The HOA

I am pretty dang angry. Wondering if I am out of line here. When we moved into this place Glen and I joined the HOA. I wrote the newsletter, never asked to be reimbursed, Glen has made nice metal signs for the pool yard and parking lot, and we shovelled snow last winter while the HOA went round and round and back and forth about how much to reimburse us. I didn't bitch until they finally settled on an amount and then the president sent an email out about how she didn't really feel comfortable with the amount and the way the board had settled on the price. I was furious, not because of the money. I knew we would get payed and the goal was to save the HOA money but because this woman who had been included in all of the decision making conversations decided to at the last minute put the kai-bosh on us being reimbursed for months- did I say months, yes I meant MONTHS of snow shovelling while the board dilly dallied around. We shovelled for crappy neighbors who would come out, right in front of us and brush the snow off their cars right where we had shovelled. They would come out and yell, not ask, but yell at us for not shovelling their patios or porches- which it was stated to them in newsletters that that was their responsibility. We got yelled at for making too much noise. For ice being in the parking lot. For snow that the snow plow pushed up against cars, that was none of our doing. We shovelled on Christmas Day. We shovelled in between cars and chiseled out ice etc. But most of our neighbors bitched and yelled about how awful the job was being done. We only had one neighbor thank us until.....dun dun dun....I threw a damn fit. We worked so hard last winter shovelling and salting. No one said thanks, the HOA didn't care to decide on an amount to pay us. This was going to be a hard lesson for us to learn though because we have all sorts of problems here in this little community. Our cars got broken into, no one cared- people stand around smoking not only cigarettes but pot only feet away from our car and back door, no one cares. They stand outside till all hours of the night and no one cares. People speed up and down the parking lot driveway-including members of the HOA and they don't do anything. They allow solicitors to approach kids and people in the parking lot, but yet the former president of the HOA told me once she was approached by David Paul Mitchell....you would think these people would care a little more about what counts, drugs, parties, stealing, speeding? NOPE. They get pissed about my damn dog not being on a leash. Yep my little 11 week old puppy that is always in my direct control as I am training her etc. and we get a letter of warning. It seems like to me the board has picked the easiest rules to enforce and to hell with the rest. It seems like to me they only enforce the laws that don't directly affect them- cause of course they need to be able to speed up and down the parking lot. If it's directly affecting them they dont seem to care about others, although they say they care about their neighbors... in fact there was a big to do about someone gettin their car towed and the bleeding hearts came out-for those people. And I realize I didnt directly recall it was rule the dog had to be leashed at all times, just in control, but ignorance is not an excuse to not follow the rules- but you know, when our neighbors had guest down in the pool area that were smoking and drinking we gently and graciously said "hey, if someone sees them down there doing that you will be in trouble." We didnt run to the board and bitch and moan. When there is a huge pile of dog crap right out our front door, a pile that is WAY to big to be our dogs, we dont bitch. OH YA, and when people go speeding up and down the driveway, WE DONT BITCH!! Someone left the pool gate open one night and our two year old (while in MY sight) walked down opened it walked in and went up to the pool and could have been in the pool before I even reached him.....I didnt BITCH! People park in our covered parking, and I bitch about that but I don't call the tow truck, I try to find the owner and get them out of our spot. My point is, if someone found our dog being off the leash SO OFFENSIVE why couldnt they have just said "hey, doesnt she have to be on a leash?" According to the earlier example of the board trying to say hey- lets cut our neighbors some slack and not report every infraction....where were they for us? A little reminder? NOPE. Just a warning letter. Now if the two year old accidently lets her out (which could happen but in reality the dog is pretty well behaved and doesnt go anywhere with out me but hey...) and she doesnt have a leash on- we get fined. If someone has it out for us, which in my opinion they could because of all the other little crappy notes we have recieved about our cat, and our kids- this person could just say the dog is out with out her leash and we get in trouble. I wonder if they are mad we quit? Are they mad we are late in our HOA fee's? Most have never been friendly so are they just assholes in general? My big point of this rant is if they are going to so ANALY enforce dog laws, they should enforce the speeding and loitering laws, they should enforce the smoking laws, and the no damn food and drink in the pool laws. But alas, I dont think it will happen. And I will continue to be angry about how two faced and rotten most of these people seem to be. And I will move knowing I am lying when I say that its a nice place to live when really, if you don't go to church, or if you dont fit into their little niche, if you stand out just a little they will target you, and pick on you, and even though you try to help and fit in it wont matter. It wont matter how nice you try to be, or at how many people you try to smile at or say hi to because they are really just onry, ignorant jerks. Thanks guys for extending us some consideration, a friendly reminder, or in general some common decency to consider "hey, maybe, we, instead of just sending a huge WARNING letter, and making the situation worse, making this place an unbearable place to live, we just remind them to keep the dog on a leash. Same with the cats. We have two cats. We have five kids. Our cats only existence in life is to escape the house. As much as I police the doorways there will - GOD FORBID be a moment when one of them, or both of them get out. I'm sorry. It happens. But seriously, instead of THREATENING me you are just going to start calling the pound, why cant you hop on over, knock on my freakin door and say "hey, the cat is out?????" IS THAT SO HARD TO DO YOU STUPID JERK? Instead of making my life totally miserable, cause I CANT BE P E R F E C T like YOU, and NEVER let my animals out, or always make my kids behave, you just come over and talk to me about it. But no, we live in fear the cats are out, and the pound has been called. It upsets me, it upsets my kids. It is unessicary stress. Now same with the dog. She will always be on a leash....up until an accident happens-and then, I am sure you will be here, waiting and watching ready to turn us in on the slightest infraction....you are an asshole. Thanks a lot. I feel like returning the favor and bitching about every little thing that goes on....I hope you speed. I hope you smoke, and I hope you litter....what goes around comes around. But until then we are working on getting the house up for sale. Thanks for making this experience unbearable.