Thursday

Last day of freedom.  I think I'll go out to eat somewhere for dinner today versus eating at home. We will be doing that - eating at home - pretty much every day once the kids get back. Apparently the 3rd one is staying yet another two weeks. It's so wonderful! He sits there all day long arguing and yelling back and forth with the youngest....when things start flying through the air, that's about the time we go out there, put a stop to it and end the ridiculousness. 

But, it goes on every day.  Maybe not all day long, but enough of it to make me want to shut my bedroom door so I can tune that noise out.  Once the oldest leaves, things will return to normal.  Normal is not having that oldest one around, I can attest to that. His mother gives him no routine, no structure, no discipline, he basically does what he wants.  Which is why there was a huge clash the first time he showed up here. He didn't know any of us besides his dad, for one and he was not used to rules and having them enforced.  It took him several visits to start figuring out the rules are what they are and they aren't changing or going to overlooked for his sake.  Lol.  

So far so good with the internet.  I just wonder about people that can't afford even $50 per month for what they want the most: WiFi access. Literally, they could get their own T-Mobile device for that amount of money and not worry about anyone else having to supply it for them. I've had a few do it when they found out the price, but most people? I don't know if they're too cheap or too broke.  Some people in the park came in with their own internet and they are quite happy.

It seems you lose access to the internet and life just falls apart?  I was without it yesterday for several hours, hours where I would normally be looking at stuff on the internet because there is not much of anything else to do.  It wasn't the end of my world.  I could see not wanting that to last forever, tho.  

Now? I have the old phone loaded up with T-Mobile, a service I am paying for but wasn't using. It was for the cameras and the internet.  I am going to be checking it throughout the day to see if it's as bad as people say it is.  "The internet works great, the phone service sucks!". I've heard this forever from numerous different people to the point I decided I would just keep the services I need (I am saving many hundreds of dollars per month using their internet over Verizon and other options) and not use the phone.  

Actually, I'm just going to have it streaming stuff all day long and glance at it here and there and see if it's working.  And, see how it works in Gurdon where Verizon service isn't very good.  What if T-Mobile is better?  I'm fixing to dump about $300 per month in the AZ house with them paying for their own phones - I was helping Mark with it because a second line wasn't terribly expensive and he claims he is going to get internet. It is costing me over $200 per month for internet over there. It's a ouch-factor to me every month seeing that kind of money going out.  I tried T-Mobile but they didn't send it out with a sim card in it and they wouldn't send one for I didn't have a T-Mobile phone to verify that it is actually me.

That's where the local store comes in, at least for stuff around here. They just look at my ID and that's that. They were so helpful yesterday, I didn't know they could deal with as much as they can, the plus is that they are a corporate owned store so they can pretty much do anything that I "can" do over the phone.  You try talking to those people on the phone, offshore call center with people whose English is spotty and whose attitudes suck. Not all of them, but enough.  I was amazed they just went into the back room yesterday,  pulled out a new router without my asking for it - I just wanted them to try a new sim card and if that didn't work, just send it back and ask for another one - pulled it out, set it up and walaah, here ya go, thanks.  

But yes, I'm going to contact Mark today and tell him I'm ordering another T-Mobile internet device and this time, if they don't send a sim card, I can verify over the phone who I am with a T-Mobile based phone and that should be the end of that problem.  

I'm just happy to get to dumping expenses.  ONE more payment on the shed, they took the next to last one out yesterday and there goes $221 PLUS a $3 "convenience fee".  That fee? They charge  you to pay them. It's an auto-withdrawal, who else charges their customers to pay them with auto-pay? It's not a credit card, they are not encountering credit card company fees, it's fairly outrageous in my view even if it's a small amount of money.  

Whatever the case, saving money is high on my list of priorities right now, the more I can save, the faster I can move forward with my expansion desires.  But, I doubt I'll take out a loan before the election.  Or, if Biden is going to do something to make him look favorable and somehow attempt to get the Fed to lower the interest rate?  I just balk at the idea of high interest loans.  I don't see how a HELOC at 11.99% is a good deal.  I remember those rates being much lower before the FED started all this interest rate hikes and basically destroying our economy while they were doing it.  

Well whatever.  I'm going to leave a bit earlier than normal for the second load, I just feel like getting out of here, getting up there and even if I have to wait, being there for whenever the first load is done.  But if I get there at 11:20 am, which is what I am shooting for, the first load should be done and gone.  Should be being the operative words. 

With that, go make a lunch, get some more coffee for the thermos, fill up the cup with ice water and outta here.

G'day.