Monday

I just got done going over the recording of yesterday's game. Couldn't resist - I wanted to see that 100 yard return on a pass interception. The guy that ran the ball down the field fell on the ground in the end zone totally winded. It was an incredible run. Anyway, football's over for a while now - bummer, lol. I haven't been able to get into basketball too much cause' the Suns have been tanking - their own coach was giving his team a scathing report on how the players are not playing as a team.

Whatever. I just got out all of this stuff for trial tomorrow out of my car. I haven't looked at a single page of it since last week, when we were at court. I don't really need to go over too much of it. There are certain sentences that she has written that I have already highlighted, I don't have to go looking through every since paper to find it now. I'm not saying it's an open and shut case, I'm just saying I'm prepared enough. So, I'll be trying to get off work about 4 hours early tomorrow. The boss said after I get my deliveries done, take a look and make sure there isn't anything else going on, and then he'll release me.

I also get a whole day off this week for my birthday. Cool that, a company that makes your birthday your very own, personal holiday. PLUS, I saw the general manager today at the main branch, who took me into his office and presented me with an awesome looking pen - a gift for 3 years of service to the company. As much as I would have loved to sit down and ask about money - now is definitely NOT the right time. In fact, I mean, who knows about this company's existence in the near future.

My co-worked stopped what he was doing today, looked at me and asked: "What are you going to do if this company ceases to exist?". Go out and start looking for another trucking job - unfortunately. The kind of job where you run your behind off all day long and spend your life in the cab of a semi-tractor. Not particularly appealing to me. I could retire from this company and be happy. I get decent raises every year, I get bonuses, a truckload of paid days off, great people to work with and at least newer equipment even if I don't particularly care for the manufacturer. If we survive this economic collapse and come out the other side going full-steam, then I will be asking for an audience with him about getting a couple more bucks per hour.

Maybe. Just depends on the situation, the atmosphere, alot of things I take into consideration when thinking about asking for more money. Plain fact of the matter is - at least in normal times - I could be making more money than I am right now. The flip-side of that is that those companies that I could be making more money at are going to have me working 12 hours days, minimum.

Whatever, neither here nor there. I was standing out in my dog-free zone thinking about how it would look with nice landscaping rock. I dunno, but I got my W-2 yesterday in the mail and will be filing that soon - I have some other documents to come up with first. I'm not doing it myself this year - I'm using part of my bonus to pay to make sure I get everything back that I can get - if anything.

I have come to the definitive conclusion that on the list of priorities, getting a premanent, in-the-wall/high energy efficient doggy door is high on that list. I'm losing too much cooling through the one I have now during the summer. They have those doors for sale that have 3 separate flaps and have a minimum of lost cooling. Not only that, but if I put it in the utility room, that room stays warm anyway. Why they built the house that way, I'll never know. I would have demanded a cooling vent in there if I would have known that before they built it. I suppose I could have one installed - all the ducting runs underneath the house and it would be a simple matter of cutting holes to get one in there - but I'm not going to do it.

I have ideas of how to save some cooling loss due to the western sun if I am not able to get an awning before summer hits, and unless some money miracle happens, definitely the awning will be put on hold for a long time, undoubtedly. Basically, the idea is what I didn't do last summer when I had thoughts of doing it. The kitchen sliding glass door lets in a LOT of heat during the summer. It's all double-paned glass, but the western sun is beating down right on it. The only defense I can think of without an awning to fight off the sun's boiling hot rays is to simply put up thick, foam insulation. It will look gawdy, terrible, ugly. It will undoubtedly save me a lot of money. It will have to be on the OUTSIDE of the glass to do the most good. Gawdier. I was thinking maybe I could get large foam sheets and cover it with fabric to make it look better. I've GOT to find ways to bring the cooling bill down.

Another issue was that woman that was living here. I asked her to NOT open up her ac ducting all the way. It was pumping huge volumes of cooled air into her room - for some reason the volume of air going into the room is disproportionately high to the size of the room. She had that thing opened full. It was cold in that room, which took away from the cooling capacity for the rest of the house. Ken is in that room now - I don't know how long he's staying, but if he's here in the summer, he has already agree to close it as far as possible while still keeping the room cool. If he doesn't, I will go under the house, pull off the ducting, install a limiter, and then put it back up.

Yup, it's an issue big on my mind right now. Summer's coming. Today reminded me of that - it was warm out there and it's only February. I've also decided to put an extra amount of money on the card for the reader every time I go to reload it. I'd like to have a couple hundred banked on there before the beginning of June get here. That's not even a month's worth of electricity for that month, but at least I would be getting a head start.

Umm, what else? I can't remember. I dunno, but 24 is coming on in a little while, and I do want to take a refresher view of the paperwork for court tomorrow. Mary - has changed her whole demeanor towards me again. Sweet and lovable as ever, even was being nice to Ken. Okay - I want to here from those that see right through it and tell me all about the kind of person that plays those kinds of manipulative games, lol. Oh - 24 - I love that show! Really, I watched the first whole season, most of the second and I think this is the - 3rd or 4th? I think I missed a season, but - I'm back into it. I remember after the first season was over, the did a 24 hour marathon and showed every single show back to back to back. I watched all but maybe 5 hours of it - for sleeping.

Okay - enough. Gotta get to work here.
C'ya tomorrow.
Have a great evening!
ben