So it's been a while...

I realize that I have failed to post in quite some time so here is a run down of events since last posting.

Clint & I went to Cuba for Amy & Troy's wedding. It was fantastic!! We had an amazing time, the wedding was beautiful and many treasured memories were made. It was over 35 degrees every day and there wasn't even a cloud until our last day there. Clint got a good sunburn, I managed to stay mostly tanned, and we arrived back in Calgary to snow! Good times!

The running thing started off really good, but I got a little lazy after Cuba. Pulled it back together however and ran a 10k race with the girls on May 31st. It was a really nice day and we helped each other through and finished up at 1h 33mins.

After getting back from Cuba we decided it was time to start looking for a house. Just over a month later and we have just finalized our purchase!!
Details: 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathrooms, open concept kitchen, nook, & great room with corner fireplace, double attached garage with a large bonus room with huge vaulted ceilings above, modest en suite with a HUGE walk in closet, fenced & landscaped yard with a trex deck & shed in the back.
I LOVE IT!! We take possession on June 30th and it can't come soon enough.

We will need a few things once we get in there, like a furniture set for the great room downstairs. Been keeping an eye out and looking around a bit for something but I think we'll have to get in there and familiarize ourselves with the size etc. before we make any purchases.

In other news: only two weeks left of school til Summer Vacation!!! WHOOP WHOOP!!! I really can't wait. School finishes on a Friday and we take possession on the following Monday.
Exciting times

That's all for now I guess. Perhaps I will eventually get better at this.

Jess

One Down ...

So last night we went for our first Running Room session / run. After a bit of confusion / sorting out of ideas, we set off on our 3 km run. MAN was it cold outside. I stayed about the back/ middle of the pack and was able to pretty much do it all. When we were just about finished my knee started feeling kinda wonky, so I took a few steps to shake it out and caught back up to finish.

Because my legs were feeling rather tense already, after all the sets of stairs in the show homes on Saturday, they were pretty tight by the end. BUT I did it, and it felt good :)

I was worried how I would feel today but surprisingly was feeling pretty good this morning. As the day progresses I can sense them tightening again, but definitely not as bad as they were or could have been!

I also bought some tanning minutes today, trying to get a base before Cuba :) Less than 4 weeks!! Might try the H.H.A. video again today, I can really feel my muscles working, even in my back. This could be a good habit to get into :) Later!

Let's Get Busy!!

So I have decided that it is indeed FAR beyond time to get active again. I mean, I still do play volleyball, but that's only one evening a week. After going through a number of show homes with Ana on Saturday, and still not being able to walk right because my calves are so stiff from doing all those stairs... I realized ... WOW am I out of shape!

I signed up with a bunch of teachers I work with to work at the Running Room, training for a 10km run for early June. Our first session is this evening. In the meantime however, I decided to give the Hip Hop Abs video training a try. Again, WOW! I just barely hung on for the last few minutes of the 30 minute video ( plus the 20 minute instructional before hand)

You know when you run and you can feel your legs starting to get warm and itchy? ( maybe it's just me) but I was getting that feeling all over my tummy too... never felt that before so hopefully it's a good sign. Even after just one try I can see how this has great potential to work. If it's only 30 minutes a go, I should be able to stick with it.

The Running Room is three times a week I believe, no one really filled me in on the whole details, just told me how to register and so I did. I guess I will know more after tonight. Stay tuned for further details!

Cheerful News

SO, I have decided that I need to forget about the stupid stuff going on in this condo and focus on good and happy things in my life. That being said, I have been making some mini-purchases for the home to make my hate for it dissipate somewhat. ( I hope )

I have bought a new shelf for the 2nd room and replaced the CD & File holders that got wrecked in the water. I got matching brown ones and think they are pretty cute actually :)
I also bought a new teapot, a counter top jar for my tall utensils, some new tall utensils, a napkin holder, and some new dishtowels for the kitchen. I think I need to go back and get the matching pot holders / oven mitt because the pattern is really cute and it is reduced to clear. Should have bought them when I was there but Oh well!

I am currently looking for a new bed in a bag set. The stuff we have in the bedroom is all mis-matched and I'm kinda getting tired of it. It's just Ikea stuff anyway, and isn't holding up all that well. (a few holes in a few of the pillowcases) I thought I saw some that I liked at Linens & Things but I'm still on the fence.

I am getting really excited for March break and even more excited for CUBA!! I will have to do a bit of shopping to get ready for that too! Probably going to need a couple new bathing suits and some summery clothes. Clint needs a suitcase too as I had to return the one I bought him in December because it fell all apart after our trip home.
I finished all my report cards but might need to go back and change some comments on some. parent teacher is next week and then it's BREAK!!! Thank Goodness!!

Tomorrow we have Quest Theatre coming to give us a performance of Penelope Vs. The Aliens. Not sure what it's all about exactly, but I'm excited for something different to do. We also have a field trip for the grades 4 to 6's on Friday morning to check out the Cantos Music Foundation through a virtual tour at the library.

Thats a whole bunch of good news for tonight, OH and Lori & BJ are expecting!! Extra good news :) I am so happy for them and excited for a new little one :D I think I shall wrap this one up on that note. I'm going to try to be more positive and focus on the good in life, like Clint coming home on Sunday <3 :)

Jess

Two Weeks and Counting...

Well, by the looks of things, nothing is going to get done with this condo. My property manager has not contacted me in over a week and I think I am about ready to give up. This place is making me so depressed and cranky, which is totally not who I am. I have had enough of this bullshit. Not sure what my next move is going to be, might even be straight out of this building.

In any event, I need to come up with a reasonable monetary reimbursement amount to put up a fuss over. By my books I'm thinking at LEAST one month's rent. Any thoughts?

Jessica

The ongoing mess of this condo

So, 8 days have passed since the water entered my condo. Thus far not much has been done. I am having a hard time justifying cleaning this joint up and a harder time wanting to stay here. If nothing is going to be done to this place I would simply rather move and get rid of the stress of the "What if it's happening again" revolving thought.

Things still need to be cleaned and I was informed I will be reimbursed for it. Therefore; I will be doing a serious scouring job. I need to get out and purchase some cleaning products and rent a carpet cleaner to get this mess cleared up, it's just SOOOO not what I want to do with my spare time. It's awesome that this has to happen right around report card time. AND on top of that, my computer is now on the fritz. Not sure if it has anything to do with the incident or not, but I have never had ONE single issue with it up until now.

Anyhoo, that's the news up to here. Hopefully I get some good news, whether that be a new place to live or what, at this point I don't really care.
Later,

Jess

Wednesday

So, the cleaning company arrived over an hour late today. They removed their equipment and stretched out the carpet. Re-tacked it, then sprayed and vacuumed it up. Decent job I guess, but the mess from the fans is still an issue to deal with. No one will say who's responsibility it is.
I have a feeling that since I'm getting sick again from the air quality that I'm going to have to do it if I want it done. Yet another thing I will be looking for financial compensation for.

Jessica

Day 4

So I finally was able to contact Emerald Management today. I was informed that after their maintenance guy left here on Friday, he phoned my property manager, who directly phoned Condo First. Condo First told him that they would have workers arriving later that evening to take care of the situation -- Liars!

Anyway

First thing this morning the company who brought the blowers in phoned to schedule an appointment for tomorrow. Not sure if they are just picking up their equipment or doing more than that. Time will tell I guess.

I'll keep you all posted.

Buyer / Renter Beware!!

I just thought that I should write a few things that have been going on lately.

I am currently renting a condo that was built by Point of View, is run by Condo First, and being rented to me under Emerald Management.

The condo is only one year old, I'm not even sure if there was anyone living in this building one year ago, but I do know it was erected in February 2007.

I have been renting here since September 1st, 2007 and in my time here have had to report a number of issues. Since the building was built so quickly there has been a substantial amount of shifting throughout the changing seasons / weather. Some of the damages include:
Many, many drywall issues -- buckling, bulging, studs poking out, tape rippling etc.
Tiled floors-- the tiles are breaking and splitting... all the way from the front door to where the kitchen meets the living room. The tiles in the bathroom floor are also beginning to break.
Light fixture - a glass covered light fixture fell completely out of it's socket... wires hanging down holding up the whole fixture.
Carpeting - the carpet has been cut and patched in many odd directions. With the shifting floor as well, the seams are all lifting and creating fuzzy sections from simple wear and tear, and vacuuming.
Most recently the biggest issue is Leakage / Drainage. This apparent "leakage" is a result of structural issues within the building.

I discovered this issue while I was doing some work on the computer on Friday ( February 15 ) and thought my feet, through big slippers, were cold or wet. Sure enough, when I reached down I discovered that they were sopping wet. I looked down to realize all the power cords to the computer I was working on were sitting in a HUGE puddle. Initially I thought it had come from the radiators but since, I have been told, is "probably" due to leakage / drainage from melting snow on a balcony above my unit.

Firstly, as a renter I am not permitted under any circumstance to directly contact Condo First. I must contact my rental manager, which is Emerald Management. Immediately I could not reach my direct contact so I spoke with the receptionist. I phoned my manager again and reached him to get him to contact Condo First, he said he would do so right away.

I waited an hour to no response after my first call. Upon calling Emerald Management again I had to ASK the property manager to Please keep calling Condo First until he reached someone to try to rectify this situation while, in the meantime, a new leak had begun in a second room.

Two and a half hours had passed when the assistant to the manager at Condo First phoned me to tell me that she was not overly concerned with the situation, that it was "probably just leakage and not the radiators, and that it could wait until Tuesday to be fixed." She also gave me an emergency phone number which I could call if I felt the situation "got worse." I informed her that I would be calling the moment I ended the call with her. She told me that I really shouldn't because it was now 430pm and it would be considered an "after hours" call. (**Recently there was a notice circulated throughout the condos indicating that far too many after hour calls are being made and it was getting expensive**)

Upon calling the emergency line they determined they would send a plumber.

I received a phone call from Emerald Management's maintenance worker who informed he would be arriving after the job he was currently on.

At this time I phoned Emerald Management again to let them know of the situation. My property manager was not aware that Emerald had made a work order to come to my condo. I told him that a plumber would also be coming and he stated that he would call his maintenance guy and if he was close he would ask him to still stop by. At this time I also asked how to reach my property manager after hours to which he informed it would be better for him to call me, and he would do so in a few hours.

Eventually their maintenance guy arrived, took the radiators apart, said it wasn't the radiators and left.

Two hours later the plumber arrived sent from Condo First.
He also looked at the radiators and said the problem wasn't with them. He phoned the Manager at Condo First to see what to do next. She informed that she was well aware of the structural situation in this building and that the blowers should be called in to come dry the carpets.

Again, I waited 2 hours to no response. I called the Condo First emergency number again and discovered that due to a "shift switch" no one had put in the call for the carpet blowers to come. It was another half hour before that company contacted me and then I had to wait for another call from the actual service person. It was about 8;45pm when I received that phone call which told me that they would not be coming out tonight, and that they would be around in the morning.

When they arrived with the industrial fans and de-humidifier, I realized instantly that I would not be able to stay at my Condo. They pulled up the carpet in the areas that were wet and set these HUGE fans under the carpet. Obviously, blowing through the carpet from underneath, many unwanted particles and dust, etc. were being tossed all around the air, and with Dust allergies, I was forced to leave my home.

I DID NOT, AND STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED A PHONE CALL BACK FROM EMERALD MANAGEMENT. Three days have gone by, I have left Numerous phone messages and still, nothing.

I do realize that this is a long weekend, but it is not my responsibility to take care of structural issues within a Condo that I rent. I was forced to deal with situations which I am not required to deal with as a renter. I RENT so I don't have to deal with messes like this. I feel like I was left out to dry by Emerald Management and am rather furious at the whole situation.


This all being said:

I want to inform ANYONE who is looking at these Condos to buy, or even rent, BE WARE!!
Remember these three names: Point of View, Condo First, Emerald Management.

On MLS currently there are 20 units listed for sale between the four buildings in MacKenzie Towne, (Prestwick Bay) where this is happening to me. If you are considering one of these units PLEASE check it out. Be well informed before you sign anything.