-Law and Governance
The Spacing Guild Manual
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Governance
-Law and Governance
The Spacing Guild Manual
Some new movies, and the reason I won't be seeing them:
With the summer movie season upon us and a spat of new releases, you may find yourself on the fence regarding some of the heavily advertised fare. To help you over it, here are the movies I won't be paying for, and why.
Transformers - Shia LaBeouf
Indiana Jones and the City of Gods (working title) - Shia LaBeouf - Seriously, Shia, the funny sidekick thing is getting old, you did a good job in Constantine, I, Robot was tolerable, but I don't want to see you as a leading man. You're starting to slip into Zach Braff territory. Honestly it's a wonder you didn't get Justin Long's part in Live Free or Die Hard - and man, that kid needs to find another "Ed," those Mac ads will only run for so long.
Fantastic Four; Rise of the Surfer - Because I was subjected to the first one.
Evan Almighty - I'll be able to not watch it three times a week for free on TBS in three months.
Harry Potter Twenty-three (or thereabouts) - Ugh. Too much story to fit into a three hour movie, probably another bastardization of the school grounds, and you can't convince me the twins' departure can be half as funny on film as it was on paper. And they're still using the wrong Dumbledore.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry - Sandler played a Yankees fan in Anger Management; costars Jessica Biel.
The Bourne Ultimatum - They hijacked the titles of Robert Ludlum's best-selling franchise and jettisoned the plot, characters, mythos, and morality (also see I, Robot); They made Clive Owen a geeky, bespectacled assassin in the first one and then killed him; They killed the girl to open the second movie.
Underdog - Live-actioning a classic cartoon (See: Scooby-Doo, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Transformers); Jason Lee voices the main character.
Stardust - Probably wildly divergent from the book by Neil Gaiman (which was ok, not super); Like Gaiman needs any more money or influence. Let's talk about an author everybody hasn't heard of maybe, ok?
Rush Hour 3 - Because I'm going to buy it on dvd and watch it over and over, just like the first two.
Resident Evil Extinction - I haven't seen the first two in the series based on a video game I'm never going to play.
Knocked Up* - Because I'm way more excited for Superbad, written by the same guy, and without gratuitous birth canal footage or that guy who plays his friend with the goatee who I hate.
1408 - I've never even seen an ad for this movie - what the hell is it? Oh, riiiight, this is that horror movie with John Cusack in the hotel. Yeah, dumb.
License to Wed - Robin Williams as a priest. Jim from The Office as somebody who's not Jim from the Office. No Dwight Schrute.
Captivity - Because I'm not fourteen.
Hairspray - Travolta in drag. Do yourselves a favor and don't look at his giant man hands. It's wicked freaky.
-t
* - My girlfriend isprobably going to make me go see Knocked Up (hi, Samantha!), so what can you do?
Transformers - Shia LaBeouf
Indiana Jones and the City of Gods (working title) - Shia LaBeouf - Seriously, Shia, the funny sidekick thing is getting old, you did a good job in Constantine, I, Robot was tolerable, but I don't want to see you as a leading man. You're starting to slip into Zach Braff territory. Honestly it's a wonder you didn't get Justin Long's part in Live Free or Die Hard - and man, that kid needs to find another "Ed," those Mac ads will only run for so long.
Fantastic Four; Rise of the Surfer - Because I was subjected to the first one.
Evan Almighty - I'll be able to not watch it three times a week for free on TBS in three months.
Harry Potter Twenty-three (or thereabouts) - Ugh. Too much story to fit into a three hour movie, probably another bastardization of the school grounds, and you can't convince me the twins' departure can be half as funny on film as it was on paper. And they're still using the wrong Dumbledore.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry - Sandler played a Yankees fan in Anger Management; costars Jessica Biel.
The Bourne Ultimatum - They hijacked the titles of Robert Ludlum's best-selling franchise and jettisoned the plot, characters, mythos, and morality (also see I, Robot); They made Clive Owen a geeky, bespectacled assassin in the first one and then killed him; They killed the girl to open the second movie.
Underdog - Live-actioning a classic cartoon (See: Scooby-Doo, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Transformers); Jason Lee voices the main character.
Stardust - Probably wildly divergent from the book by Neil Gaiman (which was ok, not super); Like Gaiman needs any more money or influence. Let's talk about an author everybody hasn't heard of maybe, ok?
Rush Hour 3 - Because I'm going to buy it on dvd and watch it over and over, just like the first two.
Resident Evil Extinction - I haven't seen the first two in the series based on a video game I'm never going to play.
Knocked Up* - Because I'm way more excited for Superbad, written by the same guy, and without gratuitous birth canal footage or that guy who plays his friend with the goatee who I hate.
1408 - I've never even seen an ad for this movie - what the hell is it? Oh, riiiight, this is that horror movie with John Cusack in the hotel. Yeah, dumb.
License to Wed - Robin Williams as a priest. Jim from The Office as somebody who's not Jim from the Office. No Dwight Schrute.
Captivity - Because I'm not fourteen.
Hairspray - Travolta in drag. Do yourselves a favor and don't look at his giant man hands. It's wicked freaky.
-t
* - My girlfriend is
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The Really Early Bird
I was so tired this morning ... (how tired were you?!)
...that I woke up early.
That's not a punchline. I was so tired I got out of bed an hour earlier than I needed to.
Early this morning, as I lay sleeping, birds started to sing, and the sun rose above the treeline, and shone directly into my eyes.
I sat up, looked at my clock, and realized it was already quarter past the hour, half an hour later than my alarm was set for!
I jumped up and ran into the shower, threw on some clothes, flipped on the news, and realized, too late now, than I was in fact, half an hour ahead of my alarm.
I'd been awakened at 7:15AM, not 7:45AM. My alarm hadn't even gone off yet.
So I watched J.A.G. until it was time to leave.
-t
...that I woke up early.
That's not a punchline. I was so tired I got out of bed an hour earlier than I needed to.
Early this morning, as I lay sleeping, birds started to sing, and the sun rose above the treeline, and shone directly into my eyes.
I sat up, looked at my clock, and realized it was already quarter past the hour, half an hour later than my alarm was set for!
I jumped up and ran into the shower, threw on some clothes, flipped on the news, and realized, too late now, than I was in fact, half an hour ahead of my alarm.
I'd been awakened at 7:15AM, not 7:45AM. My alarm hadn't even gone off yet.
So I watched J.A.G. until it was time to leave.
-t
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Found: Great New Blog
I accidentally (thanks universalhub) found a ridiculously awesome blog.
Boston 1775: History, analysis, and unabashed gossip about the start of the American Revolution in Massachusetts.
Really, it's tons of fun. What kind of tea did they throw into Boston Harbor at the Boston Tea Party? Was it really Breed's Hill, or was it Bunker's Hill? George Washington's teeth.
-t
Boston 1775: History, analysis, and unabashed gossip about the start of the American Revolution in Massachusetts.
Really, it's tons of fun. What kind of tea did they throw into Boston Harbor at the Boston Tea Party? Was it really Breed's Hill, or was it Bunker's Hill? George Washington's teeth.
-t
Monday, June 18, 2007
Won't Go Home
I started this job about four months ago. For the majority of that time I've been trying to figure out what, exactly, is wrong with my coworkers.
Today I might have hit upon something important.
They have strange eating habits. They eat, like, all the time.
Ok, disclosure, it might be me with the weird eating habits, and they seem different only by comparison, but that's why you're here, to act as impartial arbiters. I'm so glad I started this blog.
Anyway. They eat all the time. Maybe I should give you a quick run down of my day, just so you know what I'm comparing them to:
Factors of Importance in Tom's Day-to-day Life:
Sleep - I have a deep affinity for sleep - perhaps a preternatural affinity. If given the opportunity I would sleep fourteen hours a day, unfortunately, work and prime time television conspire to limit me to around seven or eight hours a night. But, it's very important. So important, in fact, that I would rather sleep an extra fifteen minutes in the morning than sacrifice that time to wake earlier and eat breakfast or make a lunch. Ideally I could roll out of bed fully-dressed and showered and head out to work.
Food - In order of importance Food comes right behind Sleep. I miss breakfast sometimes, but almost never miss lunch, which I usually eat at about 12:30PM - or, about four and one-half hours after I wake up in the morning. I usually eat dinner near seven o'clock, or about six hours after lunch.
Money - If I were made of money I would never miss breakfast. In fact, I would probably have it catered. But, as I'm not made of money, on those days I do sleep late and skip breakfast I do wrestle with a choice once I get to work: buy a breakfast sandwich and coffee; or, not. It averages about fifty-fifty (though, due to recent heart palpitations, and a bout with "crazy eyes," I've been staying away from caffeine). On days I do grab something to eat it's usually near ten o'clock, which pushes lunch back an additional hour or so, because I don't like to crowd my meals.
Not Dealing With Stupid or Aggravating People - This is really outside my control. It's necessary to interact with people everyday, and there are a lot of stupid ones out there.
In general it's: Sleep a lot, work, eat lunch, work, go home, eat dinner, sleep.
So, to get back to the thing that I noticed this morning as I returned to work with my Dunkin' Donuts breakfast sandwich and (decaffeinated) coffee.
They eat all the time - constantly.
It bothered me from the beginning of my tenure here that my coworkers never left the office. They would come in early, they would work all day, and they would stay late - much later than I was willing to stay - every day, for no discernible reason.
"Don't they have homes?" I would think to myself? "Aren't they shelling out half of their paychecks for rent on a apartment in the city? If you're paying that much for a place to live, why wouldn't you want to spend time there?"
Because that's the thing: Not only did they not leave, they acted like they didn't want to leave!
And this is what I'm struggling to understand. Presumably these people have lives outside of work. Girlfriends, school friends, roommates, hobbies, whatever. Why spend more time in the office than necessary? The work isn't exciting, it isn't rewarding, it isn't fun. They seem to hate managers as much as anyone I've worked with in the past, it's not a sense of camaraderie. I don't get it.
So, rather than try and divine a solution to this problem, I've decided, instead, to observe, try and note discrepancies, oddities, and compile them, hopeful they'll add up to something that will unlock this mystery.
And today I noticed, that they eat, a lot.
I don't mean they eat large quantities of food. I mean they eat small quantities almost constantly.
I arrive in the morning, they're already here, some munching on energy or protein bars, some with enormous cups of coffee, some with breakfast cereal in bowls and spoons they brought in from home. This goes on for about an hour and a half.
Then it's lunchtime. Lunch! At ten-thirty! Sometimes as late as eleven! Crazy! Folks, I'm not even awake at ten-thirty, nevermind hungry for the second meal of the day!
They eat lunch. Some go out to local eateries (designated by the day of the week, "Qdoba Thursdays," "Wendy's Wednesdays")
Mid-afternoon, an hour or so after lunch they run out "for a snack." And down to 7-11 they go for Cracker Jack, or those gross taquitos things, or assorted Frito-Lay chips.
Then they start to eat dinner! Start.
They have Tupperware containers, or Ziploc containers, or Gladware containers full of chicken and rice, or spaghetti and meatballs, or turkey, peas, mashed potatoes and gravy.
And they eat a little of it, then reseal it, and put it back in the fridge for later.
It's now about four-thirty. They work for an hour, take their dinners out, heat them up, and keep working while they eat!
We're now at least an hour past quittin' time! They're just settling in!!Why????
I don't understand. I get up, eat three (ish) meals a day and want to get out of work as soon as humanly possible.
These guys, it's like they're camping out! GO HOME, YOU LOSERS!
-t
Today I might have hit upon something important.
They have strange eating habits. They eat, like, all the time.
Ok, disclosure, it might be me with the weird eating habits, and they seem different only by comparison, but that's why you're here, to act as impartial arbiters. I'm so glad I started this blog.
Anyway. They eat all the time. Maybe I should give you a quick run down of my day, just so you know what I'm comparing them to:
Factors of Importance in Tom's Day-to-day Life:
Sleep - I have a deep affinity for sleep - perhaps a preternatural affinity. If given the opportunity I would sleep fourteen hours a day, unfortunately, work and prime time television conspire to limit me to around seven or eight hours a night. But, it's very important. So important, in fact, that I would rather sleep an extra fifteen minutes in the morning than sacrifice that time to wake earlier and eat breakfast or make a lunch. Ideally I could roll out of bed fully-dressed and showered and head out to work.
Food - In order of importance Food comes right behind Sleep. I miss breakfast sometimes, but almost never miss lunch, which I usually eat at about 12:30PM - or, about four and one-half hours after I wake up in the morning. I usually eat dinner near seven o'clock, or about six hours after lunch.
Money - If I were made of money I would never miss breakfast. In fact, I would probably have it catered. But, as I'm not made of money, on those days I do sleep late and skip breakfast I do wrestle with a choice once I get to work: buy a breakfast sandwich and coffee; or, not. It averages about fifty-fifty (though, due to recent heart palpitations, and a bout with "crazy eyes," I've been staying away from caffeine). On days I do grab something to eat it's usually near ten o'clock, which pushes lunch back an additional hour or so, because I don't like to crowd my meals.
Not Dealing With Stupid or Aggravating People - This is really outside my control. It's necessary to interact with people everyday, and there are a lot of stupid ones out there.
In general it's: Sleep a lot, work, eat lunch, work, go home, eat dinner, sleep.
So, to get back to the thing that I noticed this morning as I returned to work with my Dunkin' Donuts breakfast sandwich and (decaffeinated) coffee.
They eat all the time - constantly.
It bothered me from the beginning of my tenure here that my coworkers never left the office. They would come in early, they would work all day, and they would stay late - much later than I was willing to stay - every day, for no discernible reason.
"Don't they have homes?" I would think to myself? "Aren't they shelling out half of their paychecks for rent on a apartment in the city? If you're paying that much for a place to live, why wouldn't you want to spend time there?"
Because that's the thing: Not only did they not leave, they acted like they didn't want to leave!
And this is what I'm struggling to understand. Presumably these people have lives outside of work. Girlfriends, school friends, roommates, hobbies, whatever. Why spend more time in the office than necessary? The work isn't exciting, it isn't rewarding, it isn't fun. They seem to hate managers as much as anyone I've worked with in the past, it's not a sense of camaraderie. I don't get it.
So, rather than try and divine a solution to this problem, I've decided, instead, to observe, try and note discrepancies, oddities, and compile them, hopeful they'll add up to something that will unlock this mystery.
And today I noticed, that they eat, a lot.
I don't mean they eat large quantities of food. I mean they eat small quantities almost constantly.
I arrive in the morning, they're already here, some munching on energy or protein bars, some with enormous cups of coffee, some with breakfast cereal in bowls and spoons they brought in from home. This goes on for about an hour and a half.
Then it's lunchtime. Lunch! At ten-thirty! Sometimes as late as eleven! Crazy! Folks, I'm not even awake at ten-thirty, nevermind hungry for the second meal of the day!
They eat lunch. Some go out to local eateries (designated by the day of the week, "Qdoba Thursdays," "Wendy's Wednesdays")
Mid-afternoon, an hour or so after lunch they run out "for a snack." And down to 7-11 they go for Cracker Jack, or those gross taquitos things, or assorted Frito-Lay chips.
Then they start to eat dinner! Start.
They have Tupperware containers, or Ziploc containers, or Gladware containers full of chicken and rice, or spaghetti and meatballs, or turkey, peas, mashed potatoes and gravy.
And they eat a little of it, then reseal it, and put it back in the fridge for later.
It's now about four-thirty. They work for an hour, take their dinners out, heat them up, and keep working while they eat!
We're now at least an hour past quittin' time! They're just settling in!!Why????
I don't understand. I get up, eat three (ish) meals a day and want to get out of work as soon as humanly possible.
These guys, it's like they're camping out! GO HOME, YOU LOSERS!
-t
Seeking Direction
Hello, readers, I'd like to ask for your help.
What's the best way to get through, or around, New York City? Ideally I'd like to avoid all traffic at all costs.
Also, no low-clearance bridges, I'll be driving a moving truck.
I'm serious. If anyone suggests the George Washington Bridge I'll track you down myself, drag you there by your hair, and pitch you into the Hudson. (GWB crosses the Hudson, right?)
Seriously, help.
Thanks,
-t
What's the best way to get through, or around, New York City? Ideally I'd like to avoid all traffic at all costs.
Also, no low-clearance bridges, I'll be driving a moving truck.
I'm serious. If anyone suggests the George Washington Bridge I'll track you down myself, drag you there by your hair, and pitch you into the Hudson. (GWB crosses the Hudson, right?)
Seriously, help.
Thanks,
-t
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
a-Fortune
Raise your hand if you own an iPod. Raise your hand if you've ever heard of one.
iTunes? What about e-mail? Do any of you use e-mail?
What I'd like to know is, what will be the next lowercase vowel to start popping up all over our lives for no reason?
It started simply enough, electronic mail became e-mail. It's shorter, it makes sense, it's catchy.
Then, maybe it got a little out of hand - "e-" became the go-to prefix for the internet age: e-mail, ebay, evite, e-trade, e-surance and so on.
And then Steve Jobs came along with his flashy new vowel and suite of software: iMac, iPod, iTunes, iLife, iPhone...
Google's now getting in on the picture with their personalized google homepage, iGoogle.
Is it getting a little ridiculous? Yes. So ridiculous, in fact, that I forsee a shift coming. The i's are out. Time for a new vowel to step up.
Get ready for u-Blog, or aCar, and oBaby, or even y-Knot. (why not? y's a vowel!)
The real question is, who do I see about trademarking those last four vowel-hypens?
The licensing will be worth billions.
-t
iTunes? What about e-mail? Do any of you use e-mail?
What I'd like to know is, what will be the next lowercase vowel to start popping up all over our lives for no reason?
It started simply enough, electronic mail became e-mail. It's shorter, it makes sense, it's catchy.
Then, maybe it got a little out of hand - "e-" became the go-to prefix for the internet age: e-mail, ebay, evite, e-trade, e-surance and so on.
And then Steve Jobs came along with his flashy new vowel and suite of software: iMac, iPod, iTunes, iLife, iPhone...
Google's now getting in on the picture with their personalized google homepage, iGoogle.
Is it getting a little ridiculous? Yes. So ridiculous, in fact, that I forsee a shift coming. The i's are out. Time for a new vowel to step up.
Get ready for u-Blog, or aCar, and oBaby, or even y-Knot. (why not? y's a vowel!)
The real question is, who do I see about trademarking those last four vowel-hypens?
The licensing will be worth billions.
-t
Monday, June 11, 2007
Soft-toss
Company softball sixth game wrap-up:
Rained out.
Company softball seventh game wrap-up:
We won. (I know! How exciting! A win! U-S-A! U-S-S-R!... I-J-L!)
Anyway. We finally matched up with a team we can play with. No power hitters, no spectacular fielders, and a pitcher that I could hit.
Oh, right, did I mention? I was hitting the ball. I went 4-4 with three singles and a double, with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.
Final score 25-16.
Team record 1-6
Season batting average: .460
-t
Rained out.
Company softball seventh game wrap-up:
We won. (I know! How exciting! A win! U-S-A! U-S-S-R!... I-J-L!)
Anyway. We finally matched up with a team we can play with. No power hitters, no spectacular fielders, and a pitcher that I could hit.
Oh, right, did I mention? I was hitting the ball. I went 4-4 with three singles and a double, with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.
Final score 25-16.
Team record 1-6
Season batting average: .460
-t
Apologetically,
Hi there, readers.
My rate of posting has declined steadily since hiring on here at my job. It's all my own fault, really. First, I gave up the frustration and funny anecdotes that came with stupid coworkers, then, I gave up the cavities, apathy, and inane posts spurred by total and utter boredom that came with free soft drinks, zero mangerial oversight, and absolutely nothing to do.
I gave it all up, for this. Look around you: emptiness. Fewer than one post per week!
Zilch.
I'd like to be better. To write a bit more. To create, to contentize, contribute. And maybe I will, maybe even in the near future.
But probably not, because I'm busy all the time here.
I process an endless stream of trades from 9AM until 5:15PM everyday, and sometimes leave the office for fifteen minutes at lunch.
I'd like some free time back. If I get it there will be a corresponding increase in rate of posts.
Until then, I will try and refrain, in my too-few updates, from writing too much about the Red Sox, my company softball team, or how busy I am at work.
But whatever. It's not like you all are updating that often either.
-t
My rate of posting has declined steadily since hiring on here at my job. It's all my own fault, really. First, I gave up the frustration and funny anecdotes that came with stupid coworkers, then, I gave up the cavities, apathy, and inane posts spurred by total and utter boredom that came with free soft drinks, zero mangerial oversight, and absolutely nothing to do.
I gave it all up, for this. Look around you: emptiness. Fewer than one post per week!
Zilch.
I'd like to be better. To write a bit more. To create, to contentize, contribute. And maybe I will, maybe even in the near future.
But probably not, because I'm busy all the time here.
I process an endless stream of trades from 9AM until 5:15PM everyday, and sometimes leave the office for fifteen minutes at lunch.
I'd like some free time back. If I get it there will be a corresponding increase in rate of posts.
Until then, I will try and refrain, in my too-few updates, from writing too much about the Red Sox, my company softball team, or how busy I am at work.
But whatever. It's not like you all are updating that often either.
-t
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Realtor Reality?
Realtors are getting to me. I'm currently looking for an apartment in the Boston area (at this point, anywhere in Greater Boston).
First on the list, Realtors-Who-Haven't-Seen-The-Apartment-Before-Showing-It-To-Renters
Case-in-point: Cliff, a realtor, arranged to show an apartment in Malden. Upon arrival he and I waited for ten minutes outside for the homeowner to show up and unlock it. As I inspected the place Cliff wandered around marvelling at the hard wood floors and enormous closets.
I'm glad you're happy with the apartment, Cliff, but you're not the one who'll be living here. Maybe you should worry about knowing things like how much it rents for, if there's laundry available, what the parking situation is, and what sort of deposit I'll be looking at.
Why are you showing an apartment you've never set foot in before? You're the realtor, you shouldn't be asking more questions than I am. You should find out before you show the apartment.
Second, Realtors-Who-Aren't-Really-Realtors-But-More-Like-Agents-For-Big-Complexes-And-Don't-Do-Any-Work-But-Are-Happy-To-Charge-A-Full-Fee-Anyway
Like...Donna, a realtor who set up an appointment to look at a 2br place near Malden square, and five minutes prior to the appointment called to cancel and instead suggested driving "just a little ways down Lebanon street," but left out the rest of the directions "all the way to a giant apartment complex on Route 1."
Upon arriving, and realizing we'd been duped, we were led into the administrative offices of the complex by Donna who introduced us to the property manager, and then promptly sat down to remain mute and immobile for the manager's entire 45 minute presentation and tour.
Thanks Donna, we could have dispensed with you entirely by placing a direct phone call.
Third, Realtors-Who-Seem-Very-Nice-Until-You-Realize-They're-Probably-Only-Acting-Helpful-Out-Of-A-Desire-To-Maliciously-Twist-The-Knife-Into-Unsuspecting-Renters
Like Maryanne, who was contacted via email about a lovely-looking duplex in Melrose and responded Sunday afternoon with an invitation to an open house that had taken place five hours earlier on Sunday morning.
Maryanne then sent a very thoughtful follow-up email on Monday afternoon which included details about the apartment and a plethora of new photos.
When I called Marryanne Monday after reading her email she said "Oh, I just rented that apartment this morning, sorry!"
Maryanne, if you had already rented the apartment then why did you bother sending us and email with photos?
That's not cool Maryanne.
Honorable mention? Realtors who show tiny 1br apartments with no parking or laundry after you've explicitly stated you're looking for a 2br with both.
-t
First on the list, Realtors-Who-Haven't-Seen-The-Apartment-Before-Showing-It-To-Renters
Case-in-point: Cliff, a realtor, arranged to show an apartment in Malden. Upon arrival he and I waited for ten minutes outside for the homeowner to show up and unlock it. As I inspected the place Cliff wandered around marvelling at the hard wood floors and enormous closets.
I'm glad you're happy with the apartment, Cliff, but you're not the one who'll be living here. Maybe you should worry about knowing things like how much it rents for, if there's laundry available, what the parking situation is, and what sort of deposit I'll be looking at.
Why are you showing an apartment you've never set foot in before? You're the realtor, you shouldn't be asking more questions than I am. You should find out before you show the apartment.
Second, Realtors-Who-Aren't-Really-Realtors-But-More-Like-Agents-For-Big-Complexes-And-Don't-Do-Any-Work-But-Are-Happy-To-Charge-A-Full-Fee-Anyway
Like...Donna, a realtor who set up an appointment to look at a 2br place near Malden square, and five minutes prior to the appointment called to cancel and instead suggested driving "just a little ways down Lebanon street," but left out the rest of the directions "all the way to a giant apartment complex on Route 1."
Upon arriving, and realizing we'd been duped, we were led into the administrative offices of the complex by Donna who introduced us to the property manager, and then promptly sat down to remain mute and immobile for the manager's entire 45 minute presentation and tour.
Thanks Donna, we could have dispensed with you entirely by placing a direct phone call.
Third, Realtors-Who-Seem-Very-Nice-Until-You-Realize-They're-Probably-Only-Acting-Helpful-Out-Of-A-Desire-To-Maliciously-Twist-The-Knife-Into-Unsuspecting-Renters
Like Maryanne, who was contacted via email about a lovely-looking duplex in Melrose and responded Sunday afternoon with an invitation to an open house that had taken place five hours earlier on Sunday morning.
Maryanne then sent a very thoughtful follow-up email on Monday afternoon which included details about the apartment and a plethora of new photos.
When I called Marryanne Monday after reading her email she said "Oh, I just rented that apartment this morning, sorry!"
Maryanne, if you had already rented the apartment then why did you bother sending us and email with photos?
That's not cool Maryanne.
Honorable mention? Realtors who show tiny 1br apartments with no parking or laundry after you've explicitly stated you're looking for a 2br with both.
-t
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