KM stuff from Mar 3-Mar9

-Maggie and I met with the FSC Andrew for our KM evals. Maggie talked to him Tuesday and I spoke with him Wednesday.

-Read through the VOCs. Looked mostly good. A couple of comments seemed too harsh on a personal level rather than on our skills as managers. There was one woman who was particularly offended that we asked her to make something that she wanted to purchase (she didn't specify what or who told her; granola? hummus? salsa?), and that it was like asking her to make bread...we're not sure who wrote this but we know many people in this house who make their own delicious bread to share on a weekly basis :)

-Seriously though, if you ever feel either of us is too harsh/rude/uncooperative with you, talk to one of us if you're comfortable or talk to Natalie, who is a conflict mediator. Or talk to Minoo at CO, who's the conflict resolution person there. It is confidential and no one in the house will know that you specifically talked to her.

-I've been trying to drop off non-perish orders on Sunday afternoons rather than Monday mornings. I know Maggie takes care of produce fairly early in the week.

-Food prices fluctuating like mad on everything. One week I tell folks something's too expensive and the next week we can afford it. If I ever tell you something is too expensive, it usually means it's too expensive THAT week or we've filled our budget quota (if you will) for the week and we can get it sometime in the near future. Or if you find it cheap at Safeway, get it. But talk to Christine or one of us first.

-We're hoping to meet with the cooks soon about how non-menu cooking is going. I'll try to talk to all the cooks this week to get a feel for that.

-And I swear even more lunchmeat than before is coming on the week of the 16th.

This Week's Activities

- went to house council, discussed SF Chron subscription. We decided to keep the paper and charge every member at most $4 a semester. I'm considering allowing people to opt into a system in which I keep $4 from their key deposit. People who have already lost their keys will have to turn in $4, and people who lose their keys before they leave will owe me an extra $4. This might make the collection 1) easier and 2) less grumble-worthy.
- paid the Megapath bill by phone with my card, reimbursed myself (121.67)
- met with Monique for central level evaluation
- went to central level managers' meeting
- paid at&t bill (22.08) on 3/6, bill due by 3/20
- reimbursed Sarah (food/supplies: 63.88, social: 160.11)
- reimbursed Keighley (32.02)
- posted about 10-15 flyers
- cleaned up bulletin board area
- cleaned white boards

Response to VOCs

Thank you all for doing VOCs, especially for leaving comments. This really helps me keep myself in check and pinpoint my weaknesses. I feel good with my results, but if you ever feel like I'm overlooking something, please let me know.

I'd like to take a moment to respond to a few comments.

1. "christine is a really good house manager. i'll be sad to see her go. i just hope she takes an active role in training the new manager so that they may do as good a job as she has done."

I am actively looking for new house managers, as I will not be continuing in the summer and won't be here for fall. If you are interested, let me know so that I can explain the job, the perks and show you what I do in a typical week. Also, I'd like to start training my predecessor early and I hope to compile a training manual by May. Ask me about my job!

2. "At night, the house is a little too loud. Please ask people to respect other people's needs to study and to follow quiet hours. "

This is the most common comment I get at VOCs, which is ironic considering how strict I am about silence when I am trying to sleep or study. I know that I don't enforce quiet hours all the time, and this is largely due to the fact that I am not in the room during quiet hours violations. The best way I can improve in this area is to hear from the people affected. Is there always someone on her cellphone outside your room at 2 a.m.? I hate that too, come talk to me. Someone playing the piano while you're trying to study? Loud voices in the bathroom? These are all things I can deal with if you feel uncomfortable approaching someone else. Find me in the house--I'm usually in my room.

I will talk more about VOCs at the next house council.

Budget Update

- House: $8,036.96
- Food: $3,551.69
- Bank: $3,023.24
(will be making deposits next week)
- Social: $1387.67 (room to room cost 192.13)

Previous budget update.

KM stuff from Feb 22-Mar 3

-On Feb 23, we had a KM's meeting @ Wilde. It was a meeting on budgeting. But we talked with them about how we're moving away from menus. The Davis KMs were there and we had a discussion about how much food they've been borrowing.

-I (Esme) have been trying to buy more lunchmeat, which hopefully should be evident starting this month.

-We've been talking to some houses about possibly trading SOME of our Acme bread. Trading would mean actually getting something else from them and not just us giving away our bread.

-We passed kitchen inspection! Yay! These are the thing we should be improving on/fixing (in regards to his comments and the BSC member inspection):

*Provide routine cleaning behind cooking equipments.

*Install a doorsweep to the back door gate.

*Routinely clean tea/vitamin cabinet.

*Provide a towel dispenser in the dining room and maybe a new one for the 1st floor bathroom.

Recent doings and goings-on

Stuff I did this last week:
- bought drinks and supplies for the party
- set up the house for the party and organized room openings and security
- threw the party
- performed all security positions that were unfilled or not fulfilled
- cleaned up after the party

Hopefully this experience will make it easier for me to avoid, spot, and fix problems with parties in the future.

This week I have to:
- update social hours
- plan for St. Patrick's Day FEAST!
- make posters for upcoming TRON Movie Night and St. Paddy's Day
- book Sunol campsite, set dates for camping meetings

What I've Been Up To...

• Turned in the HAPs form for the hot tub to Wes and Kevin at Central Maintenance.
• Fixed the mailbox door
• Got all the paint off/ grime off one of the dining room tables, used a beeswax/orange oil product to help restore the finish.
• Worked with Arielle (maintenance manager in training!) Showed her how to unclog shower and sink drains. The handicap shower drain is being particularly stubborn, so I sent an email to Kevin to have him come look at it.
  

House President Activities Feb 23- March1

This week I....

...Prepared and held the Manager's meeting.
...Prepared VOCs online.
.....Sent out detailed emails about VOCS with instructions, guidelines, etc
....Prepared House Agenda for House Council and distributed those to the house via email.
....Prepared and put up House Bulletin in the bathroom stalls
.....Conducted House Council
.....Coordinated 2 Housemembers requests for Basement reservation
.....Sent a housemember instructions for amending a House Bylaw


Please remember that VOCs are due Tuesday March 3 at 11:59 PM

Balanced the Checkbook

I just went through all my check copies and stubs, and I balanced the checkbook to where it should be. Right now, we have $3,230.87 of usable money. By usable, I mean that it may not reflect the current amount because checks may not have been deposited yet, but that's how much we have based on the checks I've written and cashed so far. I am making another bank run soon (hopefully this week) to deposit the remaining key deposits and internet money.

Previous budget update.

Budget Update

* House is $8,135.50
* Social is $1,579.80. Does not reflect Room-to-room cost.
* Still haven't received a bank statement. If it doesn't come by Monday, I'm going to recheck my mail box and documents. If I don't have it, I'm contacting Margie, the BSC accountant, because then I'm worried.
* Food is $3,656.48 surplus

Every week, we're going over budget on gas and electric. Please turn off all lights when you are not in the room. This includes your own room. Also, unplug items you are not currently using (cell phone chargers, blow dryers) or use a power strip.

Previous budget update.