More communication stuff

“Communication is the real work of leadership.”

- Nitin Nohria

It's been a great morning! No one stole my newspaper today! Now that is a plus!!

I went downstairs for my mail in a very dirty elevator - cigarette butts and something sticky all over the floor. When I came here, this elevator had a ceiling and a big mirror and it was usually clean. Looks like someone stole our mirror and the ceiling a while back! Don't get the wrong message here - we do have a young man who cleans it. We also have a bunch of 'brought up in a barn' type tenants we either did not used to have or they have gotten sloppier with time. Our cleaner is fighting a losing battle!

Passed a gent who has been here a long time - well longer than I have. He points out the garbage left outside the door and tells me that the buzzer does not work. I told him to call Maintenance about the buzzer. He says, "What's the point? They don't care and now I do not care either!"

At the mail room I ran into one of the senior ladies. She put a notice on the board about the buses that she thought people would be interested in. Someone took it down. I understand her discouragement. I put up coupons and a notice for free income tax service for those who need it and they were also taken down. We wonder out loud to each other if the new camera system there picked that up or not. Who knows? Housing will not see this as important. But that board is important to the tenants who use it to communicate with other tenants about a wide variety of things. My understanding is that the seniors put it there with Housings blessings.

Also ran in to one of the several "recovering drug addicts". I really feel for these folks. Some of today's drugs are so very addictive and recovery should be recognized as the difficult thing it is. And while we are all likely to run into an active addict as we carry on our daily lives, it is, I think, a good deal harder for a recovering addict here, where active drug addicts rule the roost and offer constant temptation and/or torment to those making a huge effort to stay clean. This particular person complained about an upstairs neighbour who is noisily on the go all night long, keeping the occupants of his apartment awake and stressed out. I understand the frustration. I have an upstairs neighbour who did a similar thing. I, fortunately, got some relief to this problem. I wanted to tell him how I got Housing to deal with it but he is so disgusted he is not wanting to listen. Perhaps Housing could have a set formula for this type of complaint so that it is as successful for all as it was for me. And it was successfully dealt with for me!

While we talked another tenant came along. She has been here for about a year but had no idea that there was a second laundry room should she find the one she uses full. I mention that I thought we need an Orientation meeting with new tenants for this very reason. Also to point out where the garbage rooms are so that garbage is not left in the mail room or at the doors or in the halls. She fairly lights up at the thought of an Orientation. I wonder why Housing has always fluffed it off. I have mentioned it to them before. There are people here who would love to volunteer to do this. Well they would if we asked! And we could ask using our bulletin board. Well we could if our notices could stay there for more than a day before being ripped down.

One last thing lest I am seen as being an ungrateful old bat, thanks for the cameras and the security guard I am told has been seen walking the halls here at night. I know it is very much appreciated.