So, My Electric Use This Month...........

.........it's the 30th, 1 full day left to go and my assumption was correct: a $500 month in electricity. I have never, personally, had an electric bill that high, ever. It's stunning to see such numbers posted on the reader. Right now at $486.00, but the end of tomorrow, definitely $500.

The humidity here right now is atrocious. If I'm going to live in a DESERT, with high heat, at least give me the occasion for being able to live in a "dry heat", as EVERYONE from around the country continually reminds us.

No, my friends, it is NOT a dry heat. This morning it was 80 degrees at 86% humidity. I don't know what that feels like to people that always live in high humidity, I can say that it felt cool this morning. Yes, it really felt quite nice out in that.

However, as the day wore one, the sun popped out of the cloud cover and the temperature increased, it became quite uncomfortable. Now? The humidity going down: 95 degrees at 36% humidity. Getting better. However, the AC at the temp I have it set at - isn't enough. It does not come on enough an then, you have humidity in the house. Well, I don't LIKE humidity and I'm not going to sit here feeling like I'm sitting in the middle of a swamp. Yup, turned it down a couple of degrees and it feels much better in here.

Monday, I am finally getting a trip to Miami again. Arizona,that is, not Florida. Why does this excite me? Because I can use my 30 minute break time to pick up more rocks. And now, I know that it's legal to do so up to a certain amount. Well, I am not trying to bring back 10 tons of the stuff, just more for my ponds. Plus I love the out of town trips up into the mountains, ESPECIALLY during the summer.

Weight still in the 195 to 196 area. I am not concerned about it. It is WELL down from what it was. People continue to tell me I don't need to lose more weight. Yes, I do, but at the same time, I also need to start working out again and start building a little muscle mass again. Pushups are the only thing I am going to do. I am not going to join a gym - I have no extra finances for that, and I am not going to use my weight set outside, I just don't have the motivation to do so in the sweltering heat. But, just to say I am still off the cheese; creamy dressings; watching fat content on most everything; denying the impulses. Today, I DEARLY wanted to stop at a Dairy Queen that was RIGHT there where I was at at a delivery. A large, German Chocolate Blizzard. Yummm. NOPE, it took everything within me, but I got in the truck and drove.

Interestingly, later on, a man that OWNS a DQ right down the road from our shop came INTO our shop looking for plumbing parts. Unbelievable. Not the man, the idea that whatever it is you are trying to avoid on a diet, it seems to come plant itself, uninvitedly, on your doorstep.

Donuts. Get back to the shop and there are a dozen Entenmann's donuts sitting in the break room. Are you serious? I'm looking at that stuff just shaking my head. Again, when you are dieting, this stuff comes at you from all sides. When you are not, you never see this kind of thing around. Crazy stuff. I ended up cutting less than a one inch sliver off a donut just because.

Home. The ex-Marine who is going to chef school starting next month has cooked a HUGE thing of lasagna. I LOVE lasagna. Cheese? Diets hate cheese.

However, I did not resist this time. I ate a chunk of that stuff and didn't feel bad about it. Not near as calorie laden as a German Chocolate Blizzard, yet full of calories anyway. OH well, after an entire day of resisting, I gave in. My breakfast and lunch were a Subway ham sub - no cheese, no fat filled dressings. Just vinegar and honey mustard - which may have some calories, but no fat calories.

It's a battle, that's all that I can say about it, it's a huge battle.

The trailer tenants got their SS check today. They are welcomed to stay as long as they need to, but it seems to me that spending money on all kinds of stuff is going to inhibit their ability to get out of that trailer and into an apartment. Okay, so the stuff they are spending it on are necessities, still. He came in and handed me $40 to help me out. Great, I'm not turning it down, above and beyond the normal rent of a grand total of $25 per week. I'm guessing I'm losing money on the deal, frankly. That Mastercool is running 24 hours a day and there is small refrigerator in there plus DirectTV box and TV, microwave, whatever else. I hoped I was breaking even but I'm not sure about that at this point and also probably what is pushing my electric bill over the top.

That and SRP getting a 5% increase approval earlier this year, obviously dumped onto it's customers, one of which happens to be me.

No biggies. July is almost over, the 3rd month of earthly, Arizona hell to come and then, it starts to slowly cool down. 100's. 90's. 80's and then - paradise.

I have other things I would love to write about, but I have yet to replace this keyboard and it is getting VERY annoying. The c and d tabs are not working properly and it just isn't a good keypad. It sucks, frankly and (I just punched that and that and that several times to get the d to work) I am at the point that I MUST replace it if I'm going to keep writing anything.

I'm done (2 tries on that d).

G'nite.

ben

Friday

Friday.

Appears to have poured rain again last night, very nice. Yes, I checked the ponds this morning to ensure the circuit breaker wasn't popped, still in good shape.

I was also - pleasantly - surprised to come into work this morning and find a lot of stuff to do in the truck routing system. Mostly pickups and 1 delivery in Coolidge.

So, the big news? "Hundreds protest as Arizona's immigration law takes effect".

Hundreds? ROFL!!! That's all these mouthy people could muster, 500 or so protestors? If so many people, as they claim, are against this law, then how is it they couldn't even must a thousand people? When the government is taking some eggregious action that "most" people don't like, thousands of people show up to protests, not hundreds.

A bunch of those people were arrested yesterday, they were warned in advance that they would be arrested, good riddance to them. That law's teeth were taken out of it and they are STILL complaining about it.

The funny part about all of this is Sheriff Joe. Love him or hate him, he is STILL out there conducting his sweeps to find illegal "immigrants", basing his activities on 2 state laws. I neither love him or hate him. I love what he's doing with illegal immigration, I hate the fact that he has been sued so many times and lost millions of dollars in damages against him/the county, which, of course, the county has had to pay out. Still, anti-immigration law people hate him and apparently a drug cartel or smuggling cartel lord has placed a huge bounty on his head to kill him.

It's just beginning, there is no end to this nonsense. So, I sit back and find entertainment in it, somehow, though I certainly don't want to see our Sheriff killed by some crackpots - it would still be nice if Mexico, it's president and some of it's politicians would SHUT THE BLEEP UP and deal with THEIR issues instead of wasting time coming over here attempting to influence the inner workings of OUR country.

ENOUGH. Work day approaches. Weekend almost here. A full day's work (which is awesome, I HATE slow days) ahead, no clue what I'm doing this weekend, but I am sure pulling weeds and grass will be in that picture since the ground is saturated and makes for pulling that stuff out much easier.

Perhaps I'll force the boys out there to help me : )
Oh, and, of course, continue on with digging the pond.

G'day.

ben