Creepy Peepers

I will say for the record that I have nothing against painters in general. I've met several painters throughout the course of my life who have been lovely people. But I gotta admit, if I don't see another painter at my place of business for the rest of my career I'll be a happy woman.

I looked back at this blog to see the last time I mentioned the painters who have been assigned duties at the club where I work and it was on March 1. THEY ARE STILL HERE and it's April. Why do I have an issue with this? Several reasons, but mostly because they creep me out. Here's why.

This is the window which is right next to my desk. And just outside the window is a painter's backside. Oh, I realize it could be worse... at least his shirt is tucked in and I'm not seeing the Great Divide. But still, this is but one of the 10 painters that have been peeping into my work window for the last month.

They congregate just outside my window. They take breaks more than they work. They play redneck music from an MP3 player placed on my window sill. At one point they were peering into my office while "cleaning" each pane with windex. It took them 2 hours to do that particular task.

I tried to be nice and not let it get to me. I told myself that they were probably lovely people and had no intention of "peeping" into my office or any interest in watching me whatsoever. But then they proved me wrong.

While I was setting up for the style show several weeks ago, our maintenance guy, Joe, walked through the Gathering Room where I was attaching stage lights to the runway. He had one of the painters with him. I heard the painter ask Joe, "So, what's goin' awn in heeere?"

Joe said, "A style show tomorrow. Models will be walking the runway for different stores."

The painter then replied (and I promise I am NOT making this up), "Are they gonna be NEKKID?"

Before I could stop myself, I stood up and said, "What did you just say?!?!"

Painter - "Uh, I... uh... umm"

Me - "Did you just ask if they were going to be NAKED?!?!"

Painter - "Um, no ma'am. I jus uh, wuz askin whut wuz goin' awn in heeere is awl..."

Me - Angry glare at the painter.

Joe - Quickly escorts the painter out of the Gathering Room before I can skin him alive.

Painter - Senses my disgust and quickly retreats.

I have since that time witnessed them looking at girlie magazines, peering through the front office windows at Betsy, and peering at me through my window.


Geez.

In the spirit of full disclosure there is probably something I should mention here, which might shed some light on why having a person look into my window bothers me more than most. When I was a senior in high school, I went home after a football game to change clothes before meeting some friends at McDonalds. (This was 1985... there was no where else for 17 year olds to hang out.) I was unzipping my cheer uniform and felt somebody looking at me. I looked up at my window and noticed that my curtains were slightly opened at the bottom, probably about 3/4 of an inch. In that slight gap at the bottom of my window was somebody's eye.

I screamed and ran down the hall to my mom's room, completely freaked out. We both went back to my room and looked through the curtains, but whoever was there before had run off. For a little while I thought maybe I imagined it. But then when I arrived at McDonalds, my cheer buddies asked if something had happened at my house. Apparently the idiot who had peered into my window was also a high school senior and had stupidly been talking about it. From that point on a "peeping tom" was referred to in our circle of friends as a "peeping Bubba." Shortly after we all graduated, I'm fairly certain Bubba did some jail time on an unrelated charge.

At any rate, I don't like being watched. It gives me the heebie jeebies. So for the time being, while painters roam the confines of my place of business, I will forego the sunshine and my office window will look like this.

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