Carin’s Corner
Sometimes, you just have to laugh! By Carin Rosengren, CMCA | Keller Property Management
I
arrived at the office the other morning, got settled at my desk, and let the 10,001 things-I-have-to-do swim around in my head for a couple of minutes. I sorted them out between the urgent, the important and the “nice.” I put my head down and got to work. My co-worker Cindy was also buried in the many, many, many (did I mention there are a lot?) tasks facing a community association property manager on a daily basis.
“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” — e. e. cummings
Before long — thankfully — she turned around in her chair in the small office we share, and flashed me a big smile. “You have to hear the voicemail I got this morning.” I grin, happy for the distraction. I’m about to have a vehicle towed which I don’t like to do, I’m levying fines on people who can’t seem to listen or understand the rules, and I have a rogue board member who is taking action unilaterally and seriously stressing the rest of the board. “Play it,” I said. The voicemail starts innocently enough; it seems like a concern about maintenance. He gives his name and address and says he wants to clarify that the association takes care of the exterior. OK. The next two sentences make me erupt in laughter. “The exterior of the building needs to be cleaned,” the caller explains. “There is some … uh, bird poop, on my garage door. Can you please send someone to take care of this?” We roar together, her already having heard this message and getting another full, tilt-your-headback-in-laughter reaction from it. His call will be returned in a professional manner (i.e. no laughter or snorts) but boy, this is a funny one. As those who work for and within community associations know: If you’re not ready to cry about the stress or the workload or the fact that we can’t fix everything (and there’s nothing wrong with a cry now and again), you have got to laugh. And, we laughed at that bird poop call.
Whatever you do around the CAI community, you have a funny story too. I know you do. And we want to hear it! The CAI-MN Communications Committee is discussing future topics and features, as we aim to inform, entertain and engage at the same time. That might be a lofty goal, but being that we share each other’s joys and pains — I can understand what vendors and homeowners and board members and managers go through — we need to bond. We need each other’s support, to give and get a sympathetic ear, and to share a funny story once in a while. Please share yours. Whether it’s just a sentence, a paragraph or a page, share your story (or multiple stories) by sending an email to Monte Abeler: montea@cai-mn.com, or to me: crosengren@ kellerpm.com. 4
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