Direct TV - Yet Another "Encounter"

I don't care what company or entity it is, if they are raising rates in THIS economy, they can go jump in a lake.  That's putting it nicely, thank you.  That includes the City of Phoenix, which is not the subject of this entry, but will be soon enough as I intend on showing up at their next meeting where they intend to vote on ANOTHER 5% increase on water usage rates - they can not only jump in the lake that is filled with water I paid for through extreme taxation, they can drown in it, too.

What occurred today?  I got an email from Direct TV.  I usually delete them without even opening it, but this one caught my eye.  It said something different on the subject line.  I clicked on it to find a notice:  we are going to raise your rates next month whether you like it or not and we'd like to let you know in advance about our sticking a bat up your @$$ and there is nothing you can do about it.  Okay, it didn't say anything even remotely close to that, it did say that there are "rate changes" coming.  

My cynicism of this company relates back to the countless experiences with this company I have had over the phone - over a more than 10 year span of time.  I mean - countless.  I don't know how many phone campaigns I have had with them, I do know that 99% of the time, I win and they lose.  I had one such campaign that went on for 3 or 4 days, spoke to dozens of people, was ostracized by 1 supervisor and I even bet another supervisor that, in the end, I will get what I want.  I offered a wager of $100.  She refused.  She also said I would NEVER get what I was asking for.  That WAS her words.  Too bad I can't go back to that person and show her that I got FAR beyond what I was asking for.  $150 credit to my account on that one, besides a lot of other perks.

See? It isn't written in stone that you can't get anything from Direct TV and mostly, a LOT of other companies whose first-encounter personnel you speak with will tell you otherwise.  But, if you don't like confrontation, this isn't going to work for you. I don't really LIKE confrontation, I just don't like getting SCREWED even worse.

No, I haven't even described my encounter with a woman that obviously has serious issues in life that go far beyond talking to a customer that didn't want to talk to her.  That customer being me.

So, without further ado - and long-windedness - let's get to it.  I did, of course, immediately call Direct TV.  In 10 years of calling them - actually longer - I know what kind of reply I'm gonna git from the "1st Responder". CRAP.  Pre-scripted crap at that.  I was polite, respectful and amiable to this person I got on the line, but, after I got the "no, that can't and won't happnen" junk, I asked for her supervisor. Oh, no, my issue isn't with this particular person, I already knew what she was going to say and I knew the correct course of action to get beyond it.  She connected me with her supervisor and then I dug into the problem.  I also knew this person, a supervisor, also has no authority to do what I wanted, but I needed to explain it so I could get to the next department.

Yes, it's a process.  It's a learned process, I spent the time and the dime to get the knowledge, whether anyone wants to try it is their business, I'm only reporting my business as I am not a particularly private type of person anyway.

My explanation to the supervisor was enough to get me to the next level.  She explained that she couldn't do anything for me, but the next tier could.  Great,thank you and transferred to the wrong department.  I ended up with a woman that is the same person you would talk to when you first call in.  If you have a low-level problem, they can help you, when it comes to money, normally they can't or won't. I was not going to go through all of that again and attempted to explain to her that I was just on the phone with a supervisor - please get me your supervisor so I can get transferred to the right department.

The BS that came out of that woman's mouth when I asked to speak to management was more than I even expected to hear from Direct TV, and trust me, I have heard a LOT from them.  I could write a book.  She first got indignant that I didn't think that SHE could do anything for me.  I tried to explain to her that I had already talked to management and that I had been directed to the wrong department. At this point, she let off on me.  Bypassing that negativity - a lot of it - I put the phone away from my ear.  I will not take that kind of abuse from anyone, but especially a company that I am paying good money for their services and that, I am NOT disrespecting the person I am talking to.

Management please.  Management please.  I heard a lot of squawking in the phone, when it finally ceased, I then put it back up to my ear.  It was then that she conceded to get me to her supervisor......bypassing needless lengths of communication...........manager on phone.  It was obvious from the beginning with this person that, if nothing else, he was going to talk to me like a human, not a piece of trash.  I informed this individual of the conversation with the woman and that he is welcome to review the recording of it, if such is, indeed recorded.  He replied: "I have no reason to disbelieve you and I WILL deal with my employee accordingly".  I thanked him for that and we moved on.

My call was about the fact that I was not going to be paying more money for Direct TV and that IS a fact.  I am either going to get that waived or I am going to move on.   We are allegedly out of the recession -  a statement of belief that I do not find credible and that with no more than surfactual evidence to support that finding.  I could go into all of that, but, that is not this entry.  The man offered me a full year without that increased price structure plus $2 off - plus - Showtime, free for 6 months.

Thank you, yes, have a great day!  I neither asked for nor even thought that I would get such an offer.  We bid ados and that was that.

I have to say that I had no idea that I was even going to have the need to call Direct TV to day nor that I was going to get into it with a person that hasn't got a clue, or more likely, that her employer is getting what they are paying for, or beyond that, that I would get even more movie channels for free.   But, I will, of course, take it and that's that.

G'nite.

ben

Sunday

I was sitting here at my computer which is in my kitchen last night, minding my own business- doors and windows shut - neighbors dogs barking and barking and barking.  It had been going on all day long.  It was after 9:00 pm with no end to this crap in sight.  It is a freaking nightmare to have to live next to people like this.

Their house is an old mobile home.  In those homes, the walls are made out of aluminum and behind it is usually a thin layer of insulation with paneling for the interior walls.  The windows - after 30 plus years of being in existence - weren't that great of technology to begin with when they came from the factory - they tend to start leaking and they do not keep sound out.  I know this because I lived in one for 11 years.

The point is that if there is noise outside, it's coming inside with little resistance.  How they can live with those dogs barking like that, I have NO idea.  I have 2X6 construction with thick, upgraded insulation and double-paned, LowE windows.  The noise of their barking, which was, for some reason, being aimed directly at my house, was penetrating all of that and competing with the sound level of my television.  I do not watch that much TV, that isn't the issue.  Dogs bark, everyone knows this.  Dogs should NOT be barking all day and all night.  I have written about this situation on here before, the problem resurfaced recently and I have been listening to this s*** every day.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that there is a chain link fence between their house and mine.  A block fence would tone the problem down quite a bit.  It wouldn't eliminate the sound altogether, but it would definitely help.  Too bad I don't have thousands of dollars to build a block fence.

Well, I had had enough.  I mean, it just clicked in my brain, I got up, went outside and shouted at the top of my lungs: SHUT those F******* dogs UP!!!  Yes, I used the F word,  a thing I don't like to hear or use and have no good excuses to provide here.  The bad excuse is that I was mad and getting madder.  Which isn't so great, either, but it is a living hell to have to listen to someone else's dogs barking 24 hours a day.  I am not exaggerating, either, those dogs were barking, nonstop all day long yesterday.

The guy is a total prick, I'm sure he took great pleasure in making life miserable for another human being, he attempts to do that frequently with whatever interactions that I see going on over at his house if it involves someone from the neighborhood.  I, however, took it a step further.  Got out the boom box.  Got out the step ladder.  Set step ladder up next to fence.  Put boom box on top of step ladder.  Aim boom box directly at their windows.  Turn boom box on to heavy metal rock.  Crank volume all the way up.  Go inside.  Forget about it.

That was the recipe.  I went out 2 hours later, turned it off and heard - nothing.  In fact, I didn't hear any dogs barking all night long.  Further, I only heard them barking for a few minutes this morning.  This is normal. Dogs have the charge to go ahead and bark at things - here and there, not 24 hours a day.  The boom box is still sitting out there, perched up high on it's ladder, waiting for further instructions.  So far, the instructions are to stay turned off.  That directive could change at any time, the boom box is on heightened alert.

You say it's childish.  It's - moronic - stupid - whatever, to do something like that to your neighbor.  Yes, perhaps it is.  However, if you had to live next to the kind of noise - AND - having had called the police; animal control; the city prosecutor's office, sent letters asking them to please do something about it - and have had that going on for about 2 years now - you might see things differently.  It's called walking a mile in another man's shoes.  In this particular case, I have shed all of societal restrictions imposed upon me for "civility" since this man next door has never heard the word civility or terms such as mutual respect and therefore, doesn't deserve any.  That's my opinion, of course, but I don't leave my dogs out all night long to bark ------ all .............night.............long.

In fact, if it continues, I am going to buy a BIGGER boom box that makes 3 TIMES the noise that the on I currently have.  That's very small of you.  No, actually, I don't think it is.  I think I have tried my best to pursue normal courses of action that most normal people would pursue.  I think that the line has been crossed: they simply don't care one way or another what kind of hell they are creating for anyone.  They are isolationists.  They will have NOTHING to do with anyone around here and if there IS any interaction, it is EXTREMELY negative.  I have seen it and been on the receiving end of it dozens of times now.  I think they can go piss off.

ben

Saturday 1/15/2011

I have decided to go ahead and do it: use my Best Buy gift cards and whatever cash necessary to get Windows 7.  I can't stand the idea that I spent the money on the RAM for this computer and can only actually use half of it because of the limitations of Windows XP.  So, later on when they open up, I'm heading up there.

Meanwhile, Great Clips is having a sale on haircuts so I will TRY to get in there.  I hate going into any barber shop or hair salon if there are mega-people waiting.

Monday, I have an appointment to see a dermatologist to find out what, exactly, is going on with my face.  Red marks and itching, that's all I know.  The 3 other doctors before this didn't have a clue.  They take some kind of skin test, supposedly, to find out what the problem is.

Burning 4 copies of the memorial later on today and then calling my friend's wife to see if she is still up for visitors tomorrow.  I don't know, I think she said she was going in for surgery this week, don't really know if she's going to be in any condition for it or not.  She asked me to come over is the only reason I would call her.  The surgery?  Cancer in both breasts, she is having them both cut off.  What a thing to have to go through right after her husband dies.  She IS the type of person that likes to have people over all the time, is all I can say about that.

Cleaning.  Today is major clean day.  I have let a few areas go in the house and it's time to get them spic and span.  Already started that little diddy.

Gun control.  I hate even going into it.  They are proposing that any gun dealer along the border has to report "gun sales of two or more high-powered rifles sold within five consecutive business days" covering semi-auto rifles greater than .22 caliber with detachable magazines.  Lol.  Okay.  Start the process and eventually you have nationwide gun control, that's what something like this would do.  My opinion of course.

Ummmm, I'm going to get ready to go, maybe if I hit Great Clips when they open - which is right now - I might get lucky and not have to wait an eternity.  Worth a try!

ben

Friday 1/14/2011

Friday

Just have a few minutes here as I got sidetracked this morning by news and also doing this HAMP junk. The non-paying tenant -- well I was going to leave her a notice yesterday but I refrained, figured I'd give her until the weekend. 

She shows up yesterday, hands me 2/3rd's of this month's rent, asks if that's okay and that was that. The other one, who is slightly employed - she has a part-time job cleaning houses - handed me more money. Amazing what my wallet looks like when handed all of this cash.

Yes, I know, shouldn't be carrying around that much money and I intend on depositing it today along with my paycheck. The even better part of this is that the month isn't half over and I have almost all of the bills paid.

I REALLY want to get Windows 7 for my new computer, if there is enough left over after buying the Cap and Gown for my son for his graduation later on this year (you have to order early, I am told) and other household needs, I am getting it. 

I believe it's Sunday that I am driving back down to the town of Maricopa to visit my deceased friend's wife. I promised to burn 4 copies of the memorial for her so that she could have one, send another to junior and dunno what the other 2 are for. She keeps telling me how she's going to pay me for doing it, I keep telling her that's impossible, her money will not be accepted at my establishment. 

I don't really feel like driving all the way down there on Sunday, I can tell you that right now before Sunday even gets here. It will not be a long visit, I just want to get her the copies, visit for an hour or so and then leave. She really wants and probably needs people around her right now, fortunately she has lots of family that's doing just that, but I don't want to lose contact with her.

Well, that's it. I have a delivery that apparently HAS to be there before 7am, apparently my manager pulled that order yesterday after I left work and it's ready to go. Hence, I must depart.

G'day.

ben

Thursday 1/13/2011

Thursday

Picking up where I left off yesterday, more like slightly altering the path, I just got done through reading that this year will be the WORST yet since the housing meltdown. I have heard this for about a year now, I finally have seen it in print. 

Ahh, yes, and there are a number of junk mobiles in my neighborhood, a thing that I had considered - moving into one of those - but have now since decided that being a landlord and renting out rooms in my current house versus moving out and into a pathetically nasty old mobile home - not very palatable. 

Actually, there is one for sale that has BEEN for sale for well over a year now. I don't know what they want for it or if it might be owner carry, but it is actually in decent shape from the outside with a chain link fenced yard. 

Well, I'm not going there - yet. 

I was watching the "Memorial" yesterday, perhaps I shouldn't start dousing it with water, but I have never seen a memorial that sounded more like a political rallying party. I mean, I just went to a memorial, it was somber event, I just didn't quite get that last night, as if the people in attendance had been instructed to hoot and holler and shout like a person that just won the lottery. 

Well, anyway, I am going to go for the HAMP thing even though it isn't going to help very much. It isn't going to hurt anything, either. I do understand now why so many people say they didn't qualify for it: you have a short window of time to fill out their form and get it back to them. If you don't get it back in time, your application is cancelled and you do NOT get a second chance. This, anyway, coming from the individual I was talking with yesterday. The reports I have seen, and much of it directed at Bank of America who is not, thankfully, my lender, is that people would send in the required paperwork and later find out that BofA didn't receive it, somehow. You might expect that along the way, SOME paperwork gets lost in the system, but hundreds or even thousands of people? 

BTW, the stats given today is that 5 million homes are at least 2 months behind in mortgage payments. It's just the fact that this economic environment we are in is far from over. Arizona, and most notably the Phoenix area, already has a glut of empty, vacant homes. Add thousands more to that? 

G'day.

ben

HAMP vs Modification

I was not given the greatest of news today when I called the mortgage company and started discussing the options available  After endless - and I do mean seemingly endless - questions about whether I'm living in the home, planning on staying in the home, on and on, income this - stuff I have already answered to these people 3 times in the last month, we got down to brass tacks.

Well, first, she put me on hold for 20 minutes.  Not an exaggeration, I was on hold for a LONG time while she was reviewing my file.  When she came back on, she told me HAMP would only help me by reducing the monthly payment by $100.

I had a lot of questions. Why?  Based on your income and that the amount you pay for the house will be no more than 31% of that.  It is, as always, based on GROSS income, not the amount you are taking home after all the deductions.  This, I think, is a load of BS.  Taxes, health insurance, I mean, a lot is taken out before I get my pennies out of it, but, that's the way it's structured.

I asked again why such a small amount, does it not reduce my interest rate?  NO.  HAMP does NOT reduce your interest rate if it is a FHA loan, which mine is.  I'm at the lowest rate I can get through FHA at the "current market rate", I found out today, presuming I was being told the truth.  I do not, however, presume anything when it comes to these lenders and all the crap that has come out about them over the last 2 years in how they are dealing with their customers.

Okay, dear lady, WHAT, exactly DOES HAMP do?  I mean, seriously.  They reduce the principle amount of your mortgage to the level that it brings your payment to 31% of your income.  That which is left over - the amount over that - is put as a lien against your home, or something similar to that, according to this lady, held by the FHA.  It is interest free, but has to be paid off when you sell your home or if you are going to pay it off.

I was completely unimpressed,because, the last time I did the modification, it dumped thousands of more dollars onto the loan for "fees" and junk.  She then started to talk short-saling.  It's kind of a bad word-term with me, because I have thought through the potential with that:  lose your home, move onto a rental property, lose your dogs, ponds, lifestyle basically.  Where am I going to live?  A rental house?  An apartment?  Wherever it is, it is on someone else's terms, not mine.

Her final "option" was to pay up current the account.  Whatever, lady, I  have played this game for a while now, I understand that as long as I can keep making the payments, even if 2 months behind, your company isn't going to come throw me out.  I didn't say that, instead I had more questions.  I got to the point where I said I would have to think about it.  HAMP is nothing like I expected it to be from what I have read.  Why it isn't explained in much greater detail so that a person considering it will know in advance what it is about, I have no clue.

About the time we were going to disconnect, I wondered, how much IS administrative fees going to cost?  Nothing.  Your loan modification, yes, you are going to have fees dumped onto your loan, with this, nothing.  That changed my mind instantaneously.  But then I was told it would start the clock fresh: 30 years all over. Hmm, 3 years lost, not that much.  

Somebody correct me if I am not seeing something here, but what have I got to lose?  No money for fees - or anything - added to the loan.  30 years, okay, I lose the 3.  But, I am now paying interest on a loan 25k less than what it is now.  The lien is interest free and will stay that way indefinitely.  The house CAN be sold, trust me yes, I asked, with that lien on there, it just has to be paid off at time of sale, ie: monies paid to purchase the house.  I stay on the property, I pay more than $100 less per month because they didn't have stuff on there that I am paying out every month, which affects the reduction, but I don't know how much yet, I see no down side to this.

Here's something else, though.  The lady across the street has cancer and wants out of her house.  She can't sell it, no-one has the money to pay cash for it.  It's an old mobile home that needs work.  Yup, I have done that work before - all of it actually - including tearing down paneling type of walls and replacing it with drywall, tearing off metal roofing and putting on huge patches, all kinds of stuff.  Been there, done that.  The only thing I don't like is that house probably has aluminum wiring, the same s*** that burned my other house down.

Have to finish this some other time.  I was talking on the phone with the widow of my deceased friend - yes I called her to find out how she's doing and though she is doing better, the conversation got to intense levels.  I can't finish this entry in the same frame of mind that I started it, so it is finished.

ben

Wednesday 1/12/2010

I wrote this entry this morning, submitted it, half of it disappeared.  Sorry for the fragmentation, but I usually do NOT re-write entries ad today is not going to be any different.  

On her Facebook wall, she was bragging that there is only one other person - at level 527 I think she said, above her on her list. I'm at level 355 currently. She is a newer neighbor and apparently doesn't know my competitive nature. I was not only peeved at Zynga for giving her that incredibly unfair bonus bonanza, I was also getting a bit peeved at this woman going around bragging about all of this. NO WAY should have Zynga EVER given her THAT much points for the issue she was having. Maybe a couple of levels worth, but that many?

Sunday, after I got whatever else done and not feeling well anyway, I spent a couple of hours leveling up, passing her and leaving her in the dust by 2 levels above her. I fully expected her to level up even more and by the time I got home yesterday, she was up 4 levels above me. Lol. I leveled up 9 levels yesterday, passing her and leaving it at 2 above her.

I was shocked this morning to find that I am STILL 2 levels above her. I mean, how do you compete with a person that doesn't work, apparently has nothing else to do in life but play one single game? Sometimes, you just play it out for a while and see if you can get them to back off, ie: you have played the same game they are in leveling up, they quit the race and go back to normal game play.

I doubt that has happened yet with this woman and if it goes on too long, I will back off myself as I have plenty of other stuff I would rather do than sit on a computer playing a game all day long. Still, it's fun to make a person eat their words, lol.

In fact, speaking of other things, my new hummingbird feeder came in the mail yesterday!! And she's a beauty!! It is made with copper, it's absolutely gorgeous. I want to hang it right in front of one of the windows so I can have an up-close view of any hummingbirds that might come to enjoy it's fake, man-made nectar.
Well, they love that stuff is all I can say and they are still fighting over the feeder I already have out there. Hopefully, this will help to alleviate some of that problem. This feeder is huge but only has 3 portals for them to feed off of. Which is okay, usually don't see more than one at a time anyway, if another one comes to feed, they end up flying off in a bird-fight and one comes back while the other might be seen in a fence a bit away.

Tenants. Always issues with tenants, yes? Whatever. The Army Reservist is currently 12 days past due on rent, hasn't spoken a word about paying it and I am assuming must have blown her money on her Christmas trip home to Alabama. That's just nice. Lovely even. Not a single word about the rent and we have talked several times since she got home. I have no choice but to leave a friendly notice. If that gets no response, a blunt, legal-type notice after that. I leave it up to the tenant to talk to me about the rent, I shouldn't have to go running around after these people asking them where the money is.

So, the reversal in this is the other female tenant who is always behind, she showed up while I was at work yesterday, left money under the door in my bedroom and got almost caught up. It's a strange world, I'm telling you.

G'day.

ben

January 12, 2011 6:04 AM

Anonymous said...

........for clarification's sake, the first part of my "comments entry" disappeared into cyberspace, even though it originally showed that it had posted. I don't have time to rewrite it and probably will only add enough to make the first part of this posting make sense.
ben

January 12, 2011 6:08 AM

Anonymous said...

Umm, but I was discussing a situation in Cafe World where a neighbor was given enough Cafe Points to level up 27 times instantly, which put her ahead of me. So, as is my want, I spent the last 2 days shooting her bs all over the internet down. Not by saying anything at all about it ot her or anyone else, but by being a thorn in her side and continuing to level up quite a lot for the last 2 days in getting ahead of her, until she gets ahead of me, back and forth it goes.......
ben

Tuesday 1/11/2011

Tuesday

I had no doubt that the shooting in Tucson, AZ would raise the age old debate over gun control. The question one must answer when starting to talk about "taking away the guns" is, in this particular situation: would gun control have kept a gun and ammo out of this man's hands?

No, no and no. Gun control, if ever implemented, will never work. The black market will sell as many guns as the criminals want or need and there is nothing to dispute that. Since that's the case, the only thing gun control will do is take guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens. If you think this society is unsafe now, just take the guns away. Give 'em only to law enforcement and see what happens.

The idea that Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck are responsible for this man's actions is unbelievable bile. I don't listen to Limbaugh, I used to but I got tired of the monotones. I occasoinally listen to Beck, who speaks of peace, not violence and there is nothing I have ever heard coming out of Palin that suggests that if we don't like what our elected officials are doing, we should just go out and shoot them. While we're at it, shoot everyone else around them. It is hard to imagine where these people come up with these ideas, but it is the junk that is being spewed out all over the place.

I'd like to get off the subject, but I find it difficult to do so. The idiots with mouths that have the media attention are spouting off all over the place and it's just short of maddening. If anyone is inflaming the public, THESE people are at fault.

Okay, off the subject. The only good thing I can really do is pray, seek the Lord and ask that His will be done.

Today, I "get" to go down through the area where I keep getting pulled over and getting warnings. I mean, what is going to happen today?....I ask myself. They're "just" warnings, but I know the company doesn't like it. It is usually the case that people that don't drive trucks don't understand what goes on when driving when, the legalities that must constantly be on one's mind while driving one and the consequences of getting pulled over by Highway Patrol when they decide they want to do "an inspection". I have understood for 25 years that if you are pulled over by them, they are going to write you up for SOMETHING. They ALWAYS do.

January 11, 2011 5:56 AM 

Anonymous said...

It's as if they feel they MUST give you a hard time. I dunno, but today I will have my camera on hand. If I get pulled over again, for what I do not know - they just pull you over and the reason is described in the rules: it is implied consent. You are driving a commercial vehicle, you can be pulled over at-will - anyway, I'm probably not going to just sit there and politely take the abuse. Enough is enough. Respectful, yes, but I'm not going to let them roll over me again.

I forgot to call the mortgage company back, so I'm doing that today. I turned in the required documentation. They told me they won't call me, I need to call them. Great, the call will be made and I will either find out what I qualify for, or, at least get the ball rolling. Or, I don't qualify for anything, sorry Mr. BB, you're stuck.

Then, I will have to make the decision as to whether it is worth staying in a home that is around 60k underwater. I keep putting that decision off because I keep trying to get something - anything - ELSE done. They are not giving out principle reductions, I have asked dozens of times, I always ask: are you giving out reductions yet? Just curious, you are going to take more of a loss than that, well not really with federal guarantees I guess, I don't really know how that works especially with an FHA loan - they always tell me no, they aren't. Yet, I don't know that for a fact. I don't ever get beyond the first tier of personnel or at most, the second. I haven't really TRIED to get beyond that.

A seemingly age-old problem that seemingly won't go away. Unfortunately at that.

Not much else in my world currently. I am going to call my now-deceased friend's wife and see if she wants to go to church this Sunday. She said she wanted to, I'll ask and see how she is doing. I doubt very well. 48 years of marriage, their lives were inextricably intertwined with each other on a daily basis. To lose one half of that has to be devastating. Worse, their anniversary is coming up on the 10th of next month. I know the kind of emotion that pulls out in a lady, my mother went through it for YEARS after her last man died of cancer. Anniversary would come around and that particular day was a day of grieving. This will still be quite fresh, gonna have to talk about getting some people around her that day and at least offering support.

As for this entry, it's done and history, cause' my time's a runnin' out.

G'day.

ben

Monday 1/10/2011

Monday

The news is still full of this story of the congresswoman that was shot, but now, the newest angles are that this shooter was a nutcase, basically. This is going to play out for a while. The surgical team/hospital where she is at says they are going to do updates every morning at 10:00 am (Mountain Standard Time) I will be listening for that this morning. 

Onto other things. The winds of change are coming. I'm not talking about the world, the state, politics, I'm referring to myself. I have no idea WHAT, exactly, I can just feel it. I've noted this kind of thinking and feeling in the past and shortly thereafter, something occured or some sort of dramatic change in my life and the direction it is going occured.

No, I'm not a nutcase with a gun about to go whacko, thank you very much. We're not talking death and destruction, or I certainly hope not anyway. You get on one track in life and it goes on for a while and then, the tracks change and you are headed somewhere else, doing something else. That's all. It doesn't necessarily mean anything great. That's all I'm going to say about it in this blog until/if/when something happens.

Watched NFL football yesterday, nothing fantastic going on there. Packers showed early that they might take the win and that's what happened. Steelers next weekend, that's the game I'm interested in - would be cool to see them go another round at a Superbowl - though I'm sure non-Steelers fans don't favor that idea at all, lol. "They already have enough Superbowl rings" is a sentiment I have heard a lot. Yes, but one more would be even nicer!

Here's an interesting one: 2 brothers being deported from Colorado given another year by a judge to remain in the states. They are allegedly illegal aliens. The interesting part is that both of them served in our nation's military during the Vietnam era. Personally, I don't care if you're from the planet Zoid, if you serve in our military and have an honorable discharge, you're a citizen. You gonna pay that kind of price, you deserve to be a citizen. 

Just wandering around the news this morning, the biggest thing on my plate for today is a LOT of work to get done. Several deliveries, several pickups and then another delivery. Should make the day zoom by, which is a good thing.

Speaking of that, work day almost here.

G'day.

ben

Sunday 1/9/2011

It wasn't shocking,exactly, that a House member was shot and almost killed not 100 miles from where I am sitting.  But it was repulsive and maddening to find out a 9 year old girl was also shot and killed in that melee, especially after reading about her life and what she was involved with.  Not that the representative's injury to her head is any less significant, it just makes it that more sickening that this "man" would take out a little kid.  I fully expect the death penalty whenever this gets to court, litigation is over and the jury gives it's verdict.

This situation has engulfed the nation's news - as should be expected.

Onto other things.  One of the large Koi jumped out of the pond last night and was found kaput this morning.  Koi are known to do that.  Why, I have no idea, but it isn't something that surprises me anymore after reading about it all over the internet and talking with people that have had their own fish jumping out.  This one was about 12 inches long and huge.  Not the biggest fellow, though, there are 4 other Koi in that pond that are MUCH larger than this one.  I hope they never take that course of action.

I have been feeling ill all weekend long, but feeling a bit better now.  Getting up for work in the morning is going to be fun, I'm sure.  I have done much of nothing this weekend and glad that I have taken it easy.

Satuday

Drainage going down the back of my throat half the night last night and now?  Feeling very crappy, indeed.  Hard to breath.  Going to have to buy a "dryer" today in case it happens again tonight - meaning the stuff that helps stop that kind of drainage.  I may even have to go to an Urgent Care center to make sure this isn't going to get carried away.  Not sure about that, our health care plan just changed and I don't know which centers take this insurance.

Cooking the other Standing Rib Roast I bought in November.  Serve with baked potates, peas, salad and gravy.  That will be the end of it.  I am going to buy a lot of chicken for a while now and eat that stuff, made up whatever different kinds of way I can find to make it, besides those recipes I already know.

I dunno, I was going to write up a "normal" entry by my standards, but on second thought, I don't feel like it.  Instead, I am going to go up to the store, buy some medicine and other things I need and probably take it easy this weekend.  Combine feeling sick with the aftermath of a funeral that really has hit me a bit harder than I was at first willing to admit, some down time is in order.

G'day.

ben

The Memorial Service For My Friend

I showed up about 20 minutes early.  I didn't want to miss anything, plus it was about 25 miles from my house and just wanted to make sure I didn't encounter a traffic snarl or something to hold me up.

My now-deceased friend's name is Boe, his son is Boe Jr., who greeted me and brought me up to the front.  I hugged Josie, she was teary-eyed - obviously - said God Bless you and moved back for others to shower attention on her.  This was an outdoor service, they all are there - you can't shoot rifles inside a building, not like THAT anyway.  They have "shelters" where the service is performed. It's open air but it has a cover and cement type benches.

Well, anyway, I started looking at the pics.  I had never seen a pic of my friend when he was young.  There was one of him when he had started in the Marines - at the age of 17.  Boe's daughter, Carla, came up and we were talking.  She said she had wished that they could make a video of the service but no-one has a cam-corder.  No, but I remembered that my digital camera is in the car and I just freshly recharged it.  I ran back to the car, got it out and started deleting videos I had on there.  I wanted to make sure I did not run out of memory space and those videos I had on there were nothing special.  Most of them aren't.

I came back and stood in the back. Boe had a lot of friends, but, there were about 30 people there.  Boe Jr. comes to the back just before the ceremony started and invited me up to the front: Josie wanted me up there and Boe Jr. said his dad would have wanted me there, too.  I was a bit overwhelmed by the honor I was given, but, honestly, Boe and I were VERY close friends.  I didn't expect that, but I followed him to the front and sat down in a bench off to the side.

I was astounded by this military ceremony.  I have seen such on TV, I have never experienced anything like this in person.  It was amazing, beautiful and graceful.  The American Legion personnel were standing up front and they recited a poem and some prayers out of a book.  But it was "automated", these men were there because they wanted to be there, not because they felt compelled, at least, I certainly got that impression.

Meanwhile, about 100 feet away and off to the side of the ramada, is what I will call it, 21 men fell into formation, rifles in hand.  A bugler, standing well off to the side, also fell into formation.

When the 3 up front got done, they motioned for 2 - Marines I guess, I don't know - obviously military - came walking up.  But it wasn't aloof walking.  It was slow and it was purposed.  Walking in graceful, perfected strides, it was a sight to behold.  The came up before the 3 at the front and saluted them.  It was  a slow, fluid movement.  Timed perfectly, the 2 had their hands going up to their forehead and back down in perfect alignment with each other.  One of them took the flag that was next to the urn full of my friend's ashes and slowly, purposefully inspected it, then the 2 turned towards each other as if they were a machine, it was that perfect.

They slowly began to unfold the flag.  My friend loved flags, he was always flying the U.S. flag out in front of his house.  When it was fully unfurled, the 21 men with rifles got into position and at command, fired of a volley - almost exactly at the same time.  Another command, another volley, this time it WAS all at the same time and VERY loud.  The 3rd time the same.  Then, the lone bugler began playing taps.  There was nothing flimsy, unprofessional or monotone about any of this.  His performance on the bugle was perfection as much as anything else there.  There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

He finished and the 1 holding the flag began methodically folding the flag back up.  Slowly, I mean, there was nothing rushed about any of this.  He wiped off the dust with his white-gloved hand on each fold.  Each fold was meticulously pleated by hand and tucked sharply.  When done, he handed the flag to his comrade, did another very slow and methodic salute, and then walked off the same way he had walked in.  He walked about 50 feet away, stopped, did an about-face and stood there, looking on. You can see this stuff on TV all you want, it is nothing like experiencing it in person.  The other Marine  took the flag, went to Josie, got down on one knee and spoke in a whisper to her.  I have no idea what he said, whatever it was, it was for her and her alone.  I wasn't sitting far away, it was just whispered.  He then got up, saluted her, turned, and walked off the same as he had walked in.

The 3 at the front also departed after one of them declared this was the end of the military rites.  A minister came up as well as a friend, and that was the end of it.

It is one of the most amazing things I have experienced in any recent times.  A little girl, however, wasn't so happy.  That was one of Boe's grand daughters who was balling.  She loved Boe and always wanted to be go to their house to visit.  I went up and hugged Josie and the rest of the family again.  Josie asked if I wanted to come to her house.  Yes, of course.  They treated me like I was a family member.  I'm not going to sit here and say that tears did not flow out of my eyes today.  I was a bit afraid to drive that old car to their house, from north Phoenix to the town of Maricopa, a pretty good drive.

I spent about 5 hours with them.  There was good food, some reminiscing, the little 11 year old girl and her little sister came up to the table after everyone had left.  I mean, it was quite a while before they left, but Josie did not want me to leave with them, so I stayed for several more hours.  We played Uno - lol - and then some other card game I can't remember the name of.  At around 4:15, I finally left.  Josie was tired and so was I - this kind of thing just takes it out of me.

I got home and now have uploaded the video to my computer.  I was not necessarily concerned about what it would turn out like at the time of taking it. I aimed it in the general direction, looked at the screen a few times to make sure it was getting it all in, but I was totally immersed in the moment and that camera wasn't necessarily a priority.  So, when I got a chance to look at it, I was pleasantly surprised that it had turned out as well as it had.  They wanted me to burn a CD of it, but, I can't.  The Kodak digital camera records in .mov and I find out that burning a .mov file to CD?  You have to convert it to a different format. I have spent an hour - more like 2 hours - trying to download free software to make that happen.  On my third download, it actually worked - until I played it.  Sound only, no video.

Normally, I upload my videos to YouTube, I don't try to burn them to CD's, so this was new territory. I haven't got it yet, either.  In fact, I may just take the memory card out of the camera and take it somewhere and pay to have a couple of CD's burned. I'm sure there must be someplace that does that.  I apparently can pay for real player service to burn the CD, but I'm not there yet.  I'll do whatever I have to, of course, to get the thing onto CD, that service I think is $29.99 to do it on my computer.

The day is over.  I'll deal with that tomorrow.  In fact, I'll just take the camera with me to work tomorrow and see if I can find some place that does that and drop it off on the way home.  Or, I may just pay the price and get the upgrade to real player.

Oh, and I can't upload this to youtube.  It is 22 minutes long.  I think there is another online forum that you can upload longer stuff, I don't remember what it is.  I might do that instead.  Or both.  Who knows.

G'nite.

ben

Thursday 1/6/11

Heading out to the funeral in about an hour.  I haven't been to one in several years.  I don't expect to spend much time there, either, long enough to visit with his wife, watch the ceremony and then leave.  His wife will be surrounded by family and I am not going to interfere with that.  The thing is really just his ashes being brought to the cemetary and put into whatever they call those shelters for ashes.  He didn't want to be "spread out" anywhere, instead, his wife expects one day to be beside him in the form of a urn filled with her ashes.

Gruesome, I guess, but death is a real part of our lives.  I am glad that I don't have to do this very often, I can say that.

Anyway, I'm getting my clothes ready and such, so, I'm outta here.
ben

Wednesday

Wednesday

Pretty eiree stuff. A Philippino councilman is taking a photograph of his family on New Year's eve. In the photo, you can see a man behind them to their right with a gun pointed at the councilman's head, who is taking the photo. The man shoots the councilman seconds later and the councilman dies.

It was looking into the eyes of the killer that was the spooky stuff. Never seen a pic like that before.

Anyway, yesterday was my 5-year anniversary with my company. So, my company gives me 13,000 perk points. Sounds like a lot, right? Lol, well, you can't buy a whole lot with it. They have their own, online catalog, it's huge. I was going through it, couldn't find anything I would want, even lower priced stuff still wasn't accessible with the money.

The thought struck my mind, I wonder if they have any hummingbird feeders? I was going to get another one anyway, maybe I can get one for free. Amazingly enough, they had 8 different feeders listed in there and I had enough points to buy the most expensive one, which is a pretty cool looking thing if I do say so myself.

No idea when it's going to arrive, but the catalog is a conundrum of products sold by all kinds of different retailers. This feeder, I found out, is coming from Sears. I haven't been in a Sears store in years. It's amazing they have survived this economy, I thought they weren't doing so well, but I guess they have managed to eek by.

Hmmmph. Well, I was a bit surprised to go into the truck routing system and find all kinds of stuff in there to do today. One order with thousands of feet worth of pipe and a couple of other, much smaller orders.

I'm kind of dreading and looking forward to the funeral tomorrow at the same time. My friend's body has been incinerated, there will just be ashes there tomorrow. As I said before, I'm not very good with death. We all die, yes, but I can fall apart at a funeral pretty easily. I've been to plenty of friend's funerals - especially when I was a teenager watching my friends die all around me. Sounds strange, doesn't it, going to friend's funerals as a teenager - those people that died being teenagers or early 20's themselves. Much of it was painted with hokey, religious junk. It had nothing to do with the real God because those people had nothing to do with the real God and quite honestly, at the time, neither did I. I count myself very fortunate that I have lived this long and that the I found the Lord, or more like it: He found me, before my appointment with death arrives. I hope that appointment isn't too terribly soon, I would like to watch my son growing up, going into his adulthood. My parents didn't help me at all at the age he is going into - perhaps I didn't deserve any help but at the same time it made life extremely difficult. I suppose that's what I needed at the time: a good kick in the ass and a boot out the door. It certainly toughened me up, I can say that for a fact. Living in the back of a station wagon and then progressing to living in various rental rooms until finally going on the mission field after giving my life to the Lord - and THAT in itself is a book's worth of experiences.

And much of what I experienced on the mission field? You wouldn't believe my stories if I told you. A normal person would brush me off and say that didn't happen and it's impossible. Ohhhh, contraire: God IS real and He is still in the miracle-making business, I've seen it time and time again.

That is what the death of anyone close to me does in me: brings out thoughts of God, eternity and where we're headed, cause, Frank and Jane, if you don't know, I can pretty much tell you and it isn't a very pleasant place. It mostly causes me to do a lot of introspection and even a realigning of my life and the direction it is headed in, which this time around? Certainly no lack of those ideas floating around in my head.

Oh, and let me throw this out there: simply because you don't believe that there is a God or a heaven and hell does not, therefore, eliminate the fact that all 3 not only exist, but as real as the air that you can't see but are breathing right now. Jesus Christ - my Lord and My savior - is knocking at the door of your heart. Let Him in, he won't hurt you, he's not a thief or a bandit coming to steal from you.

I'll get off the podium now, haven't been on one in a long time.

The work day is here. I slept very well last night, amazingly enough. I mean, I woke up once and went right back to sleep. That is not a normal thing for me, no, it is not. The newest tenant paid me in full for the entire month. He had given me $100 to start and then the rest yesterday. The Army Reservist is nowhere in sight. It's getting later and later in the month. I'm going to wait until tomorrow - strike that, tomorrow has enough for the day with that funeral - this weekend and if she doesn't show up or at least call, I'm going to have to post the dreaded notices. In this case, a notice of abandonment. I took my frozen Standing Rib Roast that I bought in November on sale out of the freezer. I figure to cook that this weekend. After that, I am going off of red meat for quite a while. Chicken and turkey will be my mainstay, which it normally is anyway, but this holiday season I went overboard with the red meat stuff and you know they say eating too much of that simply isn't good for you. It isn't a New Year's resolution, it is a lifestyle for me. Eat as healthy as possible, which is why I usually, not always but usually, eat my lunch at Subway so I can have the sandwich made to order without all the calorie laden dressings and junk put on to it. I only made one resolution this year: start working out again, which I have started at a slow pace, but never-the-less, I have started.

The stuff about the Lord cannot be a resolution, as resolutions can be easily forgotten and put onto a shelf. No, that is also a lifestyle thing, something you implement because you want to, need to and have to. It is as much a matter of life and death to me as is my beating heart.

With that, I bid you g'day.

ben

Tuesday

Tuesday

The funeral for my friend is on Thursday. It is going to be a full military style thing with 21-gun salute, flag - I have never been to one of those kinds of funerals, don't really know what to expect.

I spoke with Josie (his wife) last night on the phone. She stood there and watched him die as emergency workers tried to save his life. It was simply his time to go. I don't know how else to put it, when it's time, it's time.

I was not a particularly happy person at work yesterday, either. Just because I didn't have time to process all of it. I got the news the night before JUST before going to bed and then get up for work the next morning. Life goes on, yes, still, when you have known a person for some 16 years and became close friends, it isn't something that you just dismiss as if it were a melted Hostess cupcake and throw it in the trash.

Change the tune here, I am not really that much down at this point, he was a good man and he lived a full life, he is with the Lord, it isn't a bad thing where he's at, just the people that are left behind have to deal with the emotional issues of separation and bidding goodbyes.

I was standing next to the hummingbird feeder a few days ago when one of them came humming up to the feeder. I was maybe 2 feet away from that feeder and that bird. He became so relaxed he sat on the ledge and perched instead of hovering. I find this fascinating, birds usually want to be nowhere near humans. Well, then, another hummingbird flew to the top of the 6 foot chain link fence and perched there, looking at the feeder with the other bird.

Now it gets dicey. Yet ANOTHER hummingbird zoomed right past the one on the fence, who immediately took off after it. A minute later, it came back and perched on the fence again. What happened next I wish I could have gotten on video: the bird on the fence swooped down on the bird on the feeder, poked it with it's bill and then took off. I heard this little squealing noise come from the "injured" bird who was RIGHT on the tail of that bird, chasing it away.

I don't know if it got revenge or not - they fly so fast they are out of my yard and down the street before you know what's going on. It wasn't 60 seconds later and it was back on the feeder, drinking away.

An amazing thought that these birds are, apparently, territorial, at least over "their" feeder and that they are willing to fight over it!!

My answer may be to get another feeder and locate it somewhere else, maybe on the other side of the house. Feeders are cheap, the mix to make the sugar liquid is cheap, nothing about money here. I would like to hang one right by the sliding door in the kitchen and and see if any of them will visit it.

Politics as usual. That's all I see in any of this. A vote is going to be forced on the repeal of the health care bill. I dunno that that's going to happen, I think it's more of a symbolic act to be used as weaponry in the next elections.

Our company just switched health care providers, going from Cygna to Anthem Blue Cross. I was not particularly happy about the switch, I now have to find a new doctor. I have had the same doctor for a number of years now and he was the kind of person that made a visit not so over-bearing. So, go to Anthem's site, pick a name out of the hat and hope I get a good one? Gag. Our company said it was a cost-reducing measure. Well, I'm glad to have coverage, so I can't complain too much, though the premiums are going up again. Pretty much every year the monthly premium is higher and higher. Can't afford to not have coverage so I pay it regardless of how much it costs. I am also covering my son and probably will be well into his "adult" life. My parents dumped me when I was 19 and I thought that a - petty - thing to do. I will be doing no such thing with my boy - until he find something that gives him his own coverage or if he ends up in the military - I will keep him on my coverage as long as I have coverage to extend to him.

Work day approaches. A couple of small orders in the system.

G'day.

ben

Monday 1/3/2010 The Passing Of A Friend

Monday

I was sitting in my kitchen last night at the computer, contemplating finishing up an entry for Sunday when my cellphone started ringing. I looked at the name that popped up on the screen: Boe, one of my best friends on the planet.

I answered in my normal way when talking to him but was not greeted by Boe. Instead, it was a lady's voice on the other end of the phone. She wanted to know who I was, which I thought strange to ask a person that you just called. This is ben. She declared that she is Boe's daughter.

I got a bad feeling about this. NO-ONE uses Boe's phone except Boe. She proceeded to tell me that Boe had passed away on New Year's Eve day. It took a minute for that to sink in. The thought of losing one of the few, real friends I have on this earth? About floored me.

She went into the story - he had a heart attack, followed by a stroke. They took him to the hospital but, it was a done deal. This guy was one of those types of people that everyone liked. No-one could hate him. I thought about the life-long pain he had suffered at the hands of a drunken Army Sargeant - the man got into a 10-wheeler, on of those big things the Army uses for personnel and such - put it in reverse and proceed to run over several men sleeping in a tent and also over Boe's leg.

Boe has suffered pain ever since then, some 50 years ago I'm thinking. I thought how he must feel right now, freed from that broken body.

It was a few years ago, something like 2 or 3 I'm guessing, that I started seeing Boe with a Bible in his hand. He started learning scripture and really fell in love with the Lord. It was almost shocking to see that man with a Bible, but it gladdened my heart to see him doing such and, over time, starting to be able to come up with Scripture. I only throw that in there because I know he is with the Lord, which means, at least from my view of it, he is in a FAR better place right now than any of us mortals living here on the earth.

That doesn't help his family, of course, especially his wife. They were married some 40 years. Or more. I'll have to find out. It was a long time, I know that.

I'll never forget the way I came to meet Boe. I was living in that trailer park - he and his family were, too. Some ladies in the park had started a homeowner's association to take on park management which was extremely abusive to everyone. They needed a person to take the president's position and had approached me about it. I wasn't particularly interested. I asked them to find someone else. They told me that I was the only one they knew of that had the guts to stand up to that bastard of a manager.

I had already stood up to him and his threats several times and had not backed down. I took the position, we scheduled a meeting in the main hall and I had flyers sent out to everyone in the park. Boe showed up, standing in the back, talking with another man, basically saying what a crock this meeting was and how it wasn't going to do any good at all.

He wouldn't quiet down when the meeting started, so I had to ask him to tone down or please leave. He made some sort of comment, but by the end of the meeting, he had a different tune. Boe and I started meeting together and going over landlord and tenant rules and regulations as put forth by the state of Arizona. We then started delving into all kinds of legal issues that the park was posing in their actions towards many tenants.

We became really good friends. He was the man that called me on 9/11 - I was sound asleep when he called - and asked if I was "watching this?". What? The TV. I asked what channel. He said ANY channel. Turned it on and there was the first tower smoking with a gaping hole in it. As Boe and I discussed how that POSSIBLY could be an accident - how does a professional airline pilot just somehow not miss a gigantic building? The second jet slammed into the other tower. We then knew there was no accident going on here, this was an act of terrorism. You all remember the skies after that - empty.

But, this is about Boe, not 911. He was a great man. Even in the worst situations, he was able to keep a smile on his face and an upbeat attitude. You can't replace a friend like that, you just can't.

The daughter told me that my name and number weren't in his phone. I said I had called him last time he was over at my place, like 2 or 3 weeks ago and he had saved it. Nope, she said, it was gone and his wife would not have the phone shut off until I called, as they had no other way to contact me. Josie is his wife's name, a beautiful, lovely lady and I'm sure hurting right now. I couldn't talk to her last night, they had given her a sleeping pill to get to sleep because, of course, the grief had overcome her.

It's hard for me just because he was one of the few friends I have left. I mean, I have plenty of acquaintences, lots of - dunno what you label them - half friends - I just don't think we make too many real, close and personal friends in life. I dunno, but the next coming days are certainly going to give me cause to think about all of this going on in my life. I don't take the death of close friends or loved ones very well, I just don't. I have been asked to come to the funeral, of course I will be there, don't know yet what day it's going to be. He is going to be buried in a veteran's type of cemetary somewhere in north Phoenix.

I don't really have anything else to say. I just wanted to pop a hello out to my friend, I know he's up there.

ben

Happy New Year!!! 1/1/2011

I was going to get up last night and ring in the New Year with a glass of champagne and maybe honk the car horn - but -  the alarm didn't go off and I slept right through it.
Oh well, no great loss, but it is a tradition for me.
Anyway, Happy New Years to everyone and may you have a prosperous, healthy and joyful year!

Frost damage.
I covered up all my plants 2 days ago for the impending cold nights.
Friday morning the plants all survived without any damage.
Today? Not so lucky.  Yes, I left everything covered but the still exposed stuff
was damaged.  I would have to have hundreds of sheets, literally, to cover up EVERYTHING.
Anyway, I think there is yet another freeze warning for tonight, so, all sheets and blankets are
staying on the plants for another day and night.

Done.

The ponds are faring better than the plants.  Mainly because I have 2 heaters going in each of them.
The fish look healthy and are swimming around, so I'm hoping there isn't any ill effect going there.  The
temps in both of them as of yesterday evening was 55 degrees, up 5 degrees from the time I plugged all
the heaters back in.  I haven't checked today, but no reason to expect that it's any lower, hopefully up to 60.

Army Reservist has been gone quite a while now- but not unexpected.  I believe she said she was coming back on the 3rd or the 4th, no worries there.
Newest tenant is a day sleeper.  Well, morning to early afternoon sleeper anyway.  No problem when I'm at work, apparently a problem on weekends.  Cause', I'm home and in the middle of broad daylight, I do activities concurrent with the time of day.

So, just watching TV this morning he came out and said the TV noise had awakened him.  Funny, cause' that thing is in the living room and WELL away from the hallway or his room.  I turned it down a bit, but he came back out again.  I gave him a set of earplugs and haven't heard from him since.  I also suggested a box fan for white noise, that will be up to him whether he gets one or not, they aren't expensive and will help us all out quite a lot. I do not make a lot of noise in the  house, anyway, but I don't really want to have to feel hindered in my own home on weekends.  Always a middle ground to be found somewhere.

Thursday 12/30/2010

So, the cold winter storm is here and going to get worse. Yesterday, I was at fry's food stores, they had all of their Christmas stuff at 75% off. I bought 8 strands of C-7 lights at $2.00 per box. No, not for next Christmas, either, although they can certainly be used for that purpose when the time comes around. 

No, they put off heat. Not much heat, but, enough to help fend off the hard freeze that is coming tonight. I will be spending the afternoon out there after work putting up lights and then covering everything I can up with blankets and sheets. A pain, yes, necessary, absolutely. 

I have serious doubts of much work today. There are orders in there but I'm guessing the rain yesterday and overnight will but a stop to any crews doing much of anything but staying home. 

Anyway, I talked to the non-paying to paying tenant yesterday. I had to remind her that she did NOT pay me anything last week, that when she showed up, she talked about everything BUT the rent and that it had completely annoyed me. So, I told her, she is paid up TO this week, but not FOR this week. That took some time for her to understand. I had to further explain that when a person disappears and starts getting way behind on rent, it is only prudent that I will start posting notices. It isn't a PERSONAL thing, just a business matter: pay the rent of please move your belongings out and if you don't, they will be moved out for you, thank you. 

Anyway, the work day is here. I am a bit tired as I woke up in the middle of the night to some crashing noise outside - it is very windy out right now - I dunno what that was all about but it took quite a while to get back to sleep. My poor doggies, I left them out in the cold this morning. Don't care, they sealed their fate the last time when I came home from work and found my coffee table covered in urine.

G'day.

ben