Pics

If you click on a pic, then it enlarges and all the other pics end up in thumbnails below it so you can just scroll through full-screen pics.

That's one view from my trailer door.

View to the right of the first shot, again from trailer door and then a view to the west underneath.

These are the stumps my oldest brother took me to shortly before he left.  He said he used to sit there and watch some awesome sunsets.

This is the view towards the west, from the stumps, that you will see the awesome sunsets.  I took these this morning, hence, no sunset. You can the dirt road below, it's the only road in and out of this community.  People frequently stop there during sunset to take pics and enjoy.

This is the exact same view towards the west, but zoomed in.  See the mountain? A HUGE swatch of the trees on that mountain are gone, fire consumed them a few years back.

From the stumps, looking back towards my trailer.

View of my trailer.  You can see one of the nice, chrome hubcaps is missing, fell off on the way up.

My mom's water tank.  It's pretty big, if you use it conservatively, yes, you probably can make it through a summer.  Trailer to the right, you can also haul the thing down to the local cement company and fill it up - with a garden hose, lol - for a small fee.

This is a view to slighty north and east.  It's the rim.  It's from the top of the property.

The trip would have been 117 miles one way, coming back, but I did 2 loops looking for that missing hubcap.  I did find it.  Some scratches on it but not dented or otherwise ruined.  I figured to find another cap like that?  Probably next to impossible so, worth the extended search for it.  Trip was 2 hours, but I could have made it in about and hour and forty or forty-five minutes without the hubcap search.

Dogs are plain worn out.  I took them on a good, long hike this morning and they are absolutely crashed out on the living room floor.  Yesterday, on the first hike, Prince got tired and decided to............sit down under a tree.  Yup, he just sat there, staring at me.  He was telling me he had had enough. Sorry, buddy, but we gotta hoof it back to camp.  He begrudgingly got up and made the rest of the trip back, lol.

I let Sophie off the leash this morning.  It was a gamble to say the least, but, it was at the property, not while on a walk.  She started to take off in a big, big hurry.  She didn't listen to me the first 2 times, the third time I quietly walked up near where she had stopped and called her name again. This time, she came trotting up.  Goooood doggy! I told her and then immediately put her back on the leash, lol.  We'll take this slow and eventually I won't have to worry about her running off.

My brother and his wife showed up yesterday to help out.  Though we were already done, he did have a few tidbits to offer.  He then informed me that mother undoubtedly had a large list of things she is going to want me to do.  Oh???  Listening to him talk, I gathered why he doesn't go up and visit her too often.  Apparently, she was asking him to do something every time he visited.  It also became evident why he eventually moved his trailer and then his motor home off the property and built a cabin down the road about 7 miles.  I think mother has learned from the experience, she isn't being as pushy as she used to be, but I also think it must be too late in the case of my brother.

I am not sure I could live up there year round.  I am used to being around people.  I love the quiet and the fresh air and beautiful scenery, yes, but, dunno about actually living there.

Anyway, good trip, glad the worst of this is over, still plenty to do to the trailer but it's all good.

ben

The World of Craigslist

I bought a Direct TV receiver from a guy a few weeks ago and when I tried to hook it up, well, it didn't work.
So I contacted the guy and told him about it and asked if he still had the other receiver he had for sale.  Yes, he does.  We went back and forth and he finally said to go ahead and throw the receiver I have in the trash and he will just give me the other one.

Fast forward.  Time constraints. I have not had time to meet up with this person and get the other receiver because I have been too busy working on the trailer.  So, I contacted him again this morning and he writes back and tells me: I have had 4 other offers on it but I have been saving it for you.  If you do not show up on Monday to get it, then I am going to sell it".

In other words, screw the fact that he sold a defective receiver, he's going to make his money regardless.  Which pretty much tells me when he gets this receiver back, if he indeed does honor his word, he is going to sell it.

I'm not sorry to say: whatta jackass.

Whatever.

Took the dogs for a long walk/run this morning in the woods.  I was able to let the Danes run free, but I cannot yet let Sophie run wild.  I did let her go, on the property, this morning to see what she would do.  She took off.  I followed after her, giving her firm voice commands to come back.  She did, indeed, finally listen.   So, just giving it more time and some day I will also be able to let her run without have the fear of her just running off and never seeing her again.

It felt good to get a good heart rate going and enjoy the cool, fresh air and hear the breeze whispering through the pines.  Lord willing, I will be coming up here next weekend and probably staying Saturday through Monday morning.  There are quite a number of things I need to do and fix next time I am up here, or at least get started on.  I forgot coffee cups.  I would like a wall clock.  This, that and the other thing. Some air fresheners will definitely help.

Well that's it.  Time to pack it up and head on out.

ben

So, I am just below the Mogollon Rim right now, on my mother's property, attempting to get situated.
I had totally forgotten about internet and such in the business of getting things set up, but here  it is.
3G network, yes, I expected that.  Does it work? Well, I just go on Blogger and pulled up this page to write an entry, so, so far, so good.

It's a good 3G connection, too, not a weak one.  3G works well enough for me, if it continues to work, I will be happy.

We had 2 mishaps coming up.  1st, one of the nice, chrome moon rims came off the trailer.  I know where it landed and it is possible I might be able to retrieve it on the way back.

But 2, one of the bedroom windows mounting latches on the bottom broke, sending the window flying straight up!  It was still attached to the trailer, but it was only a matter of time .  Well, we got it taped down and it worked fine the rest of the way up. The only other thing was to get this trailer into a rather tight hole.  That took some doing, but we got it in here.  It's absolutely beautiful up here.  I knew I wouldn't regret this.

Anyway, break time over, I have a lot to get done before dark.

ben

What is there left to say?
I will be leaving within the hour.
I hope to be able to make an entry from the property.
Nervous about that one!
We'll see.
A long time has passed since this situation first began.
A lot of time, energy and money dumped into it.
Hopefully, it will pay off.

G'day.

ben

Just spent several hours on the "final countdown" to tomorrow morning.
I have a couple of hours worth of stuff left to go.  I was REALLY freaking out when I was
told I would have to make a trip to the Intel plant at 2:00 this afternoon.  NOOOOO.
I pretty much talked my way out of it by calling the salesman on the account and asking him to please take this delivery, that I was calling in a favor - I have stayed WAY late on several occasions because of his customer.

He started out with how I am the delivery driver, this that and the other thing.  But, I remained calm and just slowly talked him into it.  I might just be getting off of work right now if I had had to make that run.  I told him I normally don't care if I have to stay late, not normally an issue, but just this once can you please cover this for me?  So, yes, I got out of it and got out of there.  Headed to several different stores.  First up was Petco, I wanted to get a tag for Sophie, the new doggy.  Put my cell phone number on it.  In case she gets away from me up there, at least have something on her that gives more than just the option to call the pound.  Yes, I am also putting on her license today.  Plus she has yet another ID tag that has the number of the rescue that I got her from.

No, I don't want her to run away, yes, I am facing a very real possibility that she will somehow manage to do just that.  I have 2 different collars on her and ID's on both collars at this point.  She's a sneaky doggy. She will run herself out and then try to find her way back.

PetSmart, however, wanted $9.50 for one of those things!! Unbelievable.  I just left.  I went to Walmart after that and found a machine in there that does it for $5.  More reasonable, more like it.  Then off to other parts of Walmart to get the rest of what I need.  Of course, I forgot something: ice.

Oh well, get it at the local convenience store later, right now, I need to go out and water everything, including filling up the fish ponds. One of the pumps failed yesterday, bad timing on that.  Just what I don't need, a $50 expense.  No choice, ordered one online, going to be several days before it gets here, like sometime next week.  The water? Going to get a bit foul, I think, by then.

I've still got the wiring party to do as well, going to get to that pretty quick here as well, while there is still daylight.

Lots to do, really, best get to it.

Later.

Final Day

Ugh.  I should have taken today off, now that I think about it.
I have a LOT to get done today and I am afraid I might get to all of it.
It really has a lot to do with how early - or - late - I get off of work.
If I get off at normal time, I can probably get to all of it and have it done by evening.
If I get off late, then I am going to have to pick and choose what is going to get done,
and what is not.
2 priorities, though: Get another electrical adapter and switch the wiring on the pigtail.

After that, it's anyone's guess.  The electrical adapter is at Camping World and the pigtail
will probably take anywhere from half an hour to an hour to get done.  The guy wants brake
lights on the trailer and I don't really blame him.  I will be following him, yes, but I understand
a bit of apprehension when brake lights don't work and also the potential for getting pulled
over and getting a ticket.

Ooops, one other huge priority: water the plants well.  Top off the ponds.  Ask Mark to keep an eye on that stuff.  Okay, I have to realllllly hope that that Intel situation and the contractor there isn't going to call us at 2:00 pm demanding materials to be sent out there.  If they do, that is going to be something that will take away hours that otherwise I could be using to get stuff done.

Well that's it.  There are other things on  my mind, but, this situation is sort of taking the stage in my life and will be that way until sometime late tomorrow morning (Lord willing and hopefully) that it's up there, parked, leveled and ready to use.  It will be interesting to see how well this guy can maneuver that trailer up on mom's property considering the space to maneuver it - is pretty tight.  There is only one place it can really go and that is in a stand of trees with just enough space to put that trailer in there.  I am very glad I did not opt to buy a much longer trailer, I was looking at a 35 footer and there was also a 40 footer that I had been looking at when I was looking to buy this thing.  I don't think either of them would make it in there, honestly.

Okay, it's time to leave for work.  Off to the races!

ben

Moving Trailers

It took a while to move those 2 trailers around.
It was hot.
Crank one up on the truck, move it out, crank it back down, crank the other one up - repeat repeat.
But it is done.  Filled up the fuel tank on his truck - a crew cab Ford pickup with 8 foot bed, big long thing with a diesel engine and we parted ways.  The wiring on the pigtail on my trailer is hooked up wrong, hence the reason brake lights weren't working.
Will have to do that tomorrow after work, along with several other things.  He is coming over at 5:30 am Saturday to hook up to the thing and haul it out of here, meaning I have to have everything complete by tomorrow night.  Which shouldn't be a problem - shouldn't, lol.

Time for bed.  Need some good sleep tonight for what's to come tomorrow.

G'nite.

ben

2 days and counting.
Lots to do.  Completely spaced out getting insurance on the trailer.
It's a 1986 model and I only paid $2,500 for it, so hopefully fire insurance on the thing won't cost too much.  I'm not really sure what kind of insurance I can get on it, but I will try to find out today through my auto insurance broker.
They should be able to tack a policy onto my existing policy without too much added expense.  But who knows.  Fire and theft insurance, now that I think about it.

Anyway, Mark will be working on the thing today.  He was complaining how hot it is in there.  I showed him to close the bathroom door and yes, the front half of the trailer will cool down very nicely.  Like in the mid 70's.  It's just getting hot here now, plain and simple.  It will not get up into the 100's up where the thing is going.  If it ever does, then look out down here, cause' the temp difference is at least 20 degrees.

So, still a bit left to go here.  I was making a list and though what is left to buy isn't expensive, per-se, there is still much that I had forgotten.  Thing that I don't want to do without, frankly.  But, if I forget something or even several things, no biggies.

Salesman coming over at 4:00 or so to move around the trailers today.

Which is cool, that gives me tomorrow to do whatever finishing touches before the trip Saturday morning.

Time for work : )

G'day.

ben

Just a few more things here.  My replacement Verizon Hot Spot mobile broadband router.  Jury is out.  Was working at a jobsite yesterday and then just quit.  It was working at another place today where it had NEVER worked before and I had tried at least a dozen times at that location.  I'm still not convinced, but Saturday will be the tell all for me.

Zimmerman.  I had wondered, when this shooting occurred a while back, how everyone in the news media and hence, everyone with an opinion, could possibly jump to the conclusion that Zimmerman committed murder, not  an act of self defense.  Do we know all the facts? I remember a local talk show trio - not just one host but a threesome of them - declaring him guilty.  Really?  Now, some very interesting, new facts have come out.  That Zimmerman had 2 black eyes.  A broken nose.  A laceration to his head.  That Trayvon had bloodied knuckles.

I'm not going to sit here and say this situation should have ended the way it did.  If the 911 operator really told him to stay away from the kid, maybe that's what should have happened and Zimmerman should have just waited for the police to come.  But, when you look at the newly released evidence, it certainly should at the very least, sway people's opinion back to a neutral position.  Oh, he might really have acted in self defense.

I was not going to take the dogs up with me to move the trailer up there this weekend, but I have since changed my mind.  The new doggy can be roped to a tree and the Danes can run free.  They won't run off or if they start to, they will come back when I call them.  The new doggy, not yet.  She IS settling down, but I think she would still just take off and not even blink an eye if I called her to come back.  She's a sweet girl, though, very nice doggy, glad I got her.

I'm Not Going To Say That............

...............I regret not doing the bedroom with carpet, but it certainly would have been nicer.  I thought the carpet cleaner would get it looking pretty good, it really did nothing for the appearance of it.  That carpet was filthy.  At least I got it clean if nothing else.  I CAN say that I would have been REALLY unhappy if I had not replaced the rest of the carpet in the thing.

I went to Walmart today and bought a bunch of stuff for it. Toiletries - all of them I will need.  Kitchen stuff: plastic wrap; aluminum foil; a new cutting knife; paper towels; stuff like that.

I bought a plastic container that I figured would hold enough dog food that if I filled it up, it would last at least several weekends worth.  I was not wrong. That small thing actually can handle a 40 pound bag of food, though I put about 2/3rd's of a bag in it.  I also scored a nice, 100 foot extension cord today.  I've asked Mark to do one of his infamous clean jobs.  That guy can really clean.  If, for example, he cleans a vacuum cleaner, that doesn't mean just emptying out the container that receives the dirt.  In his mind, that means taking the entire thing apart and doing a clean, clean job on it.  That's how he cleans EVERYTHING.

Anyway, the salesman changed the parameters on me and he is coming tomorrow to jockey the trailers around instead of on Friday.  Which isn't that big of a deal, especially now that I have a long enough cord to reach the outlet.  Point being on Friday, since we aren't moving it on that day, I am going to want to be in it, looking around, feeling it out, what else does it need?  What else can I AFFORD right now, lol.

I still have left a trip to the dollar store and maybe Anna's linens if I can't find cheap throw rugs at the dollar store.  I forgot to buy a fan for it today as well.  Good thing I still have 2 full days left to go.  I have 4X8's to level it with.  It will be parked on a hill, one side of the trailer is going to have to have it's wheels on top of boards to level it.  I bought coffee and creamer, I wouldn't mind stocking it with some canned and dry goods as well.  I got the dog's food bowls - cheap ones - and I will be taking a 5 gallon, plastic bucket for their water, just like they have here.  Just happen to have 4 of those.  I will be taking 2 of them.  One for water and the other to empty out the waste water holding tank.

My mother has her ways of doing things when it comes to that, I will have mine.  I am not going to haul off to the outhouse in the middle of the night if I need to go.  The toilet works just fine, thank you and I will not be using it enough to have to haul much waste very often.  Just dump it into the outhouse hole and that's that.

That's enough of that situation for now.  Tomorrow get the trailer in the front of the driveway and ready to be hooked up to and hauled up there.  I will have to ask Mark to look after things when I am not here.  More specifically and importantly: my plants and my fish.  In the hot summer, you have to water the plants either every day or every other day, every day is best.  The fish obviously want to be fed every day as well. Feeding the fish is no big deal. Watering the entire sides and back of the property also no big deal: turn on the valves and let it go for 15 or so minutes and that's it.  I did not finish hooking back up the drip system out front, so that is going to have to be done by hand.

I am planning on going up to the property, when I do go, on Friday afternoons and be there at early evening.  Then have a full Saturday to spend up there and either leave on Sunday morning or at the latest Sunday afternoon. I still have that to work out.  I am definitely not going to be spending every weekend up there, but I do intend on spending enough of them up there to have made all this effort, time and money spent worth it.  3 day weekends are a foregone conclusion that I will be up there unless something is going on down here that I need to be here.  Memorial day is coming up soon.  That's a Monday, so I will probably leave early Saturday that weekend and miss church, yes, but go up there and stay until Monday late morning.

The heat is already here, the AC in the house is already costing me a lot of money.  Much earlier than normal.  The temps are 10 degrees above normal for this time of the year.  It will be paramount at this point that tenants pay the rent on time and if they don't, they will not be getting a notice from me, I will be visiting with them personally.  Just can't afford late pays or people that start going downhill with it. So far, it's all good.  This trailer, however, has cost me some money, much more than just paying for it.  Fortunately, I am at the end of that road or at least very near it.  Definitely, the expensive stuff is over with.  There are only a few issues with it that do not have to be fixed right now, save it for the future when I have more money to deal with it.

I do have one caveat:  I am about to make the final payment on the other trailer.  I will ask Mark to clean it up real nice and then I will try to sell it for what I paid for it. I haven't dumped any money into it, well very little anyway.  It's in decent condition.  It has some issues, but I bought it with those issues.  Nothing huge but still.  I might sell it on payments, but would be very cautious about it.  I have had trouble with making the payments on some months and I wonder what would happen with a person in an even lessor financial condition than I am.  The point: I need that money, really, for backup.  If something goes foul, I need something to make up for it.  Next month I am paying down the second 401k loan to zero balance since it's almost there.  But I would REALLY rather NOT have to use retirement money to pay for anything.  Yet, in the reality of life, if my back's against a wall, I will do whatever I have to do to make life work.

Excited? Yes, but not getting too carried away with it yet.  I have been cranking away on it and on the property for days and days now.  The wind storm REALLY messed some things up on the property and I have been working to clean it up and straighten it back out.  Not much fun, really, but a necessity to keep the place looking nice.

My Butterfly Koi - which has grown about 8 inches since I got him to a whopping 12 inches - came up to me a bit ago while I was cleaning out the pump and actually let me touch him!  Talk about knowing the hand that feeds you!

I just got done reading a report on some research that said that 8.5 million adults had sleep-walked in the last year.  I find it intriguing cause' as a kid, I did a whole lot of sleep walking.  The report said that if a person was going to fall down some stairs or something dangerous, then yes, wake them up.

There were many times I would wake up in the basement.  To get there from my bedroom, I had to walk across the house, down a flight of stairs, around a landing, down another flight of stairs, around another landing and another short set of stairs, back across the house, open the basement door, walk down yet another flight of stairs, across a 20 foot entry way and then another flight of stairs.  I walked down stairs so many times without ever falling while sleep walking I guess I don't  necessarily agree  with that particular portion of the study.

It was strange, though. Waking up under the piano; the dinner table; the kitchen floor; in the attic; the bathroom; all over the house.  Even stranger that my parents never knew I was doing it.  I had to walk right past their bedroom to go anywhere from my bedroom.  There are a couple of times I can remember doing the sleep walking.  Your eyes are opened but honey, the lights ain't on.  I remember it as if it were a dream, though, not while it was happening.

Well, whatever, speaking of sleep, I didn't do so well in that department last night and just got done with an hour nap.  I am undecided on small church group tonight, if I don't wake up a bit more than what I am now by then, I probably won't go.

With that, I am out the door.  I have some stuff to get done today on the trailer - namely the roof.  Just need to get the old screws and stuff that are still up there, off of there from when I was replacing the roof vents.  Make sure everything is hunkered down and ready to go up there.  Then back inside the thing to sit there for a while and think of what I need and write it down.  I have a list, but it's not finished yet and I am running out of time here!! lol

Later.

ben

Spent a couple of hours after working putting trim - wall and floor - in the trailer.  Just a bit of that left to go and call it done.
My oldest brother finally emailed me back.
He said he was waiting to tell me whether he could be there or not.  He apparently does not go up to that cabin every weekend.  I think his work gives him overtime if he wants it and at the rate of pay I am guessing he is making, that is probably hard to turn down.  But, he said it looks as though he can go.

I wish I could get a job there!  Pension and 401k?!!

Oh well.  Don't get me started on retirement stuff.  That thing sits in my mind all the time.

Gonna start writing up the list tonight - like right after this entry. What do I need.  Gears will be cranking: what will I need that I am not remembering?  Foregone conclusion I will forget something - or several somethings - but I would rather remember as much as possible so it can all get into the trailer and not have to haul a bunch of stuff up there.

Dunno why the lights didn't work on that other guy's truck, I patched a line and juiced it, brake lights came on.  No clue.  Not going to worry about that one at this point.  Down to the nitty gritty.

I was engaging in a "family" wide email started by my dad.  I responded to him and replied all and then was informed that I and one other should start the plans to get a family reunion going in North Carolina.  Good ole' rich uncle Bob.  Great guy, actually.  He didn't used to be.  Money seemed to be his god at one point in life and arrogance his companion.  From what I can tell, he has gotten over all of that.  Well, whatever, I have no means to start or engage in much less GET to a reunion in North Carolina.  I missed the last 2 because of budget constraints.  My cousin then jumped in and said we should have one in Australia, where she is currently living!

Lol.  Would LOVE to go to Australia.  What the rest of my family lines doesn't understand is that a person in my position - not exactly rich - can't just make plans to go jetting across the country or the world for that matter in a couple months notice.  It would have to be more like NEXT YEAR for me to be thinking about saving up enough money to make such a trip.

That's it for today.

5 days.  The countdown has started, at least for me, the clock is ticking.  I still can't figure out what is wrong with the lights on that trailer.  Going to keep on trying.  I don't want to have to buy a set of lights that attaches to the rear with lines running alongside of it.  I doubt those are too cheap.  I am not sure the guy that is going to move the trailer will want to move it, though, without at least brake lights working.

Well, whatever.   The only other "thing" I need to buy for it besides that situation is a box fan.  The rest of what I need is just the basics - toiletries; bottled water; etc etc.

That's about it.  Just counting the days and trying to get all this stuff done before Saturday morning.  I have a bit of help with Mark doing things in there as well.  He is going to paint the new little table I made for the TV today.  Just to keep it from splintering, it is going to have a small table cloth draped over it.  Yes, we're talking dollar store stuff here.  If I am going to spend any amount of time up there, I am not going to haul stuff back and forth between the house and there.  It will need to be completely stocked with the everyday things that you need, but for me, that means getting a lot of it at the dollar store.

Time to leave for work.

G'day.

ben

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Well, I did some things today and contemplating more. First, I cleaned out one of the pond filters this morning - it was pretty full of fish junk, yuck - but I pour it out around trees and plants, great fertilizer!
Went to church. Nice time there, about 2-1/2 hours worth.
Went to Lowe's and bought the brass fittings needed to put a cap on the hose inlet for the trailer.
Went to the Chinese buffet and got lunch - for everyone here.

At dinner and now contemplating getting more done on the trailer.

Though, I really don't feel like it.  About this time Sunday rolls around and I start getting that lazy feeling.  I've spent the last 2 full days working on that thing.  I'm guessing I will find the motivation soon enough, just a few things I would like to get done in there today and then maybe resume tackling it tomorrow.

Oh, bought some hummingbird feeder concentrate, so I am definitely going to get the feeder inside, clean it out nicely and put fresh liquid in it.

Meanwhile, I am being subjected to a VERY loud phone conversation with Lynnette in my living room talking to her mother.  No, not fond of listening to loud conversations of other people on the phone, have some respect and take it somewhere else if you can't find it within yourself to just talk at normal volume when on a phone.  It never ceases to amaze me at how many people think that you, the person that ISN'T on the other end of the line, wants to hear every last word you are saying.

Well whatever.  Pond pump was already clogged up again, had to turn everything off and clean it out.  There was a big-time wind storm here a few days ago and it blew all kinds of junk into this particular pond.  The other 2 ponds seemed to have survived without a lot of junk, this one did not and it is taking up some time trying to clean out all the leaves and stuff in it.  Oh, that is the pump, not the filter.  I cleaned the filter this morning, that will be good for quite a while.  But, the pump will get clogged up and nothing or very little will be going through it.

Called mother today.  She went up to the property as of this morning. Wished her a happy Mother's Day.
She was a bit hyped because her goofy doggy took off.  But then she said the dog has done it before and always come back. Well I certainly hope it does this time, too, that dog and she are quite the pair.

I have nothing else.  Life is good.

ben

Dry Run

I've worked a long time for this, it was time to do a dry run, figure out what's going to work and what needs improvement, an adjustment or a whole new approach.

What am I referring to?

The trailer, of course.

First off was getting the satellite tv up and running.  I had no idea I was going to have to spend quality time with Direct TV this afternoon, but I should have known.  I have a DTV card that hasn't been used in a while - though I have been paying for it.  I knew in the back of my mind to get it working again I would have to contact   DTV, but today the issue was forced.

I am not going to go into all of that, but I will throw in here 2 things. 1: a call to headquarters will be enacted Monday.  2: I actually got a pretty cool chick on the other end of the line - after talking to 6 other people.  I didn't get her once, either, I had to call more than once, of course.  She remembered me and I immediately recognized her voice.

The card is out of "sleep" mode and is working.   I am sitting in the living room of my trailer, laptop in - lap - and my flat screen TV I bought on Black Friday last year is functioning with Direct TV playing.  I am positive I will get Direct TV working up there, I am not so sure about the internet.  I am running off my house WiFi, not the hotspot device from Verizon.

Yes, all 3 dogs are in the house.  Prince and Sophie on the folded down couch and Duke - on the floor.  That's Duke's preferred place anywhere so no problems.

I am glad I did this today. First off, I would NOT want to be dealing with Direct TV up there - though I would if I had to. 2, The way I want to sit on this couch with it folded down to accommodate dogs?  I am going to need a giant pillow to make it comfortable.

Today's doings?
1:  Went to a yard sale and scored a bunch of stuff for the kitchen in the trailer, plus a mattress for Duke (for my bedroom, not the trailer).

2.  Finished the carpeting.

3.  Filled the fresh water holding tank up and turned on the pump. Water came out of all facets - but there is a connector for a hose on the side of the trailer and it was also pumping out of there. Apparently, you have to plug that thing up to make it work well.

4. Many finishing touches with more to go. A strip for where the carpet meets the linoleum - yes I also went to Home Depot; Autozone; and several other places as well.

Umm, the Direct TV situation and trying to get it work actually took up several hours.  In the past 2 days, I have got quite a lot accomplished on the thing, but there is still more to go.

So, that's it.  Oh, I got all the lights working on the inside of the trailer excepting the one over the bathroom sink. The connectors are broken on it and need replaced. No priority right now as I have over-spent on this thing and that can wait, I have another ceiling light in the bathroom that I fixed today and is working perfectly so no problem there.

I have not figured out what the problem is with the brake and running lights on the outside of the trailer yet.  Well, I will continue to search that one out for the next few days and see what I can do with it.

Going to spend several hours in here chilling.  Figure out what needs to be figured out. Large dogs in a smaller space is obviously a bit of a - problem - but we are getting it. Sophie moved out of the way of Prince and is at the other end of the couch. Duke looks very uncomfortable but only because he hasn't laid all the way down yet, I will help him with that in a moment - he tends to need that kind of help to understand what he can do in any given situation.

2 days spent on this thing, 2 days well spent.

Whatever the case this coming Saturday, it is what it is and it's going.

ben

Verizon

So the battle with Verizon begins.
I am not going to pay for a service that does not work, and more importantly, I am NOT going to pay to disconnect a service that - does not work. I don't CARE if there is a contract, any contract whose services are rendered useless is not an enforceable contract.

Verizon customer service?  No different.  I have heard the same BS from everywhere before.  They have their regurgitated puke memorized.  They spew it out to whoever is on the line with them. Yada, yada, yada.  It is also no different than any of these other companies that, when you first call, you give the computer all this information and then when you speak to an actual person? They ask you the same information.  Then you get switched to another person that asks you - the same information.

This is my first real confrontation with this company.  But I have this kind of thing down.  They are all the same. Or mostly the same.  After I heard the attitudes, I just decided to cancel the contract.  Of course, I knew there was going to be a lot of "conversation" to get to that point.  The first lady said yes, we can do that.  Is there going to be a fee to disconnect?  We will send you a final bill.  Is there going to be a fee to disconnect?  Yes, there is going to be a disconnect fee.  "Management, please".  I did not get a manager.  I got some kind of "specialist".  I didn't listen to her for more than 2 sentences once that became clear.  "I'm sorry, I didn't ask for a specialist, I asked to speak to management".

This went on, and on, and on.  The phone I was using finally ran out of power and that call was ended.

I called back. This time, I told the computer system I want disconnect, thanks.  3 people later, I am talking to some level of management.  He offered to replace the unit and remove this month's bill.

This is the preliminary stages.  My new unit will be Fed-Ex'd to me by Tuesday, since the weekend is here. If it works - everywhere I go - I'm good with it.  When I say that, I mean, anytime it says I have 4g or 3g access, I should have some kind of internet access.  If the blooming thing doesn't work here, in the Phoenix metropolitan area, what makes me believe it is going to work up in the mountains, where it shows they have coverage, but probably 3g coverage?

I want to throw in a gem here, that has nothing to do with Verizon wireless.  My son comes to me last night and asked for advice.  Okay.  He starts telling me about this girl that wanted to go out with him.  She smokes pot and she is "loose".  He didn't know how to deal with it, but he told her flat out that if she wants to "go there", he is not interested.  He's asking me if what he did was the right thing.

Wow.  Well, he says, you have dated a lot, how would you have handled that situation?  Ummm, son, I can't tell you how to live your life, but if you are asking me?  You did EXACTLY the right thing!  That boy has a destiny in the Kingdom of Heaven and he is intent on following hard after the Lord to the point that he - maybe tempted - but not giving into it.  Amazing.

Well, whatever.  Lord willing, tomorrow going to continue to do the finishing touches on the trailer.  I may have had a day off of work today, but it was a day full of work anyway.  I did take off the cover on the trailer light pigtail and found nothing that would show cause for why the lights aren't working.  Next is to check the lights themselves.  If the bulbs are good, then off to AutoZone to buy a light tester - you touch it to the power source and a light comes on if there is power.  Ahhh, and I just found an internet sit with the pigtail clearly identified on which location does what.

Very nice.

G'nite.

ben

Thwarted Plans

My plan to take off up to mom's property today was put off.  I would have already left by now and be 2/3rd's of the way up there - at least.
Instead, I get a call from Caleb yesterday proclaiming that the car has a water leak.
Okay.
Well, something has been making noise under there, but there are so many things so close together in that general area, it was impossible to tell what, exactly, was making the noise - at least impossible without buying a stethoscope.
Well, I do believe the noise issue has been identified: water pump.
Water is pouring the little hole at the bottom of the pump.
So, new water pump: $26.  Installation: $85.

Just arrived, the mechanic that is, full fledged into it.

But, too late now to make a trip.  Either do it tomorrow or just blow it off and talk with mom about it - she's going up on Sunday so she can tell me what's needed, if anything.

So, just waiting for this guy to get done so I can get started on the trailer again.  Shouldn't take too much longer to finish putting in the last piece of carpet.  Make a list of things I need and off to Walmart, dollar stores, wherever I can find stuff on the cheap.

_____________________________

Yes, extremely long "interlude".  The man is done with the car.  I flushed out the cooling system again and put fresh coolant into it.  I then drove it for about 10 miles to make sure there are no problems. The noise that that car had is completely gone and there are no leaks.  The car is purring like a kitten and the AC is pumping out EXTREMELY cold air.

____________________________

Interluditis.
I went to town on the trailer.
1.  Good thing I had today off from work.
2.  Better thing I did not go up to the mountains today because,
3.  There is more to do in there than I realized.
But let's face facts, when you are attempting to work with carpet in such a small, confined area, it's going to be a hassle.  I have all day tomorrow to try and finish it up - though I am going back out there again in a while and start looking for what the problem might be with the brake lights not working.  I'm not necessarily sure that the dude that is going to haul it up there will want to do it without them working, but, money is money and I will be following right behind the trailer all the way up.

Anyway, I built a small table where another had been torn out by the previous owner.  It's just a piece of plywood with shelving hangers holding it up.  I will find a nice table cloth to put on it to make the ugliness of the plywood disappear.  There is no where else in that trailer where a TV can really go.  TV is not a priority, but I have the entire setup gathered and ready to go.  After I finish this entry, I am going to start making a list of the things I need to search out and get for it. I'm torn between buying plates and cups and all that or just getting paper plates and plastic throw away cups.  I'll figure that one out, though I will probably opt for throw away since I am not really going to want to hand wash a bunch of dishes up there.

I'm still a bit apprehensive that the internet is not going to work up there.  I am not having much luck down here, it's not working right again.  I live in the 5th largest city, whoops, the site I just looked at ranks it as 6th, well whatever - and I don't have internet access? No, that's not the problem.  It SHOWS 4G network on the device, it just isn't connecting again.  If this is a simm card issue again, I am going to start getting very annoyed with Verizon.  Which doesn't bode well for whoever I end up getting on the other end of the line if I start getting a bunch of BS dished out to me...........

It's starting to get a bit exciting for me.  I have always loved the mountains - well mountains with dense stands of tall pine trees anyway.  I have never gotten bored in the mountains, it is always an adventure to go out hiking and view nature in it's raw form without anyone else around - well dogs but that's different - I absolutely love it.  Sitting around the RV all the time is not going to be a happening event.  I will go on at least 2 hikes on any given day I am there.  I have one canteen, I guess I better get another with the dogs - though heat isn't as much of a factor up there as it is down here, still, humans and dogs get thirsty when exerting large amounts of energy.

Finally, mother is going to find that my presence up there is going to make her life a whole lots easier.  I will be cooking.  I will take her pickup and haul as much water as necessary.  You take the tank to a place that sells it and fill it up = with a water hose! ROFL!! It's funny because of the time it takes to fill a 500 gallon tank with a freakin' water hose, but whatever.  It's MUCH cheaper than having it brought in by a water truck, though I didn't know she would let me drive her truck until just recently.

Well I could talk about this all day long, but, I am in the middle of another break.  This has been a 3 part entry and it's done, make another one later if I want to yak on about it.  It should be apparent that I am definitely getting excited about all of this.

ben

So, yesterday, this couple comes over to groom the new doggy.
They had their own equipment, but not one of those mobile grooming vans.
So, they are pointing at the sky to the north and saying it's going to rain.
Rain?!!  Sure enough, the sky was very dark.
And sure enough, a wind storm came through, knocked all kinds of stuff over followed by rain.

By the time the rain showed up, however, they were down with the bath part and we went inside
for the hair cutting.  The dog looks completely different now, lol.
They say every 2 to 3 months for the grooming.  Okay.  Maybe.  3 months from now we'll still be in August, so probably, since it really doesn't cool down until October around these parts.

As for the rain?  I went outside and got wet.  : )

Today is my Friday concerning work.  I have tomorrow off and still considering whether I want to drive up there or not - to mom's property that is.  Dunno, guess it will be my mood tomorrow that will determine whether I go up there or stay here and continue to put the finishing touches on the trailer.

Unfortunately, the wind blew the roof ac plastic cover onto the ground yesterday.  It was already old and cracked, now it's not only old, but REALLY cracked.  The worse part about it is they want unbelievable money for a plastic shroud.  Like well over $100.  It's just a blooming piece of plastic, for crying out loud.  Not sure what I am going to do about that, but another cover is not in the works right now.  Maybe next month.  Affordability is the key word and right now? I can't afford it.  Too many bills to pay plus paying to have the trailer moved.  It needed replaced anyway, just that now it's vamped up a bit in priority.  I didn't want to spend $100 or whatever on one of those things until I was absolutely sure the unit was going to work. So far, so good. I have had several days now where I have run it all day long and it is keeping it nicely cooled in there.

Whatever the case, I am definitely going to finish installing the carpet this weekend and then buy all the cheap stuff it needs.  Plastic bags; paper towels; maybe go on Craigslist and see if anyone is unloading kitchen ware; a couple of throw rugs - well probably 3 or 4 of them, stuff like that.

Stock it up with bottled water, coffee, coffee creamer and some basic, cheap-version spices from Fry's. You know, the dollar spices.  Works for me.

I also have to figure out the trailer lights and so, I will definitely have my hands full on Saturday if I don't do anything tomorrow, ie: making that trip up north.  I may opt out of the trip now that I think about the amount of work I still have left to go on it.  Umm, but boy it would be nice to take a day trip up there and get out of this polluted valley.

Well, whatever the case, about 9 or 10 hours from now I am done with work until Monday.

Speaking of work, time to go!

G'day.

ben

What conditions are necessary for you to sleep? 

Do you have to have it pitch black or a light on? Or no light on, but outside light coming in through a window?

Do you have to have dead silence or do you need a white noise maker? Or something in between?

Do you sleep with the TV on or off?

I personally would love to sleep in true, dead silence.  I would sleep so well in such conditions.  In reality?  i have 3 dogs in the room while I am sleeping.  They scratch themselves; lick themselves; get up in the middle of the night and go drink out of the bathroom toilet (gross, I know); get up and rotate around in circles and lay back down.  Then there is Sophie, the new doggy, who will bark at people she hears coming through the back door.  

Of course, there are the tenants. Some of which are up all night long and are in the kitchen at varying times throughout the night.

Then there's the child-hood factor.  Our house in Pittsburgh - when I was a young kid of course - did not have air conditioning in it of any kind.  During the summers, my parents would place a 2-fan thing in the window and it would blow air into the room and on me while I was attempting to sleep.  These 2-fans-in-one made a lot of noise.  It stuck with me.  

I have to have a fan running at night regardless of winter of summer and I have to wear ear plugs.  

It's just interesting to me to hear the different things that people have to do to get a good night's sleep, or at least try to get it.  

Ummm, so.  I had to tell the guy at work today that he would have to shuffle trailers around to get the one that needs to be moved up north out of my driveway.  I decided to sweeten the pot to get him to do so, with a tank of fuel thrown in on top of the cash.  That kind of "swaying" was enough to not even have him having second thoughts.  He will come over the day before we move it and do the switching around so we don't have to fool with it early in the morning.  

Well, I'm tired and it's my bedtime.

Nite.

ben

Road Rage!

I thought I had seen it all on Phoenix freeways, but this one takes the cake and puts the icing on the top.
I was cruising back from our main branch on I-10.  Heavy, heavy traffic.  Moving, though, maybe 55 mph, amazing traffic that thick was moving that fast.  I got off the transition to the Superstition freeway, but was observing a red, Chevy pickup behind me weaving in and out of traffic, making very aggressive moves, attempting to past everyone.

This isn't, actually, abnormal behavior to be seen on the freeways around here, there are many drivers that are in a big hurry and they don't care what risk they take in order to get ahead.  Well, I am in the inside lane.   That would be the "high speed" lane on 3 lanes on a huge ramp that curves around and turns in to the US 60 - Superstition Freeway.  If you don't believe the name of the freeway, you can just Google it.

Well anyway, there is a silver pickup coming up behind me in my lane.  The red pickup is 2 lanes over and jumps in front of a vehicle - cutting it off quite nicely I should add - and then, jumps into my lane.  The problem? He cuts that silver pickup off so badly, the silver pickup has to slam on the brakes and it starts fishtailing from such heavy braking and attempting to avoid a rear-end collision with that red pickup.

Here's where the road rage beings, folks.  I have never seen anything like it except in the movies and forgive me of my telling of the story isn't NEAR at vivid and unbelievable as what actually happened in real life this afternoon.  Only a video of it would adequately convey what happened.

The driver of the silver pickup becomes infuriated.  Not just mad or angry, he was raging mad.  He was pumping his fists and mouthing words which I can imagine the content.  He floors it, gets in the lane next from me, screams past the red truck after HE cut off a vehicle in his attempt to pay the red truck's driver some revenge. I'm glancing in my rear view while - driving my vehicle and paying attention to what's going in front of me.  In that millisecond of time that I looked ahead and then looked back, this driver of the silver truck was RIGHT on my bumper, slamming on his brakes to avoid rear-ending ME, because the red truck was RIGHT behind me in my lane.

This guy is driving like a madman, rage had overtaken him.  He was swerving back and forth for what seemed like a long time but in actuality was only a second or two while attempting to force the driver of the red truck to back off or force him into the emergency lane.  When he had accomplished that, he SLAMMED on his brakes!! The driver of the red truck is now in the emergency lane, his entire truck swerving all over the place, came within inches of slamming into the median concrete wall.  The driver of the silver truck then slows down even more and goes into the emergency lane, hitting his brakes hard again.

Now, we have 2 drivers that are enraged.  The dude in the red truck is going to have his revenge, even though it was his stupid, dangerous driving that started this nonsense in the first place.  Oh, and I didn't include all the smoke coming from screeching tires that are locked up!  Now, I had no choice, I wasn't going to get into this, I sped up and got over into the second lane.  The driver of the silver truck then accelerated and was coming up beside me, so the driver of the red truck REALLY sped up and was probably going 90 mph or more attempting to catch up, try to come around me, then come in front of me and then whatever was going to happen next.  I was having NO part of that, so I sped up even more, which unintentionally gave the driver of the silver truck next to me room to move over and...........do what?

Cut that red truck off again!!!  That silver truck was going WAY slower than that red truck.  The driver of the red truck slammed on his brakes again to avoid a collision, but he was going so fast it sent him going SIDEWAYS on the freeway!!  I watched that pickup slide sideways over 3 and a half lanes - smoking tires and all -  we were off the ramp at that point and the freeway widens out to 6 lanes - I had no clue how that truck did not roll over.  I did have a clue how it didn't run into any other vehicles: everyone else driving out there saw what was going on and no-one else wanted any part of it, either.  They were all slamming on their brakes to make sure they weren't going to be a part of a potential fatality at this point.

This wasn't getting out of control, it WAS out of control.  I pulled out my cellphone and acted like I was dialing 911.  The red truck sped up in front of me and was pointing at his license plate and also the silver truck's - they were both in front of me but stuck in traffic at this point, separated by 1 lane between them with vehicles that they could not penetrate.  I was able to come up beside them and acted like I was talking on the phone and making hand movements and looking back and forth both vehicles.

I backed off and acted like I was reading license plate numbers.  Look, I could have called 911 but by the time police are there, the damage is done.  Let's just get the fear that cops might even be coming and that someone is going to follow them and maybe that will put a chill on this situation.   They weren't just putting their own lives in danger out there, which is bad enough, they were putting a lot of other drivers and vehicle occupants lives at stake as well, not the least of which was mine since that driver of the silver truck almost slammed into the rear of the pickup I was driving.

I made it VERY obvious to both of them what I was doing and suddenly?  One of them pulled over to the outside lane and the other stayed in the inside lane.  The driver of the silver pickup backed WAY off, slowing down to probably around 60 mph and the driver of the red pickup was going around 65.  After a mile or so, the silver pickup sped up but did not change lanes.  Another 2 miles after that, the driver of the silver pickup moved over to the outside lane and the driver of the red pickup moved to the number 2 lane.  Silver got on the same ramp as I was getting on to transition to the Loop 101 south while the red pickup continued east on the Superstition.

You wonder why I don't want to live in the Phoenix area.  I see this kind of stuff frequently on the freeways, though nothing ever this exaggerated.  Aggressive, outrageous driving acts abound all day long.  People treat each other like they are at war when they are driving around here.