Well first of all, the movies we rented were good. Thought I’d share.
Ok… now on to the satelite woes and my gripe about HOA. Ok, actually the people running the association are not my gripe. They’ve been a peach to work with. It is other people who seem to think they are the end all be all because they do stuff in the HOA.
OK, here’s what happened. We had our satelite on a pole because we were renting. So when we bought our house there was nothing in the bylaws saying “no pole” so we just never took it off the pole. So anyway, apparently the president was doing something with insurance or whatever and her agent told her that it was dangerous because someone could run into it. Ok, it was behind a shrubbery. So anyone who ran into it would have to hit the shrub first. Plus it was right next to our actual house so it wasn’t like it was freestanding in the middle of the yard. I think that was a dumb argument personally but you know, someone’s kid would just go right through the shrubbery and hit the satelite and get a bonk on the head (and scratches from the shrubbery) and then that parent would sue us. Because that’s the world we live in. So fine, whatever. I knew it was kind of an iffy location anyway so it was no big deal. The president of the association was all kinds of nice when discussing it with me and really, I had no problem with that. The problem didn’t ensue until Sir Megabyte was trying to put it up yesterday actually on our house. Well, I had a location approved by the president. She said that where it was located was fine, we just needed to attach it to the house. So we were going to put it at about the same height on the house there on the front corner, but the actual side of our house, not the front. Well that worked great till we saw that it would not go around the gutter. So now it has to go up on the wood trim by the roof. Except that isn’t wide enough for the mount. There are two places it is wide enough, the front corner and the back corner. Well due to the angle it has to go, the satelite will not go on the back corner. So we are left with putting it on the front corner. Which we figured was OK, because it was basically the same location I had approved just higher up on the house. There was one other place we thought MIGHT work but were kind of iffy if it would even work. Still on the front half of the slope but closer to the peak so it would be set back. But since that trim wasn’t wide enough we’d have to put the mount below the trim on the siding and we were unsure if the dish would clear the roof. It just so happens that the way our dish has to face, either the dish can’t clear the roof or the house or it is blocked by the house. So we ask our neighbour for his honest opinion. He walked around our house with us and came to the same conclusion we did. That front corner. Well I had totally forgotten at the time but was later reminded after the dish was put up that my neighbour is the vice president of our HOA. So yes, now I technically (though I didn’t remember) have the permission of the president and the vice president. Well this lady from down the street comes with her dog so my neighbour says “Hey you’re on the beautification committee, what do you think?” Well she starts going off about how she’s actually on the design and review board and this is something we have to clear through them and even if the president said the front half the house was OK as long as the satelite was physically on the side the president had no jurisdiction and couldn’t tell us that. I mean this gal completely spazzed out. She told us it HAD to go on the back half of the house. Which meant the only choice we would have is to put it actually on our roof. Now I don’t know about you, but putting holes in my roof is not something I think of as a good idea. Plus we weren’t even sure if the thing you put the satelite up with would go on the roof. So we went out and looked for a piece and no one sells something that could do this. Well, I finally went down to the trustee who lives at the end of my street. See our HOA has three trustees. One trustee is the president. Another heads up the design and review board and he lives down the street. The third… I actually don’t remember his role in the HOA. I feel bad about that… but there is so much it is hard to keep track of everything. Well anyway, I figured if anyone could solve the question, especially to this spaz girl’s satisfaction it would be the guy at the end of the street. He’s a trustee AND head of the design and review board. (He was also the closest person I could think of with any kind of head role in the neighbourhood since I had forgotten about my neighbour being VP.) Well this guy ALSO has the added benefit of having the same model house I do. And get this, he has a dish! So he understands how they have to face and be unobstructed and stuff. Well he told me he didn’t have a single problem with where I was putting it. In fact, he said that as long as my next door neighbour said it was OK, he didn’t see anything wrong with it. I told him who my neighbour was and that he had no problem with it. He was all like “Oh then go ahead and do it and I’ll take care of things.” We all think that *someone* was trying to think she was something she wasn’t. Power corrupts or something I guess.
So anyway, at this point I have two trustees saying OK. I also have the head of the design and review board saying it is OK. And finally I have the VP and the Pres saying it was OK. (yes after it was up I did go tell the president just to make sure.) I had my neighbour saying it was OK. I think any of that says it is OK. So we put it up.
So my gripe isn’t actually with those running my HOA. It is just the fact that because there is a HOA some people seem to think they can make life difficult for others. This woman actually told me that if I couldn’t put my dish on the back half of our house then we should get cable. Excuse me? No. I don’t want cable. I’ve had my dish for 6 years and I’m very happy with it. This is a free country and last time I checked that meant I could chose who I get my TV from! Plus, local cable here doesn’t even have the WB which is the “prime time” channel I watch the most of! Let alone some of the other channels not available on cable that are on my satelite.
Anyway, the dish is on our house now. Which will be better. The freaking windstorms won’t be knocking it off anymore hopefully! Yay! 🙂 And everyone is happy. Except maybe that lady. I don’t know. I’m trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she was just having a bad day. Sometimes we are having bad days and things end up making us snap. Perhaps my dish was the last straw for her.
Lady Ozma's Journey 
loadhan said:
Aren’t HOA supposed to improve the area … not cause people to get their nickers in a knot? 😛
I can’t say I agree with other people trying to tell people what to do on their own property when it’s nothing too detramental. So it’s a satalite dish! Not like you wanted to build a giant tie dye sculpture of a horta on your roof! People need to have thicker skins; that woman would be happier that way.
Glad you won your battle. And glad you’re finally “back” home (retroactively). 😉
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Lady Ozma said:
aww thanks!
it is good to be home! 🙂
Yeah HOA is supposed to make sure people don’t do something gross like say… building said giant tie dye sculpture of horta on their roof! Not over placement of a satelite dish. And definately not to deny basic civil and constitutional rights like the freedom to choose your TV provider.
Like I said, it wasn’t even like it was the actual people in charge of the HOA who would be sending me “you are in violation” notices. It was someone else who seemed to think just cause she was on a committee she was the end all be all of existance. Oh whatever. Give me a break. But she is the one who gives HOA’s bad names.
Truth be told though? I think that HOA in essence were a really good thought but have turned out to be much like Frankenstein’s monster. They were made with the very best intentions but they seemed to have gotten out of control. There are so many stupid rules. Like this one…
“Trash cans must be hidden from view of the street.” Ok, now we all know why this is a rule. Back when we were kids and people had like 15 beaten up trash bins that were just an eyesore, we all realized “Hey that’s an eyesore!”. So we don’t want that to happen in our nice new neighbourhoods. That’s fine. I understand that. But so many trash companies now have gone to using those giant tubs that are actually very neat and have built on lids and fit quite a bit of trash in them. Well they aren’t that hideous to look at. Yeah they are big and green, but it isn’t like they are fifteen little beaten up and rusty metal cans! So I don’t see the issue. EVERYONE has one. They are all standard. And they are not an eyesore. And since they have built on lids, the trash stays contained. So why do I have to put it in my garage? Especially since these days garages are not made to hold two cars let alone anything else. Look at pictures of my house. Why is a car always in the drive? Because with our bike’s in the garage we cannot put a second car in there. I’m not hanging my kids bikes up until winter. I’m sorry but they use them every day! But the actual only place in my garage that I could put that trash can is right next to my deep freeze. That’s not a pleasant thought either. And it is by the deep freeze vent. Definately not a pleasant thought.
Now, I understand the purpose of the rule. But it is moot in my neighbourhood IMO. I’d put it on the side of my house if they hadn’t built my house on a grade so that everywhere all around it is raised up. That and the fact that I would have to walk out my front door and walk all the way around my garage to get to the side of the house. That would also be dumb.
Yeah, can you tell what I got a note about this week? HAHA
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loadhan said:
Re: aww thanks!
Could do what the apartments down the street do here. :p Now, I’m pretty lenient about such things, but this does shock me. Usually sometime Sunday afternoon (at least a few hours before evening) they put out the big building dumpster bins for pick-up Monday morning. Yes, the full sized blue metal ones. And by put them out, I mean on the sidewalks so you have to dodge by big smelly things with sharp corners! I have no idea why they do it like this and I’m surprised it’s allowed. This happens in Cleveland Heights which is notorious for strict city rules, especially in regards to public apperance (they won’t even allow a cell phone tower because it would “not look good”). And this is down Euclid Heights Blvd which is one of the more scene areas of Cleveland Heights (though there are plenty better just outside) in both trees and buildings. Lastly, this path leads down to Coventry which is the local social hub of the area and many people go down there on Sunday night for dinner and shopping. I wouldn’t have an issue if they weren’t right in the walkway. :p
People trash cans in their own yards are fine by me – as long as they are taken care of and not a mound of six month old accumulation that has started giving cryptic and moralistic advice to the local Fraggle population. Like I said before, if you accept others and don’t let things get to you, you’re happier in the long run. Reminds me of my take on movies; I find plenty of movies fun that others think are awful. I’m actually glad I think that way though, since it means I had fun while they did not. ^_^
Speaking of movies, seen Pirates of the Carribean yet? Oh so good! I want to go again – and I don’t even have the Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom eye candy as a motivation. 😉
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Lady Ozma said:
Re: aww thanks!
OMG that’s heinous! Maybe I’ll send that lady out to yell at them… hehehe
See I don’t mind people with these uniform garbage things. I’m sure you’ve seen them. So many trash companies have gone to them because they allow for fully automated trash retrieval. So nice. They are uniform and they are large. I mean, often a week’s worth of trash for us barely fills it half full! But we have no pets and the like so that helps. But seriously! What’s wrong with them? Especially sitting right at the corner of the garage. I think it looks fine. I feel like going and buying some of those tin can ones from the old days and beating it with chains and graffiting it up and setting that up with my trash in it so they can see they really don’t have it bad.
I’m pretty mellow. If people would just understand it isn’t the letter of the bloody of HOA law… it is what they are trying to accomplish. Yeah we don’t want the guy with his car in the front lawn on blocks that is rusting out. Sure. We don’t want the rednecks with beer bottles littering their front lawn and porch. We want the neighbourhood to look nice. Well I’m pretty anal retentive but I’m not THAT anal. And let me tell you, I really am pretty dang anal retentive.
I haven’t seen pirates yet. We don’t go to a lot of movies. The nearest dollar theatre is about half an hour away. Which when you start looking at doing in an evening… it doesn’t make for pleasant. My husband doesn’t get home until 630 at the earliest unless he’s lucky and is working on our side of town. So if you figure the movie starts at 7… well we wouldn’t really make it easily. So that leaves us with the full price theatre. Well I don’t relish spending 8 bucks a ticket on a movie. We generally just rent or wait for the movie to come on cable. (Go free previews of Starz! They should have one monthly! HEHE) But JD and OB are definate eye candy appeal to me! 🙂
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