Tuesday - semi-early
Woke up at 4:00 am, was able to get back to sleep around 5 and then jolted awake for unknown reasons a little after 8:00 am. That 3 more hours was very good. I'm not glad my load was cancelled today, at the same time I'm quite happy about sleeping in a little, at least more than the normal 5:45 to get up for work.
I dunno what's on tap today. It's very cold outside at 28 degrees so I'm in no hurry to go do much of anything. My room was 62 degrees when I woke up and it's still 66 in here with the heaters on. That will slowly change, but to help things along, I fired up the central heat furnace and opened my bedroom door. Seems like everyone is in a fog this morning even tho no one went to bed late as far as I know.
No work for me or James, I'm still contemplating setting that field on fire and see what happens.
My eye was caught earlier with this rather smallish gazebo kits that Wayfair sells. Upon clicking on the link, however, I saw unbelievably high prices for very small setups. I just sat there and scrolled through looking at these things and the ridiculous price tags they have attached to them. Even in this economy and the high price of wood, I could build one for half those prices or even less.
It's like I started building my park at the absolute worst time in terms of inflation and prices of everything and since that was completed, the price of everything has continued to go up, skyrocketing to the point I must believe these people that somewhere along the line here, a recession or depression is coming. I don't think most people can afford to buy things at the inflated prices they are currently sitting at for most everything that is for sale anywhere. I am definitely not wishing for a depression, however, that would be catastrophic as history shows us and the people who are still alive that went through one in the early period of last century will attest.
They don't forget such things and it affected their lives for the rest of their lives. How they see things, how they save, spend, everything. My mother was born a bit after the depression but it definitely affected her life as well. She isn't cheap but she is very frugal. There is nothing wrong with being frugal and if we end up in a serious recession or depression, I will be forced to take steps I dread to take, such as perhaps bankruptcy.
However, these price levels can't stay up there forever. If you set your prices so high for something that they become unobtainable for most people, how long will your business survive with a spartan crowd of consumers actually buying your wares?
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The lady that Mark was calling a fat c*** and other vulgarities contacted me a few minutes ago telling me it was time to pay. So, I took her card info and then she told me it "looks like Mark is moving out". Sure enough, after looking on the camera, he has his truck hooked up to the trailer and is packing everything up. Good riddance. We had it out yesterday, as stated in a previous post, I mean, we had it out. I wasn't allowing him to bring up his s*** or allowing him to interrupt me. It got loud in our house because I raised my voice on the phone to overtake him attempting to steer the conversation away from him. As I have said repeatedly, he is always the victim in everything.
It's not my fault. No, a man just gave you a black eye for nothing. A lady says she can't stand being around him and stopped going over to his place, but "it's not my fault". Another lady says he's calling her all kinds of vulgar names, "it's not my fault". Yet another lady said he invited her over to party with her, she said no thanks. She never got involved with him but obviously she had bad vibes. He's drinking when he's on parole, that will get him thrown back into prison if he's caught as far as I understand it. Not my job to watch over him, the state of Texas will be visiting him.
He will drag his woes with him wherever he goes and likely he will be invited to leave other places as well unless they are just trailer trash parks that don't care what anyone does. He will get drunk, start hell with someone somewhere else and then he'll get contacted by management or someone that is affected by his stupidity and he'll say "it's no my fault". Well, dude, it's not your fault until it something like this happens. I wonder if he'll leave negative reviews.
I'm bracing myself for an exodus of his friends he's made in the park. They can leave, I don't care. I already have someone moving in today and another one just called saying she wants to move in today if she decides my place is the right one for her.
However. I do have to say that I have to wonder if he's really leaving or if he's doing the manipulation crap again. Like, I'm leaving, poor me, pity me, etc. I am looking at his place, the truck is definitely hooked up to the trailer and he's loaded the truck bed up with stuff. However, the slide out isn't moved in and I don't see any movement from him. Still, you have to put stuff away and lock things down when you're moving a trailer, there's a lot to it actually.
So, I'll sit here and wait to see what happens. It's a premium lot and I charge more for it for it has a huge yard. I can also use it for overnighters if I so choose, but again, I'm suspicious he's playing mind games again. Regardless, just like that I have 2 people coming today to move in. That leave one open lot even with Mark still there if he doesn't leave. I'm kind of in a money crunch right now, I need finances, the lady that wanted to move her new trailer to a regular spot? I dunno, hopefully Mark leaves and she can move to lot 5. If he doesn't leave, my bad, so sorry. I always hope things will work out because I hate turning people down when I have lots available. And I've asked her a couple of times now when she thought she was going to get that trailer and she hasn't responded.
That's sort of when I think, well, she doesn't know and I wonder if she's even going to get a new trailer, somebody will move out and that will take care of that. However, if Mark is moving out, she isn't getting that lot. I'll keep that one open for overnighters and give them the "premium treatment". It's arguably the best lot in the park, tho some think the one across the driveway from it is better. They are both end lots with the huge yards on the passenger side of the trailers where the entrance doors are, meaning they walk out of their trailer and they have this huge space they are living on.
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1st long term made it in, they are paying tomorrow. The 2cd long term paid, is showing up later tonight.
The park is currently full. Mark did not leave. I did not go over there today, I don't want to deal with him. I will be over there tomorrow morning to go to work and back over there after I get back. I really want him out of there now that I have that taste in my mouth, like, get this dude out of here.
As far as any issues with spot availability, I just checked. I only had one, 4 day stay coming up Thursday of next week. The Hipcamper that showed up today will be out of here on Sunday. I have everything blocked out now excepting the days between when the Hipcamper will leave and the 4 day stay shows up. After that, I have everything blacked out for I don't want people reserving a spot that that lady behind the shed may be taking. I need to talk to her again.
Hipcamp doesn't pay until after the stay, but the pay is so pitiful, I'm just thinking, huh, didn't expect that. Hipcampers typically stay overnight and leave, not stay 5 nights and then leave. Just seems like I'm getting ripped off, lol, but I changed the rates on that for the regular lots. No one is going to be getting away with that again. I don't get that much traffic from Hipcamp anyway, no loss there if I don't get any more stays out of it.
Just tried to run the card of another guy that's given me permission to run it when it's due. "If the trailer is here, I'm here, run it". Unfortunately, the card declined for lack of funds. It's due today, but I think I'll wait and see if he leaves. He wasn't staying there forever, he's rail manager that goes around directing fixes of faulty tracks and train derailments. This is why you won't see me turning down anyone wanting to come in long term if there is availability but a potential conflict down the line. I figure it will work itself out. I screwed myself too many times out of long term tenants by telling people I didn't have anything because someone was "coming".
Then that someone didn't show up and I lose all of it. With Mark leaving - if he actually is, this wasn't supposed to take place until the end of this month, I'm not returning his money for a variety of reasons, not the least of which violation of several rules. The other is he took my chainsaw bar oil - $20 and used it to start fires and a $25 can of chainsaw gas which he also used to start fires. After using it, he told me he would be replacing it. Sure, and pigs are flying, it hasn't been replaced and if he leaves, I'm sure he won't be replacing it.
Anyway, quite a bit of financial juggling later and my bills are covered. Collected a lot of money, have some to go but we're good for now.
