I do two monthly newsletters, about 4-6 pages each. And of course, draft after draft. Most non-computer users have no idea how time consuming it is to "can you just make that photo a little larger" or "this just in, can you make it fit". Nothing is impossible but not so much the night before the email blast!
When I make a photo larger, it pushes all the print around accordingly. Often 2-3 sentences get sent to a new page ... which we then have to fill up. Or remove another article then rearrange all the stories and their photos. I typed so much on Monday my hands ached!
Our HOA in Maui is rewriting all of our governing documents ... Articles of Incorporation, CC&Rs, ByLaws and Administrative Rules and Design Committee guidelines. All by committee. And legal firm. It's sure necessary ... but we must be on the 5th draft of each of these. And then there are all the email conversations in between.
My excuse for not writing for over a week!
P.S. I now know I cannot do anything to my yard or exterior without asking for permission! Not to plant a flower or add a pot! Remove a shrub or plant a tree. Breathing outdoors is still allowed!
My eyes suffer from using the computer too much as well. The eye doctor says we tend not to blink which dries out the eyes. I try to remember to put the drops in but I don't do it often enough and I just this week got my first pair of sunglasses ever.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're joking in your P.S. My HOA is pretty reasonable...basically it's no fences, motor homes or boats in the front yards. No cutting trees over six inches without permission.
I have VERY sensitive eyes and sometimes wear sunglasses out to get the mail!
DeleteNot joking! Although so far I don't mind. Our neighborhood compared to the one across the street is like night and day. Ours is neat and tidy, 99% of lawns are green and well trimmed and no junk sitting outside. Next door ... cars parked on lawns, food trucks parked in the street (no street parking except for gatherings), basketball hoops ON the sidewalk (we do have a guy in a wheelchair, remember) I wish I could post a photo in my response. One owner has so much crap outside it looks like the country dump. She says she's having a yard sale! Some people just paint the front of their house. Some have added structures that look like Green Acres! All the way to the fence line then they have hung a hundred flags and a potted flower every 12 inches.
Our policy is to send a notification first. Then a violation with a fine. Many of our neighborhood email or call to contest, but usually just go along with our interpretation of the documents. Next door neighborhood? 5% make any change.
It's interesting for sure!
I know exactly what you mean about the eye strain. :-) Plus, if I sit and work on the computer for an hour straight, when I get up, my blood pressure drops and it takes a few minutes for my eyes to readjust and I get very dizzy.
ReplyDeleteMy next door neighbor is like yours across the street. If she plants one more bush or tree in her little yard I am going to slap her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm lucky to have a lap top, so I can sit IN the recliner or stand at the island. Sometimes at my desk or the dining room table. Inside or outside.
DeleteI like GREEN, especially since now there is a trend to have environmentally friendly and water saving hard scape. Some people just dump a load of grey gravel. Some dump a load of red cinder rock. The few who started, have such gorgeous blends of rocks, stepping stones, plants, lights.
I could never spend that much time on the computer. My eyes would cross. I sympathize. I have issues with my eyes, too. Cataracts are starting for me, too. If we could only stay in tact until we die, it wouldn't be so bad when the time comes. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's usually an hour or two at a time. But probably 8 hours total every day.
DeleteHa ha ha! Wouldn't that be nice if we could stay intact! Mr. Ralph always compared himself to a car ... time to replace the this or the that. Need a 100,000 mile check up. Until that point where it is better to trade it in!
Do you still have the crazy cat lady too? Sounds like the HOA has their hands full.
ReplyDeleteYes! Still have the crazy cat lady (she and my next door neighbor do not speak to me or return my friendly wave ...) although she doesn't have as many cats living outdoors. She did cut down a neighbor's tree because it was scratching her bedroom window! WITHOUT ASKING THEM. They are a strange pair, for sure. Crazy self centered duo.
DeleteThis Board has stirred up a hornet's next by FINALLY enforcing the rules equally in all three villages, not just this one. We have the most active owners. The EXprez is wildly jealous that I am on the Board and continues to spread hate. But we have collected $35,000 in back fees just last year (our fees are $42/month ... so most of these nonpayers haven't paid for YEARS plus have accrued violations for stuff mentioned above).