My HP desktop just now fires up, gets me on the net in a minute.  My laptop? Yeah, the one I have been complaining about a long time - takes 5 to 15 minutes on average.  Yup, I was going to replace it long ago, other things took precedence.  I was just amazed, walking into my bedroom and turning this thing on, how fast it got going compared to that pile of junk I was using this morning on previous entry before I hit the road. 

The amount of lunacy and stupidity on the road seems to increase at exponential rates.  I am so tired of putting up with other motorists driving like animals in a lab experiment.  

Anyway, I made it home well in time to get a good night's sleep and get out there tomorrow and get the marking done.  It dawned on me that marking the corners is not enough.  I also need to mark the pads - I don't want the pads square in the middle of the lots, I want them offset.  People don't use the driver side of the rig for anything but hookups. All of their outdoor activities are on the passenger side.  20 feet on the passenger side, 10 feet wide pad and 10 feet on the driver's side.  I wouldn't even do 10 feet on the driver's side but - think about it this way.  

The people on the lot next to them on the driver's side will have their 20 feet plus 10 more feet on the next pad over before any involvement with the next door neighbor.  People complain about small lots so much and so often and in such great quantities that that is not something I will be changing my  mind on. Well, I take that back, I was originally at 30 foot wide lots, then 35, then 40.  I'm stopped at 40.  Much more and I won't be getting 60 lots after I eventually get it all done on that land.  

The point is the utilities are on the driver's side and also I want hedges there as well.  Just need enough space for that.  My pads will be 10 feet wide and probably all 70 feet long.  Gravel costs are going to be high on this project, I don't really want to think about that right now, lol.  

I'll try to get the lots marked tomorrow and then find out what the contractor's timeline is.  I'm going to push him to get this done is what I will say right now.  I also want to find someone to come out and just flatten out the front of the property so I can have a bush hog go through and clean it up. Or - get the weeds off completely while they're flattening it and plant grass seed.  Which is a better idea, but I have to be conscious of the amount of cash I am spending  and how much I have in the bank to pay for everything and how much I want in the bank after it's all said and done.  

Tomorrow's list:

Go to property, dog and 5 year old in tow (Taylor is going for a job interview and can't be dragging a child with her) and mark out the lots.

Call the shop with my ATV and lawn mower and find out where we're at.

Haircut - yes, the important things in life.

Call the county and ask why they haven't done anything about the rotten, 75 foot tall tree

Call the gas company and find out when (not if) they are hauling gravel over there to redo the driveway-if they say they aren't going to do it, I may offer to pay half - if they still say no, I'm likely going to take them to court since they've already set the precedent that they would have a driveway made with gravel. I'm not talking about court with them until I have exhausted every other effort to get them to do it. 

Bank run - savings thing I posted about in a previous post

Write a letter to the owner of the properties next door that are along the driveway - he owns all 4 of them plus more behind them - and see if he is interested in selling any of it. In particular, 2 smaller lots, one of which is .75 acres and the other 1 acre.  

..and other more minor things but the day will be filled up and will be gone before I knew it started.  

I have been searching out deals on a small "shed" building, but I'm not pulling the trigger on that just yet. Soon, but not yet.  I haven't decided whether that thing should be at the front of the property or next to the lots.  I'm thinking the front since it's closer to electricity and internet setup.  Just a lot to think about right now, yet, there is no reason to start any of that until I see that they are starting the utility installation.  

Once I see a crew out there digging out a hole for the septic vaults and trenches for water, sewer and power lines, then it's time to start working on a host of other things.  Life will get far more busy than it already is.  

Yeah my mind has been wandering all over the place. There is a lot to consider.

 Another late night drive last night - with heavy rain thrown in.  The last 10 miles of the drive were in a construction zone with a concrete divider which was causing the water to pool up on the roadway, forcing everyone to slow down.

Everyone, that is, except an idiot truck driver who came zooming past me, got about 100 feet past and then started losing control of his truck.  Yes, it's called hydroplaning you dumb - well anyway, I watched this circus on wheels as he's slamming on his brakes and trying to regain control of his truck.

I was thankful my day was over and I was only a few miles from the exit to get to the truck stop that I normally try to make it to on the second day of this particular trip.  It leaves me with around 600 miles to go, which is nice because if I run into problems, I have extra minutes versus stopping at another place 50 miles north of here.  These are the only 2 truck stops in this entire corridor that you will find some place to park at the time of night I'm trying to find a spot.  

Parking is still and issue and I suspect with Elogs, it is a permanent problem that will likely see no relief anytime soon. Supposedly the federal government is looking into building parking lots all over the place - it was an idea that I have had and still would like to follow through with if I could find a couple of acres to use.  I don't even have to own the property, just rent it and see what happens.  If I could find a place big enough for say, 500 trucks - parking only, nothing else - and charge $6 or so per night, I am betting I could make a nice profit even with an attendant on sight.  I'm not really sure how I would handle the payments and enforcement of such without having a human sitting out there in a guard shack taking those payments.  

It's not that I would mind paying someone to do the job, it's finding someone to do the job that is at issue. Right now, in our town and surrounding area, employers are begging for people to come work for them and are raising their hourly rates to try and get people to even come apply, much more work.  

I did have to laugh - inwardly anyway - at the contractor thinking that paying $20 per hour for a driver was a "lot of money".  $160 per day X 5 is only $800 per week and that's before taxes.  I get that he has to be able to make a profit, but in the world of trucking, you are going to have to start thinking differently. People want to make enough money to not only live off of, but also to have a life beyond trucking.  This is why I think to myself, even if all I got was Oklahoma runs, I would be far better off than many of these local drivers that work all day long, yes they get to go home at night, but they are really not much better off than me.  

In reality, that contractor would have to bare minimum pay $25 per hour to attract any talent and more like $30.  Even then, it's only $1,200 per week, but that's a bit more palatable than $800 for working 5 days a week, all day long, sweating and working your butt off - he isn't just going to have that person drive a truck, no construction contractor ever does that.  You are going to be in ditches or operating equipment or whatever.

I had given thought to that job is the only reason I am going this far into it.  At least he IS - right there - in my town.  He goes out of town into surrounding communities, of course, but nothing more than probably 40 or 50 miles.  

The weather today? Well, it may play into whether I make it back to the yard tonight or not.  It looks like the worst of the red cells will disappear (radar) but it's still going to be raining. The upside is that it's Sunday and that usually means much easier traveling.  I'm going to try to make it back today, yes I am and hope that I don't get a run tomorrow so I can get out there and mark off the lots.  At least get the corners of each lot marked off and then contact the contractor and see what he does for the actual pads for the RV's to park on.  I want them offset and I may just go ahead and mark off at least one of the pads to ensure he understands how I want it done.  

I wish I were there right now so I could see if there is any standing water on the cleared off section. I really don't believe there will be because there is a slight grade and all the areas where water could pool before are now flattened out.  I'd also like to see how the water is running over the trails or if there are any spots where I need to install a drainage pipe under the ground. I don't want standing water on anything where I intend on having people staying or walking, including the tent campgrounds.  

Not too concerned about tent campgrounds right now - it's too hot for people to want to camp outdoors like that, at least in my mind.  There is no electricity back there - yet - though some day I would definitely like to get a line run back there.  

I slept great last night - for almost 6 hours than woke up this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, ugh.  It makes for a long day. Oh, my mom is hitching a ride up to the mountain property with my brother who also has a place up there.  They are staying up there 2 weeks. So, mom doesn't have to stay in the valley for the rest of her life, at least.  She is very grateful for my brother doing that for her, she can no longer legitimately drive with her vision problem and that's got to be a very hard psychological blow.  The ability to get ones' self around, mobility, is a freedom that probably most of us take for granted.  She has been driving all the way up until now, I suspect even her short trips to the grocery store are going to go by the wayside, she will either have to Uber or get someone to take her.  

This will motivate me to get my eyes checked as frequently as the eye doctor tells me to for the rest of my life.  Glaucoma can be treated successfully, from everything I have read, if caught early enough.  I still think she should sue the pants off the "eye doctor" that somehow missed the fact that she had glaucoma developing and could have prevented this situation altogether.  But, I understand at her age she doesn't want to fool with it.  

Anyway, departure time almost here, need to get ready to drive.

G'day.