The Rain Crazies

What is it with the rain that makes people CRAZY??!! Not sure if it happens anywhere else..or if it's native to Arizona. This whole week, I feel like I'm walking in crazy!

I cannot believe how nuts the local channels are over a few inches of rain. Okay, okay..the Governor called for a State of Emergency. Okay, okay..it may be the most amount of rain that this State has seen ever, in it's complete history. But really..let's not over-react people! It's rain. There's a drought. We could use it. And it's not my wedding day, so I really don't care anymore ;)

In the meantime, what we could do without are the drivers who see a single cloud in the sky and shift down to 30 in a 45 giving me..the driver 2 car lengths behind him whiplash and my 3 year a bajillion reasons to ask me "why you driving fast? Is the police gonna get us cuz now you stop fast, too?"

I could do without the weatherman interrupting the Biggest Loser to tell me that rain is on the way. I have priorities...and TV is one of them!

The poor street sweeper guy was out there dusting down my street at 8:30 this morning. The street was flooded, and he was making a huge mess. Well...in all fairness, it was a mess out there to begin with, but he was just kicking mud all over the sidewalk. Although, as Lynn suggested, I actually did take him out a cup of coffee. LOVE overpriced disposable coffee cups. Not only do I look cool but they're actually useful too :-P Oh, I loaned him a wrench also because his swiper broke. So thanks Mr StreetSweeper for telling us your "Swiper" broke. My 3 year old loved that too. She's been playing Swiper alllllll day. I've fallen off my game a couple times (correct response: No Swiping...thanks, Dora ala Jenna) and lost a pair of scissors, a pack of gum, my phone, and she also swiped my bra forcing me to double up shirts and add a sweatshirt to pick Hayden up. It's just the drive through pick up lane, but still. It was cold out there, and a girl could use her coverage when it's cold!

There were about 10 kids playing in my driveway yesterday after school. As usual, I was the only parent around until neighba lady walked out with her girls. Bringing them across the street, she avoided all conversation by standing in my front yard, in the rocks, talking on her cell phone. She left around 6:00 only to call me 15 minutes after she got home to talk about neighborhood gossip for thirty minutes. Although she's rather different, and I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm a full blown whack-job, I'm coming to the conclusion that she may just be shy. And really, who am I to judge different.

Anyhow, the point of her phone call was to tell me to close my garage door. Some one (kids on bikes are suspected) stole some tools out of her garage last week, so she wanted to let me know to hunker down. Also...she informed me that the house two doors down, and directly across the street from her is a HALFWAY HOUSE. Yes, you read that right...a freakin' halfway house. I asked her how on Earth she knew that. (This is the woman who claims she didn't really realize we lived here...even though we've introduced ourselves twice to her, and she and her husband have 2 daughters our girls' ages). One of the men in this halfway house is in her Ward...her husband saw him at church and so he walked across the street later that day to meet him. Low and behold, he stumbled across craziness. See the theme here? Rain brings all things crazy. Turns out its a sober living for alcoholism. Turns out they're not registered with the city. Turns out neighba lady told the right/wrong NOT shy Mommy..that information. Turns out the city of Chandler has no statute against running a halfway house in a residential neighborhood. Even one such as ours...where I meet more and more people that say they've moved into this neighborhood specifically for the school. Apparently this neighborhood is desired by more than location and education. It was explained to me today by the city's 'Zoning Officer of the Day' (<---don't ask) that Chandler doesn't discriminate. And as long as there are no more than 5 non-related individuals living in a single family residence, then they are not stepping outside of the law.

I was very nice, very calm. Expressed my concerns that that of which, the ZOoftheD, Jason, wasn't understanding. It's been operating as that for a little over a year. I just thought it was a bachelor living there that always has new roommates. It is all men, and I've noticed that. They drive beat up cars with a lot of out of state plates. Not too much goes on other than the occasional large gathering. I'm boiling on the inside, but don't want to get ugly or mean. At what point do I let it go, or petition to get them out of here? Any thoughts?

Okay, I've digressed tremendously. As I sit here typing this..knowing that I have just randomly blurted meaningless nothings in circles, I think of all the other strange weirdness going on this week. I'm not kidding, I can't write sh*t this good. It's like the freakin' Twilight Zone around here! Thank goodness it's the weekend, because I think the rain even brings out the crazy in me...and I could probably use some backup support and a vodka drink to straighten me out!

*Post thought: 12 hours after I wrote this, I realized that I think Mr Streetsweeper called it a "Sweeper", not a Swiper. I think there was a bit of a language barrier. Hmm...yah, he definately called it a Sweeper!