( Bit of a raccoon dilemma...a little longCollapse )

EDIT: I called the police, as a couple of you suggested. Animal control was here within 10 minutes. The raccoon has been caught and "eliminated." The officer commented that it was the biggest, meanest raccoon he had seen in his career, and he's been in this line of work for 20 years. A representative from the front office showed up when he saw a police car and an animal control vehicle in front of my apartment, and upon seeing the holes in my ceiling, especially the one that they had to make larger to get the beast out, told me that I was responsible for fixing the holes because I didn't wait until their maintenance people rectified the situation. The police are having a discussion with a couple of managers in the front office right now.

I shouldn't have to pay for the holes the raccoon made in my ceiling, y/n?

ANOTHER EDIT: I still have holes in my ceiling, but I've also got a lawyer. There are no renters' or tenants' unions in my area, so I'm working on establishing one. The police filed some charges against my management, but I have to wait until Wednesday to find out what they were. To answer some other questions, the police took pictures, and they performed a necropsy on the raccoon. The test results will be in by the end of the week. Everyone who saw the raccoon was convinced that it was rabid. Leaving a resident to tend to a rabid raccoon=not good news for management.

The police documented everything, right down to taking lots of pictures of the damage. I took a picture of the dead raccoon, and as soon as my boyfriend gets out of the hospital, (DId I mention that my boyfriend was in the ICU when all of this was going on? That added to the stress of the situation, I think.) I will try my best to upload them. They probably belong in too_much_info.

And yes, it is now funny, especially reading my detailed description and remembering cowering in my closet while writing it.

 Good morning! First time poster, long time reader.
 A small thing from the last time I went to Wal-Mart. I was spending a fairly significant amount of money (about $200.00, including electronics). I went through the checkout line of an older woman. I greeted her 'Hello,' but she said nothing to me; placing all my expensive purchases on her conveyor belt, she continued to say nothing to me. I paid by credit card (apparently, the credit card machines now ask if the checkout person has greeted you... No.) and she handed me my receipt. No 'thank you,' no 'have a nice day,' no nothing. I made sure to tell her to have a nice day. :)
 Now, I'm sure it sucks to work at Wal-Mart, having to stand on one's feet all day long, dealing with annoying customers, and making low wages. I work in customer service, so I know how difficult it can be to be nice and to be happy all day long. But, I expect a small modicum of customer service from a person who deals with people (just a small hello or thank you).