Guess which member of this two-member household agreed to serve to the Board of our Home Owners' Association? And who also took on the job of Landscape Chairman?

No, it wasn't Bao.

It was the other one. The dumb one.

Geez! What was I thinking?

It has been a tumultuous week. First, I had to track down the backflow notifications. (A week ago, I didn't even know what a backflow was) Then I had to contact landscape contractors and ask them to submit bids for next year's landscape maintenance. We have 49 homes, so it's a pretty big job. Then I had to negotiate with the current landscape contractor, who didn't turn up until yesterday afternoon and swore that he and his team had been here all day. No, they hadn't. He told me I was crazy, old, and probably "losing it". I told him not to talk to me like that. He said, If you don't like it, fire me. So I did.

Can you imagine me actually firing someone? I can't, either. But I did. Sometimes, I scare myself.