One of my pet peeves, and I have about 10,000 of them, is reading a review letter and seeing a review comment that I know damn well was not written by the individual who signed the letter. You see, in my business, more often than not, you get the pleasure of having your plans reviewed by a person who is not only not a licensed engineer but often an individual who does not even have a degree in engineering. We can debate the legality of that forever, but in my mind, it is far from what I would say meets the “standard of care” and simultaneously can be infuriating. And if it isn’t coming from the engineering side, it is coming from meeting attendees who are usually neighbors. This would be fine if it were respectful, constructive, intelligent criticism or concerns, but 95% of the time, it is just a rude, condescending, disrespectful word salad. But such is life, and although complaining about things I cannot change is one of my favorite past times, I have decided to go in a new direction as part of the daily therapy I need from blowing a gasket. Rather than get upset and argue (which I absolutely love to do), I feel it appropriate to give recognition to these comments. After all, everyone deserves their 15 minutes of fame. And so… I give you my new add-on to our weekly newsletter. I have called it….4RC, which stands for the Ridiculous Regulator/Resident Review Comment of the week. Over the course of 23 years of being in business, we have collected quite the list of flat-out awesome comments we get to hear, but so few get to enjoy.

While most of you are home in the evenings watching Jeopardy, relaxing, enjoying your family or pets, we engineers are out presenting our plans to Townships. Rarely are we met with open arms and a big sloppy kiss. Usually, we are greeted with disgust, skepticism, and a general disdain for our existence from neighbors, etc. Ironically, this doesn’t bring me down. It actually energizes me as I view this as a life-size game that I am playing that I am addicted to winning for my clients. Did I say addicted to winning? Yes, I did. Arguing with me is kind of like wrestling with a pig; you both get dirty, but the pig actually enjoys it. And yes, in that example, I am the pig. It is weird, but I actually enjoy knowing I am bringing more traffic, stormwater and school-age children to your neighborhood, and I/we will never give up. We are engineers, we solve problems! This is why I have a line below my email signature that says… I don’t stop when I am tired, I stop when I am done! Honestly, if you cannot find humor in this business and learn to embrace the relentless barrage to obstruct you then you will go crazy. I am beyond ½ way there, trust me. So… keep an eye out for the weekly comment at the bottom of our newsletter. They are all real comments from real people. We, of course, will keep them anonymous, but that should not detract from the fun. Enjoy….

4RC – "Townhouse buyers are all yoga pants wearing Karens……."