Tuesday

Rather odd day. The boss didn't show up for work - and really "we" ran the store all day long until around 2:00 pm, when the sales manager from downtown showed up. He's really cool - though extremely busy nowadays putting in bids for contracts all over the place. I had a transfer run to downtown and then a small run to Casa Grande and that was about it.

The more sales slump, the more I figure more changes are headed our way. Another flash of news hit today - though I don't really think I can say it on here so I won't. Doesn't affect me, personally, it does affect an entire grouping of particular associates within our company, at least in our region. I'm bracing myself for the eventuality of whatever may come - but definitely, something will happen. I can feel it - it's in the air.

Anyway, got home from work, took my "powernap" - 20 minutes of actual sleep - forced myself up, got the dogs and forced myself out in the rather warm air and up into the mountains. 45 minutes of increasingly intensifying walking combined now with light jogging up and down the hills and mountainsides. Duke is getting more and more behind, instead of more and more in shape, at least from what I can see. These walks MUST be doing him good, I just don't see the fruit of it, yet.

I then decided to keep on moving, so I watered the weeds - yes, I water them, let the water sink in - it makes it much easier to pull the weeds out WITH the roots instead of wasting a lot of time pulling at weeds at surface levels with roots still in the ground. They just grow back.

Now? I'm wasted. I push myself on purpose - I have gained as much weight as I can tolerate myself having - and THAT'S too much as it is. And anyway, I am hoping on having some decorative granite 1/2 inch rock delivered on Saturday morning - the ground needs to be prepped for it. I was going to put plastic down - but I'm afraid the only good that's going to do is keep dog pee from draining out. On the dog free side, I will definitely put plastic, but I am not doing the dog free side right now.

There isn't really a lot of prep work, I just want to pull all the weeds - which is a constant battle ALL around the house - spray weed killer wherever I can that doesn't get close to any of my plants - have the dump truck bring 6 tons of the gravel, dump it and that should do the entire western side and half the southern side of my house - all the way up to the fence I installed. The eastern side of my house can and will have to wait.

I have NOT seen any weeds being cut down on my neighbor's side that I complained about. It's been long enough and I am going to simply file yet another complaint. I will continue to complain until the city of Phoenix actually either forces them to do it, or they go in there themselves, clean it up and file a lien against their property. You think that being an ass? Great - you try to keep a nice, tidy, clean property without weeds and see how you feel having to CONTINUOUSLY go out - especially on THAT side of the house next to THEIR property - and have to pull weeds because THEY ARE TOO DAMNED LAZY TO PULL THE ALMOST 6 FOOT TALL WEEDS THAT THEY HAVE GROWING OUT THERE. That's right - almost SIX FEET TALL. A weedeater won't even tough those things, they will have to hack them with a blade to bring them down. Mary suggests using salt water - I'm just afraid that it might get into MY plants and kill all of them. Not a fun idea.

Yes, I am ranting and it feels good, frankly. I am so sick and tired of seeing their SHIT all over their back yard along with the tree-like weeds. My next move is to call the fire department and ask for them to visit the property and see if they conclude there is a fire safety hazard out there - which there most CERTAINLY is. Heck, if the guy wasn't such a friggin' ASS****, I would go over there and help them take those weeds down, or even DO IT MYSELF.

Enough of that. I was going to buy weed poison last time I was at Home Depot - I got sidetracked by looking at other things. If I won a 10k shopping spree at that place, I would have it spent in short order. My back yard would be the envy of - the entire community, lol. I have so many ideas of things I could do out there - give it time, give it time. One project here, one there. First thing's first: get the dirt covered up.

I'm sitting here in a pool of sweat. Gross, aye? Lol. Just trying to cool off. I won't wear shorts out there - lots of people do, but there are too many plants with jagged "thing" sticking off of them and there are also rattlesnakes and other undesirables out there as well. I haven't run into any rattlesnakes out there, but I have run into plenty in the past in various places throughout the state of AZ, especially up in the mountains near any water. Several times, some LARGE rattlesnakes at that. If I have a weapon that I can kill them with, I don't worry about it. If I don't, I keep my distance.

So, I just saw the new tenant for the first time since Sunday - she seems to be a very sweet gal. My suspicions were true: she leaves her dog in the bedroom all day long. Apparently - the dog doesn't do his thing in there and waits for her to come home. She takes him out immediately when she gets home - and disappears. I don't know where she goes, but she takes off in her car somewhere. She has family in the valley somewhere, perhaps she has friends around as well?...dunno. Not my business, don't stick my nose into tenant's business unless they want to make it my business.

Well, that's enough. Tomorrow work doesn't look pretty: nothing in the truck routing system meaning no deliveries, at least as of yet. Have to remind myself to take some dish detergent so I can wash one of the trucks tomorrow if there is nothing to do. That usually burns several hours - and they both need washing.

Have a great evening.
ben