Saggy Pants a Terrorist Threat?

I will admit, I do not like when guys wear saggy pants.  I don't want to see their underpants (or worse, their behinds).  However, I don't think that they are a threat to air safety.

If you haven't heard, Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day front man, was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight because of his saggy pants.  He reportedly asked, "Don't you have anything better to worry about?" or something of the sort.  I'm of a mind with Billie.  Seriously?  That's the biggest issue you have on this flight?  Then drop it.  I mean, the guy is going to be sitting the whole time so are you even going to see anything?  

After all, if he wants to look ridiculous, I think that's his problem.  It's not affecting the flight in any way!  I've certainly seen people wear worse than baggy pants on a plane.  I don't think the flight attendant has any right to say what people can or cannot wear (unless it's blatantly obscene -- which I have seen with no consequences.  I've seen a woman board a plane wearing a see-through shirt.  I think that's far more offensive than a pair of baggy pants.).  

I think the airline industry is all just a bunch of power hungry a-holes.  But, that's just my opinion.  ;)  

What Really Grinds My Gears

Sorry I've been away so long.  I've been swamped trying to get our wedding invitations put together.  But, they're finally done, so I'm back!

I want to talk about something that really "grinds my gears" (if you haven't seen the Family Guy episode that this is in reference to, shame on you!).  

I work in a large commercial office building.  When I use the restroom here at work, there are often other ladies using the facilities as well.  It really bothers me when in a fake attempt to wash their hands, they simply run their hands under the water for a second or two.  

What good is that doing?  I mean, even if you had mud on your hands, two seconds wouldn't be enough time to wash it off.  So, what makes you think that two seconds of cool to lukewarm water is going to wash away whatever bathroom cooties are on your hands??  

Stop being gross.  Wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.  It's not that hard.  Those extra 18 seconds are not going to kill you.  But it saves the rest of us from having to touch things that your filthy poo-hands have touched!  ;)

I hate flying

And not for the obvious reason (my fear of falling/heights).  That doesn't really bother me.  I don't actually notice that I'm up in the air much (unless there is a lot of turbulence).  What really bothers me is that none of my flights ever go according to plan.

I flew to Indiana early on Friday morning.  My flight into Chicago was delayed for an hour and then my flight into Fort Wayne was delayed by over an hour.  It was irritating, but I still managed to only be about an hour late getting into Fort Wayne.  The person next to me was quiet and I mostly just read my book while I waited.

I flew back to Colorado last night.  The flight to Chicago actually did go as planned.  We left just a few minutes late and arrived roughly on time.  The flight into Denver was another story.  

We actually arrived above Denver really early.  The pilot told us that we would circle Denver for a few minutes while waiting for an updated landing time.  Woo hoo!  Early landing!  Not so much.  We circled and circled for over half an hour.  By that point, we were later than we were originally supposed to land.  Still no one says anything to us.  However, I know what the problem is: an incredible lightning storm.  

It was terrifying to be circling above the city while watching bolts of lightning strike every few seconds around us.  The pilot told us we couldn't land because of the weather.  Well, eventually, we had to fly to Colorado Springs airport to re-fuel.  We sat on the tarmac for about an hour.  They wouldn't let us off the plane.  And I was sitting next to someone with some mental handicaps.  She was incredibly loud and would not stop talking.  

It was late, I hadn't slept a whole lot, I'd been up since early that morning, and I was irritated by the situation.  I actually daydreamed about strangling the woman next to me.  She was that annoying.  And I am really tolerant of annoying people! 

We finally took off and still the woman wouldn't shut up.  I tried to pretend that I was asleep but she still insisted on trying to talk to me.  Ugh!!!!!  We landed in Denver about 30-40 minutes later (I still don't know why it took so long!  It's only an hour to hour and a half drive from the Springs to Denver!).  

Anyway, I was at the back of the plane, so it took another 15 minutes to get off of the plane once we finally landed.  And then I had to take the train to the main terminal.  There was only one train running, so I had to go from terminal A, to B, to C, and then back to B, back to A, and then on to the main terminal for ground transportation.  

Finally, I got to see Philip's smiling face.  :)  I was so relieved to just be back in Denver!  By the time we got home, it was after 1:30am.  I was exhausted but I couldn't sleep right away because of all of the irritation!  So, needless to say, I am tired today!  

I really hope that our flights in September for the wedding and honeymoon go much more smoothly!  At least I had an awesome time in Indiana for the weekend!  :)

Irritating Tenants

I work in property management.  The company that I work for manages several commercial properties.  I really like my job.  I like my boss.  I like my (very few) co-workers.  I like the work that I do.  And (for the most part), I like dealing with the tenants on an every-day basis.  most of our tenants are awesome: really easy-going, happy, friendly people.  

But, there will always be those few royal pains.

For instance, we have a few tenants who when confronted with their rule-breaking, will play a sort of blame-game.  Their only real excuse is, "I bet it was so-and-so who reported me."  That is no defense!  They admit that they broke the rules but then they're pissed that one of their neighbors ratted them out.  Get over it!  Don't break the rules and there isn't a problem!  Don't be pissed at your neighbor for tattling (especially if they told on you for parking in a place you know you aren't supposed to park because IT BLOCKS IN THEIR CAR AND THEY CANNOT LEAVE!).  

Next up, tenants who get upset with me for contacting them to find out when they are going to pay their past due rent.  Seriously.  Why are you mad at me?  I'm just doing my job!  It's my job to make sure you pay your rent.  If you don't pay your rent, I don't have a job.  If you don't pay your rent, you cannot just continue to work in peace while our business goes down the toilet.  That's not how it works.

Then there are the nit-pickers.  The people who will complain about every teeny-tiny little thing that is wrong with their suite (or their neighbors).  I honestly had someone come into my office and complain that their neighbor was stapling too loudly.  Seriously??  First off, I don't believe that your ears are that sensitive.  I also know that our walls are not that paper thin.  It's crazy.  

Or, another complaint: the neighbors aren't being friendly enough.  Come on people!  We aren't in first grade anymore.  Okay, so maybe your neighbor doesn't like you.  That's not really an issue for property management.  

Or, this one: the post office delivers mail too late.  How in the world am I supposed to control the United States Post Office?  I cannot determine what time the mail runs in our building.  It is completely out of my control.  I have no say in any of that.  I don't know what would make you think that I do.  

Or, "I left my keys at home.  Could you drop everything you're doing to drive all the way across town to let me into my office?"  Believe it or not, I do have other work to do besides being your personal assistant.  How about you drive the 5 minutes home to get your keys and the 5 minutes back to your office.  That sounds much better than me driving 30 minutes to your office to let you in and then driving the 30 minutes back to the office.  

Thankfully, 90% of the time, I am fortunate enough to deal with the wonderful tenants.  And the 10% of the time that I'm dealing with the royal pains, I just have to remind myself that I really do love my job.  :)

Sweetie

I hate being called sweetie by anyone I don't know.  The same goes for honey or sugar or any other "cute" name.  If I have never met you before, I'm certainly not your "sweetie."  It drives me bonkers.  

It bothers me slightly less if the person is elderly.  I mean, they're set in their ways by this point in their life and  they probably have grandchildren my age (and might have difficulty remembering my name).  However, if it's someone my age or even into their 30s or even 40s, I want to reach out and slap them.  

I realize that I am a cute girl.  I look sweet and I'm really nice to you.  That just means that I am fantastic at my job.  I make you feel comfortable and you like me.  However, once you call me "sweetie," it makes my job a whole lot harder and my blood pressure raises.  

Even if I'm cute or sweet, I am still in a professional position and expect to be taken seriously.  Would it be acceptable for me to call all of our tenants "honey"?  I think not.  So, why do people think it's okay to call me that?  UGH!  I just want to shake some people!  You can be courteous and still be professional!  Find the line, people!

Long Time No Talk

Yeah, so... I've been busy.

I hate my job so much. I have just under a month to go. I've been trying to find someone to take my place. I put up an ad on craigslist. I was going to put up ads in the Charlotte Observer and the Gaston Gazette, but they were hundreds of dollars a piece and we received over 100 responses in the first day the ad was up on craigslist. It was insane. By the time I took the ad down, we had received over 250 resumes.

I thought it was kind of cool at first. I though, "Hey! I shouldn't have a problem finding someone to take my place with all of these people applying." I was so wrong. It took me about a week to narrow down the resumes. In the end, I came up with 23 people who were actually qualified and submitted a quality resume/cover letter. That's less than 10% who passed the first test. And I wasn't even THAT picky. I mean, after I found only a few in the first 100, I decided to lower my standards a bit.

I never knew that it was that hard to write a resume. I mean, with the internet, even if you don't know what to put, you should be able to look it up and find out pretty quickly. But, no. That's apparently too much to ask of a lot of people.

And, how hard is it to click Spell Check? AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I have never been so frustrated. Who submits a resume without reviewing it first? How bad could you really want the job if you aren't willing to put forth a tiny bit of effort to make it look professional?? The hard part was already done. You've got your resume all typed up. All you have to do is CLICK SPELL CHECK!!! Any resume that I found spelling errors automatically went into the "No" pile. They aren't worth my time. [Sidenote: this spelling error HURT me so badly -- expeerense. Not kidding. I wish I was.]

Another tip: ALWAYS include a cover letter with your resume. I thought this was common knowledge, but apparently it isn't. Also, "Hi. I'd like a job," is NOT an acceptable cover letter. Take some time. Put forth some effort. Your cover letter is the first thing I'm going to see about you. It should catch my attention. It should make you stand out so that I will remember you after I've gone through over 250 resumes. Sell yourself.

If you don't have the required experience or you don't fit the description of what someone wants from you, DO NOT APPLY. It's incredibly frustrating to put in an ad for a person with at least 2 years of experience in an administrative field and then get people who have never worked in admin submit resumes and WASTE my time.

It's okay to call to check on your resume. It shows initiative. It is not okay to call two or three times a day. It's excessive. And, I'll put you at the bottom even if you are most qualified because you are a royal pain in my ass. I said I'd get back to you by Tuesday. That means I'll get back to you by Tuesday. Leave me alone! Stalking doesn't make you more likely to get the job.

If you receive a notice that you are not going to be hired for the position, it is nice to send a thank you email or call to thank the person for letting you know. I had one person actually call and have a conversation and thank me for letting her know. She went back into the pile because she showed how professional and courteous she was and I also got to hear how she would sound to customers. It's inappropriate to call or email and tell the person hiring that they are crazy and pathetic and are going to be sorry or that it was their loss. It sounds petty and ridiculous. And it's a huge pain. And, if you ever had a chance of being reconsidered, you just lost it.

I hope that my frustration and pain can be of some service to you all in the future. Please, please, please do not make these mistakes when applying for a job. It's irritating and you will not succeed.

I'm ready to shoot myself in the foot and I haven't even made it to the interviews yet. Ugh. It's probably going to be painful. I'm going to scream if they don't show up wearing appropriate interview attire. Wish me luck... :S