Elizabeth Culmer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
edenfalling) wrote2022-05-05 07:47 pm
edenfalling) wrote2022-05-05 07:47 pm
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh
I have been kind of flirting with burnout for the past couple weeks -- normally the end of tax season restores some of my free time, but at the rental office we are running four weeks ahead of last year, and last year was the fastest we'd rented in, like, twenty years, so. It's been hectic, though presumably this does mean we'll have a slower summer.
Church has also been hectic as we approach the annual meeting, and honestly I bailed on last month's board meeting because I had about -5 spoons. (I mean, I set up the minutes template for someone else to use, but I just could not face a 2-hour meeting.)
Church has also just recently had a minor explosion due to member discussion over whether or not to approve/accept the proposed 8th Principle. Staff had to shut down a Facebook discussion group and suspend all emails via the Breeze system to stop people from yelling at each other and spamming the entire congregation with manifestos. It is a mess. :(
Also this morning there was a widespread power outage over sections of Ithaca that included several of the rental company's buildings. One of those buildings is where my office is located. So that was fun. Given that I couldn't do any useful work in the office, I went down to the Commons where I staged a vacant apartment, took photos, shot a video tour, and then packed all my staging materials back into storage. By the time I was done with that, NYSEG had restored power to all of our properties, though several traffic lights were still out, creating a bunch of impromptu 4-way stops around downtown Ithaca.
I think we have finally caught up on our backlog of leases, and I was finally able to print my move-out forms -- this requires creating a specific spreadsheet and then executing a mail merge. I could probably copypaste the spreadsheet together in about 10 minutes, but I do it slowly and by hand so I can check each apartment as I go. This is our final point to catch errors like date overlaps and other glitches, so that focused review is important.
Anyway, I have my spreadsheet, I have my move-out sheets, and I have my security deposit return address forms. Tomorrow I will take the spreadsheet and create personalized labels for key return envelopes. Then I get to put the labels on the envelopes and assemble the packets (one move-out sheet, one return address form, one key envelope). Hopefully I'll be able to distribute the first round on Saturday, after which I will shove the remainder at Mr. Geniality to distribute on Monday.
This is a lot of tedious nonsense, but it reduces holdovers and improves key return immensely, so it's worth the bother. (Also, it's good to catch date glitches NOW instead of, say, in August when someone shows up to move in on the first day of their lease but the current tenant's lease doesn't end for another week. *headdesk* We fixed that, btw. It's much easier to fix in May before anyone's nailed down their travel plans.)
Tomorrow I also get to poke various people for various missing forms, waving the stick of "You cannot pick up your keys and move in until we receive this!" over their heads. *sigh* We are very clear and up-front about what forms are part of our lease, and what information is legally required for various purposes. And yet, some people always forget one piece or another until we remind them multiple times.
...
In happier news, today my parents bought a house in Minnesota! It's a two-level townhouse in a suburb of the Twin Cities, and it looks very nice despite a bit of silly buggers with the ceilings and roof line. God willing and the creek don't rise, they will close on June 6, which happens to be the same day I will arrive in Minnesota for my summer vacation -- I should therefore be able to see it in person before we drive up to the lake. :)
...
I refuse to talk about national or international developments of any type on the grounds that I am avoiding all news to save what's left of my mental health. :(
Church has also been hectic as we approach the annual meeting, and honestly I bailed on last month's board meeting because I had about -5 spoons. (I mean, I set up the minutes template for someone else to use, but I just could not face a 2-hour meeting.)
Church has also just recently had a minor explosion due to member discussion over whether or not to approve/accept the proposed 8th Principle. Staff had to shut down a Facebook discussion group and suspend all emails via the Breeze system to stop people from yelling at each other and spamming the entire congregation with manifestos. It is a mess. :(
Also this morning there was a widespread power outage over sections of Ithaca that included several of the rental company's buildings. One of those buildings is where my office is located. So that was fun. Given that I couldn't do any useful work in the office, I went down to the Commons where I staged a vacant apartment, took photos, shot a video tour, and then packed all my staging materials back into storage. By the time I was done with that, NYSEG had restored power to all of our properties, though several traffic lights were still out, creating a bunch of impromptu 4-way stops around downtown Ithaca.
I think we have finally caught up on our backlog of leases, and I was finally able to print my move-out forms -- this requires creating a specific spreadsheet and then executing a mail merge. I could probably copypaste the spreadsheet together in about 10 minutes, but I do it slowly and by hand so I can check each apartment as I go. This is our final point to catch errors like date overlaps and other glitches, so that focused review is important.
Anyway, I have my spreadsheet, I have my move-out sheets, and I have my security deposit return address forms. Tomorrow I will take the spreadsheet and create personalized labels for key return envelopes. Then I get to put the labels on the envelopes and assemble the packets (one move-out sheet, one return address form, one key envelope). Hopefully I'll be able to distribute the first round on Saturday, after which I will shove the remainder at Mr. Geniality to distribute on Monday.
This is a lot of tedious nonsense, but it reduces holdovers and improves key return immensely, so it's worth the bother. (Also, it's good to catch date glitches NOW instead of, say, in August when someone shows up to move in on the first day of their lease but the current tenant's lease doesn't end for another week. *headdesk* We fixed that, btw. It's much easier to fix in May before anyone's nailed down their travel plans.)
Tomorrow I also get to poke various people for various missing forms, waving the stick of "You cannot pick up your keys and move in until we receive this!" over their heads. *sigh* We are very clear and up-front about what forms are part of our lease, and what information is legally required for various purposes. And yet, some people always forget one piece or another until we remind them multiple times.
...
In happier news, today my parents bought a house in Minnesota! It's a two-level townhouse in a suburb of the Twin Cities, and it looks very nice despite a bit of silly buggers with the ceilings and roof line. God willing and the creek don't rise, they will close on June 6, which happens to be the same day I will arrive in Minnesota for my summer vacation -- I should therefore be able to see it in person before we drive up to the lake. :)
...
I refuse to talk about national or international developments of any type on the grounds that I am avoiding all news to save what's left of my mental health. :(