Friday, November 25, 2011
Birds!
Hope everyone had a grand Thanksgiving. And, of course, none of us overate! I haven't cooked many meals in our new place "the condo" but yesterday we cooked the bird, and all the trimmings. Had some help, I must say. Tom is a very good cook!
I have a puzzle I need help solving. As you may know, we live on the 10th floor of the complex. A very nice place to be, by the way. We look at the tops of trees and other buildings and as such, we are not in anyone's line of fire. But yesterday what did I spy on one of the glass doors and a wall on the balcony, but an egg splattered all over. Now how do you suppose that could have happened? And, it wasn't a bird egg, as there are no nests anywhere around us, above us or below us. Besides, it was to big to be one of those bird's eggs. It definitely looked like a very large bird egg - maybe a chicken's egg. But I've yet to see a chicken fly this high.
I guess there are a few possibilities, like, some kid with a sling shot, some high flying chicken, or even the ducks that fly overhead during the day looking for some water (of which there isn't much anywhere around here). We've had some very fast winds lately. My question is, do ducks lay eggs on the fly? Oh well, we may never know how it got there. But is sure is a mess to clean up. I'm afraid I could be blown away if I get up to high to clean that dern window!!
I have a puzzle I need help solving. As you may know, we live on the 10th floor of the complex. A very nice place to be, by the way. We look at the tops of trees and other buildings and as such, we are not in anyone's line of fire. But yesterday what did I spy on one of the glass doors and a wall on the balcony, but an egg splattered all over. Now how do you suppose that could have happened? And, it wasn't a bird egg, as there are no nests anywhere around us, above us or below us. Besides, it was to big to be one of those bird's eggs. It definitely looked like a very large bird egg - maybe a chicken's egg. But I've yet to see a chicken fly this high.
I guess there are a few possibilities, like, some kid with a sling shot, some high flying chicken, or even the ducks that fly overhead during the day looking for some water (of which there isn't much anywhere around here). We've had some very fast winds lately. My question is, do ducks lay eggs on the fly? Oh well, we may never know how it got there. But is sure is a mess to clean up. I'm afraid I could be blown away if I get up to high to clean that dern window!!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Where am I going?
Today I am certainly not where I expected I'd be at this time in my life. Does anyone actually end up where they expected to be after age 60+? Maybe some do, but I think that most do not. In a way, that may be a good thing. What a person wants is not necessarily what may be the best. At least that's what I've heard most of my life.
When I retired from my nursing career, my thought was that I would have more free time to pursue things I had put off for many years, play more tennis, travel more, relax a little more, read more, yada yada, yada. Right! Little did I know. I should have realized what I was in for when, during my first month in our office, we discovered an embezzler. That should have gotten my attention. I guess it did for a while. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my hands on. What I don't enjoy is how little I can control and how hard I try to control it. It's a fine line deciding when to let go and when to take over. Sort of like raising children. But that's a topic for another day.
I feel like venting about a decision I should have made several months ago. I hired (actually re-hired) someone, I'll call her Jane, (not her real name). At first I thought she was a God send. We had lost 2 employees and we really needed help. She called me out of the blue asking for a job. I hired her part time. From the very first I questioned myself. Did I do the right thing? Is she going to work out? Did I hire without the right motives? It became evident from almost the start that I probably had made a mistake. I had some real misgivings but continued to push them aside. No, I didn't fire her. She just decided she didn't like a decision I made and didn't show up for work for the rest of the week. That took care of the matter and made it easier on me. Thank you God! All I can do now is hope that's the end of it.
Now I have to take on a little more. Not only do I work 8 to 12 hours most days, I never seem to get done with anything. I've always prided myself on "neatness". I never like leaving my desk a mess when I leave for the day. And I have a hard time with a messy desk while I'm there. If there is too much "stuff" I can never find anything and it seems so overwhelming at times I don't know where to start. I am learning to just "dig in" and at the end of the day I make my "pile" beginning with the most important "to-do" on the top.
That's my life right now. I try so hard not to have regrets and most of the time I can do that. I have so much. A loving husband and family, good friends, many awesome memories, my health, a roof over my head and food to eat (way to much food), and so many other blessings. When I think about that, I can smile and love life. It's the other side of me that I have to fight sometimes. The side that sees the glass half empty instead of half full. When that side hits me I want to crawl somewhere and stay in a cocoon. Thank goodness I don't have much of a chance to do that.
And, thank goodness for my sweet, loving, and generous husband. As I reread my musings, I realize that without him, I would be one miserable "witchy woman". He has brought so much to my life. I can't think of ever being without him. He is wise, humorous, generous to a fault, kind, loving, appreciative, and has taught me how to laugh and see the humor in all situations that don't seem humorous, how to look for the good things in others, not to judge a book buy it's cover, and how to have fun in the midst of overwhelming adversities. He is my soul-mate. The only man for me. This year we will celebrate 48 years of wedded bliss ( yes, truly wedded bliss). I love you, honey.
Enjoy life folks. Life is way to short to have any regrets. And enjoy where you are today, because you don't know where you'll be tomorrow.
When I retired from my nursing career, my thought was that I would have more free time to pursue things I had put off for many years, play more tennis, travel more, relax a little more, read more, yada yada, yada. Right! Little did I know. I should have realized what I was in for when, during my first month in our office, we discovered an embezzler. That should have gotten my attention. I guess it did for a while. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my hands on. What I don't enjoy is how little I can control and how hard I try to control it. It's a fine line deciding when to let go and when to take over. Sort of like raising children. But that's a topic for another day.
I feel like venting about a decision I should have made several months ago. I hired (actually re-hired) someone, I'll call her Jane, (not her real name). At first I thought she was a God send. We had lost 2 employees and we really needed help. She called me out of the blue asking for a job. I hired her part time. From the very first I questioned myself. Did I do the right thing? Is she going to work out? Did I hire without the right motives? It became evident from almost the start that I probably had made a mistake. I had some real misgivings but continued to push them aside. No, I didn't fire her. She just decided she didn't like a decision I made and didn't show up for work for the rest of the week. That took care of the matter and made it easier on me. Thank you God! All I can do now is hope that's the end of it.
Now I have to take on a little more. Not only do I work 8 to 12 hours most days, I never seem to get done with anything. I've always prided myself on "neatness". I never like leaving my desk a mess when I leave for the day. And I have a hard time with a messy desk while I'm there. If there is too much "stuff" I can never find anything and it seems so overwhelming at times I don't know where to start. I am learning to just "dig in" and at the end of the day I make my "pile" beginning with the most important "to-do" on the top.
That's my life right now. I try so hard not to have regrets and most of the time I can do that. I have so much. A loving husband and family, good friends, many awesome memories, my health, a roof over my head and food to eat (way to much food), and so many other blessings. When I think about that, I can smile and love life. It's the other side of me that I have to fight sometimes. The side that sees the glass half empty instead of half full. When that side hits me I want to crawl somewhere and stay in a cocoon. Thank goodness I don't have much of a chance to do that.
And, thank goodness for my sweet, loving, and generous husband. As I reread my musings, I realize that without him, I would be one miserable "witchy woman". He has brought so much to my life. I can't think of ever being without him. He is wise, humorous, generous to a fault, kind, loving, appreciative, and has taught me how to laugh and see the humor in all situations that don't seem humorous, how to look for the good things in others, not to judge a book buy it's cover, and how to have fun in the midst of overwhelming adversities. He is my soul-mate. The only man for me. This year we will celebrate 48 years of wedded bliss ( yes, truly wedded bliss). I love you, honey.
Enjoy life folks. Life is way to short to have any regrets. And enjoy where you are today, because you don't know where you'll be tomorrow.
Monday, February 14, 2011
At last! The meeting.
The day finally arrived. We drove 5 hours to Dallas and 5 hours home. The meeting lasted about 3 hours. What was accomplished? I'm not really sure.
No offers were made. Just the possibility of a working relationship if, and that's a big if, we can come to an agreement with the other management company to work "together".
They wanted us to sign leases for the lots our homes sit on "right now". Sorrrrryyyy, that's not going to happen. There are many items in their leases that we don't think will work in this community. And, their park rules and regulations. We've read through them. What a joke. They are not written for a family park environment. We have rules and regulations that are better suited to our families living in the park. But, we'll probably have to compromise on that.
There are 1 or 2 issues on which they seem willing to work with us. The proposals are in the works now. We'll have our proposals to them by Tuesday night.
We are glad we made the trip. We didn't know what to expect so we had no expectations. It was hard to plan much, so we listened. Then we asked for our own time with the servicer - the ones who called for the meeting in the first place. We discussed things that they were unaware of. At least, that was our observation. So, maybe we did make some headway. It's hard to know at this point.
So, we shall see what we shall see.
No offers were made. Just the possibility of a working relationship if, and that's a big if, we can come to an agreement with the other management company to work "together".
They wanted us to sign leases for the lots our homes sit on "right now". Sorrrrryyyy, that's not going to happen. There are many items in their leases that we don't think will work in this community. And, their park rules and regulations. We've read through them. What a joke. They are not written for a family park environment. We have rules and regulations that are better suited to our families living in the park. But, we'll probably have to compromise on that.
There are 1 or 2 issues on which they seem willing to work with us. The proposals are in the works now. We'll have our proposals to them by Tuesday night.
We are glad we made the trip. We didn't know what to expect so we had no expectations. It was hard to plan much, so we listened. Then we asked for our own time with the servicer - the ones who called for the meeting in the first place. We discussed things that they were unaware of. At least, that was our observation. So, maybe we did make some headway. It's hard to know at this point.
So, we shall see what we shall see.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Time marches on
The wheels of justice turn very slowly. I am a very impatient woman. And I crave justice. I just don't understand why it takes so long. While we wait, time marches on. The creditors call. The private lenders call. We tell them what we know. We ask them to please wait. How long will they wait? Some, not so long.
I field the phone calls. I plead with Glen to please tell them something. I can't take the calls anymore. I feel so helpless. I feel so out of control.
But, I'm learning to let things go that I can't control. And I can't control time. Things will happen when it's the right time. It's just that I want the time to go by faster than it does. On the other hand, if time goes by too fast, I miss too much. I'm learning to take each day as it comes, to be in the moment, and not rush things. That's not an easy task. Patience is a virtue and one I have been working on for a long time (about 68 years to be exact). Nothing worth while is ever easy. I'm finding that out, one trial at a time.
I field the phone calls. I plead with Glen to please tell them something. I can't take the calls anymore. I feel so helpless. I feel so out of control.
But, I'm learning to let things go that I can't control. And I can't control time. Things will happen when it's the right time. It's just that I want the time to go by faster than it does. On the other hand, if time goes by too fast, I miss too much. I'm learning to take each day as it comes, to be in the moment, and not rush things. That's not an easy task. Patience is a virtue and one I have been working on for a long time (about 68 years to be exact). Nothing worth while is ever easy. I'm finding that out, one trial at a time.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
State of Our Affairs
Where should I begin? For the past 3 months (since June 1, 2010 actually) we have been dealing with a very sticky financial issue, all having to do with the MH Park that we have owned and operated for over a decade. The bank foreclosed on the Park on June 1, 2010. All attempts to solve the shortage in payments were denied. A new management company was hired to manage the Park. We still own the majority of homes in this Park. These were not foreclosed. So here we are, owning the homes and not the lots they sit on.
This “new” company, from Michigan, has no clue about how this Park was operated. So, to begin with, they seized all of the funds collected and to this day have not given us a full accounting of the monies collected from our tenants. For one month this amounts to thousands of $$. Nor have they provided us with a late tenant list so we can collect our delinquencies.
Into a third month (August), still holding our funds for home rents and six weeks of utility payments for which we are responsible. Therefore, we are behind in the utility payments we are responsible for (April 17 through May 31) being billed to us through the utility companies. The worst part is that we cannot pay our lien holders on these homes.
Over the last 2 months we have received eviction notices for all the homes we own that they claim are behind in rents. Then, they also had the nerve to send those same notices to our lien holders.
We have Section 8 tenants in some of those homes. This management company has said to some of those tenants that they will not honor those Section 8 contracts. They can’t do that by the way. They must honor them. Now Section 8 is holding all payments until this is settled.
The management company originally hired Tom to help in the “transition”. After 1 week they told him to leave the premises. It took them 1 month to pay him the agreed upon fee. And they have told him not to set foot in the onsite office. They take pictures of him while he is contacting tenants or trying to solve maintenance problems in the homes. We have had many of our tenants move out due to their unresolved problems or intimidation tactics by this new management.
Do the owners (B of A) know what’s happening to their property? Hell if I know, but I suspect not. Do they want to put us out of business? One might think so. Is there a little stupidity here? Or is it just plain vindictiveness? Yes, I really am taking this personally.
We have set up a collection center in one of our homes so that we can have a place for our tenants to pay their home rents. Yet, they are still being told they have to pay ALL their rent to the new management.
We have sought legal help. Last week the management company and servicing company were sent a notice of our intention to obtain a temporary restraining order. Before this was delivered we had not heard one word from their offices in response to our attorneys attempts to get a response from them for anything. The TRO told them we meant business. Hours before it was filed, there was a conversation between lawyers, setting up a conference call with attorneys, servicing company and their management company. It looks like they want to avoid a lawsuit. We should know more on Monday or Tuesday.
The entire situation is just bizarre. That management company even has the nerve to put 11 of our homes up for sale!! Who do they think they are?!!
Now I have to let it go.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Not my best day
This has not been a great day. As a matter of fact, it’s been a b**ch of a day. What started out as a great morning for me – up before 6, even went to church, then came home for a leisurely breakfast with no interruptions, then off to Sam’s to get new tires for my SUV. That’s when the rest of the day began.
While walking into the entrance via the tire shop, I slipped on an icy patch and went flying through the air, landing on my back, butt first. As Glen came to help me up, he nearly fell himself. The only positive thing about the fall was that it wasn’t on my side, otherwise, I would be in the hospital right now having a hip repaired. That’s #1.
Here comes #2. Reaching for my Sam’s Club card it wasn’t where I always keep it. A search (more than once) through the purse didn’t produce results. So, a trip over to Customer Service, where I reported the card lost. As soon as the card was “deactivated”, guess what I found in my purse. You got it. My Sam’s Card. Oh well, so now I have a new card. Didn’t like the old picture anyway.
#3. From Sam’s it was off to the dentist for my 6 mo. cleaning. I can’t decide which is worse. Falling, or having my teeth cleaned. It was time for X-rays. (I thought I’d done that the last time!) I declined. I’m watching every penny and no dental insurance. No breaks for cash customers. When my dentist reviewed my mouth, the news was not good. Two cracked teeth which will require crowns. $875 each. A few other minor repairs for a total of $2250. Not news I was looking forward to. I think I’ll go home and go back to bed for the rest of the day. Oh, no I can’t do that. I have to get to the office and pay some bills.
The office was a normal, crazy first of the month kind of day. But I was already so flustered from the earlier part of the day, nothing was easy. It hurt to sit down, it hurt to get up, and the hurt worked it’s way to my head with a headache like I’ve not had in a while. Thank the lord for excedrine. By the time 5 PM came I was ready to “get outa dodge”. One more thing to do and I’d be ready. I wrote a check, distributed stuff around to others, then, went to deposit the check. It was gone. I mean, disappeared, poof! No where to be found. I never did find it, so rewrote the check. I know it’ll turn up – just like my Sam’s card – but in the mean time, I feel pretty scatterbrained.
Think I’ll take a nice hot bath and go to bed. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. (Sigh). Oh, just heard the weather report. More snow due tomorrow night and Thursday. The last snow hasn’t melted yet. This should be a great week end. Snow upon ice, upon more snow. Haven’t seen this much at one time since 1993. I’m thinking that the ground hog had it right this time.
While walking into the entrance via the tire shop, I slipped on an icy patch and went flying through the air, landing on my back, butt first. As Glen came to help me up, he nearly fell himself. The only positive thing about the fall was that it wasn’t on my side, otherwise, I would be in the hospital right now having a hip repaired. That’s #1.
Here comes #2. Reaching for my Sam’s Club card it wasn’t where I always keep it. A search (more than once) through the purse didn’t produce results. So, a trip over to Customer Service, where I reported the card lost. As soon as the card was “deactivated”, guess what I found in my purse. You got it. My Sam’s Card. Oh well, so now I have a new card. Didn’t like the old picture anyway.
#3. From Sam’s it was off to the dentist for my 6 mo. cleaning. I can’t decide which is worse. Falling, or having my teeth cleaned. It was time for X-rays. (I thought I’d done that the last time!) I declined. I’m watching every penny and no dental insurance. No breaks for cash customers. When my dentist reviewed my mouth, the news was not good. Two cracked teeth which will require crowns. $875 each. A few other minor repairs for a total of $2250. Not news I was looking forward to. I think I’ll go home and go back to bed for the rest of the day. Oh, no I can’t do that. I have to get to the office and pay some bills.
The office was a normal, crazy first of the month kind of day. But I was already so flustered from the earlier part of the day, nothing was easy. It hurt to sit down, it hurt to get up, and the hurt worked it’s way to my head with a headache like I’ve not had in a while. Thank the lord for excedrine. By the time 5 PM came I was ready to “get outa dodge”. One more thing to do and I’d be ready. I wrote a check, distributed stuff around to others, then, went to deposit the check. It was gone. I mean, disappeared, poof! No where to be found. I never did find it, so rewrote the check. I know it’ll turn up – just like my Sam’s card – but in the mean time, I feel pretty scatterbrained.
Think I’ll take a nice hot bath and go to bed. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. (Sigh). Oh, just heard the weather report. More snow due tomorrow night and Thursday. The last snow hasn’t melted yet. This should be a great week end. Snow upon ice, upon more snow. Haven’t seen this much at one time since 1993. I’m thinking that the ground hog had it right this time.
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