Posts by Danielle
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I, on the other hand, would respectfully suggest that there are huge communication problems between tenancy managers and Housing New Zealand management, since my relative is, in fact, following orders from his/her direct managers, and has done so for over ten years. And oh yeah, I was in a three-bedroom house. I was told I had to have flatmates by another one of HNZ's tenancy managers. So I got some. There appear to be more HNZ workers unaware of these policies than you think.
So if that's a real policy that isn't CYA, then perhaps it should be made clearer to your workers on the ground floor - who have particularly stressful jobs as it is. As you know, they spend a lot of their time wading through cockroach and rat-infested abandoned houses and being abused by the small minority of unreasonable tenants. But by all means, continue to imply that they're incompetent if you like.
(BTW, I'm not talking about 'evictions'. I'm talking about transfers to other, smaller HNZ homes. Do we have our wires crossed?)
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The HNZC annual report may say 'with their agreement', but I bet that's a CYA maneouvre by management. The rule under which tenancy managers operate is this: if they are informed that children have moved out and left tenants alone in a three or four-bedroom house, the tenant either takes in flatmates or is moved. I am not talking out of my ass here: I know that this happens. Now, if someone goes to an MP and kicks up a stink, all bets are off - but most tenants don't do that, because most tenants are reasonable people. They'll see the unfairness of staying in a huge house when there are waiting lists a mile long. Additionally, they're not actually asked: they're told. I bet none of them even know the report says that they're supposed to 'agree'.
(Incidentally, I lived in a HNZ house for three years [not, needless to say, under my relative's care]. They were by far and away the best landlords I've ever had: they actually followed the rules about bonds/visits/inspections and so on, and they made sure the property was completely up to standard. If I hadn't bought a house, I would have tried to stay with them forever!)
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Wanna bet? They might like to have strict rules, but believe me, they don't. They cannot move you at all - unless (! exception #1), they're having to demolish &/or redevelop a site. They have no rules regarding overcrowding either.
Actually, yes, I do 'wanna bet'. A close relative of mine is a tenancy manager at Housing New Zealand and does, indeed, have to move people based on a) underutilisation and b) overcrowding. Now, I'm sure that the system is not exactly perfect, but this picture being painted of vast swathes of unused bedrooms across the land is, I think, an exaggeration.
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Typically they're little old ladies whose kids left home in the 1950s, and whose husbands died years ago. HNZC would no doubt, dearly love to rehome thse people, to smaller properties, & free up the larger ones for larger families.
As far as I am aware, in Auckland you are unable to remain in a three-bedroom Housing New Zealand house by yourself unless you take in boarders or flatmates. Otherwise they can - and do - move you to smaller accommodation. They have quite strict rules on numbers of people per numbers of bedrooms.
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For the 'yeah, you really didn't get it, did you?' review file:
http://www.miamiherald.com/272/story/141184.html
I particularly like the part where dude makes fun of their dancing. Because of course the dancing style in that video wasn't deliberate, or anything.
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I finally watched the episode last night. Thank you, friends in America.
Anyway, here's what I thought of when I saw that last scene: remember that early season - season three? - which ended with a wake and Uncle Junior singing? The family and the 'Family' were all gathered there, eating, and there was a kind of warmth and protectiveness to the whole thing... and there was also that early scene in Vesuvio, where they're all gathered waiting for a storm to pass, with a similar vibe... I was struck by the contrast with the final scene of the whole series, which basically leaves Tony with the nuclear family and no one else. Paulie sucks, everyone else is dead... even the restaurant was just a diner. The circle just keeps getting smaller and more sordid and less romanticised.
(Also: AJ sucks. In fact, he sucks so profoundly that he's almost awesome. He's like the Ed Wood of Sopranos characters.)
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Heh, I was trying to work out who that was in the picture. God I'd totally forgotten about Charo but I can almost hear her voice in my head now. Although I can't remember what I would've seen her on...
'Love, exciting and new...' She guested on The Love Boat with monotonous regularity. I can't remember where she's from... Venezuela? I saw her on some show recently and she still had the same hair and face! I was amazed.
Television appears to me to be the modern version of the Roman "Panem et circenses". A diversion of public consciencesness into trivial and unimportant pastimes.
O RLY?
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Mmm. To a certain extent I do agree with that. But a) I don't want to be an inflexible person who never changes her mind about anything, even given a really persuasive argument to the contrary and b) there are some things I don't 'get' which I actually think reflect poorly on me (eg my inability to truly love the music of Bob Dylan, despite his objective genius. It's a personal failing!). So I do like to hear the reasons why people like pop-cultural things.
Um, yeah. That paragraph got somewhat more philosophical than a conversation about Ugly Betty ever should, I think. Heh. (Particularly from someone whose Gravatar is Charo holding a chihuahua. :))
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I love TV to the very depths of my soul, and I watch more of it than anyone I know. But I just don't get Ugly Betty. It's 'wacky', but not wacky enough to be fun. It's sentimental, but not actually moving. Or maybe it's that overdone music, which drives me crazy. (Damn Danny Elfman has a lot to answer for.) Yet everyone adores it! I am missing something crucial, clearly. Please explain, fans! Do I have to approach it in a certain way to feel the love?
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Xanadu: The Musical is in previews (based on the film the director of Outfoxed etc. quietly leaves off his CV nowadays, and tests even my appetite for high camp)
Olivia Newton-John stars as Terpsichore, the Muse of Dance, who appears in order to help some dude start a roller disco. With the help of a be-wheeled and ancient Gene Kelly.
[blank look]
I'm sorry, I don't understand. What's campy about that, Craig? ;)