vince blog

This past Tuesday was officially the first day of post-COVID life with masks no longer being needed to wear when outside and in some business establishments.

It felt awkward going for an afternoon walk maskless, especially with so many people still wearing theirs. But my gut tells me this feeling will disappear in a few weeks as if the pandemic never even happened.

That was not my only adventure outside that day. With me reaching a good point for a break while working, I took myself out to my balcony to enjoy the sunset and my reread of Mick Foley’s “Have a Nice Day!” autobiography on my Kindle. And of course, I had a cold one at my side to put me in a relaxing mood.

Perhaps I got too relaxed. Enjoying the current chapter, I opted for a second beer and went inside to fetch it. Shutting the balcony sliding door a bit too hard, I sat back down for another 40 minutes of reading. At that point, it was time for dinner. Closing my kindle, I took a satisfied sigh and went to slide open the door. No budge. WHAT?!

That hard door close earlier must have slid down the latch lock. And there I was, stuck on my second-floor balcony. And with two beers in me, pee-time was a-coming. I looked a the staircase next to my balcony and wondered if it was jumpable. It was risky but possible if I had been wearing shoes. Unfortunately, my sandal-wearing ass would have some serious foot damage if such a feat was attempted.

On the lucky side, my balcony sits above the building’s parking garage and I was able to wave down a couple who lived in my building as they were driving in to enter. They were awesome humans and called a locksmith to get into my apartment from the front so that I could be let back inside. The neighbors waited with me the whole time, which was extremely kind—especially after the guy (Todd) had said he and his girlfriend (Irene…I think) had been hiking up in Angeles Forest all day.

Despite running late, the locksmith finally arrived and—jolly ho! My front door wasn’t even locked! I frequently forget to lock my door during the day and didn’t even think about that possibility. So my day ended with me wasting about an hour of my neighbors’ time, losing $40 on a locksmith who had the trip with no unlocking, and me getting behind on work with a late dinner.

It was a wonderful evening for self-pity.