10 and a half hour day. Unbelievable.  Got to work at 5 am, got right to work finishing loading and strapping down the truck, did my paperwork - on the road.  3 stops and 150 miles later I’m back at the shop, loading up again.  It’s late, yet I have to go to the main branch for a second time, pick up some more material.  A contractor is desperate - they have to have a portion of the project finished today and they are working late.  Like - they are still out there now and will be until after dark. 

I get to this jobsite - I can hardly believe the things they want me to do in a semi truck.  Drive down the side of a canal, pull up to the site - which is the canal itself.  They are putting pipe UNDER the canal and also UNDER the street.  Getting in?  Easy.  Getting out?  I had 2 options:  back up 1/2 a mile on a narrow dirt stretch with a canal on one side and a drop off on the other, or attempt to back into their yard with little room to do it in.

I opted to try the latter.  Another maneuvering feat courtesy of one BenB.  You wanna talk tight quarters, attempting to back into a yard through a small gate with a canal on one side, fences to the north and south, containers in the yard.  Got out of there, rushed back to the yard.  I needed to get home - new tenant is moving in and I wanted to actually BE here for him to get situated.  He called, showed up - started cleaning.  I had no opportunity to clean that room, the “old” tenant left this morning.  He did, thankfully, wash the bed linens - and left a huge box of laundry detergent which I gleefully claimed as mine. 

I appreciate that this guy is a clean person - doesn’t want to live in filth and squalor.  I like that.  He gave no indication of how long he’s staying, I assume he’s checking the place out.  His room is nice - the bed is very comfortable.  I am very appreciative of 2 past tenants that have left their queen sized, pillow top mattresses and frams and even linens.  1 of them also left furniture. 

So, I got nothing else done today.  I’m tired and am not going outside to do anything.  In fact, I intend on making Michael go out there and clean up dog dung.  Michael is back - sort of.  He’s in and out.  Shows up at odd times, no rhyme or reason. 

I’m in the Christmas light mode - gonna have to figure out what I want to do by tomorrow - Fry’s is having a sale on the C-7’s that I love.  I wanted to check Home Depot and Walmart to see if they have any deal to beat that.  Prolly not.  New manager did not bring the washer and dryer today - which is a good thing, there would have been no time to do what we figured to do:  he brings it to work in his company truck, I get off early since I started early today, use that truck to take it home, get it out and be done with it.  Plus, of course, use the truck to get a Christmas tree while I’m at it : )  Try again tomorrow. 

That’s about it.  It feels good to have 3 tenants all paying.  I have money in my pocket - almost a grand right now - in tenant payments.  It’s almost all going to bills.  The 3rd payment in the 3-month trial for loan mod is now paid and I am good for now, anyway.  If I could make 9 more payments on-time, I could qualify for a refi and see about getting a lower interest rate - if such exists 9 months from now.  Gonna try my best to make my payments before they are due - but - I have no control over life.  Things happen, money disappears, done. 

Well, hope everyone is doing well, I’m outta here.

ben

My Thanksgiving celebration at home is today, since last weekend I was down in Sierra Vista with my dad.  I have a 15 pounder  - not excessively large - to cook.  What, 5 or so hours?  Early afternoon I’ll be cranking down turkey with gravy; mashed potatoes; corn; salad; and whatever else comes to mind.  Oh, gotta have the stuffing. 

I got a lot done yesterday outside.  Rebuilt a fence to keep the dogs out - they have trampled several plants in that particular zone.  There’s about 8 plants in there, the area is the fence in the back.  There are 4 dogs back there that come up to the fence and then, of course, my dogs get in there and do the dog fight through the fence crap.  This time, I built it up 4 feet high - no way those Danes are going to jump over that - and then put boards at angles up against the fenceline to keep them from pushing it over.

It’s a temporary fix, just using what I had available.  I am going to keep bringing home dunnage from work - 4X4X8 - and build a permanent fence out of that.  It’s free, what the hey.  I can make it look nice after it’s built simply by staining the wood - which I just happen to have over 3/4’s of a gallon left, leftover from another project I did earlier in the summer.  They will NOT be knocking down 4X4’s - though I think this temp fence I put up will last this time.  I am busy putting up a permanent fence down the way from this one.

I have 2 properties behind my house - the one with 4 dogs and then a residential landfill next to it.  It’s a “vacant” property - no home on it - that the owners - who happen to be the lot next to it with the 4 dogs - have been piling up s*** since I moved in here some 5 years ago.  They were forced to take some of it down after I complained to the city - but not all of it.  It’s a total eyesore and I get tired of looking at it.  Anyway, next to the vacant lot, the dogs, for whatever reason, want to roam along that fenceline as well.  There are no animals in that lot, so I don’t know the reasoning, but that’s an area where I DO want my plants to thrive and survive, not be trampled, so I am going to do that first with the 4X4’s.

So, I’m out there yesterday minding my own business when the Hispanics the next street over crank up the music again.  I mean LOUD.  I walked into my kitchen and I could hear that noise and vibration over the TV in my living room.  Yup, I called the police - again.  Within 15 minutes, that music was off and stayed off for the rest of the day.  IF those people would turn on their music to REASONABLE levels like everyone else around here, I wouldn’t care.  Instead, they have their SUV parked in their driveway, open the doors and BLAST it - those doors are aimed directly at my house and I get the full brunt of the noise and that deep bass junk that vibrates your inner being.  They had the volume turned up so loud, the speakers were pumping out distortion - they couldn’t handle the volume level those people wanted it at. 

Whatever.  I’m just glad the police are happy to go over there and deal with it instead of having to listen to that stuff EVERY single weekend at unbelievable volume levels. 

The dog issue to the east is pretty much over with.  That Rott puppy is confined to the other side of their house, as I said before, but I was not actually believing it would STAY that way.  It most certainly has.  That dog actually likes me - it tries to jump the fence everytime I’m out front and it sees me out there.  Whatever the case, I rarely hear those dogs barking anymore.

To the west, the German Shepherds were back in the back again, barking through the fence at my dogs.  That’s how the Sissoo got knocked down.  The owner created yet another barrier to keep them from getting back there, I hope it works.  The 4 dogs behind me aren’t that much of an issue.  They are kept indoors at night so I don’t hear any noise from them.  Just the fence fighting that goes on while I’m at work - the Danes will not engage in stupid activity while I’m here, they know I hate it. 

I’m going to aim one of my cameras at the new fence for tomorrow and see what happens.  Yes, it’s nice to SEE what happens, if Prince gets over it somehow, I can spot how he does it and attempt to rectify the situation.  Oh if I could afford another surveillance system, I would have 8 cameras instead of 4.  If you really want to keep an entire property in view, need at least 7 cameras for it.  3 for the front to cover the entire front area and then one for each side of the house and one for the rear. 

Anyway, I am going to continue with the drip system installation - I got some of that done yesterday as well.  Just a matter of spending the time to do it.  I will alter that plan if my new manager calls about bringing the washer and dryer set over - I am not calling him cause’ I don’t want to sound like I’m pressuring him on the deal.  He offered his set to me because he’s buying a new set - I will get the set for $50 unless he’s changed his mind and found something else to do with it.

Christmas is in the air - for me anyway - and I am going to think about getting a Christmas tree and some lights.  A $20 tree and another $20 or so in the large outdoor lighting and that’s it plus what I’ve already got.  I am also going to go on CL and see about an outdoor pedestal for the place where the Sissoo tree was broken down.  If I could find a cheapie, I could put a pot on top of it and use it for a flower stand or whatever.  The dogs can piss all over the pedestal and maybe keep their pissing activities away from other things. 

Just enjoying silence and a pot of coffee this morning.  Boys are all sleeping or gone and I am loving it, along with the nicely chilled temps.  Not too cold and definitely not warm at all.  Just right, really.  Beautiful day - the day that the Lord hath made and I will rejoice and be glad in it!

G’day, folks.

ben

Well, the day wasn’t nearly as dragged out at work as I thought it would be.  There were 2 large deliveries for Monday that HAD to pulled today and put on the truck and get it ready to go.  That’s because Monday is end-of-month and we scrape and beg for whatever we can get out to bring our gross sales numbers up as high as possible.  For this month, we will be close to the 200k monthly gross that they want us to have as a minimum.  Prolly short by about 10k.  Nothing we can do about that - we get out whatever comes into our system to deliver.

The point is that I was busting @$$ all day long until it was time to leave - which was noon.  We were allowed to go home early yet get paid for the full allotment of hours for the day.  That’s cause’ we bothered to show up for work - most employees in our company were taking the day off.  It’s okay - they’ll pay for it at Christmas as I am taking 2 days off before Christmas Day plus the Day itself and then the weekend which will give me a much-needed 5 day break from work.   Monday I have to be in at 5 am - there is still plenty to do and I have to make sure we get all of it done and get the deliveries to the jobsites and get the paperwork back to the manager so he can invoice it and get it on the books. 

My new manager asked if I needed a washer and dryer today.  I was stunned to hear him say that as I have said nothing about the fact that my washing machine is dying.  His wife “ordered” him to go buy a set of those front loaders - a thing I can only dream of having.  He just sold a car for 9K and is using that to get them.  I am buying his set for $50.  If I even get 6 months out of those machines, it will be worth the $50.  So, he says he’s going out either today or tomorrow to get the new set - there are machines at CRAZY low prices right now for this holiday madness that’s going on everywhere - NOW is the BEST time, I would imagine, to buy those machines.  I would buy them on credit if I could get a Home Depot card or something, the savings are that substantial. 

Oh well.  If I have anything, it’s all good, but those new types of machines use less water and less electricity, a lure that has me chomping at the bit to “discover” some money and get at least a washing machine.  There is a LOT of laundry being done around here.

Anytime now - it’s almost 3:30pm - someone is coming over to look at the room.  I only have a few bites so far, this person is definitely interested, or sounded so.  Usually when you get several calls from the same person about the room you probably have someone on the hook, you just have to reel them in.  So, I cleaned house inside and out - kitchen, living room, hallway I did a quick carpet clean (lots of dirt gets tracked onto that particular piece of carpeting), scrubbed that bathroom up and down. 

The dogs broke down one of my Sissoo trees today.  Although I wasn’t pleased, I didn’t think that particular tree was going to make it anyway.  The dogs have used it as a urinal for some time now and it’s growth has been stunted.  It’s also near the fence where the German Shepherds next door come up and they start barking at each other.  The only thing to do over there and finish the block wall and that will eliminate that problem.  About 50 blocks would do it - take an afternoon for me to put it in, probably worth the effort, but those blocks are like 99 cents a piece and I don’t want to spend 50 bucks on that right now.  Actually more since you also have to buy the mortar to glue them together.  The rest of my Sissoos are doing great and the dogs have no interest in them since they are next to a block wall (the ones that they can get at anyway) and there is nothing there.  I have come to accept that I am going to have to deal with some plant destruction and there isn’t much I can do about it.  There are certain areas that they better NOT do anything to, though.

Anyway, I’m sorta hopeful about this person coming over and I hope they at least show up.  She saw my latest ad on CL and asked why I had put another ad up.   I simply stated that I continue to run ads until the room/s is/are rented.  I have to have backups. There is no reason not to continue advertising the room.  She accepted that, took my address and hoping is showing up here anytime now.  I won’t hold my breath - never do anymore with CL people - but it sounds promising.

I walked through Walmart today - just to see if there was anything “left”.  I was surprised to see those 42 inch flat screen TV’s still out.  A lot of them, too.  They were priced under $500.  Temptation?  No.  I can’t justify spending that kind of money on a TV set right now.  I can’t really justify much of anything except paying bills.  There were a LOT of Black Friday items still available - none of it I needed.  I did pay the mortgage today and that puts me up at 3 months running of on-time payments and forces the loan mod through.  My loan mod is a joke, though, compared to what’s out there, it’s just putting the past due stuff on the end of the loan, it’s not a principle reduction or an interest reduction.  To get any of that, I would apparently have to use one of these companies that “specialize” in it.

I don’t trust any of them.  There are so many scams out there right now, I would rather just eat the payments, hope I can continue making them, and deal with it.  If I can make 12 payments on time I can refinance the house - of course that’s only if the interest rates stay low, they can’t stay that low forever, so I am basically missing out on it.  I guess.  I only know that the mortgage payment takes priority over most things.  Credit cards are also high up on the list because the rules are changing and issuers apparently are doing some crazy stuff in interest rates and fees.  I keep on top of that  I check every week online all my accounts, pay up whatever is within a week’s due and stop any bleeding on late fees or over-limit fees. 

Well, the potential tenant just called and said she can’t make it today.  Oh well.  She said something had come up.  Okay, I can deal with that.  I asked if she was still interested in the room - definitely she stated.  Said she would call in the morning.  Well, again, I never hold my breath and I will be posting yet another ad on CL in a little while since the 1st of the month is coming up and people will be looking.  All I can say is that the weekend house cleaning is 80% finished already : )

I have given my son a painting job tomorrow after his JROTC thing is over - for a few bucks as I just made him do a bunch of chores.  I have plenty I want to get done around here this weekend and I am determined to get at least half of it done.  Get some Christmas lights up, dig some holes for a MUCH more sturdy fencing project around some plants that I am determined to keep alive - and the dogs are determined to destroy for want of “attacking” the other dogs through the fence.  Those plants still have a chance if I can elminate the dog’s adventures in there.  About 8 plants altogether - it’s just an area I want plants in is all.  I have been dropping off dunnage from work here and there - 4×4x - various lengths - free wood.  It’s used for pipe deliveries from manufacturers and is dumped into a heap, there are no restrictions on taking it, it cost the company nothing.  Get that started, hopefully get it up soon, paint it something other than the plain wood color it is, stretch some chicken wire or something around it and walaah.  Those Danes will not be jumping that high to get in there. 

I’m going on much too long again. 

End this one. 

I do wish the person that I am a Secret Santa for would post their questionnaire so I could get some kind of clue as what to send them.  If they don’t do it in the next week or so, they are probably going to end up with a gift card and that will be the end of that.

ben

Wishing all KCL’ers a very Happy and hopefully full-tummied Thanksgiving - at least those of us that celebrate the day.  I’ve often wondered if other countries have a version of a day like ours where they give thanks for - whatever - but I have never really received a solid answer on that.  I think Isreal/Jewish have their version of such.

My day consisted of spending it with my dad, his wife and her 2 adult kids plus one of the kids kids and wives.  They did not cook the dinner, instead, we went to this sort or resort style hotel that had a HUGE buffet out - it was the biggest buffet I have ever seen in my life and it was full of ALL kinds of meats, seafood, everything the mind could conjure up.  It was absolutely delicious - I ate 2 huge platefuls plus a small dessert and I figure that is all I will be eating today. 

I wish I could say visiting with her - Millie who is my dad’s current wife - was pleasant, but for the actions of the father of the kids that were there, it was not.  I was basically given the cold shoulder by this dude the entire time I was there, from last night until I left this afternoon.  I attempted at least a dozen times to get into a conversation with the man, he would have nothing to do with it.  After getting this during the entire meal today, I was tempted to ask him something, such as: WHAT is your problem?  You know, something blunt like that.

But I bit my tongue, shut my mouth and listened to him talk and talk and talk.  It became evident after awhile that this man is VERY insecure with himself.  I also became suspicious that they were holding against me the situation with my dad.  My brothers do not talk to him and have not talked to him in years.  I wondered if this was also being held against me as well.  I know that Millie is a very gracious, beautiful and lovely lady and I can feel that there are no such feelings from her towards me - and trust me, I have heard her speaking about my brothers and the treatment they are giving my dad, it is not pleasant language. 

It was funny that this guy’s wife and 2 grown up - but young - kids also were very nice towards us - Caleb and I that is.  It was - uncomfortable is the best adjective.  After I gave up on getting into the conversation - the 2 brothers (the adults, in their 50’s) were yakking away and though I attempted to enter the conversation at several points there was no give - I completely ignored them and decided to simply converse with dad and Millie. 

I think the hardest part was not simply confronting the man - if he has an issue with me, let’s get it out in the open. I don’t know this man, I have only seen him once which was 2 years ago - at that time there were so many people present that I didn’t really notice his tude’ - I simply have no history with this person - therefore, the cold shoulder was simply not understandable.  To confront the man, however, would have been disrespectful to my dad and Millie and also probably would have ruined the occasion - keeping a lid on my discontent for a person acting like that was pretty hard.

Anyway, visiting with my dad and Millie was cool, I was, however, glad it was not going to be an extended stay - those people are staying a couple more days and being around that kind of atmosphere for that long would have turned into a nightmare at best.  My son - was observing all this and decided that the man was drunk and that’s why he was acting the way he was.  He was drunk half the time, but the other half that he wasn’t drunk - still the same tude’.  I wondered if anyone else observed the same thing - I do believe this man’s wife noticed, but she wasn’t necessarily getting on his case about it. 

Anyway, it’s over.  Work tomorrow - which is going to be a waste of time if history repeats itself - the only thing to do is straighten up the yard and pull an order for Monday.  I CAN keep myself busy, but if I could have gotten the day off, all the better.  They want the stores open and drivers available.  In this case, they get what they want.  I hope they tell us at noon that we can shut down and go home as they have in the past - unless, of course - by some amazing occurence - a delivery actually needs to be made.  I would guess the only thing that would cause that is if there was an emergency, such as a water main break.  It’s happened, not impossible, but unlikely. 

As for now, I’m heartily glad that I got home at an early enough hour to be able to kick back, relax, not be in a rush to get things done and get to bed.  It feels like it’s Sunday - go back to work Monday type of thing.

Enough.  Hope everyone had a great day.

ben

Uhhh, not outta KCL, that is, I’m outta HERE, as in Phoenix.  In about 35 minutes I will pick up my son and we will cruise south for 3 hours and will arrive in Sierra Vista, visit dad for a little while and then go to the hotel.  Tomorrow will have to be the “real” visiting day. 

I thought I was getting sick today - sneezing; sinuses draining like crazy; beginnings of a sore throat; headache.  But, I think and am hoping, it’s “only” allergies, which as times can kick my butt.  I’m just plain tired is really all there is to it. 

Not a long entry here, I have plenty to do before leaving - at the same time I’m going to be gone only a little over a day’s time, so no biggie.  I would have rather stayed down there another day and come back Friday, but work isn’t shutting down and I don’t have any choice but to be in Chandler, AZ at the job at 6:00am Friday morning.  Probably will be an agonizingly long day since there will probably be very little to do, but I can always hope. 

Right now I’m waiting on 280 pics and videos to up load to my puter’ so I can delete everything on my camera and have a fresh start on it.  I have been accumulating pics from all over the place and eventually will post some of them here. 

Anyway, c’yall later - or tomorrow - or Friday - not really sure when.

ben

Norfolk Pine trees are amazing, mangificent looking trees when they mature - at least from the pics I have seen.  Growing 75 feet and taller, with these amazing looking arms that grow in rows, you have to see one to get when I’m talking about.

They sell live Norfolk Pine trees here every year for Christmas.  You know, buy the live tree, decorate and then when Christmas is over, plant it in the ground?

There’s just one problem with this particular tree.  When you plant it and summertime comes around, they literally burn up in the sun and heat.  I don’t mean they start to get brown, I mean they start dying because they simply cannot handle the heat and sun.

I know this because I bought 4 of them at Home Depot last year after Christmas was over and they had them at $5.00 instead of $25.99 - the price I saw them at today at Fry’s.  I planted them and only then did I find out that they like a humid area and not too hot versus the hell that Phoenix is in the summer.

So, my question remains: WHY are they selling them HERE as live trees?  Perhaps they don’t know that they burn up, either?  I’m going to pose the question to corporate Home Depot since  I think it’s a total ripoff.   Not to mention all those trees are simply going to die.  I have 1 left that was planted in the shade that is still alive.  It burned - even in the shade - yes, but not nearly as bad as the others that were in direct sunlight.  If I just keep that tree small, it might stand as a nice deco piece in the front, to let it grow any will be it’s death sentence. 

Came home to unhappy dogs today.  Dunno.  I guess they don’t like my new plan of throwing them out every morning and leaving them out until I get home from work.  Too bad.  I spent hours on Sunday cleaning up the messes they had made and I have not one iota of sympathy for them.  It’s very nice out right now, they have plenty of water, they are well fed and loved.  They came in here and totally crashed out on the floor.  Summer - I will have to put some sort of cheap cooling out there for them - either a misting system or a small evap cooler.  Actually, I’m going to put a misting system other there regardless of any cooler.  I do figure, though, that right now would be a good time to try and find a used cooler since it’s “winter” and mostly people are not using any cooling in their homes - the desperation level in this economy is driving some families to sell everything they can to get money coming in. 

The newest tenant didn’t have good news when he just walked in here a few minutes ago.  The admissions department continued to give him the same story about him having to be a resident here for a full year before they will give him resident status tuition fees.  He has one last chance with  the “Big Man” tomorrow, if not, then I will bidding him a goodbye - and I won’t be terribly happy about that because he’s a good guy, easy to get along with and I like tenants that don’t make themselves a nuisance.  He’ll be returning to North Carolina if he can’t get into ASU. 

Meaning I will be searching all over again for another tenant to take that room.  One lady called the other day wanting to know if there was a room still available - her problem is that she has 2 dogs.  That is a problem and I don’t think I want 2 more dogs in here unless she has them kennel trained and they will be staying in those kennels while she is at work.  That or the great outdoors with my dogs, but I am not going to have any more tenant dogs running freely around here - pissing on my furniture and creating a pretty-much permanent problem.  As it stands, I am saving for ceramic tile - it will take quite a long time to save up that much money - but I want ceramic tile throughout the kitchen, utility room and living room.  About a grand’s worth of materials and then I also have to learn how to install the stuff. 

Well, maybe not - I could probably find some illegals that do that stuff and pay them enough wages to make them happy but not enough to make me broke.  As I said, this is going to be a while before it happens, but it constitutes a substantial upgrade to the home and will be an additional selling point to this place if/when the market ever comes back. 

Anyway, I”m tired, the work day is over and I’m going to take a short nap.

I’m trying to keep my distance from people who are obviously - quite ill and still walking around spreading their germs everywhere.

JD - neighborhood kid - is sick and has been all week.  I’m pretty blunt anymore about people going around all over the place sneezing, coughing and shooting their particles everywhere: Stay AWAY from me.  I informed JD the same thing.  The newest tenant is also sick - again - please keep your distance.  Now my next door neighbor.  He sounds like an animal, I said hello to him today and I could hardly understand what he was saying his voice was THAT messed up from a viral infection in his lungs.

People in the store?  Don’t even think about standing in a line coughing and hacking away without at least TRYING to cover your mouth. I WILL say something and it won’t be pleasant.  I understand that when you get sick, you still have to get groceries, go to work if you’re not so bad that you are floored - life continues on.  But you CAN take measures to help prevent the spreading of it.

I am particularly focused on this this year because the swine flu is hitting all over the place in these parts.  Everyone I meet - if I get into the conversation with them - they have either had the swine flu or know someone who has had it.  3 people at work have had it.  It IS killing people - maybe not the vast majority of folks, but still - deaths are being recorded all over the country and that is a chilling enough reality to make me want to take whatever safeguards I can take. 

I certainly hope I don’t catch any of this stuff and if I do, I hope it’s AFTER Thanksgiving, because there is no way I am going to go to Thanksgiving dinner with my dad and his wife and their folks spreading that kind of junk around.  I only say that because a lot of drainage from my sinuses started today and I am not sure yet what’s going on.  It could easily be allergies - I have allergies and certain times of the year are heck for me.  I am going to keep tabs on how I am feeling - if I get any kind of fever at all I will head directly to the doctor to ascertain exactly what I have.

Well, I got a good jump on my cleaning activities today - steam cleaned the living room carpet all over again, cleaned up my room, laundry and am about to head outside to start in the outdoor festivities.  I figure to get a whole row of plants hooked up with the drip system stuff. 

The dogs have been banished to the great outdoors - I like to make sure they spend quality time out there, especially in the absolutely gorgeous weather we are experiencing right now.  The windows are open and the breeze is flowing and it feels really good inside or out.  I do believe I will enjoy the fresh, polluted Phoenix air outside for a while doing my thing out there, then later on get the grill going, cook some chicken, then come back inside and finish my cleaning activities - but - also want to watch the Cardinals game this afternoon and see how they do.  I’m sorta trying to become a fan since they are here - but - the Steelers will ALWAYS be my favorite, home-town team.  And yes, I AM from Pittsburgh - haven’t been there in a long, long time, but that’s where my NFL allegiance lies.

Have a great rest of your Sunday.

ben

Yayyyyyyy!  An internet milestone for me.  Went to the 5 & Diner over at Mills Mall with Kelly/Sugarcane and yes, we talked for quite a while, while I consumed copious amounts of coffee.  They served us meals that are big enough for at least 2 people per plate.  Kelly is, of course, totally cool, even cooler to meet in person. 

I am being extremely lazy today.  Not normal for me, trust me, I am usually all over the place around here getting things done.  I went and ate that big meal and it just shut me down.  I had the Playstation 3 fixed a while back - turns out there ARE places that will fix them without having to send the thing back to the manufacturer and at a fraction of the cost.  Anyway, Michael took his ethernet cord home the other day to play his X-box 360 online at home.  The cord is pretty cheap - less than $10, so I went to Fry’s Electronics after meeting Kelly to get a cord for the Playstation.

I’m sitting there looking at prices of a USB port type of receiver.  The first guy I talked to was - helpful but not very knowledgable.  My cell rang so I ended that conversation and answered - it’s a guy wanting to sell his washer and dryer set.  I lowballed him - $175 for the set.  I’m thinking now, though, that I could probably figure out what’s wrong with this washer and simply fix it myself without paying a repair dude $165 - the quote I received on the phone - to fix it and I would have a perfectly good unit.  I’m going to at least try.  The guy that is selling his said his would be available to be picked up after they deliver his new set - he bought what I can only dream about, a front loader set - on Friday.  So I have some time to unhook the thing, turn it on it’s side and see if I can figure out what’s broken on it. 

Back to the USB port deal, another guy walks up asking if I need any help.  I said yes, which one of these USB receivers will work on a Playstation 3?  I was looking at doing that instead of getting another cord which would totally be in the way.  He’s like, well, the one you have in your hand won’t work, but this one will, picking out another one.  He gives me an odd look - he doesn’t understand why I am buying something that, I find out from him, the system is already equipped with.

Yes, folks, you learn something new everyday.  The Playstation 3 is already equipped with the ability to receive wireless internet connection.  I had no clue - though it makes sense, the darn things cost enough money.  I walked out of there thanking the man profusely - and buying nothing as I am counting my pennies these days and keeping a pretty good cinch on the spending department as much as possible - went home and figured it out.  Took a while but it’s work better through the wireless than with the cord. 

Now?  Sitting here wondering if I’ll EVER get the motivation to do any of the long list of things I wanted to do or at least get started on this weekend.  I’m having my doubts considering it’s already almost 3:00pm. 

Well, whatever the case, this entry is done.

Later.

ben

5:30 AM, I am sleeping quite soundly and the alarm goes off.  On a day when I COULD sleep in, I can’t.  I woke up and wondered why I even set the alarm, I did remember that today is Saturday.  Oh, yes, have to take Caleb to school - he is back on the varsity Rifle Team - he had lost his position because he couldn’t practice as much as other kids for fact of having to spend extra time doing before and after school study to bring his grades up.

I was in a quirky mood, so I was discussing life with the dogs.  Dogs will sit there and listen to you for hours on end, if you really want to waste your breath in talking to creatures that have absolutely no clue what you are talking about but apparently enjoy the attention that such discussion gives them.  No, I am not insane, but I will admit to a habit of talking to myself in the morning that has gone on for as long as I can remember.  It helps me wake up and it gets my vocal chords going is all I am going to offer on that. 

However, I realized that time had passed and now there was only 15 minutes left to get Caleb to school, so we left post-haste and I got him there with 8 minutes to spare.  School is only 6 miles away - but there are a lot of lights and slow speed limits between here and there - the only reason I was sweating it is because Caleb got a call from a friend that was already there who told him that they were leaving at 6:00am SHARP and if he wasn’t there in time, tough. 

I particularly like this kind of thinking on the leadership of the JROTC program - I am a person that is always, and I do mean ALWAYS on time, but mostly I am well ahead of schedule.  I do not like much people that think showing up to work 10 minutes late is acceptable, or perhaps a function that is going to start at some particular time is okay to show up 30 minutes late.  Punctuality isn’t just respectful in my book, it’s a way of life for me. 

I came back home with the pipe dream that I might just be able to get back to sleep and sorta get caught up on the - vast chasm of time in sleep loss, but it wasn’t to happen.  I tried, trust me, I did.  I eventually gave up, the dogs decided that they wanted to visit me attempting to sleep so Prince climbed right up on bed and stuck his giant nose into my neck.  Coco followed suit, there was no room left for Duke.  I normally do not allow the dogs onto the bed, but since I am washing all of that stuff today anyway, no big deal.  Well, anyway, I did get a little over 7 hours of sleep - which is basically sleeping in for me.

So - I have more work to do on the irrigation system - I’m taking my time with it as you may be able to tell if you have read this journal for any length of time.  It really isn’t difficult work - except for digging the trench.  I have half a mind to get some illegals and dig out another trench.  We have 1-1/4 inch PVC Schedule 40 gas sleeving at work that was written off long ago - why they bought it I don’t remember but it has been sitting there forever.  We can’t sell it, and yes we have tried.  The ops manager told us to cut up the pipe we need to get rid of and slowly, over time, just fill up the dumpster with it and get rid of it.  This includes the sewer pipe of which I was able to sell ALL of it on Craigslist. It wasn’t a great profit, but it was far better than paying a company to bring in a 40 yard container to get rid of the stuff, which is what they were going to do at first. 

So, even though it’s intended use is gas sleeving, I am going to use it for a water supply at the far, southwest corner of my property.  I intend on installing a misting system there by next summer - the dogs are now outdoor animals when I leave for work - or anywhere really - I can run a system like that and keep them cool at a very cheap price.  Those systems do not use that much water.  I have a row of plants right next to the house that needs the drip system trench dug up - again, this ground is not only hard, it’s FULL of rocks.  You can’t dig anywhere on my property without expecting a ton of rocks to be dug up.  I am using the rocks from the trench already dug up to line the front of my property with - I have it about 1/3rd done and it looks MUCH better than those ugly, pinkish pavers.

Tenants handed me a couple of hundred dollars last night - I intend on using it to get a washing machine.  What kind of machine I end up with, I have no clue.  I have been putting offers on several machines - but admittedly I am lowballing every single offer.  If they have a set listed for $375, I’m offering $200.  Cheap?  Yes.  Tough times we’re in? Definitely.  I will, sooner or later, end up with a nice set, I’m sure of it, just give it enough time and someone who is just dumping a set or is desperate will agree to my offer.  What I am seeing on CL is a lot of people getting rid of their top loaders because they went out and bought a new front loading set.  Some of these sets they are dumping are only 1 or 2 years old. 

Well, I think I will end this one as I am perusing Craigslist yet again.  I am reading all these families that aren’t going to have any kind of Christmas.  Tell me about it.  I understand the desire to provide gifts for family, but in these times, buckle down, tighten up the belt and get about the business of just providing a place and food for your family - that’s a good present in my book rather than living in the streets.  The problem I have with these people is that they aren’t willing to do anything for the money.  Trust me, I have emailed several of them telling them I would be happy to hand them a few dollars - $40 - to dig out a small trench and I have received no replies on them - that was the LAST time.  I’m sorry life is rough, I know ALL about living in want and need but I don’t go around asking for handouts. 

Rant over.

Ava’ good day.

ben