Absolutely Appalling

I have done almost nothing for the last 7 or so days while on staycation. Sweep the kitchen daily, make sure trash is taken out, water the plants, take care of doggies and fishies, make sure someone is cleaning up the dog mess outside, stuff like that.

I replaced the toilet seat earlier this week. I had not actually cleaned that bathroom in a while. I sometimes do that to see if anyone will bother to break down and help me out. I left a note up some time ago asking for help in that bathroom, once one of the female tenants scrubbed it, but that was it.

I think it's 2 and a half weeks since I scrubbed out the tub. The only people using that tub/shower are tenants. It was gross. I greatly dislike soap buildup on the sides of the tub, this was nasty. Not just a buildup of soap, but dirt. As the title says, absolutely disgusting. I wouldn't take a shower in THAT if you paid me. MY shower stall is QUITE clean, it always is. How can you take a shower, in attempting to get clean, when the shower itself is dirty? It's just not something I will do, cleaning it frequently is the better option.

There are fully 5 people taking showers in that tub in the main bathroom on a daily basis. It doesn't take long - that shower/tub should probably be cleaned DAILY, at least several times a week. Yes, I went in there and yes, I scrubbed it clean. 3 applications of soap scum remover before it all came off. I scrubbed the entire bathroom clean. I also tried to install a glass shelf, the screw heads were too big causing the shelf holder to not work properly. Have to go to Home Depot to get smaller drywall screws with the plastic inserts.

I'm not a fan of a dirty bathroom, I'm also not a fan of cleaning up after EVERYONE else, pubic hairs included. My Craigslist ads specifically state that any potential renters should be prepared to clean up after themselves, including helping keep the bathroom clean.

I don't know, man, it gets old. I know many people have told me that they would have just walked from this house rather than having to put up with having to deal with tenants. I go through this thought process in cycles. After cleaning up that pig stye, I'm back at the stage of cycle where I wonder about keeping the house, I always come up with the same arguments - better to keep than leave, but what a price to pay.

Well, it's done. Put that behind me for now and start in on the kitchen floor. Save the rest for tomorrow. Go out and continue work on pruning and dealing with "unruly" plants that want to grow in all different directions. It's HOT out there, even if overcast skies, the humidity must be way up because when I went out there a while ago, it felt like a hot steam room.

Well, whatever, back to work.

Saturday

I'm calling this the final day of staycation. Sunday I will undoubtedly go into massive cleaning mode and it will be work, just like work - work - just not getting paid for it Well, okay, tomorrow is the last day, in reality, but - I have plenty to do around here.

Anyway, I dearly paid for staying out that late on Friday night. Yesterday, I was tired all day long. The outing was fun, but I have no plans to do that again anytime soon. I am definitely NOT a night owl anymore. At a younger age I could stay up all night AND get up early. Now? I go to bed early and get up early.

The 3rd and final tenant equation finally showed up yesterday. She has been staying at her mother's for over a week, I think now. Rent was past due since the 1st. Well, I was handed a bit of money and told a lot of reasons why this person couldn't pay and that - other things obviously took priority.

The priority that I always love - and have heard numerous times from tenants - is that they "had" to replace their cellphone. Or the cellphone monthly plan payment was due. I've never seen a cellphone that was big enough for a human to fit into, much less have a bed and all that human's belongings stuffed inside of it. Of course, in the space age, I'm sure they'll invent something like that, until then, one imagines a place to live being of far greater priority then cellphones.

Apparently younger generations simply don't see it that way. I think the next time I hear a cellphone excuse from a tenant, I am going to give some smart-@$$ remark back, because, frankly, it is totally unacceptable. Trying giving that excuse to an apartment complex manager. They aren't even going to give you the time of day - the rent is due, pay it up or get an eviction notice.

The other one I love is "well I'm not going to be here, so I shouldn't have to pay" or something like that. A person going on vacation or doing whatever is not going to be here for a week so, that week should be free. Really? Again, if you were renting an apartment, go to the apartment manager and tell her that you won't be there for a week, therefore, please take off a week's worth of rent out of this month.

I can imagine laughter coming from that individual as part of the responsory equation. I would like to hear if, for some reason, you think I'm somehow being unreasonable in demanding that every day a person is living here - whether they're physically present or not - they should not have to pay rent. Heck, if that were true, I'd just start sleeping on the floor at work. Call my mortgage company and tell them I didn't come home that day, take a day's worth of the mortgage off of the next month's payment, please and thank you.

Lol.

Now, when I talk about my finances - which I do frequently - and how things aren't going so great, well, usually, things COULD be going great if tenants pay and pay on time. But, I never count that money until I actually HAVE that money. I'm one of those don't count your chickens before they hatch people, especially with tenant money simply because of the way it gets shuffed off at times by people who think other things in their life are more important. Of course, then there's those that lose their jobs and have no income. I'm afraid that this person I started this entry out with is heading to the road of unemployment. She seems to get reprimanded often. She said they gave her one for showing up to work tired and not functioning well.

I know about showing up to work tired going through sleepless nights, I have gotten used to forcing myself to perform and function regardless. You can't keep a good job if you are going to -- mess up a lot. In my job, there is quite a lot to remember in any given day's worth of deliveries, quite a lot. If I forget one thing, the delivery is at least partially screwed up. Usually there are numerous deliveries and lots of different things that have to be done to make that delivery a success. I don't give myself the "excuse" that "I'm tired". Well, what is your employer going to say when you tell them that? Obviously, as in this person's case, nothing good. They have to show up to work and be ready to get at it just as much as you do, you think they're going to somehow want to have sympathy?

It's overcast outside. What a relief. It will still get hot today but it would be awesome if the sun stayed hiding behind some cloud cover. There is a huge difference between "shaded" hot and the extreme temperatures that are created by the direct sunlight. I am referring to keeping this house cool. If the AC doesn't have to deal with the heat being generated in the roof and the walls of whereverthe sun happens to be baking down, it doesn't have to work near as hard - meaning less electricity.

We are officially in monsoon season here, but no monsoons have actually occured - at least not where I live. I would gladly take some rain and cut back on water usage to water plants.

Tomatoes. I made a huge mistake in planting my tomatoes earlier this year. I forgot - since I haven't tried to grow tomatoes in over 30 years - that you are supposed to prop the plants up with poles or sticks - or whatever. I have been pulling the tomatoes off green because of it. Otherwise, they are sitting on the ground and they start to rot as soon as they show any sign of redness. My bad. Live and learn - or remember in this case. Well, I figure lots of produce growers pull stuff off early to keep them from rotting in the "transit" part of it - pulling them; processing them; putting them on a truck and getting them out. Or do they? I dunno. They're sitting on my counter and I will see if they ripen or not. It was fun to watch them grow regardless - though they do need a lot of water.

I don't remember whehter I wrote this the other day or not, but the ex-Marine is not leaving - yet. He was going to move out at the end of this month. Not happening now. Personally, unless I was already homeless, I would have serious reservations about moving into a house that is going to be foreclosed upon. He and his buddy - whose parents own the house - were going to move in there as the parents stopped making payments earlier this year. Well, when they show up to put locks on the house, you are going to be leaving. I would think that kind of thing looming - whenever as you really don't know WHEN they are going to do it - would be extremely stressful at best. He went on vacation this week and his mother pretty much talked to him about that possibility: what if you move in there and then a month - or even less - later they come and force you out?

Well that's enough. No great plans today, I'm taking one more lazy day and then tomorrow, I will be back at it. Hmmmm, maybe I should revise that. Perhaps I better start putting the truck into gear today and getting the motion started again - do some cleaning stuff anyway around here. Ummm, also, I smoked fully 3 cigars this week. Too many. I'm cutting it off for at least a month, maybe 2 or 3. I do not want to get addicted to nicotine and the potential cancer junk from smoking. That thought hit me yesterday and I set the 3rd one down and stopped. Okay, I've seen too many people dying of smoking related illnesses, time to stop.

Anyways, I plan to enjoy the last day of at least partial laziness, why not? When Monday gets here, the alarm will go off at 4:30 am and I will happily or focibly get out of bed and get .......back to work!

ben