Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Sometime life just sucks!!!!

My brain hurts from trying to figure out everything being thrown at me lately, but I just have to say....The Post Office never ceases to amaze me....and not in a good way. I mail all our orders through the postal service because it is cheaper to mail that way and it saves my customers money. I am able to figure out postage by going to their web site...very easy, so I am able to package and stamp and then just take it to the post office and put it in their box outside. Once Sara took a package down and came back and told me I didn't put enough postage on the envelope and she had to make up the difference. I asked if she put the bag in the box outside or took it in. She said she took it in and I told her never to do that. As long as we put it in the outside box it went with the postage I put on it. I knew if people had to pay postage on their end they would have let me know. I could never figure out why it cost more to hand it to the postal employee than to just drop it in the box outside. And today....I got the answer to this mystery. I took in a mailing bag being shipped to Australia. According to the website the postage for this bag started out at $63 for Global 3 day (are you kidding me?) to $13.00 for express box, but they had no mailing bag amount so I took it in. I am told it would cost $4.90. I asked how that was possible since according to the web site it was a lot more. We had quite the discussion and so I brought up the mystery of my putting on postage and sticking it in the box for a lot less than what they say it would be if I brought it into the post office. The gentlemen behind the counter then says, "You probably sent it first class. We're not allowed to tell you first class shipping. We're only allowed to tell you Priority." You can imagine my expression as I tried to understand what the hell he was talking about. Then the woman who was handling my transaction whispered, "If he (the postmaster) isn't standing behind me I always tell the customer about first class shipping." And they wonder why people aren't using the post office as much. First class and priority usually get there in the same amount of time, I have found, so why pay the higher amount? Honestly, what the hell is wrong with this world. Always out to screw someone. Then I'm in a fight with my neighbor who I cannot tolerate. This guy would lie, cheat or steal and not lose a minutes sleep. Not my neighbor where I live but the neighboring property to the hotel. Since this guy purchased the property he just does whatever he feels like doing until we catch him and then he acts like he doesn't understand a word you are saying. When he first built he was told by the city that he didn't have enough parking spaces and they wouldn't give him his permit to open. He comes to me and wants me to say I sold him part of my property so he can get the permit. He was willing to pay me to lie so he could get his permit..a total disregard for rules. He's broken through our fence between the buildings twice, and each time said he didn't know who owned it. Well if it's on my property a damn good chance I own it. Then Vernon walks out on Friday last week and they have scaffolding up on our property. They built the hotel 1 inch from their property line, so anytime they want to do something they have to come onto our property. From the beginning, when we use to let them come on to repair, they have had a total disregard for our property. They painted and got paint on the cars of our tenants, to say nothing of splattering paint all over our decks, etc., they bent the awning poles on one of our apartments (I have no idea what they were doing), the gate's been broken twice when they wanted to get inbetween the property (of course with only 1 inch left on their property line they had to come over onto ours. They park in our lot instead of theirs, regardless of the fact that we have a chain across the parking area (they just unhook it and pull in and park) and the list just goes on and on and on. Let's face it, I didn't like them from the get go. They don't donate to anything including the school systems. Every business in town is hit up by the school kids for donations...and they were asked to donate t-shirts for a school raffle (they have upteen t-shirt shops in town) and they refused. While everyone has a right to donate to whomever they wish, the community is important to all of us. Our schools, our children, we need to help them all. Even though my children are no longer in school, I still donate. It doesn't matter whether or not my children or grandchildren are in a particular school, when asked I donate. This is my community, I want to keep it strong. Anyway, these people do not feel they owe the community anything. And then they rip off the tourist which I really can't tolerate. And I don't mean by upping their prices...they have some very questionable practices. But it is really their total disregard for others and their property that makes me want to scream. Anyway, Vernon went over to one of the workers and said they had to stop what they were doing as they were on our property. Now, when they first put up their property, they pissed me off by building up to 1 inch from their property line. This gave them no room to put the treatment on the cement wall so they could paint it. But as usual they just tried to put the treatment on the wall, however, the stuff they use was wider than 1 inch. So when they started putting it on I noticed they came over the property line and told them they had to take off what they had put on and stop the work, and then they had to finish this side without the final layer because that brought them over the property line. They had to finally just paint the cement and not finish the process. Well, living near the ocean is really tough on wood, metal and even cement. What they have found is that 8 years later the salt in the air has eaten through the cement and now when it rains it is leaking through into the rooms. So now they have got to repair this wall and get the coating on the outside wall. So according to him, he found a 1 inch sheet of whatever the hell it is he has to put on the wall and then paint to prevent any further leaking. So he just starts the process, breaking through the fence and putting up scaffolding, regardless of the fact that he never came to me (once again) to ask permission. So Vernon went out and stopped the entire process. So they call in the big guns (who I dislike the most) and he starts talking his gibberish to Vernon telling him he has to do this and we have to be good neighbors...uh, good neighbors don't break their neighbors fences....etc., etc., etc. He can't understand why I have such a bug up my butt when it comes to him....and let me say this...I get along with all the other neighbors, foreign or not, so it has nothing to do with his nationality. Anyway, Vernon comes to me and says, why don't you just tell him it will cost him some money, charge him and make a buck off of it. Well, first I don't want anything to do with him, but the graffiti on his wall is a bit disturbing to me since it faces our building, so to get rid of him I throw out $10,000 (almost the amount to get a new roof on one of our smaller buildings which does need to get replaced and I don't have the money to do it now). Vernon looks at me and says, $10,000 you have got to be kidding...I was thinking of $5,000. He's never going to pay that. To which I responded, "I don't give a darn if he pays or not...that's the price." Well, unbelievably, he agreed to the price (damn it) and then he goes to his attorney who then draws up a contract. So yesterday Vernon brings me the contract, which of course I wouldn't sign as this contract says he can come on my property any damn time he feels like it to repair his wall. Apparently he felt that the amount should give him lifetime rights. Whoa....not so fast...jackass. It gives you a one time walk on, and 1 1/2 months to do the repairs. As of March 15th your ass better be off my property. Also no work starts until the check is cashed. Well, I have the attorney's check in hand (he's one of the better attorney's in town so I know it won't bounce), so now this jackass is on my property until March 15. When he saw all the changes on the contract he freaked, but knew he had no choice. I just know this isn't going to end well, however, his attorney kept explaining to him what the changes were and how this was a one time allowance, and he has to be off by March 15th. He was nodding that he understood, but come March 15th I'm sure he'll be saying he didn't understand that. I may get that new roof paid off yet! But I won't have a good day again until he's off, I say off the property. I hope your day is going better than mine. I did get more work done on my Stitcher's Treasure Box. I'll take a picture tonight and show you my progress....it's exciting...the end is near. Have a great day!

No comments: