I hate sounding like the resident curmudgeon, but there have been some things happening around the building lately that indicate some tenants here at 24 Norman Street have a different standard of behavior when it comes to living in a condo . Things that make me say "WTF?".Here are a few "WTF?" examples from the last few weeks:
WTF? #1 The Front Door
The front door key code entry system broke the week after Christmas. A notice was posted soon afterwards informing people that they would need to use their manual front door key.
Key? What's that?
Apparently many residents did not have keys, or had never bothered to get one. In spite of the fact that Markwood's phone number is clearly posted in several places in the building, and the fact that they offered to distribute keys to tenants for free, the front and back doors were found propped open, the locks tampered with and jammed, and on one occasion even taped open, (which created an unnecessary security and safety issue) because...people couldn't be bothered to take 5 minutes and call Markwood for a key? Seriously?
WTF? #2 The Dumpster
Unless we miss a pickup for some reason, there is generally a lot of unused space in the dumpster on any given week, however you would never know it to look at it. It is mostly at the back of the dumpster. If people would take a little more care in where they place their trash inside the dumpster and make sure that it is distributed to the back first, rather than piling up in the front, then we won't have it looking like it did this week. Because this looks so attractive...to rats. Also, kudos to whoever left the giant cardboard boxes sitting on the ground.
WTF? #3 The Recycling
I have already posted about breaking down cardboard boxes to fit in the recycling bin, some people are actually doing it. I saw someone tearing up a cardboard box to fit it into the recycling bin just last week and almost wept for joy. Many of you however, are still not getting the message. You need to pick up and take care of your own trash... so that it doesn't blow all over the sidewalk and the street and make the building look like a college dorm after an all-night kegger.
WTF? #4 The Laundry Room
If you are planning on doing several loads of laundry, please plan on sticking around the building until the laundry is done. There are only 6 machines for 39 units. (Do the math)
There is nothing more frustrating than finding all the machines full of clothes in the morning, and then finding those same clothes in the same machines in the evening.
It seems like some of you are putting in a load before you go to work and not checking them until you come home at night, or return from an extended vacation abroad. That leads to scenes like this one. However if you don't mind your clothes being handled by strangers, or tossed into a damp, mildew-ey pile, please continue this practice.
It doesn't take much extra effort to make a big difference in how the building looks and feels. Maybe an extra five minutes of effort or thought.
You may be thinking "What's the big deal? We have maintenance people and trustees to take care of these things", or "If it's outside of my unit, it's not my problem", but those attitudes are short-sighted. Do you care how where you live looks? Do you care if it feels clean, neat and well maintained? Sure, we pay people to clear snow, do landscaping, pick up trash, put out the recycling, vacuum, mop, and do general repairs, but they can't make the building feel like a decent place to live if we, the tenants who live here, demonstrate that we don't care about it through our careless behavior.
