What a not so great night to not have a good sleep. 

I was awake half the night and then finally fell asleep around 6 am.  Now it's just too late to have Taylor pick me up at the collision center. I'll have to take it over there later and find my own way home. I've got to get over to the park and collect money and get some stuff out of the vehicle that I will need for the shed in the next coming weeks.  

Taylor got up earlier than she had to to take me over to the collision center. I was just going to put it off and get my stuff done, but since there was a ride available?  I went over to the park, looked at the new trailers - I was going to get payments - and then left and met her at the repair facility.

It was better than drive myself there and then either walk or try to figure out a ride home.  

And, this morning, one of the long term had left.  There were 4 people living in that one trailer and they were slobs. Beer bottle caps, cigarette buttes and small pieces of trash laying around on the ground.  I had asked them the last time I received payment to pick all of that stuff up and keep it clean.  

Mixed feelings. I'm happy they are gone because of their slobbish natures, I'm not happy that I have yet another lot to fill.  Well, I was going to be up to 13 lots filled come Friday, now it's 12. I'm glad I didn't turn anyone away in the last rounds of people wanting to move in. I was really just holding back - I just had this feeling I need to fill up 13 lots because eventually, someone is going to leave. If not the guy that already told me he's leaving in a month, someone else. 

The nature of oil/transient workers, they apparently give you no notices and they just up and leave for the next job. That will take some getting used to.  So, after this guy arrives on Friday - which I suppose he is, we have had a lengthy conversation about Great Danes, walking trails, guns and snakes - I will still have 2 lots available.  Lol.  

It's not like the RV industry isn't transient in nature as it stands, but I'd like to get a few more truly long term people in there that actually are from this area and are going to stay in this area.  The insecurity of having people coming and going like this is a bit unnerving.  

Anyway, I spent $8.98 getting the 2 newbies in, the other guy probably found me via Google search.  I'm going to extend the ad now that I know I need yet another lot filled. At least I know where I can get some results and not pay a lot to get them.  Now, about the park...

Time to do some serious looking for rides, taxies, whatever.  Taylor will be gone literally all day today, I can't use her truck and I at the very least need to get over there and mow the grass.  

More stuff.  The people that moved in yesterday - well they had electrical issues with their trailer.  They had just picked it up at a shop and now they find out half the trailer still doesn't work for electrical outlets and AC. So, they are taking it back to whoever they were dealing with.  Personally, I wouldn't take it back to a place that doesn't even check their work to make sure everything works.  

So, who knows if/when they're coming back.  Just keep running an ad now.  Back down to 11 spots filled.  This stuff is a bit surreal how it works.  Just hope the ads will get a couple more people in there fairly soon.  These people that left without notice last night had their rent due tomorrow.  Not really helpful, lol.  

Well, I'm stuck at home and time to get busy with finances/bookkeeping.  

 Busy day. 

Lots of calls all of a sudden.  2 people want to move 2 trailers in, 1 person wants to move another trailer in and another one is allegedly coming today.  I could take all of them, of course, and eliminate my pull throughs.  It's tempting of course.  But, the 2 trailers coming in together are not a sure thing.  They want to come after work and see the place first.  Of course, I would want to do the same thing. I'd rather have those 2 because they are late model trailers and more in keeping with what I want in there.  

I dunno, I might just take whatever comes in at this point.  Overnighers are a rare commodity right now and not paying near as much as they need to to even come to the same amount as a long term.  I have 2 reservations for this month, they are far enough out I can cancel them and refund their money, they can find somewhere else to stay.  It's just down to the nitty gritty with trying to get in as much money as possible. 

Of course, all of these people might be no shows and there's nothing to consider.  That's very possible and happens often enough.  

Meanwhile, I got the keypad door lock today while I still have wheels to travel with. Tomorrow is turn in day for my SUV. I am going to get the trailer and bring my generator home before taking it in.  I don't have any use for it over there right now and it's in the way.  Without that large generator, everything else will fit into the next shed I still need to build.  

Whatever the case, I am very pleased to be getting results from my facebook ad whereas the google ads that cost so much money really don't generate much.  I spent over $200 on the last Google ad and only got one person out of it.  I'm spending $15 on this Facebook ad and have 4 serious inquiries.  

It's a good way to start out the week, at least.  I got some of the drywall up for the bathroom. I haven't done that in a long time so I kind of needed some time to figure it out again.  And I have no clue how to measure or cut the triangle shaped stuff at the ceiling.  I'll be looking for youtube videos once again after this, lol.  I got the inside camera working again. Someone had moved the router and it wasn't getting a good enough signal for streaming.  I started on the outside camera - but the battery needs recharged. I"m going to see how long that battery lasts.  If it can go a week or so, I will not drill yet another hole in the shed wall to feed a line through it. 

The cameras have giant battery packs in them  - like 4x2 inches.  They claim to last a long time, but who knows for sure.  Oh, I did get the framing up for the drywall at the ceiling. I figured out a way to do it without too much hassle. I mean, it was involved but nothing too serious, just tedious.  I ran out of screws before I could get any further with it.  

I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow. I want to get busy with getting tax stuff done.  I want a few days worth of time in case I get hung up.  I can see getting hung up on something, lol.  Even if the software does it all for me.  

__________

These people drive me crazy. We're coming as soon as we get off of work at 5:00! I'm over here almost til 7. No shows.  I text them, if y'all are still coming, that's fine but I'm fixing to leave here.  If you have changed your minds, please let me know and I will move onto the next person. 

Half an hour later? Oh, we're on our way! Great! Pick one of the back in sites and have at it! I"ll come over in the morning to settle up!  Hilarious.  The other dude coming from Oklahoma City and was supposed to be here this afternoon? He'll be here at 10:00 pm.  I wasn't sure which lot I would have him in so I told I would contact him later.  Well, I am giving him lot 2, a pull through.  These people are paying my new rate.  Everyone will be paying my new rate unless I get desperate, too much time passes and I can't get anyone in there. However, if the other guy shows up tonight, I'm good.  That's 12 lots rented out long term.

And yet another one says they are coming on Friday.  I had to vet them first. An older trailer, I wanted pics of all 4 sides. If it looks good, I don't really care how old it is.  If it's trashed, don't bring it to my place.  Well, they sent 4 pics and there was only one minor dent on one side.  The paint looked decent, I'm good with it.  That will fill up 13 of 14 spaces.  

Oh, if those people come on Friday? They have a Great Dane!  That would be cool if Addler could have a friend of his own size and breed.  Who knows, they are coming from somewhere 11 hours away, is all I was told. 

Then there was 2 ladies that were to come and take a look - 2 separate trailers.  After talking to my eyes over there, I'm guessing they are the truck that came driving through and left.  They didn't call back, so I moved on.  Can't please everyone, won't even try.  Just trying to make happy the people that I've got.  

Anyway, I hooked up the other camera on the outside of the shed today.  Now I can see these people coming and going - and anyone else coming through there. The cameras are recording 24 hours a day but they also take snippets of any movement that are loaded onto the phone app.  So, if someone is driving through there, I will see them either real time or afterwards.  I would like to see all of these people that are coming and going out of there.

And tomorrow. The dreaded day.  I have to take the vehicle in.  I'm getting up early to get my last stuff over there. If I had a small fridge I could take over, I definitely would.  It will likely be that I will have to spend whole days over there. If I need something from the store? It will have to wait until Taylor's truck is available.  Another day or 2 that trench should be dry enough to get with that program.  Damnit.  

That's what I forgot.  I need 2 inch pipe and fittings to run another drain pipe for a vanity to the bathroom.  Gag.  Oh well. It's not like I won't have any transportation, Taylor offered her truck when she's not using it.  She is going to pick me up at the collision center tomorrow to take me home - but it is likely I will ask her to drop me off over at the property. I will just fill her tank up whenever I am using it.  That's cheaper than a rental car.  

And I also forgot an outside light fixture.  Lol. At least I got the keypad handle today. 

Well, I'm not going to bed too late tonight.  I want to be able to get up when I wake up - which is usually around 6:00am. 

 Happy Easter - Resurrection Day!

The day celebrated when Christ rose from the dead, snatched the keys from Hades and ascended into Heaven!  

I thank the Lord for Salvation through Christ's shed blood, the final and ultimate atonement for our sin.  "For without the shedding of blood, there is no atonement for sin".  Blood sacrifice was God's ordained way, Christ was the sinless sacrifice that can wash you sin away into a sea of forgetfulness.  Thank you Lord!

Of course, we are going to church this morning.  After what they said last week, we will assume the parking lots will be full and I will probably be leaving a little early to get a space somewhere to park.  And then, proceed to the front row as they asked last week.  You know how it is, you haven't gone to church in a long time or maybe have never gone, but you want to be a part of an Easter celebration, you stand  or sit in the back of the church?  So, endeavor to make it more comfortable for them to experience a service that will undoubtedly be about the sacrifice Christ made and about how you can experience salvation for yourself, become a new creation in Christ and have your name written in the Lamb's  Book of Life!

Do you believe all of that? Absolutely I do!  Without hesitation or doubt! 

___________________

I look forward to this coming week.  Why? Well, to continue work with the shed, yes but also to say  goodbye to much of what happened this week. It wasn't all bad, definitely, but there was enough bad spots I'd just like to turn the page.  I have wonderful taxes to do this week and I will be without a vehicle for probably 2 weeks starting Tuesday.  Yayyy!  It won't be all bad.  I'll stay home a couple of days, get these taxes figured out to the best of my ability and get it over with.  That's tax return, projected tax for the IRS and whatever the comptroller of the state is demanding, some document you must file to show your earnings and such - even if you made no money at all.  

The shed will be put on hold while I do that. It will also be put on hold to mow the grass, which has grown quite abundantly. I really need a riding mower.  

But I will try to get some of the walls up for the bathroom tomorrow so that at least it can be used. The sewer line? No idea, I'll get to that when it dries up a bit more.  A lot more, actually, lol. I will be taking a complete change of clothing over there tomorrow with me to keep available for when I can get that done.  Including a nice towel so I can wash that stuff off of me before changing clothes. Well heck, if I get the walls up, I can actually take a shower over there!  

It really shouldn't take too long to get those walls up, but I do want to run the wiring in there first. Even that shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.  Well, maybe longer since I've added a few more outlets to the equation.  Make that half a day lol.  I tend to be very cautious about wiring - there really isn't any room for errors. Get the wiring done right the first time and triple check it.  I've already got the wiring over on that side of the shed, just need to drill more holes through the wood to get it to where I need it, namely, nest to the door to the bathroom for a switch and then up to the ceiling and install a light and down to the floor for a regular outlet.  

It doesn't sound like much until you start looking at it.  Now is the time to get it done, now that I have most of the framing up.  

There is still quite a lot to do in that shed. It's basically building a house but in a shed.  

None of this even includes a kitchen - I still want one and I want to at least get the water and electrical and drain pipe lines run to that area before  I close it in with drywall. But, that can wait.  In fact, I have so many "top" priorities this coming week, it's hard to decide which to do first. I think installing that other camera is right up there as well as mowing the grass again. 

Anyway, unless I get a wild hair, I am doing nothing over there today. I mean, it would be good to at least get the grass mowed in the dog park area today tho.  That's a large area and the grass has grown so much. 

Fortunately for me, the guy that didn't know how much longer he is staying has paid for another month and still doesn't know when they are sending him somewhere else, only that he is probably staying long enough to warrant paying another month in advance. 

I'm getting views on my Facebook ads, no bites on those, yet. It was interesting that a rash of inquiries didn't come in at the end of last month.  In fact, the whole thing is interesting in that inquiries stopped about the same time I lost 2 tenants.  I dunno, maybe I need to lower the price back down again.  That's what seemed to make people interested, it's just that prices that low are not really tenable when thinking about summer electric bills - which is just around the corner.  

It's a hard place to be in, trying to wait and hope a few people will show up to take 2 more spots or go down in price - but hamstring my profits once those high electric bills come in.  

Well, anyway, it's time to get ready for church.

 

 Temu - I believe a Chinese online store that keeps invading my facebook, google and other spaces with unbelievable prices on things.  If it's too good to be true, it almost always is, especially on the internet.  I'm interested in as little commerce with China as possible as it stands.  Not to mention who knows if it's legit - even if Chinese - to be buying from them. The only form of payment I've seen for them that I would even try is PayPal.  

I guess I accidentally deleted a new listing for Facebook for my park. So, I just boosted another one that I've relisted numerous times - it's actually done the best for me in terms of results and it's quite cheap.  Try, try again.  The ad did generate a person allegedly coming in Monday for a month or so.  Again, I'll take whatever I can get.  A day, a week, a month, a year, whatever it is, I'll take it. 

The more I look at new and used car pricing, the more I know that getting this SUV fixed - versus them paying cash for it's "current market value" was the right thing to do.  The cash they give me would be a fractional down payment on a new car or truck.  Prices for new vehicles have skyrocketed and prices for used vehicles have as well. These car dealers are offering cash on the spot for used vehicles. 

The problem is, even if they give you good money, you are going to have to turn around and spend a fortune on another vehicle.  I'll stick with this gas guzzler for a while longer.  Maybe a long while longer. Once they fix it, it will look great again, the rest of the body is in excellent condition.The interior needs a drastic cleaning, I'm not doing that until I'm done with the shed.  Then I"ll get everything out of it and put it with the rest of the stuff in the sheds.   

It's been quite the day.  An Easter Egg hunt, a birthday party, 2 trips to the property.  The last trip, the boys went with me and it just so happened another 8 year old was visiting his dad at the park as well, so the played for quite a while on a rather wet hill of dirt and they all got covered with it.  I also spent an hour talking with people at the park - it's the way it goes there. The guy that paid me today says he's not sure if he will be leaving in a month or not - he just doesn't know.  It sounds like he will be tho.

He apparently comes back twice a year to work on the power plant down there.  I need some more long term in there pretty quick.  One hopefully coming Monday but he already stated he was only going to be there a month. The guy that showed up out of the blue had said he has a friend that will move in and he also told the eyes of the park the same thing - but that hasn't materialized.  ]

I dunno, but I'll keep running my Facebook ads until 2 more lots are filled.  What else to do.  I've only got 2 more reservations for the pull throughs for the rest of this month.  That's on the 16th.  That isn't going to work - tho I am getting these last minute calls, at least a few of them, people needing a place to stay while traveling through.  I need a lot more reservations for April, May and beyond.  If I have to turn it into all lots being long term, I will. Versus losing money for the travelers that aren't materializing enough to warrant having any overnight lots.  Or, maybe just one overnight lot?  

Who knows, get the 2 filled up and then, I will probably just leave the ads up. Yes, I can hope that amenities will bring them in, but if they don't.....

I dunno, but it's getting late and I'm outta here. 

 Called the collision repair place yesterday  When do you expect to get this thing rolling? She looks it up, oh, well we were waiting on you to call us to schedule this,.

I had to laugh, not on the phone to her, but after they told me? Lol.  The lady told me 3 times the other day when I was in there that she would call me after they hear from the adjuster.  Obviously that didn't happen, lol.  Anyway, I got over that quickly, I just am appalled sometimes with customer service reps of whatever place you happen to be dealing with telling you one thing and then taking 180 degree turns.

That was Direct TV the other day. It's gonna be X price, the guy tells me after he keeps adding stuff and I'm like, I want to keep the cost down.  Oh don't worry.  Oh, I'm not worried, I thought, I don't need satellite that bad. There are plenty of apps on my smart tv that will pipe in movies and such. Maybe not specific channels I like, but to save the money? yeah. 

We get to near the end and I ask this guy specifically: what is the total cost going to be with ALL fees and ALL taxes?  He's off the phone for several minutes and then gives me a price.  Are you sure? this is the total amount I'm going to be paying on a monthly basis for a 2 year contract that won't ever go up?

Yes.  But what actually happened at the end? Yup, the price went up $8.  Nope, we aren't doing this and I interrupted him and told him as such. He tried to explain it away and I hung up on him. He called back and I did, in no uncertain terms, tell him to never call me again.  

These people at this collision place weren't that bad, it's just the idea that you tell someone something and then you come back to it a few days later and the story changes.  Whatever the case,  I was then informed that they won't even order the parts without at least 2 day advanced notice to bring the vehicle in.  Great, I thought, another little gem they left out.  The only good news I got was that they can have it done "in about a week and a half". I'll set my mind on 2 weeks in case they are exaggerating their completion date. I don't need a rush job, I need the job done right the first time, guarantee or not.

So, Tuesday is the day set to bring it in.  Which is fine. I get the whole weekend and Monday to get stuff done.  On Tuesday, I'll find someone to give me a ride home from there - I am not walking that far, thanks, and then I'll figure out how I'm going to get around.  A local taxi would work -if it's really available.  I'll be looking at that and any other options once Tuesday rolls around.  

Oh, I did get the Direct TV streaming device. Notice I didn't say devices. Yes, there are 2 TV's that I clearly told them I need to have devices for.  I find out there is only one device ordered regardless of the fact that if I want the other TV to show other channels? Yeah, you have to have a separate device.  So I had to call these people about it. OH, well you didn't order 2 devices ????  I told you specifically what I needed, I've never done Directv Stream before, I have no clue how it works.  I mean, I know it runs off the internet, that's it.  

So now, I am faced with another $10 per month for another device - or - pay for a "refurbished device" up front.  Apparently people aren't real happy finding out they have to pay more for the service they thought they were getting in the first place. I ordered the refurbished device at $49 - saves me a lot of money over the length of the contract.  Yes, I forgot to say, I did call Directv back the next day and talked to someone else about getting service. The nice thing about Stream is that you don't have to have a service tech coming out installing a dish and the whole setup. It was relatively easy to set up.

I can now see the inside of my shed with a camera.  That was quite the ordeal - another case where the instructions are less than helpful. It's more like a general guide to steer you in the right direction.  I wasn't able to install the outside camera because it was raining all daylong.  I still have a lot to do in there, this week kind of slowed me down with everything that happened.  

Anyway, there is an Easter Egg Hunt at the church in a little over an hour.  They are saying that there will be 5,000 eggs. Yes, you read that correctly: five thousand eggs. It's a big church and they apparently also expect non church people to show up with their kids. I am taking the kids even tho they completely misbehaved this morning, making all kinds of noise early and getting themselves into various forms of trouble. 

But, after that, I want to get some work done today while I have transportation to get back and forth. Take the kids home, back to the shed, back to work. The thing that is going to hold me up is the trench full of water and mud. I simply won't get down in there to install that P trap until it both clears of standing water - which it probably is by now - and at least dries up a little. Take an extra set of clothes maybe on Monday, get in there, fix that setup, get the sewer pipe set right, back fill enough to keep it that way and get with the program.  And change my clothes after I'm done, lmao.  

My next order of business, however, is to install and get working the other camera.  I have to drive over there to find out if people that have made reservations actually show up. Well, I can ask the older couple but I really don't want to be bothering them all the time with business stuff that they may not want to be involved with.  A camera on that shed will eliminate that problem.  I will be able to see who is driving through there, when and what times people are home.  

The other thing that desperately needs done is mowing the lawns.  Just can't do it with wet grass - it clogs up on the outlet where it blows either out to the side or into the bag and you have to keep fooling with it. Hopefully this coming week it will dry enough to get it all chopped down again.  It was strange that the stuff wasn't growing after it got to a certain height, then all of a sudden, after months, it started taking off.  Now there is grass that is close to 10 inches tall. It takes around 3 hours to cut all of it.  Right now? That's as good as it gets. It's that or buy an expensive riding mower or pay an expensive service.  Just not happening, at least for now. If I do end up on the road again, then I'll pay someone or a service to come out twice a month and mow all of it.  

I'm pretty sure I'll end up back on the road.  I dunno what kind of job I'll find with that accident, but I will find something.  

Enough. I'm just sitting here trying to wake up enough to get my @$$ in gear and get moving.  I'm going to work on taxes tomorrow.  Last year's taxes shouldn't be that hard with Intuit already having all of the construction costs in there, the only thing I need is my W-2 which I got in January.  Then I'll work on projecting my earnings for this year.  I have yet to take a single paycheck.  

I have 4 grand in the business account, that's after paying the electric, trash and water bill, plus buying stuff for the shed., the land payment, the washer/dryer payment and other things.  I'll be collecting a couple more grand in the next coming days - providing no one else leaves of course.  I've had some inquiries and allegedly a person coming in Monday to stay for a month.  That will help quite a lot even if only temporary.  They're all temporary, really.  I get so many inquiries about whether I have RV's for rent along with the lot? No.  I have read mixed feelings on the facebook groups about doing that. Some say it's not worth it, others say they have had success.  I don't really have the money to buy a decent unit right now, if I did, I would consider it.  Around $600 - $650 per month for everything.  I know, it's just a trailer but you are paying for a place to live plus the land to put it on plus all of the utilities including free wifi. I'd call that a pretty good deal.  

A "someday" thing along with building basic cabins for people to live in.  Not for glamping, to live in.  Either a one room deal or maybe one bedroom, a small bathroom and the rest open.  Not here and now, but it's something I will be doing sometime in the future.  For now, I have to have another septic system installed first before I can even think about adding anything.  I think the laundry is going to amp up the usage of the current septic system quite a lot, adding more lots to it probably won't work.  I'll be watching the sprinkler system to see how often it's coming on.  

I'm going to make a trip to Longview probably Monday to get a keyless entry handle for the shed door. It's expensive but it's the only real way to give access to both long term and overnighters without having to issue keys.  I don't see how issuing keys would work with overnighters besides having to make endless trips over there handing them out and collecting them.  Well, I could see a drop box to put them in after the overnighters leave, but people can be forgetful, especially when they are leaving and getting everything put away.  

A keypad would simply be issue the pad code to long term and have the code on the site when they register.  It's $150 to get one and it's going to be money well spent. My wire came in for hip camp, I have the circuit breakers, I just need to finish the trenches, install the wire and boxes and walah, that's done.  Simple? Yes, hard work? Definitely.  

I am, fortunately, getting to the end of the money spending.  The serious money is done and over with. I'll need a few more sticks of 2X4's -- maybe  - I'll need 10 or so more sheets of drywall.  I do need to get a vanity for the bathroom - that's $100 used or $139 plus tax for brand new, simple design.  Those are the 2 biggest money spending things left, the rest is small stuff.  I still have this pain of how I'm going to get that wood up on the ceiling.  I need some help - help is hard to come by and not cheap.  

Anyway, I know what I need to get done in the order it needs to get done in.  

And with that, I'm getting read to go to church with the kids for the egg hunt. They have been looking forward to it all week long.

G'day.  

 My size 35's are now just falling off of me.  If I don't use a belt, they are so loose that they don't cling to anything.  I had a couple of weeks of no improvement and actually going back up a few pounds, but apparently I'm at the end of that run and now going back down again.  My belly has definitely shrunk substantially.  No, I'm still not claiming to be skinny, not at 211 pounds, but the progress is palpable and visible.  

I can fit into 34's now. I have one of my pairs of 34's out I use for outings. I'm still in 35's for working. I've already ruined a bunch of them with dirt, glue and other contaminants, there is no sense in ruining even more of them for working purposes. I'm down 4 notches on the belt as well. Well, almost 4. In between 3 and 4, if I put it at 3 my pants fall off if I put it at 4, it's a bit tight.  If the fat loss continues, I will end up needing a new belt, this one will be far too long.  

I have heard nothing more from the insurance company except that they have it assigned to a local adjuster.  That adjuster hasn't called me and neither has the body shop. I will be calling the body shop today to inquire whether they have approved it or indicated if they will be approving it?  As much as I need my vehicle, I need it whole again even more.  I'll somehow deal with the inconvenience.  I don't know how, yet, I'm not interested in an expensive rental car, that's all I can say. Maybe for a few days, but definitely not several weeks.  I still can't believe this policy rider doesn't have a rental car included.  

_________

Kind of at a standstill here. It is pouring rain outside and has been for hours.  I need some of the lumber out back to finish above the door.  I simply don't feel like getting wet. Walking out there right now, I would be soaked quickly.  I also need a large T frame thing to do the drywall correctly and get good cuts.  I figure I can get one cheap enough at Harbor Freight.  It's been a long time since I installed any drywall.

I could also start installing insulation, that is even further out back and on the trailer. No thank you and anyway, I realized I forgot to get adhesive for it.  It has to be able to stick to the metal with something, lol. Oh well.  I got the big stuff out of the way, this has been a crazy week, there are cases where my thinking just isn't all there.  

The door is up, the framing is up, there is some framing to go above the door but not a lot. It's going to be difficult because it will be hard to reach.  It's probably 8 feet up to the top, maybe higher.  

I like rain - but this is too much. It's flooding everything, it's making life difficult. At least I was able to confirm the power is back on over here. Amazingly, they must have did a workaround on the downed line because it is still down and they aren't even out there working on it. They did put up poles - apparently a new setup to mitigate the lack of power getting over to the other side of the highway and hence, to the property.  I guess they will just come back to it when the weather is better? I can't imagine doing that kind of work in this kind of heavy rainfall.  

I haven't heard from the insurance agency or the body shop, but I don't think I'm going to call them today. I need to make some more runs and that will be much more difficult once they get my vehicle in the shop.  I'm sitting here, in the shed, listening to the rain pounding on the roof - it's pretty loud.  Trying to gather my thoughts - what else do I need besides that T thing and glue?  

My hipcamp wire came in yesterday, I'll need some outlets and a few boxes for that.  Well, and circuit breakers.  Unfortunately, I will have to drive clear to Longview for those, Lowe's doesn't have the brand i need for the breaker box.  I may have to do that today while I still have a vehicle.  Yikes. I hate driving in the rain, not because I am afraid to but because people don't know how to.

It also isn't exactly legal to be driving the vehicle with a busted out headlight.  I have been taking my chances because I have little choice. Get the stuff I need or don't, but if I don't, this project is thereby pushed out for a month or longer.  Hmm, best start writing a list, now that I'm thinking about it. 

The repair guy came by.  He knows nothing about commercial dryers and freely admitted it lol. He did, however, look at my exhaust hose and said "You have the equivalent of 5 elbows which is the equivalent of 25 feet when it comes to dryers. After 20 feet, the dryer has a hard time drying the clothes."....and other stuff I did not know and never heard before. So, I will be pulling the dryer out and cutting the hose to size. I just stuck the whole thing on there - I had no idea it can make a difference.  Apparently this dryer is like most other newer dryers in that it senses the moisture and knows when to shut off.

However, I figured out the mystery of why the dryer never shut off on my own. There is a label pasted to the top of the coin op part that has some writing on it that I never read. I read the instruction manual instead.  That label says something to the effect that there may be an "existing run time" left on the machine - presumably for testing it/quality control. Turn the machine on and let it run until it shuts itself off, which could take up to 8 houirs.

8 hours?!! lol, ok, well at least I now know why.  This guy didn't know either, it was just happened upon.  

I'm pretty burnt out today. Last night just took it out of me. You can only wake up so many times before it's just shrug your shoulders time and do what you can before you run out of steam.  I guess I will just close up shop here and head up Harbor Freight - my vehicle is parked right outside of the shed.  And there is parking close to the front door of the store.  The rain is unrelenting at least so far and it's been many hours now. 

 Some replies to my boosted facebook ad. I have it listed in something like 20 local facebook groups.  I also got a call - but the person was adamant the lots had to be level.  No ma'am, they aren't perfectly level, I do have boards and such to help you level it easily.  She hung up.  Once I realized that lots weren't level when the park was completed, I knew this would be an issue. But surprisingly, not that bad.  Most of these newer RV's have automatic levelers.  They just push a button and this jacks come down and walaah, no hassle.  I still offer boards in case they want the wheels fully sitting on something.

Well, whatever.  I'm hopeful the ad will result in a couple more long term coming over my way.  I need to join more Shreveport groups, that's where a lot of the oil workers are coming from.  

But it's been one heckuva week.  I could start it over and be thankful if such were possible.  Besides the accident and getting punched in the face, I have smashed a toenail and 2 fingernails, broke a window at the shed - I dropped a 2X4 and it of course landed right on that window, lost the key to my gas cap - I think that occurred during the accident but I cannot find it anywhere, I always put it back in the same place every time so I know where to find it, had the "plumber" tell me that a straight pipe out of a drain is "normal" - I can guarantee you that any real plumber will never say such a thing, if it's a drain, it has to have a p-trap unless it's a toilet that already has one built into it- and he refused to come back out unless I pay him  'service fee' - that after he got back with me and admitted his "mistake".  It was no mistake, he didn't know what he was talking about.

Oh, the power went out at the property yesterday afternoon.  Not for 2 minutes, not for 2 hours.  It was off for almost 7 hours.  And of course, part of that outage was during the time people are coming home from work.  Equally, the people that are mostly always there asking me what happened?  You can be rest assured the power bill has been paid (which it has, I'm good until the 13th of May), I have already sent in a power outage report to Swepco.  

But, after quite a while, Swepco had updated it saying "you power is out" but didn't update what was the cause or how long it will take to restore service.  Well, I went for a drive.  Didn't take long to find the problem.  A giant, humongous tree had fallen over during the storm.  It landed right on top of a power pole, tore 1/3rd of the pole off, downing the lines.  We're not just talking about downing the lines along the highway, it also took out the crossover line and the telephone pole those lines were connected to on the other side of the highway.  And when I saw downing the lines, I mean downing the lines all the way to the ground. 

To top that off, it was heavy downpour, thunder and lightning.  I don't think they allow those workers to do anything until lightning passes.  Even so, Asplundh was out there with 4 trucks cutting that tree back off of the lines and the pole - that was about 2 hours (pretty fast work considering the size of the tree) and then 5 Swepco trucks showed up.  I knew it was going to take a while when, at 5:00 pm,  I passed by again and saw that they hadn't even gotten the destroyed pole out of the ground.  

I just told people at the park, if you have a generator and want electricity, I suggest you use it. It's gonna be a while.  

So, these people had called earlier wanting a spot, they are on their way to wherever and are just passing through.  They showed up - sorry, there is no power here atm and no indication of when it will be turned back on.  Oh, says the older gentleman, well is there water?  Yes, plenty of fresh city water and the sewer of course.  Up to you whether you want to stay or find somewhere else. He looks at his wife, she wants a shower and she wants off the road.  We're staying, we just need water, our tank is empty.  I waived the fee.  I probably could have charged them a parking fee, but it seemed  a bit of a stretch to charge them for a spot under such circumstances. 

I'm sure other parks would have guiltlessly charged them anyway. It's the first time the power has gone out since I had it turned on, it's not a regular, recurring event.  The only thing I ate was a bit of water.  My water bills are quite low considering the amount of people staying there.  It certainly lends to the idea that the septic system isn't getting over-used.  I told them it would be free unless the power came back on soon.  It did not.  It was almost 10:00 pm and I just blew it off.

Another couple showed up hours later.  It was almost night time, they called. Which lot are we supposed to be in? Lot 5, but I have to tell you, the power is out.  I can refund your money if you want to find somewhere else to stay.  Nope, they replied, but is the water still on?  Yes, plenty of water pressure.  I did take their money for they showed up late and it was something like 3 hours later and the power came back on.  Plus they fired up their generator.  Maybe I should do a partial refund to cover the cost of having to use the generator.  

Not a pleasant stay for anyone considering the constant rain.  It also rained all night long, the power went out here, at the house twice but came back on.  However, couple those outages - which wake me up instantly since my fan goes off - and the thunder claps and the noisy heavy rain?  Yeah, sleep was fleeting.  I managed to get back to sleep after another awakening only to have the power go off again at 6:00 am. This time, it didn't come right back on.  Wide awake, I thought about just getting up and getting going. Which I did, sort of.  Went out, saw everyone getting ready to leave. 

Even discussion about one of them possibly having to stay home from school - when our power goes out, a lot of times, that school's power also goes out.  But, thankfully, the power came back on.  Toasted tired, I went back to bed. 3 hours later and I finally woke back up.  I have no regrets.  My sleep because of all of this last night was not very good.  I still have a fog in my head. It's 9:30 am.  I do intend on going over there to the park and continuing on with the framing.  If I work several hours, I should get the framing done.  Then I can start installing the drywall.  It doesn't have to be completely finished for me to be able to say it's ready to use. It just has to be functional and of course the walls up so there is privacy.  

I only mean that it doesn't have to be taped and textured to be called finished. I am going to do that, but I will be advertising pretty quick that the bathroom is available.  All except that damn p-trap they didn't install. The trench is muddy and half filled with water.   I am not getting down into that stuff to install a p trap, I would literally be bathing in mud.  There is rain forecast for the next several days.  It will be next week before I can install it.  What does it mean? It means there is the possibility of odors coming out of there. I had the other p trap open for many days when i was installing the washer/dryer setup.  Mostly never smelled anything unless someone was dumping their black water holding tank and even then, it was a mild odor that went away quickly. 

So yes, I will post it ready to use despite the p trap.  It's not a hard job, at all, I am just not going to get completely covered in mud to install it.  Plus the sewer line needs leveled, another thing they didn't do.  Well, they started to but apparently the rest of that is my job.  Lol.  Ok. I don't care at this point, I'll level it, backfill it and be done with it - next week.  You can't level line like that in the mud. The dirt needs to be dry.  

The laundromat, if you want to call it that, is being used by 3 trailers worth of people.  They all have keys and they are happy with the results. That drain line is on the other side of the shed and is unaffected by the setup with the shower drain. 

Anyway, there is plenty to do inside the shed.  It's cool, it is raining on and off, but the work inside will keep me out of the rain.  The door is installed, swings freely and closes squarely along the wood it comes in contact with.  I just need to install the door handle.  The hard part today will be trying to get the studs going from the top of the door setup up to the ceiling.  I am not going to frame over the top of the bathroom setup, it's a waste of time and the logistics would be ridiculous.  It's still going to be a chore doing it the way I'm going to do it now, but much easier than what I originally planned. I was just trying to save space for a vending machine.  I have another area for that where it can go.  

This is why I didn't finish the electrical over there. I didn't know where I would need outlets and switches.  Now I know I will need another outlet near the entry door.  I also know where to put a light switch and where to install a ceiling wire for the bathroom light.  

Ok. Well, the repairmen for the dryer called. He is supposed to come out today to look at it. He found out it's a commercial dryer and at an RV park. Well, we aren't really supposed to work on commercial units.....lol. I'll have to find someone that does work on commercial units to change the price on that dryer, or sit there and attempt to figure it out. There are instructions - as clear as a muddied windshield. It's very complicated, actually, from what I am seeing on how to take half the top of the unit apart to even get at the coin setup.  I don't really want to do it but I also don't want to leave the price where it is. 

It's at $2.50 for a full load - wash and dry - that's not enough. it needs to be $3.00 total price.  I based my calculations for the machines to pay for themselves off of $3.00, not $2.50.  They didn't bother to ask me what prices I wanted set on them and I didn't think to tell them - I have never done this before, kind of hard to think ahead about things you have no prior experience with.  

I'm down to 3 lots rented for overnights for the rest of April - so far anyway.  That's not good.  I dunno what's going to happen with that, I'm just pushing my Facebook ad all over the place and hopefully it will pay off with a couple of new people moving in. 

Well, one of the people staying overnight just called and said they aren't going anywhere. It's raining and they don't like to drive in the rain.  Fine by me, I'll be over there soon - to collect up lol.  They get the first night free but the second? No. The power is on and they can sit there and enjoy themselves.  

With that....I'm hungry, it's getting late in the morning and I have stuff to do.  

G'day

 I dunno, but I woke up this morning at 6:00, tired - extremely tired - like I hadn't slept all night long.  So I went back to sleep. this time, I feel into a deep sleep for sure and woke up at 9:15 am.  Not my plan for today, but I'll take the sleep.  The rain went from before 8:00 am, to 8:15, to 9:00 now to 10:15.  Lol.  So supposed in half and hour it's going to start raining.  I don't really care about that, I have plenty to do over there inside the shed with or without the rain.  I'm trying to decide what's first, but I think the cameras take priority.  

AC is going to be up there on the priority list as well.  There are 3 lots worth of people using the laundry facility atm, I want that to grow to everyone having access, just can't do it until that shed is built.  But let's at least get the walls and door up first? I hate to have to lug tools in and out of there every time I need to work.  I was going to cut grass today but if it's really going to rain, that will be put on hold.  

My friends were all over the internet looking for a mugshot of this dude.  No, I didn't encourage them, they just wanted to see what this guy looks like.  He's a year older than me.  I thought he was well into his 60's from his appearance. He's also 6 feet tall.  It's funny what adrenalin will do to your perception. I thought he was much smaller, tho I knew he was heavy. At 260 pounds, he's definitely in the obese territory.  I dunno what's going to happen with him, I am contemplating filing a civil suit after he gets done with whatever court hearings for damages.  Won't be a high dollar figure, but he has money. Or appears to anyway.  Why not? My mouth is still sore, I still have red marks on my cheek and his anger was unwarranted.

Completely unwarranted.  Again, I was about to apologize to this dude when he walked up to the window.  It was actually shocking to see him pull his arm back with clenched fist and see that thing hit me in the face.  I had no reaction time for that at all.  It was done before I even really knew what was going on.  

I'm still waiting to hear from the insurance company about approval.  Or the collision center - if they get the approval they will go ahead and call me themselves.  Until then, I will drive that thing around like that.  I was hoping to get it in yesterday.  

The forecast has completely changed. Now it's showing to start in a few minutes and go on for several hours.  The radar shows a large storm going just north of us.  I mean, just north of us.  OH, lol, that changed again as well.  We are surrounded by green, yellow and red but we're currently sitting in the white zone.  I don't give a whole lot of credence to these forecasts anymore. You prepare for storms but you wonder and you doubt the validity of their forecasts.  They are often times wrong. The other day, it was supposed to rain half the day. Instead? We got nothing.  

Don't get me wrong, I don't want rain right now.  I can't mow the grass in the rain or with wet grass, it doesn't work.  It's also difficult to work on the shed with having to get stuff outside.  I have a lot of it inside, yes, but not everything.  I needed to leave space in there to work and let people have access to the washer/dryer setup.  

Which reminds me, this trash company I was using is still charging me for trash pickup and haven't taken there can.  I both issued a cancellation online and spoke on the phone with them about it.  I just told them to please refund my money and come get your trash can, thank you.  If they don't, I will contact the card issues and reject and future payments. 

Oops, there's the rain!  I'll be. Their forecast was off by 4 hours but it did come to pass.  Oh my....and a sudden downpour at that!

It dawned on me in the night when I was laying there awake - almost always happens - that quickbooks is also turbotax, I do believe, and I won't have to do anything but file with them. They can figure out the business construction deductions and calculate what I can take off.  So that's what I will be doing in the next few days.  I will also fill out that IRS form for "projected wages" and send that in. And then, the state of Texas wants some form filled out for earnings from my business last year. Big fat 0, thank you.

Still running Facebook ads for the 2 available long term lots. Just put a boost on one, it's paid and will reach a more targeted audience.  It's cheap, but it usually gets results, far better results than Google ads, which are much more expensive and far less effective. My google business listing is enough without running any ads, my listing shows up on the first page and that's good enough for me. People do say they find me through google, all well and fine, but a lot of the long term are finding me through my facebook ads.  So we'll see what happens.  

Meanwhile, I have been following this Trump indictment - loosely I'll say. We all know about Trump, you made an opinion of him one way or another long ago.  These charges against him are actually misdemeanors that DA Bragg has somehow attempted to inflate to felony charges.  I don't suspect that it's going to go anywhere. Even if it ends up in a court, as long as they can find unbiased jury members (which admittedly would be hard to do in New York City, a bastion of democrat progressive policies and Trump/MAGA/conservative despisers), I find it highly unlikely they would find him guilty of anything.  

Apparently the judge in the case also has issues that show bias against Trump as well.  Trump wants it moved to Staten Island.  I doubt this is going to deter anyone that likes Trump from still liking Trump. Note I didn't say bow and worship him as many democrats say that trump supporters do.  I'm not on the fence about Trump's ethics, he has his share of ethical issues the same as the likes of Bill Clinton getting blow**** in the Oval office from a young lady that wasn't his wife.  He was impeached but he didn't go to jail.  

I also like what Trump accomplished during his time in office. The democrat socialists will deny he did any good for America, but there is a huge list of things he accomplished, some of them are quite significant.  

I don't like Trump's temper tantrums.  He's a typical New Yorker, I guess, so that probably explains a lot of his issues with anyone, especially in the media, saying anything negative about him. Get over it, that's the burden you agree to carry if you become a politician and especially the President.  

I am not watching the news all day long because of it. I just click on here and there to see what developments have taken place.  

Anyway, the rain is coming down hard now.  I'm still a bit out of it.  Just not the greatest night's sleep followed this morning by deep sleep, just throws me off.  

 Spent the whole day fooling around with getting stuff done.  I mean, it's just time consuming going from one store to another to another.  Lowe's was a bit ridiculous.  I went there twice, first time waiting for 25 or so minutes for help.  No help, even tho I was sitting at the front desk, I had a meeting elsewhere and had to leave.  Coming back - a man helped me immediately.  It still took 40 minutes because the roll up door in the was busted and he had to walk clear around the store to get my insulation.

If you have ever seen a Lowe's, you know that isn't going to be a 5 minute venture.  Sign, Lowe's, Walmart, lunch, property, and then to the collision center.  

They did an estimate, worked it up quick and handed it to me. $3,500.  About what I figured.  New hood, bumper, fender, light and whatever else.  I was fretting the price because if it's too high, the insurance company will total the vehicle and then I am stuck with "fair market value".  Which isn't anything near what I would need to buy another used vehicle. It would be a good down payment, yet, but the prices of even used vehicles right now are sky high.  

I don't want another vehicle, I want this one fixed.  After looking up market values for it, it's around 9 grand.  That's mid price.  The exterior of my vehicle besides the damage, of course, is in excellent condition.  I couldn't leave it, they need approval from the adjuster. But the lady assured me that the adjuster they work with from Progressive is very good and will work to make sure that everything is taken care of.  Please and thank you. 

I mean, what else can I say? I got the big stuff over at the shed now, I just need to get over there and get started on it.  That is definitely not happening today, it's too late.  I am just glad to have gotten done what I got done today.  Elongated mess.  Tomorrow I will try to get over there if/after they take the SUV in and get some serious work done.  I don't really know how I'm going to work transportation right now,  I don't have any estimate of how long it will take - I totally forgot to ask her. The write up she gave me shows zero days for the work, lol.  

_________________

The insurance agent texted me back. He didn't know what was going on, I suggested that the agent with the collision repair center had emailed him and I also gave him the quote they gave me.  I didn't hear back from him today.  I don't know if that means anything in particular.  Just means he has to do whatever he has to do. Insurance companies aren't particularly in a hurry when it comes to at-fault collisions of their customers.  

But that's what they're in the business for.  So, I expect to hear from him tomorrow - him or the collision repair center person. She said they can take me in immediately.  What that means is that they take the vehicle in, tear it down, find out any unseen damages, adjust the cost and then they start ordering stuff.  I already knew it was going to be a long, drawn-out ordeal.  I mean, it doesn't take them long to take everything apart.  It's ordering the parts and then the process of putting it back together and trying to make it look like nothing ever happened to the vehicle is the long part.  

Whatever the case, I am going to the property tomorrow morning to work. When I find out the verdict - and hoping it means yes, they will cover it versus totaling the vehicle - I will take it in and find a way home.  Or find a way back to the property.  Depending on time of day.  I am still highly motivated to get that work done over there.  I can't advertise a bathroom until there are walls and a door up.  

The man's image was posted on a site that posts pics of people that have been arrested.  He had to pay to get out of jail, tho not terribly much I don't think if I'm correct.  There is probably a plea deal coming, do community service, counseling, whatever, I doubt there will be jail time. There will probably be a fine levied as well. This isn't really anything I am wishing upon this man. He could be hot tempered and gets to that level that quickly frequently, or he could have been having a bad day.  Or who knows what. I had a bad day yesterday, but his day yesterday was worse.  

Well, I'm tired and am going to bed. 

 I was on edge all the rest of yesterday.  It was just hard to shake what had happened. Not the accident itself, it was a fairly minor accident tho I suspect thousands of dollars worth of damage to my vehicle. It was this dude acting out in rage and punching me in the face.  I was second guessing myself after I got home - perhaps I should have just laid him out on the ground. I'm trying to be a nicer, kinder, more Christian version of me. The bible says if anyone hits you on the left cheek, turn the right to them also.  I can't say I turned my right cheek to him, the only point I'm making here is I didn't get out of my car and knock his ass out.  I didn't even try.

In fact, I didn't even get angry, really . I just knew that after the female - I'm not calling her a lady, if you had been there and seen and heard how she was acting out you'd understand - got out of the truck and asked if I had insurance and I said yes, but he just assaulted me, hitting me on the face, she went into and endless mantra of "NO HE DIDN'T" in a childish manner in high pitched almost screams. 

I knew if I did anything, you know, act in self defense?, they would both lie and I would have been the perpetrator in the eyes of the law.  It's why I immediately called police, they tend to give more credence to the person that makes the call.  I've had plenty of people telling me what they would have done - and I won't disagree with their assessment that if someone assaults you, you have the right to defend yourself. 

Just in this case? No.  He backed way off when I got out of the vehicle. I'm no body builder or muscle bound behemoth, but I am 6'2" tall and I was easily 6 inches tall than that dude.  His mouth stopped, hers did as well.  I didn't even want to talk to them, say anything to them at all once the assault occurred, I just called the police, had my video recorder ready to roll in case they started up again and sat on my trailer and waited.  

I really had no idea how it would turn out.  It was 2 people's word against one, but apparently the red marks on my face and the open sore in my mouth was enough for them.  Well, and then that man went off with the police, opening his mouth and saying stupid things.  I do believe that really sunk him.  "If you press charges, you may have to testify in court". Yes, I understand that, but if this dude regains his composure - if that even exists with him - he will understand that he should probably take a deal, whatever it may be - community service, anger management - whatever is offered - and run with it. Because I will go to court and I will testify against him if he wants to take it that far. 

The other unsettling part was this idea that they wanted to know where I live.  I don't want to know where they live and I hope the police didn't give them my information either.  I don't even know these people's names, I just have a police report number and it will be available in 11 days, I was informed.  I dunno, I'm just going to start carrying my concealed carry pistol with me. 9 mm, small enough to hide so that no one knows it's there. I'm not looking for trouble, to the contrary, I'm looking to stay out of trouble.  But if this dude even thinks about coming to the house or if they find out about the rv park and go over there, they are in for a slew of trouble.  The second time around, I'm going to defend myself.  Hopefully, it doesn't come to that.  

I feel better today.  I slept well despite all of that and other things that occurred yesterday. It was really not the greatest day. Other things also occurred that were a bit much for me that I may go into on another post.  Right now, I'm facing not having a vehicle for however long - weeks I'm sure - and I want to get most of the supplies over to the shed before I lose access to a ride.  That way, I have the stuff over there, when I can find a way over there I can just go to work. I am not decided on a rental vehicle yet, but probably not right away.  There is some taxi service in this town that I'm going to check out their rates. Limited rides to and from the park will save me a lot of money over almost $800 for 2 weeks of a rental car.

And that's just what the website said it would be.  These rental car agencies are always tacking on all kinds of extra fees.  Look, I only have to stay in town, it doesn't seem to me like I should need to rent a car right off the bat. I just need to go to a couple of stores this morning, get my stuff and then give it up to the shop.  On the weekends I'm fairly sure Taylor will let me use her truck on a limited basis to take trips to the store.  We have an Easter Egg hunt to go to Saturday, the boys really want to go, so hopefully they will either decide to go or let me take them in one of their vehicles.  It's a 5,000 egg easter hunt- they apparently do this every year and loads of kids show up for it.  I mean, kids whose families don't even go to the church.  

In fact, they are expecting such large crowds for Easter Sunday from people who don't normally go to church, they asked the regulars to sit on the front rows.  People who don't normally go to church do not want to sit up front.  They also asked everyone to park in the remote parking areas if at all possible.  I don't know that I will be going to church without a vehicle.  Taylor goes to a game fest thing on Sundays and that only leaves one vehicle at home.  I won't even ask them to use it, I'll just write church off for the next few Sundays until I get my vehicle back. 

Well, I haven't even taken it over there yet. The adjuster said she called them herself and that they were open to taking the vehicle in right away.  But does that mean they will get started on it right away? No idea.  

I'm just sitting here taking notes of what I best get done before I take it in. Walmart, Lowes and Kroger's.  Fill the cooler up with ice, it has lots of water bottles in it and that thing keeps stuff cold for many days and cool for many days after that.  Just want water over there.  I think I best get that keypad door handle as well.  I really don't want to leave that thing open and the only other option is to have the hassle of dealing with handing out duplicate keys to everyone - which doesn't address the issue of overnighters coming in that may want to use the facilities. A keypad handle is the only real solution I can think of - that or leave the place open 24 hours. 

You know, I guess I could do that once I get all of my tools out of there.  I have the cameras now.  It shouldn't take much to install them. Plug in the SIM cards, screw them in somewhere, plug them in and walaah.  I assume there's an app for it. 

Well, the day isn't getting any younger and I have running around to do.  Oh, my new laundry rules sign is finished as well.  Need that today.  They're near Lowe's. Unfortunately, I dropped the trailer yesterday and now I will have to go back to the property to get it.  No way to haul 20 sheets of 4X8 insulation without it.  

 Well, it's been a bad day. Should have just stayed home as my instincts told me to do this morning.  I'm going to bypass a lot of stuff and just go straight to the heart of the matter: I had an accident and I was at fault.  I haven't had an at fault accident in so long, I don't even remember what the last time was, at least 15 years? Longer?

And it was a stupid mistake rookie drivers make.  I was behind a pickup truck in a turning lane.  He was stopped looking for traffic and I stopped as well.  There was nothing coming so I assumed (that was my mistake) that he was moving.  Nope.  He had stopped again for unknown reasons, there was nothing there, it was a yield turning lane.  I hit the gas and saw him stopped too late. I slammed on the brakes and almost avoided the collision, but I had the trailer on and it was loaded with stuff and it pushed me into his vehicle.  

My fault, absolutely.  I was ready to own up to it as well. The dude gets out of his truck, I open the window - I was prepared to admit my mistake.  He entered into road rage.  I mean, serious road rage and  sucker-punched me in my mouth.  He was cussing me out and blah blah blah, but I kept my cool. I went for my phone while he was threatening to drag me out of the vehicle and beat the s*** out of me.  I sized this guy up quickly, much smaller than me, appeared to be older than I, could have easily taken him.  But, I kept my cool.  I was trying to get the video recording turned on so I could get a video of him yelling and threatening me, but once he saw that he walked away. 

I got out - left my gun in the car, hoping it wouldn't come to having to defend my life, he walked back to his truck with his wife, who had also gotten out.  You got insurance?  Yes, but he just assaulted me and threatened to beat my ass afterward.  She started laughing and repeated endlessly: No he didn't! There was no sense arguing with her, she wasn't even out of the truck when it happened.   I wasn't arguing with her, not worth it, I called the police.  I told them that yes I had rear-ended a pickup but the man had assaulted me, punching me in the face.  

I went back to my vehicle and just calmly waited, this woman both lying about what happened and also trying to get her husband to cool his jets.  The police did their "interrogation" of me, but it wasn't anything bad or ridiculous, took a bunch of pictures of the outside and the inside of my mouth. 

3 police cars showed up quickly - they don't have much concern about an accident but an assault, they are going to get there quick.  I told them what had happened and then they asked me if I wanted to press charges?  If he apologizes to me, I will let it go.  If not, I'm going to move on with assault charges.  They left, came back 10 minutes later and asked me if I had spit on the man? No. Well was there an altercation at your driver's door window? Yes, I rolled the window down when he walked up. He started cussing me out and then out of the blue punched me in the mouth.  He then claimed he was going to drag me out of the car and beat the s*** out of me.  

He's claiming you spit on him. Of course he did, I thought, he had to make something up to justify his unbelievable reaction.  No, I never spit on him. I just stood my ground with my story.  There is no way this guy is going to lie about it and me just back down because he makes up a story to try to cover his @$$.  

They hauled him off to jail, him repeatedly saying I "ran into him on purpose". Like, who the heck would just rear end a vehicle on purpose and then sit there?  If I were so inclined, which I was not and never am, I would have also taken off.  Felony offense, hit and run.  Yeah, right.  It was preposterous the stories he was making up.  The dude has anger issues. I don't know why, he probably has family/marriage issues, financial issues, who knows what.  

The cops asked me several times about pressing charges, but after I saw him punching his fist into his hand after the cops left him and they weren't paying attention?  Yeah, I'm pressing charges.  I had originally stated that if he apologizes, I will let it go.  Obviously that was a non-happening event and he went to jail. They put him in cuffs and that was that.  

I took the trailer to the property, unloaded the drywall and door - it's going to rain tomorrow and I don't need that stuff sitting outside - went home and here I am. Yes, I filed a claim, I still have full coverage insurance and they are going to fix it, it's already been confirmed for a local auto-body shop that has an excellent reputation.  

I don't really feel like typing, it really got to me this man punching me for no reason - accidents happen, if someone rear ended me, which has happened, I don't get out in rage.  I just ask them for their insurance and anymore, you have to call the police. People will lie about what happened and try to get out of responsibility. The worst part? This policy has a deductible, of course, not that bad at $500 but it does not have rental car coverage. I didn't know they hadn't included that, gag.  You know it's weeks in an auto body shop and I can't go without a vehicle for that long. 

Oh well. 

 Probably would have been a good night's sleep ... if the tv hadn't turned itself on in the middle of the night.  That just freaked me right out and I was wide awake.  The remote didn't have anything on it, there was no rhyme or reason why it did that.  

So, I'm lagging this morning.  Not saying I won't get anything done, I'm just not feeling it right now.  I will have to go to the property, get the trailer, go to Lowe's buy all of that stuff, haul it back, get anything that rain can damage inside the shed and then I can start working on it.  

However...

The door. They are standard 80 inches tall, I am finding out.  That is going to blow my intended framing structure out of the water.  I am totally clueless atm and will have to go into the shed, measure up 80 inches plus the frame and see what I've got for height.  And then stand there gawking at it for a while to try and figure out how to frame the damn thing in there.  I'm starting with the door, everything will be framed around it cause honey, I have no idea what I'm doing and even watching videos, this sucker right here? Is way different than anything I've been seeing.

It's a shed and it's got a v-shaped roof and the framing is going to have to go up into the v now, I am guessing.  It can't be that hard, right? LMAO.  I dunno.  Get out my tape measure and figure it out.  I may have to just frame the thing all the way up to the ceiling, which was not my original plan.  Should have known that something would throw in a monkey wrench into my plans.  It also dawned on me that I have no idea whether these people installed a p trap underneath the shower stall.  They say they have been doing this for years so I never gave it a second thought.

Well, last night I was giving it all second thoughts.  You must have a p trap on anything drain related unless it's a toilet that has a built in p trap.  

Anyway, some pro could walk in there, look at what I've got and say, yes, well this is how I will have to frame it in there ...and go on with explanations of how it works.  I will go in there this morning, try to stay optimistic and just have to figure it out.  I suspect I will have to run a beam horizontally along both sides of the shed where I want the crossovers to connect.  There isn't much room where the rafters connect to the wall studs, it's just a tin shed and tho it mimics a house setup, it's much smaller in scale and not much room where the rafter meets the stud. 

Oh well. I'll figure it out - eventually. I don't have the funds to be spending on having someone come and do it.  They are all very high priced to do even small jobs and that's just out of the question right now - and yes, it needs to be done now.  I can't wait until I go get a job and start pulling paychecks.  In fact, this shed needs to be fully operational before I even think about going back to trucking.  That and the Hipcamp setup - which isn't that much more.  The trenches are 85% dug, the rest will have to be by hand - or I suppose I could rent that trencher. It's not too bad in pricing and much cheaper than a track hoe.  It's still probably 40 feet of trench I need dug out. 

Find a laborer to do it! Right? Good luck with that!  People balk at manual labor nowadays, they don't want to do anything but they sure want that pay!  I'm done with trying to get people to help me work on the thing for pay, it just isn't a happening event. And if you contact a handyman?  They will likely be doing work on the side but they will still try to charge you the same rates as a general contractor.  It's just the area I live in, it's no like in a big city where there are so many options you can find.

You play their game they way they want to play it - or you shrug them off and do it yourself. I can't even imagine how much everything I've done so far would have cost to pay a contractor to do it for me.  For the shed? 15 grand? More? Not less, rest assured.  They now only get you for labor, use of machinery and all that entails, they rape you on the prices of the parts they use.  I don't mean they get you a little bit, I mean they reeeeeaaaaam you for parts.  I know these people are in it to make money, but there is a point where greed sets in.  I think greed has settled into the American culture now, especially since Covid. It's give me give me give me spoken like a 3 year old but give back?  I ain't giving back nothing, you can go stick it! 

This whole project from the beginning when I was looking to get the land cleared has been rather - not sure the correct word here. Deflating? Saddening?  Unbelievable? It's the idea that people want so much for so little in return. I didn't grow up this way and I am dumbfounded when confronted with this attitude.  Even with rent pricing.  One dude thought my rates were outrageous.  It was $400 per month including all utilities and free wifi. I didn't bother to ask him what he thought was a good price, I didn't want to hear about it.  Take yourself to a trailer trash park and that's what you will get for what you want to pay, thanks and have a great day.  

Just time to take a deep breath and face the day and this week. It poured rain yesterday. I mean, our front and back yard were covered in moving water. If we weren't on a hill it would have flooded.  It was an intense rain with lots of thunder and dogs going berserk. Well, Addler doesn't actually panic, he just gets  bit uneasy. But that other dog here? lol.  And it's supposed to rain again tomorrow.

Well, nothing will get done me sitting here drinking coffee. No regrets, tho, I have to have at least one cup before I do anything. It's just the way it is......

 Well, this air conditioner is a 5,000 watt thing.  That's pretty much the smallest, standard window unit that is sold.  I'm not sure it's going to cover a tin shed sitting in the baking sun running a dryer in the middle of summer. Insulation will help, for sure, I guess it will be a wait and see thing.  I have the hot air from the dryer being pumped outside, anyway.  If it doesn't work out, it can go on the other side to cool the bathroom. I'm not necessarily inclined to cool the bathroom atm, but if I end up with an extra unit, I'll put it in there. Otherwise, I intend on installing the bathroom door in the center so that cold air from the ac unit on the other side can move in there when the door is left open.  

I really need some trees to shade that shed. I do have some on the east side, but the western sun will be baking it most of the day.  Oh well, trees are not a priority atm. At some point, they definitely will be and I do intend on getting some fast growing evergreens for the southern end to replace the trees they cut down.

Church was great.  Very inspiring message.  2 men had just returned from a missionary trip to a place on the other side of the world on some islands near Papa New Guinea.  I don't recall the name of the village, but it takes 6 days to get there starting from here, including an 18 mile trip by foot which takes you over numerous rivers. They had plenty of video to show it.  These tribal people used to be cannibals that went around killing other villagers nearby in other villages and apparently those villagers did the same thing back.  God, however, had other plans and sent a missionary there to preach the Gospel, of which a particular man gave his life to the Lord and started a church there.

These people are hungry for the Word and hungry for learning more about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and all that the Bible entails.  It was really inspiring and took me back to my missionary days traipsing around Mexico to villages in the middle of nowhere, mostly without electricity and very much with people that spent their days getting water and food.  

Now that I've ordered the wire, I can think about tomorrow's activities.  I took a snapshot of the different style, flexible, plastic tubing style pipe they used to hook up the shower and toilet. I'll need more of that to hook up a vanity.  I will need some fittings for the sewer setup, but that really isn't my first priority. Besides getting that AC hooked up, I need to buy the stuff to finish the bathroom.

I have a list.  It includes 2X4's for the walls but also I will need some to frame in a spot for the AC unit.  You can't just install a unit on tin, lol, you have to have the framing for it. The people that built the shed did frame for an ac  unit - but on the other side.  I will be running an ac outlet for it in case I decide I want to install one over there.  This is stuff you do now and it doesn't cost much more in wiring that I already would have had to install over there.  

Basically, on the circuit, will be the main shed light, the bathroom light, the ac outlet and probably another general outlet.  Oh, and I will need to have a feed for an outdoor light.  I'm trying to think of everything I will need before I go to Lowe's.  I know that undoubtedly, I will end up having to make a few trips, but at least try to get most of it on the first trip.  I suspect a lengthy stay at Lowe's tomorrow trying to gather everything I will need.  

Why not do that today? Because it's Sunday and I don't feel like it, that's why.  I typically despise working on Sundays. It is a day of rest and my body tells me it's a day of rest in no uncertain language.  My goal for tomorrow is get all of that stuff, frame in the AC unit, install the AC and seal it. All holes coming in are going to be sealed, I bought a gallon of that duct seal and I am going to use it on everything, not just the electrical wiring it was recommended for. I need holes plugged up to keep hot air from coming in during the summer.

If I get anything else done after that, great, if not, my goals for the day have been accomplished. If I do, indeed get further, it will be to start framing everything up.  I will have to look at some youtube videos about installing a pre-framed door.  Lowe's has an entire row devoted to them, there are all kinds of them. I just need something cheap that can lock.  One would assume you can just stand the entire, framed door up wherever you want it and frame it in.  But, my assumptions on this particular project have been wrong many times over. Hence, watching videos and asking professionals questions.  The electric has been on for several days, no issues. The water has been on a week now, also no issues. 

The first tenant to use the washer/dryer setup is doing that as I type this. I gave her a key, she texted a while ago asking if she could use it? Yes, and please let me know how it goes. Oh, am I the first one to use it?  Yes, beyond my trial runs.  She did, for some reason, experience excitement over this, that coming from her.  I just need the thing to work as it was designed.  30 minute wash, 45 minute dry.  

Well, the Sunday afternoon yawns have hit me. They always do. It's time to take a nap. 

 Sunday - early morning.

They completed the installation of the shower stall and the toilet yesterday. Well, most of it anyway.  The trench still needs backfilled and I had them add an extra T to the 4 inch sewer line that has a 2 inch inlet on it for a vanity. I decided a bathroom without a sink would be....stupid....on my part. Lol.  I found a small, brand new vanity for $100, if it hasn't sold by Monday I'll go pick that up.  

They, of course, charged me far too much for "parts and supplies". They kept to their original labor quote but the amount of money they charged me for parts was way too high for what they did.  I mean, unless there's something there I don't know about that costs a fortune.  He said he added a 1% fee to the parts cost, so that wasn't it.  I'm wanting an itemized list with the cost of each item.  

But, I paid up regardless. At least it's done and it would have taken me a long time to figure all of that out, I was watching them going the trials and tribulations they were going through trying to get the plumbing into the correct spot. I knew that would have been a big-time headache for me to figure out.  These guys do this stuff all the time and they were having trouble. 

In the end, the toilet flushes and the shower stall is working without any visible leaking.  So, tomorrow/Monday I will be getting the supplies necessary to frame the walls.  Just enough 2x4's and drywall. I will grab the insulation for the entire shed if they have enough available.  But the rest of the drywall can wait. It's not a priority.  I don't have anywhere to store it, either, so getting 22 sheets of it in there would be - problematic. I likely will just have to buy enough sheets to use per day, since I intend on opening this thing up before it's totally completed.  

As it turns out, James ended up going to Maria's yesterday to help her fix a lawnmower, so he brought home the ac unit she was going to give me.  I haven't even gotten it out of his truck yet, but I hope it works. A small, 5,000 watt window unit at Lowe's was listed at $279.  

That's incredible.  The last time I priced those things it was $125 to maybe $160.  I get the inflation junk, but there is some corporate greed, IMO, going on here.  Suddenly, the cost of living - everything including electricity and natural gas - has gone way up.  

As I say, I'm just doing the bare minimum to get the bathroom walls up so people can start using it.  I changed my description on my HipCamp site a few days ago and now I have someone asking if the bathroom is ready yet? By the time they get here? Yes.  14th through the 17th, I have plenty of time.  Framing isn't technical. Measure a length, cut a board, screw it into place.  Lather, rinse repeat.  Yes, the door will probably be a pain, but not near as much as those drains.  

Actually, if the AC unit works, that will be the first order of business. It gets warm/hot in that shed and Monday and Tuesday it's going to be warm/hottish outside.  I want that thing going. It's no more than framing a place for the thing to sit on, cutting the metal out, slide the AC unit in and plug it in. I already have a heavy duty plug right there where I want it.  

If I work hard enough this coming week, I should be able to frame and drywall it including the door, get the wiring in, get a ceiling light up with switch and at least get started on the vanity set up.  The problem will be bringing the drain pipe through the wall, just like it was on the other side.  But, I should be able to reduce the 2inch to whatever side vanity's have, I think it's inch and a quarter or inch and a half, before bringing it through the wall.  I already had them put water lines in near the spot where I want it.  

They promised to come back and do that - for an extra fee. No thank you, I thought, your prices were high enough, I'm not spending another grand on that stuff. This is just pipe, no floor drains, I can do this, I have already done it  for the washing machine setup. It wasn't easy but it wasn't the end of the world, either. Just tedious and tight spaces.  I'll get it done, that's a fact.  

One thing that's nice: I have a toilet over there now. No going into the woods to do my duty or if the boys come - it's almost guaranteed one of them will have to take a dump once we get over there.  Even if I ask them if they have to go before we leave the house? It doesn't matter. "We JUST left the house 10 MINUTES ago, why didn't you do it there?!!!".  "Because I didn't have to go then, I really have to go NOW!".  Lmao.  There's no choice in the matter, but now the choice is to simply lock the shed door and have a nice toilet to flush it all away. 

Oh and I have this mystery for the extra check that the welding company sent for those 3 workers. I'd love to cash it, but I am certain it must have been a mistake.  I haven't contacted her  yet, I've been too busy with the shed.  Get that done today and find out what's going on. If they are giving me free money, woo hoo! We all know that likely isn't the case.  

I feel like once I get this thing up, running and done enough to call it good, I will start getting more of these HipCampers like the one that emailed me last night.  I have spartan overnights and now I have 2 long term I need to fill.  Don't know what to say, I'm doing what I can to get people in there, in the end, after I have done everything I can, I can sit around and fret or just go on with life, happy that I've got the operation up and running and sooner or later, the sites will fill up.  

I'll tell ya one thing: I'm going to be busting butt to get that bathroom done this coming week so I can get it posted on all the venues and get it out there.  I figure that if by the end of April, I don't have a "flood" of people wanting spots again including filling up Hipcamp - or at least having enough coming in there to make it worth it - I'm just going to go back to work.  I will probably end up doing that anyway, just that now I'm getting closer to the "do or die" scenario, where this park either works and pays my bills and then some - or it doesn't and back to trucking, get some debt paid down and make plans to add amenities and expand.  

I'm ordering enough wiring to have 2 HipCamp sites up and running pretty quick.  That's the direct burial stuff.  If it picks up, I'll order the rest for the other side to make up 4 of them.  If it really picks up, I'll go to 5, but 5 is where it ends.  The people that contacted me last night have a small, pop up trailer. This is exactly what I'm talking about. They don't need a lot of space and they only will use 20 amp electrical outlet.  Some of those have AC units, yes, but it's the only thing drawing power. I will have sufficient gauge wire to ensure they have plenty of power to run their ac's.  

My last resort going here for a loan would be a commercial refi-cashout, like I did with the house.  I have been looking that up.  I don't know how hard it is to get one of those loans, but I will be reaching out to a few of them to get info on it.  

Anyway, I just crunched the numbers for everything I want to do with the shed and we are pretty much where I expected to be with it and just got through ordering the wire for the Hipcamp operation.  I found a place much cheaper for wire so I ordered all of it. We're at around $1,200 maximum to finish this out besides all of the drywall.  So, the money I received is covering all of that.  

Well, it's time to go to church. 

 It isn't unfortunate that they are coming early - like in 25 minutes - to do the shed. It is unfortunate that I was sleeping so well and my sleep had to be distrubed by the alarm clock.  As I have stated numerous times in the past, when I do, finally, get a night where I can sleep, I want to sleep as long as that ride will go for.  

But, getting this project done supersedes sleep and I'm writing this one out pretty quick and getting out of here. The property is only like 8 minutes away, shorter this morning since there will be no traffic holding me up.  Trying to gulp down a cup of coffee quick so I can have another for the road.  

I dunno, but I'm getting myself prepared, mentally, yet once again, to go back on the road.  I hate the idea but I don't see a lot of other options here. If it comes to that, paychecks will go to paying down debt and saving up for another septic system.  Septic system first, very likely.  I'm thinking about it, that's all I can say about it right now. Still some stuff left to do before I will call it good and go driving trucks endlessly.  

As I said, it's sitting there in my mind. I've been trying to get myself back into that thinking for I see no other way around it atm.  Unless Hipcamp and the overnight spots pick up substantially in reservations, I have no choice in the matter. 

I would also like to add more amenities to draw those people in, namely: a swimming pool, a jacuzzi and a sauna.  Those are more on the resort style of amenities, but in Texas, hot summers, it's really a must if you want to get people in.  People like swimming pools.  I need more lots before I do that tho.  

Basically, I'm working towards automating this park as much as possible so that the amount of things that I would have to tend to personally is either completely gone or very much diminished.  I can ask the older couple if they'd be interested in running the place -not physical labor, just the nuts and bolts of dealing with guests. They've done it before, I've come to find out and at a much larger park elsewhere. The only reason they are staying at my place is because it was the best thing around and for the price.  

I don't want to pat myself on the back too much, but taking a trip down memory lane, after I finally and begrudgingly went to actually look at the property, I instantly fell in love with it - sans the gas operation.  That's what originally turned me off to the place to begin with.  But, I have managed to work around that nonsense. I didn't realize I could just put the park in the front 7-1/2 acres until I really started thinking about it.  This could work!  And now that spring is approaching, the trees are budding and it's beautiful.  That's the front 7, the rear 15 should be getting pretty nice now too.  

I haven't been on the trails in at least a week.  Just haven't had the time.  Addler loves it back there, I'll have to take him this weekend. Get a feel for what it would take for tent campers to get back there with their equipment and get ready to start heavily advertising both tent and HipCamp camping.  

Whatever the case, my time is up.  I need to be there to show them exactly what I want  and where.

C'ya later.  

 Uhh, I have a few draft entries that I probably won't even put on here.  I just get distracted by something and start working on something.  Such is life at the moment. 

A few highlights tho.  First and very thankfully, the rest of the project in the shed is paid for.  It is a huge weight off my shoulders.  I started figuring out the costs to do the whole thing with the foam style insulation and cover it up with drywall.  The lumber to build the 2 walls needed for the bathroom. A pre-framed door, a keypad entry, an outdoor lamp for the front of the shed, a vanity for the bathroom - I wasn't going to do it but I think I will so people can wash their hands after using the toilet.   

And other stuff.  It got to the 3 grand point and that became a little overwhelming.  I may have the money for that, but it would deplete my banking account to uncomfortable levels.  The point, I can now finish the entire thing without worrying about money.  I've just spent so much money putting this park together, it went far beyond anything I imagined it would in terms of costs. Inflation also drove prices of everything up. 

There will still be work to do after they finish this weekend, but a huge chunk of the hard stuff will be out of the way.  

I also tried that dryer again.  I put the quarters in it and turned it on, setting the time. At 46 minutes, it shut itself off.  That is exactly what it is supposed to do.  I am not going to cancel that appointment with the repair dude, tho, I want him to see if he can figure out how to change the price for the wash.  I want $2 wash and $1 dry - $3 for all of it.  It's currently set at $1.50 wash and that's just too low. I need to be able to cover the cost of the payments on those machines, at least.  

I did the numbers today as far as income.  At current rates, there is no way I can survive off of that.  It's just not enough money left over after expenses.  It's like 3 plus grand, but you have to take taxes out of that.  That's just with the current setup with 11 long term and 3 short term.  Amazingly, all of the calls have stopped.  It figures, lol. I've only had one call - that person said they were going to come and would call me when they were on their way.

Yeah, that didn't happen.  I'm still pretty hopeful I can get that lot rented soon, hopefully within the next week.  I know of one person that is leaving at the end of April.  So, if I get the 12th lot rented and then this amenities shed starts getting more business coming in, no worries for me, I can keep that lot open after that guy leaves.  

Tomorrow, I'm getting up early to meet the contractor out there, answer any questions, show them what I want and then get to measuring the length of the trenches in the Hipcamp area.  It's for electricity only. I will have to order that wire and I want to be pretty close to exactly what I need.  They have the right sized wire for $1.09 per foot. That's a good price for direct burial - underground wiring that doesn't need conduit.  I'm going to set up 4 outlets and call it good.  If they get used, that would be wonderful.  If they don't, then I spent $200 on nothing.  I'm optimistic.   

The Hipcamp is a gamble, but not a huge monetary output.  I already had the bobcat for backfilling the trench for the shed, it was a no brainer to clear out that area for hipcamp and also deal with the driveway.  The driveway is no longer a muddy, sloppy mess, I am grateful that my efforts paid off, I"m hardly a pro earth moving laborer.  

But I want to wind down spending gobs of money on this park.  If there's anything I would really like to get going, it would be a glamping setup in the back.  I just can't figure out how to have cooling back there.  There's no power and the closest connection would be the shed at something like 800 feet away.

No doable.  I have to figure out the power part first because that's what glamping is - the comforts of home in a tent.  Think of it as tenting camping in a huge, giant canvas tent set up that is more like a hotel room.  King sized bed, TV, heating/cooling, small kitchen, etc.  When I say kitchen, I am definitely not referring to running water.  That's not a part of any glamping setup I have seen, tho I suspect there are probably some out there. 

More like a coffee maker, a small refrigerator and a microwave.  But anyway, I will eventually start looking into it, I just don't need to right now, I don't have the money for that atm.  It would cost 5 to 8 thousand to get one built.  Just not in the cards - right now.  

I'll be happy to just get some of the regular tent camping sites going after I can finally get my attention off of park issues.  It's still going to be weeks, probably, before I finish that shed.  Drywall alone will be a pain - putting it on the ceiling isn't going to be easy.  Hold  sheet up there while trying to drive in screws.....Not going to worry about it, I'll figure something out and get it done.  But the bathroom wall and door will be first priority.  

Well, I'm tired, it's getting late and 6:00 am comes early, at least for me.