HOA's Suck!

Well at least mine does. We live in an older neighbor with even older standards and rules enforced by a bunch of a-holes as a Board of Director's. The Shady Hollow HOA can't seem to upgrade the way access to the pool is made. Every year you have to write them a check for $100 which they cash in order to get a pool key. At the end of the year you return the key and get $100 back. Why they can't upgrade to a key-card which they could just log out someone who doesn't pay is beside me.

Well this year I was late in returning the key. The lady at the office said for me to write a letter to the board explaining why and to ask for leniency. OK. I did that. And that on 12/17 the board would make a decision. This morning I get a phone call explaining that a decision had been made and a schedule has been approved for those who turn the key in late. Subtract $25 for every week late and that's what you get back. Did they even read my letter? Do they really need another $100 to $25?

So now i'm pissed and go up to the board to return my key. There's one guy who's always in there who is a total jack ass always willing to make a comment even if your not talking to him. And i think great, here it comes. I return the key, sign the receipt and the receptionist says that they will mail be a check for the difference next week. To which I respond that I am not interested in a refund that if the board deems it necessary to keep my money and if they need it that bad, they can have it. Jack-ass chimes in with "well we have to send them out, I guess you can just not cash it?" in a tone like what kind of asshole doesn't cash a check? To which I said, so there's no way to not have a check sent to my house, I don't want a refund. "No".

The lady asks if I enjoyed going to the pool this year? I said "I don't go down there very often and actually wished that we had never joined the HOA for just this reason." We have some neighbors that built a very nice fence that they had to re-do because someone on the board figured out it didn't meet the requirements of the HOA when it comes to fences. Well my neighbors had to get a lawyer to keep the board from harassing them. They then went a changed the fence at an added expense. Next the HOA will probably try to take down some veteran's flag pole.

So i guess the check is coming, which i am going to return. Because this is about principle. If they want to stick to me, then do it! Don't humor me by sending some of the money back. Take it all you greedy jerks. Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Festivus is Among Us

Here at the ATX Phillips house we don't really go down the Christmas-crazy road this time of year. I do have very fond memories of Christmas as a kid, probably more the tradition and anticipation of the big morning. Since I could remember, we would spend Christmas eve at the Fagan's with everyone we really knew at that time. Then off to church, home to open one gift and then the wait for Christmas morning. For many, many years we had one set or the other of grand parents that would come over to Roswell and spend Christmas, which would always add another layer of the familiness of Christmas to the event. But the reassuring of the season was always in the bonding of the family and those families that we were close with.

But now that we don't have kids or nephews/nieces, or really spend much time around people that have kids, Christmas takes on a different role. We have started to gravitate towards Festivus. As described by Wikipedia, "Celebrants of the holiday sometimes refer to it as "Festivus for the rest of us", a saying taken from the O'Keefe family traditions and popularized in the "Seinfeld" episode to describe Festivus as "another way" to celebrate the season without participating in its pressures and commercialization." Our gift giving takes place over a number of days and is always kept to a minimum, often without wrapping. We will of course have Christmas morning with my parents in Kerrville this year which will be followed by a brunch with some of their neighbors and friends. Again more of what I look forward to.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Festivus to all!

Whisky River Take My Mind

Last night I took the Texas family to see Willie Nelson and it was awesome! 5 hours of music including Billy Bob Thornton's band The Boxmasters, who suck. Every song is 3 minutes long with 2.75 of nothing but repeating chorus.

Next was Austin's own Asleep At The Wheel who played a lot of Western standards and then Willie came out to play some songs with them.

Then the main event which started around 10 pm and kept going, and going, and going until 12:30a. All the hits of course with extended jams between Willie, Roy from AATW, Willie's son, Willie's sister on piano (Little Sister they call her)and Mickey (harmonica player). Willie is 75 and can still rock the guitar solo to no end. He can't sing the high notes like he used to but sounded great. I am very happy to have finally seen him, as I've been listening to his music since I was a kid. We had an eight track player with a bunch of tapes and one of them was Willie's greatest hits. I highly recommend that you see him while you can because some day he ain't gonna be there and you will have missed one of the most incredible singer/song writers and live concerts ever.

Thanks Willie!

Utah View Blocking Bird

Utah View Blocking Bird

Posted using ShareThis

This is fantastic!

Coldness abounds on the plains..

well the wonderful austin weather has finally turned for the worse. days of drizzle, a hard freeze, and cloudiness have us hunkered down. mindy has been out of town for a week and comes back tomorrow. thank god, the dogs are wondering why i am trying to carry on conversations with them. since its been so bad out, i haven't gotten to any of the outdoor projects I wanted to knock off.

i saw a story on the CBS sunday morning news show about how popular "ping-pong" has become and clubs and bars are popping up all over to cash in. well first let me say that its called "table tennis" and it is an olympic sport. AND that we have been rocking a table for years now. i even introduced it to mindy's work when i got a table for free and gave it to her warehouse. they had a nice room for a while where the table was the only thing in the room and from what i hear there was a lot of playing going on- after hours i'm sure. once again i am a head of the times.

christmas is looming on the calendar. it never seems to amaze me in this season of "giving and hope for all mankind", that people act as shitty as they do in their cars looking for a parking space, or running through an intersection because they are late or in line for fast food. most people i'm sure never even notice other drivers or what's even going on around them, but for those of us that keep the pulse on society by how many people actually use a blinker for its intended use or don't block traffic at a parking lot intersection so they can wait for the lady with three kids to pull out of the parking space at the front row- we see it everyday. am i right fraz?

texas squeaked it out in the last second to beat NE which was just one of a great weekend full of great football games. but now all the bowl crap starts and we have to wait a month to see who the champ will be. of course after the wedontcare.com bowl or the other made up bowl game brought you by somecompanythatisrapingthecountryweliveinforbiggerprofits.com. thank god it won't be florida. tebow, put your helmet on when you are crying on the sidelines! and you should probably get used to losing (ask matt stafford) because when your headed to the worse team next year, in a cold, wintery environment where it snows instead of sunshines, around fans that won't like you- its going to suck. good luck!

AWWWWW I'm Not Standing Here!!!!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120830261