So, this morning I woke at 5, though since I’m working from home I could sleep later. Just because I can doesn’t mean my insomniac brain will let me. So I got up, walked the dogs in the dark while watching for bears, drank coffee, and before 7 a.m. I fired up the big work laptop that now occupies my desk. I checked/responded to the 30 emails that had piled up overnight (most were crap I could just delete without response, fortunately). After about an hour of this, I realized the sun was up and one of the advantages of working from home was that I could go out and walk before it got too hot. Yes, it’s very hot here already.
So I filled my water bottle, put on sunscreen and sunglasses, and headed out. My neighbor and her sister(?) were in their usual spot, smoking – I wasn’t paying attention because I was listening to a podcast and looking forward to some exercise.
I became aware of motion in the courtyard: My neighbor was on her feet, dancing around, miming making a call: “calling my boss.” I tossed, “Really not funny, but go right the hell ahead and call!” over my shoulder and kept going, while they cackled, laughing at my back. Later, she “apologized” – “I hope you realize I was only joking!” Of course I do, you stupid bitch, you might be aware of where I work, but you don’t know what I do, or that I control my own hours and can take a fucking walk if I want to take a fucking walk. I didn’t say this – I’m still trying to be somewhat diplomatic – but just said I had been up and working since 7.
She got “mad” on my behalf “but that’s not your normal work hours!” (How the fuck would she know? How long has she been watching?) and I said I was a professional and controlled my own schedule, and could work early or late as it suited me. She seemed apologetic or at least trying to fake it as much as she could, so, I thought that was settled.
Now, one would THINK that after two days in a row of being told that I don’t appreciate her keeping tabs on my activities or her “humor”, she’d just shut the fuck up and just say hello when she sees me, BUT NOOO!
This afternoon I went to the supermarket, which is still out of paper products but did have produce, because I needed a few things. I came home and The Deplorable and the Other One were just sitting outside the front door again. This time she called, in a sugary tone, like awful adults use when addressing a child: “Did you get all your work done today?” I just stopped and stared at her. I took a deep breath counted to ten, and said, “No, there’s more for tomorrow, that’s why they call it a JOB.” and turned my back and went up the stairs.
I’m seriously at a loss here. How do I MAKE IT STOP, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD??? I may be working from home for weeks, and I’m already ready to kill this bitch.