Friday

Not a bad day at work. I had to load the semi this morning with 1180 feet of storm drainage pipe and some fittings to go with it and then deliver it to a jobsite in Casa Grande.

This is a new startup, so I hadn't been to this site before.

There was a HUGE problem with the entrance to this place. I got to the site and stopped in the right lane of the street with flashers blinking - very low traffic so no big deal. I look at the entrance - there is NO WAY - ANY vehicle is getting through there besides earth-moving equipment.

A loader operation looks at me and waves me down the street. Oh, okay, there's another entrance. Blaaaaaaahhhhh. The entrance? A friggin' dirt driving with barriers on either side and only wide enough for the truck. I had to swing into oncoming traffic lanes to make that turn. I go down 100 feet and am greeted by a fence with gate.

Problem? Yes. The gate is on the right side of the "road". The road is only barely wide enough for the truck. There IS no room to swing to get the trailer in there. I'm always game for a new challenge, I love that stuff. I got the truck and trailer angled in such a way that I got the truck in there - with less than an inch of space on one side and maybe an inch on the other, it was that tight.

Managers and big bosses were all in a meeting at the main branch today. I could guess what was being discussed and I'm 95% sure my guesses would be correct. I heard a bit of news, but - there is confidentiality in what is being discussed in those meetings, it's not being let out. "Stuff" is coming down the pike, that's a given. I'm bracing myself for whatever is to come. It's just granted that there are going to be more layoffs. I don't wish that on any of my co-workers - or myself - but - it's going to happen. I don't know who, I didn't hear this from anyone, I just feel it. Just like I felt it the last 2 times.

I'm also guessing they're going to be closing down the store in Buckeye. Purely a guess - but unless they get their numbers up out there, it's a given. As I said, I'm bracing myself. Plan B - would be move out of my bedroom, leave the furniture in there and rent out a furnished room for $500 a month. Plan B would include unemployment benefits if it came to that. Plan B would probably work for a while, anyway. Yes, I would be moving into my son's room, and I would be leaving it up to him whether he wanted to continue to come over or not. I will not lose my property without a serious battle first. To lose this property would mean losing the ideal of owning property - probably forever. My entire lifestyle would change dramatically. I would also have to lose the dogs, or at least the Danes and maybe the Dane mix.

I'm not scared - I have been in these places before. But I am apprehensive. There was obviously stuff talked about today in that meeting that is going to affect all of us, somehow. I can't get information that can't be given, so I'm just going to go to work on Monday and hope - I still have a job. As I said, I have been preparing my mind and being for whatever comes my way. Whatever is doled out, I will take it in, and if it's extremely negative - absorb it, dwell it on for a short time - and dump it. I simply can't afford emotion in such an economic atmosphere - certainly when it comes to finances, emotion is on hold. A clear thinking head is the only way through such things, emotion can so greatly taint the way a person thinks. I have been guilty of it in the past, but right now, not.

I will undoubtedly spend my weekend thinking about this. There is not getting around it. The news that another 600 hundred plus thousand jobs were shed last month was hardly anything to get joyous about. It just means the economy is nowhere near coming back to life, regardless of what Bernanke says. My company is no different - they're in survival mode. I am in survival mode. I am putting certain projects on hold and am going to dump at least a couple more hundred bucks into my savings account. The rainy day is coming - I feel it - I want to be at least somewhat prepared for it.

But, I already have those trellises and everything I need to put that stuff together, so I'm definitely going to do that. And the cheapest thing to do for blocking out the sun's hot rays on the west side of the house is the styrofoam, so I'm also going there as well. That wont' cost more than $40 or $50 total, money WELL spent to SAVE money on electricity.

There are other things, but I am rather consumed by what's going on at work right now. Then again, so are alot of you/us. Money is so tight, that I am going to switch semi-trailers on Monday instead of them buying new tires for it. They have a trailer sitting there that is not being used and it has very good tires on it. The trailer I'm dragging all over creation right now has tires down to the wear bars. Wear bars are simply a piece of raised rubber stuck in the grooves of the tire. When you get to that bump, your tires are out of DOT specs and if you are caught, your truck will be put out-of-service and you will have to have that vehicle either towed out of there or have the tires replaced right there on the side of the road. I don't really care which trailer I pull, so no big deal to me. As long as it has slider rails for the winches on both sides of the trailer. If it does not (I don't remember on that trailer), it's a huge pain in the @$$ to work with. Maybe see if they could just take the tires off of that trailer and put them on the one I am using now.

Anyway, my son called, it's time to go pick him up and Michael just called wanting to be picked up at the Jack In The Box just down the street from where Caleb is.

Hasta la vista!
ben

Thursday

Today was my kind of day - at work that is.
Driving all over the place, delivering this, picking up that - driving the semi.
Of course, not all is rosy out there. The number of idiots driving on the roads in the Phoenix area undoubtedly surpasses the number of sane people behind the wheel. I couldn't tell you how many times I was cut off - extremely cut off - by morons that just HAD to get around the truck - slam on their brakes and then make a right hand turn directly in front of me........or making sudden lane changes in traffic without warning and stuffing their vehicle DIRECTLY in front of the truck.

If those people had any clue how dangerous that is - maybe they wouldn't do it. I would love to see states force people to go through driver training which includes videos and pictures of what happens to vehicles when they cut off trucks ..........and it doesn't turn out too well. I've seen the videos and the pics: trucks that have run clean over the car; trucks whose front axles are buried in the back seat of the car; cars that have been turned literally into a pancake. They don't live through those sorts of things.

Indeed. Tomorrow is Friday and I fully expect rental payments from 2 tenants. Mary already paid hers. Mary also planted the flowers she bought yesterday and they are nice. I offered to pay her back for them - to preclude any future junk - and when that was rejected, I offered to pay half. It's a donation. All well and fine - as long as it doesn't become an issue somewhere down the road. Everyone here is on the bi-weekly payment plan.

I expect problems, however, from one particular tenant who has allegedly been sent home early from work - like every day this week. Today? He's home and offered no explanation. Not that I need one - until it's time to pay the rent, which would be tomorrow. I have become somewhat calloused in the arena of paying rent and paying it on-time - especially considering I collect security deposits from everyone. Don't pay your rent? Homeless shelter is in downtown Phoenix. I don't mean to sound cruel, but I have had enough with people playing games with rental payments.

However, this guy has yet to miss a beat. However again - even if he covers the rent, he will have little left over, I am imagining, to eat with. There is much information I am leaving out here - but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what's going to start unfolding......and what's already been happening. It's one of the reasons I have 3 tenants in here - when one starts having "financial issues" - I don't have to go into a panic and start wondering how I am going to pay bills. Or get behind on the mortgage. Or whatever.

On another note, my dad sent me yet another $100.00. He sent me an email and told me he would send me money on a regular basis (no, I didn't ask for it, but I certainly won't be turning it down) to help me through this economic crisis. I'm guessing now that I will be receiving a $100.00 check from him every month, since it was a month ago that I received the first one. He has a pension and some other thing that gives him money every month and assuming social security. Again - I'm very happy both my parents are well-off enough that I don't have to worry about them in that aspect.

Now? Daily routine - clean up dog crap. I watered plants yesterday but I am going to go out there and water certain plants again. Oh, and the other arguments put in my brain concerning my dad's money: 1. Transfer it to my ING savings account. 2. More Palomino Gold granite. I don't have enough coverage. 3. Dump it onto the power card reader.

I'll be thinking about that for a while before I make a decision - but not a long while. Like - today and possibly into tomorrow. Too many things need done around here.

As for now, I'm signing off of this one and bidding you a good evening.
ben

Dear Self...........

..........do you remember the trellises you bought weeks ago now and are sitting out there, waiting for you to install?
Dear Brain:
Oh, yes, I remember that now!
Self: Well, when are you going to GET to DOING that project?
Brain: Ummm, I had totally forgotten about it.
Self: List of things to do this weekend: Trellis installation.
Brain: Well you don't have to be PUSHY about!

Yes - it just totally eluded me - that project I bought the parts for and did nothing with.
I'll be working on that this weekend.
I have other things on the backburner: Have done nothing with this list of names from last weekend - however - I didn't expect to do anything until this weekend.
Anyway - have a great day!
ben

Wednesday

Don't ask me why, cause' I really don't know - I slept terribly last night.
I was so out of it today, I'm still surprised I made it through work. Especially considering there wasn't much of anything going on. I HATE when I can't sleep.
I came home and passed out for 40 minutes and then forced myself to get up so I wouldn't just sleep for hours and then - have the same problem again tonight.

There isn't much "news" here. Well, there is a problem with a certain tenant that I have written about on here before - and it isn't Mary - who appears to be behaving quite nicely for the time being. A particular person who isn't making enough money to support his "habits" and still eat and such - is therefore - taking other people's food - and such.

Smoking and drinking are vices. These are not things that a person should expect other people to support for them. Well, I'm just not feeling very energetic right now - as I haven't in 2 or 3 days now - so I'll rest it for a later date. Though - the situation is coming to a head.

I suppose, now that I think about it, there are a lot of things going on - but I have absolutely no energy to write about it. I forced myself to do freeweights this afternoon regardless of how I felt - and that pretty much cashed me of energy. I don't really look like I've been working out all that much as far as visual confirmation is concerned - but I have been easing into the freeweights. Eventually the grown muscle will increase the metabolism will burn calories will reduce fat. I have tried dieting - but I have always known that dieting alone doesn't really work that well. You must couple it with exercise, and more specifically - weight training/resistance training is the best - though I totally prefer freeweights over resistance machines any day.

If you look at people that diet and do cardio exercises but don't do any weight/resistance training - well - the comparison to someone that is dieting; weight training and doing cardio workouts is palpable. Not dissing cardio - it's very good for you - but in terms of dumping fat - it's only a piece of the pie.

Anyway, I'm still slowly getting back on track concerning exercise.
As for this day? Done.
G'nite.
ben

Can any computer genius please tell me something about these wireless networks?!...
I have a router sending out the signal to 2 computers in my house. My computer is directly wired - doesn't use the router signal being "sent through the air" to get internet.
The question is, is someone else on one of the computers in my house able to see what I am doing on my computer? This question has been bothering me for some time now, just wondering what the reality of it is. I pay bills and such online and really do not want someone else in here getting access to bank account numbers.

Vet takes down flag that is flying UNDER a mexican flag



The video speaks for itself.
A nice day today at work. There was nothing yesterday in the truck routing system for deliveries this morning, but when I got to work, well, totally different story. Long story short- I was all over the place. Phoenix; Valley Farms and Florence. Took most of the day to accomplish. Today is end of month - we're going to get out whatever we can.

Folks, if someone calls you tomorrow and tells you you won a million dollars, or that your car has just been stolen, or whatever - remember - it's April Fool's Day! Lol, I always play tricks on numerous people and usually am quite successful at getting them all riled up - APRIL FOOL'S!!!!

Just thought I'd throw that in there - many people forget about that particular day and then end up on the receiving end of a joke. Knowledge in advance? You could take THEM for a ride and dream up your own counter-offensive. For example, someone calls and tells you your car has just been stolen. "It's okay, I have the car booby-trapped with a bomb. It will detonate shortly and they will not even have the chance to wish that they hadn't fooled with MY car". Something mundane like that.

Anyway, something that has been milling around my head for months now - getting those Danes neutered. I finally found a place that isn't freakin' out of this world for the price: $150 per dog. They have a set price for dogs up to 70 pounds and then a buck per pound after that. The cheapest I found before this? Almost $300 per dog. Just because they are so large. Definitely thinking of how to come up with that money and get Duke done first. Duke has some temperamental issues that I think neutering would take care of.

So - now - I have to come up with a date for a meeting for a potential Neighborhood Association for those individuals that were interested to come over, have a little BBQ, see if we can come to some kind of agreement on forming a board of directors and at least get the thing rolled out.

I'm just going through the list of things here - not gonna take too long on this entry, either.

In fact, I'm pretty much done here.
I have some things I need to get done outside.
ben

Monday

Amazingly, I woke up feeling pretty good this morning. Just reaffirmed to me that having a party like that on a Saturday is a far better idea than doing it on a Sunday.
I called Target today attempting to get them to "fix" the problem that was created by the defective product they sold me. I bought that grill, what - in November? That thing is only 4 months old! Maybe 5, I don't really remember.

Yes, I fixed the problem by buying a new regulator valve for it, but who would expect to have to replace something like that so soon after buying a grill like that? That thing should last next to forever. Target was unyielding. I called corporate - they couldn't have cared less how much trouble their attitude towards helping me with my problem caused in not just selling me a valve - or even giving me one - off a floor model.

I'm not done with that, yet, but I have no desire to follow through with that today. Amana probably has some kind of manufacturer's warranty on it which I will try next. I just couldn't believe Target's apathetic attitude towards a situation that they could have easily fixed without all the attitudinal problems.

Anyway, I was pretty much busy at work all day - driving to Casa Grande, back to the yard, then to northwest Phoenix; then to our main branch near downtown Phoenix and then back to the yard again.

I also decided to give away some of the leftover food. I figured since people donated money for this affair, the only right thing to do is to give it to people that need it. Doesn't take long around these parts to find hungry people.

Anyway, I don't have writer's block, but I'm kinda worn-out and I'm going to go take a kick-back in my bedroom.
C'yall later.
ben

Sunday

About 45 minutes before the party started, I went out to fire up the grill and start cooking chicken. Grill won't start. I had it going earlier full tilt - what the heck? Finally, one little line of flame coming out of one of three burners. Tried to turn on the other two - nothing.

It was obviously the regulator valve - I tapped it. Tapped it again, and again, and again. I'm starting to get very nervous. I run down to Target where I got the grill - they don't sell the regulators separately but they have several of the same model on the floor with the valve. I ask a manager if they would sell me the one off the grill - they can always order another one for it. Nope. Can I speak to the store manager? Store manager comes out - geek looking dude - explains that those models are all for sale.

Great, I said, I don't need a whole new BBQ, I just need the regulator valve with the hose assembly. I further explained 100 people were showing up to my place in less than 30 minutes for a big party, pleeeeeeaaaaassssseeeeee help me. Nope. Wouldn't budge. Informed me to go to Lowe's or Home Depot. I don't have time for that, I need a fix right now! I was not happy with this individual and let him know about it. We rob parts off of things at our place frequently for our customers and just order replacement parts for whatever we took the part off of.

I'm walking out of that store a rather unhappy individual - Home Depot and Lowe's are 6 and 7 miles away consecutively - and would have to go through a lot of traffic and lights to get there. I remembered there's an Ace Hardware in the same strip mall the Target is at and hoped beyond hope that they sell those valves. Sure enough - they had a whole selection of them, and yes, one of them the same as the one on my grill.

Racing back to the house - there is already 20 people there by the time I get there - plus 3 different news medias, lol. A bunch of people showed up from the Craiglist ad and even more people showed up from the flyers I had sent out around my neighborhood. A guy showed up and played some excellent music on electric guitar with amplifiers and all that sort of stuff - he played continuously for 3 hours, only taking a 15 minute break. Very cool. People brought all kinds of great food as well. A tremendous outpouring and a lot of people came.

Anyway, after grilling for a while, I went ahead and started talking with everyone. Got names and addresses of those that came that were interested in getting something going in terms of a neighborhood association - about 15 of them. Quite a lot of interest, it turns out - and a lot of talk about the "other" thing that has been going on, the Neighborhood Watch thing. The guy that runs that thing - which is pretty much non-existent now - is a total control freak. Whatever. Anyway, I informed everyone I would send out a letter to everyone for a day to come over to my place, have a little git-together, and discuss forming the Association - whose name is already supplied by the name of the community we are in - and see what kinds of ideas and desires come up. Many agreed with me about trying to get some landscaping done on properties that have nothing but dirt and weeds.

I still have a lot of meat left-over - going to freeze the beef but I'm cooking up the rest of the chicken later today on the grill. Nothing like BBQ'ed chicken! I figured I over-bought on the meat department, but also figured I would have a well stocked freezer full of stuff for future reference. In all, I think I received about $240 in donations towards the party, plus a lot of food was brought over here. The party was a blast. 2 news medias left without even taking interviews - a "breaking story" they told someone which turned out to be a buy holding someone hostage for ransom but then gave up and - basically turned out to be a dud story, lol. The remaining reporter was there for hours - taking video and yes, they did a story, but on a different network than the first story.

Whatever the case, the party started at 3:00 pm and ended after 8:00. I figured it to be the perfect starting time and a good ending time - I am not a late-night person. There was a group of about 15 people that hung out after everyone else left - the partiers, lol - who stayed for several hours after the festivities had died down.

Will I do it again? Not sure. I think my focus now is going to be on the Association that I would like to see get going around here. Thinking parties for the immediate community on an on-going basis - depending on turnout - is just what the doctor ordered. The blog for that party is still getting numerous hits, so I will probably write up my version of a story for the event on there. Eventually, I will set up a website for the Association - with a lot of help that is, no web-designer here - and let the Craigslist party thing go into fading history.........though I would love to host a Thanksgiving dinner later on this year - provided I'm still employed and still have tenants, the house and all of that - as I have done on a limited basis in the past.

Enough. It was a great party : )
ben

Saturday

Woke up this morning and started right in on stuff that I didn't finish yesterday. Still more to go - but - fortunately - I have several hours before the party starts. I kinda got a little unsettled that I might not have enough propane in the tank for all of this cooking, so I'm headed out in a bit to get it filled all the way up.
Another trip to Fry's - forgot to get several bags of chips and probably a few more sodas too.
Ice run.
Still have 40 or 50 more hamburger patties to make.
Probably waited a little long to start that pork roast. It was MUCH bigger than I thought - the thing takes up the entire slow cooker. Started that at 6:00 am - so by the time the party starts, it's 9 hours worth of cooking, shouldn't take near that long to cook through and be in the "fall apart" stage, especially on high - but - the last couple of roasts I did in there were not near as big as this monster. Hope it's done by party-time is all I can say about that. It only takes maybe 10 or 15 minutes worth of prep to pull the pork apart, get the fat off of it, dump a bottle or more of some of my favorite BBQ sauce into it - and it's ready to go.
3 heads of cabbage worth of coleslaw, lol. That took an hour in itself. Mary made up 40 or more patties last night with her "special" ingredients - which are Russian dressing/honey BBQ sauce and Teriyaki sauce. The rest of the burgers are just going to be plain ole' burgers for those that don't want all the stuff in there.

Pretty much, besides a trip to the store and the propane place and doing some cutting and patty forming - it's ready. Oh, and another person donated more money to the cause! What an amazing thing this is turning out to be.

Ummm, anyway, the race began this morning and I really don't have time to linger here - hope you all have a great Saturday and a wonderful weekend!
ben

Friday

This whole party thing is turning into something that has gone to proportions I never even thought of.
Number 1, I had not thought that the news media would be even one iota interested in something like this. Number 2, that they would actually run the story, and number 3 - this story is being run locally all over the nation! That's just plain CRAZY! I'm serious - I'm getting emails from people all over the place about seeing me the news from everywhere!

What's next, Oprah?
Whatever the case, I have enough meat now to feed a small army - just in case a small army's worth of people show up. Literally, I could feed at least 150 people with the brats; hamburger meat; pork and chicken I have been acquiring at sale prices, of course, from various supermarkets.

Today is going to be crazy as well. I have a HUGE thing of coleslaw to make, going to make up 75 hamburger patties in advance; cook the pork and make the pulled pork BBQ; and whatever else - such as more cleaning and such outside. Mary has been a tremendous help in the last few days in that arena in helping with the east side of the house and basically doing things that I - simply won't have time for. I have just about everything I need, I am hoping others will bring what they said they will bring to shore it up. Well, even if no-one brought anything, guaranteed the gut will be full for whoever is going to eat.

The neighborhood association thing is what I need to focus on as well.

Anyway, I will (well, I don't really know) write later - I have to go get Caleb and Michael at Caleb's mom's house, stop at Costco again cause I didn't get enough hamburger buns and stop at Safeway as well for another couple of things worth of chicken.

Wish me luck!
ben

Thursday

Ummm.......I'm kind of curious as to the blog I started for the free dinner party as to how all these people from all OVER the place are finding that blog? It isn't just the Phoenix area anymore, the feedjit I put on that blog is showing people viewing it from coast to coast and even Canada! It was a local news story and I doubt it is going to get any further than that - I just don't get it.

Sometimes the internet confounds me as to how things happen through it.

Well, anyway, both Safeway and Bashas are having sales on fresh chicken breast - bone in. Safeway at 99 cents a pound, Bashas at 77 cents per pound. I went to both. I think Safeway meat to be better quality - the Bashas stuff was "previously" frozen, it said on the label - but in actuality, it was still quite frozen and taking it's time thawing.

I'm taking a break from the relentless pace I have been inflicting upon myself. Tomorrow is going to be a marathon of making hamburger patties; cooking a picnic roast, going to yet more stores and getting semi-ready for the party. Since the party doesn't actually start until 3:00 pm, I will have a good portion of the day Saturday to finalize prep for the party. Oh, and I am making more homemade coleslaw - that is quite the endeavor in itself!

Ummm, that's just a short break. I am going back outside in a few minutes to attempt to finish the east side of my house pulling out the constant barrage of weeds that grow coming from my "neighbor's" yard.

Gotta cut this off - too much to do.
ben

News

Ineresting.
I went to Costco and met up with the reporter and his camera-man. They were VERY nice individuals - I was impressed. Very well dressed, professional - and young. 20 somethings. Which was even more impressive- no diss on 20 somethings, but the current casting of that age out there today? Ummm - I won't comment.

All they wanted to do was follow me around the store and get video shots. It was a little awkward having a cameraman running in front of me, behind me all around - getting all kinds of shots. I mean - people were looking at me, I'm sure thinking: 'who's THIS guy?' I really didn't buy that much, either. I only went there for the hot dog and hamburger buns - they have great deals on that stuff. I also ended up buying a 32-pack of cans of Coke and a 24 pack of cans of Arizona Green Tea and a 15 pack of brats. What's a BBQ without brats? Not kids brats, either! Umm, yes, there are going to be plenty of kids at the party - no diss on them, either.

It became obvious that the news media - at least this one - is seeking out good stories. There's so much negativity going on right now. What do you want to report? AIG and the bonuses? A 3 plus trillion dollar budget? Maybe the millions of jobless people? The millions more losing their homes? Then there's the status-quo stuff that is always happening: Murders, rape, incest, sick stuff. They came back to my house, took some footage, asked me some questions, news at 10:00. Literally.

What do I want to accomplish? No agendas, at least not at first. Then I thought: gee, what if people watched that and thought to themselves: I can do that, too! Heck, might start a trend! People inviting total strangers to their house from their immediate communities to have some kind of "happening" together. Agenda: just have a good time, meet new people, talk about stuff going on, but let's not mope, please.

I didn't get to Bashas - but I will be going tomorrow and Friday and stocking up on that chicken. BBQ'ed chicken is quite wonderful, especially when smothered in good BBQ sauce.

I'm done.

Have a great evening!
ben

Wednesday

I surprised myself at just how much time I spent just cleaning the kitchen and dining area last night. The newer tenant was being sociable - so we talked for a couple of hours. She's a pretty cool lady I will have to say just from the few conversations that we've had so far. It's always nice when something that you have no clue whether it's going to work out or not - does.

So - apparently there is yet another new blogging site that numerous JS'ers are migrating to. I haven't even given it consideration. I went over there and it looks nice enough - but I just got settled in here! I guess if enough of the old-timers go over there, I'll end up there too, but for now - I'm here. I might just start up a blog with one of my favorites user names just to be able to have it.

In other "news", I am going to meet the news in about 20 minutes from now. BTW, I've had some money donated for this party and with the people that are bringing stuff with them, I will be out very little. Which is good - I didn't want this thing to set me too far back. I AM going to go to Basha's, however, and buy as much 77 cent per pound chicken breast as they will let me walk out of there with. Some of it will go to the party - some of it will be getting to hang out in my freezer for future reference. Interestingly enough, I just found out yesterday that there is a Basha's only 3 or 4 miles from my house. I had thought the nearest one was clear over on the other side of Tempe - the reason I don't go there, even for good sales. It's out of the way.

That's bone-in chicken breast, yes, but for that kind of money - stock up! lol. About 30 pounds of that stuff would be nice - though it's likely they have a limit. I could go back tomorrow and get more if I need it. I wish I had an upright freezer at this point - my freezer is always jammed full of stuff and I always am wanting to buy sale stuff and try to pack even more in there.

I'm not sure about the news - I tend to freeze up in front of cameras like that. I have been in front of cameras numerous times throughout my life - just try to relax I guess, it's only a party, after all. Not only that, I really don't know HOW they found out about it. It's not like it was an grandiose thing - it was just a simple ad. I don't know if someone alerted them to it - I mean, why else would they be going through the free ads on Craigslist?

Dunno, but - I guess today's interview is actually going on the news - today! lol. I thought they were just going to do a piece for future reference after the party is over, but if I heard the guy right, that's not the intention at all.

No big deal. Mostly, I just like meeting new people and - having a good time while doing it, of course.

Well, gotta git.

C'yall later!
ben

Tuesday

Mediocre day at work, in terms of amount of things to do. A couple of deliveries, some pickups and pulling an order to take to a new jobsite in Casa Grande. In fact, they are finally building a WalMart down there. Rumors from numerous indivduals that live down there that I have spoken to over the years have indicated the town council simply did not want a WalMart in Casa Grande. I can think of a few reasons why a small town wouldn't want such a thing - but - apparently WalMart has finally won out and is building a new store. One assumes a complete store the size of the moon................

I am meeting up with the news media tomorrow at Costco. They wanted to do a small blurp on the stuff I am buying and even a showing of some of the things I have already acquired for this party. At the moment, I have enough ground beef to make 120 hamburgers, a big enough pork picnic roast to end up with enough to make at least 20 to 30 pulled pork BBQ sandwiches, some chips and other odds and ends. I continue to get emails from people wanting to come. Friday after work will be spent making hamburger patties, cutting up onions, cooking that pork roast - probably put that thing in the slow cooker before I go to work on low and then turn it on high when I get home if it isn't done yet.

Presently, I am cleaning my refrigerator and doing a spring-cleaning version of cleaning in my kitchen. Basically just wanted to take a break from the work I have already done today after work - which includes pulling a lot of grass and weeds from the east side of the house. I am SO very tired of that continuous crap having to be done over there, simply because my next-door-neighbor is your basic SLOB and has no desire to take care of his property - AT ALL. I have much to do out there before this party - even though I mostly will not be having anyone out there, I still want it looking nice.

So, this is really a very short break as I have a couple more hours of work I want to accomplish before quitting for the day. Basically - finish this kitchen.....

LONG interval. I have scrubbed the kitchen up and down, talked with the new tenant for hours, and I'm done.
ben

Monday

Busy enough day at work to keep me occupied without having to dread the "what am I going to invent to do now" syndrome.
Tomorrow has some deliveries - maybe take up half the morning - after that I don't know.
What really "stank" was last night. Apparently, a 50 pound bag of dog food I got from Fry's is somehow bad. THREE dogs puking all over the place. Freakin' threw their @$$es right out of the house and - well I cleaned it up best I could and then did the carpet cleaner today when I got home - which got all of it up.

I'm getting psyched about the party. News15 called yet again today. The guy is reading the ads/blog I put up. I was very hesitant about it - the guy sounds nice enough and he says that personally, he thinks it's a great thing. I got over it - why not? A lady that came to the last party - that I asked her opinion about the news coming - said she thought it would be good to get this kind of thing out in the open. I've been on the news numerous times throughout my life -mostly on missionary types of things - never really had any "bad" experiences with the news media on a personal level.

But sometimes they go "digging". Usually that's on the political side of things, though, trying to dig up whatever junk they can about any given candidate.

So, I'll just come right out and say what I did in my teens, as I have said it on my blogs before. I am certainly NOT proud of what I did, but I didn't hurt or kill or rape anyone - not making light of my crime, but I paid the penalty to society, which was to repay for the damages done and went on probation for 6 months. I stole a video game from a place I was working at. It was a stupid, dumb, idiotic thing to do, yes it was. Mostly, my teenaged life was a waste. I could go into it - but it would take a book and I just don't feel like it right now. And anyway, it's unimportant - to me anyway. It's ancient history that I NEVER did over. When I stood before that judge - struck a plea agreement - he sat there looking at my stupid self, stroking his beard. When he said: "I'm tempted", I about pee'd my pants. The instant revelation came to me: plea bargains are NON-binding on judges, they can do whatever they want in that courtroom, including sending you to prison.

I was terrified. Now? I want to go back and thank that judge. It was a turning point in my life. If there's one thing I do not want to have happen, it's to lose my freedom. A few years after that, I gave my life to the Lord (Jesus Christ, that is) and life has never been the same. I went on the mission field only 8 months after becoming a Christian - and saw some incredibly remarkable, amazing things.

But, the truth is now told. Not that I haven't told it before - over and over - especially to emloyers. Some employers want to know all of your criminal background, others want to go back X amount of years. Mine was 27 years ago.

Whatever. I trust this to be a good experience and expect it will come out that way. I have to tell you folks that some of the emails I am continuing to get from people are enough to make you start crying. People losing beautiful, nice homes, losing both jobs in a family structure, being forced to live on food stamps and move in with whomever in their family lines will let them in. I received one today that really did start a stream of tears.

Ummm - well, I'm going to change the subject. I came home from work today and finished the landscaping rock project. I estimate I need another 3 tons or so of granite rock to give full coverage. I have about a 2 inch covering - I want at least 3 if not 4 inches. Plus there is still a small area with no coverage. Then there's the east side of the house - not going there right now. I would need about 4 tons over there for good coverage - but it's probably going to be different colored rock. Other projects take precedence. So does paying bills. And anyway, I am going to install a wandering pathway through there first, before dumping any gravel on there.

The weather here has reverted back to unbelievably beautiful. The way it should be at this time of the year. It's very cool in my house right now - windows and sliding glass door open - and the breeze is blowing. Sun is just starting to go down and the birds are still singing! Crazy nice!

Take care, everyone!
ben

The Whole Package

My money spent on things outdoor is put on hold at this point. At least until I get paid again, anyway. The rock and the grass, plus the trellises and accompanying hardware? Enough. I bought the final rolls of grass I think I will need - the rock spreading is going quite nicely, thank you.
That project will be done today sometime. I have to knock down some dirt to level out the surface in order to plant the remaining grass rolls.
I'm undecided whether I will have the energy/time to start on the trellises - though admittedly it's nothing more than digging two, 2 to 3 foot deep holes; attaching 2 2X3 beams together with hardware - twice; inserting said beams into ground - possible cement, though I would rather just beat them in the rest of the way with a sledge hammer; attach the trellises and it's basically done.

That's actually a lot more than it sounds. Ummm, well whatever. I have the basic Sunday chores to do around here as well, which is why I'm quaffing on the trellis project. I have a lot of weeds to pull on the east side of the house - but - I think I will wait until the poison takes full effect, hopefully getting down to the roots. So - this week after work will be busy as well, trying to get the place nicely finished for the upcoming party.

How many will actually show? Who knows. I'm expecting a minimum of 50 people, anyway, including my immediate neighborhood. I already have 18 pounds of ground beef; 1 huge picnic roast and some steaks, leaving nothing but chips, burger buns, and other basics left to go. Oh, and a few packages of brats. That's 56 hamburgers worth, enough pulled pork BBQ to feed another 15 people, and then whatever on top of that. I have received a few gifts - which has paid for much of the meat, but not all of it. I bought more today while I was out because Fry's sale on it is quite good at $1.88 per pound for 93% lean ground beef. It comes on sale here and there - but not that frequently, to the point I will buy even more and freeze it for future use/food storage. I think you can keep it in the freezer for 3 months before you actually better start thinking about using it. It never stays anywhere NEAR that long in my freezer.

Anyway, I have a lot of work to do and I best git to gettin' to it.
Happy Sunday!
ben

BAR S

The other day, I grabbed a couple packs of hot dogs at Fry's. I paid no mind to it - excepting the price, of course. Ummm, so I'm going through my fridge today - I wasn't and don't normally eat hot dogs - I love em' but they are full of cholesterol - and thought something looked strange about the package. I picked it up - unbelievable. They are now selling 8-packs of hot dogs. Not the 10-packs that have been around forever, a day and a half. Oh, and guess what, the price didn't go down, either.

Well, they've been doing the 12 oz packages of bacon for a while now - caught that one right off the bat - but this one took me by surprise. The boys eat multitudinals of hot dogs over here.

I spent the entire day on the back yard. Literally. The yard had some prep work that had to be done before even spreading the rock all over the place. Digging down some mounds and such so that the rock would appear level instead of having little humps here and there. Carrying the stuff by shovelfuls all over the place, then reverting to filling up buckets and carrying it that way. I have a little to go. I could use another - couple of tons anyway - to give more coverage, but it's good for now.

Tomorrow - gotta find the rest of the sod I need and then finish the remainder of the rocks.

Also want to get started on the trellises.

I've been busting @$$ all day long and - it felt good, actually. Don't know how that translates into Monday morning because I expect the pace to continue tomorrow. I have a party coming up and I want it mostly finished.

Speaking of that, the boys delivered about 125 flyers all over the neighborhood today. Yup, for the party. I've already got most of the meat at this point - 30 pounds of hamburger meat, some steaks I acquired not too long ago and the rest is only some brats and hot dogs with the bread. The rest is being supplied by various individuals and such.

I simply decided that there must be some tangible purpose for this party, and since I have wanted to start a Neighborhood Association for a long, long time now, this is the "Golden Opportunity". The boys said it was well received by anyone they actually encountered along the way, too.

Whatever. I'm burnt, toast and fried.

Heading to the bedroom.
'Nite.
ben

Moving Right Along...........

Went outside and started tackling the outsisde stuff early. First - to spray poison all along the fenceline - while trying not to get the stuff on my plants. Then everywhere else that I could get the poison at without compromising the plants.

Then, picking up stuff from projects and chucking it, removing a wire out of the chain link and getting the leftover stuff disattached to it. Spray more poison on the other side of the dog free zone, shovel up undesirable stuff on the ground where the rock will be spread, and then eyeballing my next project: putting up the 2 trellises.

Smell of poison in the air- I'm keeping the dogs inside for a while. Poison was my last resort - pulling weeds forever isn't exactly a fun "project" - it's never-ending and - just couldn't handle it anymore. Take my chances with just enough poison to hopefully kill off the weeds and no more.

The poison is basically in response to the fact that it is quite obvious the next door neighbors are not going to pull those weeds back there. The ONLY thing I could do is spray a partition between property lines.
Well, I could just go over there and ask if I could spray his property too, but - we don't get along so well and for various reasons that is a very long story that started several years ago that I most certainly do not want to go into right now.

Hmmmm. I gouged the side of my arm and didn't realize it. A huge chunk of cement out there - at least 150 pounds worth - that I finally decided to see if I could lift into the garbage can without breaking my back. To lift a chunk of something that large and that heavy - that high - meant having to use my forearms - not just my hands. Oh well - the chunk is now in the bottom of the trash can - good riddance to it.

I put the remains of the fire hydrant out front for bulk trash pickup - someone came along and took it for themselves. I presume for the scrap value of it - a couple hundred pounds worth right there.

My used car dealer neighbor is already leaving for the summer: a judge has ordered back up to Michigan. If he doesn't go, he'll land back in prison for another - year or 6 months, don't really know. He has been working on that old RV trailer I gave him a while back at a feverish pace for several months now. I will say he has done a fine job on it. I will also say that I have my doubts. He has a Porsche Boxster along with a Harley Davidson parked inside of it. Behind that, yet another trailer hooked to that trailer and another Porsche on top of THAT trailer. This train all being pulled by a 3/4 ton Ford pickup with a diesel engine. My doubts are about the pulling capability of that pickup truck in pulling the weight of 2 trailers, 2 cars and a Harley Davidson, and also the reliability of such a long setup cranking down the road.

Whatever the case, the trailer is not in my name anymore - it's all on him if something goes wrong. It is almost 8 o'clock - the 2 hour window they gave for arriving with the rock begins. It's VERY nice outside right now - in the high 60's I think, nice and cool. I am going to go out there and start digging holes, I think, for the trellis beams. Just 2 holes about 3 feet deep should do it. If only the temps could stay like this the year round..............

All I can say right now is that I am floating - getting by. The third tenant makes it possible to be able to say that with confidence - as long as I'm employed. With some of the money I am getting in a little over a week from now - I will be putting it in savings. Hoping at least $150 worth can get dumped into the savings account, the rest goes to - bills of course.

Ken has now decided he isn't going anywhere - plus he got promoted at his job and now has 5 working days back. They dropped a day per week off and that - I'm sure - is hurting him badly. Yet - he pays the rent religiously. It's like the first thing he does.

Mary has gotten much better at paying the rent as well. I have not spoken about Mary and all that happened because - there are too many holes in the story to make the other tenant believable. In fact - the other tenants' actions were egregious enough in itself. If you dont' like a person, fine - but - it just got too carried away. She was drunk the night a lot of that stuff happened and - I caught her in a big lie that she had been telling me since BEFORE the day she had moved in, cancelling her credibility factor and making her statements suspicious at best.

The newest tenant? Certainly no issues with her - I've asked her if she had any issues with any of us or anything going on around here - no is her reply. Well, I can't read minds, so I hope that's the truth of the matter. I have no idea how long she'll stay - but - considering her demeanor and low-key attitude - I would love it for her to stick around for quite awhile. Her dog is not an issue, either - he spends his days in her room when she's at work. A pretty nicely trained dog. No obsessive barking, nothing really.

I will be honest here and state that I will probably keeping 3 tenants in here for as long as it takes to get out of the hole and back ahead. That will stay that way until I get caught up on the mortgage. To do that - would either mean trying to save up enough to make 2 mortgage payments in one month - or - just keep paying it the way I am and by the end of summer, it will be down to around 20 days late. I am going to try to save up enough money - actually - but if I get that far ahead, I will not want to part with it - the saved-up money that is - and would probably opt for keeping it for an emergency.

The thought crossed my mind that I really don't have enough saved up in case of emergency. A refrigerator tanks, the dishwashers goes bye-bye - stuff like that. Fortunately, the AC has a full 5-year warranty on it - covering the expensive stuff - though I think the service charge is additional. I'm fortunate that I have enough knowledge of plumbing and electrical issues that if something developed - clogged pipes for example - I could fix that myself and spare the excessive charge of a plumber or elecrician coming out here.

I have gone on long enough with this one, and besides, I'm hungry.

Have a great Saturday!
ben

It's Nightime................

...........and there's something I really wanted to accomplish tonight. I got it done, too.
I really don't know about - whether I should post it on WWW - so I won't. I didn't murder anyone and I'm not so broke that I had to go rob a bank, if you must know. nothing so granduer. It wasn't sexual and it had nothing to do with anyone in my house.

I'll leave it at that.

As for today - just about cashed. I poisenend all the weed areas where I pulled weeds this week - hoping they don't grow back cause rock is about to go over top of that dirt. I would put plastic on the ground, but I'm afraid that dog pee not having anywhere to go but the plastic surface eventually wouldn't smell too good. I'll deal with weeds over THAT any day.

Well, anyway, Fry's has ground beef on sale - the 93 percent lean stuff - at $1.88 per pound. That's extremely cheap for those that don't know. I also found a giant pork roast for a great price - it will be cooked for 6 or 7 hours in a slow cooker, the fat will be pulled off of it and it will be pulled apart with forks - and that's the walaah - pulled pork BBQ. The make-it or break-it with such stuff is the BBQ sauce you are using. I have found some stuff that is sold in the grocery store that is just fantastic. A bottle and a half of that? Dannnnnnng!

I wrote my dad a nice long letter - a week ago. He hasn't responded. This is where my brothers get some of their anger - his non-responsiveness. He has done that as long as I have been an adult. I have been able to brush it off - must be something more important going on - my brothers have never been able to get past that and other things. Okay, maybe there ISN'T something more-important going on - the only thing I have learned from it is what NOT to do with MY son.

My life with my son has been the total opposite of what my dad did with us boys. I'm mostly always around, my dad was never around. Thing as such. I figure down the road, my son will dislike me for something I did on a recurrent basis that he hated/disliked/whatever. I just do. Parents are never perfect. We screw up with our children - one way or another - a fact of life we cannot bypass.

We try to - but when the kids grow up - if you didn't find out about it before then - they will tell you where you failed them.

Just for a small example - I was REALLY looking forward to a family reunion in Sierra Vista, Arizona, at my dad's place. The previous reunions are always on the east coast. I can't GET to the east coast in my current financial dilemna. I have priorities - vacations are on the bottom of that list. But - easily could have made the festivities 190 miles south of me.

could something change before the intended date of the reunion? Sure - but I haven't even been INVITED to this deal. I sometimes get some emails that - my dad leaves me out of, but my uncle in Florida occasionally lets me back in on - that goes back and forth between them. Yes, you have to wonder why my dad leaves me out of those emails. He does it on purpose, too - found that out quite by accident as I don't GET those emails. Excepting for my uncle. I haven't seen him since I was 16 - I have very rare, occasional emails with him when he decides he wants to engage in conversation.

I have no clue - I would call the whole bunch of them extremly arrogant and stuck-up individuals - but - I don't know all the details as I am never privy to them. Neither are my brothers. Which makes them very mad. I shrug my shoulders - I am the youngest kid in the clan. I was basically forgotten when I was a little kid growing up. My parents gave the attention to my oldest and middle brother, I was along for the ride. My mother has asked for forgiveness of this many, many times. It took quite a long time to learn things in life that most people learn much younger than I - simply because I had no clue.

No, I didn't ride my mother about this, I didn't even bring up the subject. I have found that as my mother grows older - and closer to whatever date her death will occur - she finds that she needs to unload. She's gone through quite a list of things - I wonder if there's more.

I'm lamenting - or reminscing - or somewhere in between. The thoughts entered my mind earlier today - out of the blue - and I haven't been able to shake it. My regrets about the past have nothing to do with my parents - unless you want to point the finger of non-involvement at them - and that it certainly was. I was a drunk by the age of 14, an addict by the age of 15 and a thief, burglar, and a lot of other things by the age of 15 as well. I made the choices - my parents could have stopped me.

If I had it to do over again? I would have never touched the first 2 Budweiser 24 ounce beers that were given me my brother and his friends. I held out a long time. My oldest brother was smoking reefer in the back yard every day with his friends. Both of them pushed me for years to give in. My parents? Knew what was going on, did nothing about it.

This is the age of victimization - I was totally victimized, right? Right. Sure, whatever you say. I made my choices. I was pressured - but not forced. I could blame my parents all day long - and there are times when I want to. I was not encouraged to get into sports - most parents do that in some form or another. I did that by myself - I was totally atheletic and was a great wrestler and marathon runner.

Sometimes I just hate my life. What has become of it? I look back upon my adult life - and then I realize - I've actually done alot of good. You could call this my version of a mid-life crisis, I suppose, as I have not had one that I can think of. Instead, I went through a black-hole divorce that caused me to shut down. I STILL wonder if I have woken up from that, yet.

You ask why I'm writing all of this. Just what's going through my head right now. Tomorrow, I'll wake up and realize rocks are coming and I'll forget about all of this - for a time anyway. We all have our little skeletons - little things that have haunted us our entire lifetimes. I don't care who you are, what your stature in society is - great or small - you have them. I have them. We ALL have them. HOW you deal with them is what determines whether you are going to make it or - break it.

As for me - I'm going to go to bed. I'm finding this thought process tonight to not be - productive for lack of better term. I'm not going to drag myself down by my past. My past is a smelting pot of hellish s***, there's no doubting that - people don't even believe the half of my stories about things I did, just because I am not that way now. You know what? There are times when I am tempted to respond to certain situations the same way as when I was a teenager. That would be to destroy things - houses, cars, people. I would love to hear from one single person in the universe that can honestly say that whatever they learned or did when they were growing up - still doesn't affect them today. Maybe you don't act it out, surely not - but those thoughts at least occasionally course through your head.

G'nite.
ben

Friday

......at lasssssssssst.
I'm psyched about tomorrow morning's delivery of 5 tons of decorative granite (rocks, lol). I'll have the rock dumped on the driveway just next to where it's going to go - I have to go buy weed killer and spray the areas where all of those weeds were.
Speaking of weeds, the next door neighbors cut their's down - but only out front. There are almost 6 foot tall weeds in their back yard - where their little tykes play. I don't understand that kind of "living". I do understand that if the City isn't going to force them to cut that crap down in the back and side yard, I will be calling the fire department and ask for inspection for fire hazard - they have all kinds of flammable JUNK back there.
Freaks.

I was paid today by one of the tenants not 5 minutes after I walked through the door. That was a good thing. I then get paid on Friday by work, then Tuesday by another tenant and Wednesday by yet the other tenant.

Anyway, it's supposed to cool down considerably on Sunday. It heated up here again - running the AC again - etc etc . If it gets too warm tomorrow, I may not even start shovelling rocks until Sunday when the high will be in the high 70's.

I have fully 7 dogs over here right now - including the new tenant's dog - though she leaves him in her bedroom all day long while she's at work. They are all passed out on the floor - Lord only knows WHAT they have been doing all day long. What I know for a fact is that they did not breach the fence - I was worried about that because Roscoe - one of the visiting doggies - loves to find ways through that fence to get to the property fence to bark at the neighbor's dog.

Ahhh, I'm done. I'm tired - drove all over creation today.
C'ya later.
ben

Dentist Revisited

Left here, went to the rock place, ordered 5 tons of - I think it's Palomino Gold. Nice looking stuff, enough to cover 750 square feet, which should (hopefully) cover all the way up to the dog-free fence in the back. Left there, got Caleb, go to the dentist's office 20 minutes early - on purpose. I knew they would want me to fill out yet another series of endless forms for me, just like I did yesterday for Caleb.

They call Caleb in a few minutes before the appointed time. I turned my paperwork in before the appointment time as well. Tick - tock. They clean Caleb's teeth - still haven't called me in for my appointment. Now, remember, Caleb has one dentist, I was assigned to another one in the office so I could be seen at the same time Caleb was getting his teeth cleaned. They call me in and tell me Caleb had Gingitivis - which doesn't surprise me, he doesn't clean his teeth very well.

They want me to buy a $20 bottle of rinse - whatever. Back out to the waiting area, into the area you wait to get signed out. The lady behind the desk asks if I want to wait on Caleb's paperwork until after my visit is done. No, no thanks, said to her, let's take care of it now and cancel my appointment.

They made us wait fully 25 minutes past the appointment time yesterday, I was not about to do that again today. I simply said I think it very rude to set an appointment and then expect people to wait FAR beyond the appointment time, please give me my paperwork back as I am going to destroy it and I will simply find another dentist somewhere else.

A whole group of them, including the lady that was dealing with me behind the desk, disappeared, but I could hear them talking. They were attempting to mitigate the situation - but there was no mitigation. They had overbooked and it was going to be a while before they could get me in. NO WAY was I going to wait even another 15 minutes longer. I left Caleb's paperwork there - it's close to the ex's place and she can take him the next time - which will be for wisdom tooth extraction.

Ummmm, long interval.

Nuff said.
ben

Thursday

Finally, there will be something to do tomorrow. A trip to Casa Grande, back to the yard, load up again, a trip to Florence, and then possibly another delivery somewhere else. That ought to just about consume at least an entire morning. I totally forgot about going to the rock yard today and seeing about getting a load of it delivered for Sat. morning. I may have waited too long and may not be able to get it until next week.

Oh well. I'll try tomorrow - I guess I could buzz over there right now, but my son's second dentist appointment is in an hour from now, so - probably not. I just got home from work, going to a rock store - well I could deal with it as it wouldn't take that long - but - not.

Take that back, I really want that rock delivered on Saturday morning, I'm taking off, I have plenty of time to get over there, pay for the rock and get to my ex's place to pick up my son. The dentist's office is all of half a mile from her place.

C'ya later!
ben

The Dentist's Office

There are 2 places that I absolutely ABHOR going to.
1 is the doctor's office, the 2cd is the dentist's office.
They are both equally calloused in their treatment of clientele - whether you've been a long-term patient or a new one, it doesn't matter to these people. You're a number on a clipboard, a grouping of numbers on a computer screen.

So, I took Caleb - my son of course - to the dentist to have this chipped tooth checked out. I filled out all the paperwork - name, date of birth, on....and on.......and on............................and on...........................I was wondering where the "blood count" or even "sperm count" portion was. Maybe they should ask you about your sex life while they're at it. The amount of info they want is intrusive as far as I'm concerned.

I arrived early - I always do so that I can get paperwork filled out and have it done by the time the intended appointment time arrives. I have my own personal mandate that I inflict on doctors and dentists alike: I will NOT wait any longer than half an hour after the actual time of appointment. That's MAXIMUM, more often, if it goes beyond 15 minutes, I want to know what's going on, what happened to my appointment.

A man sitting next to me told me they were 48 minutes behind on his daughter's appointment. Wonderful. I told Caleb that if it went past half and hour, I would be demanding the paperwork back and I would find a different dentist for him - this was his first time at this dentist, no big deal.

25 minutes past the appointment time they came out and called him in. I'm sure they heard me talking to my son - the woman behind the desk was definitely listening to me tell my son the half hour deal.

It wasn't 15 minutes later - maybe 20 - and he and a nurse came out. I thought that pretty fast for doing a cleaning and an X-ray. Turns out they don't do cleanings on the first visit, they did do an X-Ray. I was apalled. I haven't been to a dentist in a long, long time - but every dentist I have EVER been to, they automatically do a cleaning on the first visit. The nurse takes us to the checkout counter. She says: Well, he has no cavities but his teeth need cleaning and he needs to have his wisdom teeth pulled.

I'm scratching my head: what about the chipped tooth? She tells me to wait, they're going to give me a "referral" to get the wisdom teeth pulled - that it should be done within the next year. Continuing to ignore the entire reason we came there in the first place, and waiting for an eternity for the lady behind the counter to deal with the lady that was in front of us - the lady finally leaves and we're up next. THIS lady starts talking about wisdom teeth. Wonderful.
"We came in to find out about my son's chipped tooth, what needed to be done. I haven't heard a single word about that yet. We can go ahead and make an appointment to have his wisdom teeth jerked, but first - I would love to hear about the reason why we came here in the first place". Something like that. I was respectful, but getting rather blunt.

This lady calls yet another lady and tells us to "wait over there". Lol. Turning into a circus now. Now this lady comes out. "The tooth is only slight chipped and there's really nothing wrong with it." Caleb responds that it feels very sharp and tears flesh easily. Yada yada yada more - nothing needs to be done about it.

I made another appointment for tomorrow - for both him and I. His teeth cleaning and have them check out my teeth - which haven't been checked since before that hour-long wait some years - and years - ago when I finally got disgusted with dentists and just - quit.

Umm, - whatever. They thanked me at the end for being so patient for having to wait so long. As I said, I was never rude to them, but - I can be very, very blunt about things at times - depending on the situation. I'll see what happens tomorrow. PERHAPS tonight was just a fluke.

So, I'm getting checked out and Ken calls. Mary locked herself out of her room - again. Yup, I have a key, nope, they can't get at it. It's locked in my closet and I will be home in - maybe 20 minutes. Mary was outside, watering plants when I got home. Found my copy of the key - the one she gave me and wondering why it so important I have a key to her room - and now I'm here. But not for long, this dentist visit has cashed me day out, and I have to get thinking about bed soon.

The ex is going in for her second hernia surgery tomorrow - and undoubtedly will be out of commission for a while. Michael just showed up - for living with his family he certainly spends a LOT of time over here.......not a problem with me, but he is always making excuses during the week why he is here and not over there. I really don't care - he doesn't have to make excuses, I only care that he gets his self in school every day.

Anyway, have a great evening.
ben

Wednesday

Today's deliveries? ONE single sewer cap. It is what it sounds like - a cap that goes on the end of a stick of sewer pipe. Around a $20 piece. I'm definitely not liking what's going on right now. As far as I can see in the system - there is not much of anything going on at any of our Waterworks branches. A continued, prolonged cycle like this can only mean one thing: more layoffs. I'm a realist, not being negative. I will hold out hope for my job regardless of what the economy is doing.

I will also do whatever I have to to stay in my house. The worst case scenario? Hasn't hit and I'm not going there unless it does. No point in it. I would rather keep my outlook optimistic - as optimistic as possible anyway - and keep my eyes on the rather dim light at the end of the tunnel. It's there - we all know it's there, but when will we start seeing it? I dunno. I have more backup plans if the worst happens. Oh, I would hate the situation, definitely. As I said, there is no point in going into it unless that happens.

Roscoe is coming for a week. Roscoe gets into things - outside. I am going to put a temporary stash of stuff in front of the dog-free zone fence to keep him OUT of there. I can't tell the owner of Roscoe no - whatever money it is - it's money I can use. There are far too many projects I want to get done around here that I will not turn down money for something as benign such as watching someone else's dog.
Actually, I just need to get a come-along and pull that fencing tight. Karen - the tenant that just moved out - wants me to put up a chain link fence for her.

I have finally acquired a handgun. I'm not the kind of person that is opposed to normal, law-abiding citizens owning guns. I won't be carrying it around anywhere - it's home protection only. Karen came over last night - she offered me this gun after we somehow got onto the subject of guns when she was living here. She is going out and buying herself a 45 magnum - this is a Colt 38 long barrel revolver. It looks like something right out of the wild west. I "paid" her a dollar for it. I printed up a bill-of-sale which she signed. That's all I need. Something that gives proof of where I got it just in case someone might have used the thing for "something". In Arizona, you do NOT have to register guns - whether shotguns or handguns. Now, if you want to carry one around concealed, you can do so on your property without any permits, you cannot do so off your property. I am not going for concealed carry right now - I don't feel comfortable with that, and the primary purpose was simply to get some kind of home protection. The only way I would even pull the thing out of it's locked hiding place is if my life or my son's life or anyone else living here's life was in obvious and imminent danger of someone breaking in.

I don't really want to hear opposition comments on this, I have been wanting a handgun and a shotgun for some time now. Nothing fancy, just the same thing that Americans have been doing for 200 plus years now: giving themselves the ability to defend their lives.

I bought some trellises for the southern wall of my house. Just 2 for now. With those, I also bought 4 4X3X8 studs to put into the ground to hold them up. After thinking about it, though, I have decided that the best thing to keep the sun off the house is to have 2 of those trellises on one set of studs: 1 on above the other. That equals 8 feet tall by 8 feet wide. Which means I will have to get at least 4 more to cover at least most of the southern side of the house, plus another one and cut it up to cover the rest. There is a door on the back of the house, can't cover that up so I have to stop short at that point.

The ex is going in for surgery prep today - my son's dentist appointment is today as well. Meaning I have to go get me son at around 5:30 and take him to the dentist this evening. I have never heard of a dentist's office staying open past 5:00 pm. I tried to get them to also clean/x-ray/look at my teeth, but they didn't have availibility. So, just my son today.

It's heating up again. It's around 90 degrees right now and into the 90's tomorrow. But it's supposed to cool down this weekend - perfect for doing some of these projects. I am going to buy 5 tons of gravel and hopefully I can get them to deliver it early Saturday morning.

Anyway, enough for now, I have plenty to do this afternoon and must get to doing it.
ben

Tuesday

Rather odd day. The boss didn't show up for work - and really "we" ran the store all day long until around 2:00 pm, when the sales manager from downtown showed up. He's really cool - though extremely busy nowadays putting in bids for contracts all over the place. I had a transfer run to downtown and then a small run to Casa Grande and that was about it.

The more sales slump, the more I figure more changes are headed our way. Another flash of news hit today - though I don't really think I can say it on here so I won't. Doesn't affect me, personally, it does affect an entire grouping of particular associates within our company, at least in our region. I'm bracing myself for the eventuality of whatever may come - but definitely, something will happen. I can feel it - it's in the air.

Anyway, got home from work, took my "powernap" - 20 minutes of actual sleep - forced myself up, got the dogs and forced myself out in the rather warm air and up into the mountains. 45 minutes of increasingly intensifying walking combined now with light jogging up and down the hills and mountainsides. Duke is getting more and more behind, instead of more and more in shape, at least from what I can see. These walks MUST be doing him good, I just don't see the fruit of it, yet.

I then decided to keep on moving, so I watered the weeds - yes, I water them, let the water sink in - it makes it much easier to pull the weeds out WITH the roots instead of wasting a lot of time pulling at weeds at surface levels with roots still in the ground. They just grow back.

Now? I'm wasted. I push myself on purpose - I have gained as much weight as I can tolerate myself having - and THAT'S too much as it is. And anyway, I am hoping on having some decorative granite 1/2 inch rock delivered on Saturday morning - the ground needs to be prepped for it. I was going to put plastic down - but I'm afraid the only good that's going to do is keep dog pee from draining out. On the dog free side, I will definitely put plastic, but I am not doing the dog free side right now.

There isn't really a lot of prep work, I just want to pull all the weeds - which is a constant battle ALL around the house - spray weed killer wherever I can that doesn't get close to any of my plants - have the dump truck bring 6 tons of the gravel, dump it and that should do the entire western side and half the southern side of my house - all the way up to the fence I installed. The eastern side of my house can and will have to wait.

I have NOT seen any weeds being cut down on my neighbor's side that I complained about. It's been long enough and I am going to simply file yet another complaint. I will continue to complain until the city of Phoenix actually either forces them to do it, or they go in there themselves, clean it up and file a lien against their property. You think that being an ass? Great - you try to keep a nice, tidy, clean property without weeds and see how you feel having to CONTINUOUSLY go out - especially on THAT side of the house next to THEIR property - and have to pull weeds because THEY ARE TOO DAMNED LAZY TO PULL THE ALMOST 6 FOOT TALL WEEDS THAT THEY HAVE GROWING OUT THERE. That's right - almost SIX FEET TALL. A weedeater won't even tough those things, they will have to hack them with a blade to bring them down. Mary suggests using salt water - I'm just afraid that it might get into MY plants and kill all of them. Not a fun idea.

Yes, I am ranting and it feels good, frankly. I am so sick and tired of seeing their SHIT all over their back yard along with the tree-like weeds. My next move is to call the fire department and ask for them to visit the property and see if they conclude there is a fire safety hazard out there - which there most CERTAINLY is. Heck, if the guy wasn't such a friggin' ASS****, I would go over there and help them take those weeds down, or even DO IT MYSELF.

Enough of that. I was going to buy weed poison last time I was at Home Depot - I got sidetracked by looking at other things. If I won a 10k shopping spree at that place, I would have it spent in short order. My back yard would be the envy of - the entire community, lol. I have so many ideas of things I could do out there - give it time, give it time. One project here, one there. First thing's first: get the dirt covered up.

I'm sitting here in a pool of sweat. Gross, aye? Lol. Just trying to cool off. I won't wear shorts out there - lots of people do, but there are too many plants with jagged "thing" sticking off of them and there are also rattlesnakes and other undesirables out there as well. I haven't run into any rattlesnakes out there, but I have run into plenty in the past in various places throughout the state of AZ, especially up in the mountains near any water. Several times, some LARGE rattlesnakes at that. If I have a weapon that I can kill them with, I don't worry about it. If I don't, I keep my distance.

So, I just saw the new tenant for the first time since Sunday - she seems to be a very sweet gal. My suspicions were true: she leaves her dog in the bedroom all day long. Apparently - the dog doesn't do his thing in there and waits for her to come home. She takes him out immediately when she gets home - and disappears. I don't know where she goes, but she takes off in her car somewhere. She has family in the valley somewhere, perhaps she has friends around as well?...dunno. Not my business, don't stick my nose into tenant's business unless they want to make it my business.

Well, that's enough. Tomorrow work doesn't look pretty: nothing in the truck routing system meaning no deliveries, at least as of yet. Have to remind myself to take some dish detergent so I can wash one of the trucks tomorrow if there is nothing to do. That usually burns several hours - and they both need washing.

Have a great evening.
ben

More

Took - well an hour and a half anyway - nap/log sleeping and was awakened by Ken - the roomie. He was asking for a ride to work which is about 3 and a half miles away. If he doesn't get a ride from someone, he ends paying a taxi from his company at $8 to get there.
Well, as it turned out, my check came in as well. It's the check for the money I had saved through the stock option at work. I opted out of it after they sent me the end of year statement. I was having the minimum put in - so the check was only $253.00 - but that's money that can go for one of these projects I want to get done around here.
So, I took him to work and headed over to the rock store. Landscaping rock. Besides the awnings and window coverings, there is also another project I have been wanting to get done forever: landscaping rock in the back yard.
A much greater reason than just appearances, too - there is a TON of dust getting in this house because the entire back yard - besides all of the cement - is nothing but dirt. I dust the house once a week - after a week is gone, it looks like it hasn't been dusted in half a year. Herman Munsterish in proportions, the air filter in the AC system is constantly getting clogged up. Vacuuming? The canister fills up quickly. I can suck out 3 or 4 full canisters of dust/dirt in one vacuuming in the living room, my bedroom and the hallway.

A nice layer of half inch washed landscaping rock would take care of a lot of that problem. Turns out I only need maybe 5 tons to do the west and south side of the house. I was sitting there for over an hour, looking at the various colorings of the rock that is being sold.

I couldn't decide and decided to leave. Do you have ANY idea how much work it is to try and get tons and tons of rock up after you have laid it down? Yes - you MUST be sure that you are getting the color you like before you buy it. I need about $150 worth of rock plus tax plus delivery. Not really that bad, actually. I am going to drive around and take a look at people's yards and see what looks good.

This place has all the different rock laid out in small patches - you simply can't get an idea of what a large amount of it is going to look like.

Speaking of Ken, he is talking about moving. Someone has told him they could get him a much better paying job - but that job is in North Scottsdale, a long ways away from here. He would have to move. I think his pay would go up almost $4 per hour - I actually encouraged him to take the job. He's a good tenant, but - I think that company he is working for is ripping him off by the pay they are giving him considering the demands that are placed on him at the workplace. I can find another tenant - though it's always nice to keep the "good" ones as long as you possibly can hold onto them.

The newest tenant - ie: the one that moved in yesterday? She moved in and I haven't seen her since. She stayed the night - her car was parked out front this mornig - but that's as much as I knew. I have no clue where her dog is. She was talking about leaving it in the room all day long - apparently something that dog is accustomed to. I don't really care as long as it isn't going crazy in there and isn't tearing the place up. I don't hear a sound coming from there, so I really don't know.

Back to the projects - the money I got today can get enough rock plus buy the trellises I want for the back wall. Or not. I really haven't made any firm decisions, I just went looking since I was already out and the rock place is only a few miles from my house.

Now? I'm going to go and lay back down again - I am feeling very groggy now that I slept that long and - I'm just going to nod out again.
ben

Monday

How To Build A Wood House Awning

No clue, but I'm going to start looking into it. They look as good or even better than the aluminum versions and if I can find something online that has something akin to a "step-by-step" - I would be more than happy to attempt the challenge.

Oh - btw - I'm home from work early. I am not feeling well - at all. There was very little to do at work - of which I accomplished and then sorta asked about going home early. I am going to go to bed in a few minutes and stay there for awhile.

Anyway, I mean - really - what does it take to build a solid porch awning? Assuming 4X4's or maybe 4x6's for the frame, 4X8 sheets of plywood, shingles, various nails and screws and hardware. Special bit to drill into concrete to attach the bottoms of the wood beams to the concrete floor. I have constructed small buildings before and remodeled my house mostly by myself, with a little help from a neighborhood guy - I WANT an awning on the western side of this house before the blistering sun starts burning the house up and raising my electricity use through the roof.

This will be the newest idea popping into my head in terms of a project around here.

Turns out that one kind of plant I have planted from that nursery auction isn't a "plant" at all, it's a tree and grows about 20 feet tall with at least a 20 foot canopy on it. I was a bit surprised to find that out, really. I saw those things today growing in the middle of the divider of a street - rather large trees. One of them is growing behind my house. Fortunately I planted it far enough from the house itself that it won't be an issue in later years when the trunk grows much larger.

That's all, for now anyway. As I said, I'm heading to bed.
ben

Sunday

I got most of the carpet done yesterday - the living room was a pain. The hallway had to be gone over several times as well. I have my bedroom left to go - I have all day to get it done. That will take about half hour/45 minutes and the project is finished.

I will say that the effort was well worth it. I don't know how often others clean their carpets - I figure every 6 months or sooner. I have always been a fan of the Rug Doctor - for what it is, it works very well. It may not be as good as one of those giant machines professionals use that are mounted in vans with giant, long hoses, but for the price, I'll take it.

Some of my complaints to the city have produced results. The guy with the trailer that has been in his front yard forever? Trailer is gone.
The people across the street with all the weeds? Gone.
The people next door with weeds almost as tall as I am? NOT gone. Yet, anyway. I intend on writing the city back and asking what is being done about their s***hole over there, as there are numerous code violations. I am QUITE tired of pulling weeds that are coming from next door. It's a continuous, never-ending battle. There has been nothing going on about the residential landfill behind me, either.

Regardless, I took it upon myself to start turning in everyone around here. I've had enough of people who are not motivated in life and make it glaringly obvious by having yards FULL of weeds. Some of these places have entire yards filled with nothing but weeds that are at least 4 feet high - some are as tall as I am. This is the kind of crap living that keeps property values down and makes it unattractive for buyers with actual money to come in and buy up properties, tear down the junk mobiles and put something nice on them. There are at least 15 houses that are in that condition around here - weeds all over the place. One house has piles and piles of JUNK against the side of the house - in full view from the street.

Anyway, I'm at least a little happy that I have most of what I intended on getting done around here - and most of it accomplished yesterday. I was thinking of getting out the paint stuff today and repainting the hallway - but I may wait until next weekend. There are still several projects outside that I must get working on and get done before summer. Actually, need to get them done long before summer. It's going to start heating up again this week - in the low 90's - meaning AC on and heat coming through the windows. If I could get styrofoam sheets home on the roof of my car, I would, but - that stuff just breaks apart if it gets to flailing around in the wind too much.

As for today, there is allegedly the new tenant moving in. I haven't heard from her in a few days, but she did say she wanted to move in today. I wrote her an email yesterday that I haven't received a reply to. If it's a no-go. I'll just repost the ad and continue the search for another tenant.

Enough for one entry.
Have a great Sunday!
ben

Saturday

The dog-walk this morning was not a pleasant one. The Danes were acting up and I don't take kindly to dogs in my pack doing whatever they want. So, I pushed them and pushed them hard on this particular walk. Really, though, it was for me, not them. I had to relieve some stress in a big way, and it seems to have worked. I have a slew of things I want to get done this weekend - haven't started on any of it, but then again, it's only 9:00am.

I was thinking of renting a Rug Doctor and cleaning the carpet in that bedroom, plus doing the living room and the hallway plus my bedroom. Haven't decided on that one yet. I am going to Home Depot shortly to pick up 3 or 4 rolls of sod, put it down in my back yard and see what happens in the next - well however long it takes to see if the dogs "using" it on a daily basis is going to ruin it. I am going to do that for sure. I just need to go into the bedroom and see if it's acceptable or not. It definitely needs some airing out if nothing else.

I now have a premium membership to Costco. Karen gave me the free portion of her membership - for free. I did not ask for it, but she had been offering it to me since she moved in here. She just renewed it last month, so that card is good for quite a while to come. I have wanted a membership to that place for some time now, I just didn't want to spend the bucks. There are things in that place that you can buy in bulk that are definitely a good deal. I am going to check out dog food prices. I seem to remember they have giant bags of dog food, if that's still true, just a matter of the price.

I am also going to have to re-paint the hallway. I did some touch-up in there with what I thought was the same paint as was used on it before - turns out it is semi gloss and the paint is eggshell - the flat stuff. I have a gallon of paint and will be getting to that sometime today or tomorrow as well.

I have a lot on my mind. The ex wants me to give her Caleb for 2008 taxes. It's my year to get the deduction for him.

Anyway, I'm going to keep this one short as I still am "going" from the walk which was more like a jog at full paces of my legs - and my legs are quite long - I was walking very fast and was sweating profusely by the time I got back here. The dogs are already passed out on the floor.

Hope you have a good Saturday.......
ben

New tenant

............is gone. She moved her stuff out of the room today, unbeknownst to me, until she called. Like 10 seconds ago. She is coming over to give me the keys to the house/room.

There are other things, but I'm just not going to go there on this journal.

My stupid, moronic decision to bring another woman into this house is predicated by the fact that I need money. It's really the end of it. I'm a dumbass, oh well. I'm stupid, retarded, and a freak of nature. I must be.

Regardless of my ignorance, and the laughability of it, I will be writing her and announcing the fact that the room will be available - Sunday. I will go in there tomorrow, look around and see if the carpet needs cleaning.

Oh, the fact that I lost all my overtime hours at work - a substantial chunk of change shouldn't mean anything to particular readers, I'm bringing in another woman. You know what?

I won't say it.

I will say that this person has a nice doggy. She is very quiet, I spent an hour with her in this kitchen of mine. She is very moral, this came out quickly, not because she SAID she was moral, just the way she was talking.

Now? I'm going to go bath in a tub full of ignorance bath salts, because, I am quite stupid, didn't you know that?
ben

Friday

Dang, I missed another entry.
Things got a little heated up around here - I washed my hands of it and disappeared into my bedroom.
Basically, the tenant that is leaving got into it with Mary last night, and was yelling at her some things that - I won't repeat here.
However, it turns out, the newer tenant isn't exactly a barrel full of truth and honesty.
I only say that because after it was all done - including Mary banging on my door asking for me to "do something about this" (I referred her to the police) - I went back out because I heard some banging noises outside. It was 9:30 so I thought it a little late for the neighbors to be making that much noise - but that's exactly what it was.

However, I heard some people talking out in front of the house, so I walked up to the gate and looked through a crack in the slats of the gate. There was the new tenant and Ken - my other roommate - smoking a joint, in front of the house, on the street, in open view! Mind you that this woman told me that she "used" to smoke pot in Oregon, where she came from, but stopped when she came here. I say THAT because my ads are VERY clear about drug and pot use: NOT. Now that I know she has lied to me, this mixes the pot quite a lot. Who is telling the truth about what? IS Mary smoking meth in my house, or is she not? And all the rest of the stuff.

I am not going to confront the new tenant about smoking pot because she will be gone shortly. She can smoke all the reefer she wants in her new house. She can blow the smoke in her little Pomeranian's face and get them high along with her, I really don't care, she won't be HERE.

What it does for me, however, is that I must take her statements with a huge grain of salt. Why would she say the things about Mary that she has? Maybe some of it is the truth. There ARE people on this planet - lots of them - that take pleasure in making life difficult for other people. I simply don't know. I probably never will. I caught her in a lie - that means she is capable of lying, therefore, I can't take her word for anything. BTW, she doesn't know that I saw her and Ken out there smoking dope, and unless she knows where this journal is (possible) she won't know cause' I ain't saying nothing, unless yet another situation arises that warrants it.

So, anyway, Mary calls me while I'm at work this morning. She started right in. I started right out - I don't have time for this, I told her, I am at work, and I am NOT dealing with this now. I ended up hanging up on here. She called again. Same thing. Half hour later, she calls again. This time, she's sobbing and crying and saying she didn't do any of the things that this woman claims, on and on and on. This conversation went on for a while. I laid out my known issues with her, since we were going there. Besides the meth issue, there is the electric issue. I know from seeing it for myself that she cares not one iota about the electric consumption in this house. I went on that line for a while.

Anyway, long story short - I did not confer anything one way or the other. I have another tenant coming in here either this weekend or next week, and I flatly warned Mary to LEAVE HER ALONE. Don't even TALK to the woman, excepting hi, how ya doing, etc. No asking for rides, no asking for ANYTHING, thank you.

Onto other things. I have been toying with the idea of this next party to also invite the neighborhood and see about starting a Neighborhood Association. Get a Board of Directors together if there are those that are willing, get it registered and start writing requests for money. Not for me, of course, for things for this particular neighborhood. Is there money available right now? Dunno, but it would be the perfect opportunity to get this thing started and at least get a foundation going. I currently have about 50 people lined up for the next party, which doesn't include neighborhood people because - I haven't gone there yet. Half the people coming have said they are bringing food. One person has sent me money PayPal towards costs for the party. More have said they would donate money as well. I have started a blog just for party, actually, and - it's had a LOT of visits.

Now? I actually got some overtime this week. Yesterday, I went out to the middle of Nowhere, Africa - literally - having to pick up some pipe that had been delivered there a long, long time ago. Seems that the company that bought it from us suffered the problem of the developer pulling out. Meaning the contractor was stuck with thousands and thousands of feet worth of pipe, along with a lot of fittings and alot of other stuff. All of it was sitting in the desert. It was all messed up, as one co-worker that drove another semi out there said: This is a Cluster****. In my line of work, foul language is heard constantly.

Umm, I left in the morning on that run and didn't get back until 4:30pm. That's because it took 5 hours to load the trucks, then instead of heading back to my yard, I had to take the pipe to our yard Buckeye - which is out west. WAY out west. Coming back? LONG trip.

Interesting rumors concerning my company. I am not going to divulge anything because - well just not prudent to say that here. Other things, though. More talk of combining a plumbing branch with our branch. A building we occupied has now been closed - plumbing was operating out of it. More people out of work? No necessarily. They are offered to go to work at the huge, downtown branch. My company cares about it's employees, even if it has to downsize to stay alive. Yes, people are being let go - I'm just holding my breath here, hoping I am not going to be one of those people.

I'm just trying to catch up on my journal - there's a lot on my plate and I'm hoping to dump some of that this weekend. I want to spend some time doing things outside. I will be buying 3 or 4 rolls of sod tomorrow and putting it over an area in my back "yard". Grass definitely grows on the other side of the house - wild grass that I didn't plant, so I have some confidence that it should take over on the west side. The only problem is, will the dogs, peeing and pooping on it, kill it? You know, if it can survive the summer - for the most part anyway - I won't care. I would rather have them doing it there than all over the friggin' place.

I'm done with this one, as I haven't watered the plants in several days - they are getting thirsty.

Hope you all are doing well.
ben

Thursday

I haven't been writing a heckuva a lot lately, and there's a reason for it.
Unfortunately, it's not something that I want to write on an open blog for the world to see - an issue I have been dealing with since I got divorced. Nothing illegal, nothing to do with tenants, kids, dogs, whatever. Purely a personal issue. The only thing I can say is it is an unbelievable battle that I'm not even sure how I got into in the first place.

It's been consuming my thoughts.

THEN, you compound it with tenant issues and other things going on and the whole scene is right out of a horror flick. The newest tenant is closing on her home Friday - that's a good thing. I pretty much hit it off with this lady - she has a lot of work to do around her house that she asked if I would come over and do - for pay of course. Hey, it's mostly stuff that I have experience in doing, and a few extra bucks isn't going to hurt me anything right now.

There is now allegations that this newest tenant has made about Mary that have me quite unsettled. Enough that this person said I could keep the security deposit she gave me to get Mary out of my house. The problem is, I have no proof. She alleges that Mary is both smoking and selling meth in and out of my house. That Mary actually offered her a pipe and that THAT is the reason Mary can stay up all night long and still go to work all day long the next day.

I'm VERY intolerant of drug users, to the point that I wrote Mary an email yesterday while she was still at work saying that Karen - the now home-owner - has made these allegations - and yes, Karen agreed to let me use her name as the source - and what was Mary's response.

Mary wrote back and replied that she wanted to wait until she came home to talk about it. I had some instant thoughts, having been down this road with her before: she'll either not come home at all and wait until after I have gone to bed, or, she'll come home with someone and then leave with that same person. The latter turned out to be true, she didn't say a word to me except: Hi Ben.

When Mary dodges an issue, it's probably because that issue is TRUTH.

Regardless, I am at work and the 6:00 am hour has just hit - need to get working.
C'ya later.
ben