Yesterday, a tenant came into the office and informed us that their apartment smells. They found out that the "new guy" was keeping rotting food in his room. So, that means that it is up to us to invite ourselves over to gather some evidence with the camera.

Ingrid and I walk over to the unit, knock on the front door, and no one answers. We let ourselves in and shout "Management" so if someone is home they know we entered the unit. We walk right over to the room that the new guy moved into. We knock. No reply, but we hear some movement. I knock again and say that we need to enter the room. Nothing. So, I unlock the door with my thumb nail and slowly enter, hoping not to catch someone naked. The lights were off and no one was there, oh, and it smelled disgusting.

I try to breath through my mouth, which in some cases I wonder if that's worse. It's like your eating the smell that way. I take a few pictures at the stash:

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that there is only one other kind of liquid that color other than apple juice...in a milk carton?

As I am taking pictures I hear Ingrid open the closet door. I turn around, and there is a 6 foot tall 20-something year old crouched down in the closet, looking up at us. Yeah--Mr. Creepy.

I immediatley without thought say, "What are you doing?", in a critical tone. I guess I just had to ask. The messy haired, needs-to-shave, and as a side note--has no clothes in his closet, guy stands up and whispers, "I'm not supposed to be here".

Me: "Why? This is your room."

Mr. Creepy: "I am home from work because I am sick, and I don't want my roommates to know."

Ohhhh, now I get why you were hiding in the closet! Not really. He asked why we were here, and I told him the owner wanted us to take pictures of the unit, which was a lie, but I didn't want to humiliate him any further. We tell him good bye and leave his sick room. He shuts the door and locks it while Ingrid and I go into the next room, you know, to follow through with what he thought we were there for. I start making clicking noises with the camera, pretending to take pictures. Ingrid is about to die from trying to hold in laughter.

I think we laughed the entire way back to the office.

Lara, my boss, wants to know when we are ever going to rent to normal people.

I have had many requests to continue my work stories. Apparently they are in high demand, and I plan to deliver. However, half the things that go on around here in a weeks time are not "blog appropriate", believe it or not. A lot of sickos in Provo. But when a funny one comes up and I feel comfortable writing about it, look for it here.

Win this

Here is my give-away this week, enter through my other blog if you like. It's artwork on canvas (I believe) done by Joy Patrice.

Another tragic story from the office

So, this girl comes in to pay her rent. She had paid late before, which means she is aware of the fact that 99% of businesses charge you a late fee for paying late. Ingrid politely informs her of the 45.00 late fee. The girls says something to the extent of : " What!! Why?" ...right...innocense always gets you out of trouble. So, we explain to her the policy and she writes the check. Nothing different than the usual late fee payer, except for the fact that she wrote this in the memo of her check:

RIP OFF!!!

We all had a good laugh. It would be hanging on our wall if it wasn't a check (and yes, we do have a wall of ridiculous things tenants leave us. It happens that often).

The Weekly give-away is:

This nifty headband. Go to my other blog to enter to win!

Happy Belated Birthday, Brother!

Aaron's birthday was on May 30th, and I am barely getting around to posting about him.

Here is 10 reasons why Aaron is the best, in no particular order:

1. He is funny. He has a great sense of humor and I enjoy just hanging around him and laughing at who knows what.
2. He loves to learn. Of all the people I know, I think he loves learning the most. He is always reading a book and really gets into studying a certain topic. Therefore-he is smart. Not to mention, he is a gifted writer.
3. He is a natural born leader. I have always felt this way about him. He stands up for what he thinks is right regardless of what others might think. An admirable attribute. I have always looked up to my brother, this being one of the reasons.
4. He is a great public speaker. He doesn't get nervous and he has an effective delivery. He has the ability to speak very passionately and comfortably about topics that he feels strongly about.
5. He is always up for going to get wings/Ted's/breakfast. I can always count on Aaron.
6. I love watching movies with Aaron. I remember one night Aaron and I watched Starsky and Hutch and laughed so hard. Any given movie is funnier when Aaron is around.
7. He is a die hard. It's all or nothing, go big or go home. He lives his life this way. Anything that gets his interest has all his devotion. His wife will be a very happy woman.
8. He is kind hearted. Apologizing seems to be easy for Aaron. I remember when I was in high school and I would end up crying (which was a lot...and probably not even Aaron's fault) he would always apologize. He likes to be on good terms with people he loves.
9. He has a gift of determination. When he sets his mind to something, he does it. I remember watching him leave on his mission and he had so much determination to be a good missionary and serve to the fullest, no matter what crossed his path. I have always thought of him as a spiritual leader.
10. He loves his family, a lot. And we love him. It shows in his actions and reactions to things and situations. And he loves babies and kids, and Fergie and Fenway (the puppies). I can't imagine my family without Aaron. He is a good friend and a great brother. I miss you Naarnon! And I hope you had a good birthday.

P.S. Sorry I don't have a picture:( I am at work and I figured better late then never, and never could happen if I waited. I will edit and post a picture later.

The Plant

On Mother's Day, our ward gave us all these English Daisies that were still in the little plastic container and needed to be planted. Well, since our little one bedroom apartment doesn't provide us a yard, we decided that a little pot by our front door would be necessary. I was quite excited about this gift because I have this thing with plants, although I have never tried my hand at them.

Problem: We didn't want to buy a huge bag of soil because we have no where to store it and no where to use it. So, one of us (whom shall remain nameless) decided that we could borrow some soil from somewhere nearby. Great idea!

As we were on our way to this secret soil-full place, we were very cautious and felt pretty silly that we were walking with a bag and a cup. It kind of felt like that biology experiment in jr. high where you go get a cup of dirt and see what you find.

Doesn't he look so happy! I guess he thought it was a good plan and changed his mind while feeling silly putting soil in a bag. Or maybe it was the fact his wife thought it necessary to get the whole process on camera.

And here is the plant. So lovely right by the front door.

Here is what makes it funny, the fact that it is like 6 inches tall.

So, lately my little plant has not been doing so hot. I called my dad (who got his degree in landscape architecture). He is Mr. Plant man, let me tell ya! He asked for the behavior of my plant, what specifically is happening. We narrowed it down to one of these options:

1. The leaves are browning around the edges because the plant is not getting enough water. This is the plants defense mechanism, like storing fat for humans.

2. The pot may be too small, because now the plant is a few inches taller than the pot is wide.

3. No sun, our apartment is tucked in a corner and I don't believe the sun ever visits there.

Well, I pruned my little plant. No change. I am leaning toward the sun option, which I can't control. Sadness.

Life.

There is this tenant that rents from us. She came in the other day and refused to pay some fees. She needed to sign a contract also, because hers had expired. We typically don't like to re-sign to tenants who refuse to pay, so we told her to come in Friday morning to talk with the boss.

Friday morning (today), and she never showed up. All of us in the office were talking about how "that is so typical of her, she is so rude" and so on.

About an hour later, her roommate comes in the office asking for this tenant's parents phone number. We asked why, she burst into tears and said that she had died in a car accident last night.

No joke.

Needless to say, we are all feeling terrible about the things we said and for judging her.

I firmly believe in giving people the benifit of the doubt and I try to remember to do it. But sometimes I slip. Today was a reminder of how sacred life really is, and how because we are breathing everyday, we sometimes take it all for granted.

After the roommate left, we were all quite taken back. People would come in the office all chipper and happy. Or some came in complaining about a 25.00 late fee. I just thought to myself how this girls friends and family must be feeling having lost someone they love, and here we are in this office worrying about late fees.

I know it's impossible for us to always remember these moments that seem to wake us up. We get busy with our daily chores, and life goes on. But today has proven to me that anyone can go, anytime. There is someone in charge and we can't control when it's our turn. It's a humbling thought that makes me want to be better, and treat other people better. It's a life long goal I guess.

This weeks give-away

Visit my other blog (link is over there ------>) to win this:

It's free:)

The Celebs are Back!

So, I was chatting with my mother on the phone the other day and she asked about my celeb dreams and if I had any lately. Here is the convo:

Me: "No, they kind of died of. But last night I had a dream that me and Carrie Underwood played hide an go seek."

Tyler (from accross the apartment): "Isn't Carrie Underwood a celebrity?"

Me (amazed at my own stupidity): "Duh..."

Needless to say we all had a good laugh.

Yes, its' true. We played hide-and-go-seek. She found me with ease 30 times in a row. I still think she had to be cheating.

CELEB DREAM II:
A few nights later, Jonny Depp and I had a heart to heart about who he is.

Jonny: " People see my movies and think that I am a certain way. But really, they have no idea who I am."

Yeah, we were just chillin' on the couch watching some T.V. He was very shy and quiet, easy to talk to (not that those two things go together...but it's a dream, anything goes).