DAD habitually "social surveilling" my personal vehicle ... funny but not ... just watch ...

Today saw an event worth noting here.  I have an extensive audio/video log of every minute but will focus on only the most problematic from today.

Today, after discussing my evening/sleep/personal/weekend time plans for the day, around 3pm, I then go about stopping work for the day and am half asleep at my desk with personal work still in process on the screen.

Suddenly, I hear loud banging on my bedroom window, and it's DAD asking me to unlock the front door for him because, again (every week), he somehow lost his shop and house keys during the day and so had to wake me by banging on my window.

Of course, this ended up disrupting my entire Saturday evening, when I was required to see to my own affairs. However, due to him losing his keys every week (day?), he chose to wake me and immediately demand (like instantly) that I hand over my personal house keys so he could fix the problem he created for himself and which he creates for himself, somehow, every week (the guy loses everything constantly).

The point of interest...

As mentioned in the past, DAD is now entering that time frame where he suspects me of anything and everything nefarious one could imagine. It's not an exaggeration.  

He will literally call 911 or the police mental health department if I'm simply in my room for two days straight, seeing to my personal software projects, and anyone who has done real software work knows that being locked up in your room for two days is just the beginning once a very serious effort is underway.  The same could be said of litigatioin work, investigative work, etc where days and day alone and pouring over data is simply one of the primary requirements of the work.

We (software/interface/network) developers live almost *entirely* in dark rooms with multiple panels (more the better!).  It's no different than a long haul truck driver who has to do the same but from a "big rig" and driving 90% of their time.

But DAD sees my tools as playthings and has no concept of the value of such equipment as tools and actually essential in today's times to do *anything* really, in regards to business.   

He just today, while in his weird, psychotic/Alzheimer like a break (only way to describe it), referred to my office and gear (which runs his entire life atm) as me "playing with your computer crap all the time!"

Oh. Fuck me.  The insult is real. 

For the record and especially to satisfy my inner narcissistic need to brag a bit (true enough), here is the general office space I've spent many years and tons of mowing lawns to afford to slowly piece together and now serves 10 to 15 hours a day in nothing but family company and DAD personal affairs managment:

Overview of my main office (after repairing all the holes my brother smashed into the walls); I've since done a good bit of legal study and installed locks/means of handling him nicely the next time (ie: legal avenues you dolts and not some psychotic option):

Dual i9 14th gen Workstations - 100% self payed for and built component by component by myself. Notice the lack of visible syringes or freebasing equipment?  This is the same gear my DAD referred to as "my computer crap" just a few days ago, not having the slightest clue that all this "crap" ... owned by myself is currently organizing his entire life (at least the technical shit).

Anyway, after this most recent debacle of him literally and unexplainably losing not only his shop keys but his personal house keys (every week as recorded/documented over the past three months) ... he exhibits a certain very routine tendency once he begins "conjuring demons" in regards to my "'IMAGINED" behavior.

The Exagerrated Personal Car Inspection LOL

This is illustrated very well below in the video where he goes to check the mail but makes it very clear to indicate that as he walks by my car, he intentionally (forcefully even) turns and indicates that he is inspecting the inside of my personal vehicle.  I mean, he does it so it's obvious and visible as thought I should feel threatened.  

I'm actually thinking about filling trash bags with all sorts of shit like empty beer bottles and spent syringes (if I can find where to get such, lol) and doing it weekly with more and more "suspicious" trash piled in my car just to see what he does.  That would be interesting but also cruel, so I won't do that.

But it's true; his tendency to simply stomp right into my personal space(s) and either start breaking valuable equipment or even just grabbing my trash can and dump its contents all over my floor, only to then stand back and take a picture of the mess he made, clearly implying that he looked forward to then circulating that totally contrived (illegal) image/action as indicative of how I live.

I've had to start locking my car door, as he will just go in and rummage through my car contents if he can. No lie and I have ample video logging to verify this claim (as always, or I would never publish such notes as these due to legal requirements that should ever be required of me (which I'm beyond prepared for).

But just note here, his exaggerated indication of trying to look in my personal vehicle. What is this about? Why would anyone do this? (mind you, it would be a non issue if it didn't happen every day)

Also, a particularly scary note is that he is well in the center of the driveway when he exits the garage. But as is quite obvious, he slowly adjusts his trajectory so as to have a "real good look" inside my personal vehicle (which was locked, by the way), which is something I've had to do routinely since he will just open it up and climb inside and start ransacking the interior if he's able. No exaggeration.

More from the same clip...

I would go on to record another video in the same segment as he returns, where I intentionally trigger my car's alarm/lock lights/sound simply to let him know he is being observed.  

(content redacted here on 08/01/24 as I determined it to be inappropriate and unproductive) J.H.

As mentioned, every scenario points to disaster. So I have prepared three solid avenues in place should I need to leave immediately (which is my last resort and something I'd hate to have to do as he'd wake up one morning and find my office/room empty and me on the other side of the country (one option).

General thoughts/recent findings regarding laws around being defined as a "contract employee"

I'm under contract (verbal) agreement at this point, which allows me great legal flexibility in protecting myself from such escalating actions since he never thought to author a written contract. 

As it stands, I can legally empty both of my spaces and disappear.  This is not what I intend or want to do; I'd rather use the unique opportunity I now have to do something meaningful for my father. 

But it can't develop into a slow process of taking over every responsibility that my DAD has to fulfill for himself on a daily basis (another constantly repeated fact conveyed to me by various "expert" resources over the past few months: that if you don't draw set boundaries, then one can nearly guarantee that this will occur, and it is a typical issue with offspring having to assist parents as they age.

But I just consider most of it free service and a contribution to a man I love and would/will never mention it (the work) as needing payment; a great deal is also how I make very clear that I am very much "paying my way" here in this household. 

But there is other, specifically specialized work (swapping full internal components from one company laptop chassis to another, etc.) will eventually have to be discussed as "paid contract" labor.

But studying contractor law has been not only fun but highly informative.

In a way, this is good for contractors because we are expected to charge much higher rates than W2, FTE employees. This is especially true in my case, wherein every bit of work I do for him is via my own, originally purchased hardware/workstations.

A recent odd event is noted here as simple documentation... 

Just the simple laws around tenant/landlord relationships make it very clear that any person deemed "landlord" can *never* enter a tenant's space without 24-hour notice and explicit explanation for the need to inspect the space. This 100% applies to our current living arrangement, but he either has not done the work to understand such civil laws or just doesn't care (I suspect the latter).

Here is a simple draft of a letter filed in our common living area where I organize and store "hard copy" material he might find useful and that is related to either household/personal/finance/company related data; this filed simply for future reference should such become necessary:

Joel Harris (Tenant)
1121 Westmont Drive
Houston, TX 77015

leojharris@gmail.com

07/25/24

James Harris (Landlord)
1121 Westmont Drive
Houston, TX 77015

Dear James Harris,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to clarify my understanding of your rights regarding entry into my personal rental space(s) at 1121 Westmont Drive, Houston TX 77015, which I currently occupy as a tenant.  These would be my sleeping area and my office (also a common sleeping area approximately 50% of my sleeping time).

As per the Texas Property Code, Section 92.008, you, as the landlord, have the following rights with respect to entering the rental property/my personal space::

1. Notice Requirements: You must provide reasonable notice before entering the property. While the Texas Property Code does not specify a specific timeframe, it is generally considered reasonable to provide at least 24 hours' notice unless there is an emergency or unless otherwise agreed upon in the lease agreement.

2. Permissible Purposes for Entry: You may enter the rental property for specific purposes, including but not limited to:

• Making necessary repairs or improvements.

• Showing the property to prospective tenants or buyers, provided that proper notice is given and it is at a reasonable time.

• Inspecting the property for damage or needed maintenance.

• Showing the property to a government official, fire marshal, or insurance agent.

3. Emergency Entry: You may enter the property without notice in case of emergency situations that threaten the safety or health of the tenants or the property. 

4. Reasonable Hours: Entry must be made during reasonable hours, which are generally considered to be between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM, Monday through Saturday and as necessary due to my night work schedule. Entry on Sundays or outside these hours may require specific consent or agreement between both parties.

5. Respecting Tenant's Rights: While you have the right to enter under specific circumstances, you must respect my right to privacy and quiet enjoyment of the premises. This includes refraining from unnecessary intrusions and ensuring that your visits do not disrupt my peaceful enjoyment of the property.

I value our landlord-tenant relationship and wish to ensure that we both understand and respect each other's rights under the law. If you have any questions or need further clarification regarding these rights or any other aspect of our lease agreement, please do not hesitate to let me know so we can properly discuss.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to continuing our positive and cooperative relationship.

Sincerely,

 

Joel Harris
07/25/24

My dad? While first admitting, I understand he's not intentionally trying to disrupt my important work process' ... he usually just walks into my contractor work office and hovers over me at my desk while I am seeing to my contractual duties (three things at once) and immediately demands I stop what I am doing regarding our contractual agreement to then change course and help him with some other task that has nothing to do with the work I'm required to do.  

So, 20 minutes later, when I sat down to continue the three or more tasks I was doing simultaneously when interrupted, all had to be revisited and rethought simply to remember where I was at in that work.

This is obviously problematic, and anyone who has worked in a data-intensive role or team-based environment knows this. But if I mention it as a problem that is generally considered common knowledge in a work environment, he will be triggered, and rage will ensue.

But even though it seemed to be going great just this morning?  

The entire thing went south when he came banging on my window, clearly knowing it was during my personal time; one can only surmise (in a legitimately paranoid fashion) that the man just faked/planned the whole event this evening simply due to his need for *ANY* mental stimulation. I mean, just two hours earlier, I was talking amicably with him on the phone, and then ... that happened. WTF?

And how he lost his keys between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. when banging on my window as I slept is beyond me.

The whole thing stinks and is feeling more and more threatening.

This is more unpleasant documenting, but I was expressly told to do it, and so I'm doing it.

BTW: 1am here in Houston, and I just installed a new camera on a CITY-owned telephone pole that happens to be right in front of my car and in the driveway (it's actually a city pole that's installed right on the boundary and within the lawn space of both our and our neighbors house so it's certainly not owned by either of the involved households.  

I own the camera; hence, any actions to dislodge it will be addressed legally if such occurs as it has in the past (excluding any circumstance wherein the city fomally request the camera's removal; in which case, I would immediately comply). 

I enjoy my status as a citizen of this lovely country ... despite the political drama currently playing out.

(content redacted here on 08/01/24 as I determined it to be inappropriate and unproductive) J.H.

More fun later...

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This post supplements the facts made public on my main website, http://www.jbhfile.com/; it probably will not make much sense to you if you have not already become aware of the legal and personal efforts discussed there. Please see http://www.jbhfile.com/ for a necessary introduction to why this blog exists. Or, if you just like reading weird stuff, then don't. And, enjoy.
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jbh.