Called the collision repair place yesterday When do you expect to get this thing rolling? She looks it up, oh, well we were waiting on you to call us to schedule this,.
I had to laugh, not on the phone to her, but after they told me? Lol. The lady told me 3 times the other day when I was in there that she would call me after they hear from the adjuster. Obviously that didn't happen, lol. Anyway, I got over that quickly, I just am appalled sometimes with customer service reps of whatever place you happen to be dealing with telling you one thing and then taking 180 degree turns.
That was Direct TV the other day. It's gonna be X price, the guy tells me after he keeps adding stuff and I'm like, I want to keep the cost down. Oh don't worry. Oh, I'm not worried, I thought, I don't need satellite that bad. There are plenty of apps on my smart tv that will pipe in movies and such. Maybe not specific channels I like, but to save the money? yeah.
We get to near the end and I ask this guy specifically: what is the total cost going to be with ALL fees and ALL taxes? He's off the phone for several minutes and then gives me a price. Are you sure? this is the total amount I'm going to be paying on a monthly basis for a 2 year contract that won't ever go up?
Yes. But what actually happened at the end? Yup, the price went up $8. Nope, we aren't doing this and I interrupted him and told him as such. He tried to explain it away and I hung up on him. He called back and I did, in no uncertain terms, tell him to never call me again.
These people at this collision place weren't that bad, it's just the idea that you tell someone something and then you come back to it a few days later and the story changes. Whatever the case, I was then informed that they won't even order the parts without at least 2 day advanced notice to bring the vehicle in. Great, I thought, another little gem they left out. The only good news I got was that they can have it done "in about a week and a half". I'll set my mind on 2 weeks in case they are exaggerating their completion date. I don't need a rush job, I need the job done right the first time, guarantee or not.
So, Tuesday is the day set to bring it in. Which is fine. I get the whole weekend and Monday to get stuff done. On Tuesday, I'll find someone to give me a ride home from there - I am not walking that far, thanks, and then I'll figure out how I'm going to get around. A local taxi would work -if it's really available. I'll be looking at that and any other options once Tuesday rolls around.
Oh, I did get the Direct TV streaming device. Notice I didn't say devices. Yes, there are 2 TV's that I clearly told them I need to have devices for. I find out there is only one device ordered regardless of the fact that if I want the other TV to show other channels? Yeah, you have to have a separate device. So I had to call these people about it. OH, well you didn't order 2 devices ???? I told you specifically what I needed, I've never done Directv Stream before, I have no clue how it works. I mean, I know it runs off the internet, that's it.
So now, I am faced with another $10 per month for another device - or - pay for a "refurbished device" up front. Apparently people aren't real happy finding out they have to pay more for the service they thought they were getting in the first place. I ordered the refurbished device at $49 - saves me a lot of money over the length of the contract. Yes, I forgot to say, I did call Directv back the next day and talked to someone else about getting service. The nice thing about Stream is that you don't have to have a service tech coming out installing a dish and the whole setup. It was relatively easy to set up.
I can now see the inside of my shed with a camera. That was quite the ordeal - another case where the instructions are less than helpful. It's more like a general guide to steer you in the right direction. I wasn't able to install the outside camera because it was raining all daylong. I still have a lot to do in there, this week kind of slowed me down with everything that happened.
Anyway, there is an Easter Egg Hunt at the church in a little over an hour. They are saying that there will be 5,000 eggs. Yes, you read that correctly: five thousand eggs. It's a big church and they apparently also expect non church people to show up with their kids. I am taking the kids even tho they completely misbehaved this morning, making all kinds of noise early and getting themselves into various forms of trouble.
But, after that, I want to get some work done today while I have transportation to get back and forth. Take the kids home, back to the shed, back to work. The thing that is going to hold me up is the trench full of water and mud. I simply won't get down in there to install that P trap until it both clears of standing water - which it probably is by now - and at least dries up a little. Take an extra set of clothes maybe on Monday, get in there, fix that setup, get the sewer pipe set right, back fill enough to keep it that way and get with the program. And change my clothes after I'm done, lmao.
My next order of business, however, is to install and get working the other camera. I have to drive over there to find out if people that have made reservations actually show up. Well, I can ask the older couple but I really don't want to be bothering them all the time with business stuff that they may not want to be involved with. A camera on that shed will eliminate that problem. I will be able to see who is driving through there, when and what times people are home.
The other thing that desperately needs done is mowing the lawns. Just can't do it with wet grass - it clogs up on the outlet where it blows either out to the side or into the bag and you have to keep fooling with it. Hopefully this coming week it will dry enough to get it all chopped down again. It was strange that the stuff wasn't growing after it got to a certain height, then all of a sudden, after months, it started taking off. Now there is grass that is close to 10 inches tall. It takes around 3 hours to cut all of it. Right now? That's as good as it gets. It's that or buy an expensive riding mower or pay an expensive service. Just not happening, at least for now. If I do end up on the road again, then I'll pay someone or a service to come out twice a month and mow all of it.
I'm pretty sure I'll end up back on the road. I dunno what kind of job I'll find with that accident, but I will find something.
Enough. I'm just sitting here trying to wake up enough to get my @$$ in gear and get moving. I'm going to work on taxes tomorrow. Last year's taxes shouldn't be that hard with Intuit already having all of the construction costs in there, the only thing I need is my W-2 which I got in January. Then I'll work on projecting my earnings for this year. I have yet to take a single paycheck.
I have 4 grand in the business account, that's after paying the electric, trash and water bill, plus buying stuff for the shed., the land payment, the washer/dryer payment and other things. I'll be collecting a couple more grand in the next coming days - providing no one else leaves of course. I've had some inquiries and allegedly a person coming in Monday to stay for a month. That will help quite a lot even if only temporary. They're all temporary, really. I get so many inquiries about whether I have RV's for rent along with the lot? No. I have read mixed feelings on the facebook groups about doing that. Some say it's not worth it, others say they have had success. I don't really have the money to buy a decent unit right now, if I did, I would consider it. Around $600 - $650 per month for everything. I know, it's just a trailer but you are paying for a place to live plus the land to put it on plus all of the utilities including free wifi. I'd call that a pretty good deal.
A "someday" thing along with building basic cabins for people to live in. Not for glamping, to live in. Either a one room deal or maybe one bedroom, a small bathroom and the rest open. Not here and now, but it's something I will be doing sometime in the future. For now, I have to have another septic system installed first before I can even think about adding anything. I think the laundry is going to amp up the usage of the current septic system quite a lot, adding more lots to it probably won't work. I'll be watching the sprinkler system to see how often it's coming on.
I'm going to make a trip to Longview probably Monday to get a keyless entry handle for the shed door. It's expensive but it's the only real way to give access to both long term and overnighters without having to issue keys. I don't see how issuing keys would work with overnighters besides having to make endless trips over there handing them out and collecting them. Well, I could see a drop box to put them in after the overnighters leave, but people can be forgetful, especially when they are leaving and getting everything put away.
A keypad would simply be issue the pad code to long term and have the code on the site when they register. It's $150 to get one and it's going to be money well spent. My wire came in for hip camp, I have the circuit breakers, I just need to finish the trenches, install the wire and boxes and walah, that's done. Simple? Yes, hard work? Definitely.
I am, fortunately, getting to the end of the money spending. The serious money is done and over with. I'll need a few more sticks of 2X4's -- maybe - I'll need 10 or so more sheets of drywall. I do need to get a vanity for the bathroom - that's $100 used or $139 plus tax for brand new, simple design. Those are the 2 biggest money spending things left, the rest is small stuff. I still have this pain of how I'm going to get that wood up on the ceiling. I need some help - help is hard to come by and not cheap.
Anyway, I know what I need to get done in the order it needs to get done in.
And with that, I'm getting read to go to church with the kids for the egg hunt. They have been looking forward to it all week long.
G'day.
