nothing new

well, this past week has been kinda boring... nothing really major happening... but i do have a funny story about my apartment rental office and the ppl that work there:

so, i told you that my tags were stolen... well, that afternoon, i went into the rental office to discuss it with someone... mind you, this is the 3rd incident in 6 months, so i was pretty pissed off that no one wanted to do anything to help... so, the lady in the office was trying to calm me down and reassure me that nothing else was gonna happen, and such... so, we're trying to come up with some solutions, and she suggests that i remove my tags everytime i leave the vehicle... OUTRAGEOUS!!! so, i pointed out that having a car parked without tags is illegal, and her solution to that was "put a sign in the window stating you have valid tags, and leave your phone number in case they need to contact you..." leave my phone number out for everyone to see??? is this woman nuts??? anyway, i proceded to tell her all the things wrong with that statement, and she backed off... when i told her that the police had said i might be being targeted she got all defensive... saying that it was me that was being targeted and that i shouldn't be afraid... that it was my car... and her suggestion was for me to get a better/newer car that criminals wouldn't target... my mouth dropped open... no kidding... i said "do you have the $$$ to buy me a new car, because i sure don't!" i was in shock that she even suggested that... i forget how the conversation ended, but i left shortly after that...

so i get back to my apartment, and realize it's much darker there than near the rental office, or the rest of the property... so the next day, i borrow a light meter from work (this is where being an EE with specialization in lighting helps out) and look up the proper codes that the landlord must meet... that night, i measure the light level in the parking lot... not quite what it should be... just a little low, but a little low is enough to not pass code if an inspector came around... so, during the next week (last week) i typed up my findings and made some suggestions to improve the lighting in the parking area... on the bottom of the list, i commented on the unprofessional suggestions made to me by the lady in the office... this note was sent in confidence to the community manager...

the next day, i get a call on my work phone from the rental office lady... she then yelled at me for calling her unprofessional, and calling me a liar saying she never said any of the things i told the community manager... so, i start going right back at her... our conversation was getting pretty loud, then all of the sudden she says "well if there's anything else we can do for you, just let us know... have a good day" and hangs up... i bet someone walked in on her yelling at me... so as soon as i hung up, i called the community manager to let her know i was being harrassed by this woman now... the community manager was in shock as well... she said she had just left the property and was on her way to a meeting, but i could almost hear the tires skreetching as i told her what happened... she was pissed... and very apologetic to me... and somehow through this conversation, i was persuaded to write a monthly column on safety for the community newsletter, and i am going to speak at the community open house/christmas party on things we, as neighbors, can do to make the community safer... oh the things i get myself into...

so that's been my drama... not really drama, but kinda funny...

oh, and chris and i are going to the kennedy center gala for new years'... you should be jealous... i'll take pictures and share with everyone...