Can I vent?

A letter I got at work today, along with a resident's payment for November rent:

To Management:

It has been brought to my attention that there have been two seperate (nice spelling) apartment burglaries resulting in stolen property at The Ballpark. Please be advised that swift and immeidiate (again, nice spelling) action to secure your complix (gah!) is expected by those of us who are guarantors of students living there. Inaction to this serious matter will not be overlooked.

Sincerely,
(I'll be kind and not post her name)

Ok, first, let me address the spelling errors. I am an admitted snob when it comes to spelling & grammar, but honestly? You are going to write us a letter that is obviously supposed to intimidate us into doing the right thing (because clearly you think we wouldn't on our own accord), and you're not going to check your spelling? And we're supposed to take this seriously? Mmmkay.

Second, I'm not sure what is meant by her broad generalizations of "immeidiate action to secure our complix", but don't we have more of a vested interest than anyone to ascertain some level of security for our residents? Wouldn't we be the ones to lose revenue and risk liability by not trying to do as much as we can to secure our apartments? I am astounded that some parent out there would assume the worst first, rather than assume the more logical idea that we are obviously concerned as well, and doing what we can within our power to prevent break-ins from happening. Which brings me to another point ...

Although people love to be able to blame someone for everything that goes wrong in their lives, we cannot take responsibility for the actions of others. We have zero control over how persistent one or more individuals become in taking things that aren't their own. We don't invite criminals on the property & hope for the best. We don't leave parking gates or pedestrian gates unlocked or dysfunctional to assist crooks in their quest for game stations & Coach purses. Of course we are doing what we know best to keep our residents from harm's way. But, people insist on blaming whomever is closest to them, so they have someone to yell at & threaten - that way, they can make themselves feel better. I will just never understand why it will be our fault 100% of the time when someone is a victim on our property. If someone's car were broken into off our property, would they blame the car company who sold it to them? Of course not. But, if it happens here, it's no one's fault but ours.

The apartment complex I work at is not located in the most desirable part of town, which is a clear fact to anyone in Austin. You say "it's off East Riverside", and almost every single person will either cringe, make a face, or say, "yikes". Yet, people choose to live here anyway because they like the cheap rent, but then act shocked when they hear of a crime taking place. This, too, will always baffle me.

We do no less than any other apartment complex to prevent burglaries & break-ins on our property. In fact, I'd say we even do more, because we know what area of town we're dealing with. But, once again, our attempts to exceed people's expectations will be criticized and they will bad-mouth us to their friends, because we didn't do enough. It's never enough. Unless we hire personal security guards to stand vigil outside someone's car and/or front door, it will never be enough. I'm getting really sick of this impossible level of customer service that is expected, and I'm not sure how much more I can stand. Moral of my rant: if you don't like something, than do something about it. Be proactive, not reactionary. And for the love of God, don't stick around to prove a point & just complain the entire time. If you think your child is at risk, arm them with the knowledge and appropriate actions to take to help minimize their chances of being in harm's way. If you're going to let them live in an area of town that most people wouldn't take on because of the crime statistics, be prepared for something to happen. Don't just think it won't happen to them & turn a blind eye. And please, don't act stunned when you find out something unpleasant. My parents wouldn't even let me drive on this side of town as a teenager, and made it clear on what would happen if they caught wind of me doing it anyway. And if I had, and something had happened, I can guarantee you they would never have blamed anyone else - not the place I was driving to, not the people who made my car ... no one. Hell, I can remember when living in San Antonio, my back window of my car was bashed in one night at my apartment complex. When I called my Dad the next day to let him know, the first thing he asked me was who I had pissed off. He didn't call the apartment manager, or send mildly threatening letters to anyone who worked at the complex. He was pissed, believe me, but he dealt with the problem. That's what you do. You don't write misspelled letters to people you have never even met, telling them you won't tolerate them if they don't react the way you assume they should - yet, you never tell them exactly what you think would be sufficient action.

I need to win the lottery.

Feeling creative, but lazy. Lazy wins.

Here's what we've been up to the past week or so, in pictures.

Hanging with bulldogs:

Hud.

Cheif.

Can't remember his name ... Slayton maybe?

Rio and Opal.

Witnessing a grackle problem:

Having breakfast with Wolverine:

Skateboarding:

Spending time in lots of wide, open spaces:

And, of course, eating:

A quail sandwich, with arugula, tomato,

caramelized onions, & portobello mushrooms.

A semi-squished (my fault) red velvet cupcake from Hey Cupcake.

One of my all-time favorite sandwiches ... the French Dip.

Cherry pie, obviously.

The weather has been sublime, we've somehow remained healthy (though we're surrounded by the flu on all sides), and life is good. Everyone should be as lucky as me.

Three things I'm grateful for today:

1. Breezy days.

2. Our health.

3. Stories told with pictures.

Peace & pastries (especially cupcakes) to everyone. Until next time ...

Checking in

My son has decided to go from age 7 to age 17 in about two weeks. What the hell?

Over the past 14 days, he has questioned repeatedly why he has to sit in a booster seat while in the car (it's only Texas law, but he thinks I'm personally condemning him to life with an elevated tush), snuck behind our backs and stayed up an hour past his bedtime on a school night (until he gave himself away, it was classic), refused to wear underwear with characters on it (when that's ALL he used to wear but now he just wants "big boy" solid colors), and asked for a pet. Even tonight, while he, Aaron, & I were doing one of our many weekly runs together, Aaron made a comment about not touching other people's mailboxes because they'll put him in baby jail and he corrected Aaron with, "No Daddy, I'm old enough for juvi now." Really? Is he going to ask for my car keys next?

He also let me know, as an after-thought, that three girls have told them they like or love him over the past few weeks. Um, pardon me? It only came up because he was complaining about a certain girl he's forced to sit next to everyday, and happened to mention that she said she loved him the other day, as if he was telling me he had bacon for breakfast. I asked for details on this profession of love from the little skank girl, and he said she was staring at him for a really long time the day before, while he packed up his backpack at the end of the day. It was bothering him that she was staring, so he asked, "what?!" and she said, "nothing, I just love you." (Wish I could blog the glazed-over look he imitated while mimicking the conversation.) I asked him how he responded and he said, "Ok, fine, whatever, just stop staring at me all the time." I asked if she responded, and he said she just said ok. Oh boy.

As I sat there digesting the gall of six-year old girls these days & comparing it to how my friends & I would have rather *died* than admit to a boy we loved them, he tells me in his non-chalant tone, "She's like the third girl who's told me that this year, Mommy." Wait, what?! Back up! Third?! When did the other two happen?! He said, "I dunno, sometime last week." Yet he never mentioned a word to us about it - that's how far girls still are from his radar screen. Thank God?

One of the other girls is one that was in his class year, whom we dubbed "Hannah Montana". (This girl has been singing Hannah Montana songs every single second of every single day for the last two years, so that's how she earned her name.) She also had a crush on him last year, and was not afraid to tell the world about it - thanks, Hannah Montana. Teach 'em to pour their hearts out (in song?) to whichever boys they have the hots for - when they're only six? Gah! The third little lady is a very sweet girl who is usually just one of the boys & can joke around with Zach & his friends. I don't know if she let it slip or if she intentionally told him, but either way, it's out there & Z's reaction was an "um, oooooooook." Nice. Glad he doesn't feel awkward about showing how much he doesn't reciprocate their feelings. 'Atta boy! Keep them away! I'm not ready for this yet!

I'm a little shocked at how things have changed since I was kid. And I know I sound like an old fart saying something like that, but honestly, boys were icky when I was in first grade. Hell, they were downright disgusting until about 7th grade, if I remember correctly. When did it become ok for girls to be so open about their feelings - or when did they start having feelings like this in the first place while still so young?! Argh! What happened to classy? What happened to a little mystery? What happened to being pursued? Girls just throw it all out there now? Good grief. Middle school ought to be interesting.

Other than my resistance to becoming a progressive Mom, things have been kosher and steady. Aaron's parents just got back from a trip to Barbados, and we were jealous. The pictures were incredible, as were their stories. That reminds me - only 125 days left till our cruise! Yahoo! I would post some pictures from their trip, but they were sent to me via Kodak's website, and the pics are protected on that site. Trust me, they were stunning ... very screen-saverish.

As I mentioned before, Z asked us if he could get a pet. He had really been wanting to bond with something lately, and he talked about it constantly. He asked which he could have between a bunny, a hamster, or a fish. Yup - it was fish, all the way. (Just say no to poop!) We took him to several pet stores and let him pick out his favorite little dude. He originally wanted a goldfish, but also really wanted to be able to keep his new buddy in a bowl that he could move from room to room. Since goldfish need to be in an aerated tank or else they'll die, he went with his only option - a beta. It's red and shiny, so he named him Sparky. Aaron taught him all about how to do the rocks, clean the water, and feed the little guy. Z listened very intently.

I loved his choice of rocks - disco!

We already prepared Zach that betas (or any fish, really) don't have long lives, so it's very likely we'll have to get another one in the coming months. He said he was ok with that, and I think he meant it. It's just fun to see him get excited about taking care of another living thing. He's always been such a sweetie, deep down.

(Another reason he has a harem of girls after him each year at school. Tramps! Smart ladies!)

Three things I'm grateful for today:

1. Making it to week 3 of our C25K plan!

2. COOL weather!

3. Hot baths.

Stay tuned, more to come. Until then, peace & pastries to everyone.