Month: March 2015

Awesome Fun Time Over: Now Returning To Real World

/ everythingkidchris / 1 Comment

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. Last week was eventful mainly because…

I got hitched!

Yes, yes, someone finally made an honest woman out of me.

er… uh… man…

Thank you to everyone who came and braved the sunshine to be with Tee and I. It really meant a lot to see everyone who came down to Saint Augustine and had fun with us. We had a blast and are so very tired and sun-burnt.

Also, I finally no longer have to call Tee my “fiance” which is just an awkward word.

Yep, she’s my “ball and chain” now. Much better.

Admittedly, though, it’s very bittersweet that the wedding is over. Tee and I have been living together for almost a decade before even tying the knot, so there isn’t a lot of the “newlywed” mystique. We gave ourselves a long engagement and spent the better part of a year planning and saving for this shindig, and now it’s just over. Kind of bumming me out.

That’s the worst part of vacations, though: The week back. It always seems rainier/ cloudier/ busier/ more boring than any other week. It’s like you spent so much time looking forward to something, and then it’s over and the future looks like this gray mass of monotony that will never end.

That is, until you plan something else.

See, I feel like life should be about adventure. Call it escapism, call it wanderlust, whatever, but travel, adventure and spontaneity blended together all make life enjoyable, in my opinion. I feel like life should be lived from adventure to adventure. Give yourself something to look forward to. When that fun vacation ends, plan a new one! Like me, for instance, awesome week with my closest friends and family in Saint Augustine is over, and that bites, but already I am planning:

  • My Honeymoon Roadtrip for April
  • A weekend in Daytona at the end of summer with my friends
  • A Vegas trip for next year (co-planned by my bud/best man Ryan)

Now, I’m sure there are a lot of live-in-the-moment peeps that are thinking “if you live only in the future, you miss the present,” and honestly, I agree. The planning just helps the day by day seem worth it. It isn’t to say that you should live your life only looking forward to what comes next, but having something to be excited about makes the harder days/weeks/months seem a little easier to cope with.

But we should live in the moment as well. Adventure doesn’t have to be planned or follow itinerary. Sometimes it’s as simple as doing something out of the ordinary. Take a quick daytrip to somewhere an hour or so away. Go see a movie late at night even though you have work in the morning. Check out a new restaurant or bar on the other side of town. Check out a shop you’ve never been in before even if it maybe doesn’t sell things you necessarily care about. Just mix things up.

Routine is good, when it involves accomplishment and making yourself better. When it consumes every hour of your day by making each passing moment identical to its predecessor, then it becomes deadly. Don’t waste your life doing the same thing day by day until you realize there is not time left. Mix it up. Live by living.

Anywho, thanks again to everyone who joined us for the wedding. It was a beautiful day and I am glad to have shared it with everyone who came.

Now, back to work.

~C

How hard is it to not be a slob? (Part 2)

/ everythingkidchris / 1 Comment

The epic saga continues.

Seriously, though… People are gross. Like, have you ever been in close proximity with someone you know did not bathe and probably hasn’t for days. Don’t get me wrong, you shouldn’t bathe every day, but good Lord, bro… how do you not smell yourself?

BO bothers me… and bad breath… pet peeves, I guess. Just try to smell nice… please.

Totally unrelated rant…

Tip 1

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How hard is it to not be a slob? (Part 1)

/ everythingkidchris / 2 Comments

So, I was a property manager for two years, and the one thing I noticed across the board with multiple residents from multiple different backgrounds is this: People just generally don’t know how to clean ANYTHING. Their bathroom. Their kitchen. Their bodies. It’s gross. People are gross. You are probably gross. Shame on you.

Apartment living sucks ass, let’s just get that out of the way. Sure, on site maintenance and pest control are fantastic things to have, but the negatives stack up. You are surrounded by strangers that can turn into different strangers right around the time you get to know them. There are noises everywhere, worse if there are many kids in your neighborhood. It’s nice having a pool and gym, but it would be nicer if everyone in the community wouldn’t try to use these amenities at the exact time you wanted to use them. Then of course there is the ever-present horror demon known as the “LandLord,” a fat, conniving piece of garbage who wants nothing more than to come up with reasons to take your money (I’ll cover property manager stigmas in a different post).

I can’t tell you how many people I levied cleaning charges to that came back with a firm “but we cleaned!” Okay, champ… you swept and maybe vacuumed one room. Cleaning goes beyond surface wiping and getting all your stuff out of the cabinets (which typically wasn’t done anyway). Around this time they’d claim they tried to clean the caked black mold from around their tub but it was too haaaaaard or ask if they could have another hour/day to clean the things I listed. Tough titties, sport! Give me my money!

Now, I’m not seeking charges and fees, quite the opposite. In my time as a property manager, I would like nothing more than to inspect a wonderfully clean apartment. It saves me time and money if I only have to send carpet cleaners in or have my team do a quick wipe down. But that was rarely the case. Reason being that dirt builds up, even if you’re only in a place for a year. And most busy, working individuals see regular cleaning as just another thing taking up their precious time (especially true with college kids). What most people don’t realize is sustained cleaning is remarkably easy. Granted there will be things that take time, a la vacuuming and doing the dishes. But there are quite a few simple things you can do to cut down on some of the harder cleanable areas.

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