Bev really is one weird chick, if I heard what I think I heard and that was her having a conversation with herself while she vacuumed. I couldn’t hear that part until I placed my ear on the wall, but when I did, I could tell it was the same chatter I heard in the utility area. In the utility area, I had assumed she was talking on a phone, but maybe she wasn’t. I know there’s no one living there or else we’d have seen/heard evidence of it, and I could tell by the pitch and intonation that it was her and not her TV. Besides, how could you hear if you were talking on the phone while you vacuumed? It must be something she’s aware of and has control over because I’ve never heard her talk to herself outside. The only words I could make out were, “Oh yeah.” Either way, I’d still rather the nut than the wild welfare mom with the equally wild boyfriend and brat.

Later…

I saw Bev out hanging stuff and decided to go out and “get some fresh air.” The truth was I wanted to see if she’d mention moving in case we stay here. She was very friendly, as usual. She said she’ll be here for two years in May, but didn’t mention moving. I didn’t ask about leases/month to month cuz Tom said that wouldn’t be wise. If it got back to the property management, it could get ideas rolling in their minds for raising the rent and that wouldn’t be a good thing if we end up staying here. She asked when our lease was up and I told her and said we didn’t yet know if we were moving.

When I mentioned that we’d one day like to be back in a house, probably in northern California, she said to watch out for all the ex-cons in the Redding/Yreka area. She said they’re given bus tickets when they get out of prison and they go “as high as they can go.” Since they can’t cross the border into Oregon while on probation, they go to those places, she says, but I’m not scared.

She said this has been an extremely mild winter and that they still normally have snow at this time. She said there’d be snow as tall as her every winter as a kid, and once it even snowed in July. She also lived in one other place besides Washington and that’s Germany. She said it was “fun” and that she wouldn’t mind going back there as a civilian and not in the military.

I asked if it got hot in here in the summer and she said she opens her windows/doors in the morning, then closes them and her blinds a while later and it stays nice. Can’t do that in Massachusetts or Arizona! Too humid or too hot.

She said she bought headphones, but that her DVD player may get a little boomy every now and then. I told her she’s been wonderful. It’s true, too. An occasional cabinet, washer and vacuum are nothing. I hear more from next door than from her, but at least I know that if we’re stuck here, we shouldn’t have to worry about her or that she’ll move. Worst case scenario next door comes out and acts up, but I doubt they’ll be Phoenix-bad as long as they keep dogs and people under 12 out of the picture.

I just wish I were more psychic! See, if I could know we could go month to month, next door wouldn’t get too bad, and we were going to make it to Redding in about 6 months or the queen would die soon (that’ll be the day), then I’d say sure, let’s stay put. But if I’m right about the queen not going till ’09 or ’10, and if my two-more-years-in-K-Falls vibe is right, then I’m still all for getting a house. To ask for things to stay peaceful around here for another 2-4 years isn’t very reasonable at all.

Either way, for however long we’re here, it’s nice to know the one attached to us is quiet, respectful and considerate, yet doesn’t bug us. It’s nice compensation after what we’ve had to deal with in the past. I won’t blast her out on our last night here. Although I miss being in a house, not just to avoid others’ noise but also so I can be noisy if I want to crank up the tunes, I’m not as stressed out as I was about it. Like I said, I’d wipe out Mom and Crystal before Bev. So I guess you could say I’m learning to adapt to living with others to a degree, although it doesn’t make me want to socialize either.

I mentioned writing and we got into that. When I told her my main characters were gay so as to get out of an overly competitive mainstream, she thought that was a great idea since the world was pretty diverse anyway.

That’s pretty much all I remember. We only chatted for a few minutes.

What was funny about it was that if Mom and Crystal overheard me mention us both using headphones, they’d think I was the biggest liar. Earlier, when I noticed Bev’s car gone and Crystal’s door open, I blasted my stereo for a short while thinking it was about time they heard me, instead of it being the other way around as usual. I’ve never seen or heard of a family this tight. Makes me wonder just what in the world is really going on with these people.

When we went to Kmart the other day, I saw 4 cars at their places. One in each driveway and one on the street in front of each duplex. That’s a lot of cars for people who are always home. I’m back to not being sure when the hell they sleep. Judging by all the cars, there are probably more people living there than I thought, and some are up during the daytime while others are up all night. They may have their set times when they’re more likely to go hopping back and forth, but I hear doors at any given time of the day and night. So, although there’s a pattern, there’s not. Nothing definitive other than that they’re always there.