These past few days have found myself quite busy. And by "days" I mean weeks. Although I appreciated getting the opportunity to manage 2 different apartment buildings, doing so alone with 65 units to handle as well as the buildings themselves can be quite overwhelming. So I'm glad that, at last, a new manager has been hired for the second building, the T****s Apartments.
Unbeknownst to me, Bob came aboard this past Monday. Last I had heard about the possibility of him becoming manager for the T****s Apartments was last Wednesday when I asked my boss what the current update was. He told me that he was awaiting Bob's paperwork to come through. Come the following Monday morning at 8:35 I got a call from one of the gals who's been working for the company I'm associated with for several years. Seeing who it was, I let it go and felt she could leave a message. After all, I was still laying in bed and hadn't even finished my first cup of coffee. Minutes later I checked her message. She asked if I'd be able to meet her and Bob at the T****s building at 11:30 that morning. I thought, "Excuse me?" First of all, why was she getting a hold of me and not my boss? Even though I was just the temporary manager of the building, I felt it to be very disrespectful that my boss wasn't contacting me himself regarding the matter.
Well, Monday was not a good day at all. Even if it was wide open, my first inclination was to tell her, "No. It, in fact, is not possible for me to meet up with you at 11:30 this morning." The fact was I did have a lot to do that day and I wanted to set aside a good chunk of the day solely for Steven as it was his birthday. I explained that to the woman and asked if we could meet the following day or even the day after that. Her response was Jeremiah really wanted it done that morning and no later. I could not flippin' believe it. So I caved and told her I'd meet her at 11 but that I couldn't stick around long because I had a lot to do. She was fine with that as long as I handed over the keys so Bob could start moving in. No problem.
Bob has been steadily moving in. He's in his late 50s and I get the feeling he's not been a manager of an apartment building before. I had that feeling after showing him around the building yesterday and explaining some things regarding the building, the tenants, office matters and whatnot. I'd been waiting three months for the T****s building to go to someone else. All that time whenever I asked my boss for an update, his response was, "We've interviewed people, but none of them seem right for the job." And this is the guy they put in the position? I wonder if perhaps my boss was getting tired of being hounded by the owners to hire someone that he simply put Bob in the position because he was already working for the company (Bob was doing maintenance work for the woman I mentioned earlier). I've agreed to help Bob out for the next few weeks; to show him a few things, train him a bit, and offer advice or helpful hints whenever necessary or whenever he asks or calls for it. However, I'll not want much of anything to do with the building after four or five weeks time. I had only about three weeks of outside help from others in the company before my boss pretty much said, "It's yours now. It's time for you to figure things out." And that's exactly what I've done.
I've only been manager of the P******e Apartments for 8 months. In that time I've turned chaos into order. I even had all 28 units full for about 2 months until a tenant had to move due to the company he worked for relocating him to another state. I'd like to think the building I manage is a well-oiled machine. It might have a couple of parts that should be looked at or kept an eye on, but for the time being it works just fine. I do what I'm supposed to do, sometimes even more. I think the hard work has paid off, too. Even yesterday my boss told me he appreciated all I was doing.
Yes. I guess things aren't so bad.
I was out and about with Steven this past Saturday evening at a couple of places we frequent. I saw a couple of faces of people whom I knew, one of whom I "unfriended" from Facebook and the other whom is still a "friend" but we don't really talk much. Steven and I saw both of them, yet when we walked close they turned away as if they were either annoyed and flippant or were pretending not to notice us at all. We didn't greet them, either, as we were doing our own thing and enjoying our own company. But for them to make eye contact with both of us from across the room and then turn on their heel and show us their backs or walk away altogether, why, it was if they were acting like snobbish, snooty high school diva wanna-bee's. If they want to act like that, fine. I refuse to drown myself in another person's shallow waters. If they want to talk to me, then I'll suggest they toss aside their little floaties and swim to the deep end where the real men are more than capable to tirelessly tread water without sinking to the bottom.
Speaking of Steven, he and I have been doing pretty good. Like normal couples, we have disagreements every once in a while, but we talk sensibly and work things out. However, he has asked that I not mention him on Facebook. So I won't. I probably shouldn't mention much of him when I blog, either. It's not that I say things bad about him. I wouldn't. But he likes things simple and gets rather uncomfortable when people ask him about things that they read about in my blog yet he didn't know they knew. So I'll respect his privacy as well as his wishes and cease from mentioning anything about him. If you are reading this and wonder how he is, it is my suggestion that you ask him yourself. You'll have to do so in person, though, as Steven doesn't e-mail, text, nor do the whole Facebook or Twitter thing. I know. He's kind of old-school that way. But it's okay. It's the way he is, it's how he wants it, and it's how it will be.
That's about all for now. Until next time...
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