Last night, perusing Facebook and minding my own business, a popup comes up on my screen from a face book instant type of message.
It's Mary.
Mary? Mary who? I have a lot of FB friends for that game I play on there and I don't know the half of them.
"What, you don't remember me?". She had given absolutely NO context, whatsoever, for who she was, could have been a man on the moon as far as I was concerned.
Refresh my memory.
This girl is from my FAR distant past, exactly 3 decades ago, to be precise. We used to hang out with another friend and drive all over the place getting drunk and stoned on an almost daily basis.
She had gone into the same ministry I had gone into at the same time, leaving the "old life" behind for something new, different and FAR better. She left after only being there a short time because she had been called back to testify as a witness in some sort of trial.
I never heard from her again, until last night that is.
We got off of the Facebook venue and got on the phone - 2-1/2 hours of talking on the phone and catching up. She is in contact with other friends from that era that I also know and haven't talked to or even knew where they are since - the early 80's, basically.
She wants to meet today, but I am not sure I am going to have the time for it, what with selling the trailer and going to church. I don't really like going out on late Sunday afternoons, I would rather be at home winding the weekend down and getting mentally prepared for work Monday. So, we'll see about that.
I am taking the 59 year old, female tenant to church today. I would rather have not taken her, but I can't just tell a person no in going to church. She definitely could use the 'help', to say the least.
Anyway, must get offa here and get ready.
G'day.
ben
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Saturday 9/17/2011 - Fin & Bethany/Sky Harbor Airport
I have not had the opportunity to meet too many internet friends, having that opportunity arise today was something I was not going to miss.
I have not been in terminal 4 of Sky Harbor airport in a long, long, loooooong time. It was COMPLETELY different than the last time I was in there. The last time I was in there, it was a pretty sparse affair compared to what it is now and the floors were carpeted, not tiled as they also are now. I got there a bit early - the arrival was late, so I sat down and had a coffee at a bar, called my mother who is still up on her property and chatted with her a bit. I decided that I was going to spend some time doing some people-watching, so I mosied on over to the chairs that face the security area where they are irradiating people and groping their bodies.
I suppose by design, you can't just stand there and see all of that going on. The line curves off to the right and I guess if I had walked up to the entrance I might have been able to see more, but, I have also read about the overly excitable TSA personnel that think if you sneeze funny you are a suspicious person. I didn't go to the airport for trouble today, so I decided to just sit in the chair and watch.
What I found funny were the TSA agents themselves. None of them that I saw - which was at least 40 or 50 of them for the time I was sitting there - were anything I would consider a formidable person to reckon with. Not that a terrorist would want to do anything BUT try to sneak through, still, I just found it hard to believe that these people are taken very seriously. There must some REAL security around somewhere, I did see a couple of Phoenix Police officers not far from the checkpoint.
There were numerous other people around me in this chair situation and there were numerous languages being spoken, one of them I had no clue. Asian language of some sort. While sitting there, Garrett calls. He is the 21 year old that is renting one of my rooms. I hadn't seen him in about 5 days so - I wondered what kind of bombshell would land, such as: I am moving out or something similar. Instead, he stated that he had been staying at a friend's house, had lost all of his keys including his car keys and didn't know WHAT he was going to do, but that he would be home either later tonight or tomorrow. He was, in reality, very concerned about his rent payment, which he emphatically stated would be paid on Monday. I never spoke a word about rent and it hadn't crossed my mind, I was just wondering WHAT, exactly, had happened to him?
After that, 2 black dudes came RUNNING through the terminal at high velocity, full barrel. They bee-lined it for the employee line through security. Guessing they might have been a tad bit late for work. Numerous pilots also going through that line as well. Fin called to inform me the plane had just landed and guess it would be at least 20 minutes before they were actually off the plane and coming through. He was pretty much right on target with that guess. All kinds of harried looking people in a big hurry came through the outlet on the other side of the security checkpoint, I figured I would be looking for people in vacation mode and probably taking a slower pace, and I was not wrong about that, either.
Meeting Fin and Bethany in person was just grand. Marvelous people and a nice looking couple. Fin was hungry, Bethany was not, we ended up at Burger King. I don't get to eat hamburgers on my diet regimen, today I faulted on my diet and had a guacamole burger thing that was just plain delicious. There is nothing wrong with eating a nice burger at least once in a while! Well, I hadn't even sat down at the table and the cellphone rang.
A rather crazy couple - crazy in a good way - had come over to my house earlier to look at the old trailer. The lady was extremely interested in it, much more than the guy. She was using a tape measure and going over the entire thing and talking about the great possibilities of it - they want to move the thing to somewhere in Mexico and have it on a lot they apparently already own or rent down there. You know I don't really give much credence to anything Craigslist until the dollar bills are being placed into my hand. I informed them that I had had a couple of offers on it. The guy said, "Oh, just not high enough for you, I guess?". Well, no, not that, I replied, I was just waiting for the highest offer. I told them that I had told another lady yesterday that if I didn't get any higher offers in the next couple of days, she would get it.
Well, the call was that couple. "This is Diane, etc etc etc". Yes, Diane, how are you? Great, would you consider taking $650 for the trailer? I had it listed at $750 and figured to come down to $650. Sold!!!! were the first words out of my mouth, I want the thing off of my property and I want to take that money and apply it to paying down the other trailer. The caveat - they want to come tomorrow morning to get it. Well, I told her that I would have to find some place to get it notarized and she started talking about banks. Yes, well it's Saturday and though some banks are open on Saturday, they do not stay open that late.
I told her I would call her back. Finally get to sit down with Fin and Bethany, had a great, pleasant and entertaining conversation, replete with watching videos of their goofy, playful hound. That dog reminds me of Duke, my "Merle" Great Dane. As goofy as the day is long. Bethany showed me an electronic gadget she had acuired - I liken it to a mini-laptop though can't for the life of me remember what she called it. I would like to get one of those things, very nice little toy to have while stuck at a jobsite. It was a great visit and I would definitely have regretted missing the opportunity to meet up and shake hands. They are off to the Grand Canyon and other destinations.
Anyway, I left the airport. It is literally a 10 minute drive from my house to the airport or back again. When I say that, I mean 10 minutes from my driveway to a parking spot in the parking garage. So, that was an added plus, as after I left there I was now on a mission: get the title to the trailer notarized. Should have done that when I thought about selling the thing. Anyway, turns out that the UPS store 2 miles away from my house has a Notary Public working there, so I got it notarized for the grand total of $2. I was surprised by the price, I have not experienced much of anything cheap at stores like that in the past.
I came back home after the title affair and headed to the pond in my front yard. It was almost empty!!! I mean, there was 3 inches of water at the bottom of the pond!! You want to talk about shock and then into emergency mode!! What the bleep was going on here?!!! Well, whatever was going on, get water into the pond first and then find out what the problem is. Garden hose in, I immediately discovered the problem: the filter was clogged up to the point that it was causing the water being pumped into it to flow out the top, over the side, onto the tile it was sitting on and then - into the dirt instead of back into the pond. I JUST cleaned that filter a few days ago!! Well, it is a small pond - 130 gallons, didn't take long to fill it back up, the fish were fine and problem solved: clean the filter agents and I guess check them more often. I was just glad that there were no fish floating around, dead and they were all doing very well, that I could see.
As for tomorrow, well, those people said they were coming at 10:00 or 11:00 am after I called them back and told them the title is notarized and what time are you coming? Great. I am telling you that just about EVERY Sunday, SOMETHING comes along to try and cause me to NOT go to church. I informed them that I would be at church, but that the people that help me watch my property would be here and they would deal with it if I wasn't here. I wasn't about to tell them to come earlier or later, let them come when they want to - cash in hand of course - and it will be dealt with.
Sounds like a long day, but it was a pleasant one. My visit to the airport was interesting to say the least. Meeting Fin and Bethany just a very pleasant affair and I hope some day to maybe meet some other folks that I have known from blogging. You never know! As I already knew but certainly left with no less of a view than I did before going to the airport today: Fin and Bethany are fine, wonderful people, as good as it gets. Happy traveling! I'm guessing Bethany is going to be in awe of the Grand Canyon: pictures do not do that place justice. You cannot get out of a picture the depth and width and beauty of that place the same as if you are standing on the ledge, looking out over it. It is truly an awe-inspiring, natural phenomenon.
What's left today? Well, who knows, around this place anything can happen, but hopefully I can spend a quiet evening spending time in the Word, visiting with the trailer tenants and maybe a movie on TV. Yes, I am visiting the trailer tenants nowadays in the trailer since it is MUCH larger and has ample room to sit and visit.
Anyway, enough on this one.
G'day and G'nite.
ben
I have not been in terminal 4 of Sky Harbor airport in a long, long, loooooong time. It was COMPLETELY different than the last time I was in there. The last time I was in there, it was a pretty sparse affair compared to what it is now and the floors were carpeted, not tiled as they also are now. I got there a bit early - the arrival was late, so I sat down and had a coffee at a bar, called my mother who is still up on her property and chatted with her a bit. I decided that I was going to spend some time doing some people-watching, so I mosied on over to the chairs that face the security area where they are irradiating people and groping their bodies.
I suppose by design, you can't just stand there and see all of that going on. The line curves off to the right and I guess if I had walked up to the entrance I might have been able to see more, but, I have also read about the overly excitable TSA personnel that think if you sneeze funny you are a suspicious person. I didn't go to the airport for trouble today, so I decided to just sit in the chair and watch.
What I found funny were the TSA agents themselves. None of them that I saw - which was at least 40 or 50 of them for the time I was sitting there - were anything I would consider a formidable person to reckon with. Not that a terrorist would want to do anything BUT try to sneak through, still, I just found it hard to believe that these people are taken very seriously. There must some REAL security around somewhere, I did see a couple of Phoenix Police officers not far from the checkpoint.
There were numerous other people around me in this chair situation and there were numerous languages being spoken, one of them I had no clue. Asian language of some sort. While sitting there, Garrett calls. He is the 21 year old that is renting one of my rooms. I hadn't seen him in about 5 days so - I wondered what kind of bombshell would land, such as: I am moving out or something similar. Instead, he stated that he had been staying at a friend's house, had lost all of his keys including his car keys and didn't know WHAT he was going to do, but that he would be home either later tonight or tomorrow. He was, in reality, very concerned about his rent payment, which he emphatically stated would be paid on Monday. I never spoke a word about rent and it hadn't crossed my mind, I was just wondering WHAT, exactly, had happened to him?
After that, 2 black dudes came RUNNING through the terminal at high velocity, full barrel. They bee-lined it for the employee line through security. Guessing they might have been a tad bit late for work. Numerous pilots also going through that line as well. Fin called to inform me the plane had just landed and guess it would be at least 20 minutes before they were actually off the plane and coming through. He was pretty much right on target with that guess. All kinds of harried looking people in a big hurry came through the outlet on the other side of the security checkpoint, I figured I would be looking for people in vacation mode and probably taking a slower pace, and I was not wrong about that, either.
Meeting Fin and Bethany in person was just grand. Marvelous people and a nice looking couple. Fin was hungry, Bethany was not, we ended up at Burger King. I don't get to eat hamburgers on my diet regimen, today I faulted on my diet and had a guacamole burger thing that was just plain delicious. There is nothing wrong with eating a nice burger at least once in a while! Well, I hadn't even sat down at the table and the cellphone rang.
A rather crazy couple - crazy in a good way - had come over to my house earlier to look at the old trailer. The lady was extremely interested in it, much more than the guy. She was using a tape measure and going over the entire thing and talking about the great possibilities of it - they want to move the thing to somewhere in Mexico and have it on a lot they apparently already own or rent down there. You know I don't really give much credence to anything Craigslist until the dollar bills are being placed into my hand. I informed them that I had had a couple of offers on it. The guy said, "Oh, just not high enough for you, I guess?". Well, no, not that, I replied, I was just waiting for the highest offer. I told them that I had told another lady yesterday that if I didn't get any higher offers in the next couple of days, she would get it.
Well, the call was that couple. "This is Diane, etc etc etc". Yes, Diane, how are you? Great, would you consider taking $650 for the trailer? I had it listed at $750 and figured to come down to $650. Sold!!!! were the first words out of my mouth, I want the thing off of my property and I want to take that money and apply it to paying down the other trailer. The caveat - they want to come tomorrow morning to get it. Well, I told her that I would have to find some place to get it notarized and she started talking about banks. Yes, well it's Saturday and though some banks are open on Saturday, they do not stay open that late.
I told her I would call her back. Finally get to sit down with Fin and Bethany, had a great, pleasant and entertaining conversation, replete with watching videos of their goofy, playful hound. That dog reminds me of Duke, my "Merle" Great Dane. As goofy as the day is long. Bethany showed me an electronic gadget she had acuired - I liken it to a mini-laptop though can't for the life of me remember what she called it. I would like to get one of those things, very nice little toy to have while stuck at a jobsite. It was a great visit and I would definitely have regretted missing the opportunity to meet up and shake hands. They are off to the Grand Canyon and other destinations.
Anyway, I left the airport. It is literally a 10 minute drive from my house to the airport or back again. When I say that, I mean 10 minutes from my driveway to a parking spot in the parking garage. So, that was an added plus, as after I left there I was now on a mission: get the title to the trailer notarized. Should have done that when I thought about selling the thing. Anyway, turns out that the UPS store 2 miles away from my house has a Notary Public working there, so I got it notarized for the grand total of $2. I was surprised by the price, I have not experienced much of anything cheap at stores like that in the past.
I came back home after the title affair and headed to the pond in my front yard. It was almost empty!!! I mean, there was 3 inches of water at the bottom of the pond!! You want to talk about shock and then into emergency mode!! What the bleep was going on here?!!! Well, whatever was going on, get water into the pond first and then find out what the problem is. Garden hose in, I immediately discovered the problem: the filter was clogged up to the point that it was causing the water being pumped into it to flow out the top, over the side, onto the tile it was sitting on and then - into the dirt instead of back into the pond. I JUST cleaned that filter a few days ago!! Well, it is a small pond - 130 gallons, didn't take long to fill it back up, the fish were fine and problem solved: clean the filter agents and I guess check them more often. I was just glad that there were no fish floating around, dead and they were all doing very well, that I could see.
As for tomorrow, well, those people said they were coming at 10:00 or 11:00 am after I called them back and told them the title is notarized and what time are you coming? Great. I am telling you that just about EVERY Sunday, SOMETHING comes along to try and cause me to NOT go to church. I informed them that I would be at church, but that the people that help me watch my property would be here and they would deal with it if I wasn't here. I wasn't about to tell them to come earlier or later, let them come when they want to - cash in hand of course - and it will be dealt with.
Sounds like a long day, but it was a pleasant one. My visit to the airport was interesting to say the least. Meeting Fin and Bethany just a very pleasant affair and I hope some day to maybe meet some other folks that I have known from blogging. You never know! As I already knew but certainly left with no less of a view than I did before going to the airport today: Fin and Bethany are fine, wonderful people, as good as it gets. Happy traveling! I'm guessing Bethany is going to be in awe of the Grand Canyon: pictures do not do that place justice. You cannot get out of a picture the depth and width and beauty of that place the same as if you are standing on the ledge, looking out over it. It is truly an awe-inspiring, natural phenomenon.
What's left today? Well, who knows, around this place anything can happen, but hopefully I can spend a quiet evening spending time in the Word, visiting with the trailer tenants and maybe a movie on TV. Yes, I am visiting the trailer tenants nowadays in the trailer since it is MUCH larger and has ample room to sit and visit.
Anyway, enough on this one.
G'day and G'nite.
ben
Friday, September 16, 2011
New Tenant
The 3rd room is rented.
2 people showed up today, the first was a woman, with another woman and a small child. It was mother, daughter and grand-daughter. I was mildly interested. In other words, I want the room rented out, asap, I can put the money to good use - but is this worth it? Not that all of them were going to move in, just the mother of the mother. But I got that this probably wouldn't work out too well.
Shortly before this woman showed up, another person responded to my most current ad and said he was ready to come look at the place - right now. I informed him that another party was showing up, when they were gone, he was welcome to come take a look. He showed up, we talked at great length, I had no reservations about renting him the room, he paid up front.
2 people showed up today, the first was a woman, with another woman and a small child. It was mother, daughter and grand-daughter. I was mildly interested. In other words, I want the room rented out, asap, I can put the money to good use - but is this worth it? Not that all of them were going to move in, just the mother of the mother. But I got that this probably wouldn't work out too well.
Shortly before this woman showed up, another person responded to my most current ad and said he was ready to come look at the place - right now. I informed him that another party was showing up, when they were gone, he was welcome to come take a look. He showed up, we talked at great length, I had no reservations about renting him the room, he paid up front.
Friday 9/16/2011
Some stuff happened at work yesterday with this meeting.
I am not going to go into specifics about the situation that brought that meeting about.
But, on a side note, a few other things changed.
My start time has been bumped up a half hour later than my normal start time. This didn't really bother me, I can get up a bit later and that suits me fine.
However, I am contemplating whether I am going to continue to go into work early - the point of that was to drink the free coffee. The free coffee isn't going away, neither is there anything wrong with my drinking the free coffee. But for whatever reason, corporate is apparently paying more attention to things that are being done on their computers. I have permission to get on the computer before I clock in and start the work day, but I am feeling uneasy about writing my entries online on their computer so, I am considering switching back to my morning rituals at home - buy my own coffee and deal with the added expense - show up to work 10 minutes early and that will be that.
The new hours start Monday. So, if it escapes me over the weekend that I am starting new hours at work and show up at my normal time, well, no biggies, I'll just be there an hour early instead of half an hour early.
I did not write an entry this morning because of that and am pretty much leaning towards simply reverting back to doing all of it at home. No-one is awake at that time of day - when I am doing pre-work rituals, it is quiet in here and it is not a problem. I will only have to adjust to going to work later and possibly encountered heavier traffic.
Tomorrow is the 17th of September and also when Fin and Bethany are flying through. I will be there to meet them in person - it's been a long time coming. There are numerous people I have come to know through the internet that I have never met in person but would definitely love to meet up in person and have a chat.
I have yet another individual coming over to look at the room available in about 15/20 minutes. Never-ending story here. Replacing all 3 roommates in a short span of time proves to be a challenge. I think I had to do that once before. It's also a bit interesting in attempting to figure people out - there is so much unemployment and broke/near-homeless people around, you don't really know what you are getting yourself into in allowing people to come into your home.
Enough for now, I have a person coming to see the room. Should be here within the next few minutes or so.
ben
I am not going to go into specifics about the situation that brought that meeting about.
But, on a side note, a few other things changed.
My start time has been bumped up a half hour later than my normal start time. This didn't really bother me, I can get up a bit later and that suits me fine.
However, I am contemplating whether I am going to continue to go into work early - the point of that was to drink the free coffee. The free coffee isn't going away, neither is there anything wrong with my drinking the free coffee. But for whatever reason, corporate is apparently paying more attention to things that are being done on their computers. I have permission to get on the computer before I clock in and start the work day, but I am feeling uneasy about writing my entries online on their computer so, I am considering switching back to my morning rituals at home - buy my own coffee and deal with the added expense - show up to work 10 minutes early and that will be that.
The new hours start Monday. So, if it escapes me over the weekend that I am starting new hours at work and show up at my normal time, well, no biggies, I'll just be there an hour early instead of half an hour early.
I did not write an entry this morning because of that and am pretty much leaning towards simply reverting back to doing all of it at home. No-one is awake at that time of day - when I am doing pre-work rituals, it is quiet in here and it is not a problem. I will only have to adjust to going to work later and possibly encountered heavier traffic.
Tomorrow is the 17th of September and also when Fin and Bethany are flying through. I will be there to meet them in person - it's been a long time coming. There are numerous people I have come to know through the internet that I have never met in person but would definitely love to meet up in person and have a chat.
I have yet another individual coming over to look at the room available in about 15/20 minutes. Never-ending story here. Replacing all 3 roommates in a short span of time proves to be a challenge. I think I had to do that once before. It's also a bit interesting in attempting to figure people out - there is so much unemployment and broke/near-homeless people around, you don't really know what you are getting yourself into in allowing people to come into your home.
Enough for now, I have a person coming to see the room. Should be here within the next few minutes or so.
ben
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Thursday 9/15/2011
Thursday
Today will be interesting.
1:30 slated for this meeting.
I will hold out hope that it can be resolved today and not have to go any further.
At least I slept quite well last night which means I will be nice and awake at that time of day and ready to take on whatever may be unleashed against me.
"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the repeated risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a member of Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-7, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on 8 September 2009. When the forward element of his combat team began to be hit by intense fire from roughly 50 Taliban insurgents dug-in and concealed on the slopes above Ganjgal village, Corporal Meyer mounted a gun-truck, enlisted a fellow Marine to drive, and raced to attack the ambushers and aid the trapped Marines and Afghan soldiers. During a six hour fire fight, Corporal Meyer single-handedly turned the tide of the battle, saved 36 Marines and soldiers and recovered the bodies of his fallen brothers. Four separate times he fought the kilometer up into the heart of a deadly U-shaped ambush. During the fight he killed at least eight Taliban, personally evacuated 12 friendly wounded, and provided cover for another 24 Marines and soldiers to escape likely death at the hands of a numerically superior and determined foe. On his first foray his lone vehicle drew machine gun, mortar, rocket grenade and small arms fire while he rescued five wounded soldiers. His second attack disrupted the enemy’s ambush and he evacuated four more wounded Marines. Switching to another gun-truck because his was too damaged they again sped in for a third time, and as turret gunner killed several Taliban attackers at point blank range and suppressed enemy fire so 24 Marines and soldiers could break-out. Despite being wounded, he made a fourth attack with three others to search for missing team members. Nearly surrounded and under heavy fire he dismounted the vehicle and searched house to house to recover the bodies of his fallen team members. By his extraordinary heroism, presence of mind amidst chaos and death, and unselfish devotion to his comrades in the face of great danger, Corporal Meyer reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."
Unbelievable. I read that and wonder how people can't beleive there is a God in Heaven. I am sure that day for that person was hell, but the mere fact that he survived all of that speaks volumes to me.
G'day.
ben
Today will be interesting.
1:30 slated for this meeting.
I will hold out hope that it can be resolved today and not have to go any further.
At least I slept quite well last night which means I will be nice and awake at that time of day and ready to take on whatever may be unleashed against me.
"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the repeated risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a member of Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-7, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on 8 September 2009. When the forward element of his combat team began to be hit by intense fire from roughly 50 Taliban insurgents dug-in and concealed on the slopes above Ganjgal village, Corporal Meyer mounted a gun-truck, enlisted a fellow Marine to drive, and raced to attack the ambushers and aid the trapped Marines and Afghan soldiers. During a six hour fire fight, Corporal Meyer single-handedly turned the tide of the battle, saved 36 Marines and soldiers and recovered the bodies of his fallen brothers. Four separate times he fought the kilometer up into the heart of a deadly U-shaped ambush. During the fight he killed at least eight Taliban, personally evacuated 12 friendly wounded, and provided cover for another 24 Marines and soldiers to escape likely death at the hands of a numerically superior and determined foe. On his first foray his lone vehicle drew machine gun, mortar, rocket grenade and small arms fire while he rescued five wounded soldiers. His second attack disrupted the enemy’s ambush and he evacuated four more wounded Marines. Switching to another gun-truck because his was too damaged they again sped in for a third time, and as turret gunner killed several Taliban attackers at point blank range and suppressed enemy fire so 24 Marines and soldiers could break-out. Despite being wounded, he made a fourth attack with three others to search for missing team members. Nearly surrounded and under heavy fire he dismounted the vehicle and searched house to house to recover the bodies of his fallen team members. By his extraordinary heroism, presence of mind amidst chaos and death, and unselfish devotion to his comrades in the face of great danger, Corporal Meyer reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."
Unbelievable. I read that and wonder how people can't beleive there is a God in Heaven. I am sure that day for that person was hell, but the mere fact that he survived all of that speaks volumes to me.
G'day.
ben
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Wednesday 9/14/2011
There was no time to write this morning, I had to get on the clock pretty much shortly after I got into work.
To answer Fin: monetarily and even scenarily, there are a number of other countries that come highly recommended for retiring in. Low cost of living; low cost of housing - low everything.
I do not, at least at this point, feel very inclined to forsake my homeland to go live somewhere else on the cheap and live nice on the cheap. That view may very well change, of course, but at this point, I am forever an American that wants to live in America. This is regarding retirement and the - idea I guess - that I am not going to have enough at that point in time when I want/need to retire. It's QUITE a ways off until retirement, but I can't not think of it now.
I am now attempting to rent the 3rd room. A complete tenant change in getting tenants for all 3 rooms. The newest is a wonder, that's for sure.
"Big" meeting tomorrow. I suspect I will be dictated to and told how things are. I will be the professional I am in the industry I am in, but I have my doubts this situation is going to end at the local level. It MIGHT, who knows. I will hope that a good answer to this situation will come forth, but again, I think it will be a dictatorial and monologue and that I will "have" to listen. Whatever. I am ready for what-may-come. This is concerning work and I have yet to go into any of it.
I had a 75% expectation that this would occur. What? I cancelled my prepaid Orchard Bank card, which I only got to help boost my score to get the house loan - something I wish I could have waited on at this point - and reapplied today. This time, for a much better card without the prepaid requirement. Not to my surprise, they approved me for a card that is 5 times the amount that I had available credit for on the prepaid card. I don't really want a lot of credit cards, I do want something showing that I am making payments on time and keep the attempt to build credit alive and kicking.
They are attempting to tell me - the forecasters that is - that 2 Saturdays from now, it will get to 107 degrees for a high temperature. I totally and summarily reject the idea that nearer the end of September, it will still be hot enough to call it a day in June or July. Therefore, I predict their prediction is off the wall and and it will be MUCH cooler than that.
I'm tired. More to say but no desire to go into it now.
Later.
ben
To answer Fin: monetarily and even scenarily, there are a number of other countries that come highly recommended for retiring in. Low cost of living; low cost of housing - low everything.
I do not, at least at this point, feel very inclined to forsake my homeland to go live somewhere else on the cheap and live nice on the cheap. That view may very well change, of course, but at this point, I am forever an American that wants to live in America. This is regarding retirement and the - idea I guess - that I am not going to have enough at that point in time when I want/need to retire. It's QUITE a ways off until retirement, but I can't not think of it now.
I am now attempting to rent the 3rd room. A complete tenant change in getting tenants for all 3 rooms. The newest is a wonder, that's for sure.
"Big" meeting tomorrow. I suspect I will be dictated to and told how things are. I will be the professional I am in the industry I am in, but I have my doubts this situation is going to end at the local level. It MIGHT, who knows. I will hope that a good answer to this situation will come forth, but again, I think it will be a dictatorial and monologue and that I will "have" to listen. Whatever. I am ready for what-may-come. This is concerning work and I have yet to go into any of it.
I had a 75% expectation that this would occur. What? I cancelled my prepaid Orchard Bank card, which I only got to help boost my score to get the house loan - something I wish I could have waited on at this point - and reapplied today. This time, for a much better card without the prepaid requirement. Not to my surprise, they approved me for a card that is 5 times the amount that I had available credit for on the prepaid card. I don't really want a lot of credit cards, I do want something showing that I am making payments on time and keep the attempt to build credit alive and kicking.
They are attempting to tell me - the forecasters that is - that 2 Saturdays from now, it will get to 107 degrees for a high temperature. I totally and summarily reject the idea that nearer the end of September, it will still be hot enough to call it a day in June or July. Therefore, I predict their prediction is off the wall and and it will be MUCH cooler than that.
I'm tired. More to say but no desire to go into it now.
Later.
ben
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Tuesday
Was unable to do anything on here this morning: had to get to work as soon as I got to work, which is usually around 5:30 am, maybe a bit earlier. Busy day at work today, very busy. Worked almost 10 hours non-stop. Tomorrow looks to be the same.
My dad informed me yesterday that I am no longer the executor of his estate and that he is giving everything to his current wife. Nothing against me, she has paid his way quite a lot even though he has money - she gets a military pension or something from her former husband. The caveat to that is if she dies first, then it goes to me. I don't really spend a lot of time thinking about my parent's death. I have seen many others go through it and it looks to be an earthly form of hell, to say the least. When it happens, it happens and I expect to be a basket case for a while. Until then, just enjoy the fact that both my parents are alive, kicking and still moving about.
I think it's when they stop moving is when you start worrying. I think that's true of anyone at any age, but especially the older generation. They stop moving and it seems to me it's pretty much a downhill route after that - downhill to the grave.
My mother also informed me of her already written plans when she dies: A trust. There is no executor, I had thought she had left that to my oldest brother. Not. She left him power of attorney - that is, to end her life if she turns into a vegetable and she has expressed many times over that she does not want to exist in such a state. Pull the plugs and let it go. Easier said than done, I am sure.
She figures that if she left one of us as executor, there would be fighting and hate and this, that and the other thing. I actually wouldn't have cared if my oldest brother had been named executor of estate, it's my middle brother I would have a SERIOUS problem with. He already goes into hysteria when she gives something out of her collection to either me or my oldest brother, exclaiming that he should have received it. The fact of the matter is, I have not asked her for anything, she gives it of her own free will. The REAL fact of the matter is that he, my middle brother, has received some CHOICE things from our family's heritage and he has NOTHING to complain about.
HE is, undoubtedly, the basis of her concerns in this matter. So, she says from much experience dealing with other people's estates, she hopes we can all work it out together. It is really, to me, pretty much out in space to expect that we are all going to be able to work it out, but the caveat in this situation is this: a third goes to each of us. If we can't figure it out, "be prepared to shell out big bucks to take it to court". I've seen this as well. You can spend the money, if you have it and if you want to waste it, in the end, it would be easier and you would probably end up with a lot more if you just sat down at a table and negotiated it. But, my middle brother looks down on me as if I am a 2 year old. I don't expect that that day will go that well.
I got all of this news in the last 4 days, actually.
The only thing this has done for me is to light a fire under my feet: get to saving even more. I am at 5% taken out of my paychecks to 401k, that isn't going to change for now. I am only going that far with it because my company matches up to that point. I do not trust the stock market right now and I am only investing in some - hope - that in the end, it will not all disappear.
I started an automatic withdrawal out of my checking account into a savings account about 2 months ago. This funded by my recent merit-increase at work. I've decided I need to double it. I have had more hours at work on almost every paycheck for a month and a half now. I can do a secondary withdrawal at the same amount I already have withdrawing and if for some reason, it doesn't pan out, I can simply cancel it. Oh, well the extra money from the paychecks has actually gone to funding the under-payments and no-payments from now ex-tenants. The worst of the summer is over, the high electric usage will start to come down now. By the time winter arrives, I will be at least $250 per month less in electric usage and probably around $75 less in water usage.
I have 8 months of payments on the trailer. It will be reduced by 3 months when I sell the old one. I have had a couple of offers on it, but too lowball. I want at least $600 out of it and it will go straight to the people I owe the money to.
My mind is, of course, churning again. It's all about retirement. I guess I take in too much information sometimes about one, particular thing. I read about all the people that are retiring that are broke. They have not saved enough and are attempting to live off of Social Security. I can't even THINK about living off that low amount of money for my retirement years. It's simply out of the question. Not if I can do anything about it, and while I have my health, I am elevating the level of dedication towards it.
The issue is this: to have a place that is paid for when it is time to retire. This property? Not going to happen, but I don't want to retire here anyway. I am going to have to consider about how to get a property, up in the mountains, on payments, that I can afford. Preferably that has water and electricity or has the availability to get it.
I am sort of perplexed at this point. I can't rely on any kind of inheritance, this is what the experts tell you. Don't count on it, it may not happen. My retirement calculations have not included any inheritances. I have, however, done the calculations with SS benefits and without. The difference is substantial. Without SS benefits - of which I am paying a substantial amount of money into on a paycheck by paycheck basis.
I don't really want to go into this issue of whether it will be there when I need it - but it REALLY sucks to think that all of the money I have paid into that system might be totally in vain - and totally forced upon me. This isn't just a waste of my money, I consider it a THEFT of my money.
Not going there in this entry. Only focused on what I can do about my situation as it stands right now. Property, owned out and out, with some kind of livable structure on it. If I don't start focusing on this NOW - even if retirement is 20 years away - I am going to be SCREWED by the time that time gets here. Living under a bridge and asking for handouts. I do NOT live some sort of lavish lifestyle or a lifestyle beyond my means.
For this reason, the travel trailer I bought/am buying is probably going to stay on the property. I will get another one to take up to my mother's property. After that, my focus is going to be on finding and buying on payments a property somewhere that isn't just suitable for living, it's NICE for retiring on. The payments on some of the properties I have looked into are very low - this stuff is going cheap now with low or no down payment.
I'm not really - formulated - on this situation right now. This entered my head after my dad informed me of his intentions. I don't hold it against him, in fact, it really gave me reason to alter even more my plans.
That's it for now. I will considering and researching this issue starting now for some time to come. Hopefully within a year or so come to some kind of formulation of how to get to where I want to be. A second job is not out of the question - never has been - just not much available right now. Building a self-contained "casita" style room has floated around in my mind for some time. The place would be a kitchenette style thing with it's own, very-small bathroom with shower stall; a small kitchen and a living room that is also your bedroom.
I'm in full mode at this point. I have to come up with a clearly defined path of how to get to where I want to be in 20 years and that has proved to be difficult at best, it isn't getting any easier.
Enough.
I am going to bed early, these early-start work times and late end times get me good, though I can't say I don't like it, the paychecks are so much nicer : )
G'nite.
ben
My dad informed me yesterday that I am no longer the executor of his estate and that he is giving everything to his current wife. Nothing against me, she has paid his way quite a lot even though he has money - she gets a military pension or something from her former husband. The caveat to that is if she dies first, then it goes to me. I don't really spend a lot of time thinking about my parent's death. I have seen many others go through it and it looks to be an earthly form of hell, to say the least. When it happens, it happens and I expect to be a basket case for a while. Until then, just enjoy the fact that both my parents are alive, kicking and still moving about.
I think it's when they stop moving is when you start worrying. I think that's true of anyone at any age, but especially the older generation. They stop moving and it seems to me it's pretty much a downhill route after that - downhill to the grave.
My mother also informed me of her already written plans when she dies: A trust. There is no executor, I had thought she had left that to my oldest brother. Not. She left him power of attorney - that is, to end her life if she turns into a vegetable and she has expressed many times over that she does not want to exist in such a state. Pull the plugs and let it go. Easier said than done, I am sure.
She figures that if she left one of us as executor, there would be fighting and hate and this, that and the other thing. I actually wouldn't have cared if my oldest brother had been named executor of estate, it's my middle brother I would have a SERIOUS problem with. He already goes into hysteria when she gives something out of her collection to either me or my oldest brother, exclaiming that he should have received it. The fact of the matter is, I have not asked her for anything, she gives it of her own free will. The REAL fact of the matter is that he, my middle brother, has received some CHOICE things from our family's heritage and he has NOTHING to complain about.
HE is, undoubtedly, the basis of her concerns in this matter. So, she says from much experience dealing with other people's estates, she hopes we can all work it out together. It is really, to me, pretty much out in space to expect that we are all going to be able to work it out, but the caveat in this situation is this: a third goes to each of us. If we can't figure it out, "be prepared to shell out big bucks to take it to court". I've seen this as well. You can spend the money, if you have it and if you want to waste it, in the end, it would be easier and you would probably end up with a lot more if you just sat down at a table and negotiated it. But, my middle brother looks down on me as if I am a 2 year old. I don't expect that that day will go that well.
I got all of this news in the last 4 days, actually.
The only thing this has done for me is to light a fire under my feet: get to saving even more. I am at 5% taken out of my paychecks to 401k, that isn't going to change for now. I am only going that far with it because my company matches up to that point. I do not trust the stock market right now and I am only investing in some - hope - that in the end, it will not all disappear.
I started an automatic withdrawal out of my checking account into a savings account about 2 months ago. This funded by my recent merit-increase at work. I've decided I need to double it. I have had more hours at work on almost every paycheck for a month and a half now. I can do a secondary withdrawal at the same amount I already have withdrawing and if for some reason, it doesn't pan out, I can simply cancel it. Oh, well the extra money from the paychecks has actually gone to funding the under-payments and no-payments from now ex-tenants. The worst of the summer is over, the high electric usage will start to come down now. By the time winter arrives, I will be at least $250 per month less in electric usage and probably around $75 less in water usage.
I have 8 months of payments on the trailer. It will be reduced by 3 months when I sell the old one. I have had a couple of offers on it, but too lowball. I want at least $600 out of it and it will go straight to the people I owe the money to.
My mind is, of course, churning again. It's all about retirement. I guess I take in too much information sometimes about one, particular thing. I read about all the people that are retiring that are broke. They have not saved enough and are attempting to live off of Social Security. I can't even THINK about living off that low amount of money for my retirement years. It's simply out of the question. Not if I can do anything about it, and while I have my health, I am elevating the level of dedication towards it.
The issue is this: to have a place that is paid for when it is time to retire. This property? Not going to happen, but I don't want to retire here anyway. I am going to have to consider about how to get a property, up in the mountains, on payments, that I can afford. Preferably that has water and electricity or has the availability to get it.
I am sort of perplexed at this point. I can't rely on any kind of inheritance, this is what the experts tell you. Don't count on it, it may not happen. My retirement calculations have not included any inheritances. I have, however, done the calculations with SS benefits and without. The difference is substantial. Without SS benefits - of which I am paying a substantial amount of money into on a paycheck by paycheck basis.
I don't really want to go into this issue of whether it will be there when I need it - but it REALLY sucks to think that all of the money I have paid into that system might be totally in vain - and totally forced upon me. This isn't just a waste of my money, I consider it a THEFT of my money.
Not going there in this entry. Only focused on what I can do about my situation as it stands right now. Property, owned out and out, with some kind of livable structure on it. If I don't start focusing on this NOW - even if retirement is 20 years away - I am going to be SCREWED by the time that time gets here. Living under a bridge and asking for handouts. I do NOT live some sort of lavish lifestyle or a lifestyle beyond my means.
For this reason, the travel trailer I bought/am buying is probably going to stay on the property. I will get another one to take up to my mother's property. After that, my focus is going to be on finding and buying on payments a property somewhere that isn't just suitable for living, it's NICE for retiring on. The payments on some of the properties I have looked into are very low - this stuff is going cheap now with low or no down payment.
I'm not really - formulated - on this situation right now. This entered my head after my dad informed me of his intentions. I don't hold it against him, in fact, it really gave me reason to alter even more my plans.
That's it for now. I will considering and researching this issue starting now for some time to come. Hopefully within a year or so come to some kind of formulation of how to get to where I want to be. A second job is not out of the question - never has been - just not much available right now. Building a self-contained "casita" style room has floated around in my mind for some time. The place would be a kitchenette style thing with it's own, very-small bathroom with shower stall; a small kitchen and a living room that is also your bedroom.
I'm in full mode at this point. I have to come up with a clearly defined path of how to get to where I want to be in 20 years and that has proved to be difficult at best, it isn't getting any easier.
Enough.
I am going to bed early, these early-start work times and late end times get me good, though I can't say I don't like it, the paychecks are so much nicer : )
G'nite.
ben
Monday, September 12, 2011
More
The "kid" tenant is gone. He called me today while I was at work asking if he could get away with a bit less than he owes. If I said no, I wanted all of it? I was afraid I would get nothing, so I just agreed to it. $39 less than what he owes is far less than what some other recent departures owe me. So, the debt is cancelled. Hey, he left a $10 jug of laundry detergent, I'll take that, too! Not that he either offered it or I asked.
The freshly-turned 21 year old resurfaced. He decided that for his 21st birthday, he was going to go to Las Vegas and drink. Not much gambling, apparently, I would guess some prostitution, but that's just a guess. The use of a prostitute, that is. Dunno, not my business, but lots of guys go up there just for that purpose.
Sold the MasterCool evaporative cooler just 10 minutes ago. I had it for sale on Craigslist and finally had someone show up, said wow, take it, didn't even try to talk me down in price. However, I was only asking $50 for it to get rid of it, I could have posted it at $100 and eventually got that out of it.
The trailer is getting bites on the ad, but no-one has come to look at it yet. However long it takes, I will keep running the ad until someone takes it.
Plenty more, just wanted to update my blog with the basics.
The freshly-turned 21 year old resurfaced. He decided that for his 21st birthday, he was going to go to Las Vegas and drink. Not much gambling, apparently, I would guess some prostitution, but that's just a guess. The use of a prostitute, that is. Dunno, not my business, but lots of guys go up there just for that purpose.
Sold the MasterCool evaporative cooler just 10 minutes ago. I had it for sale on Craigslist and finally had someone show up, said wow, take it, didn't even try to talk me down in price. However, I was only asking $50 for it to get rid of it, I could have posted it at $100 and eventually got that out of it.
The trailer is getting bites on the ad, but no-one has come to look at it yet. However long it takes, I will keep running the ad until someone takes it.
Plenty more, just wanted to update my blog with the basics.
Monday 9/12/2011
Monday
So, I received a series of emails over the weekend, apparently, on my work account. Concerning the situation at work that I have yet to go into here - and probably won't at least until it's over. A meeting has been scheduled is all I can say about that.
Rain. It apparently has been raining everywhere in this valley excepting.......anywhere near my house. My car was proof of that this morning: dirty rain. Ie: just enough drops of water to attract the blowing dust and make my car filthy.
Apparently, there is tension between the new roommate and the kid (27 years old, but that's beside the point). The kid told the woman not to run the fan in the bathroom. ??? This is what she claimed he told her - I have no doubts, frankly, that this kid is capable of saying such to people as he can be rather brash at times.
Did he say WHY you shouldn't run the fan? Apparently it makes too much noise. You know, the little ceiling fan that airs out bathrooms? So, if this thing is making a lot of noise, the answer is to replace it! What a phenomenal idea! A piece of brilliance if I do say so myself. It's amazing how crass people can be to each other, especially considering living in the same home and more so, considering it isn't THEIR home.
Whatever the case, I became engrossed in some Scripture I was reading online and have now run out of time.
G'day.
ben
So, I received a series of emails over the weekend, apparently, on my work account. Concerning the situation at work that I have yet to go into here - and probably won't at least until it's over. A meeting has been scheduled is all I can say about that.
Rain. It apparently has been raining everywhere in this valley excepting.......anywhere near my house. My car was proof of that this morning: dirty rain. Ie: just enough drops of water to attract the blowing dust and make my car filthy.
Apparently, there is tension between the new roommate and the kid (27 years old, but that's beside the point). The kid told the woman not to run the fan in the bathroom. ??? This is what she claimed he told her - I have no doubts, frankly, that this kid is capable of saying such to people as he can be rather brash at times.
Did he say WHY you shouldn't run the fan? Apparently it makes too much noise. You know, the little ceiling fan that airs out bathrooms? So, if this thing is making a lot of noise, the answer is to replace it! What a phenomenal idea! A piece of brilliance if I do say so myself. It's amazing how crass people can be to each other, especially considering living in the same home and more so, considering it isn't THEIR home.
Whatever the case, I became engrossed in some Scripture I was reading online and have now run out of time.
G'day.
ben
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Sunday 9/11/2011
So, when you think of 9/11, what do you think of?
You're either thinking of calling for emergency units - 911; you're thinking of the terrorist attack in New York in 2001; or in my case: you are thinking of your mother's birthday.
I finally got her age out of her mouth today, I wasn't sure: she turned 76. She's still driving; she's still moving around quite well; she still has a crystal clear presence of mind. I called her today and wished her a happy birthday and of course got into all kinds of discussion, but, I certainly am not regretting driving up there yesterday and visiting her.
As for 9/11, well, I watched a show this morning that followed the timeline that started at the time (real-time) of the attack and ended a bit after the second tower fell. I have watched nothing about it since. I have watched so much footage about 9/11 since 2001 that I really don't need to watch much more about it. I do not agree with the people who think it should go away, however. It was a changing point in our nation's history and I think it completely appropriate that it's 10 year anniversary should be recognized and recognized. I've just watched so much footage - all of it available, I think - in the last 10 years that I don't need to watch a whole day of it. People are still paying for it, I am completely empathetic and sympathetic towards every person that is however related to it.
As for today, well, the newest tenant apparently has gone the rounds of asking about me, specifically. I am not into tenants coming out and going on and on and on and on EVERY single time they come out. They can come in and out as they please, yes, to start an elongated, rambling conversation that is rather mindless, at least from my view of it, every time they come out is more than I want to deal with.
It was supposed to pour rain here today. Instead, we got 60 seconds of drops from the sky and that was the end of it. The entire summer has been that way. I wanted to put on shorts, go out in my bare feet and get drenched. Instead, I got tickled with enough rain to see the polka-dotted "aftermath" on the concrete.
Church. Took me an hour to convince myself I should go. I am never regretful that I went but still, it takes quite a lot for me to actually get dressed for the occasion and actually got out to the CAR, get into and drive over there.
Trailer. I need one for my mother's property. Be thinking about that one for a while. The season for going up there is about over. Winter is coming - though I wouldn't care going up there in the snow to be honest.
Done for now.
G'day.
ben
You're either thinking of calling for emergency units - 911; you're thinking of the terrorist attack in New York in 2001; or in my case: you are thinking of your mother's birthday.
I finally got her age out of her mouth today, I wasn't sure: she turned 76. She's still driving; she's still moving around quite well; she still has a crystal clear presence of mind. I called her today and wished her a happy birthday and of course got into all kinds of discussion, but, I certainly am not regretting driving up there yesterday and visiting her.
As for 9/11, well, I watched a show this morning that followed the timeline that started at the time (real-time) of the attack and ended a bit after the second tower fell. I have watched nothing about it since. I have watched so much footage about 9/11 since 2001 that I really don't need to watch much more about it. I do not agree with the people who think it should go away, however. It was a changing point in our nation's history and I think it completely appropriate that it's 10 year anniversary should be recognized and recognized. I've just watched so much footage - all of it available, I think - in the last 10 years that I don't need to watch a whole day of it. People are still paying for it, I am completely empathetic and sympathetic towards every person that is however related to it.
As for today, well, the newest tenant apparently has gone the rounds of asking about me, specifically. I am not into tenants coming out and going on and on and on and on EVERY single time they come out. They can come in and out as they please, yes, to start an elongated, rambling conversation that is rather mindless, at least from my view of it, every time they come out is more than I want to deal with.
It was supposed to pour rain here today. Instead, we got 60 seconds of drops from the sky and that was the end of it. The entire summer has been that way. I wanted to put on shorts, go out in my bare feet and get drenched. Instead, I got tickled with enough rain to see the polka-dotted "aftermath" on the concrete.
Church. Took me an hour to convince myself I should go. I am never regretful that I went but still, it takes quite a lot for me to actually get dressed for the occasion and actually got out to the CAR, get into and drive over there.
Trailer. I need one for my mother's property. Be thinking about that one for a while. The season for going up there is about over. Winter is coming - though I wouldn't care going up there in the snow to be honest.
Done for now.
G'day.
ben
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Saturday 9/10/2011
So, I went up to my mom's place up in the mountains today.
It was nice to see and visit with her.
Stayed about 5 hours.
I had hoped perhaps I could shoot of my SW40VE somewhere and
she was happy to oblige. So, all 6 of us - my mother, me and
4 large dogs (she has a Golden Retriever), went on a rather long
hike.
She wanted to go to where some other people had a target set up in the
creek down below and was positioned so that even a stray bullet would
simply hit the "wall" behind hit versus going off into never-never land.
I haven't shot a gun since I was a teenager. Let me just say that
right off the bat. I have seen the shooting range pictures: everyone has
ear protection. I had thought that was because of the multitude of guns
being shot off at the same time inside a building and that that was
the reason they needed such.
I loaded the magazine into the gun, pulled the - whatever back - got a
bullet into the chamber, aimed at the target and pulled the trigger.
The explosion of that gun going off was SO loud, I lost my grip on the gun
and the backlash tore a part of my thumbnail off. I was literally SHOCKED
at how LOUD that was! I mean, a person could easily go deaf shooting off
rounds without ear protection! That was it. One shot? We're done. Head to
wherever they sell those ear muffs and I already have ear plugs. With that much
noise, I am decided you need both to protection your eardrums.
But, anyway, all that did was make me want to head to the shooting range and fire
off 30 or 40 rounds and get a feel for the thing - with proper ear protection, lol.
Well, my brother and his wife live about 7 or 8 miles away in a small village in a
cabin and had invited her over to visit for the evening. She told them I was coming
up and would be over there later. I shouldn't say they live there, or should I? They
are, as far as I know, there every weekend.
So, it was good to see her. It REALLY made me want to move my RV trailer up THERE and
be able to hang out up there on the weekends. It is so tranquil and peaceful up there
and the air is - clean. The temp? It was cool, very nice. No, I am not getting rid of
Mark and Lynnette and I am not even suggesting that they should find their own place.
I am not really suggesting that they ever HAVE to leave, to be honest. But, if/when the
day comes, I will have the thing moved up there. If not by spring, I will have to consider
buying another one to put up there.
In reality, I consider Mark and Lynnette an asset to my property, not a liability or a
drain. I feel much more secure when I am not here that I have people I can trust to
watch over things. Especially with tenants - if something goes amiss, they can either
deal with it or call me to let me know what's going on. However, a conversation with my mother about property taxes and insurance got me to remembering that I was going to get liability/loss insurance on that trailer, I had totally forgotten about it.
As for the newest tenant? I have no desire to go there right now, only to say that a few - rules - had to be established. I will discuss that perhaps tomorrow, I just don't feel like going there right now.
Great day. The dogs are TOTALLY out of it and crashed out on the floor. I did that this time, if I go up there again this year before my mother closes it down - which will only be a few more weeks, it will be 1, 2 dogs at the most. I would take all 3 of them up there if I had a trailer up there and had a fenced area around it. My mom's trailer has a huge fenced off area where I can let them loose and not worry about them taking off.
I actually had thoughts about going up there again next weekend and camping out overnight, but, I have a different appointed date for next Saturday and that is something I am not going to miss out on, so maybe the weekend after if she is still up there.
So perhaps that's what my savings will go to, dunno. Umm, an RV trailer, that is. I don't tend to mess with savings until/if/when something happens that I have to use it - so far that hasn't happened an it's adding up quickly. If, by some miracle, I didn't have to touch it until Spring, there would be enough in there for something decent.
I attempted to find my brother's cabin today. I thought I saw his wife sitting out in the sun in a back yard, but I wasn't sure if it was her. I did not want to stop in, I just wanted to see what they had going there. I do believe it was her, actually, that I saw, what threw me off were the vehicles in the driveway. They own pickups, last time I heard, now my mother told me they had bought a small sedan. Yes, that is what was parked in the driveway. There is no way I would even try to stop and say hello with all of those dogs with me: my oldest brother hates my dogs. Whatever, I don't really care. My life has gone on without his presence for my entire adult life, excepting for a holiday here and there where we come together for 3 hours and that's the end of it. But, I did want to see what they had built. If I have a dream, it would be to have a place up in the mountains, away from this heated valley, where I could go hang out on weekends in the summer and enjoy the cool, fresh, mountain air.
Well this entry is getting long, so I am going to end it. More I would want to go into, but I don't want to write a novel here.
G'day.
ben
It was nice to see and visit with her.
Stayed about 5 hours.
I had hoped perhaps I could shoot of my SW40VE somewhere and
she was happy to oblige. So, all 6 of us - my mother, me and
4 large dogs (she has a Golden Retriever), went on a rather long
hike.
She wanted to go to where some other people had a target set up in the
creek down below and was positioned so that even a stray bullet would
simply hit the "wall" behind hit versus going off into never-never land.
I haven't shot a gun since I was a teenager. Let me just say that
right off the bat. I have seen the shooting range pictures: everyone has
ear protection. I had thought that was because of the multitude of guns
being shot off at the same time inside a building and that that was
the reason they needed such.
I loaded the magazine into the gun, pulled the - whatever back - got a
bullet into the chamber, aimed at the target and pulled the trigger.
The explosion of that gun going off was SO loud, I lost my grip on the gun
and the backlash tore a part of my thumbnail off. I was literally SHOCKED
at how LOUD that was! I mean, a person could easily go deaf shooting off
rounds without ear protection! That was it. One shot? We're done. Head to
wherever they sell those ear muffs and I already have ear plugs. With that much
noise, I am decided you need both to protection your eardrums.
But, anyway, all that did was make me want to head to the shooting range and fire
off 30 or 40 rounds and get a feel for the thing - with proper ear protection, lol.
Well, my brother and his wife live about 7 or 8 miles away in a small village in a
cabin and had invited her over to visit for the evening. She told them I was coming
up and would be over there later. I shouldn't say they live there, or should I? They
are, as far as I know, there every weekend.
So, it was good to see her. It REALLY made me want to move my RV trailer up THERE and
be able to hang out up there on the weekends. It is so tranquil and peaceful up there
and the air is - clean. The temp? It was cool, very nice. No, I am not getting rid of
Mark and Lynnette and I am not even suggesting that they should find their own place.
I am not really suggesting that they ever HAVE to leave, to be honest. But, if/when the
day comes, I will have the thing moved up there. If not by spring, I will have to consider
buying another one to put up there.
In reality, I consider Mark and Lynnette an asset to my property, not a liability or a
drain. I feel much more secure when I am not here that I have people I can trust to
watch over things. Especially with tenants - if something goes amiss, they can either
deal with it or call me to let me know what's going on. However, a conversation with my mother about property taxes and insurance got me to remembering that I was going to get liability/loss insurance on that trailer, I had totally forgotten about it.
As for the newest tenant? I have no desire to go there right now, only to say that a few - rules - had to be established. I will discuss that perhaps tomorrow, I just don't feel like going there right now.
Great day. The dogs are TOTALLY out of it and crashed out on the floor. I did that this time, if I go up there again this year before my mother closes it down - which will only be a few more weeks, it will be 1, 2 dogs at the most. I would take all 3 of them up there if I had a trailer up there and had a fenced area around it. My mom's trailer has a huge fenced off area where I can let them loose and not worry about them taking off.
I actually had thoughts about going up there again next weekend and camping out overnight, but, I have a different appointed date for next Saturday and that is something I am not going to miss out on, so maybe the weekend after if she is still up there.
So perhaps that's what my savings will go to, dunno. Umm, an RV trailer, that is. I don't tend to mess with savings until/if/when something happens that I have to use it - so far that hasn't happened an it's adding up quickly. If, by some miracle, I didn't have to touch it until Spring, there would be enough in there for something decent.
I attempted to find my brother's cabin today. I thought I saw his wife sitting out in the sun in a back yard, but I wasn't sure if it was her. I did not want to stop in, I just wanted to see what they had going there. I do believe it was her, actually, that I saw, what threw me off were the vehicles in the driveway. They own pickups, last time I heard, now my mother told me they had bought a small sedan. Yes, that is what was parked in the driveway. There is no way I would even try to stop and say hello with all of those dogs with me: my oldest brother hates my dogs. Whatever, I don't really care. My life has gone on without his presence for my entire adult life, excepting for a holiday here and there where we come together for 3 hours and that's the end of it. But, I did want to see what they had built. If I have a dream, it would be to have a place up in the mountains, away from this heated valley, where I could go hang out on weekends in the summer and enjoy the cool, fresh, mountain air.
Well this entry is getting long, so I am going to end it. More I would want to go into, but I don't want to write a novel here.
G'day.
ben
Friday, September 9, 2011
Friday 9/9/2011
Friday
I have plans this weekend.
My plans, at least half the time, never seem to work out.
So, I will say I have a tentative proposal to myself to drive up to the rim and visit my mom. Her birthday is on Sunday, which is, yes, 9/11. That would have to happen tomorrow, as I am not much into Sunday trips anywhere.
Depending on which weather report you wish to believe - they never agree with each other on projected forecasts, Sunday will cool down to around 100 degrees high temp. This NEEDS to happen. It is also supposed to rain - heavily. That also NEEDS to happen and should have happened many times over during our monsoon season.
So, my room rental woes will continue on shortly. Mario is leaving soon enough. He just had his tonsils removed and is moving back to - Minnesota. I think I have said Michigan in the past, and that is incorrect, he is from Minnesota.
Regardless, round 3 of getting room mates. I have just replaced 2 of them - with no indication from either as to how long they might stay and I am not currently asking them that question. There are a lot of low-ballers out there: people who want a room that I might as well just give away to them for the amount they want to pay. $250 for a room with satellite, wifi, access to everything in the kitchen, utilities included and laundry privileges?
I don't think so. I already put up a homeless couple that really aren't homeless anymore, especially after getting that nicer 5th wheel RV trailer. They help me out, I am not complaining at all, I am simply stating the obvious: I don't need another set of those in my house. I also don't need another person doing "housecleaning" and all of that. Then there are the people who respond saying they will do the FWB thing - sexual favors. IN other words, I have a live-in sex toy to play with whenever I want? Even more amazingly these offers come from BOTH genders, lol. Then there are these people that are "naturists", they like to call themselves. They want to move into your house and then be able to walk aorund naked all the time!
This is only some of what you get when publishing posts in Craigslist offering a room for rent. The only person I am thinking of helping out right now is Kyle and he doesn't turn 18 until January. He has 3 jobs and has expressed interest in moving in after he gets to the age. He has obviously taken huge steps to straighten out his life - ie: he was doing heroin and whatever other drugs and on the run for some time. He also impregnated a girl and now has a baby. I guess that's why he's working 3 jobs, lol.
Anyway, work day approaches.
G'day.
ben
I have plans this weekend.
My plans, at least half the time, never seem to work out.
So, I will say I have a tentative proposal to myself to drive up to the rim and visit my mom. Her birthday is on Sunday, which is, yes, 9/11. That would have to happen tomorrow, as I am not much into Sunday trips anywhere.
Depending on which weather report you wish to believe - they never agree with each other on projected forecasts, Sunday will cool down to around 100 degrees high temp. This NEEDS to happen. It is also supposed to rain - heavily. That also NEEDS to happen and should have happened many times over during our monsoon season.
So, my room rental woes will continue on shortly. Mario is leaving soon enough. He just had his tonsils removed and is moving back to - Minnesota. I think I have said Michigan in the past, and that is incorrect, he is from Minnesota.
Regardless, round 3 of getting room mates. I have just replaced 2 of them - with no indication from either as to how long they might stay and I am not currently asking them that question. There are a lot of low-ballers out there: people who want a room that I might as well just give away to them for the amount they want to pay. $250 for a room with satellite, wifi, access to everything in the kitchen, utilities included and laundry privileges?
I don't think so. I already put up a homeless couple that really aren't homeless anymore, especially after getting that nicer 5th wheel RV trailer. They help me out, I am not complaining at all, I am simply stating the obvious: I don't need another set of those in my house. I also don't need another person doing "housecleaning" and all of that. Then there are the people who respond saying they will do the FWB thing - sexual favors. IN other words, I have a live-in sex toy to play with whenever I want? Even more amazingly these offers come from BOTH genders, lol. Then there are these people that are "naturists", they like to call themselves. They want to move into your house and then be able to walk aorund naked all the time!
This is only some of what you get when publishing posts in Craigslist offering a room for rent. The only person I am thinking of helping out right now is Kyle and he doesn't turn 18 until January. He has 3 jobs and has expressed interest in moving in after he gets to the age. He has obviously taken huge steps to straighten out his life - ie: he was doing heroin and whatever other drugs and on the run for some time. He also impregnated a girl and now has a baby. I guess that's why he's working 3 jobs, lol.
Anyway, work day approaches.
G'day.
ben
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Obama To Throw Away Another Half Trillion?
I don't really have much to say about this, except I hope that it is summarily rejected.
The government is not going to save the economy because it CAN'T save the economy and frankly, it doesn't EXIST to save the economy.
Fin and Bethany are going on vacation with a stopover in Phoenix. Stopover meaning the airplane lands here, they're here for a couple of hours and then they move on. I will be there to meet them both in person! I've only met a few "internet" friends in the past.
NFL football is back. I need not say more, I love NFL football and that's that.
Heat has not gone away - yet. 109 degrees today. Thank you, I was out in the sun sweating profusely on numerous occasions. When September ACTUALLY arrives with cooler temperatures, then the announcement will be made that September has arrived. I am actually getting to the point that I despise living in this city and would love nothing more than to get out of here.
My dad is talking about moving to San Antonio. Yikes. Well, nice knowing ya, dad, probably won't be seeing much of you if you do, indeed, move there. San Antonio Texas is quite the drive from here. Okay, about a thousand miles. In my 20's, I could drive 1,000 miles in a day. I'm not joking and I didn't have help and I did it many times over. I'm thinking about a day and a half, though I drive pretty fast, so who knows. He is seriously talking of moving there, more power to him. I am quite sure this has to do with his wife wanting to be closer to her kids than it has to do with anything, but it's his life.
I dunno. Life is taking some strange turns right now, I'm not exactly sure where all of this is going to end up.
One thing I am sure of? This entry is over.
G'nite.
ben
The government is not going to save the economy because it CAN'T save the economy and frankly, it doesn't EXIST to save the economy.
Fin and Bethany are going on vacation with a stopover in Phoenix. Stopover meaning the airplane lands here, they're here for a couple of hours and then they move on. I will be there to meet them both in person! I've only met a few "internet" friends in the past.
NFL football is back. I need not say more, I love NFL football and that's that.
Heat has not gone away - yet. 109 degrees today. Thank you, I was out in the sun sweating profusely on numerous occasions. When September ACTUALLY arrives with cooler temperatures, then the announcement will be made that September has arrived. I am actually getting to the point that I despise living in this city and would love nothing more than to get out of here.
My dad is talking about moving to San Antonio. Yikes. Well, nice knowing ya, dad, probably won't be seeing much of you if you do, indeed, move there. San Antonio Texas is quite the drive from here. Okay, about a thousand miles. In my 20's, I could drive 1,000 miles in a day. I'm not joking and I didn't have help and I did it many times over. I'm thinking about a day and a half, though I drive pretty fast, so who knows. He is seriously talking of moving there, more power to him. I am quite sure this has to do with his wife wanting to be closer to her kids than it has to do with anything, but it's his life.
I dunno. Life is taking some strange turns right now, I'm not exactly sure where all of this is going to end up.
One thing I am sure of? This entry is over.
G'nite.
ben
Thursday 9/8/2011
Thursday
There are only 2 things dominating my mind right now:
The never-ending summer and this situation at work.
Today's high is supposed to be 109 degrees. It's the 8th of SEPTEMBER, not JUNE!!!
I just sweat all day long while out at work. By the time I get home from work,I don't want to do anything.
There is a LOT to do on my property that I have put off for a while now because of this situation.
Now, IF the forecasters are right - which they seem to rarely accomplish - then Saturday marks the beginning of much cooler temperatures with a daytime high of 99 degrees. Won't hold my breath on that one, but certainly it would be nice.
As for work, I am not going to go into that here and that's that. Divulging that kind of information on a public website accessible by anyone in the world is probably not a good idea, therefore, I will mute myself on that one, at least for now.
One of the Danes decided that dumping in my bathroom last night was better than waking me up and "asking" to go outside, like they normally do when such needs arise. No democracy here, I threw both of them out for the rest of the night as I didn't know which one did it (though I have to say, Prince, the black Dane, definitely had that guilty look on his face). You might be the best sleeper on the planet, but I pretty much guarantee you that when that smells hits your nostrils? You aren't going to sleep through the night like that! That's the worst part: having to get up in the middle of a deep sleep and clean that mess up. Fortunately, it doesn't happen often.
Dunno what else, nothing really. Just biding time and taking one step at a time in this situation unfolding before me - see where it ends up!
ben
There are only 2 things dominating my mind right now:
The never-ending summer and this situation at work.
Today's high is supposed to be 109 degrees. It's the 8th of SEPTEMBER, not JUNE!!!
I just sweat all day long while out at work. By the time I get home from work,I don't want to do anything.
There is a LOT to do on my property that I have put off for a while now because of this situation.
Now, IF the forecasters are right - which they seem to rarely accomplish - then Saturday marks the beginning of much cooler temperatures with a daytime high of 99 degrees. Won't hold my breath on that one, but certainly it would be nice.
As for work, I am not going to go into that here and that's that. Divulging that kind of information on a public website accessible by anyone in the world is probably not a good idea, therefore, I will mute myself on that one, at least for now.
One of the Danes decided that dumping in my bathroom last night was better than waking me up and "asking" to go outside, like they normally do when such needs arise. No democracy here, I threw both of them out for the rest of the night as I didn't know which one did it (though I have to say, Prince, the black Dane, definitely had that guilty look on his face). You might be the best sleeper on the planet, but I pretty much guarantee you that when that smells hits your nostrils? You aren't going to sleep through the night like that! That's the worst part: having to get up in the middle of a deep sleep and clean that mess up. Fortunately, it doesn't happen often.
Dunno what else, nothing really. Just biding time and taking one step at a time in this situation unfolding before me - see where it ends up!
ben
Wednesday 9/7/2011
Wednesday
Well, I just threw a monkey wrench into the "plan" - can't and won't go into it here or anywhere else concerning work - at least for now. Until I know how this is going to go and where it's leading to, just going to bide my time, take the necessary actions and see what happens.
I don't really have anything else here. I am sort of lost in thought about all of this situation and how it's all going to turn out.
So, I won't drag on anymore with it.
G'day.
ben
Well, I just threw a monkey wrench into the "plan" - can't and won't go into it here or anywhere else concerning work - at least for now. Until I know how this is going to go and where it's leading to, just going to bide my time, take the necessary actions and see what happens.
I don't really have anything else here. I am sort of lost in thought about all of this situation and how it's all going to turn out.
So, I won't drag on anymore with it.
G'day.
ben
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Hot Days
I am SO sick of burning up in this heat! I just went outside a few minutes ago to turn the water off, it's well over 100 out there and it's almost 8:00pm!
Cooler times are coming, yes, but they should have already come by now!! August is NEVER that hot, much less September!!
I was up in Globe today, higher elevation in the mountains - it was QUITE warm and humid up there, as well! I did snap a few shots, however, of a fire burning on a mountain range that was even higher. Too bad I have absolutely no desire to go through the rigarmoroo of uploading photos right now. A lightning strike sparked the fire and apparently the fire officials have determined to let it burn itself out.
The contractor I was delivering to said it had been burning for a week. Well, if that's all the bigger it is going to get in a week's time, I can understand the decision to not take crews off of larger, more threatening fires to deal with this very small fire - though the smoke is visible for miles.
Umm, new tenant moving into tomorrow. Money is guaranteed, I'm not worried about that part of it. I'm not sure this person is all there. But, she is sweet enough. Only time will tell whether she will make a good fit here or not.
Ummm, whatever. Situation at work is going to be - messing with my head - for a while. I am waiting to hear back from the GM. That could be days or even weeks.
Anyway, I'm in good spirits, come what may.
G'nite.
ben
Cooler times are coming, yes, but they should have already come by now!! August is NEVER that hot, much less September!!
I was up in Globe today, higher elevation in the mountains - it was QUITE warm and humid up there, as well! I did snap a few shots, however, of a fire burning on a mountain range that was even higher. Too bad I have absolutely no desire to go through the rigarmoroo of uploading photos right now. A lightning strike sparked the fire and apparently the fire officials have determined to let it burn itself out.
The contractor I was delivering to said it had been burning for a week. Well, if that's all the bigger it is going to get in a week's time, I can understand the decision to not take crews off of larger, more threatening fires to deal with this very small fire - though the smoke is visible for miles.
Umm, new tenant moving into tomorrow. Money is guaranteed, I'm not worried about that part of it. I'm not sure this person is all there. But, she is sweet enough. Only time will tell whether she will make a good fit here or not.
Ummm, whatever. Situation at work is going to be - messing with my head - for a while. I am waiting to hear back from the GM. That could be days or even weeks.
Anyway, I'm in good spirits, come what may.
G'nite.
ben
Monday 9/6/2011
I'm not in a writing mood and haven't been since a situation developed at work on Friday. Nothing I am going into here, right now.
3 day weekend came and went seemingly as fast as a regular, 2-day weekend.
I was able to get the room rented yesterday, with the new person moving in on Thursday - and yes, I did get the money up front as I don't hold rooms. I had had a lot of response from an ad I ran - I think it was Sunday night. The thing about renting these rooms is getting an ad placed at the right time. Sounds weird but I just don't think people want to go through a bunch of ads, they just look at what's at the top and start replying.
Alberston's is running a buy 1, get 2 free deal on ribs. I basically fed the house yesterday in doing a BBQ, slow cooking it and serving with some other goodies. The other new tenant - the 20 year old - apparently was loving it as he went back for seconds.
I am now facing the loss of the other 20-something tenant as he is leaving either on the 11th or 12th of this month (he hasn't given me a definitive date, one of those 2 days according to him). He is going in this morning to get his tonsils removed - at the cost of Arizona taxpayers, lol, going to recover from it and then drive home to Michigan.
Obama - whatta piece of work. Hey, he has a great idea: spend MORE money!
I am facing some decisions at work - how far do I want to take a situation that was shoved in my face. I have a long memory, is all I can say about it.
That's it. I'm just going to read the news and then go to work after clocking in. The truck routing system is FULL of all kinds of stuff to do in there, most of it pickups but there is also 2 deliveries, one of them up to Globe.
G'day.
ben
3 day weekend came and went seemingly as fast as a regular, 2-day weekend.
I was able to get the room rented yesterday, with the new person moving in on Thursday - and yes, I did get the money up front as I don't hold rooms. I had had a lot of response from an ad I ran - I think it was Sunday night. The thing about renting these rooms is getting an ad placed at the right time. Sounds weird but I just don't think people want to go through a bunch of ads, they just look at what's at the top and start replying.
Alberston's is running a buy 1, get 2 free deal on ribs. I basically fed the house yesterday in doing a BBQ, slow cooking it and serving with some other goodies. The other new tenant - the 20 year old - apparently was loving it as he went back for seconds.
I am now facing the loss of the other 20-something tenant as he is leaving either on the 11th or 12th of this month (he hasn't given me a definitive date, one of those 2 days according to him). He is going in this morning to get his tonsils removed - at the cost of Arizona taxpayers, lol, going to recover from it and then drive home to Michigan.
Obama - whatta piece of work. Hey, he has a great idea: spend MORE money!
I am facing some decisions at work - how far do I want to take a situation that was shoved in my face. I have a long memory, is all I can say about it.
That's it. I'm just going to read the news and then go to work after clocking in. The truck routing system is FULL of all kinds of stuff to do in there, most of it pickups but there is also 2 deliveries, one of them up to Globe.
G'day.
ben
Friday, September 2, 2011
Friday 9/2/2011
Friday
On the cusp of a 3-day weekend.
Yesterday - 11 hours and 15 minutes of straight, non-stop work. Most of it in intense heat and most of that in the direct sunlight. The good thing is I got some OT that won't go away by sending me home early today. The reason is that there is too much to do in the system today, it will take at least until my normal quitting time to get all of it done.
I stopped by the urgent care place yesterday to get the results. Negative. Nothing wrong with you. Great, then what is this pain? Am I dreaming it? Am I making it up? Not hardly. I have been looking for a doctor, I will continue searching.
The idea that texting while driving shouldn't be completely and totally banned is nonsense. I heard this from some government "dude" yesterday and about threw up. I see this crap on the freeways every single day. You see someone swerving back and forth in front of you, almost guaranteed it's a person who is texting first and driving second.
Or the lady yesterday. Heavy, rush-hour traffic. She is keeping 2 hundred feet of space between her and the car in front of her so she can .........what else: text while driving. Her car is moving from one side of the lane to the other. She speeds up, slows down, speeds up, slows down. I have a great view from the perch it is sitting inside of a semi, I can see right down into cars and see what drivers are doing in there.
Of course, since we are going onto maddening habits that drivers do, let me just go into this one again. Stuck behind a vehicle for miles going 10, 15 even 20 miles per hour slower than the speed limit. Driving a semi, you can't just cut in and out of traffic, you are usually stuck behind a person like this for a long time waiting for traffic in the other lanes to clear.
So it was the other day. Stuck behind this person for 10 minutes going 55 in a 65 zone. When I FINALLY was able to get out from behind this driver, I sped up. Guess what? This person suddenly is going 70mph. It happens ALL the time, it is not an infrequent occurence.
Well whatever. Workday is almost here and there is quite a lot to get done. I'm still worn out from yesterday.
But, that is no excuse, right? lol
G'day.
ben
On the cusp of a 3-day weekend.
Yesterday - 11 hours and 15 minutes of straight, non-stop work. Most of it in intense heat and most of that in the direct sunlight. The good thing is I got some OT that won't go away by sending me home early today. The reason is that there is too much to do in the system today, it will take at least until my normal quitting time to get all of it done.
I stopped by the urgent care place yesterday to get the results. Negative. Nothing wrong with you. Great, then what is this pain? Am I dreaming it? Am I making it up? Not hardly. I have been looking for a doctor, I will continue searching.
The idea that texting while driving shouldn't be completely and totally banned is nonsense. I heard this from some government "dude" yesterday and about threw up. I see this crap on the freeways every single day. You see someone swerving back and forth in front of you, almost guaranteed it's a person who is texting first and driving second.
Or the lady yesterday. Heavy, rush-hour traffic. She is keeping 2 hundred feet of space between her and the car in front of her so she can .........what else: text while driving. Her car is moving from one side of the lane to the other. She speeds up, slows down, speeds up, slows down. I have a great view from the perch it is sitting inside of a semi, I can see right down into cars and see what drivers are doing in there.
Of course, since we are going onto maddening habits that drivers do, let me just go into this one again. Stuck behind a vehicle for miles going 10, 15 even 20 miles per hour slower than the speed limit. Driving a semi, you can't just cut in and out of traffic, you are usually stuck behind a person like this for a long time waiting for traffic in the other lanes to clear.
So it was the other day. Stuck behind this person for 10 minutes going 55 in a 65 zone. When I FINALLY was able to get out from behind this driver, I sped up. Guess what? This person suddenly is going 70mph. It happens ALL the time, it is not an infrequent occurence.
Well whatever. Workday is almost here and there is quite a lot to get done. I'm still worn out from yesterday.
But, that is no excuse, right? lol
G'day.
ben
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Thursday 9/1/2011
Thursday 9/1/2011
Well at least I'm not the only one thinking along these lines.
I have been saying for a couple of weeks now how hot it has been for this time of year. The temps are supposed to be dropping down into the low 100's range, instead, we are STILL slated for a 111 degree high today and tomorrow!
Apparently several records were set here for the month of August, including being right up there for the hottest month, ever, including all other months!
This is insanity and I demand that Mother Nature turn on the Air Conditioning! The COOL air conditioning, not the blooming HEATER!!
Let's take the projected highs into next week: 108; 109; 109; 108 and then it shows a high of 105 the next day. Absolutely unacceptable. Do you know what this heat is doing to my electric usage?!!!!!!
Okay, so it's hot, next. The tenancy blues.....are only going to get worse. The kid tenant is leaving on the 11th. He is going back home. Apparently he has had enough of Arizona, lol. Unfortunately, that will leave another room needing an occupant and I am already struggling with getting the other room rented. Whatever. I continue to have sporadic respond to my room rental ads and I haven't checked roommates.com account yet to see if there is any interest. Be doing that in a bit.
Well, busy looking day today. Yesterday was ridiculous. So, I'm out of here.....into the heat.
ben
Well at least I'm not the only one thinking along these lines.
I have been saying for a couple of weeks now how hot it has been for this time of year. The temps are supposed to be dropping down into the low 100's range, instead, we are STILL slated for a 111 degree high today and tomorrow!
Apparently several records were set here for the month of August, including being right up there for the hottest month, ever, including all other months!
This is insanity and I demand that Mother Nature turn on the Air Conditioning! The COOL air conditioning, not the blooming HEATER!!
Let's take the projected highs into next week: 108; 109; 109; 108 and then it shows a high of 105 the next day. Absolutely unacceptable. Do you know what this heat is doing to my electric usage?!!!!!!
Okay, so it's hot, next. The tenancy blues.....are only going to get worse. The kid tenant is leaving on the 11th. He is going back home. Apparently he has had enough of Arizona, lol. Unfortunately, that will leave another room needing an occupant and I am already struggling with getting the other room rented. Whatever. I continue to have sporadic respond to my room rental ads and I haven't checked roommates.com account yet to see if there is any interest. Be doing that in a bit.
Well, busy looking day today. Yesterday was ridiculous. So, I'm out of here.....into the heat.
ben
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Wednesday 8/31/2011
Wednesday
So, today is the big Cat Scan day.
Finally, someone agreed with me without having to asking them, they said: "the only thing I don't like about it is being exposed to radiation".
Thank you.
I have yet another interested party in the room and they are allegedly going to come over today to takealookatit.
Their nephew goes to the college which is all of 2 miles away from my house.
So, this big to-do with Quik-Trip, a large gas station/convenience store chain, is over. I cannot believe such a thing actually made it on the ballot. They wanted to build a gas station in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Not in a commercially zoned development, on a lot which was zoned for residential.
They lost. Kudos to my fellow Phoenicians for stopping this nonsense, let them build their gas stations where it is already zoned for such and out of the MIDDLE of a neighborhood.
End of month today. I always say that at the end of the month, cause' I look at the store's numbers to see where we're at. Not great, but not bad, either.
Interestingly, I found my new tenant's name in the Justice Court system. Actually, I found his name and apparently a couple of his friends in the same civil suit, a forcible detainer against them, filed by an apartment complex in Tempe less than 2 months ago. Ummm, I probably should have checked that before letting him move in, but oh well. He definitely has a job/income, so we'll see how this one turns out. I didn't say anything to him about it and probably won't, just interesting facts that you can find, for free, online, if you want to go through the pain of attempting to find it.
Finally, I'm curious as to what Iran is up to. I am sure Israel is, too. That is, sending a fleet to the Red Sea. Perhaps certain elements of this world love that nation and their rhetoric, I am guessing most of the civilized world does NOT and probably, their sending ships all over the place isn't going to be well received, either.
"
"The presence of Iran's army in the high seas will convey the message of peace and friendship to all countries," he said, according to the website."
Yeah? I don't think so. I think it will have the exact opposite effect. A nation's fleet getting that close to a country where it's president has stated that country - Israel - should be wiped off the face of the map is hardly going to elicit feelings of warmth, love and comaraderie.
G'day.
ben
So, today is the big Cat Scan day.
Finally, someone agreed with me without having to asking them, they said: "the only thing I don't like about it is being exposed to radiation".
Thank you.
I have yet another interested party in the room and they are allegedly going to come over today to takealookatit.
Their nephew goes to the college which is all of 2 miles away from my house.
So, this big to-do with Quik-Trip, a large gas station/convenience store chain, is over. I cannot believe such a thing actually made it on the ballot. They wanted to build a gas station in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Not in a commercially zoned development, on a lot which was zoned for residential.
They lost. Kudos to my fellow Phoenicians for stopping this nonsense, let them build their gas stations where it is already zoned for such and out of the MIDDLE of a neighborhood.
End of month today. I always say that at the end of the month, cause' I look at the store's numbers to see where we're at. Not great, but not bad, either.
Interestingly, I found my new tenant's name in the Justice Court system. Actually, I found his name and apparently a couple of his friends in the same civil suit, a forcible detainer against them, filed by an apartment complex in Tempe less than 2 months ago. Ummm, I probably should have checked that before letting him move in, but oh well. He definitely has a job/income, so we'll see how this one turns out. I didn't say anything to him about it and probably won't, just interesting facts that you can find, for free, online, if you want to go through the pain of attempting to find it.
Finally, I'm curious as to what Iran is up to. I am sure Israel is, too. That is, sending a fleet to the Red Sea. Perhaps certain elements of this world love that nation and their rhetoric, I am guessing most of the civilized world does NOT and probably, their sending ships all over the place isn't going to be well received, either.
"
"The presence of Iran's army in the high seas will convey the message of peace and friendship to all countries," he said, according to the website."
Yeah? I don't think so. I think it will have the exact opposite effect. A nation's fleet getting that close to a country where it's president has stated that country - Israel - should be wiped off the face of the map is hardly going to elicit feelings of warmth, love and comaraderie.
G'day.
ben
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Really?
Yes, as a matter of fact, this is who I am and this is my blog. I have sent a few - very few - people that I know in "real life" to my blog - only because they insisted on it. I don't actually promote it to anyone, at all. Not that I don't want readers, just that - well - dunno, really. Have to give it some thought.
Okay, I take that back. There are certain things that I write about on this blog that I know will cause' people to visit from around the world. That would include my Cafe World entries and various other discussion. You would be surprised at how many people come here looking for information about how to buy antibiotics for your dogs without a prescription. I'll give Fin the credit for finding out about Feedjit and the information it gives...........
Caleb. He is back at work, the same place he quit before going to the mountains - but - left on good terms. They wanted him back and they really like him. So that's cool.
We got into a rather lengthy conversation today about customer service, what good customer service entails and my rather candid remarks about customer service I receive frequently that is - very poor. More like terribly s*****, but we need not go there, I guess. I don't remember the low level of customer service across the board when I was younger and the world didn't believe everyone was out to get each other...........
He went back to that guy that threatened to kick his @$$ before he quit and went to work as a counselor at the youth camp for Salvation Army in the mountains. I will NEVER forget my son telling me this story of a 29 year old threatening to beat up my, at the time, 17 year old son. The feelings that that invoked were - rage; anger; go give the guy a toothless jaw. I didn't give into those feelings, thankfully, but I will definitely admit I HAD those feelings.
Caleb was lamenting about this guy's lack of work ethic. He goes to the Starbucks - in-store - and flirts with the ladies working there and abandons his post. His post is the customer service desk! I can't even imagine going to that desk and not finding anyone there during it's open hours. I mean, I can imagine it: MANAGEMENT, PLEASE, would be my first reaction if I had to wait there more than a couple of minutes without anyone showing up.
Caleb has no love for this guy and asked if I would show up. NO, I said, not to start an altercation with this man because of his threats. But, I could show up and go to the customer service desk to ask for help. I can think of several things I can go to the desk for. The point? The management of that place never forced him to apologize to my son for threatening him. They didn't fire him. They didn't do SQUAT. This guy continues on with the SAME crap!!
It will have to be a legitimate reason to call for this guy's management, but that will be easy: apparently he abandons post frequently and has to be called back on the store intercom several times per shift.
Okay, I take that back. There are certain things that I write about on this blog that I know will cause' people to visit from around the world. That would include my Cafe World entries and various other discussion. You would be surprised at how many people come here looking for information about how to buy antibiotics for your dogs without a prescription. I'll give Fin the credit for finding out about Feedjit and the information it gives...........
Caleb. He is back at work, the same place he quit before going to the mountains - but - left on good terms. They wanted him back and they really like him. So that's cool.
We got into a rather lengthy conversation today about customer service, what good customer service entails and my rather candid remarks about customer service I receive frequently that is - very poor. More like terribly s*****, but we need not go there, I guess. I don't remember the low level of customer service across the board when I was younger and the world didn't believe everyone was out to get each other...........
He went back to that guy that threatened to kick his @$$ before he quit and went to work as a counselor at the youth camp for Salvation Army in the mountains. I will NEVER forget my son telling me this story of a 29 year old threatening to beat up my, at the time, 17 year old son. The feelings that that invoked were - rage; anger; go give the guy a toothless jaw. I didn't give into those feelings, thankfully, but I will definitely admit I HAD those feelings.
Caleb was lamenting about this guy's lack of work ethic. He goes to the Starbucks - in-store - and flirts with the ladies working there and abandons his post. His post is the customer service desk! I can't even imagine going to that desk and not finding anyone there during it's open hours. I mean, I can imagine it: MANAGEMENT, PLEASE, would be my first reaction if I had to wait there more than a couple of minutes without anyone showing up.
Caleb has no love for this guy and asked if I would show up. NO, I said, not to start an altercation with this man because of his threats. But, I could show up and go to the customer service desk to ask for help. I can think of several things I can go to the desk for. The point? The management of that place never forced him to apologize to my son for threatening him. They didn't fire him. They didn't do SQUAT. This guy continues on with the SAME crap!!
It will have to be a legitimate reason to call for this guy's management, but that will be easy: apparently he abandons post frequently and has to be called back on the store intercom several times per shift.
Tuesday 8/30/2011
Tuesday
So, uhh, this pain in my side isn't exactly going away. I figured it would pass through and I would just get it over with.
So, tomorrow after work I am going in for the CT scan, find out for sure whatever is going on in there and - hopefully get it dealt with.
This thing is actually waking me up at night and keeping me awake, hence the desire to get it dealt with, sooner versus later.
Lots going on in this world. Too much to keep up with all of it. I have been watching some of the 911 shows that Nat Geo has been showing, but Bush interview is a classic as far as I'm concerned, I've watched it twice now. You don't really see much of Bush on the airwaves anymore - I wonder how many Secret Service agents he has to have around him when he goes out, considering the extreme hatred that apparently still exists against him? I don't get it and let it go, is all I can say about that.
What is the irony of all of these US states that are being flooded with more water than they could ever use right now in contrast to other US states that are in severe drought? Oh, that you could just "ship" the water from one state to another.
For that and since the Federal government loves to waste tax payer money, I propose a giant pipeline be installed from one side of the country to the other. 3,000 miles of ductile iron pipe, at least 5 foot diameter, costing what, $200 per foor just for the pipe? Plus the cost of labor and any easement lawsuits. Oh, and pumps, fittings and all the rest of it. I bet you could dump a trillion dollars just into a project like that! Look at all the jobs it would create!
We could bring the state of Texas right out of it's drought condition and pump all of it's lakes and reservoirs full of water from various rivers throughout the US. A preposterous idea? No more so than dumping a trillion dollars into the economy and seeing it vanish into thin air, with no more result than - having had wasted a trillion dollars.
My project, at least, would have some kind of result!! I'm not being serious here, folks.
The work day is here. I was sleeping so hard when the alarm went off this morning - considering I spent half the night tossing and turning attempting to get comfortable - yes, this reminds me the first time I had kidney stones - that the alarm clock had been going off fully 8 minutes before I finally woke up. I don't think the dogs were too happy about it.
Ummm, that's it and.....
g'day.
ben
So, uhh, this pain in my side isn't exactly going away. I figured it would pass through and I would just get it over with.
So, tomorrow after work I am going in for the CT scan, find out for sure whatever is going on in there and - hopefully get it dealt with.
This thing is actually waking me up at night and keeping me awake, hence the desire to get it dealt with, sooner versus later.
Lots going on in this world. Too much to keep up with all of it. I have been watching some of the 911 shows that Nat Geo has been showing, but Bush interview is a classic as far as I'm concerned, I've watched it twice now. You don't really see much of Bush on the airwaves anymore - I wonder how many Secret Service agents he has to have around him when he goes out, considering the extreme hatred that apparently still exists against him? I don't get it and let it go, is all I can say about that.
What is the irony of all of these US states that are being flooded with more water than they could ever use right now in contrast to other US states that are in severe drought? Oh, that you could just "ship" the water from one state to another.
For that and since the Federal government loves to waste tax payer money, I propose a giant pipeline be installed from one side of the country to the other. 3,000 miles of ductile iron pipe, at least 5 foot diameter, costing what, $200 per foor just for the pipe? Plus the cost of labor and any easement lawsuits. Oh, and pumps, fittings and all the rest of it. I bet you could dump a trillion dollars just into a project like that! Look at all the jobs it would create!
We could bring the state of Texas right out of it's drought condition and pump all of it's lakes and reservoirs full of water from various rivers throughout the US. A preposterous idea? No more so than dumping a trillion dollars into the economy and seeing it vanish into thin air, with no more result than - having had wasted a trillion dollars.
My project, at least, would have some kind of result!! I'm not being serious here, folks.
The work day is here. I was sleeping so hard when the alarm went off this morning - considering I spent half the night tossing and turning attempting to get comfortable - yes, this reminds me the first time I had kidney stones - that the alarm clock had been going off fully 8 minutes before I finally woke up. I don't think the dogs were too happy about it.
Ummm, that's it and.....
g'day.
ben
Monday, August 29, 2011
Tenant/IRS
I had a potential renter show up over here an hour or so ago. I knew he was coming, I didn't know he had just flown in from Ohio. He looked around the house and then the "yard" area. No grass. No. No grass. Just the pockets of it growing that I don't want. I love grass, don't get me wrong, but in these parts at this time of year? A yard of grass is watering it daily and mowing it frequently. If you don't water it daily in the heat, it's either going to die or it's not going to look very good.
I made the decision early on not to have grass, and then later decided on a small patch of it. The dogs ruined it and I decided that decorative landscaping rock is the way to go. As many other Phoenicians also do.
So we come back inside and talking for a while. He was honest, if nothing else: the inside of your house is beautiful, the outside, I don't like it. Why? There's no grass!! Yes, I can imagine coming from Ohio you are used to seeing grass EVERYWHERE. You will see grass here, yes, but you will definitely NOT see it everywhere. The common landscaping theme here is very nice looking, decorative landscaping rock.
Many homes that do have grass don't have their entire property surrounded with it. They'll have a patch of it for looks. There are areas with irrigation that have entire properties surrounded with grass, yes. There are houses that install the sprinkler systems and have grass all around, yes, but the majority of landscaping in the Phoenix area is rock, not grass.
Just an FYI. He wasn't happy with it, no biggies. I'll be happy to get a 3rd renter in here, yes, but I am not desperate - or if I was - I wouldn't show it to a potential renter, that's for sure.
I had another call today that wanted to come see it tomorrow. He asked a lot of questions, which I happily answered all of them. He sounded comfortable with it and we set tomorrow for him to come over and that was the end of that call. 2 minutes later, he calls back: Do you have dogs? I'm afraid of dogs. My ads plainly state that not only do I have dogs, I have very LARGE dogs. It's conspicuous, it's plainly stated. Well, that put that guy off.
I have yet another guy that might come over, but only if I'm awake. He wants to show up at 9:00 pm.
So, this room is being stubborn. I'll get it rented, of that I am confident, I just don't know how much longer it will take. It's near the end of the month, I am hoping to get increased hits because people are looking to move at the end of any given month.
IRS. Well, their site said my refund would be sent on the 26th. So today, I was thinking, hmmm: maybe it will get here? Nooooooo, no way are they that efficient. I get home and check my mail: 3 checks for the 3 years that I filed.
I ended up with more than I expected out of that haul, so, good to get something to buffer the account a bit.
That's it.
G'nite.
ben
I made the decision early on not to have grass, and then later decided on a small patch of it. The dogs ruined it and I decided that decorative landscaping rock is the way to go. As many other Phoenicians also do.
So we come back inside and talking for a while. He was honest, if nothing else: the inside of your house is beautiful, the outside, I don't like it. Why? There's no grass!! Yes, I can imagine coming from Ohio you are used to seeing grass EVERYWHERE. You will see grass here, yes, but you will definitely NOT see it everywhere. The common landscaping theme here is very nice looking, decorative landscaping rock.
Many homes that do have grass don't have their entire property surrounded with it. They'll have a patch of it for looks. There are areas with irrigation that have entire properties surrounded with grass, yes. There are houses that install the sprinkler systems and have grass all around, yes, but the majority of landscaping in the Phoenix area is rock, not grass.
Just an FYI. He wasn't happy with it, no biggies. I'll be happy to get a 3rd renter in here, yes, but I am not desperate - or if I was - I wouldn't show it to a potential renter, that's for sure.
I had another call today that wanted to come see it tomorrow. He asked a lot of questions, which I happily answered all of them. He sounded comfortable with it and we set tomorrow for him to come over and that was the end of that call. 2 minutes later, he calls back: Do you have dogs? I'm afraid of dogs. My ads plainly state that not only do I have dogs, I have very LARGE dogs. It's conspicuous, it's plainly stated. Well, that put that guy off.
I have yet another guy that might come over, but only if I'm awake. He wants to show up at 9:00 pm.
So, this room is being stubborn. I'll get it rented, of that I am confident, I just don't know how much longer it will take. It's near the end of the month, I am hoping to get increased hits because people are looking to move at the end of any given month.
IRS. Well, their site said my refund would be sent on the 26th. So today, I was thinking, hmmm: maybe it will get here? Nooooooo, no way are they that efficient. I get home and check my mail: 3 checks for the 3 years that I filed.
I ended up with more than I expected out of that haul, so, good to get something to buffer the account a bit.
That's it.
G'nite.
ben
Monday 8/29/2011
Monday
Well I got lost in a sea of online news and here it is, only a few minutes before work start. I can say one thing here: I am getting really tired of seeing the bright red advisory on the weather site I go to stating that Phoenix is yet again under a heat advisory.
They tell you to stay indoors. Great, if you have an office job.
Craigslist scammers are getting a little better at their replies to ads. Instead of the humanitarian nurse moving from London, now it's someone that is local that is getting a job here, moving from other state. Or they are from the area you are in and are just looking to move to another room.
But, the scammers writing those ads are mostly from other countries and it's easy to spot their spelling errors and grammatical "inflections" that only come from a foreignor.
Allegedly, however, 2 people are wanting to come look at the room today. We'll see how that pans out.
I watched George W. Bush on the Nat Geo channel last night giving a run through of what the day was like on 9/11. It was pretty amazing stuff, but I am not a Bush hater. Bush haters STILL blame him for the economic mess we are in.
Anyway, work day here.....
g'day.
ben
Well I got lost in a sea of online news and here it is, only a few minutes before work start. I can say one thing here: I am getting really tired of seeing the bright red advisory on the weather site I go to stating that Phoenix is yet again under a heat advisory.
They tell you to stay indoors. Great, if you have an office job.
Craigslist scammers are getting a little better at their replies to ads. Instead of the humanitarian nurse moving from London, now it's someone that is local that is getting a job here, moving from other state. Or they are from the area you are in and are just looking to move to another room.
But, the scammers writing those ads are mostly from other countries and it's easy to spot their spelling errors and grammatical "inflections" that only come from a foreignor.
Allegedly, however, 2 people are wanting to come look at the room today. We'll see how that pans out.
I watched George W. Bush on the Nat Geo channel last night giving a run through of what the day was like on 9/11. It was pretty amazing stuff, but I am not a Bush hater. Bush haters STILL blame him for the economic mess we are in.
Anyway, work day here.....
g'day.
ben
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Saturday 8/27/2011
A few things.
New tenant moved in yesterday. Seems to be a cool, easy-going person. Only time tells if a person is actually going to make a good fit.
Second room remains unrented, though I have a couple of prospects.
Third room - the dude that is already here. He says he may have to move back to Minnesota. Well it would certainly be interesting, if nothing else, to have to do a total swap-out of tenants. A pain in the @$$ is a more colorful and accurate description.
So, an old friend from missionary days flew in from Vegas to reconnect with my ex. But, she wanted to meet up with me, too - really cool lady, haven't seen her since the late 80's. So at 11:00 am, we are going out to visit at a restaurant. That should be fun - I hope anyway. Not exactly sure where we are going.
At 3, there is the company end-of-fiscal-year party. Don't really want to go just because it is so far away, but, I signed up for it so I will spend at least a couple of hours there and then leave. At least this one starts early - they have started much later in times past.
So, a busy day today, I think. But not a bad thing. What I'm really "waiting" for is the end of this miserable heat wave/hot tempatures that just keeps coming and coming. I have put off yard work at this point until it cools down considerably. I'm tired of sweating like a pig in mire out there trying to get stuff done. Of course, I have no choice but to keep up with the fish ponds - but the rest of it? Can WAIT.
I haven't heard from my dad, I have no idea how he's faring in North Carolina with this reunion they are having. I wrote him an email but haven't heard anything back yet.
Well, I gotta get ready to go. Appleebee's is the place we are going to. I like some of Appleebee's food, though they don't exactly have a calorie friendly menu - so I will have to take a look online and see what I can get away with without blowing the fat intake for the day too much.
G'day.
ben
New tenant moved in yesterday. Seems to be a cool, easy-going person. Only time tells if a person is actually going to make a good fit.
Second room remains unrented, though I have a couple of prospects.
Third room - the dude that is already here. He says he may have to move back to Minnesota. Well it would certainly be interesting, if nothing else, to have to do a total swap-out of tenants. A pain in the @$$ is a more colorful and accurate description.
So, an old friend from missionary days flew in from Vegas to reconnect with my ex. But, she wanted to meet up with me, too - really cool lady, haven't seen her since the late 80's. So at 11:00 am, we are going out to visit at a restaurant. That should be fun - I hope anyway. Not exactly sure where we are going.
At 3, there is the company end-of-fiscal-year party. Don't really want to go just because it is so far away, but, I signed up for it so I will spend at least a couple of hours there and then leave. At least this one starts early - they have started much later in times past.
So, a busy day today, I think. But not a bad thing. What I'm really "waiting" for is the end of this miserable heat wave/hot tempatures that just keeps coming and coming. I have put off yard work at this point until it cools down considerably. I'm tired of sweating like a pig in mire out there trying to get stuff done. Of course, I have no choice but to keep up with the fish ponds - but the rest of it? Can WAIT.
I haven't heard from my dad, I have no idea how he's faring in North Carolina with this reunion they are having. I wrote him an email but haven't heard anything back yet.
Well, I gotta get ready to go. Appleebee's is the place we are going to. I like some of Appleebee's food, though they don't exactly have a calorie friendly menu - so I will have to take a look online and see what I can get away with without blowing the fat intake for the day too much.
G'day.
ben
Friday, August 26, 2011
Fry's Food Stores - Baseline and 48th Street Tempe, AZ - Response
So, the newest general manager of this store calls me today after I called their corporate headquarters yesterday. All the lady told me yesterday was that since everyone had gone home, she would forward it to the "right" individual to respond and that would be that. I pretty much expected to be reverted back to the store's manager.
This is my second "conversation" with her. The first one was through email and was questioning the deplorable condition of the parking lot with trash laying, literally, EVERYWHERE.
I explained what had happened yesterday with the old lady arguing with the customer service lady and the fact that she sent that lady to traipse around the store, finding whatever else she wanted to get and NOT taking care of any more customers during that interim.
This manager gave me an a-typical response, certainly unexpected and rather refreshing, actually. She went straight into how she had "empowered" ALL of her employees to deal with this stuff and not to let it hold up lines, that it wasn't more than $0.75 cents worth of stuff. In other words, that customer service rep should have, in that manager's mind, simply given her the sale price without having to go get the other 2 items and get the freaking line moving.
She went on about how she had had meetings with all of her staff and head trained them to simply give the customer whatever the sale price is versus holding up a line and making other customers made and potentially losing customers over 25 cents. I have NEVER heard this from ANY of the managers that have been shoved through that store in a 1 or 2 year training "program".
I then went on about how her assistant - they bring them to that store in 2's - a general manager and that person's assistant - had downplayed my statement that that customer service rep was glancing over at me, giggling and making fun of the entire situation. I simply stated that I thought it childish for that lady to be acting like that - the general manager agreed.
So, we'll see what happens.
Weekend is here. Still trying to get those rooms rented!.........though I am at least hopeful the one dude that said he was moving in today around 5ish is still a go. That's about an hour and a half from now...........
G'day.
ben
This is my second "conversation" with her. The first one was through email and was questioning the deplorable condition of the parking lot with trash laying, literally, EVERYWHERE.
I explained what had happened yesterday with the old lady arguing with the customer service lady and the fact that she sent that lady to traipse around the store, finding whatever else she wanted to get and NOT taking care of any more customers during that interim.
This manager gave me an a-typical response, certainly unexpected and rather refreshing, actually. She went straight into how she had "empowered" ALL of her employees to deal with this stuff and not to let it hold up lines, that it wasn't more than $0.75 cents worth of stuff. In other words, that customer service rep should have, in that manager's mind, simply given her the sale price without having to go get the other 2 items and get the freaking line moving.
She went on about how she had had meetings with all of her staff and head trained them to simply give the customer whatever the sale price is versus holding up a line and making other customers made and potentially losing customers over 25 cents. I have NEVER heard this from ANY of the managers that have been shoved through that store in a 1 or 2 year training "program".
I then went on about how her assistant - they bring them to that store in 2's - a general manager and that person's assistant - had downplayed my statement that that customer service rep was glancing over at me, giggling and making fun of the entire situation. I simply stated that I thought it childish for that lady to be acting like that - the general manager agreed.
So, we'll see what happens.
Weekend is here. Still trying to get those rooms rented!.........though I am at least hopeful the one dude that said he was moving in today around 5ish is still a go. That's about an hour and a half from now...........
G'day.
ben
Friday 8/26/2011
Friday
This hurricane Irene situation is spelling out doom and gloom for a lot of folks. One would be my dad, who is in North Carolina right now for a reunion with his brothers and other family members.
The move-in date for the young guy was moved from yesterday to today. Whether that actually happens or not - who knows, it's Craigslist and people don't always do what they say they are going to do coming from that particular venue.
Had a guy over yesterday to look at the other room. He has too much baggage and I can't help him. Baggage as in 2 young boys and 2 dogs. Yikes!! From a business perspective, the rent would have to be high enough to cover the loss of other tenants because undoubtedly, the remaining one would be out the door and it would be terribly difficult to get any new tenants in. The guy has his own place, he can't afford it, apparently.
I am placing ads 1 or 2 times per day until the room is rented.
Friday is here, but the work week didn't seem that bad or that long.
Phoenix is going to start using a new system for voting. They are calling them voting centers. It "used" to be that you had to go to the right voting location for your address. If you didn't go to the right one, you would be directed to go to that facility, cause' you couldn't vote at any other facility.
Now, they have eliminated a lot of those facilities and opened up these voting centers throughout the city. You can go to any of these facilities and vote, you don't have to go to a certain one.
Sounds great, right? Big, big problem: the nearest facility to my house is 4-1/2 miles away. The voting facility I used to have to go to was a church only a few blocks away. The problem? How many people that don't have their own transportation are going to go that much out of their way to vote? What about people that simply think it's too far and not worth it. On and on. This will, undoubtedly, wipe out some percentage of the voting public that may have voted in the past - out of the picture.
What percentage? Who knows. The numbers will undoubtedly come out after the election is over. I have my doubts about this new system is all I can say about it. You don't want LESS people voting, you want as many people as you can get to the voting centers as possible if you want an election that has a majority of people speaking their mind through the ballot versus a small sector of the public doing it for everyone else.
Whatever. Company party tomorrow. Starts at 3:00. I'm going but won't stay long. Just show up, make the appearance and leave. I would take Caleb - I am sure he would love to play the games there and since they are free.......but he has to work. Of course and as always, the party is a 20 mile drive from my house. Only once has one of the parties been even reasonably close, even then it was still 15 miles away. The last one was some 40 miles away. lol.
G'day.
ben
This hurricane Irene situation is spelling out doom and gloom for a lot of folks. One would be my dad, who is in North Carolina right now for a reunion with his brothers and other family members.
The move-in date for the young guy was moved from yesterday to today. Whether that actually happens or not - who knows, it's Craigslist and people don't always do what they say they are going to do coming from that particular venue.
Had a guy over yesterday to look at the other room. He has too much baggage and I can't help him. Baggage as in 2 young boys and 2 dogs. Yikes!! From a business perspective, the rent would have to be high enough to cover the loss of other tenants because undoubtedly, the remaining one would be out the door and it would be terribly difficult to get any new tenants in. The guy has his own place, he can't afford it, apparently.
I am placing ads 1 or 2 times per day until the room is rented.
Friday is here, but the work week didn't seem that bad or that long.
Phoenix is going to start using a new system for voting. They are calling them voting centers. It "used" to be that you had to go to the right voting location for your address. If you didn't go to the right one, you would be directed to go to that facility, cause' you couldn't vote at any other facility.
Now, they have eliminated a lot of those facilities and opened up these voting centers throughout the city. You can go to any of these facilities and vote, you don't have to go to a certain one.
Sounds great, right? Big, big problem: the nearest facility to my house is 4-1/2 miles away. The voting facility I used to have to go to was a church only a few blocks away. The problem? How many people that don't have their own transportation are going to go that much out of their way to vote? What about people that simply think it's too far and not worth it. On and on. This will, undoubtedly, wipe out some percentage of the voting public that may have voted in the past - out of the picture.
What percentage? Who knows. The numbers will undoubtedly come out after the election is over. I have my doubts about this new system is all I can say about it. You don't want LESS people voting, you want as many people as you can get to the voting centers as possible if you want an election that has a majority of people speaking their mind through the ballot versus a small sector of the public doing it for everyone else.
Whatever. Company party tomorrow. Starts at 3:00. I'm going but won't stay long. Just show up, make the appearance and leave. I would take Caleb - I am sure he would love to play the games there and since they are free.......but he has to work. Of course and as always, the party is a 20 mile drive from my house. Only once has one of the parties been even reasonably close, even then it was still 15 miles away. The last one was some 40 miles away. lol.
G'day.
ben
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Motel 6/Fry's Food Stores
Tackle Motel 6 first.
I have been using their facilities for years and years - and years. I don't recall ever having a big enough complaint to actually call their corporate and complain, but this recent fishing expedition and the first night at that hotel was definitely not something I was prepared for.
I have never had such a terrible night in a hotel. I cannot remember anything that rivals it, well, there is one experience but that was while on the mission field and that was a hotel that was only being used for showers, not sleeping in. Besides turning out to be a whore hotel, the REALLY disgusting thing were GIANT cockroaches EVERYWHERE. I went into the room at that place to take a shower. The visual and olfactory assault was unbelievable. Between the hundreds of cockroaches EVERYWHERE, even on the bed, the stains all over the bed sheets, walls and carpeting and the GROSS condition of the bathroom, I REFUSED to even SHOWER in that place!
That is another entry in itself and it is an experience I had totally forgotten about until now. But, the situation with this Motel 6 was not with cockroaches and uncleanliness, it was the sheer noise levels going on ALL night long. I basically did not sleep and I paid for it on the boat the next day. I tried as much as possible to make the best of it, but I had to keep taking naps and I was very tired the entire day.
Motel 6 San Diego - Hotel Circle - Mission Valley #14
2424 Hotel Circle North
I-8 at Hotel Circle North/Taylor Street
San Diego, CA, 92108
Phone: (619) 296-1612
I was not going to let this go, I have been a customer for WAY too long and to have to put up with this kind of nonsense was - outrageous, really. I received a "nothing" answer from them 2 days ago, I finally had an opportunity to call Accor - the parent company - today during their business hours. The lady that answered said that she would have to review what happened - I wrote a lengthy accounting of what happened on that first night as is my custom to be completely thorough on my descriptions of things when it is needed (and usually when it is not, lol). She got back on several minutes later and flatly asked me if what I was looking for was compensation.
Mind you, my letter said nothing about compensation, it was about my miserable experience, the money spent on that trip and what that stay, that night, at their hotel, did TO that trip. I flatly replied: Yes, I want compensation! Her offer? A voucher for one free night's stay and to get my money back from the property that I stayed at. I wanted 2 night's free stay and that would have done it for me, but when she said one night free stay AND my money back, well, how can I argue with that?
For my friend that was asking me if the time spent is worth it on such endeavors when the service is not right or the experience is hellish: in this case, definitely. In MOST cases, definitely, actually.
IF all of this happens, then I will be very happy with corporate, at least. If I found myself needing lodging in that area again, I might consider the Motel 6 - but only if I could get the same floor and room that I was in on the second night.
Fry's Food & Drug Stores, location at 48th Street & Baseline road in Tempe, Arizona.
Put this one in the negative column experience, which, at that particular store, has FAR more listings than positive. As of recently, I have tried to ignore some of the stuff that goes on in there with employees - I just want to buy food and get out of there - and so I have.
But today? Crossed my line. I had pulled a "Manager's Special" out of the area where they put meats that are going to expire within the next several days - this was a large package of cube steak. It was marked down to $6 and change, from $11 original price.
I got everything, went to self-checkout, paid for everything, put it all in my cart and moved out of the way for the next person to use the self-checkout and then, as usual/always, I started looking over the receipt. My cube steak had run up at $9.20. Quite odd, since the original prices was $2 more than that and the sale price was $3 less, nowhere on the package was anything about $9.
So, I headed to customer service. The dude working the self-checkout is not able to issue a refund and I didn't even ask. When I get to customer service, there is a Mexican woman with a cart in front of me and an old white lady at the counter, arguing with the employee. When I say old, I mean OLD. Then a black dude walks up (I am not racist, I am just describing what happened). But this isn't about the black dude or the old white lady, this about the woman behind the counter. Well, it IS about the old white lady, too.
The argument was about a sale price. Why are you charging me this price for something that says it's another price on sale? Because, it's a buy-10 event. You HAVE to buy 10 of that item or a combination of listed items to get the sale price, which takes $5.00 off. The old lady didn't get it. This is going on for several minutes. Finally, the lady behind the counter says: you only got 8 of the items you need for the sale price, you needed to get 10.
Oh, the old lady says, well, then I'll just go get the stuff and I'll be right back. ??? I KNEW where this was going and I was having none of it. The lady behind the counter is going to WAIT for this old lady to go traipsing about the store to find her 2 items while now, there is fully 5 people in line!! NO WAY!!! No one said anything, I do not hold my peace in such situations: "Excuse me, do you mean to tell us that we are all just supposed to wait for however long it is going to take for this woman to find what she wants and that you aren't going to help ANYONE else until she comes back?!!!" At the rate of speed that old woman was going, I figured at least 5 minutes before her return.
The lady behind the counter - a person of whom I have had run-ins with in the past - shrugged me off and didn't even respond. I said fine, then, I will go speak with management. She then muttered something - and then called for someone to come to the counter.
I wasn't waiting around, don't care, really. If she is going to act like that, then my complaint will expand. I went back to the self-checkout - Trish had walked up - she is a manager of some sort - and I asked her for the store's manager. She replied the store manager wasn't there but her second was. Okay.
Meanwhile, that old woman had finally returned. The customer service desk is - 75 feet away I am guessing, but quite visible from the self-checkout. She was - well it still looked like she was arguing with the lady behind the counter, who knows. I waited another 5 minutes for this second-in-line manager to show up. That old woman was STILL there. This is at least 15 minutes that woman has tied up customer service!
The second shows up. Not impressed, at all. This is a new set of management trainees Fry's Food Stores has brought into that store. They bring them in to that particular store to train them and then they promote them out of that store to green pastures. This woman has the personality of a rock. She talked to me in those tones, so I gave it right back to her. First I complained about the lady behind the counter and all that situation already described and then pointed over there to show her that that old lady was STILL tying up customer service and there was no-one else there, on the second register, to help the rest of the people waiting endlessly.
I then demanded - I would have asked nicely but this woman wasn't being nice to me - my money back on the cube steak PLUS the $5 gift card for scanning errors. Trish and this manager went to a checkout aisle that was not being used and they were there for quite a while. The manager came back and gave me the entire $9.20 that was charged to me on the ticket. So, I got $9.20 plus all that cube steak for free. $15.20 worth in total. I thanked her, yes I did, but it became obvious that she wasn't going to do anything or much of anything about the situation with the old woman and the cashier tying up the line that long without ANY remedy at all.
She SHOULD have called for another associate to help out at customer service. I also believe she should have cancelled that old woman's ticket and then gotten back to it when she returned, meanwhile helping other customers.
This is just one more example in a parade of examples of Fry's Food Stores at this particular location doling out unbelievably sub-standard service. I called corporate a few minutes ago. I am not asking for anything further than what I have already received as far as compensation, just going to get corporate's take on this situation and what, exactly, they are going to do about it. Further, I have never confronted them on the issue of this particular store being used as a training grounds for general managers and their right-hand person and the revolving door they have made that place - and Guinea Pigs that the customers are that frequent that place in having such a situation exist.
I was on a roll, was going to call Direct TV and ask for free ShowTime again. But, I decided against it. That can take a lot of phone calls and yes, it's worth it as I usually get 6 months of it for free, but, enough was enough. And no, I don't get nasty with them, I just politely ask for more free movie channels : )
I have been using their facilities for years and years - and years. I don't recall ever having a big enough complaint to actually call their corporate and complain, but this recent fishing expedition and the first night at that hotel was definitely not something I was prepared for.
I have never had such a terrible night in a hotel. I cannot remember anything that rivals it, well, there is one experience but that was while on the mission field and that was a hotel that was only being used for showers, not sleeping in. Besides turning out to be a whore hotel, the REALLY disgusting thing were GIANT cockroaches EVERYWHERE. I went into the room at that place to take a shower. The visual and olfactory assault was unbelievable. Between the hundreds of cockroaches EVERYWHERE, even on the bed, the stains all over the bed sheets, walls and carpeting and the GROSS condition of the bathroom, I REFUSED to even SHOWER in that place!
That is another entry in itself and it is an experience I had totally forgotten about until now. But, the situation with this Motel 6 was not with cockroaches and uncleanliness, it was the sheer noise levels going on ALL night long. I basically did not sleep and I paid for it on the boat the next day. I tried as much as possible to make the best of it, but I had to keep taking naps and I was very tired the entire day.
Motel 6 San Diego - Hotel Circle - Mission Valley #14
2424 Hotel Circle North
I-8 at Hotel Circle North/Taylor Street
San Diego, CA, 92108
Phone: (619) 296-1612
I was not going to let this go, I have been a customer for WAY too long and to have to put up with this kind of nonsense was - outrageous, really. I received a "nothing" answer from them 2 days ago, I finally had an opportunity to call Accor - the parent company - today during their business hours. The lady that answered said that she would have to review what happened - I wrote a lengthy accounting of what happened on that first night as is my custom to be completely thorough on my descriptions of things when it is needed (and usually when it is not, lol). She got back on several minutes later and flatly asked me if what I was looking for was compensation.
Mind you, my letter said nothing about compensation, it was about my miserable experience, the money spent on that trip and what that stay, that night, at their hotel, did TO that trip. I flatly replied: Yes, I want compensation! Her offer? A voucher for one free night's stay and to get my money back from the property that I stayed at. I wanted 2 night's free stay and that would have done it for me, but when she said one night free stay AND my money back, well, how can I argue with that?
For my friend that was asking me if the time spent is worth it on such endeavors when the service is not right or the experience is hellish: in this case, definitely. In MOST cases, definitely, actually.
IF all of this happens, then I will be very happy with corporate, at least. If I found myself needing lodging in that area again, I might consider the Motel 6 - but only if I could get the same floor and room that I was in on the second night.
Fry's Food & Drug Stores, location at 48th Street & Baseline road in Tempe, Arizona.
Put this one in the negative column experience, which, at that particular store, has FAR more listings than positive. As of recently, I have tried to ignore some of the stuff that goes on in there with employees - I just want to buy food and get out of there - and so I have.
But today? Crossed my line. I had pulled a "Manager's Special" out of the area where they put meats that are going to expire within the next several days - this was a large package of cube steak. It was marked down to $6 and change, from $11 original price.
I got everything, went to self-checkout, paid for everything, put it all in my cart and moved out of the way for the next person to use the self-checkout and then, as usual/always, I started looking over the receipt. My cube steak had run up at $9.20. Quite odd, since the original prices was $2 more than that and the sale price was $3 less, nowhere on the package was anything about $9.
So, I headed to customer service. The dude working the self-checkout is not able to issue a refund and I didn't even ask. When I get to customer service, there is a Mexican woman with a cart in front of me and an old white lady at the counter, arguing with the employee. When I say old, I mean OLD. Then a black dude walks up (I am not racist, I am just describing what happened). But this isn't about the black dude or the old white lady, this about the woman behind the counter. Well, it IS about the old white lady, too.
The argument was about a sale price. Why are you charging me this price for something that says it's another price on sale? Because, it's a buy-10 event. You HAVE to buy 10 of that item or a combination of listed items to get the sale price, which takes $5.00 off. The old lady didn't get it. This is going on for several minutes. Finally, the lady behind the counter says: you only got 8 of the items you need for the sale price, you needed to get 10.
Oh, the old lady says, well, then I'll just go get the stuff and I'll be right back. ??? I KNEW where this was going and I was having none of it. The lady behind the counter is going to WAIT for this old lady to go traipsing about the store to find her 2 items while now, there is fully 5 people in line!! NO WAY!!! No one said anything, I do not hold my peace in such situations: "Excuse me, do you mean to tell us that we are all just supposed to wait for however long it is going to take for this woman to find what she wants and that you aren't going to help ANYONE else until she comes back?!!!" At the rate of speed that old woman was going, I figured at least 5 minutes before her return.
The lady behind the counter - a person of whom I have had run-ins with in the past - shrugged me off and didn't even respond. I said fine, then, I will go speak with management. She then muttered something - and then called for someone to come to the counter.
I wasn't waiting around, don't care, really. If she is going to act like that, then my complaint will expand. I went back to the self-checkout - Trish had walked up - she is a manager of some sort - and I asked her for the store's manager. She replied the store manager wasn't there but her second was. Okay.
Meanwhile, that old woman had finally returned. The customer service desk is - 75 feet away I am guessing, but quite visible from the self-checkout. She was - well it still looked like she was arguing with the lady behind the counter, who knows. I waited another 5 minutes for this second-in-line manager to show up. That old woman was STILL there. This is at least 15 minutes that woman has tied up customer service!
The second shows up. Not impressed, at all. This is a new set of management trainees Fry's Food Stores has brought into that store. They bring them in to that particular store to train them and then they promote them out of that store to green pastures. This woman has the personality of a rock. She talked to me in those tones, so I gave it right back to her. First I complained about the lady behind the counter and all that situation already described and then pointed over there to show her that that old lady was STILL tying up customer service and there was no-one else there, on the second register, to help the rest of the people waiting endlessly.
I then demanded - I would have asked nicely but this woman wasn't being nice to me - my money back on the cube steak PLUS the $5 gift card for scanning errors. Trish and this manager went to a checkout aisle that was not being used and they were there for quite a while. The manager came back and gave me the entire $9.20 that was charged to me on the ticket. So, I got $9.20 plus all that cube steak for free. $15.20 worth in total. I thanked her, yes I did, but it became obvious that she wasn't going to do anything or much of anything about the situation with the old woman and the cashier tying up the line that long without ANY remedy at all.
She SHOULD have called for another associate to help out at customer service. I also believe she should have cancelled that old woman's ticket and then gotten back to it when she returned, meanwhile helping other customers.
This is just one more example in a parade of examples of Fry's Food Stores at this particular location doling out unbelievably sub-standard service. I called corporate a few minutes ago. I am not asking for anything further than what I have already received as far as compensation, just going to get corporate's take on this situation and what, exactly, they are going to do about it. Further, I have never confronted them on the issue of this particular store being used as a training grounds for general managers and their right-hand person and the revolving door they have made that place - and Guinea Pigs that the customers are that frequent that place in having such a situation exist.
I was on a roll, was going to call Direct TV and ask for free ShowTime again. But, I decided against it. That can take a lot of phone calls and yes, it's worth it as I usually get 6 months of it for free, but, enough was enough. And no, I don't get nasty with them, I just politely ask for more free movie channels : )
Thursday 8/25/2011
Thursday
So, the DOT Medical exam is done - I got lucky yesterday, called Concentra and found they had a very small wait time. Well, to THEM it's a short wait time, to me it's ridiculous. The exam itself takes about 15 minutes. The rest of everything else? About an hour and a half.
The rest of the equation is in actually getting the state of Arizona to RECORD that information. 4 years ago, I actually went in there and handed the form to them. It did not, I later found out, get recorded, even going IN there and giving it to them in person available nothing.
I found it out because I had stopped at the DMV for another reason and was informed by the person at the counter that my license had been suspended and was about to be revoked. I got pretty mad at that point. How can you people be so unbelievably INCOMPETENT as to not input a person's information into your system that is HANDED TO YOU BY THE PERSON WHOSE INFORMATION IT IS TO BE INPUT?
But, that is the way the State of Arizona operates. Just like coming home from vacation last week and finding out the old car's plates had been suspended. The state claimed that they had not received the proof of insurance that they had demanded from me. I had called my insurance company who had sent the information out THE SAME DAY as I requested it of them, a MONTH before the state of Arizona suspended the plates on the car.
Freaking morons.
Whatever the case, work day almost here and plenty to do in the system.
G'day.
ben
So, the DOT Medical exam is done - I got lucky yesterday, called Concentra and found they had a very small wait time. Well, to THEM it's a short wait time, to me it's ridiculous. The exam itself takes about 15 minutes. The rest of everything else? About an hour and a half.
The rest of the equation is in actually getting the state of Arizona to RECORD that information. 4 years ago, I actually went in there and handed the form to them. It did not, I later found out, get recorded, even going IN there and giving it to them in person available nothing.
I found it out because I had stopped at the DMV for another reason and was informed by the person at the counter that my license had been suspended and was about to be revoked. I got pretty mad at that point. How can you people be so unbelievably INCOMPETENT as to not input a person's information into your system that is HANDED TO YOU BY THE PERSON WHOSE INFORMATION IT IS TO BE INPUT?
But, that is the way the State of Arizona operates. Just like coming home from vacation last week and finding out the old car's plates had been suspended. The state claimed that they had not received the proof of insurance that they had demanded from me. I had called my insurance company who had sent the information out THE SAME DAY as I requested it of them, a MONTH before the state of Arizona suspended the plates on the car.
Freaking morons.
Whatever the case, work day almost here and plenty to do in the system.
G'day.
ben
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Kidney Stones
I've been through this before.
I know what's happening. The doc said get a cat scan, I haven't done it.
I figure about the time it gets to the "extremely painful" part, I will head to a hospital and the rest of it I will get over with.
The pain started in my kidney area. It moved - ever so slowly - down. It's been in my side for a week.
Suddenly? It's moved perilously close to the "exit stage", is what I am calling it. I mean, this thing moved quite a bit - all of a sudden - maybe 5 minutes ago.
If I miss a day's worth of entries, you might be able to guess with this information what is going on. Umm, hopefully, it's not more than a day!
I know what's happening. The doc said get a cat scan, I haven't done it.
I figure about the time it gets to the "extremely painful" part, I will head to a hospital and the rest of it I will get over with.
The pain started in my kidney area. It moved - ever so slowly - down. It's been in my side for a week.
Suddenly? It's moved perilously close to the "exit stage", is what I am calling it. I mean, this thing moved quite a bit - all of a sudden - maybe 5 minutes ago.
If I miss a day's worth of entries, you might be able to guess with this information what is going on. Umm, hopefully, it's not more than a day!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
House
I haven't laid this out - for myself - in writing for a while. Concerning my home and whether to stay in it or walk.
What I have been watching, over an extended period of time now, is the value of my home. More specifically, the dramatic decrease in the value of it and the fact that I am in an under-water mortgage situation.
Right now, according to valuation data, my home is about 63k underwater. Amazingly, if you do your homework and search a little, you can get a very nice home in these parts for 63k. In fact, you can score REALLY nice properties for even less than that.
The home values in the Phoenix metropolitan area continue to take a dive. There are so many vacant homes right now that it's unlikely that this situation is going to reverse itself anytime soon and worse, my home's valuation is going to continue to take a nose-dive. At some point, I am telling myself, I am going to have to take a deep breath and do the short-sale route. The deep breath part is because it would mean a dramatic change in lifestyle at home unless I could, somehow, find something, somewhere, that would accomodate for some of the things going on such as have Great Danes.
What I am starting to do now is get my mindset to change about all of this. Staying in this home seems a futile waste. I will be living in a home, at some point in time that is probably not too far off, that is worth less than half the money I owe on it.
I guess I'm not really interested into going into the things that I have been reading - some of it for some time now - that may show that the economy is going to go much further south than anything we've seen yet, I am going to sit back and wait and see what happens. It won't be long, if these predictions are true.
I am also struggling with having to rent rooms to stay in this place. After these last 2 slobs moved out and left their - my - rooms in a complete and total disaster, I ask myself why I should even consider continuing on with this. I contacted the guy today that wanted to move in - he is moving in Thursday, at least that's what he says, I'll find that out for sure after Thursday comes and goes and whether he's here or not. Good people are nice to have around, the rest of them?
The reason I write this now is to force myself to face a potential situation: having to rent a property somewhere. Living under someone else's "authority". I have spent considerable time in mulling over the stay-or-go thought and up until recently had convinced myself that staying was the better alternative. But looking at the economy and continuing, falling home values, I am not quite so convinced anymore. When, if ever, will the price of my home actually rise to the amount, at the very least, that I owe on it?
I was prepared to stay in this home for a maximum of 5 years and then sell it and move on. It's been 3-1/2. I'm not going to be calling my lender tomorrow and tell them to start whatever process it is for short-sale'ing the home. They DO have such a process because I have asked them about it. My next question to them is going to be why they are so willing to short sale a home and take a loss on it rather than doing whatever to keep the homeowner in the home. They are on just as perilous an edge, looking down a cliff, as everyone else is from my perspective. But, maybe there are government guarantees or the mortgage insurance pays them back? I don't really know. I don't get straight answers about this stuff when I ask, they decidedly dodge the question and give a nothing answer, as evidence by the "answer" they recently sent to me concerning questions I had for them.
They did not answer the questions, excepting for one and that answer was a nothing answer, in reality. It's a slippery slope and not telling where solid footing might land. This is far from anything even remotely associated with a dream home and frankly, the thought of getting out of it becomes more and more viable on a daily basis. The 2 thoughts to contend with: 1. credit rating disaster and 2: renting.
I'm starting to think about it now as a real alternative, is all. Not long ago I wouldn't even give it a second thought: stay in the house regardless.
What I have been watching, over an extended period of time now, is the value of my home. More specifically, the dramatic decrease in the value of it and the fact that I am in an under-water mortgage situation.
Right now, according to valuation data, my home is about 63k underwater. Amazingly, if you do your homework and search a little, you can get a very nice home in these parts for 63k. In fact, you can score REALLY nice properties for even less than that.
The home values in the Phoenix metropolitan area continue to take a dive. There are so many vacant homes right now that it's unlikely that this situation is going to reverse itself anytime soon and worse, my home's valuation is going to continue to take a nose-dive. At some point, I am telling myself, I am going to have to take a deep breath and do the short-sale route. The deep breath part is because it would mean a dramatic change in lifestyle at home unless I could, somehow, find something, somewhere, that would accomodate for some of the things going on such as have Great Danes.
What I am starting to do now is get my mindset to change about all of this. Staying in this home seems a futile waste. I will be living in a home, at some point in time that is probably not too far off, that is worth less than half the money I owe on it.
I guess I'm not really interested into going into the things that I have been reading - some of it for some time now - that may show that the economy is going to go much further south than anything we've seen yet, I am going to sit back and wait and see what happens. It won't be long, if these predictions are true.
I am also struggling with having to rent rooms to stay in this place. After these last 2 slobs moved out and left their - my - rooms in a complete and total disaster, I ask myself why I should even consider continuing on with this. I contacted the guy today that wanted to move in - he is moving in Thursday, at least that's what he says, I'll find that out for sure after Thursday comes and goes and whether he's here or not. Good people are nice to have around, the rest of them?
The reason I write this now is to force myself to face a potential situation: having to rent a property somewhere. Living under someone else's "authority". I have spent considerable time in mulling over the stay-or-go thought and up until recently had convinced myself that staying was the better alternative. But looking at the economy and continuing, falling home values, I am not quite so convinced anymore. When, if ever, will the price of my home actually rise to the amount, at the very least, that I owe on it?
I was prepared to stay in this home for a maximum of 5 years and then sell it and move on. It's been 3-1/2. I'm not going to be calling my lender tomorrow and tell them to start whatever process it is for short-sale'ing the home. They DO have such a process because I have asked them about it. My next question to them is going to be why they are so willing to short sale a home and take a loss on it rather than doing whatever to keep the homeowner in the home. They are on just as perilous an edge, looking down a cliff, as everyone else is from my perspective. But, maybe there are government guarantees or the mortgage insurance pays them back? I don't really know. I don't get straight answers about this stuff when I ask, they decidedly dodge the question and give a nothing answer, as evidence by the "answer" they recently sent to me concerning questions I had for them.
They did not answer the questions, excepting for one and that answer was a nothing answer, in reality. It's a slippery slope and not telling where solid footing might land. This is far from anything even remotely associated with a dream home and frankly, the thought of getting out of it becomes more and more viable on a daily basis. The 2 thoughts to contend with: 1. credit rating disaster and 2: renting.
I'm starting to think about it now as a real alternative, is all. Not long ago I wouldn't even give it a second thought: stay in the house regardless.
DOT Medical
Concentra Urgent Care centers is the facility my company chooses to use to get the 2 year DOT medical done for it's drivers. Before Concentra got into the urgent care business, it used to be pretty good, too. Commercial drivers were a lot of their business in getting the physical and also getting drug tested. If there were people waiting to do anything else, drivers got priority.
Not anymore. Now, you are just another patient to them. I went into the one I usually go to for my renewal and found the entire waiting area FILLED with people waiting. There was at least 30 people in there. I went to the front desk and was told it would be at least an hour until I got in. That meant to me up to 2 hours, in reality, to get a doc to see me and administer this testing. I said no thanks and left.
I went to another Concentra which is also on way home from work. It, too, was filled with people. I was told 2-1/2 to 3 hours before I would be out of there. 3 hours for a 10 minute re-certification. I asked if there were any times that were better. She wouldn't answer the question, only stated that it's an urgent care center and that wait times vary. Great. I left that one, too.
Meanwhile, the urgent care I was using when I had the infections has little wait time. They do DOT re-certs and I am going to ask my company if I can use them, instead. I have no idea if it will, but I am going to try. That or just start calling all of them in the Phoenix area. If, by the end of the week, I haven't gotten it done, I will just have to bite the bullet and play the ridiculous waiting game. Concentras are ALWAYS too full of people compared to other urgent care centers. That's because many companies still use them for the DOT and drug testing, while at the same time, you have people filing in for urgent care issues.
The ex-tenant/Army reservist left her room in a shambles as bad as that other guy that just recently left. 4 large - large as in those giant leaf bags for outdoor use - filled with nothing but TRASH. Some kind of black substance all over the queen mattress. I think it might be eyelash junk, whatever it's called. Oh, eyeliner, that's it. I just tried to friend her on Facebook - she doesn't even accept messages from strangers. If that doesn't work, I know where her family lives and I will be calling them. The idea that she could leave a room like that and think it's acceptable is totally messed up. Mark - trailer tenant - spent however much time cleaning up in there today and is now, currently vacuuming the floor. Umm, anyway, that room should be finished tomorrow and hopefully the guy that said he wanted to move in - will.
That guy had an older SUV, but it was clean and in good condition. He was dressed up in nice clothing when he came over to look. So, just hoping that if he does move in, he is what he looks like he is and is - clean or at least some semblance to it.
Heat. I have been having to water the plants every day now. That is - I unfortunately have been having to water the plants every day. Water bills are excessive, but they wouldn't be so freakin' bad if the City of Phoenix didn't keep voting to raise the water rates by 5% whenever they decide to - give their employees a pay raise. This union stuff - all around the nation - is REALLY starting to get to me. Talk about a sense of entitlement. All these unions complaining because their employees are asking them to pay SOMETHING towards their own health coverage!
Anyway, my ads on Craigslist are running dry for renting the other room. No real replies in a couple of days, at least. I do not want to lower the price, so I am going to continue running that ad at the same price and hope someone gets interested.
That's it, for now.
ben
Not anymore. Now, you are just another patient to them. I went into the one I usually go to for my renewal and found the entire waiting area FILLED with people waiting. There was at least 30 people in there. I went to the front desk and was told it would be at least an hour until I got in. That meant to me up to 2 hours, in reality, to get a doc to see me and administer this testing. I said no thanks and left.
I went to another Concentra which is also on way home from work. It, too, was filled with people. I was told 2-1/2 to 3 hours before I would be out of there. 3 hours for a 10 minute re-certification. I asked if there were any times that were better. She wouldn't answer the question, only stated that it's an urgent care center and that wait times vary. Great. I left that one, too.
Meanwhile, the urgent care I was using when I had the infections has little wait time. They do DOT re-certs and I am going to ask my company if I can use them, instead. I have no idea if it will, but I am going to try. That or just start calling all of them in the Phoenix area. If, by the end of the week, I haven't gotten it done, I will just have to bite the bullet and play the ridiculous waiting game. Concentras are ALWAYS too full of people compared to other urgent care centers. That's because many companies still use them for the DOT and drug testing, while at the same time, you have people filing in for urgent care issues.
The ex-tenant/Army reservist left her room in a shambles as bad as that other guy that just recently left. 4 large - large as in those giant leaf bags for outdoor use - filled with nothing but TRASH. Some kind of black substance all over the queen mattress. I think it might be eyelash junk, whatever it's called. Oh, eyeliner, that's it. I just tried to friend her on Facebook - she doesn't even accept messages from strangers. If that doesn't work, I know where her family lives and I will be calling them. The idea that she could leave a room like that and think it's acceptable is totally messed up. Mark - trailer tenant - spent however much time cleaning up in there today and is now, currently vacuuming the floor. Umm, anyway, that room should be finished tomorrow and hopefully the guy that said he wanted to move in - will.
That guy had an older SUV, but it was clean and in good condition. He was dressed up in nice clothing when he came over to look. So, just hoping that if he does move in, he is what he looks like he is and is - clean or at least some semblance to it.
Heat. I have been having to water the plants every day now. That is - I unfortunately have been having to water the plants every day. Water bills are excessive, but they wouldn't be so freakin' bad if the City of Phoenix didn't keep voting to raise the water rates by 5% whenever they decide to - give their employees a pay raise. This union stuff - all around the nation - is REALLY starting to get to me. Talk about a sense of entitlement. All these unions complaining because their employees are asking them to pay SOMETHING towards their own health coverage!
Anyway, my ads on Craigslist are running dry for renting the other room. No real replies in a couple of days, at least. I do not want to lower the price, so I am going to continue running that ad at the same price and hope someone gets interested.
That's it, for now.
ben
Tuesday 8/23/2011
Tuesday
Running the AC on the trailer all day long - in the worst heat of the day - raised the electric use about $3.00. Not terribly bad, not that I'm eating that much of it anyway. It was about 85 in there according to a thermometer but it felt cooler than that in there.
It isn't really normal that it's getting as hot as it is in August. They are talking as high as 116 tomorrow.
Well, anyway, I read yesterday that Qadaffi's son stated that they let the rebels into Tripoli on purpose so that they could trap them in an - kill all of them I guess. I wonder what they're waiting for.
I don't have much this morning. I'm still trying to get that room rented and now I am going to have the trailer tenants go in there today and start cleaning up the other tenant's mess for the guy to move in - if he doesn't change his mind for whatever reason - sometime this week actually.
We'll see is all I can say about that.
G'day.
ben
Running the AC on the trailer all day long - in the worst heat of the day - raised the electric use about $3.00. Not terribly bad, not that I'm eating that much of it anyway. It was about 85 in there according to a thermometer but it felt cooler than that in there.
It isn't really normal that it's getting as hot as it is in August. They are talking as high as 116 tomorrow.
Well, anyway, I read yesterday that Qadaffi's son stated that they let the rebels into Tripoli on purpose so that they could trap them in an - kill all of them I guess. I wonder what they're waiting for.
I don't have much this morning. I'm still trying to get that room rented and now I am going to have the trailer tenants go in there today and start cleaning up the other tenant's mess for the guy to move in - if he doesn't change his mind for whatever reason - sometime this week actually.
We'll see is all I can say about that.
G'day.
ben
Monday, August 22, 2011
The Best Time To Visit Disneyland To Avoid Huge Crowds
Just got done reading several sites and news blips about this issue. I have been to Disneyland at least 25 times since 1974. I was never able to find the right time. Sometimes I hit it, many times I did not.
I figured warm summer days would have people staying away from the place. Since I live in Phoenix, Arizona, Anaheim, California's version of a warm summer day and mine are on completely separate planes. I have been in California on many occasions where people were complaining it was hot and we were thinking how cool it is. Lol.
I have been to Disneyland SO many times when the ride waits are 2 and 3 hours!! Why would anyone wait that long for a ride that lasts 10 minutes? We were there when the "Finding Nemo" submarine ride opened, yes, I was there on opening day. However, I did not go on the ride. The line? Almost SIX hours long!! People were standing in the sun and fuming, I was laughing at them. What's the point of wasting that much time to go on one single ride, even if it IS the grand opening day? We couldn't have cared less, figured some day in the future we would come back and the line might be a bit more reasonable.
I can give you a few ride names that, even if there are a lot of people waiting, the wait times are short/er because there are so many vehicles in the ride going that it's a continuous flow. Two I can think of: The Haunted House and The Pirate of the Caribbean. Both are very cool rides, indeed, but what about getting on Splash Mountain or Space Mountain? Peter Pan? Oh, It's A Small World is usually a shorter wait, too because there is a continuous line of boats coming through seating people.
But, that doesn't do it. I have done the Fast Pass system there, 2 hours until the first available seating? How about this: the last time I was there, I got a Fast Pass for Magic Mountain that wasn't good until ELEVEN HOURS LATER!!!! And we were there, ELEVEN HOURS LATER and the ride was broken down!!
You can cheat on one ride. It is a very popular ride that has 2 and 3 hour wait times. You get a Fast Pass to it, come back later when it's valid, bypass a lot of waiting and then go on the ride. That isn't the cheating part. The cheating part is when you get off the ride, you can simply jump into the waiting line again to get back on it. I'm not talking the back of the waiting line, I'm talking inside the facility, where your wait is going to be about 15 minutes. We did that last time there 4 times in a row and no-one said a word to us about it.
No, it was a couple of years ago. I was in the middle of the desert at a construction site where they were building a new prison. I had already gotten to know the contractor that I was speaking with on that day. We always get into long conversations about things that have nothing to do with what is going on in front of us. Anyway, I have no idea how we got onto the conversation of Disneyland. This guy is in his 60's, even though he is still running a construction crew. A rather gruff man with flavored speech, I was very surprised to hear about his and his wife's absolute love for Disneyland!
This talk about our favorite rides went on for quite some time. He spoke of the fact that he doesn't bring any family with him on his frequent visits over there, just him and his wife. I got the conversation on the track of wait times and how unbelievably long they are.
He wasted no time in telling me when the REAL best time to visit Disneyland is, if you don't want to experience long wait times: weather. Not whether: weather. Disneyland never shuts down. In inclement weather, apparently some rides might shut down, but the park remains open. Well, I mean, it never shuts down during it's normal business hours, Disneyland isn't a 24 hour operation but it certainly has plenty of open hours.
He went into a rather long, drawn-out but illuminating discourse on looking at weather reports and specifically going when it is RAINING. Now, mind you, these aren't teenagers or 20-somethings, these are 60-somethings telling me that the BEST time to go if you want to avoid long lines is inclement weather. Get yourself dressed up in rain gear and go for it!! He said they wait until they see a "bad" forecast and that's when they head out.
I had never thought of such a thing. I don't know how they figured this out. Maybe they went one day and it was raining and they stuck out and obviously were happy they did. You see, if I have some nice rain gear on, it wouldn't bother me in the least to go on all of those rides in the wet weather. I haven't tried their idea out yet - I haven't been back since. I got pretty disgusted the last time I went, shelling out some money and finding myself in a literal sea of humanity. In many areas, you couldn't move without bumping into someone.
Some day, though, I am going to try it. I mean, the next time I go I want to try it. Get prepared to go and then, whenever there is a wet day forecast and it's a day I can get over there, go and see what happens.
I mean, basically, what is being said is that people coming from all over are going to stay in their hotel rooms or stay at home in terms of locals because they don't want to venture out in such weather. If a person were to get it in their mind before they ever even left their house that they were going to go in rainy conditions and prepared themselves for it mentally and physically?
For me, it would be a whole new adventure at a place I have been to dozens of times!! An adventure!!
Regular readers can disregard this entry. This was posted in response to several sites I have been reading about the "best" times to visit Disneyland.
I figured warm summer days would have people staying away from the place. Since I live in Phoenix, Arizona, Anaheim, California's version of a warm summer day and mine are on completely separate planes. I have been in California on many occasions where people were complaining it was hot and we were thinking how cool it is. Lol.
I have been to Disneyland SO many times when the ride waits are 2 and 3 hours!! Why would anyone wait that long for a ride that lasts 10 minutes? We were there when the "Finding Nemo" submarine ride opened, yes, I was there on opening day. However, I did not go on the ride. The line? Almost SIX hours long!! People were standing in the sun and fuming, I was laughing at them. What's the point of wasting that much time to go on one single ride, even if it IS the grand opening day? We couldn't have cared less, figured some day in the future we would come back and the line might be a bit more reasonable.
I can give you a few ride names that, even if there are a lot of people waiting, the wait times are short/er because there are so many vehicles in the ride going that it's a continuous flow. Two I can think of: The Haunted House and The Pirate of the Caribbean. Both are very cool rides, indeed, but what about getting on Splash Mountain or Space Mountain? Peter Pan? Oh, It's A Small World is usually a shorter wait, too because there is a continuous line of boats coming through seating people.
But, that doesn't do it. I have done the Fast Pass system there, 2 hours until the first available seating? How about this: the last time I was there, I got a Fast Pass for Magic Mountain that wasn't good until ELEVEN HOURS LATER!!!! And we were there, ELEVEN HOURS LATER and the ride was broken down!!
You can cheat on one ride. It is a very popular ride that has 2 and 3 hour wait times. You get a Fast Pass to it, come back later when it's valid, bypass a lot of waiting and then go on the ride. That isn't the cheating part. The cheating part is when you get off the ride, you can simply jump into the waiting line again to get back on it. I'm not talking the back of the waiting line, I'm talking inside the facility, where your wait is going to be about 15 minutes. We did that last time there 4 times in a row and no-one said a word to us about it.
No, it was a couple of years ago. I was in the middle of the desert at a construction site where they were building a new prison. I had already gotten to know the contractor that I was speaking with on that day. We always get into long conversations about things that have nothing to do with what is going on in front of us. Anyway, I have no idea how we got onto the conversation of Disneyland. This guy is in his 60's, even though he is still running a construction crew. A rather gruff man with flavored speech, I was very surprised to hear about his and his wife's absolute love for Disneyland!
This talk about our favorite rides went on for quite some time. He spoke of the fact that he doesn't bring any family with him on his frequent visits over there, just him and his wife. I got the conversation on the track of wait times and how unbelievably long they are.
He wasted no time in telling me when the REAL best time to visit Disneyland is, if you don't want to experience long wait times: weather. Not whether: weather. Disneyland never shuts down. In inclement weather, apparently some rides might shut down, but the park remains open. Well, I mean, it never shuts down during it's normal business hours, Disneyland isn't a 24 hour operation but it certainly has plenty of open hours.
He went into a rather long, drawn-out but illuminating discourse on looking at weather reports and specifically going when it is RAINING. Now, mind you, these aren't teenagers or 20-somethings, these are 60-somethings telling me that the BEST time to go if you want to avoid long lines is inclement weather. Get yourself dressed up in rain gear and go for it!! He said they wait until they see a "bad" forecast and that's when they head out.
I had never thought of such a thing. I don't know how they figured this out. Maybe they went one day and it was raining and they stuck out and obviously were happy they did. You see, if I have some nice rain gear on, it wouldn't bother me in the least to go on all of those rides in the wet weather. I haven't tried their idea out yet - I haven't been back since. I got pretty disgusted the last time I went, shelling out some money and finding myself in a literal sea of humanity. In many areas, you couldn't move without bumping into someone.
Some day, though, I am going to try it. I mean, the next time I go I want to try it. Get prepared to go and then, whenever there is a wet day forecast and it's a day I can get over there, go and see what happens.
I mean, basically, what is being said is that people coming from all over are going to stay in their hotel rooms or stay at home in terms of locals because they don't want to venture out in such weather. If a person were to get it in their mind before they ever even left their house that they were going to go in rainy conditions and prepared themselves for it mentally and physically?
For me, it would be a whole new adventure at a place I have been to dozens of times!! An adventure!!
Regular readers can disregard this entry. This was posted in response to several sites I have been reading about the "best" times to visit Disneyland.
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