{"id":3277,"date":"2022-02-08T10:19:42","date_gmt":"2022-02-08T18:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lossuelos.com\/?p=3277"},"modified":"2022-02-13T19:27:47","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T03:27:47","slug":"memorandums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lossuelos.com\/memorandums\/","title":{"rendered":"The Memorandums of Baja Bonita Construction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
MEMORANDUM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From: Dave<\/strong> (seriously guys, don\u2019t embellish your names) Our rules are in place to prevent needless disfigurement and death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can claim not to remember the vagrant who burrowed into Lot 5 before we poured its foundation, but I assure you the insurance company does. He might have gotten himself killed, but he still got himself killed on our site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Last night, I returned from my supply run to find lights blazing in Lot 9. I figured someone forgot to shut off the floods. It would\u2019ve been a little mistake, no harm except to the electricity bill. But this morning a whole new set of rooms was finished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t get me wrong, the work is good. The mudding was almost on par with Carlos\u2019. But if the insurance agents discover we have people working at night they\u2019ll shut down Baja Bonita quicker than you can say \u201cDave, I\u2019m sorry, we know your policies help provide a fun and safe work environment for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of fun, has anyone seen Brenda? It\u2019s not like her to skip shifts, but she hasn\u2019t shown up for several days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We need to pull together if Baja Bonita is to finally deliver Los Suelos the subdivision our town planned decades ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know we\u2019re a small crew and it\u2019s tempting to take an informal tone, but I want everyone to remain serious. I made these memo-pads to document your experiences, concerns, and above all help you communicate<\/em>. Especially if you\u2019re going to be absent (Brenda). <\/p>\n\n\n\n We have an opportunity to single-handedly revitalize this community and restore the destiny we lost in the USGS calamity. Many fledgling construction crews have foundered. We will survive!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026 if our foremen show up and we aren\u2019t shut down for policy violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Carlos, pick me up around 2pm for a supply run. We need aluminum siding.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n MEMORANDUM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From: Brenda<\/strong> I don\u2019t see the harm in my working at night. It\u2019s cool and quiet and I focus better when that beautiful, black curtain blots out the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To \u201cpull together\u201d we must all abide by each other\u2019s little eccentricities. For instance, I doubt Miriam at Pony\u2019s Bar can sell you aluminum siding\u2026 yet your truck is parked outside every afternoon while you make \u201csupply runs\u201d on company time and Carlos ogles the bartender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, give it a rest. I need to work at night. Life has gotten complex. I do a great job, you said so yourself… Let\u2019s leave it at that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And while we\u2019re airing grievances, you still<\/em> need to haul the ever-expanding rubbish pile out of Lot 9. That rebar is a hazard. My keys fell into it the other night. I\u2019ll need a new set on a lanyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, it\u2019s a crime no one has thought to add basements to these poor homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I dug a circular space beneath the newest house. The way the ground surrounds you evenly on all sides. It\u2019s amazing. And that\u2019s only one<\/em> of the new design ideas I\u2019ve had to make the houses feel homey and confined!<\/p>\n\n\n\n MEMORANDUM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From: Carlos<\/strong> shitting fuck<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dave\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe this\u2019ll become evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Miriam kicked us out of Pony\u2019s after Dave got rowdy. Fucking guy. She\u2019d smiled at me for the first time in months literally seconds<\/em> before he punched that PhD nerd. I was so pissed. Dave insisted on driving back despite being drunk off his ass and seeing like shit in the dark. I said something stupid like \u201cfuck it, go ahead and kill us both,\u201d and gave him the keys. I regret that now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was hella late when we returned to Lot 9 for Dave\u2019s truck, but the thump of a nail gun punched through the night. Dave got huffy about people working nights and swung the truck around, bathing the house in our headlights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something with too many arms dropped half a dozen tools and scuttled into the shadows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dave freaked out and planted his foot on the accelerator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Glass shattered. A length of rebar speared Dave\u2019s forehead, pinning him to the seat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He frowned a final admonishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I just kinda stared, the taste of copper tubing filling my mouth. Like the time Dave bet I wouldn\u2019t lick a pipe during the brief freeze last winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wiped my forehead and hard lumps of glass rolled out of my skin. There wasn\u2019t any pain, then\u2026 just the gritty sensation of glass scraping bone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stumbled out of the truck. The headlights cast deep shadows into the house\u2019s frame. A glowing knot of eyes hung near the ceiling. Teeth flashed, revealing thin lips turned down in a scowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I ran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I made it back to the office trailer and shut myself inside. It seems stupid now, to be scribbling by moonlight while that thing is outside, but scratching my thoughts out breaks the awful silence. Guess I owe Dave a beer for insisting we carry these stupid, handwritten memo-pads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus Christ\u2026 Dave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I tried the phone. Dead, of course. Maybe I\u2019ll place this in Dave\u2019s inbox tray. Pretend like I\u2019m communicating with someone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can\u2019t get over that mouth flashing in the shadows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ll try to hide until morning, then escape with Dave\u2019s truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fuck\u2026 Dave<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n MEMORANDUM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From<\/strong>: Hello, my dear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Why do you hide?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I need your help tidying up. Dave made a mess. He is a mess. But we all knew that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I read your note! It might\u2019ve been meant for someone else, but I found it first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019re not a mess. You\u2019re the best mudder on the West Coast! You\u2019re a valuable member of the team!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We still have so much to build. I told you about the new basements, right? I\u2019m digging deeper. I want to shuffle the lots around, too. Grids are boring\u2026 but a network of concentric circles? Now that\u2019s the way to catch customers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m also thinking about tunnels. They\u2019re great. Down where it\u2019s dark and cool beneath the ground. The crack under this door is like a thin tunnel to the supply closet. To you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can you juice a cow? I\u2019ve been on a juice fast, recently. Cows replenish their milk. Would it work the same with blood? We could keep cows in the tunnels and juice them slowly. Do you think they\u2019d thank us each time we drained a little? Or do they just do that at the end?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have lots of plans. But I need your help. I need you to come out of the closet. And not say anything about what happened here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is that too much to ask? Would it burden you to keep this secret? Would you say \u201cthank you\u201d if I took that weight away?<\/p>\n\n\n\n MEMORANDUM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From: Carlos <\/strong> I don\u2019t know why I thought our office would be safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I left the lights off and made as little noise as possible. But she knew where I\u2019d be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The window shattered at 2am. She\u2019d thrown a rock through the glass. An entire construction yard worth of tools at her disposal and she used a rock<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I sprinted for the door. It wouldn\u2019t budge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n My only option was the supply closet. I tore it open and tossed out Dave\u2019s roller-vacuum. Glass crunched behind me. I made the mistake of looking back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brenda scuttled toward me on too many legs. Manic delight twisted her face, giving her an uncanny resemblance to my t\u00eda abuela reaching for a kiss on my sixth birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I slammed the door and locked it from inside. There\u2019s barely enough room for me to sit, legs folded against my chest, a bare lightbulb shining above me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brenda knocked politely on the supply closet. When I didn\u2019t answer she skittered away. After an hour of nerve-frying silence I said fuck it and started documenting again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eventually, she slipped a memo of her own under the door. I did not find its contents encouraging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hopefully someone eventually finds these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I didn\u2019t come out of the closet Brenda got real mad. She screamed and pounded on the door, swearing she\u2019d juice me. Seconds later she was calm again, claiming it was a miscommunication and no one would get hurt if I just opened the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fuck that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another eternity passed in silence. I got excited when I heard a voice in the distance, but it was just Brenda shouting, \u201cKeys! Keys!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She must\u2019ve gone back to Lot 9 and fetched Dave\u2019s keyring. I hope she didn\u2019t mess with his body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dave\u2026 I miss you, man. But fuck you for<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shit, she\u2019s jiggling the lock. I probably have secon<\/p>\n\n\n\n MEMORANDUM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From: Brenda said she\u2019ll sneak into town and kill my parents if I don\u2019t help her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We build and tunnel. And tunnel. And tunnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can\u2019t stand it anymore. All the time in the fucking dark, feeling her eyes on me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The dirt walls are a fist around my throat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I lied about needing tools from Lot 9 and stole Dave\u2019s memo-pad. It feels like the end of a project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Miriam, I\u2019m sorry I carved your number on that stall in Pony\u2019s bathroom. It was an abuse of company power tools and I really just wanted you to call me. Hopefully I didn\u2019t send too many weirdos your way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fuck\u2026 love you, Mom, Dad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dave, you\u2019re an asshole. I\u2019m sorry Baja Bonita couldn\u2019t restore the community the way you dreamed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hid a utility knife in my boot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wish I hadn\u2019t let Dave drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MEMORANDUM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hoist the beams<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bone joists, tied tight with tendon<\/p>\n\n\n\n Frame the walls<\/p>\n\n\n\n No doors, tunnels connect the rooms<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hang the drywall<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mud with brain, paint with blood<\/p>\n\n\n\n Braze the pipes<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tubes for suckling upstairs cocoons<\/p>\n\n\n\n Install the roof<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thatch with hair, proof with fat<\/p>\n\n\n\n Construct the lots<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spiral out, more homes, more tunnels!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Featured image by Maria Pogosyan.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Our rules are in place to prevent needless disfigurement and death.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":2985,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[86,89],"class_list":["post-3277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-first","tag-unformatted"],"yoast_head":"\n
Subject:<\/strong> Night Work Policy Violation
Date:<\/strong> January 7th, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Subject:<\/strong> Go sit on a cactus, Dave
Date:<\/strong> 01.07.2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Subject:<\/strong> what the actual fuck
Date:<\/strong> 1\/9\/2022 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBrenda<\/s><\/strong> Delightfully Brenda<\/strong>
Subject:<\/strong> Come out of the closet, Carlos
Date:<\/strong> 01.10.2022 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Subject: <\/strong>I\u2019m going to die in this fucking supply closet
Date:<\/strong> 1\/10\/2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nDave<\/s><\/strong> Carlos<\/strong>
Subject: <\/strong>ends
Date: <\/strong>1\/21<\/s> 22<\/s> 23? fuck\/2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re breaking into the main caverns today.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom: Brenda<\/s><\/strong> Pour the foundation<\/strong>
Subject:<\/strong> Level concrete, squeegee with stretched intestine!
Date:<\/strong> 02.09.2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n