July 1, 2020:
Unprofessional, rude, arrogant insurance inspector arrives without mask and without appointment. I know he's on the property when I find an unexpected figure peering into the windows.
He tells me, condescendingly as though he's used to hoodwinking the gullible, "I have the owners' permission to be here." I tell him quite properly I'm the tenant in possession, so that under California law not even the owners can enter the property without my permission. And, he's required to request permission 24 hours ahead of any proposed visit. I tell him he's welcome to complete his work, but if he fails to follow protocol or if he again shows up unmasked I'll run him off. Again. Which I do, when he returns unannounced and unmasked a week later.
The owners apologize. He returns again without mask or notice. I run him off again with an epic spray of f-bombs.
The world is broken. With the pandemic, encounters like these take on new urgency and new force, where it feels as though the most basic, foundational constraints on antisocial behaviors aren't just fraying but are under active attack.