Robert StGenis Voice empowered

We have always been quite charitable. We certainly know others who are all the more giving of their time and funds. We know many others who are far less generous. It is always interesting to see what draws people to various causes. I don't believe one does anything without a selfish motivation. This isn't a bad thing. We need a motivator. It can be something that provides solace, something that provides vindication, a simple sense of giving back, but we need a reason to decide to commit to the mission of the organization. The idea that we do things totally selflessly is really bullshit at the end of the day. Far less effort would be put into development, which is the hardest part of any non-profit, if that were the case. The amount of funds we give to various causes depends on how well we are doing financially and other goals. It doesn't really have a precise formula. My husband feels a bit more need to be giving than I do when the coffers aren't as full. He seems to ...

I've always found cleaning out closets, donating items from clothes to furniture and everything and anything else quite therapeutic. There is that sense of giving, of helping others. There is sometimes a sense of literally taking weight off your shoulders; just too much clutter and cleaning through things, straightening them out brings a greater sense of order. There is, if I am completely honest, also a sense of pride in knowing I can part with things, I can get others. Our upcoming move is giving me an opportunity to once again "clean house" perhaps more than the last 2 moves. For one, my agenda isn't as overloaded work wise. This is beginning to cause financial anxiety, but that is a different topic for a different blog (or blogs). While where we are moving is almost as large is here, the layout is different and  overall more usable. We have also been dragging things from the last 2 moves that were never meant to be here and we intentionally bought furniture f...

Roughly 15 minutes after my call with the manager, she called again. I could immediately tell from her tone it was not nearly as conciliatory. She was unaware that I had only paid 7 days of rent and was quite annoyed by it. I explained the basis and that I had full intention of paying all of the rent once we had spoken and had a resolution not only on my request but our future in the building. She made comments about how I just didn't seem happy in the building and they really wanted happy tenants. Is that a requirement? Is it in the lease and I missed it? Is it discriminatory to not allow unhappy tenants? How does one quantify happy tenants? The manager told me the "ownership" was now aware and this wasn't going to help me. I was going to really have to plea my case. Then, she said my rent would go up, which I immediately protested and said there was no market justification for it (in fact, really the rent could arguably go down given everything I have seen recent...

I am not sure this is the appropriate title for this topic. It is attention grabbing though, isn't it? Hey, it's a blog, not the submission of a screenplay or novel, or is it? I am kidding. Well, maybe someday I will live up to my "full potential" and education as a writer, but it won't be the story of conflict with a landlord. I've got far better one's in my history... The Monday following my less than my cordial exchange with the counsel representing our building, I went to the management office and asked "so, you want us out of here?" The reply I received was "I don't know. I just got here and haven't checked my email." She told me I needed to speak to the manager, who I found out a day later was a returning manager after they fired the manager I had talked to originally during my heating issue. The manager, however, was out sick and not going to be in until Tuesday. I asked her to let her know I wanted to speak to her. I a...

The heat was finally fixed on Thursday evening. Evidently, not only was the boiler for our part of the building a problem, but also the starter for our unit. So 4, going onto 5 days, without heat during one of the few weeks of the year we really needed heat in LA. We finally were given a space heater on Wednesday evening, after my more demanding email and a phone call which didn't mask my agitation. I was sent an email Friday morning asking to confirm if the heat had been fixed. I replied that the heat is working, it was out for 4 days and what accommodation was going to be made for that? In response, the management company turned it over to their attorney who responded Friday evening with: I represent your Landlord... and your file has been referred to me.  As you have been made aware the main boiler... for the heat went out and the Landlord as quickly as possible replaced the boiler at great expense in an extremely timely manner.  After the boiler was replaced your ...

We returned home from the Democratic Convention on February 25, 2018 from San Diego. It had been quite cold by Southern California standards. We had turned off the heat while we were away. We turned on the heat as soon as we came home. It turned on and the place heated up overall. Our rather large, post industrial unit has a seemingly powerful heating and air conditioning system, however they are not evenly dispersed so I can be at my couch and literally hot with the heat pouring down at me and chilly at my desk across the room. But, we were quickly able to get the place to what we knew as normal. Monday morning, however, it was cold. I turned up the thermostat and it was not turning on. I changed batteries on thermostat; it didn't do anything. I went down to the office and told them off my problem. The lady at the desk, who is always so friendly first commented about whether my last request from weeks ago had been resolved. I told her it was (and had responded in email it was ha...