The BIG News

I've been hearing this all day on the news, you'd think someone had been killed:

COLD BLAST IS COMING THOUGH - or some such thing.

About 2, 2 and a half years ago, a hard freeze hit this area.  It destroyed a lot of trees and plants all over the place.  

They are saying this thing coming through is going to be worse than that one and are warning everyone to cover EVERYTHING up or it's probably not going to come out too well in the end.  

Well, I take such warnings seriously, I have gone to FAR too much work and trouble to plant all of this stuff only to have Mother Nature come along and kill it.  I have enough blankets and sheets that I accumulated from last year to cover just about everything.  I got even more this year I should be able to cover all of it.  My Christmas lights will also help.  If I had big fans, that would help too, but I don't.  

So, Thursday afternoon I am covering everything up and it's going to stay that way for 2 nights in a row, the length of time they are saying the hard freeze conditions will be around.....................and hope whatever I do is enough, cause if it isn't, I'm going to be a very unhappy person if my plants all die or suffer serious freeze damages.  I can deal with some leaves being ruined, but an entire plant?  Gag.  

Tuesday 12/28/2010

Tuesday

I was just reading some pretty bad news for baby boomers. I'm at the end of that one being born in 1964. Statistics were showing that many have not saved enough - or at all - and are retiring early at age 62, therefore not getting the full retirement amount you could get at age 70 through Social Security.

Excuse me, but who the bleep wants to have to work until they're 70 years old? And WHAT, exactly, are you going to be doing at that age in the work force, greeter at Walmart entrances?

I have 16 years until I'm age 62. Guess I better get busy. I had 2% taken out of my paycheck this year - I wasn't going to do anything because of my financial situation, but I just let it ride after my company automatically reinstated it to 2% at the beginning of the year. It's about to break the 5 digit mark. Nothing to get excited about there. If it were about to break the 7 digit mark, woo hooo. 

Further reading had these people saying they are going to work until age 70. Have fun with that. I'm going to up my 401k deductions this coming year since our company is going to reinstate full matching benefits as of January 1st, I believe it is. I'm going to set it at 5% and see what happens. 

My goal, still, is in rental properties. Out or reach right now, but not forever. 

Oh, the situation yesterday out front of my house. I was out there doing something, whatever I don't remember, there was a woman walking up and down the street, acting as if she was looking for something. This went on for a few minutes before I asked her if I could her find something - I had never seen her before.

The next thing I know, this woman is on my property, standing next to me, talking to me as if we were friends and had known each other for years. That wasn't the bad part, the bad part is she was REALLY strange. Talking a mile a minute, giggling and laughing at everything, not necessarily the most coherent being I had ever encountered. It was really weird.

Then, one of the neighobhood kids that has been walking the dogs for me came up to take one of them. This woman went berserk. She wanted to take one of my dogs as well. I don't even KNOW this woman, I'm not about to let her just walk off with one of my dogs! This went on for 10 minutes at least. I was out there at that point waiting for the next prospective tenant to show up. 

Well, this guy drives up in his car and I'm trying to get rid of this woman. PLEASE leave now, I finally had to say, I have business to deal with, thank you. She leaves, the guy comes in, I show him the house, we start talking about all kinds of stuff. At the end of it, the kid brings back one of the dogs and this woman follows the kid right through the gate and into my side yard!!! 

She also left the gate open. Oh, it was all too funny to her, I was about to let loose but decided to just politely ask her to leave. You left the gate open. Haahahahahahheeeheheeheheheeehehehheee. 
I looked at her and said there was nothing funny about it, my dogs can get out when you leave the gate open, I was still tempted to tell her to get the bleep off of my property, I just let it go and escorted her out. 

One thing is for sure, that woman is NEVER taking one of my dogs ANYWHERE unless she steals one of them. I have this - bad - feeling that she is going to be back today. I think a bit more bluntness will have to be in order if so. 

Work day is here.

G'day.

ben