{Rant}: From an on site property manager

Please promise me you will never do any of the following to your landlord. If you do, your landlord will dislike you. And so will I.

- Ring the doorbell at 7am repeatedly and hope we answer the door. When we don't answer the door, please do not run home and call as many times as your little fingers can dial the number.
-Lie about how many people live in your apartment. When your apt. manager lives on site, they know what is going on and they are not stupid.
-Litter. Garbage cans and dumpsters are not just for decoration. Use them. And if you have something big, like a mattress that needs to go in the dumpster...
-PUT it IN the dumpster. Not to the side of it. Or by it. Someone has to lift it up and put it in the dumpster for the trash man. That person is your manager. Who probably has better things to do with their time.
-Pay rent late then yell at the manager for giving you a late fee. There is a reason the lease informs you of the late fee. Don't get mad at the manager for you being poor, too lazy to come on the proper day, or whatever other reason you have for being late. Your fault, not mine.
-Make us go to court because you feel you can live here without paying rent. You will lose.
-If you come to my door, do not smoke in my face. Unless you want me to puke on you.
-Just because you give me your rent does not give your kids permission to: pet my dog, give my dog baths, sit on my car, etc.
-Come to the door at any hour you please. Treat this like a business. A business has office hours. So do we. If you come an hour too soon, you can bet I will bite your head off and make you feel as stupid as humanly possible...there is a sign on the door that you are knocking on stating when we are open. Read it. Otherwise, prepare to be on my bad side. Which, believe it or not, is a very bad idea.
-If you don't speak English, bring someone to the door that can. I don't magically gain the gift of tongues every time I open the door. And I don't particularly enjoy playing charades either.
-Watch your kids. Need I say more? Oh wait, I do...pick up their poopy diapers and put them in. the. garbage.

And...the list could go on but I think that covers the basics that we all learned in kindergarten.

{Man's best friend}: Toby

Almost 6 months ago, Brian and I got Toby (that just goes to show how big I have been into blogging). Brian has wanted a beagle for as long as I have known him. One night I just decided to look on ksl for free dogs, and that's how we found Toby. When we went to pick him up, the lady that was giving him away started crying. We felt so bad; I know it's silly but now I  understand why she was so sad. I'm pretty sure I would do the same thing too now. I never thought I would love a dog that much- but I am so grateful we have him & he's definitely part of the family.

When Brian gets home from work, Toby always runs to the door to greet him. I don't know how he knows it's Brian because he always barks at other people who come to the door- but not Brian. Then when Brian gets inside, he'll just go lay with him while Brian rests. I'm bummed to say it, but Brian is probably Toby's favorite between the two of us. Talk about man's best friend.

He always gets up and begs like this when he wants something because he knows we will fall for it. I think he looks like he's wearing a tuxedo.

 He loves riding in the car...but what dog doesn't?

He also loves little kids and licking them. It's so fun watching my nieces play with him.  They can grab his tail or pretty much do whatever, and he will just sit there and be patient. 

{Update}: As of Late...

Where to start, where to start?

Brian and I are currently managing 37 apartments here in town. All  most of the tenants are Hispanic and don't speak English...so that makes it extra "fun." I can usually understand what is being talked about, but when it comes to actually speaking in Spanish, I have a really hard time. I need to get the RosettaStone! Some of the tenants are absolutely crazy; then there are others that I wish spoke English because they are so cute and nice.

School is in full swing. I can't believe this semester is already halfway! It's flying by and I am oh so happy about that...can't wait to be done! I already have a list of books to read when I'm able tor read something besides a textbook.

I am so excited for Fall. It's only mid September and I already have all of my "Fall" scents out...it is without a doubt my favorite season (besides Christmas). Speaking of Christmas, I went to Costco the other day and literally almost started crying because they have all their Christmas decorations out. I don't what it is, but I really love Christmas lights and decor!

And after a lot of work, our apt is looking more "homey" than when we moved in. Which reminds me...

We finally have a washer/dryer! Hooray! No More laundromat or having to do all the laundry at once!

{Reading}: Emotional Intelligence

For the past year or so while I've been in my program, I have hardly touched a book that isn't a required textbook. Thankfully, we are reading this book for one of my classes this semester. It has been nice to relax and just read every so often for the past few weeks. At first, I thought this book was really boring- mainly because it does start out kind of slow. But it gets better. Basically it's talking about the different characteristics that make up emotional intelligence and how they can help you succeed at home, work, or generally anywhere.
Here are a few things that I've been thinking about:

1. "The less aware we are of what makes us passionate, the more lost we will be. It feels better to do what we have a passion for, even if the rewards are greater elsewhere." I have been thinking about this a lot lately, so that's why it stuck out to me. It's still rolling around in the back of my head, so maybe more on that another day.

2. On empathy, "Sensing what others feel without their saying so captures the essence of empathy. At the highest levels, empathy is understanding the issues or concerns that lie behind another's feelings. The key to knowing others' emotional terrain is an intimate familiarity with our own. Empathy is our social radar." It makes me sad, because I feel like this is becoming a lost art sometimes. Whether it's while people are driving, standing in line at the grocery, or even talking with close friends. So often it's easy to disregard what may be going on with someone else because we are too busy or out of tune to read their body language rather than just half listening to the words they say. And I totally agree that part of that comes from being out of touch with one's self.

These are just a few thoughts that have stuck out to me while reading this past week. I know I have a long ways to go as far as achieving every aspect of emotional intelligence, but that's the beauty of it. It's a work in progress for everyone and we are all working on different aspects.