i can't believe it's almost 7pm and i've done almost nothing today. i can say almost because i made it into the shower and out of my pj's so that has to count for something.
i did get to watch king arthur on tv, so i guess i can take it off my netflix queue.
i must admit, after seeing a commercial for "shalom in the home" they've got to have a tv show for everything.
a day doing nothing is definitely good for the soul. i've been running too much lately.
at work at least. seems like the rest of my life is all-out racing ahead. some nights i feel like i don't darken my doorstep until 9pm...and that's before i go out dancing.
i must say that it's interesting to be in this real estate class and to hear all the theory behind the policies we have here at work. it almost makes all the class time and school bs worth it.
one thing i can't get over is what makes people take such a victim attitude nowadays. granted, i'll whine here sometimes and 'oh poor me' but really. you send in a rent check late. it's late. quit whining about your late fee and how you're power of attorney for somone over in iraq. yes, it would be nice if we could waive late fees for your friend, however, just because you don't know the due date isn't an excuse. you should have the presence of mind to make sure you know when everything is due if you're going to take on the responsibility of making sure everything is paid on time. unfortunately for everyone (or fortunately, depending on which side of the issue you are on at the moment), we have something called 'fair housing' we have to deal with. we can't treat any one group special above another. we can't favor military or a specific race or a specific religion or a specific familial status or any one of the other 15 or so protected classes.
really, you would think we were personally offending these people because they're not willing to take responsibility for their own mistake. yes, credit card companies can waive fees, however i doubt that the customer service person you are speaking with can be held personally liable in a lawsuit for doing so. in property management, i can. and i'm not about to risk a $25,000 fine just because you couldn't check when rent was due or get your sorry butt to the post office on time to get your rent paid. it's not like we don't give a 3-day grace period. people would rather skid in at the last moment than plan ahead...maybe postdate the check (which is allowed) or even pay mid-month if possible.
mostly i just don't want to listen to them whine when it's something they should be responsible for.
one of the loves of my life is dancing. most everyone knows that. the balboa is one of those dances (aside from lindy) that has captured my heart. this last weekend was the balboa rendezvous, which has consistently been the best workshop i've ever attended.
a little background from a post i put on swingorama on deciding what level you are:
I think it should be pointed out, too, though, that placing yourself in a local workshop is a totally different thing than placing yourself at a national/international workshop.Locally, most people are pretty aware where they fall in the food chain. Unless you live someplace like LA, chances are the top dancers in your scene are not necessarily the most advanced dancers in the nation or world.
Nationally/Internationally, you have to be a lot more honest and willing to step down a level if need be. I have been in several workshops were a person might honestly have been an advanced dancer in their own scene, but when they were put in a class with overall advanced dancers, their true level showed through. At that point, changing levels is the polite thing to do.
Again, it depends on how much I'm paying for the workshop. If it's a local workshop that I've paid under $100 for, I'm not going to get bent out of shape if the level I'm in is mixed with people who technically probably shouldn't be there. But if I've travelled out of town and am paying $200-400 to go to the camp or workshop, I really would prefer to get my money's worth. That may sound selfish, but really it's not an incentive to pay the big bucks for a workshop in the future if it's been a waste of time in the past...which tends to upset the event organizers and prevent them from holding great events in the future.
I suppose that's why I don't generally take workshops or classes anymore - I don't ever seem to learn anything and end up being frustrated that I spend most of the rotations trying to teach someone how to do the basic. Call me a dance snob, I guess. But only when it comes to workshops. On the social floor, I'll dance with anyone. :)
granted, at the rendezvous, i was in the invitational level, which contributed to the fact that i enjoyed it so much. everyone that was in the level was at that level since someone had to invite them or place them in the level. all the classes were taught at that level. it was great. there wasn't any backtracking to teach the basics of the move that we were adding (or taking away!) stuff from.
the competition class was probably one of the best. a lot of it was stuff that i think i knew already, but hearing it from someone else reinforced it. plus i got a little tip on my inside vs. outside spins - something i still need to work on!
camp hollywood, here i come!
okay. so maybe i've been ranting a lot lately. whatever you do - don't ask me about washington mutual. then again, perhaps that's a subject for another post. let's just say that any possible way that they could screw up a loan...they have.
but back to the original topic - i started class last week - real estate principles - so that i can get my re licence. granted, i haven't been to a community college since, oh, the summer after my freshman year of high school. nothing like being treated like a teenager again. i suppose i'm used to being expected to learn. it's my fault if i do, and my fault if i don't. i had forgotten all the bs about class participation and spending all class looking like you're intensely interested in what's going on. even if the professor is practically reading from the book.
it's a 12-page chapter. he's covered it all in class (which is about 3 hours long) nearly word for word...and 3 people get a 10 out of 10 on a quiz at the end of class? c'mon people! i should have taken the class online.
...you can bet the next one i will take online.