Today I am confused:
Should I be thankful for coincidences or worried about being stalked?
My boss gave me six hours off today with pay. I guess that is something to be thankful for.
I have a colleague who loves Ube Mamon. It's a Filipino chiffon cake. I'm trying to find it for her in my cowpoke town.
So....I spent the six hours given to me to shop for Ube Mamon powder (powdered purple yam) so that I can make the cake for her.
I went all over town stopping at every Asian market that I could find.
When I didn't find it in the city I live in,
I drove all the way out to my hometown.
There is an awesome Asian Market there.
They didn't have Ube Mamon, either. They had coffee that I order from India but no purple yam powder. On Amazon, the coffee is $42.00. At this shop, it's $7.50.
I stocked up on coffee.
No worries.....I can get Ube Mamon on Amazon. There are videos on YouTube and Recipes on Pinterest that can walk me through making the delectable treat.
I just wanted to surprise her with it this week. Now, I'll have to wait.
Ah, we must all wait for the good things in life.
*****
As I made my way through a town called Arvada, my ex-husband sent me a text message asking me to pick up wheat tortillas for dinner.
I didn't tell him I wasn't working. I typically work 12 hour shifts. At the time he texted me, I wouldn't normally have a phone with me nor would I be available for another four hours.
I was within one block of a Kroger, so I pulled over and went inside.
As soon as I entered the store, I heard my name.
I ran into his cousin!
This is the woman I have known since I was fourteen years old. She was the one who would drive by my house and call to say she could see me in the kitchen window. She was the one who called to ask where I worked the day before Doug and Shannon started hassling me at my Arvada office.
She is also the one my mother-in-law threatened to beat up if I didn't call her. After years of avoiding them, I received an answering machine message from my mother-in-law accusing me of aborting her grandchildren. She said she knew I went to the gynecologist and demanded that I call her. She threatened to attack my former friend if I didn't call.
I didn't call.
I never figured out how my mother-in-law knew where I went. She obviously did not know why I went to the doctor but she knew where I was.
Apparently my mother-in-law made good on her threat. My former friend was too afraid to call the police.
I avoided the lot of them due to the craziness of the situation.
Today I ran into this cousin who I went to high school with, who dated my first love's neighbor a few years back, who appears quite stalkerish on her own.
She told me that she doesn't talk to anyone in the family anymore due to the toxicity. She said that she knew for years that Doug and Shannon lived right down the road from me but she is sure they weren't stalking me because they would talk to everyone about being afraid to run into me at the supermarket!
Yeah...they just ran into me.
They would watch me have coffee with men with their computer and phones aimed towards me. It didn't matter if I were sucking down caffeine with professors, political advisors, political adversaries, colleagues, an old boyfriend and the guy I dated after the divorce. It didn't matter where I was, either: They would watch me in numerous cities across the metro area - not just the neighborhood market!
She said that she thought that their seeing me was just a coincidence.
Yeah....they only ran into me on accident and spent four or more hours staring. There were times they'd follow me into stores and my companions would be afraid for me if I left first, so we'd sit until they had to get up (too use the facilities or whatever). What that didn't happen.....there were times when I thought they either had steel bladders or were wearing Depends underwear, my companions would cause a scene and rush me out of there.
This was not an isolated occurrence. It happened several times a year.
I guess I'm supposed to believe the story. Call me paranoid. I don't believe them.
I told her I caught Shannon trying to break into the house, hanging out in the front yard with a Catholic literature on abortion and Doug hanging out blocking my driveway.
She said that perhaps I was mistaken.
Or it could be that she was mistaken.
Maybe they were stalking me.
Ya think?
The GPS box and hijacked phone were clues.
I told her the cops think Mike is putting his relatives up to harassing me.
I'll never know the truth.
I just need to stay away from it. It's too crazy for my taste. It is embarrassing. It's expensive; lawyers, private investigators, security cameras, alarms, brass bump-proof locks, encryption software and new computers and phones are expensive.
I hugged her and left - slightly miffed that everyone in that family knew Shannon lived close to me
and
THAT THEY BLATANTLY LIED TO ME ABOUT IT!
They told me she lived in Golden, Boulder, Westminster and Thornton. They told me she lived an hour or two away!
They lied.
She lived down the street.
Even this cousin's story had changed.
I'm sad. This just makes me realize that they are in cahoots with Michael.
Was the run-in today a coincidence?
Or did someone know both of us were near each other.
I don't know.
I don't care.
They have an agenda.
I have an agenda.
I am unclear as to their agenda. Mine is to move on with my life.
My former friend also told me that Michael's mother disowned him. She said that my former mother-in-law is running around telling everyone that "Mike is dead to her."
Um.....then why does she have a penchant for calling my home on Valentine's Day asking for Michael to move in with her?
Something is off.
Someone is trying to get me to believe a story.
I left a sweet little tidbit for the gossip mongers in the family.
I'm evicting Michael. I'm not sure when the lawyer will serve the papers. The process is in motion. I just don't know why it is taking so long.
I made it known that Michael has nowhere to go.
Maybe his mother would like some help keeping up her home and garden.
We'll see.
I know I cannot speak to these people ever again.
When she asked for my phone number, I got my old phone out and called her. It's the number they've always had. It's the number to the phone Shannon had hijacked.
*****
I just wish I knew how deep this rabbit hole goes.
I'll probably never know.
I just need to get away from the Mad Haters. That's all they have in common - hate.
I don't have the energy for it anymore.
Love ya,
S.