Another run done and in the books. Brownsville to be precise, the second driver going down got the detention pay, I had to take the only empty available.  Doesn't matter, I have an Oklahoma tomorrow and that will make me more money - if she also dumps something else on me immediately after Oklahoma.  

Unfortunately, it looks like the way it's going to work out for the days off is that I am going to run out of hours on the 11th and will have the 12th off as well (I have the 13th - 15th off, the 12th wasn't a wanted day off).   I don't want too much time off, it always takes too long to catch back up - plus - I have the 19th off for the doctor's appointment.  I'll have to use some vacation hours to make up for all of that.  

And sadly, my mom's glaucoma condition is worsening and she says she isn't driving anywhere excepting to the grocery store.  I feel like the eye doctors that somehow missed the fact that she had glaucoma - and could have been treated - should be held accountable.  Her deteriorating condition is what motivated me to go see the eye doctor and make sure there isn't any signs of it - tho they say it doesn't happen until later on in life. 

All well and fine, but my vision has been deteriorating for a couple of years now, I at least had to make sure it wasn't anything beyond old age stuff.  I'm waiting on a pair of prescription reading glasses, that's as far as they said it needs to be taken. 

I definitely dread going to the medical family doctor on the 19th.  I haven't had a full check up in many, many moons.  Just the DOT Medical card for driving.  They're not taking blood tests and doing full checkups.  

Low chances of rain all the way through next week.  I remain hopeful it will stay that way and they will come and get this dirt work done and over with.  I'll be pressing the dude this time, if the weather holds anyway.  You coming? What day?  Wherever I am on his priority list, I'm going to ratchet it up by continuing to contact him and get updates.  \

I did drive by the property on the way home. A lot of fresh tire tracks going down that driveway.  I wrote the gas company about their pitiful maintenance of the easement, with no reply. I found an old email from a representative of that company and emailed him directly. Being the weekend, I doubt I'll hear back before Monday.  I asked to see the contract - specifically about maintenance of the easement  and also informed him of the pathetic job that whatever company they are using to bush hog it did the last time they were here. 

This coming week I'm going to call the man that is senior management over the well head on my property and discuss with him what they are going to do to fix the driveway.  It's not going to be "will you fix it", it's going to be "when are you going to fix it?".  

I feel like I need to wait until it's almost time to open the park before taking out another loan.  I don't want to pay cash for a zero turn mower, I'd rather get that on payments and might as well tack that onto any personal loan I might want to get to cover the rest of expenses in getting the park opened up.  

_______________________

Sunday - morning

What things in life make me happy? Well, going to work isn't really one of them, not anymore anyway.  I like taking the dog for a walk on the property.  I like thinking about the Lord - a lot.  I like the idea of getting out of this ridiculous grind and getting into something that will make money and make me a much happier person in the process.  The idea of being home on a daily basis is quite appealing.  This seems like a pipe dream atm but I do hope it comes to pass - maybe not this year but at least get the thing up and running?

They do I say this today? Cause' it's Sunday and in my mind, it's a day of rest, a day to stay home or go to church and then hang out at home. Not a day to spend 14 hours screwing around at a chemical plant, driving up to a wax plant and then driving back either all the way or stopping somewhere and finishing it off in the morning.  

I'm going to start a much more aggressive savings program.  I've been paying off credit card debt, that's a good thing but I want to buy another house and rent it out.  That's apart and aside from the RV park, so I want funds from my work to pay for it, not the funds I have set aside to build the park.  I've got the vacation almost paid for well in advance, now it's time to start dumping X amount per week into a savings account until it's got at least 10k in it and get another form of income going (haven't determined the amount yet, but when I do it's going to be the same every week unless it is a small paycheck).    

Whether the predictions of another housing bubble are true or not (meaning a buyer's market for greatly reduced house-buying prices), people always need a place to live. The people with a good work ethic and some kind of financial understanding will pay for their place to live first before paying anything else.  Or it will definitely be in the top tier of priorities.  I get that sometimes, your hand is forced and you put off the mortgage payment for a month or even two, getting behind, screwing up your credit, but you had "something" come up and you were living paycheck to paycheck.  

That was me for a long, long time.  I get that, I don't really throw people out for getting behind a month - as long as they aren't doing stuff that obviously isn't needed, wasting money on "priorities" that aren't priorities at all. You know, eating out, entertainment, etc.  Or starting trouble with other tenants. Or stealing stuff from other tenants.  Or trashing the place.  There are limits to my patience lol.  I'd really love to approach the bank and ask for a construction loan and build on one of the properties - but they're going to want a substantial down payment and I can't afford that right now.  A brand new house, around 1,500 square feet. Well, one property isn't big enough for a house that size, it would be more in the 800-900 square footage realm.  I'd just sell that tho, not rent it out. 

Oh, the other thing - this 401k stuff is starting to look bad to me.  I want to switch that up, 5% goes to 401k because of the "free" money my employer matches it with, but the rest going into a life insurance account of which you can borrow money against.  I've been watching these money gurus for quite a while now, the best thing to do with money you are saving is dump it into a savings account.  The kind you can borrow against.  I don't understand yet how that all works, but I'm looking into it.

My life isn't about money, per se, ie: greed or wanting to become rich. It IS about wanting to get out of the corporate scheme and just be self-sufficient.  I really want to go discuss with the bank the prospect of business loans and see what they have. My current bank offers SBA loans, but who knows the qualifications needed to get into such a thing.  

Anyway, I've become much better about spending everything on a credit card and then paying it right back off asap.  That way, I show I pay my bills, am not racking up a bunch of debt and most importantly, racking up the points.  These points are wonderful, one of my cards currently has almost a grand worth - we are going to go to a local hotel soon enough and pay for it with points. We like swimming pools lol, nothing nefarious.  The dude that says don't ever use a debit card really has it right.  My whole thinking about credit and how to use it is changing the more reading I do.  Certain kinds of credit are not bad.  Racking up credit card debt isn't good, of course not, but using credit to buy houses and also cashing out is good. Especially the cashout - it's a loan so it's non-taxable.  This is a secret a lot of the rich people use that you won't know about unless you spend endless hours reading stuff.  If the income from the house is the same or more than your monthly mortgage payment, there is no reason to not buy an "extra" one, rent it out and eventually see the value of the house go up and - take that money out.  All you are doing is refinancing the house and taking the equity out of it while you are doing it.  The only drawback to it is the lender's fees associated with it, which can be substantial. 

Anyway, it's time to change gears and get my mind into work, cause' it's going to be an all day thing.

G'day