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xiamenshinejoy-blog · 5 years ago

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What problems have been solved by 3D assembled heavy + Light Steel Villas?

First: Quality problems

The structural parts used are all made of heavy Iron and Steel + hot-dip galvanized steel plate. The welding technology is used in heavy Iron and Steel Structure. The self-tapping screw is used in the installation and assembly of EPS wall. The welding technology is not used to effectively protect the integrity of zinc film, so the corrosion resistance is excellent. EPS wall will not corrode, mildew and moth, the service life of buildings can reach more than 70 years.

2. Heat preservation and insulation

Through the combination of heavy steel structure, light steel skeleton and EPS thermal insulation board, 3D assembled Chonggang + light steel villas have formed a composite wall system with good performance and composite roof system, which has good thermal insulation effect. If there is a special requirement for thermal insulation in the area, we can increase the thermal insulation materials, such as adding an extra layer of Extrusion board in the northern area, the thermal insulation effect is better.

The traditional brick-concrete has high heat transfer, general heat preservation performance and high energy consumption.

Third: Quality Assurance

The support and combination of the auxiliary parts play a reasonable bearing capacity. In addition, steel-structured buildings have been in existence for hundreds of years, and steel-structured houses appeared in the United States in 1900. The norm was established in 1976 and has been in use until today. So the development of 3D assembled Chonggang + light steel villas has been quite mature up to now, but the introduction of domestic time is relatively short, leading to insufficient understanding.

Compared with traditional buildings, the use area of 3D assembled Chonggang + Light Steel Villa is 18% higher than that of traditional buildings. It is fast to install, rich in style, recyclable waste, small error of prefabricated main components and low comprehensive cost.

IV: Waterproofing

Foundation: laying thick moisture-proof film;

Ground: Brush double-layer waterproof asphalt, place light steel structure with black waterproof membrane for waterproof;

Wall: Moisture-proof breathing paper (waterproof breathable) is installed to ensure excellent waterproof wall, and has the performance of adjusting indoor relative humidity. The eaves are picked out from 300 mm to 600 mm, and the water is directly drained. There are special water supply and drainage pipes.

Roof: Waterproof roll material is made on the whole surface, and the eaves are specially waterproof. Glass fibre cotton is placed inside the roof, which plays a role of heat preservation and insulation. Asphalt tile is a kind of tile with better waterproof in the world at present. Water drops directly along the asphalt tile. It can achieve 360 degree moisture-proof and waterproof treatment.

Traditional buildings have no overall moisture-proof measures and poor air permeability.

Fifth: Anti-rust, Anti-insect and Ant Problems

As far as rust prevention is concerned, Chongqing Steel and special galvanized light steel are used as the structural framework. The anti-rust treatment of Chongqing Iron and Steel Co. is carried out in accordance with the North American international standards. Double-sided hot-dip galvanizing is 275g/. Domestic zinc plating requirements up to 120 g/can not rust for decades, let alone our zinc plating standards are more than twice the domestic level. Many experiments in Japan have proved that galvanized steel exposed to the outside is stainless for more than 100 years.

As far as insect control is concerned, the 3-D assembled heavy steel + light steel structure adopts galvanized steel, and the maintenance plate is not eroded by termites and other insect pests.

VI: Sound insulation effect

Sound is a kind of wave, which needs medium to transmit. Transfer, reflection and absorption occur at the interface of the medium. Three-dimensional assembled heavy steel + light steel villa + EPS wall is a composite wall system, which passes through multiple media of different densities in the process of sound transmission, greatly reducing the frequency of sound wave transmission.

Seventh: Ground Warming and Water Leakage

Ground heating is the same as traditional brick mixing. Waterproofing treatment includes roof waterproofing: roof waterproofing material, asphalt tile itself has waterproofing performance, and an important node layer, equivalent to three layers of waterproofing; exterior wall waterproofing is moisture-proof breathing paper. Generally, there is little leakage. If it does, we will have after-sales service.

Eighth: gale problem

The special "plate rib structure" of 3D assembled heavy steel and light steel villas can effectively bear horizontal loads, and at the same time, a large number of pull-out parts are used to make the whole building and foundation connected reliably. Long tie rods and shear connectors are also used to connect the floor to the floor and between the floor and the roof to ensure the overall safety and stability of the building. Although the three-dimensional assembled heavy steel + light steel structure is light, but a house with at least a few tons of heavy steel + light steel, plus external panels and EPS walls, a house at least tens of tons of hundreds of tons, is not so easy to be blown away by the wind.

Nine: Stability

The main structure of 3D assembled heavy steel and light steel villas is heavy steel+high strength and high galvanized keel structure system, which is connected by high galvanized bolts to form a flexible structure. When natural disasters (such as earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, etc.), it can instantly unload external forces, release huge external forces, and shear or deformation of buildings. Stress, to ensure the overall safety of the building, even if larger earthquakes, typhoons lead to house collapse, deformation will form a flexible support space to protect the safety of life and property. EPS plate wall not only has good integrity, but also avoids secondary damage to human body caused by collapse of gas structure.

However, the realization of long-span in traditional buildings is enough to consume materials, and the form is single.

Ten: Natural Disasters

In the face of natural disasters such as thunder and lightning, mountain torrents and hurricanes, the design and construction of 3D assembled heavy steel and light steel villas conform to the requirements of architectural design and construction, and also meet the building requirements on such issues as earthquake resistance and typhoon resistance; under the influence of other force majeure factors (such as war, mountain torrents, debris flow, etc.), the same is true. No type of building can be guaranteed. Note: 9 magnitude earthquake, 70 m/s hurricane, the whole 3D assembled heavy steel + light steel villa building and foundation connection, the overall structure is a good lightning protection system. Traditional houses need to be covered with galvanized lightning rods, and 3D assembled heavy steel + light steel villas are closely connected with the ground to form a complete lightning protection system. There is no need to take special lightning protection measures for 3D assembled heavy steel + light steel villas. First, the metal shell can shield the internal electric field, which is a physical knowledge. Secondly, the whole material is not exposed to the outdoor, outdoor decorative materials are insulating materials, will not conduct electricity. Lightning rods can be installed if you are not at ease.

Traditional buildings belong to brittle structures, which are seriously damaged under the influence of earthquakes.

11: Self-decoration

Owners can do their own decoration. When the house is completed and delivered, we will hand over the "Instructions for Use" to the owner. This document covers the special requirements and precautions of the interior, so as to ensure that the subsequent decoration goes smoothly.

Villas can be decorated by themselves. For decoration, there are no special requirements, and the traditional decoration method is consistent. There is no special need for attention, because the interior wall EPS board, the quality of the board is hard and flat, can be directly decorated with wall cloth, ceiling and traditional home decoration can be the same material.

Decoration can save half or more construction time than traditional buildings.

However, the construction period of traditional buildings is long, and it can not be constructed in cold areas in winter, which is limited by the environment.

Technology and environmental protection of the 3D assembly type Chongqing Iron and Steel + light steel villas will be popular, in addition to a variety of natural environments throughout the country, but also fully in line with the national concept of green environmental protection, so in the suburbs and rural areas, more and more people choose low-cost and high-quality 3D assembly type Chongqing Iron and Steel + light steel villas.

In order to conform to the development trend of international construction industry and respond to the policy requirement of vigorously advocating green building, Xiamen Shinejoy have always taken the concept of "green, environmental protection and high efficiency" as their enterprise development concept, innovated the construction production mode in an all-round way by means of industrialized manufacturing, improved the quality and efficiency of construction, and practised resource saving and low carbon emission reduction for customers. Provide the overall solution of green building, devote to promoting the comprehensive innovation and sustainable development of China's construction industry, and realize the double harvest of economic and social benefits of enterprises.

As an idealistic enterprise full of humanistic color, Xiamen Shinejoy always grasp the spirit of the times of architecture, innovate products and services, and lead the development trend of human settlements, so as to meet people's pursuit of a better life.

Superior Architecture, Ingenuous Technology. Shinejoy will improve every process carefully and do every step well.

Xiamen Shinejoy Housing Industrial Architectural Technology Co., Ltd.

Office Add.: 16-17F, Bld. B04, R&D Area, Software Park Phase Ⅲ, Jimei District, Xiamen, China

Tel.: +86-592-5026001

Fax: +86-592-5026090

E-Mail: [email protected]

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ramblesrunsrides · 6 years ago

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Yellowstone

It was a great stay over in the Townsend KOA until the wind came up and with it swarms of non biting mosquitoe type insects. The inside of the camper was peppered with hundreds and hundreds. We cranked up the AC and rolled out the paper towel and between us both we had the situation under control. Lucy is still not sure what the commotion was about.

The beginning of the drive to Yellowstone was rather uneventful and we coasted along enjoying the scenery of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Although 96% of the Park is claimed by Wyoming, 3% lies in Montana and 1% in Idaho. We took a detour for lunch through the village of Big Sky. This ski resort destination was very similar to Collingwood back home but with much higher hills and more famous residents. Also it is good for mountain bikers.

This has definitely been the summer of forest fires. We have inhaled smoke for the last few weeks but as we approached Yellowstone we could see, smell and for the first time there were actual flames. Campsites were much further south and our first one was Madison.

In 1872 Congress passed legislation making Yellowstone the world’s first national park. It encompasses more than 2.2 million acres including geysers, hot springs, waterfalls, near-desert vegetation, subalpine meadows and forests. It also has a variety of wildlife; bison (buffalo), elk, moose, grizzly and black bears, wolves and bighorn sheep. Important to note, the buffalo in the Park are native and the only place in the United States they were not killed off and reintroduced. Another important note is that Yellowstone National Park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978 because it protects significant geological phenomena and processes.

We had three days to explore this “Restless Giant” as it’s called. It is actually a super volcano where huge eruptions occurred more than 630,000 years ago. The centre of what is now the Park collapsed forming a 30 by 45 mile caldera or basin. The heat powering those eruptions still fuels the geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots.

Our first stop was Old Faithful. We set the clock for 6:30 am to ensure we were there before the crowds as this sight can draw thousands a day. It was breathtaking!

The day continued with a drive around the Grand Loop stopping at the top must sees. Among them were Midway Geyser Basin where we saw the Grand Prismatic Spring. We continued past West Thumb and north to Lake Village crossing the Continental Divide twice at 8391 feet.

As our day zipped by we stopped to walk in Hayden Valley where we learned about mud volcanoes, fumaroles and pots.

Of course there was lots of wildlife and this is but a tidbit.

Day two was a little less stressful because we were able to see places without large groups of tourists; however, there were still plenty of people. One can only imagine how busy this park can be during summer vacation months. We continued around the loop stopping first at Roaring Mountain. Again there was more evidence of the thermal geysers.

A few miles along we came to Mammoth Hot Springs terraces. The terraces are like living sculptures, shaped by the volume of water, the slope of the ground and objects in the water’s path. Again the colours were amazing! Next stop was Mammoth for a lunch break. It was a busy spot but we walked about and learned a little of Fort Yellowstone. For the decade after the Park was established, it was under serious threat from those who would exploit rather than protect. In 1886 the army stepped in to help. Today the barracks house offices for Park headquarters. There was one historical building which belonged to the mail carrier. As well as people the elk are very comfortable walking down Main Street.

We entered a new sample of terrain, leaving the geysers behind. The mountains and passes returned making us climb to 8859 feet at Dunraven Pass (highest one for us in the Park). We proceeded to Canyon for our second campsite and further adventures.

Day three in Yellowstone began with Don’s run at 8000 ft. Breakfast complete and we were off to see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. This was my favourite day in the Park as I have a fondness for The Grand Canyon in Arizona. I was definitely not disappointed.

The Grand Canyon here illustrates the park’s geological history in colour and shapes. It was formed when the hydrothermal activity weakened the bedrock making the stone softer. The River eroded the weakened rocks to deepen and widen the canyon.

The first stop was Artist’s Point where we got our first view. Next it was Brink of Upper Falls where we had a nice walk with great views above the river.

A short drive up the North Rim road we stopped at Brink of the Lower Falls. The walks were not long (4 km total) but the elevation made for some deep breaths at this altitude. From here my memories of my 50th birthday hike down the Grand Canyon came back. Maybe that is what put a spring in my step.

Last stop for the day was Inspiration Point. It was another picturesque spot and one of the few places for Lucy to stretch her legs. We have learned that US National Parks; unlike State Parks, are not dog friendly. Live and learn!

Next stop the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole.

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the-voice-of-hell · 7 years ago

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Rent is Theft, part 1

Working Title: Rent is Theft, formerly The Floor

Note: My MC is a Filipina trans woman and I am not. If you have any advice or feedback on that or anything else, hit me up.

***

Fear is not the best motivator. Check out the shivering guys who fear god so much they break his laws with perverse passion. The fear compels, but also wracks your mind, makes you do things that don't make sense. Things that lead you straight to the thing you're running from.

So I was coding for a living, off and on, about twenty years. It was great money at first - I went a little crazy, got cleaned up, took care of some surgery, whatever. But when investors woke up from the dream of magic computer money, the money in my life started to suck.

First thing to happen was we all lost our jobs. I do interview well, so I was one of the lucky half that managed to squeak into something new. But now they were paying maybe sixty percent of what we used to get, and expected to do twice as much work.

And the companies were all unstable, prone to big layoffs, buyouts, and collapses. So we became like migrant laborers, moving from office to office every few years and - if we were lucky - making only ten percent less money for twenty percent more labor each time we changed bosses.

The smart thing to do in that situation would have been to spend my spare time learning everything I could about programming in the latest greatest languages, but who has the energy for that? As my skills became less current, I became less desirable for employment.

And this is where the fear came in. To give myself the time and energy to do that homework, I had rented a fancy new apartment downtown. With work within walking distance, I could add hours of commute time back to my days. But the rent was outrageous. I could afford it, but I'd need to stay employed. It was a gamble and the fear grew.

This whole time, the coding language I knew best was being supplanted in the industry by something completely different. I could probably have limped by as a coder if I just learned that one new standard.

But my mind was wracked. Every night, I'd get home and do nothing. Hell, maybe I was forgetting the things I already knew. I was never a genius about that stuff in the first place. So when the office switched to the new standard, I knew I was ruined before it was even made official.

What happened next is hard to describe. But I think you'll understand, because it's about the world you know. It's about the crap you're living through, the things that are running your life invisibly, making themselves felt so powerfully without making themselves known. Fuck it, here goes.

* * *

I got home from work early again. Last week, no question. I was doing myself up more than usual because I wanted to remind anyone who might be in a position to save my ass of whatever my charms were. I know a few dudes at the office fancied me or whatever their idea of me was. But as I walked through the revolving door, the shoes were killing me and I knew this was all for nothing.

The white sun disintegrated within a few feet of the giant bulletproof windows, leaving the overgrown slate tiles to be illuminated by a ceiling of nuclear-powered next gen LED lights. Spiders of light grew and shrank on my glasses as I went into the office. The door was propped open.

I did the move where you put your face in like a cartoon character, seeking permission to enter. The manager had her back to the door but there was no one else present, so I assumed I wouldn't be interrupting anything. As I came in, said "hello" and took a seat, she didn't bother to turn around.

"Just a package, take your time," I said. I'd been checking to see if my new phone was in yet. By now it was a bit of a laugh because I knew I couldn't afford the bill for continuing its service. And wouldn't it be hilarious if it arrived just after my evicted ass hit the street?

As I enjoyed the relief of not standing on heels, a whiskery white man appeared at the door in a dull grey-blue uniform and tool belt. When the manager didn't turn around for him - what the hell was she even doing back there? - he looked to me.

I can't not be pleasant. Most of the time, there's a smile for anyone who has the temerity to look straight at me.

"Hello, how are you?"

"You sign for thees." He passed me a clipboard. I accepted it, but I tried to hail the manager again.

"Um..." What was her name? I still don't remember. She'd been there only a week, part of a parade of faceless people who clearly found something intolerable about the position. So I took the pen off the clipboard and signed it with an indistinct squiggle.

"Dank you. Here is keys. You use them now. All the old ones are no good." He handed me a sub-shoebox-sized brick of cardboard and hastily turned around.

"Uh, thanks?" My mind was still reeling a bit as he walked out the door, but I put the box on her desk. I'm sure they wouldn't want me messing with that.

Finally the manager turned around, coming up with an orange packing envelope that she tossed on the desk irritably.

"What is that?"

"Keys, I guess. Looks like, uh, Eversure Secu-"

"Why did they give them to you? That isn't good security."

"He must have assumed I work here."

She looked off to the side. "You want to work here?"

An uneasy shiver of unexpected hope rose in my stomach. "What?"

She looked back to me. "Just kidding. It was a package? Who for?"

The hope left and I wished I could be upstairs in my bathroom. I sat on the discomfort stiffly. "Courtney Marquez. 1203."

"OK." She glanced back without leaving her seat. "We don't have it."

"OK."

My feet didn't like walking again, but I was glad to be out of there. The slow elevator dragged me to the dozenth floor and I went to my lost apartment.

The place was meant to be a condominium. During a housing bubble when all these amazing tech jobs were supposed to fill the city with rich youths, developers crunched their numbers and somehow decided that meant it was go time for multimillion dollar condos the size of one bedroom apartments. Now, either because there weren't as many jobs as advertised, or because value-conscious tech people decided to live in the suburbs, or because the jobs weren't paying what was expected by naive market researchers, dozens of the buildings had to be converted into luxury apartments.

It was a good time to be me when that happened. My own jobs had been so unstable I couldn't afford to be locked into a mortgage, but an apartment was much easier to walk away from - and I earned just enough to afford the place. It was half the size of what I had for half the money in the 'burbs, but I was single and spent too much time working to have a hobbyist's possessions. My worldly belongings fit neatly into the small, sterile environment.

But then I found that everything was more expensive in the city. Every. Damn. Thing. Need rubber bands? Three fifty. Need toilet paper? Ten dollars. Need to eat? Get used to hunger.

So I was living on the margin, no savings to speak of, and a job less than a week from collapse. I left the heels at the door and lay down on the couch, eyes looking past the TV into the void of blue sky.

The tall glass windows were all this seafoam green color and the thermal properties kept daylight from penetrating far. It suffused the room with a soft blue light, but no warmth. That was fine. My body pressing into the thick cushions was raising enough heat.

Those clean, slick new windows, with a color like eroded broken bottles on the beach. When I first knew I was going to be able to afford a luxury apartment, I was hoping to get into one of those multi-colored deals that look like they're made of legos with a designer color palette. But the only thing close enough to work to justify the move and still in my price range was this beast, with those plain green windows on a monolithic building with a brushed steel exterior. One face of the building had no windows at all, just a dull brutalist edifice. It looked like the kind of place you'd send old people to be converted into soylent green. In The Future!

I actually liked it there, despite all the trauma, the general lack of welcome, just for no good reason. Maybe it was being in the city, where there are so many people, where I felt more at home on my feet than in the car-dependent endless parking lots of the 'burbs. Maybe it was that the smallness felt right, like the amount of space my small life should occupy.

So I cried.

I don't cry energetically. My eyes just run everywhere and a I gasp a little. My eyes roll in my head sometimes, which is weird because they are closed. I think it's like when someone lies and you can supposedly tell because they glance up and toward the creative side of the brain. My eyes are trying to find a thought that will save me from sadness.

My mind was a blank, so it just played over recent events, but in my imagination I was crying the whole time. Crying walking home from work, coming through the revolving door, sitting in the office. Crying when the locksmith guy gave me the box of keys.

He had assumed I work there. I thought my creativity was spent, in the blank hours fear had me wasting. But this idea came all at once. At first my mind was treating it as a joke.

What if I just had the company re-key the apartment? The managers here change every month, so I'd quickly become unrecognizable and assumed to belong. No one here really knows each other, I never told anyone I was going to have to leave. Hell, I hadn't even told the manager. And they were having such a hard time filling apartments that I probably would not get surprised by the next tenant. I knew for a fact the rest of my floor was empty apartments, and some other floors besides.

Yeah, I could totally do that, haha. The company that built the place, whoever owned it now, they were running it with a skeleton crew. Just totally oblivious to what was actually going on in there, except insofar as it sent them a miniscule amount of money. Yes indeed, just me living there like nothing had happened. Nobody would be the wiser.

It was a joke, of course. No one gets away with that kind of thing. Well, there's always some random freak who pulls off an amazing crime and makes the papers. But that's never you. It's the exception, only a fool would gamble with trying to get away with crimes like that.

But my mind kept filling in the details - how I would do my laundry, whether I could keep the power on, how I could do the key trick without arousing too much suspicion. Dusk turned the sky a dark lavendar by the time I realized my eyes were dry and salty, and that this wasn't a joke. It was something I was going to do.

***

What does a manager wear? I looked in the mirror the next morning. I'd wear a pink baseball hat and a North Face jacket. Dark grey athletic pants, pink and black sneakers. Reading glasses around my neck, hair in a pony tail. Looking in that mirror before the disguise came together, I thought I just looked like a scared ghoul. My glassy eyes had the most serious dark puff beneath them, my skin had paled to a cream coffee color from years under fluorescence, the permed-in wave of my hair was combining with the dregs of yesterday's products to form a medusa bob. The couped snakes were still writhing in brainless death throes. I grimaced and admired the yellow forming near my dark gums. This ghoul needed some work.

An hour later, I made the phone call. Said my phone,

"Eversure Security."

"Mm, yeah, this is Mona Zapata from the Myrmidon Apartments. We want to order more re-keys..."

I decided it would be less suspicious - and point less directly at me - to re-key the whole floor. While I talked specifics I felt like something was trying to jump out of my throat.

"To come in? Oh yes, is he available today? Hm, I think after our office closes would be better for me. How late is he open?"

No, I would have to intercept him in the lobby while the manager was possibly still in the office. Or would I?

"Oh, listen. I have to run some money to the back on 6th right then. How about we meet partway? Have him catch me in the bagel shop at 9th and Stewart, then we can just walk around the corner."

"...OK."

Another hour later, I circled the block to make sure I was coming from the direction of 6th. I saw no one in a dull grey-blue uniform and tool belt. A waste of effort. I went into the bagel shop. No uniform there.

I'd need to make a purchase to stave off the awkward. A plain bagel with cinnamon cream cheese and a Snapple. I'm not sure what I expected that to taste like but it was horrible. I left the rest of the gooey thing on the table and sipped the tangy beverage while the big numbers of time ticked by on my phone.

It didn't take long for doubt to come over me. What if the person at Eversure had forgotten to make a note, or the guy in the pants had missed it? He'd be going into the office then without me to catch him.

At three 'til, I started to shake my head side to side nervously, like I was in strenuous disagreement with Claude Rains. Let 'em think I was crazy. At one minute, I leapt out of my seat and threw the remains of my nauseating purchase in a trash can on the way out.

Jogging up the block, I swiveled my head in hope of spotting him driving by. As I passed the alley behind the building, I noticed a van back there. I couldn't see the side. If that was him, did that mean he was already going around to the front? What if they'd confirmed the appointment by calling the office? Why hadn't I thought of the possibilities?

Just as I was about to leave line of sight completely, I noticed the van move. A little rock. I backed up, and jogged down the alley.

It was a wide alley, to admit garbage trucks and large deliveries. The grey-white morning filled it with light. I veered close to the building on the far side of the alley until I saw the side of the van.

Eversure. I slowed my roll.

Whiskers from the day before was behind the van closing the doors when I saw him. He looked at me with a little start. This time I noticed his name tag read "Niko."

"Hello," I said, "I'm glad I caught you."

He was quiet longer than I would have preferred, then, "You ah... Mona Sapata?" He consulted a clipboard for the last bit of information, then looked expectant.

"Yes, Niko was it?" I offered a hand. He didn't know what to make of that, but stepped forward and obliged. It was the first time I'd intentionally touched someone in years, and felt sweaty and more dishonest than the criminal alias.

But I do interview well. He smiled. "Mona. Le's go. You want me to, ah..?"

"Come in the back door, it's closer." I let him in with my key - still technically a bona fide tenant at this point. He carried a large yellow-orange toolbox that smacked the metal door frame as he passed within.

The elevator in the open lobby was the only reasonable way up. Plain view of the office. This is where it would all fall apart, I thought. Walk on his right. As the gaping glass windows of the office come into view, always move between him and them. The manager was in. She glanced up to acknowledge me and I nodded back. My lips spasmed as I tamped down the reflex to make an insincere grin a little too late. I stood between him and her, his expansive movements and slow swing of the big toolbox no doubt making him as plain as day.

Glancing back at her as the elevator finally arrived, I saw she was looking down at her paperwork again. I braced myself against the elevator door until the man was inside, then slipped in with a deep sigh.

"Uh, a little... out of breath from... jogging back. You didn't get the message?"

"Message? Oh, bagel shop ting. I don' like to meet out of office. Not professional."

I stared at his eyes and he seemed not to notice. They were slightly yellow and marbled with pink veins, with big pale grey satellite dishes in the center. My throat was trying to turn inside out again, and I stopped talking until I could sort that out.

I stayed with Niko as he went from door to door. At each he started by taking a master key out of a tiny grey strongbox in the bottom of his tool kit which he'd use, then promptly return and seal. As he partially disassembled each lock, installed a new tumbler, and recorded unknown numbers and letters in a little yellow notepad, I acted like he was the most interesting thing in the universe. At first it was difficult to get him to say anything, but by the time he finished, I knew fifty new and useless things about Montenegro.

When he was finished, the office downstairs was still open. I followed him out, standing between him and the office again. Standing in the alley,

"How long before we get the keys?"

"They'll be delivered two, three days."

"Mm, can one of us pick them up instead?"

"...OK."

I didn't like getting that response from people at this company.

"Listen, I have some things to do in the neighborhood where your office is. I'll stop by at the beginning of the day after tomorrow, the day after that, right?"

"...I don't know why. OK."

I don't want you jerks calling the office and don't trust you to call an alternate number if I give you one. "It's no problem, and thanks for everything Niko."

Then I had to go find out where their office was located.

***

The next day I woke up in my then thoroughly rumpled disguise, head aching from immoderate consumption of Midori with grapefruit soda. I was an hour late for work, but my delusions of charming my way out of a layoff had sloughed away while I was playing hooky. I rolled onto my belly with my head hanging off the edge of the cushion, and slid my phone from under the table.

No. No call for them. No more of that. The stereo had worked its way through my grunge folder completely and was now into joke bands. Liam Lynch dared me to haul my bowling ball cranium off the couch. Not cool.

While my head thundered down the alley, I punched the off button and returned quickly to the couch. Strike. As the pins quieted down, I wondered about my friends. If you could call them that. When I was a child, friends were people you shared your soul with at three in the morning. All I had now were coworkers.

I liked a few of them well enough. Stephanie Kim admired me as a vision of her possible future - she just started transitioning while we worked together. But everybody had rubbed me the wrong way at some point or another, even Stephanie. A few months before, I overheard her having a weird racist conversation with some white dude about how Japan, Korea, and China were the great, classical civilizations of Asia. Like the rest of us were all in grass skirts sacrificing cattle.

And the rest of them, mostly white guys, just full of themselves in a culture that held them up as the avant garde of human existence. Tech culture would change the world. Startups were the innovators that would bring on the technological singularity and whatnot. Or at the very least, they would be the next Microsoft millionaires - as if that was something that ever happened now.

That wasn't even so bad. I got along well with most of my team. But the way they were acting during this upgrade situation... The solemn judgmental nods. The talk about how easy the new code was. Fuck those guys all to hell.

Which left me with nothing like friends. But that's how it always was between jobs. I'd just never let myself slip out the door like this before. It felt different, and much more final. I was turning into a shadow, voluntarily consigning myself to an existence outside of the human race.

Then my bladder came knocking, reminding me what being human was really all about.

***

Read part two here.

#Rent is Theft #part 01 #nanowrimo april 2018

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