Tuesday 2/7/2012

I'm really, kinda, hating....this presidential run from both side of the aisle. I really don't want to hear any more of it and I am tuning it out for now.  I haven't even decided who I want to vote for in the November election - I don't like ANY of the candidates that have any chance of winning right now.  The latest news was Obama's reversal in his stance on "super PACs" - the man is a hypocrite and apparently two-faced.

Bash others for doing something but if it helps him out, then commit the same action regardless. I'll write-in vote for Donald Duck before I vote for Obama.

Anyway.  I have partially decided on a course of action.  If I am staying in this house - and will be stuck in it for a long time if that is my decision versus short-sell, I am definitely going to save up enough money to build a small casita/attached structure - more of a "in-laws suite".  It would be completely self-sufficient - meaning the occupants would never have to come into my house for anything.  This is all about retirement and finding ways to dump money into an account designed specifically for that alone.

The unit could fetch $500 per month, I am guessing and pay for itself in less than a year.  It would have it's own sub-meter for electricity - or perhaps just install a regular meter for it altogether and do M-Power on it.  The occupants would have to "fill" a card at a machine to get electricity.  Water would have a meter on it running in there - but they would pay me directly for water bills - or not - I don't know how much water one or a couple of people living in a small place would use in a month, probably not enough to have to worry about it.

That, at the moment, will stand as Plan B, since I haven't yet made up my mind about short-selling the place.  And likely won't for a while.  I am still trying to determine what kind of place I could rent after leaving this property. Another thought would be to simply save up enough money for a enough of a down payment and get a second house.  But that would take a long time to save up, say, 20k.  Which is where a casita would come in handy.  At $6,000 per year, I could rack up 20 grand relatively quickly.   Meaning, taking all the money from that casita earnings and stuffing it into a savings account.

I have so many ideas running around in my head, no idea what to do here.

Oh, I do have on great idea: time to go to work : )

G'day.

ben

Monday 2/6/2012

Randy, my next door neighbor, is moving.  350 man has irritated him to the point that he bought some junky, old mobile home the next street over or some deal like that.  Yes, indeed.  This is the effect of bad neighbors: you don't want to live next to them.  Not that Randy is a stellar example of clean living.  He is also a hoarder.  I know, you think I am exaggerating.  At one point, his back yard was nothing but sea of used, rusted old cars; refrigerators, this that and the other thing.

The junk was so densely packed in there, there were some places that you would have to climb over cars to get anywhere.  Get the picture? Hoarders.  Anyway, he is moving all of his junk to his "new" property, where I am sure he will live in filth and squalor all over again.  So, is he going to build a house on the property next to me or leave it vacant?  No clue.  Don't really care at this point.  350 man is now bugging his neighbors on the other side of him.  Those people are older folks that have lived here a long time now.

I dunno, but when that Injunction Against Harassment runs out, if that guy tries to start trouble with me again, I will be right back down at the court house and will file for yet another Injunction is all I can say about that.

How does it feel to be 48 years old?  The same as 47, lol.  I think the "hurdle" age for me will be when I hit 50.  2 years until that, I can wait, thanks.

Whatever the case, another full work week en-queue.  I'm hopeful to get that Safe Driver bonus in my paycheck coming on Friday. I mean, I am trying to simply avoid Highway Patrol - almost got a nice inspection last week at a rest area that was full of them doing inspections - I got out of there JUST in time. One dude had just finished an inspection and was hurrying to get ready for the next one, or so it appeared, I would have been that next one.  No thanks.  Got out of there in a hurry.

Funny that they will come into a rest area and bother truck drivers who are either trying to sleep or just simply go to the bathroom.  Well, it's not funny at all, actually, I think it's a load of BS.  They'll go into truck stops, too, doing the same thing.  Regardless, the only way to not get warning from them about whatever on your truck is to avoid them like the plague.  I mean, seriously.  A truck that has brand new rubber; good brakes; no broken lugs; no cracks in the suspension or anywhere else; no air leaks - they will find something to write  you up on.  Such as a fire extinguisher with a broken strap.  The thing is on the floor, anyway, but they want to make an issue out of it.

If I am still with the same company through this year - I have no reason to believe I won't but who knows, I can't predict the future - I want that bonus again cause' next time?  I get 2 weeks pay and perks points.  Those points are good to use in a HUGE catalog that is filled with all kinds of stuff.  I don't know how many points a driver gets for his 5th safe driver award, but I would certainly like to find out.

Well, work day approaches. I am going to be watching 350 man's place now a bit more.  See what his intentions are now that Randy is gone.  Is he going to try and buy that property, too?  I sincerely hope that if Randy wants to sell it, he does NOT sell it to that freak.  If I had the money, I would definitely buy it just to keep that guy away from me.  Stick an old mobile on it and rent it.

Anyway, g'day.

ben

Sunday/Birthday/Superbowl Sunday 2/5/2012

It has been a pleasant surprise to receive dozens and dozens of Happy Birthday wishes on my main Facebook account.  : )
I had myself talked into staying home from church this morning, but something told me to go - so I did.  Good service.  Ended a bit early as they were having their yearly - corporate meeting or whatever that is required with a quorum of members to be present and vote on board members and such.

Well, I am not a member of that church.  I was going to go through the class and make it official, but they cancelled on me at the last minute as other people who were going to come were sick and had to cancel out.  That was months ago, I have heard nothing since.  Since I couldn't vote and have no say in any of it, I decided not to stay for it.

Instead, my Standing Rib Roast is less than an hour from being done.  However, another tenant made bacon wrapped hotdogs with all kinds of fixin's and I ended up eating 2 of them.  I am not hungry, whatsoever at this point, good thing for refrigerators and the ability to store such.  Doesn't matter, I am sure Mark and Lynnette will partake : )
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Roast turned out very nice.    Giants win the Superbowl.  Cool birthday.
Church - sermon -  definitely challenged me today.
I'm intrigued, to say the least.
But - life goes on.  Work tomorrow, the stark reality of it.
I have considered going back to the missionary life.
I don't remember it being any worse than having to deal with the day to day pressures of having a home, job and all that goes with it.  You don't own anything, but then again, what do I really own anyway?  A couple computers, TV's that I could care less about, dogs that I do care about - not unfortunately thank you, umm, some guns, an old car, a 5th wheel travel trailer.  I don't own the house, the bank owns it and will own it for 30 years - which I highly doubt I am going to stay here that long.

Wow.

Okay.

A nice day, regardless.

G'nite.

ben

Running Over A Bicyclist

This would be a trucker's nightmare.  Running over a pedestrian, bicyclist or otherwise someone in or on a small vehicle.  I know a trucker whose trailers tandems ran clean over the head of a teenaged boy.  Wasn't the trucker's fault, but - it messed that driver's head up rather permanently.  He quit truck driving altogether, he simply couldn't handle it anymore.  It wasn't just the fact that he had killed the boy, he also ended up seeing this kid's brains all over the asphalt.

Dicey.  Scary. Unnerving are a few words that describe what hit me the other day, in traffic, in the semi.
I was in a dual left hand turn lane.  I had seen the group of bicyclists cruising down the street before I got to the light, but they were on the right side of the road.  I got up to the left hand turn lane and sat there, looking around, waiting for the light to turn green.

If you are going to sit in the blind spot of semi truck while sitting on a bicycle next to it in traffic and expect the driver to avoid running you over, you might want to rethink that plan.

I have watched bicyclists all over the place doing some very stupid moves in traffic.  Some of these people think they have the right to cut off machinery that - they are no match for.  I read and hear in the news about bicyclists getting killed frequently in these parts, there is a reason for that.  Number one, motorists are not paying the same attention to the road as they once were.  The electronic s*** has taken their attention off of the road.  Number 2, the extreme, almost arrogant attitudes that I see cyclists have and using while riding down the road.

I am NOT one of those drivers that isn't paying attention.  Especially when driving the truck. Too much happens too quick and you have to be all over it before something really bad happens, like running cars and this and that over.

The problem on this particular occasion is that I could not SEE these bicyclists, they must have been RIGHT next to the truck in the blind spot.  Wherever they were, they most definitely should not have been there.  When the green arrow came up, I was moving right off the start.  The next thing I know, a bike is hurling off to the side, out in front of the same traffic that was also waiting at that light.  The green arrow and the regular light came on at the same time, meaning all the south bound lanes could take off.  This guy was swerving around with cars who also didn't expect what happened attempting to avoid running over him.

It was pretty shocking to see this dude attempting to save his own life while he was laughing at the cars that were swerving to avoid hitting him. ????  What was THAT all about?  Laughing at the cars that don't want to hit him?  It was all a big JOKE to this dude!!! I'm serious, this dude is swerving his bike in the middle of hte lanes attempting to avoid traffic that is attempting to avoid him and he's out there laughing at everyone!!

Saturday 2/4/2012

What kind of craziness is it that American Express has "no preset spending limit"?!!!

I know you have to pay the entire amount charged every month, but what if someone decides to go on a spending spree with the intent of not paying it? Naaah, they must have some kind of built in system to identify a person doing such and stopping it before it goes out of control. 

I have had the card for a week, sitting there wondering whether I should activate it or not.  I am going to give it a try.  Use it for groceries and gas, if such places accept such cards and set a limit at $200 per month.  Use it only for things I would have used my debit card for and make sure I set that money aside as I charge it on the card.  Let the thing build up points for a while and then see if it's even worth having the thing or not.  I mean, really, that's the only thing this card is good for: building up points and using them for whatever you can get with them.  It is not a credit card, really, since you can't run a balance on terms with interest over time.  At least, that's how I see it.

Meanwhile, the fight is on.  Continue to have money taken out on a weekly basis, automatically, from checking account to savings account.  The battle?  To not touch the savings.  So far, I have managed not to do that.  But no guarantees, lol.  

And if I'm staying on this property - still haven't decided that one or not  yet - it is going to need more revenue generated from it.  I have toyed with this idea for a couple of years now but have done nothing about it.  That's because it isn't going to be exactly cheap to do, which is to build a small guest house otherwise known as a casita in these parts.  

Basically a kitchenette design with a living/bedroom area combined, a small kitchen and a small bathroom with shower only, no bathtub.  How many people take baths anyway.  Lots, I'm sure, but no-one that lives in this house takes baths, only showers.  Anyway, I can build one for about 5k if I do most of the work myself. Would take less than a year to pay itself back. I'm going to start looking at plans on the internet - have to have a set of plans to build anything in this city and pay for a permit, too - and start calculating what it will cost.  

Caleb knocked on my bedroom door last night, just as I was going to go to bed.

He had some news for me.  

He has decided that in the next month or two, he is going to quit his job and go volunteer at the Salvation Army church that he goes to.  

How is he going to survive, you ask? My son is going to college, full-time.  I told him long ago that he can stay with me as long as he is either going to school or working or both.  He isn't quitting college.  

Don't slam the boy, but if you feel you must, I don't want it written in any comments on this entry or anywhere else on my blog. I have felt since last year when he had that encounter with the Lord that he is called to the ministry and I will fully support him in that.  

He will have a place to sleep; he already has a computer tied with my in-home Wi-Fi; I will make sure he has food to eat and he will still have a car to drive.

However, he is going to have to start to explore the world of "living by faith".  It isn't a concept.  It's a reality that I have lived in the past in trusting the Lord to meet your every need even though there is no foreseeable way for that to occur.  As a missionary, I remember, at first, going for extended periods of time without any money.  Not even a dime to my name.  My needs were met, but I had no spending money.  Over time, I had money coming in the mail and was able to do whatever I needed in terms of feeding myself and buying clothes and such. 

But there are many, many times  when I had nothing and was wondering where my next meal was coming from. The Lord never let me down on that.  NEVER.  And I will never complain about or regret those days of the time spent serving the Lord full time on the missionary field - at least my own experience.  I have said some things about the leadership that was - full of it - of the organization I was with - but that's an entirely different.

From what I can see, Caleb is called to the ministry and he will eventually find that calling and he will, undoubtedly, spend his life serving the Lord.  Whether that's as a pastor, an evangelist, a travelling missionary, who knows.  Only God knows that and it will be exciting, at least for me, to see where this all leads to.  He is taking a first step, on his own, without anyone telling him he needs to do so. 

So yes, while he is still with me, I will help him with some things but not all.  I want to see him take some steps in faith and let him learn on his own what it is like to ask the Lord for whatever you need and hopefully see those requests answered in whatever way the Lord chooses.  This is the kind of thing that grows faith.  After a while, it becomes more like knowledge: I know the Lord is going to provide for me, even though there is no way in the natural realm that that is going to happen as far as I can see. God is greater, He isn't broke and He owns everything! 

So I am going to encourage him in this endeavor.

Today?  Going to buy the other vent I need for the trailer roof and stop by the Chinese buffet on the way back.  Oh, so wonderful food.  I have never had budget Chinese food at a buffet that is THIS good!  I don't do it often, but this is my birthday weekend, so what the hey.  

I got my frozen Standing Rib Roast out this morning. I waited a bit long on deciding whether to cook it for my birthday tomorrow.  I hope that it being out long enough will thaw it sufficiently.  

Tomorrow: My birthday and Superbowl Sunday. There isn't much doubt in my mind who is going to win this particular Superbowl, but I do hope the Giants at least put up a good fight, cause' a blowout Superbowl sucks, really.  I do hope the roast is thawed by then, but if it isn't totally thawed, no worries, just takes longer to cook, start it a bit earlier.  Yes, been there done that - like the turkey I cooked last weekend.  It took 1-1/2 extra hours to cook because it wasn't completely thawed, but it turned out delicious : )

Done for now.

G'day.

ben

Friday 2/3/2012

So, out of the blue, the tenant that was going into the hospital for 6 weeks as of yesterday calls me - yesterday of course.  What's up, dude? You in the hospital yet?, having had already resigned myself to the fact that I would not see a penny of rent from that room for 6 weeks - at least.

He says he is coming over in about an hour to give me some money.  That's basically the end of the story without going into too much detail, he showed up, handed me X amount of money, I decided to give him a break - the amount he paid versus what is actually owed - and left it at that.  I'll take something over nothing is all I am saying.

A sigh of relief.  I didn't want to have to dig into the savings account.  I have that safe driver award coming, but I won't see that for another 7 days when I get paid again.

Took the computer to the Fed Ex hub yesterday. Got it there in time - it will be at the repair facility today.  Allegedly, they are putting a "rush" on it to get it fixed as soon as it shows up in their doorway..........it would be nice to get it back in, ohhh, say a week's time instead of sitting there for Lord only knows how long........

Eye infection not getting any better, despite putting the antibiotic drops in there every day, 3 times per day, as instructed by the doctor.  It's blood red in the morning, clears up by the afternoon, gets a bit red by nightfall and then, the next morning, same thing all over again.  Plus, it is INCREDIBLY itchy. Hard to keep my fingers off of it.

The news is mostly full of garbage.  I am sick of seeing all the junk being hurled around about the Presidential candidates.  I haven't made up my mind, yet, who I would want to see in the Oval office, mostly because the top 2 candidates do not appeal to me, at all.  Gingrich is just another career politician and Romney has certain elements about him that I don't like.  Apparently Santorum has no chance and Ron Paul definitely has no chance, that man will never be the President.  Whatever the case, whoever ends up winning the nomination for the GOP, I will vote for that person in the November elections over Obama regardless.

Well, work day approaches, but it's Friday.

G'day.

ben

Thursday 2/2/2012

It's 222!  Meaningless, but someone will make some sort of inference out of it.  Oh, wait a minute - no - it IS Groundhog Day!  In the area where I live?  We'll take permanent winter.  We don't care how long winter lasts, it could go on indefinitely and everyone around here would love it.

I have gotten nowhere with Hewlitt Packard - not that I haven't tried.  Okay, I have made very slight "ground", if you wanna call it that, but and again, that company has some of the rudest customer service reps.  They are right down there with Direct TV.  I caught the case manager in a lie, at least that's what I called it and called him out on it.  He started hemming and hawing after I made the case - didn't matter. Anyway, the box showed up from Fed Ex yesterday to send the computer to them, but I was too tired to get the thing out and go through all of that.

I will take it to work with me today and possibly pack it up and send it in after work is done.

Meanwhile, the situation with the tenant that had surgery on his wrist.  He had gone to his dad's house to recover for a few days before coming back over here.  That situation changed dramatically after he called me yesterday and informed me that he was going to have to spend 6 weeks in some sort of rehabilitation facility that has to intravenously inject him with antibiotics.  The first thought that came to my mind while he's talking this is the rent.  I had a feeling I was going to get a sob story, instead, he tried to jump over that particular portion of the conversation.

I infused it.  What about the rent?  I don't want to sound like a mean-spirited person, but I have bills to pay.  I'm not going to go into all of it.  It is the same type of thing I have heard from others in the past.  "I shouldn't have to pay or pay full rent since I am not there".  People seem to think because they aren't here, using utilities and such, they should either therefore be charged no rent or the rent should be reduced.

People are wrong if they think like that, to put it flatly.  You rent the room, it's yours whether you use it or not.  It is meaningless whether you stay in it one night per month or every night per month.  You agree to pay X amount of money per month for it, there is no discussion of how often you are going to use it because it is completely and totally irrelevant. If you want to cut a deal with someone, go somewhere else.

This conversation digressed, at least from my viewpoint of it because I also had to ask him WHEN I was getting any rent, it was due yesterday.  Yeah.  6 weeks from now.  My tones probably were getting less and less nice with each tidbit of news I was hearing.  He can't come and move out because of his situation, he is physically unable to do anything.  This does not absolve him of having to pay the rent.  Dunno.  I get this feeling that 6 weeks from now, the guy is going to show up, move out while I'm at work or something and not pay a dime.  It's happened too many times and I am not sure I am willing to wait that long to get money.

But it is what it is.

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All day intermission. I thought I posted this this morning!

So I am at a jobsite this morning, waiting to get the truck unloaded.  Caleb calls - a bit unnerved.  He's telling me this story of him almost killing another driver in traffic that had occurred 15 minutes before he called me.  That old Buick has good rubber and good brakes on it, I made sure of that before he started driving that thing.  I don't want to have to come rescue him with a flat tire and I definitely want optimal brakes on that thing in case something like this happens.

Some dude apparently stopped in front of him - on the freeway!  I've seen this happen before.  Idiots.  He said he swerved toward the center wall to avoid crashing into him and then swerved again to avoid the center wall.  I asked him how fast he was going. 70mph.  Too fast, too close behind the car in front of him, not looking far enough ahead.  I'm just glad he didn't smash into the rear of that car.  Cops don't care what happened, if you rear-end a vehicle, 99% of the time you are going to get the ticket and blame for the accident no matter what happened unless you have witnesses that can corroborate a story that would give the driver in front of you the ticket instead (such as unsafe lane change/cutting you off going much slower than you are).

That was my guess, anyway and I just got through giving him some driving tips.  You don't develop that 6th sense in driving overnight or even in a year's time.  The longer you drive, the better equipped you are mentally to be prepared in advance for whatever is going to happen in front of you.  But, he must have done something right to stay out of an accident altogether.  He said he could smell the rubber from the car's tires because of the skidding.  I just went out and checked the tires, no flat spots.

The  regional manager out at our new facility today.  Cool dude, easy to get along with and not over-bearing.  This is the kind of management I can and do respect.  Our general manager was escorting him around, he is always very congenial and easy to talk to as well.  It makes me wonder how another certain member of higher management even makes it with this kind of quality people above him.

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Wow!  The list of things going on over here is too much to get into all of it!  Enough is enough, write more tomorrow.

G'nite.

ben

The Incident At The Electric Wholesale House

I do not get into the same kind of things with my company's vendors - people WE are buying product from - as I will with my own, personal business - just because I don't want them calling my company and starting junk with me through them.  Even if I'm "right", I just let most of it go.

So, today is the first time in quite a long time that I simply wasn't going to take the kind of s*** that these people doling out.

So here's the situation.  We buy product here and there from this company.  Normally, it's the pipe used for natural gas.  They sell a lot of other stuff, but that's mostly what we get from them.  They have a small yard.  To get into that yard, you have to make a very tight turn.  Recently, they put a sign up - if you're truck is over 32 foot long or are pulling a trailer over 32 feet long, you must report to the office first before going in.

That sign is directed towards truck drivers that are DELIVERING product there.  It's a granted that I have to go in to the will call center first to get the paperwork done and make sure everything is correct.  But, I started following the sign's instructions, anyway, just to make sure there were no problems.  When I get the paperwork done with them, I then ask them if they want me to stay out there in the parking lot or pull into their yard.  Sometimes it's stay out there, sometimes its pull into the yard.

Today, the will call counter man asked the yard man what he wanted me to do - who replied to go ahead and pull into the yard.  I heard them both say this, I wasn't dreaming it, it really was spoken.  So, I get into the semi and pull around that tight turn and lo and behold, there is another semi in there already.  Here's where the trouble starts.

A kid on a forklift - okay, he's somewhere in the 20-25 range, comes up on a forklift and starts telling me that I should have gone into the office first to ask whether I can come into the yard and didn't I bother to read the sign?  Yes, I read the sign and yes, I went into the office and THEY instructed me to go into the yard, if you have an issue with that, please take it up with them.   I mean, really.  This guy goes on and on and on about how I should have gone inside.  I wasn't going to waste time with him, I told him about his attitude and that I wouldn't be dealing with it, thanks, got back into my truck and shut the door and completely ignored him.

He drives back to the other end, where a group of them were standing there, glaring at me.  Whatever, load my truck and I'll be out of your hair, thank you.

I get back out - I have to loosen up straps to move 2 sticks of pipe on the back of the trailer so the other forklift operator can load the truck.  I'm in that process when this long-haired hippie looking dude comes walking up.  He gets right in my face and starts in on me.  What is your issue.  I don't have an issue, what are you talking about.  You told my forklift operator that he has an attitude.  Yes, I did, he came up to me and told me I should have checked in the front office before coming in here and I informed that I had, indeed, done so and that they told me to come in here.  Well how do you call that an attitude?  Because he wouldn't shut up. That conversation should have ended when I told him I had gone through your company's procedures and DID check in and did get the okay to come back here.

This guy started getting nasty.  Attitude all over his face and verbage.  I wasn't backing down.  I did nothing wrong, there was no reason, whatsoever, for  this guy to be talking to me like this.  I finally asked him who his manager is.  "I AM the yard manager".  Yup, and you are going to pay - I didn't say but I thought.  I am the freaking CUSTOMER here.

He started walking off and said: "Well I'm going to let it go THIS time".  I wasn't.  Too late, too much negativity, to much bullshit from 2 different people over an extremely PETTY matter.

I stopped what I was doing and walked inside the front office - he walked into his warehouse.  I looked around for the guy I was dealing with in there, he was nowhere to be seen.  I waited for several minutes but - looking out the window, I saw the forklift operator coming up with my pipe.  I walked back outside.  He couldn't load the truck, it was such a tight squeeze there was no room for that forklift to maneuver that pipe around to load the truck.

I offered to back the truck out of there so he could load it in the parking lot - where they should have said they were going to load it in the first place.  If you think getting IN there was difficult, wait til' you try backing up a truck between a building on one side and trucks parked on the other, around a corner through a narrow gate. I didn't get that far before a swarm of people appeared and came out of the warehouse and towards me.  The man at the counter that I dealt with was the first one to me.

However, his tones were nothing like that so-called yard manager.  We got into a discussion and he informed me that this yard manager thought I was delivering something, not picking something up.  So this is how you treat truck drivers bringing materials into your yard.  It took me back to the days of doing over-the-road and being treated like so much dog crap.  You follow their rules to the nth degree and if you don't, they will give you hell.  I heard that and decided it was time to milk this cow.

I looked the man squarely in his face and asked him in a voice that I don't really know how to describe but certainly not of a squeamish person that is going to fall over and bind his legs up into the fetal position if he's talked badly to - Do I need to get MY management involved?.  If my management hears out the entire story and what happened, I have no doubt that they would back me up.  No, no sir you don't need to do that.

I then informed him and everyone else milling about what really happened versus whatever that yard manager might have told him.

That conversation ended and then I backed the truck out of that yard and yet more people came out there.  What's going on?  Same story.  Your yard manager has an extreme attitude and I did not appreciate it and told them the same story.  They - were obviously unhappy about their employee's attitude toward me which was completely unwarranted and apologized profusely.  They stated they were going to deal with the situation.  They even asked if the guy that was loading my truck was also starting crap with me.  No, I said, he was cool, no problems with him. Okay, good, we just wanted to know whether those 2 - referring to the dude that started this with me on the forklift and then the yard manager - had dragged him into it as well.

Meaning they believed me and yes, it was obvious or at least hopeful from the way they were talking - that some heads were going to roll.  This isn't exactly the type of economy where you go treating your customers like shit on a log. If I had an "ace in the hole", it was the two times on the 2 occasions that I asked them if I needed to get my management involved, they particularly did not care for that idea, at all.

The whole incident brought back all the memories of being OTR driving - going to a different place every time and never knowing how you were going to be treated once you got there.  But when I was in my 20's doing it, I didn't put up with it.  If yard personnel were going to talk down to me, they got it right back from me.  If they treated me with respect as you would any (well most) human beings, then I showed them the same respect and then some.  I used to have them demanding me to unload the truck - for free.

No, I would flatly respond.  We're not talking operating a forklift in these particular instances, we are talking about thousands of boxes stacked from floor to ceiling that would have to be unloaded by hand.  I was in New York once, they informed me that this 53 foot long, 110 inch high trailer would have to be unloaded by hand and that they weren't going to do it.  I called my company who demanded I unload that trailer - for free.

Lol.  I was ready to quit.  They didn't want to pay me and at that point in my life? I didn't care.  I could leave the truck and trailer there, at that dock, get my things, get on a Greyhound and go home.  I would tell them it's there, better get a driver over there to deal with it.  But it didn't get that far.  I informed my company they could pay a lumper to come and unload the truck.  They wouldn't pay for that, either.  I didn't care.  I drove the truck there, that was my job.  Loading and unloading trucks? Not my job. I will do it, but for a price.

I then offered to unload the truck myself, but it wasn't going to be anything near free.  $200.  I figured it would take hours - at least - unload that truck by hand.  Not only unload it by hand, but separate it by the demands of the place I was delivering the junk to - they had pre-painted squares with A, B and C painted in them. Obviously, this was Modus Operandi for them.  Again, couldn't care less.  I did unload that truck, by hand and I did it expeditiously and yes, I got paid $200 EXTRA for doing that.

There are many truck drivers out there that will not touch freight, period.  That's fine, too, that's the norm, really for OTR drivers.  It isn't the norm for local drivers, but for OTR? They're out there driving 11 hours a day and in their minds, that's enough.  I happen to agree after having done it for many years.  If you think driving a truck is easy, I invite you to spend a week with an OTR driver and you will get an education.

I left that electrical supply company that also sells natural gas pipe, lol, with the satisfaction that those 2 idiots were going to hear about their actions - actually they had already heard about it before I left the property.  I doubt that I will have any problems the next time I go in there - but who knows.

Safe Driver Award

So, this morning, finally, the email came from corporate with the names of those who are going to receive the Safe Driver Award.  It is given annually - if you qualify - on the month of your service anniversary.  I didn't know what to think all the way up until this morning - til' I got to work and opened up the email.

The email shows 1 year, 2 year - all the way up to as many years a person has been a safe driver.  I figured I was at 1 year since I didn't get it last year and it would reset back to 1.  Otherwise, I would be at 4 years.  I didn't see my name under 1 year so I thought - oh well.  I met all the qualifications for it, but for whatever reason, I am not getting it.

I open up the next email from a co-worker in the purchasing department.  He says congratulations on the Safe Driver Award.  ???  Back to the corporate email.  Now I am scouring through all of it, not just 1st year.  My name is there - on the 4th year of getting the award!

I had NO idea that it didn't have to be consecutive!  I thought that if you didn't get it in any given year, the counter resets to zero and you start all over again. Not!  Why is this so grand? Because on your 4th year, you get TWO/2/DOS/week's pay and it stays that way every year after that!  2 weeks pay?!!!  Yowsa!!!

I was like, YES!!!

Endeavoring to simply stay away from Highway Patrol at all costs.  That's what got me through the last 13 months without a warning from them for whatever - avoid the known hangouts for them like the plague as much as possible.  Can't always do that, but at the same time, they can't pull over every truck, in fact, they can only pull over and inspect a small fraction of them.  I'm not saying I am driving a dangerous truck.  We spent $5,000 on tires about 6 months ago.  Brakes are good. No cracks on anything. No leaks of any kind.  No nothing - yet if you get pulled over, they seemingly invent things to write you up for.  The younger ones are mini-gods. Dictators of their own right.  Stalin reborn.  Hitler reincarnated.

And you think I am exaggerating. Uh-huh. 25 years of their nonsense, I have a bit of insight not only from my own experiences with them, but from talking to countless other truck drivers and THEIR experiences with them, some of which are truly nightmarish in proportion.  I will fight any warning they give me from this point forth - actually starting when my company set forth it's new policy in response to USDOT new regulations - extreme regulations to say the least.

It didn't used to be this hard.  Truck drivers were professionals and the motoring public treated them with respect.  That is mostly untrue anymore.  On both counts.  Many people holding the steering wheel of a truck that are far from being any semblance of professional.  We used to all dress neatly and smartly.  We didn't throw "pee bottles" out the windows. We didn't drive in and out of heavy traffic as if we are operating a tonka toy in a dirt maze.  The motoring public doesn't really treat ANY other drivers with respect.

Well whatever.  I drove 132 miles today.  Doesn't sound like much until you realize it was ALL city traffic. I most definitely earn my pay and by the grace of God - keep out of accidents.  I hope it stays that way.

ben

Tuesday 1/31/2012

End of month.  Meaning work will be pushing to get whatever deliveries we can - out the door.

You gotta love this woman in San Luis (small town in southern Arizona) that was running for mayor, whose name was removed from the ballot.  Why?  Because she can't proficiently speak, write or understand English.  So, she is suing! ROFL!!

This is what it's like living in this part of the U.S.  We get people from across the border who move over here and live out their lives - but never bother to learn the language of the land. Instead, they literally demand that companies and governments pander to them and have interpreters or bilingual agents/reps to serve them. They want signs in Spanish and they want everything doubled up - English version and Spanish version.  They could care less that they are living in a predominantly English-speaking country.

It's the never-ending story.

Meanwhile, Pannetta is stating that "No options are off the table" concerning Iran and eluding to military action if it comes to that.  Yes, Iran needs to be stopped, no, the U.S. doesn't need to take on another war all by itself.  That's all I'm saying about it, we don't need to be footing the bill - both financially and at the cost of however many American lives - again.

My battle with Hewlett-Packard has only begun.  Although I did make some progress yesterday, the real progress will occur today - hopefully  anyway - when I contact corporate and get answers to my questions, especially the question about an appointment made and abandoned by their company.  Not only abandoned, but no courtesy-call that they aren't showing.  The appointment had literally been cancelled with no rhyme or reason as to why.  The individual I spoke with yesterday claimed that replacing the LCD screen has to be done in a clean room, not by an in-home visit from a tech.

I am not a fan of having my pre-work rituals interfered with by anyone.  Exactly what is happening right now and extremely irritating.  Whatever.

Off to work.

Ben

Okay, I only have..........

...............my mother to blame.
I watched my mom dealing with companies in all kinds of venues when I was a little boy, growing up and standing in awe the way people treated her after she decided she wasn't being treated right.  She taught me how to shop, cook, do laundry - most of the things that kids are, mostly, not being taught today.

I didn't really start dealing with companies the way that I do now until the level of service went from industry-wide exemplary to industry-wide - shi***.  When America started out-sourcing, that's when my issue with it began.  At the time, I didn't care about who had what job where, I had an issue with dealing with people in foreign nations that don't speak fluent or clear English and don't understand or care about the way we think in the U.S. versus the way they think about customer service in places like India, the Philippines, Mexico, etc.

They don't see things the way we do.  When you call a customer service number and get a different country, you eventually - very quickly - get an attitude and a voice that over time?  You don't even want to hear anymore. You have dealt with them for years, you get to a point where the first sound of their voice is enough to convince you to immediately ask to be connected back to a U.S. incoming call center.

And they mostly do NOT want to do that.  The ramifications are obvious and need I really go into it?  It would take a book to write out my interactions with these people.

So, I started dealing with a "new" company last week in attempting to get my new laptop computer fixed.  Hewlett Packard is hardly new, but I have never had to deal with them before in this manner.  Whenever I bought a cheap printer manufactured from their company, well, when it quits working I throw it away and buy another one.  At $20 - my latest one was $19.99, bought on Black Friday of 2011, I am not going to bother wasting my time calling them.

My laptop was also bought on Black Friday - I wonder if THAT is even true anymore, probably not (asking the question as to whether the day after Thanksgiving is break-free day for companies) - but it was a FAR greater price-tag than twenty bucks.  Today, a repairman was supposed to show up between the hours of 1 and 5 pm.  It never occurred and I did not receive a phone call informing me why it didn't happen.

To skip a lot of stuff that I could go into but really don't feel like writing that much information - but it was dealing with people in both India and the Philippines - I finally ended up with a case manager, somewhere right here in the good ole' U S of A.  By this point I am miffed and not accepting BS answers or endless transfers.  I especially hate the attitude - which at first was exemplified by this individual - that they have all the answers and whatever you have to say means nothing and please shut up and listen - or so it is imputed.

Tim - that's his name - went into his spew.  I listened, yes.  I did not cut him off, no.  I then started to reply to him when - he started to talk over the top of  me.  Interrupted me, in other words.  That is when I lose respect for that person and that is when their problem starts.

It doesn't really matter at this point what Tim offered.  His offer was moot.  I was supposed to receive a part in the mail by now and then a tech was supposed to come out - today between the hours of 1 and 5 pm - neither of which happened. That didn't happen and now? HP is going to pay.  This story isn't over, Tim's answer was nothing more than what should have happened in the first place, not an answer plus compensation.

I will get my computer fixed and I will get compensation.  That's the end of it.  I haven't actually ARRIVED at that end, yet, but I have ample experience dealing with these kinds of corporations.  I will get to the right person, eventually.  The amount I paid for my warranty will be given back to me and yes, my computer will be fixed and I won't have to pay any shipping charges, plus it will happen as fast as possible.

I cannot, of course, guarantee that that will happen, but that's what I am after and tomorrow? I will be on the phone as long as it takes.  I didn't spend $50 on this computer is what I am saying and it's all of 2 MONTHS old, not 2 years or something old.

Whatever.  I did get somewhere with the guy - but it wasn't enough.  I am going to search the internet for the phone number I really need to get to and then?  That's when I will finally get somewhere with this.

Okay, I left it having a box being sent to me for pre-paid shipping - on their part and having it sent back to them to have it repaired and my warranty money being given back to me.  What I am after is all of that plus 2 free years of unlimited warranty service.  In the case of a laptop that you are carrying around all over the place?  That's worth something to me.  I might ask for a discount on some other product as well from their store, who knows.  I'm not there yet because........tomorrow isn't here yet.

Goodnight.

ben

Monday 1/30/2012

January almost gone already.
I'm quite glad I didn't bother to make any New Year's Resolutions this year - I am sure I would have already abandoned them by now, lol.
I made some personal resolutions long before the New Year came and those are goals that I am attempting to keep, not because it's a New Year, but because they will improve the quality of life.

Extremely odd.  My son just came out from his bedroom, dressed and ready to go!  I haven't seen him up this early in ages - maybe never, lol.  He's off to school already.  I wonder how long it takes to completely change your schedule and get your body and mind used to it?  He is definitely a night owl - likes to stay up all night long.

Whatever the case, it would be nice if that old car would run for a while and not give me any more problems.  I have determined that as soon as the second trailer is paid off, I am going to either try to sell it or trade it.  Preferably for a pick up truck.

Reading the news, that capsized ship is going to be there throughout the region's "tourist season".  So, will people not go there because that big ole' thing is laying out there or will people flock to the region so they can see it in person?

Well, time to head off to work.  I have no idea HOW I am feeling this morning, usually am not able to tell that too well until I get moving.

Be that as it may, no choice but to get moving and keep moving until the work shift is over.

G'day.

ben

Sunday 1/29/2012

I went to church this morning.  30 minutes into it, I started feeling REALLY bad.
I didn't want to, but I eventually got up and went home.  The pastor's wife caught me in the
hallway and prayed for me - not going to turn down prayer.  I felt so bad, though that there was no
way I was going to do anything but go home.

I have done nothing today.  Lay around. Well, I cooked a turkey dinner, but that was it.

And I'm done.

G'nite.

ben

Saturday 1/28/2012

So, I'm going to try to take it easy today and tomorrow and get over this stuff.

So, here's a tragedy:  A 65 year old man, bicycling on a trail somewhere in Pennsylvania, is pushed over by teens and the teens attempt to rob him. The man pulls out his gun and shoots - all of them I guess - one of the teens dies.  Apparently the teens also assaulted the man while trying to rob him.

I'm a gun rights advocate, I don't go around talking about it everywhere but if the subject comes up, I'm definitely taking the side of the right to bear arms rather than the idea that we should all be disarmed.  Does a situation like this send a message to people who want to rob others?  Yes, the potential exists that you might be shot by an armed citizen who may be concealing a weapon and - you don't know until it's too late.

The moral question - at least for me - should the teen have been killed over money?  I would have a problem with that, but the story also said they were assaulting the man, I'm taking that to mean they were beating him up.  At the point of physical violence, I have no problem with the man shooting those teens.  3 against 1 is not good odds, depending on the size/age of the teens and to what degree of violence they were willing to go to, including potentially killing the man.  We will never know the answer to that question, but in this case, I definitely side with the older gentleman but still have sympathy for the family/parents of the deceased teen.

There are frequent stories about an armed citizen shooting would-be robbers in the news, I tend to read as much information about those stories as I can find.   For me, I had to come to some kind of conclusion as to when I would pull the gun and shoot.  Certainly, if a group of people are assaulting me - if I can even get at the gun at that point - those people are going to get shot.  I would go to bed that night, even if someone died, and have no problem getting to sleep.

I'm not sure I would want to shoot a group of people who are demanding my money and that's it. In other words, the threat of violence may be there, but it hasn't yet happened. If I hand them my wallet and that's the end of it, then I probably would not pull the gun.  I might be incredibly pissed and infuriated at people taking my hard earned money, not to mention have to call credit card companies and having cards cancelled, the bank accounts frozen and what-not - replacing the driver's license and on and on, but I carry nothing in my wallet that has any sympathetic attachments, they are just cards and ID.  Replaceable.  Some of it not necessarily easily replaceable, but still.

Someone comes into my house to rob me - all bets are off.  You are clearly taking your own life into your hands when you "break and enter" a person's home to rob them.  There have been home invasions in this area in the past, in fact, one occurred several years ago 2 houses down where 350 man is currently living (he was in prison at the time).

Oops.  I just remembered something.  The dogs need their shots.  The news had an official on there admonishing dog owners to get the shots up-to-date if they are expired because distemper cases are spreading around these parts like crazy.  Fry's Food Stores carries (or used to carry, I'll find out) those shots, they are cheap and easily administrated.  Pull up the scruff of the neck, stick the needle in, pump the fluid in, done.

Well, took a break and got up on that trailer.  I know, I'm trying to get over sickness, but I just couldn't resist the absolutely gorgeous weather we are experiencing here right now.  It's nothing short of beautiful outside.  I can tell you that I wouldn't want to be doing that work in the heat of summer, on a hot roof with the sun beating down on me and the metal roof putting off heat coming back up at me.  So, the vent is on, installed.  Only have left to put some caulking around it and it's good to go.  I have one more large vent to do, but I haven't bought the vent yet.  $35 or so with tax.  Then a smaller drain vent that I already bought, much less work though I don't have enough new screws to install the new one.  I think putting in the one vent today was enough, thank you.

I stopped by Auto Zone today and got my free gift card.  I was hoping at least $25, I got $20.  The offer for 20% off is still good, though, on the next purchase. Well, the radiator, I have now determined, does not need to be replaced.  I had thought there was a leak in the upper portion of the radiator, but apparently it was just wet from when I was refilling the thing with fresh anti-freeze. Makes me particularly happy that I don't have to shell out $100 for another part for that car.  There are other problems with it, but nothing that stops it from running.

The same kid I had over just before Christmas to haul landscaping rock is here again.  A job I did not want to do: sand down the wood on all the gates and the apply a fresh coating of lacquer.  I gotta say, this is the first person I have found off of Craigslist that really will work the entire time instead of complaining and whining how hard everything is and blah, blah, blahhhhhh.  This will be an on-going thing on an occasional basis to have him over doing the things that I do not want to do.  Next on the list will be to paint the block walls.  They are coated with stucco.  I have never had them painted.  If I had thought about it at the time, the stucco itself could have had tint added to it.  Regardless, my mother gave me 10 gallons of stucco paint some time ago. It's been inside the entire time so it hasn't been exposed to unbelievable summer heat.  It should still be good. Give that kid a roller and the paint and he can paint the entire affair.  That particular job will take quite a bit of time to finish, but he is motivated.  That's all I need - a person that is motivated and isn't going to complain about whatever work I give.  I have had the complainers over and I have never invited them back.

Okay, Mark is the exception.  I not only had him back, but he's lived here for almost 2 years with Lynnette, lol.  No signs that they are leaving anytime soon, but life can be rather strange in the way it treats you so - who knows.  Not asking them to leave, that's for sure.

Friday 1/27/2012

Finally Friday.  I (think) I am getting better.  All tests that were done came back negative - looking for more serious stuff that is, a bit of a relief there for sure.
I'm just ready for a couple of days of laying in bed, to be honest, versus getting up early and heading off to work.
Hopefully by Monday I will be feeling right as rain again.

Caleb called me last night, something up with the car.  He tends to get flustered and give up easily.  The car isn't the greatest vehicle in the world, but for the most part has gotten him around without too much hassle.  I, however, am tired of dumping money into it and am thinking of some alternatives here.

The Phoenix area is immense and widely spread out.  Getting around without a car isn't impossible, but if you try to take the bus system, you are going to spend hours getting somewhere that should take 20 minutes.  That was the reason I kept that car and have tried to keep it running for him, but at some point, a person has to consider it a money dump and let it go. I am already at that point - I have no love for that thing - but I have no alternatives, yet, either.

So, gonna try to keep it running for another 4 months and then that trailer will be paid off.  I will try to either sell it or trade it for a good, running compact car that gets good gas mileage.  I haven't told him that, yet, I haven't firmly decided about that.  He has a job, albeit not making a huge amount of money, if I got him a car I would expect him to pay me back for it, even if over a long period of time at small payments.

I am firmly decided to get rid of that old Buick, however.  I have dumped enough money into it that it should just stay running.  Instead, it comes up with new ways to break down.  However, what it was doing this time is simply that the brake lights were on and the lights on the dash were all on, but the car wouldn't start.  Sounds like a computer reset needs to be done.  At the same time, he got back in and the thing fired right up .
He then informed me he would walk to school tomorrow.  I don't think so.  Get in the thing and drive it. If it breaks down, I will have it towed to the electrical place one, last time and hope they can figure it out.  Well, no, I will go to wherever the car is, actually, unhook all the battery cables from the battery and do a computer reset.  See if that does anything for it.  It already HAS a brand new computer module in it, I replaced that last year.  The real problem is the car is a 1994 model.  18 years old.  140,000 miles, which actually isn't that much for a car that old.

So, I hope not to hear that it broke down again, nothing else to say about it, really.  I am not going to drive it anymore, that's for sure.  My son will have to figure something else out if he decides he doesn't want to drive it anymore, I will sell it for $700 or whatever I can get out of it and be done with it.  It isn't totally worthless, the engine runs great when it does run, doesn't smoke, no leaks, great tires, all the stuff I have already had done with it.

Anyway, work day is here and time to get outta here.

ben

Thursday 1/26/2012

Dragging through this week, gag.
Didn't sleep well, at all, last night.
Which will make for a long day at work, but as yesterday, I will be hoping to leave early if I can.
There is a bunch of stuff to do this morning, but by the time noon gets around, I'm hoping it will all be
done.  I'll spend this weekend laying around doing nothing and hoping that I will get over it before Monday.

By now, everyone has seen the picture.  Governor Jan Brewer with her finger in Obama's chest.
I just watched an online interview of Brewer being asked what Obama was saying to her.
Apparently, Obama doesn't like the book she wrote and he was expressing his discontent with it.
Nice job, Obama: I declared it a couple times, I'll say it again: You are the WORST President this nation
has EVER had.  What kind of President gets off Air Force 1 and immediately gets into a pissing match with
the governor of the state he is visiting, out in the open, in front of the cameras for everyone to see?
Why bother even coming to our state if he has such a problem with it's leadership?  Bunk.

I'd be far more impressed if he went and took those kinds of tones with that idiot president over in Iran.  The only thing I take away from reading and hearing all of that is that President Obama is all for a completely divided country.  He's the president of everyone in the U.S. - that agrees with everything he says, apparently, if not, he wants nothing to do with you.  This guy is NOT a leader and has shown NO leadership skills since he took the office, period, end of story, thanks alot, take your bat and ball and go home.

Whale Wars.  Just saw a short video.  Allegedly, the Japanese have left and gone home.  ???  I didn't quite catch whether there had been any skirmishes with the anti-whalers and whether they had been out there whaling before the Japanese pulled the plug on it.  Have to look at the site later on today.

Whatever the case, just about time to leave for work.

Later.

ben

Wednesday 1/25/2012

It would be nice to be able to sit here and say that I am at 100% this morning, up-and-at-em, ready to tackle another day.
In reality, I feel like I should be going back to bed and sleeping another 4 or more hours.
My bad, really, I would have had to call and tell my manager that I am not coming in today, either - yesterday.
I can only hope for another short day - get whatever is in the truck system done and ask to go home early.
That's it for this one, I'm off to work.
ben

Auto Zone 24th Street & Baseline

I had Caleb take my car and leave his here for today.
Although I am not feeling well, the car needed some servicing on the coolant - basically it wasn't in good shape and I don't want to have some sort of situation where it overheats or worse, freezes and cracks the block if the temps go down.
To that end, I went to Auto Zone, a store I have been going to since it opened in these parts over 20 years ago.

I have never really had any problems at Auto Zone before.  Today, however, was different.  

I went in, found what I was looking for and went up to the register, which is where the problem began.  It started with a $2.97 bottle of rust flush.  You basically pour that bottle into the radiator, let the engine run for 10 or 15 minutes and then drain it all out.  You then fill it up with water and run that through a few more minutes and drain that out and then finally you put in your anti-freeze mixture with water and a rust proofing agent.

The manager came up to the front to check out my goods and scanned that bottle.  Apparently nothing came up.  He tried again and then tried to go into the system to find the price.  He eventually went over to another register and continued on with his search.  This went on for quite a while.  How hard was it for him to just give me the price that was already listed on the shelf instead of making me wait 10 minutes?

That was the first irritation, though not enough to get me "going" or anything.  He then came up - finally - and informed me the price is $3.49. I said no, it's not $3.49, it's $2.97, like what's listed on the shelf.  He charged me $3.49 anyway, completely ignoring my statement - another big no-no in my world.  I then said fine, I'll pay the $3.49 and I will be calling corporate.   He gives me a look.  Corporate? he states.  Yes, I said corporate, I am going to call them...............and that's when he cut me off, talking right over the top of me, a thing I did NOT do to him.

Any regular, long-time readers know where this is going.  Once I have been dissed by "customer service" of any company, all bets are off.  I don't even talk to that person anymore, I go right up over their head and yes, I always get compensation.  Today? No different.  I stopped speaking and he told me, quite disingenuously after I paid for all of it, to "have a nice day".  I looked him in the eye and said, "Yeah, right".  He started laughing at me.

Cardinal sin.  Never, ever laugh at your customers in a mocking way, if that customer is someone like me?  You are going to pay.  And pay he will.  I called corporate to complain who gave me a regional office number.  Great, I call that number and no answer.  Called several times, no answer, just a voice messaging system.  No thanks, been down that road, it doesn't usually lead anywhere.

I called corporate back.  This time I asked to speak to a manager.  No managers here.  Always love that one.  Manager, please and thank you.  After the lady realized I wasn't going away, she left the phone, found some sort of supervisor who started the same kind of junk with me on the phone that the guy at the store had.  No sense in going into all of that - I finally was connected to the district manager over the store I was complaining about.

The situation is going to be referred to some sort of security team in their company who will actually review the video/s that are existent to verify my statements.  I was all over that, yes, please do!  You will see me standing there for an eternity and you will see him laughing at me if the video angle is good when I am leaving the store.

My compensation?  Well, I didn't make all those phone calls until after I came back and I did most of the flushing on the car's cooling system and found - the radiator has a leak.  Not a huge leak, but steam is coming out of it meaning it's not building up pressure.  If it were summertime here right now, you wouldn't even be able to drive that car.  But since it's winter, different story.  Fortunately, the leak is up high on the radiator meaning most of the coolant is still staying in there, albeit it still is going to come out.  I have no idea how long Caleb has been driving that thing around like that.

It needs a new radiator and I am going to get 20% off the purchase price of a new one PLUS a gift card.  I don't know how much that will be for, but I am guessing the price of the brand new radiator will be knocked down to around $100 instead of $160.  I was going to have the old radiator repaired, but I doubt I am going to get it repaired for less than $100, so might as well just throw a brand new one in it!

So there it is.  I spent 2 hours on this deal and I'm guessing my compensation will be the equivalent of around $30 per hour.  Of course, it is also time to go lay down, lol, as I am still sick and not feeling very well.

I'm offa here.

Later.
ben

Direct TV & Other Minutia

I got the hankering yesterday and got it done.
I hate calling Direct TV.  They have some of the rudest, crass and calloused incoming call center employees of any company, though they certainly aren't alone in that feat of mastery in how to diss your own customers.
But, the current set of free movie channels is going to expire soon and I wanted another new set up and running - for free of course - before those run out.

Of course, it really isn't free, is it?  I spend $90 per month for the Direct TV package I have and that doesn't include if we get any pay-per-views.  For that much money, yes, I want a continual string of free movie channels and if I have to call in and get confrontational with them - which sometimes I have to be and other times they just give them to me without any argument - then that's what I am going to do. 

Yesterday was unusual on 2 fronts.  First, I got it done in one phone call, albeit I had to talk to 3 separate people on that phone call and second because a person claiming to be an operations manager got on the phone. 

It's helpful when calling them to have your facts ready to give at no-hesitation's notice.  I have that company down, oh yes, I do.  The first person I talked to I knew probably wouldn't give them to me, but I tried anyway and was very nice about it.. Sorry, Mr. Benb, we can't do that for you.  Perhaps you can't do it, but someone higher up will, may I please speak to your supervisor? 

The supervisor gets on the phone and as usual, I am adamently told that I will never get free channels.  Not going to go into detail with that particular conversation as it got nowhere and I ended it abruptly: I would like to speak to your manager, please and thank you.  In case you get the wrong idea here, I always use courtesy language and as polite and respectful to them as they are to me.  Which on many occasions, hasn't been all that much.

So, Mr. Whoever gets on the line apparently attempting to take a tone of authority with me, stating his position in the company as an operations manager and after a grandiose introduction, how can he help me?  Just give me the free Starz channels and we're good, I replied.  The conversation went quickly down hill after that after this individual got short with me as I wasn't budging.

You see, customer service reps mistake a person that won't take no for an answer as a person that is being rude.  As the old saying goes, we can agree to disagree, agreeably.  But that is never the case with Direct TV.  The man also states that I will "never" get any more free channels but his tones were abrasive and his verbage completely condescening, a thing I don't tolerate from a company I have paid untold thousands of dollars to over the years for their service. 

"You do realize, Mr. So and So, that I know your company's policies and one of them is that every single phone call is recorded and that I can call corporate and ask to have this phone call reviewed?  Corporate won't have to take my word for, they can listen to the call themselves.  Further, when I call corporate tomorrow, they will give me the channels, anyway, I was just attempting to go through the normal channels first and see if I would get anywhere with it.  You are being rude, condescending and you sound NOTHING like any operations manager I have EVER spoken with at any corporation.  You are being completely unprofessional in your stance with me.  Let me say to you that I have spent untold thousands of dollars with your company over the years and I don't appreciate your tones with me".

"Please hold while I review your account".  When they review my account, they never look back at the decade of service I had with them before my house burned down, they only look at the current account and mistakenly believe that I have only been with them for - well going on 4 years now with this current account so it's getting up there, too.  They seem to not find that other account until, of course, I bring it up to them.

After quite  a bit of time passes - like over 5 minutes - he gets back on the line. "Mr. Benb, I have very carefully reviewed your account and I will give you a one-time courtesy of 3 months of Starz for free, but it's this time only and it won't happen again".  "If you are asking me to agree to never ask for free movie channels again, Mr. So and So, then I absolutely don't agree to it. Further, you undoubtedly only looked at the history on THIS account, you didn't bother to check how long I was with your company before my house burned down of which I had an account with your company for somewhere around a decade". 

A long silence after that statement.  Yes, indeed.  "Even further,  I spend $90 a month on your company's service and that isn't exactly what I would call at the lower end of the payment spectrum.  I'm guessing that is a lot more than the average household spends.  Even further than that, your company gives free channels to new subscribers but for people that have been with your company for over a decade - we get nothing unless we call in and ask for it or have to demand it". 

That is some of my standard, modus-operandi statements to them - but it's not just spoken in passing, I really believe I should get the free channels just because of my longevity with their company, the amount I spend every month for TV and the total amount I have spent with them since starting somewhere in the mid 90's, I think it was.  I always get them, though sometimes that's taken several days worth of calls to accomplish that feat.

In 3 months?  I'll be calling them again. 

Today?  I came home from work early.  I was not and am not feeling all that great and am writing this from my bed.  I just plain don't feel well and I already took a 2 hour nap.  I have to say that buying this laptop is one of the better expenditures of money I have made.  In reality, I don't even watch that much TV, I could do without Direct TV altogether but my tenants wouldn't exactly go for that.  The great lure of my house for attracting tenants is having Direct TV in every bedroom; free Wifi and having very large bedrooms compared to most houses in these parts.  13X15 is not exactly a small bedroom.  The other 2 are 11X15.  Many bedrooms I see listed on Craigslist for rent are more like 10x10 or even smaller. 

Anyway, this laptop is getting a lot of use and frankly, it's nice that I can lay in bed if I feel like it and still get on the net and not have to sit at a desk.  Though, honestly, my desktop computer is WAY faster than this thing.  I spent the money on that computer to make it fast and fast it is. 

Here I thought maybe I would use it if I were waiting at a stop in the semi or up North only.  I am, however, curtailing the spending of money and have been since Christmas.  I will spend whatever I need to to finish that trailer, yes, but even with that I am waiting until my funds are back up a bit. I already bought most of the stuff for the roof, so it's just a matter of finishing those projects, not a matter of buying the materials.  I still have to buy a queen sized mattress, a microwave and  probably replace the carpeting.   Buy them one at a time.  I got my W-2 offline at work, I have my mortgage statement for 2011  and the only other thing waiting for is giving at church.  Oh, and for whatever reason you can also use car registration as a deduction, lol.

My focus after finishing this trailer is going to be saving even more money than I currently am.  It's going to cost $300 to move that thing up north.  I've probably got another $700 or more to spend on that thing - including moving it - before it is done.  I am not doing it half-@$$ed,  I want it right before it leaves the property, cause' honey, there ain't no way I'm gonna want to work on that thing up there.  Not at the git-go, anyway. 

I guess I didn't bother to say that I am quite sick right now, went to the doctor several hours ago, go an injection, took 4 pills, was given eye drops and some sort of cream and yes, I am  not going to work tomorrow and got off early today.

I think it's bedtime.

ben

Monday 1/23/2012

I thought about being a Walmart greeter - you know, when you are attempting to retire and not having enough money, you find yourself in the position of having to go out and find something to do to keep money coming in.  It isn't that I think lowly of Walmart greeters, it's that I don't think I am going to WANT to be standing there doing that or anything similar at the age of - what - 65? 70?

I'm simply motivating myself to take another step in the savings process and either add at least 1 percentage point to withdrawals for 401k or add another $10 to $20 weekly on the bank savings withdrawal.

If I don't keep beating myself up over this - the idea of going into my 60's broke, poor and facing a the end years of my life in a state of want and possibly even hunger or homelessness - I will not stay vigilant about this savings plan and I will, in the end, fail.

It's easier to save in a 401k than in a bank savings account, though.  You can't easily access 401k savings.  You can take out loans, but you have to pay them back and in the company I am working for, you can only have 2 out at a time.  The 401k loans are, of course, a bad idea.  I know this but I have taken them out anyway.   The great disadvantage to taking out those loans is the compounding interest.  The more money you have in that account, the more you will make on interest.  To that front, I am attempting to save up enough money in a bank savings account that I won't have to touch 401k savings ever again, or, at least, not until I retire.  I figure having at least 5k in an emergency savings fund is about right.

I know financial guru's tell me differently.  They tell you you should have 6 months worth of pay saved up.  That's no small chunk of change and though it isn't impossible, it would take years to save up that much money.  However, to realize my "dream" of having rental properties, that's exactly what's going to have to happen. I am going to have to save up a lot of money to get a second loan.  Any lender would have to see a substantial chunk of change - meaning I would suffer a sizable loss if I foreclosed on something - down on the table.

The other idea that has always lurked in the back of my head is an RV park.  I have considered that idea for at least 10 years now.  Too bad I didn't start saving towards such end that long ago, lol.  An RV park won't make a person rich, but certainly will make a decent income if it's set up properly and appeals to enough people to want to stay there overnight and others living there.  Some of the parks around here are pure and total dumps.  They  are nothing but dirt lots and dirt driveways.  Pretty ugly stuff, really.  Some of them are exceptionally beautiful and well maintained.

But I wouldn't even consider starting one inside city limits.  Too much beauracracy, red tape and all of the nonsense that goes into having to deal with city officials to get the approval of such, if you can even get approval of such.  They don't exactly like such places, to be honest.  At least, not the ones that look like earthly hell.

Onto other things.  Well, time is almost up and not a lot of other things to speak about in a short time period. Work day almost here.  I have a mind full of things that are floating around, not endlessly but I do tend to analyze things well into their potential endings.

Whatever the case, time to be off to work.

G'day.

ben

Sunday 1/22/2012

So, 10% of my gross income.
At least.
That's the statements of financial guru's that are talking about getting a late start on saving for retirement.

Yes, I frequently visit this issue because, well, I'm there.  It's past do-or-die time, there are no more excuses.
Not that, in recent times, I have been making any. Retire broke or retire at least comfortably enough to be able to enjoy the "Golden Years".

Upon checking my Prudential 401k retirement account - which is a dismal thing to look at sometimes simply because of the low account balance - I am saving at a rate of about 13% of my gross income.  That's pre-tax income, in other words.  On top of that, the money I am having taken out weekly for emergency savings fund - though it IS a savings account.

I guess, realistically, I should not count that towards retirement, though.  A broken washing machine; busted water heater; broken down car; this that and the other thing.  That's what that's for.  If it gets beyond that, great.  It's also saving for a new (well not brand new) vehicle.  I am tired of making auto payments.  As if it's some sort of thing that you HAVE to live with ALL of your life.  No.  It's something like 2 more years and the car I am currently driving is paid off.

So, there is a goal that I have determined to set for myself, starting today, actually.  No more car payments after this one is paid off.  I don't CARE if I am driving around an old car, as long as it is dependable and not breaking down every other day, I'm good with it.  I really want a pickup truck, though and that is what I am going to save for.  Eliminating a monthly auto payment and putting that towards retirement - or even investment - would do wonders.

The other monthly payment that I hate paying but have no choice is the monthly child support.  The money I am paying now is going to the settlement made at the time of the divorce for the house and the 401k account which was cashed out.  That's a couple of more years, actually and unfortunately.  Nothing to do but live with it.  One of the reasons I will probably never get married again, or if I do, there is definitely going to be pre-nuptial agreement and if the "mate" doesn't want to agree to it, then no marriage.

This idea that marriage is sanctimonious - well it is, really but that's a different story - and is life - binding - which it also is, but also a different story - has turned into a pipe dream.  There are no guarantees that your partner and you are going to stay married the rest of your life and if not, then what?  You lose half of everything, all over again, and start from Ground Zero!  Screw that!  Been there, done that and not desirous of going there again.

Whatever the case, there is at least one thing I can eliminate in the not-too-terribly-distant-future: a car payment.  In 2 years, I am going to be 50 years old and I want to see that retirement fund at the very least, doubled by then.  Actually, at the rate I am saving, it should be tripled - that is, of course, if the doom and gloomers are wrong (which I hope they are ) about their prediction that 2012 is going to see a recession or depression worse than the one we already went through ( or are going through, depending on your perspective).

Another factor that is somewhat of a game-changer is the fact that I am posting more hours on each paycheck.  I have no idea whether that is going to be sustained for any length of time, but I did get almost 87 hours on the current pay period, versus the 3 years of 70 hours.  401k deductions are pre-tax, so the OT is good for that, at least (however, why the government thinks it's entitled to 40% of any OT hours is beyond me, I worked just as hard for that OT as I did the regular hours, it's not like it's "free money" to me or something).

I'm not the best at saving, but I am at least trying at this point.  It's not that terribly difficult: save now and in 20 years you will probably have something to draw on that is sizable enough to sustain you for a while.

In other news, lol, well I finally got back up on the top of that trailer yesterday and went to town cleaning off the junk where the new vent will go.  It took forever because that grinder I bought is a very cheap one and the motor heats up quickly.  I had to keep stopping and let the thing cool down.  I might have bought a more expensive one, but how often do I use the thing?  It's only for this project on the roof and after that, I don't even see a use for it.  If it will finish the 3 projects on the roof, I am happy with it and it can melt down and disappear into thin, blue air if it lasts that long.  It was like an $11 grinder, lol.

The cleaning is done on the one vent, so only one more larger vent to go and a much smaller one after that.  There is also another area that probably should be taken down to the metal and re-done - but I will call that shot when I get to it.

4 more payments on one of the travel trailers and it is paid off.  The other one is already paid off. I think when I pay off the one I am making payments on, I will probably try to sell it.  Not sure yet - 4 more months to decide on that one, but I am thinking I would rather have the money in a bank account instead of sitting on 4 wheels out in my driveway.  But, life is never really a constant, things change and so do circumstances.  Who knows what might be going on in 4 months that the use of that thing might be needed for something?  I dunno, but it's in pretty good shape, needs some things fixed on the inside but nothing that would make it unsellable.

Enough for one entry.

Later.

ben

Cafe World Tips 34: Low Buzz Rating Glitch - Cafe World

I'm getting hits on an old article I wrote about buzz rating.  I am guessing that is because people are experiencing buzz rating drops or even having it go down to 4 or 5, apparently while you are not even in your cafe.

The way the game normally works is that buzz rating stays at whatever point it is when you exit your cafe.  However, there is yet another glitch now which has nothing to do with the layout of your cafe or whether your waiters can get to all the food on your counters or not.

You're going to have to ride this one out until Zynga fixes the problem, there is nothing anyone can do.  Just wanted to throw that out there because of the hits my blog is receiving for buzz rating issues that I have posted in the past.

PS: One more thing: YES, this current situation is one of a seemingly endless line of glitches with Zynga's Cafe World game. If you leave your cafe at 105 and come back to find it at 4 or 5 or whatever much lower number, you are not alone! Many players are experiencing this glitch! Why doesn't it affect ALL players? As with almost all glitches with Cafe World, the glitches affect one or more servers, but not all of them (usually, anyway). I have no idea how many servers are used by Zynga for this game, but there are undoubtedly a large bank of them. Not all servers are affected by these glitches, hence, not all players experience the glitch. I added this comment to this thread but decided to post it in the thread itself.  

 past. Further Update: Zynga has officially announced it knowledge of the problem and is "working to fix it": The Wedding Table is causing my Buzz to drop

Updated 01/22/2012 at 05:41

Greetings chef,

A small number of our fellow chefs are reporting that after placing the Wedding Table into their cafe, the Buzz rating drops. As a temporary workaround, may we suggest that you place the table back into your inventory.

Meanwhile, we have notified our engineering department and they are currently working on a fix. We hope to have this resolved shortly. There is no need to submit an email for this issue.  Instead, click the Please Fix button below to help us keep track of the number of players affected.

If you decide to report a ticket, place the keywords "Wedding Buzz" at the start of your message and reference: CAFE-26287.

For immediate support and the most up-to-date information, click here to visit our Technical Support Forums.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.

.........I somehow doub it's a "small" number of chefs, but whatever the case, at least they know about it and hopefully will have a fix for it soon.  

Saturday 1/21/2012

So, I have decided to embark upon another month long tracking of my expenses.

I do it once in a great while to see what I am spending on what.

I can mostly go to my checking account and see what's going on, but there is a lot more information to be gleaned when you write every single purchase you make and bill you pay whether online or at the QT - not only the amount you spent but WHAT you spent it on.

I'm looking for ways to increase my savings is the point.  With my 401k loan payment, my contribution and my company's contribution, it's around $200 per paycheck - which quite frankly, isn't near enough.  That's only around 5k per year.  I also have $40 per week going into a savings account, but that money is being saved up for emergency use.  It will go beyond that if I ever get it up to where I want it - which is going to take quite a while since I figure I should have at least 5 grand in a savings account for emergency use if the occasion rises.  I am thinking of increasing that to $50 per week.

Onto other things.  Finally going to try making Navy Bean soup with the ham bone and extra ham fatty that I have left over from the last ham I cooked.  I was going to make it today - but I didn't know the beans have to be soaked "overnight".  I am going to let them sit in a pot 6 hours and then try it anyway.

I kind of find it odd that this South Carolina voting is being done on a Saturday. Maybe they've always done it that way and I've just missed it?  Or perhaps they have a set date for it every year and it doesn't matter what day it falls on?  I did watch the last debate, it was quite entertaining from the git-go.

Nothing much else.  Randy apparently has all of his permits now to build his house.  It will be quite interesting to see what, exactly, is going to go up over there.

As for today?  I am burnt out from working this week.  I don't feel like doing anything.

I'm sure that will change as the day grows longer, but for right now, I am doing a lot of nothing.

ben

Cafe World Tips 33: How To Easily, Automatically Collect Bonuses And Gifts From Your Cafe World Neighbors

Let's face facts, Cafe World, if you let it, will take up a LOT of your time.
Going around attempting to collect bonuses and gifts off of your neighbor's wall feeds is one of the most time-consuming elements to this game, an element that is easily by-passed by using one of numerous auto-collect tools that are to be found on the internet.

Yes, that's what this article is about.  I have hundreds of Cafe World neighbors and no way am I going waste as much time as it would take to visit every one of their Facebook walls to find the gifts and bonuses that they have posted.

When I found out that you can simply use an app to collect them for you, I was all over it.  The app that I am using is called Friendly Gaming Simplifier.  This is, for me, the best one out there.  Unfortunately, Facebook has been giving the individual that created this particular app legal troubles and it appears he has taken down the link to install the app.  But, you can do a search around the web and many sites appear to have a link to download it available.

Here a few links to other apps that do the same thing:
http://bonuscheckers.com/
http://gamersunite.coolchaser.com/games/cafe-world-bonus-collector

There are more of them out there, just giving you a clue how to get all of the bonuses without all the work!

Cafe World Tips 32: Live Chat: How To Access Cafe World Live Chat Zynga Live Chat For Any Zynga Game

This will be a short one.
First off, you DO have to have been a paying customer sometime in the past to even have access to Zynga Live Chat.  If you have never bought Cafe Cash, you won't be able to access the Live Chat option - but on the same page I am about to take you to, you WILL be able to access their email version whether you have paid or not.

Okay, having said that, go into your Cafe (or any other Zynga game, it's all the same).  On the top right hand corn of the screen, you will see the large, red Zynga bulldog.  Click on it.

It opens up a separate, new page.

On the top, right-hand corner of the new page, click on Support.

Yet another page opens.

On the left side of the next page that came up, click on Cafe World (or whichever game it is you are wanting to access live chat for).

Sometimes the live chat option comes up immediately (it will show up next to the  "Search All Articles" bar) and sometimes you have to wait. Other times it won't show up at all - Live Chat is not always available.  But if it IS available, it will come up without having to do anything else.

If it doesn't show up and you don't want to keep trying/waiting, you can also support and Email ticket on that same page.  Just click on the white arrow in the red box right next to the "Search All Articles" bar.  It will bring up the email option and click on that.  However, be prepared to wait an extremely long time for an answer, up to 2 weeks.  Yes, I have recently submitted tickets that took them 2 weeks to respond to.