a face.

Joey and I were headed out to buy milk tonight (yes, we forgot it when we went grocery shopping) and as we were walking to the car a youngish sort of man wearing a baseball cap, green t-shirt and geeky/trendy Coke-bottle style glasses was walking towards us. Oh, he was also carrying a Pepsi and a Mountain Dew. (They were 20 ounces and no, I’m not nosy…)

I instantly (and, regrettably, not so subtly) began smacking Joey’s arm and hissing at him. “That’s him! I bet that’s him!”

He sort of shoved his elbow into me to indicate for me to Be Quiet.

We rounded the corner, but not before I had slowed down and looked back to make sure this guy really was Downstairs Neighbor.

“That was him!” I exulted. “I saw him!”

“Yeah,” said Joey, “I couldn’t understand what you were saying.”

“That’s OK.” I said, hoping that if Joey hadn’t understood me then neither had Downstairs Neighbor.

So, regardless of all former doubts and concerns about Downstairs Neighbor, we have confirmed that he exists and he actually has a face.

Whew.

“That’s him! I bet that’s him!”