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Post by Script on Jan 21, 2010 13:52:54 GMT -5
today i went grocery shopping with dh we put everything away i made our bed i am on laundry load the second my brother is showing me how to use a laptop in the lobby of the condo i learned how to load the dishwasher and put our dirty dishes inside i tidied up my drawers\; tooooo much chaos when we first arrived just wanted to let everyone know that i am here an enjoying my trip and \not forgetting lessons learned from all you wonderful people\\  |
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Post by charis on Jan 21, 2010 19:30:04 GMT -5
Script I am picturing *** fans twirling, tall ceilings, high windows with open shutters, and cool tile on the floor. Hope you and your DH continue to have a wonderful time. Send us more Postcard type posts |
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Post by gettingsomewhere on Jan 21, 2010 19:37:21 GMT -5
woohooo prez. enjoy.
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Post by messymimi on Jan 21, 2010 19:55:29 GMT -5
Excellently done!
May you have a wonderful time.
messymimi
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Post by Script on Jan 22, 2010 17:26:42 GMT -5
i made the bed again today
we organized another wash day for towels; there are leaks in the bathroom and the owner has been trying to get a plumber to fix things
we did some more grocery shopping
i am learning how to load the dishwasher
i folded and put away air-drying clothes (wait\; i'm always doing that back home too!)
after this compy session in the lobby, i am going upstairs to set the table for supper\; brother and condo owner still with us, so there are four of us
menu\; various take-out and easy-to-assemble items plus white wine (italian\; winn dixie has huge selection of good vino)
also leftovers from italian steak house including the best carrot cake we have ever eaten
after supper\; fridge boogie planned -- anything my brother is leaving behind
best of all\; i went for a manicure in the afternoon
weather\; foggy, weird, humid
photography going well
bird-watching continues excellent\; frigate birds today
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Post by Script on Jan 23, 2010 14:12:36 GMT -5
saturday
made bed again
mega-tidy in condo, now that brother and condo-owner have left
swiped one bathroom sink with paper towel
i am less anxious today
put away some things in kitchen
took trash to garbage room\; first time (i have trouble with this)
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Post by Script on Jan 24, 2010 13:28:46 GMT -5
i am still having contamination anxiety, retching, etc. i am not able to use the shower. i have had only 1 shower in a week, when i absolutely had to wash my hair. thankfully i am swimmiing in a heavily chlorinated pool once or twice daily.\ *i made the bed today *we cleaned up from dinner last night *unloaded dishwasher today *shopping for food: put stuff away earlier today i have found truly disgusting trash (third degree) from previous tenant. FOR THIS I AM PAYING $150 A DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  i wanted to go to a shopping mall for distraction, but dh won't let me drive. i will go back to the pool and sit in the shade or something i also called a cleaning service, but dh wants me to 'wait' and see if the owner can contact her private cleaning lady. i sent an e-mail i am also going to try to clean another one sink with rubber gloves or something wish me luck |
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Post by messyang on Jan 24, 2010 14:46:54 GMT -5
Somehow I missed your original post, are you on vacation or have you moved to Florida? Nonetheless, welcome from a Florida native! I live in South Florida. The weather was a beautiful 77 here today with a soothing breeze. I turned my A/C off, and opened the windows. As far as squalor, the bad thing about Florida are the bugs.
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Post by Script on Jan 24, 2010 17:32:54 GMT -5
Somehow I missed your original post, are you on vacation or have you moved to Florida? Nonetheless, welcome from a Florida native! I live in South Florida. The weather was a beautiful 77 here today with a soothing breeze. I turned my A/C off, and opened the windows. As far as squalor, the bad thing about Florida are the bugs. i am in vacation in a supposedly swanky condo on marco island. there has been one headache after another since my brother arrived here Jan 2. i could not live here, as i cannot handle heat or humidity. bugs are ok. snakes are ok. OTHER PEOPLE"S THIRD DEGREE is NOT OK update for afternoon: *made DH drive me to outdoor low-rise 'old fashioned' shopping plaza *bought scented soap (lavender); soap dish (pewter, with heart embossing); fancy paper hand towels; carnations (purple/white); air-freshener from health food store (rose) *put on rubber gloves; gave sink and vanity another good scrub; put out fancy items then I TOOK A PIX to show myself at home in my scrapbook the grace of perseverance at work................ plus: just received e-mail that a cleaning lady will be coming on monday or tuesday, as organized by owner i have to be very careful that i do not become over-anxious about this disastrous trip (DH has said to me a zillion times that we are NOT getting 'good value'......) i told him we have to go to some audubon park in naples tomorrow: anything to do something positive thank you to all at soos who support each other in whatever..... |
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Post by messymimi on Jan 24, 2010 22:11:05 GMT -5
I'm sorry that your unit is so substandard. You are right that you are not getting good value, and I am proud of you for demanding that it be set right.
I also say good for you for staying on top of the daily things.
Enjoy the park!
messymimi
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Post by Script on Jan 25, 2010 15:13:38 GMT -5
*i made the bed again this morning and tidied up a bit
I am still not able to take a shower
cleaning lady will come tomorrow 9am
we went driving and exploring and having fun (birdwatching) during the rainy weather today
i will try to unload dishwasher this afternoon
Mexican cafe for lunch (i was so reminded of our farewell lunch during Squalor Fest|: hello to mimi etc etc)
planning on going out for pizza tomorrow
i know (via brother) that the condo owner has been mortified at the various snafu's.....
i am clean, as i just came in from a swim, but my hair is horrendous...........maybe tomorrow?
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Post by Script on Jan 26, 2010 14:58:53 GMT -5
update tuesday jan 26 because i knew the cleaning lady was coming, i did a mega-tidy so that she could focus on cleaning. she was very nice; came with mother-in-law, brought some of her own supplies. this is what i did in prep: *made bed *washed towels -- so that she could dry them *washed light clothes -- including DH's good shirts, with stains -- then hung to air-dry *took out 3 bags of trash *loaded some stuff in dishwasher I know that the condo looks considerably cleaner, especially the floors. i think that it was impossible for the owner to keep the place even reasonably tidy during the unexpected reno work. we have also discovered that the master bath floor is still leaking. it was hard to tell, until we removed the towels covering up the floor. i have already sent a rounda-bout message to the owner, so that she might get the plumber guy back in. i also made a BIG POINT of asking the cleaning lady to clean the kitchen garbage can: another reason i took out the trash early this morning. the garbage can and lid and whole inside was filthissimo beyond words, and i have no idea why, with food residue, as there was NO COOKING before we arrived. nancy succeeded in getting the thing 100% spotless. what the  ?? i think that Geranium is right: the condo was NOT properly cleaned after the last tenants. my brother has BEGGED me repeatedly to consider telling the owner GENTLY when we get back exactly what was so troubling to us. the owner is very poor, and could never AFFORD to rent the sort of place she owns, and also does not travel, and does not go to restaurants. I will oblige my brother, while acknowledging the very good points of the place (spectacular view, exquisite landscaping of grounds). I believe (formerly Script The Retired Bookkeeper) that a good comparison would be an 'average' Hampton Inn hotel. We are paying $150 per night (shoulder season). Payable in advance, no refunds. There are lots of little things that are CRAZY (no fan in bathroom; tv remote doesn't work; 30 year-old-appliances; huge quantity of towels, 50% of which are shabby; enormous quantity of dishes and glassware, barely fitting in cupboards; not enough pots). And so on. another thing i did today: more fridge boogie, including bread that we didn't buy, some fruit that was not going to be eaten, etc. I also asked DH to put the recycling in the designated room (a smelly, dirty HORRIBLE place: makes no sense, the rest of the public spaces are fantastic) DH is also less frantic that a FORMER hand-man/employee of the condo owner has a key. "Ralph" came into the unit when we were out to retrieve some tools. DH has never lived in an apt. and is a little too conscious of security/privacy. He seems less worried in general about the accomodations. "we'll make the best of things" he keeps saying. |
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Post by Peach on Jan 26, 2010 16:16:00 GMT -5
Hi Prez ~~ Didn't you say a few days back that the condo owner had been staying at the unit during the beginning of your visit? Didn't she see at that time the poor condition of the condo? Is this a timeshare that she owns? Is there a rental agent who looks after the unit in her absence, which sounds like most of the time.
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Post by Script on Jan 27, 2010 16:23:41 GMT -5
Hi Prez ~~ Didn't you say a few days back that the condo owner had been staying at the unit during the beginning of your visit? Didn't she see at that time the poor condition of the condo? Is this a timeshare that she owns? Is there a rental agent who looks after the unit in her absence, which sounds like most of the time. the condo co-owner is the lady who walks my brother's dog. she and her boyfriend (retired real estate agent) bougtht this unit 30 years ago. they are lovely people, but the BF is pathologically concerned about money (my brother told me). they appear to have done NO UPDATING until this year...... my brother drove the co-owner ("Lois") down here is his car. Idea: he would have a free stay in the condo (approx 2 weeks) while Lois did some management/maintenance work. They used to rent the unit for a whole winter to one older couple. I think they became complacent, as they didn't have to do anything to rent it. The older couple can't come anymore, and they weren't sure how to proceed. Some years ago, Lois wanted to sell the unit (at the peak); the BF refused. Now property values have plummeted: to about HALF...... also: the guys who did the mini-clean-up-maintenance-reno (repaint some rooms) didn't finish anything. There are still piles of construction supplies; no switch plates on open plugs in the kitchen; etc. plus the OLD cleaning lady was just plain OLD and didn't appear to clean anything. Lois was toooooooooooooooo frazzled with the painting and a bit of shopping and the driving and everything. She and my brother were supposed to stay for about a day after our arrival: just for the fun. They ended up staying for 6 days: because nothing was ready for us. I know that Lois apologized to my brother repeatedly on the drive back north, as she KNEW the condo wasn't READY, but they had to leave as she had a commitment back home. the cleaning lady called me last night: this is what she said to me TWICE: "You were right about the bathrooms". Evidently two people worked all morning (6 work hours): just cleaning three rooms and vacuuming. Everything was totally tidy ahead of time: i made sure of that. But the dust and grime and dirt-build-up was formidable: kitchen in which no one cooked and two bathrooms, both of which i had semi-cleaned, plus my DH swiped one floor. YIKES~ today i changed the bed, did laundry, unloaded dishwasher, shopped at outdoor farmers market, put away things etc thanks to all for your kind words and thoughts. when i posted about the problems we have encountered, i also made a mistake, from shame: there was not only third degree squalor (rotting food); there was also FOURTH DEGREE which i cleaned up myself (used sanitary supplies from LAST YEAR stuck on bottom of garbage can). this made me retch and then SCREAM afterwards at my family. "FOR THIS I AM PAYING $150 A DAY? ?" |
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Post by creativechaos on Jan 27, 2010 16:31:59 GMT -5
hi prez;
sorry to hear of the substandard condo conditions. i hope the owner does right by you, and i hope you got a luxurious shower by now. 150 bucks per night should come with a clean, leak free place and i hope you do tell the owner everything, both good and bad. you have every right to follow through and get some satisfaction. by rights, she should reduce your rates be a lot and refund some of your money, poor or not.
how's the birding going? are there flamingos down there? always wanted to see them. and frigate birds. parrots? macaws? toucans? bananaquits? what else?
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