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sarea
Do any of you live or have lived in a condominium complex? Do you attend your condo meetings? How much are your dues? Currently I'm paying $250/month just in dues, and I think it's a little steep. Generally around this area, condo dues run $120-175. Where the hell does that money go? We don't have a community pool or anything like that. There's a pond out back, but I don't think we maintain it. So wtf?
Anyway, I never go to the meetings. I've been at my place about three years now, and never once attended one. But once a year, there's some kind of annual meeting wherein we need a percentage of the owners to be present to form a quorum, so that running the place won't go into receivership or whatever. (All I know is that this would cause dues to go up even higher.) So anyway, I went to my first one the other day, because the board was trying desperately to get a quorum so the receivership thing doesn't happen.
The meeting was the absolute most boring thing ever, which might have been okay, had there not been this contentious asshole there who made it his business to be as obnoxious as possible and to focus on his own individual needs, generally making everyone want to rip off his arm and beat him with it. So at the meeting I found out there was some kind of water retention problem that was damaging something or other and had to be fixed ... and that this might require each resident to pay $1,000 out of pocket. I was just like :O because ... WHERE DO OUR CONDO DUES GO???????? Argh.
I got out of there as fast as I could. My contribution to the proceedings would have been nil; no one knows me or would listen to me anyway; whatever's going to happen is going to happen, so why should I give up my time to let assholes like that guy annoy me?
Guess what I made last night?![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
significantowl's oyster dressing. OMG it was so good. The base was so excellent that it made up for the oysters being only so-so. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE oysters (especially raw in the half shell), but I think the kind I got (they only had one brand at Safeway, so it's not like I had much choice in the matter) didn't do much for me. I love the sweetness and the yummy seafood aroma they added, but the oysters themselves could have been better. I wonder if I can use shrimp or some other kind of seafood? Or a different brand of tinned oysters ... or get fresh oysters somewhere. Ooh -- or maybe mash up the oysters instead of keeping them whole? That has possibilities.
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind: Totally dug this film. Written by the same guy who wrote Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ... obviously, he's hit and miss with me. I haven't yet watched Being John Malkovich, so we'll see what he's batting after that. Of the three I've seen, I like Confessions best; this might very well be because even though Chuck probably has the same annoying tendencies all of Kaufman's lead characters seem to have, Sam Rockwell is just so likable that it's hardly noticeable. (SR's turn as "Guy" in Galaxy Quest is just awesome. LOL to even think of it.) Previously I might have said the same of Kate Winslet, but in ESotSM it was Jim Carrey who I liked. Anyway -- maybe also there's not as much of the annoying tendencies because Chuck Barris isn't Kaufman's character.
I also liked the story itself (credit goes not only to Kaufman, who adapted it, but to Chuck Barris, whose book it was) -- it felt like Man on the Moon meets Quiz Show, with a little bit of crack and Drew Barrymore thrown in (Drew a much more likable heroine than Courtney Love). I was also pleasantly surprised by George Clooney's director-ial abilities (makes me slightly more interested to watch Solaris). And of course, I enjoyed the fun cameos made by key members of the Ocean's 11 gang.
Anyway, I never go to the meetings. I've been at my place about three years now, and never once attended one. But once a year, there's some kind of annual meeting wherein we need a percentage of the owners to be present to form a quorum, so that running the place won't go into receivership or whatever. (All I know is that this would cause dues to go up even higher.) So anyway, I went to my first one the other day, because the board was trying desperately to get a quorum so the receivership thing doesn't happen.
The meeting was the absolute most boring thing ever, which might have been okay, had there not been this contentious asshole there who made it his business to be as obnoxious as possible and to focus on his own individual needs, generally making everyone want to rip off his arm and beat him with it. So at the meeting I found out there was some kind of water retention problem that was damaging something or other and had to be fixed ... and that this might require each resident to pay $1,000 out of pocket. I was just like :O because ... WHERE DO OUR CONDO DUES GO???????? Argh.
I got out of there as fast as I could. My contribution to the proceedings would have been nil; no one knows me or would listen to me anyway; whatever's going to happen is going to happen, so why should I give up my time to let assholes like that guy annoy me?
Guess what I made last night?
significantowl's oyster dressing. OMG it was so good. The base was so excellent that it made up for the oysters being only so-so. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE oysters (especially raw in the half shell), but I think the kind I got (they only had one brand at Safeway, so it's not like I had much choice in the matter) didn't do much for me. I love the sweetness and the yummy seafood aroma they added, but the oysters themselves could have been better. I wonder if I can use shrimp or some other kind of seafood? Or a different brand of tinned oysters ... or get fresh oysters somewhere. Ooh -- or maybe mash up the oysters instead of keeping them whole? That has possibilities.Confessions of a Dangerous Mind: Totally dug this film. Written by the same guy who wrote Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ... obviously, he's hit and miss with me. I haven't yet watched Being John Malkovich, so we'll see what he's batting after that. Of the three I've seen, I like Confessions best; this might very well be because even though Chuck probably has the same annoying tendencies all of Kaufman's lead characters seem to have, Sam Rockwell is just so likable that it's hardly noticeable. (SR's turn as "Guy" in Galaxy Quest is just awesome. LOL to even think of it.) Previously I might have said the same of Kate Winslet, but in ESotSM it was Jim Carrey who I liked. Anyway -- maybe also there's not as much of the annoying tendencies because Chuck Barris isn't Kaufman's character.
I also liked the story itself (credit goes not only to Kaufman, who adapted it, but to Chuck Barris, whose book it was) -- it felt like Man on the Moon meets Quiz Show, with a little bit of crack and Drew Barrymore thrown in (Drew a much more likable heroine than Courtney Love). I was also pleasantly surprised by George Clooney's director-ial abilities (makes me slightly more interested to watch Solaris). And of course, I enjoyed the fun cameos made by key members of the Ocean's 11 gang.
