We delivered bad news today

 

Now that it's public, I can talk about things a little more than I could in the past.  My co-op is going to have a significant maintenance hike, and none of us are happy about it.

- - - - - - -

As much as I wanted to go out as Marian today, it made much more sense to go out as Mario, as I had a special co-op board meeting open to shareholders.  We planned to prepare shareholders for next year's rate hike, and introduce the new management company to our shareholders.  Things changed a little, as the new company didn't attend the meeting - and I think the co-op's attorney was happy about that.  

The meeting started at 6 m, and our board's president informed us about what was going on, giving us the low down before the old site representative and our shareholders arrived. All too soon, people started arriving, and we couldn't speak openly any more.

Once everyone was in the room, the co-op president opened the meeting, telling the attending shareholders about the rate increase.  And then, the soon to be ex site manager took over, telling attendees the story about how we got into this mess. (I won't go into details here, but I'd say that what we were told is partly truth and partly fiction.)  After that, the floor was open to questions from the audience.

One shareholder stood out - he kept dropping the name of one politician as if that fellow could do things for us.  He can't.  Insurance companies are free to set commercial rates and only issue policies to firms that meet their underwriting criteria.  Others had more reasonable questions, and we responded with what we knew - we're waiting for our mortgage holder to approve this policy, so that the forced coverage policy we have can be dropped, saving us money.

I was glad that the meeting was over by 8 pm.  There is more that I have to talk about with the co-op president, but I won't go into that here.

A trip to Uncasville

 

I wasn't planning on driving that much this weekend, but an invite from CCS got us out to Eastern Connecticut Saturday night.  Instead of sitting at home and wondering what to do, we drove to Mohegan Sun to meet my friends for dinner, followed by both Gladys Knight and the O'Jays in concert.

- - - - - -

RQS and I relaxed most of the morning, and realized that it was 12:30 pm before we got moving to get showered, dressed, and out the door. We had planned to leave Croton around 1:30 pm to have adequate slack time to reach Mohegan Sun with time to spare.  However, this was not the case.  We left 30 minutes later, and it took all of 2 1/2 hours to get there.  Luckily, we were not traveling in the opposite direction, as the Southbound traffic was jammed up throughout most of Connecticut.

Reaching the casino complex, I was impressed at how big it had become.  Years ago, I remember coming here when only the first of the casino wings was open.  The last time I was at the casino, the third wing was under construction.  This time, all four wings were open, and one could need a road map to find his/her way around.

Our friends were waiting for us at Pepe's pizza, and we proceeded to order our pies. 30 minutes later, they were ready, and we proceeded to feast and chat.  This would be the second time I met CCS's husband, and the first time RQS would meet CCS with her husband.  CCS had mentioned my co-op's issues to her husband (he's a lawyer) and he gave me some information I can pass on to our board's president.

Around 7 pm, we walked over to the casino's theater.  CCS and her husband received 4 free tickets to the performance as perks for their gambling efforts.  I have no idea how much they gamble, but they get free rooms at the casinos as perks, and other goodies as well.  But we consider myself fortunate to be there as their guests for this show.

Gladys Knight came on first.  For a woman in her 80's, she still puts on a good show. However, one can see that age has taken its toll on her body, as she used assistance in getting on and off stage.  After 45 minutes, her set ended, and we had 30 minutes to wait until the O'Jays came on.  By this time, I should have stretched my legs and gone to the women's room.  But no, this T-Gal stayed in her seat, allowing her legs to start aching.

Next were the O'Jays.  One of the original singers had passed away, and this was noted by the group as part of their performance.  And then they got on with their music.  It was good, but not the music I remembered as a youth.  As expected, their closing number was "Love Train", and they did not fail to get the audience moving to the beat.

The show ended around 10 pm, and we relaxed in the theater waiting for the crowd to disperse.  Three of us had to rush to the ladies' room, and I was impressed by how clean it was - even after a show, when one would expect it to be a mess.  Then if was off to the pastry shop to have a bite to eat before we were to go home.  30 minutes later, we left CCS and her husband, and made a "donation" to the casino before finally leaving for home.

I said that we'd stop at the first service area on I-95 we reached.  While RQS was taking a bio-break, I could fill the car with gas.  This was not to be.  The gas station had turned off its pumps for its weekly refresh, and I wasn't in the mood to wait until 12:30 am to get gas.  So, it was off to the next service area - 15 minutes away.  And here is where I filled up and stretched my legs before driving another 100 miles to get home.

We reached home just before 2 am, and were exhausted.  It was a long day, and both of us were grateful for friendships old and new.

 

We've just booked another cruise! (a short post)

 

RQS and I have booked another cruise!  Yes, we must be gluttons for punishment, as we will be sailing into the Bermuda Triangle twice in a little over a month. 😀

- - - - - -

Being serious, the idea of taking this cruise came about because RQS saw some cheap prices, and wanted to jump on one.  One problem - she might be biting off more than she can chew, and I'll end up helping her out more than I might have planned.  (We already have another Autumn cruise booked and an Alaskan cruise booked for next year.)  I guess that I'll have to be the voice of reason for our choices of vacations in the future.

I like the idea of taking this cruise, as it will allow me to compare apples to apples when evaluating two Bermuda cruises. (I have another blog, SlowTravel101, in which I post entries about cruising and other "slow" methods of getting from place to place while vacationing.)  The comparison between the two cruises should be published sometime in the next two or three months.  If all goes right, I will likely go on the second of these cruises as Marian - the way I prefer to travel.

- - - - - -

On other matters, I just got off of a co-op board meeting, and none of us are happy.  Our managing agent's site representative didn't show up again, and we were more than just disappointed by this. We haven't been happy with the quality of services being provided lately, and we needed to discuss this now.  Additionally, there are other issues that may cause us grief, and it looks like we'll soon be going back to twice monthly meetings until we get some of our issues resolved.

Hopefully, my duties to the co-op board won't interfere with the cruises RQS and I will be taking.

"Bored" Meeting

 

Once every month (excepting Summer), my Co-Op board meets to discuss issues before it.  Tonight, was this month's board meeting, and as usual, minutes were taken and hours were lost. Although I can't go into any detail, I can say that we were frustrated coming into the meeting, as we'd get a series of excuses from one person as to why things haven't yet been taken care of.  

It seems like we have the same basic problem every month.  Under the first management company, our goal was to find out where we were financially and move forward from there.  With the second management company, our goal was to keep up to date with things and not let someone return us to the position we were in with the first company. And now, with the third company, the problem is holding one person's feet to the fire, so that things get done when we need them done.

Sadly, problems like those we have are common with cooperatives/condominiums and their management companies.  It takes an alert board to keep a management company in line.  But how many people have what it takes to do this?  I don't.  Thankfully, the president of our co-op does, and I will help her keep this complex on track until a new generation of people are ready to take on the mantle of running this place.

- - - - - -

Right now, I attend board meetings as Mario.  But after this Spring's public meeting, I plan to attend more of them as Marian.  This will give me more time during the week to live life as my authentic self. Even if I spend much of my time with RQS as Mario, I have found that I need to get out as Marian to live a balanced life.  I can only imagine what it will be like when I attend my first public board meeting as Marian....