I'm not going to wait.  We were supposed to be cooking crab tonight, but instead, they are going to a thing that is for "the family" - 3 families I think - but I'm not invited.  It "used" to be that I was family, I haven't heard that in a while and I've seen completely different going on in the last several months.  So whatever.  I live here, that's it at this point.  

Anyway, crab out the window, it can wait until tomorrow I guess, I'll go get myself something to eat.  Probably some keto friendly, blackened salmon at Applebee's.  Yup, I'm feeling dissed and that's fine, I will get over it but I will also adjust my view of where I am living and what I am doing here. It always happens this way anyway.  I've been watching stuff like this going on my entire adult life, nothing new under the sun.

Well wait, I have a turkey in there that needs to be cooked. It's finally thawed and it needs to get into the oven tomorrow.  It appears from online info anyway, that you can keep thawed crab in the fridge for several days before it starts going south.  

Anyway, let's steer away from that subject, kind of aggravated right now.  Whatever this person is doing - a lady that announced a get together for "family" and since I am not involved with it, I no longer consider myself a part of this family - I got some stuff done today.

After I determined that I was going to just use the already existent water heater that is sitting right there for hot water in the motor coach, I went over to measure and figure out the fittings and pipe I will need. I already have a 10 foot stick of 1/2 inch pipe.  Lowe's, got the pipe, the fittings and left. Back to the property, started digging the trench. 

It was sooo hot out there, I was sweating profusely quickly and not in the mood for it.  I worked on that for a while before I decided I would do something else - which is mow the Hipcamp area.  It's not really that anymore, but it's what I will refer to it as to delineate what I am referring to.  It was overgrown with weeds, I went to a lot of trouble to clear that area so I decided to get the push mower and get busy. 

I got most of it done, but I was getting very, very hot.  Like, go inside the shed, plop down on a chair in front of the AC unit hot and try to cool down.  

That didn't work and it was getting late, I came home with the boy and then found out that today was the day for this "family" thing. I didn't know until a few minutes ago that I wasn't a part of this deal. Note that not that long ago, anything going on at any of these people's homes, I was a part of.  I'm just feeling like I need to reassess my living arrangements and whether  I am even still welcome here.  It may be that I am being given "subtle" hints to go find a new place to live. 

I don't want to act rashly, but I have been observing this for a while now, as stated.  It may be a "taken for granted" situation where people just look at the status-quo and think that person is fine with whatever, but that's not me.  I haven't much posted about this because I wasn't sure if this was the case. But now? Yeah, it's getting pretty evident that the mood is shifting.  

I just don't know how far it goes.  Like, get out shifting or, oh well, you're here and whatever shifting or - who knows what.  

I'm being informed the person that called all of this together is going to "inform us of something" and then head back to their home, near Dallas.  Whatever. I'm feeling pretty put-off at the moment and I'm not going to even ask whatever it is that she said to them.  

I suppose I could just go back on the road and live in a truck again.  I am not going back to Arizona, I hate it there, tho I do love the mountains I don't want to live at my house and I despise the place.  It's just another giant city that has slowly turned towards democrat/progressive politics, replete with gangs, crime, big city angst, neighbors that don't know or care to talk to their next door neighbors, etc.  

Whatever the case, even more calls today. I hope to get some of these people in there. One is from the city 30 miles away, another is looking for a place for her mom - I don't know what that's about - and others.  Fill my park up, that's what I want, that's what I need. 

I'm going to get off of here and try to cool myself off both physically from baking out in the heat and internally. 

 TCAS worked. Well, I assume it was TCAS that directed the Allegiant flight to go up and the Gulfstream jet to go down.  I've learned a few things watching various aircraft disaster shows and the ensuing investigations they do after the fact.  This was the near "nose to nose" collision, as the news described it would have been if the pilots hadn't immediately responded to TCAS instructions.  From what I have seen in those shows, TCAS takes precedence over any ATC instructions.  This became the point of an investigation in an air crash disaster where TCAS gave instructions for a plane to immediate go up, but the ATC gave them instructions to go down.

The aircraft collided mid-air killing everyone on board both planes. But the description of the event that was reported yesterday sounded fairly - terrifying.  The passengers all got to go home in the end, that's the important part.  You don't, however, expect a plane to suddenly take a nose dive or start nosing way up, they said the flight attendants fell on the floor and were apparently injured.  I tried not to think of all of these air crash disaster shows I've watched when I flew to Phoenix and back, lol.

Kudos to the skilled pilots for saving a lot of lives.  

________________________

So, I figured out where the water heater goes - and obviously (at least to me since I'm the one attempting to find the thing) and there isn't one there.  I have now found a tankless heater online and will be finding some way to install one of those things instead.  It's the best I can do, I'm not going to put a tank heater in there, there's nowhere to put one.  Trust me, the cubby hole where the propane water tank used to be will not fit a 5 gallon water heater in there, lol.  I will probably have to run a 20 amp line off the shed to run the thing.  Fortunately, they only come on when the water gets turned on, saving electricity and really don't need to have a lot of use. 2 showers a day and some dishes.   

 The propane is something that may turn out to be much easier than originally anticipated.  Well, anyway, I'm going to find a low priced water heater and the hose for the propane tank shouldn't be terribly expensive and then hopefully, I'm done with any expenses for that thing.   Basically, I can unhook the line going into the regulator on the built-in tank, find a hose with a fitting that can screw into the hose that has a regulator on it and screws into a propane tank, walaah.  Probably $30 worth of parts.  She said she'd buy her own tank.  

So, we're narrowing this stuff down and trying to get it taken care of. Fortunately, they can still take showers in the shed.  Just need to get the propane going so they can cook on the stove top.  The oven was filled with pots and pans, something that she very much liked.  

What else....I need to check lots today and clean up any messes.  I will have a full park at least temporarily soon, some of the lots haven't been used in weeks.  One of them has rocks and branches that the boy threw onto them while cleaning out the freshly-tilled ground.  So just some basic clean-up but it shouldn't take much. Maybe get the chain saw going if I can find the adjusting tool....been a while since I've seen that.  

The boys got with it yesterday and cleaned out a lot of the weeds around the septic system. Considering the size of those weeds, I was impressed.  The people in the purple thing are leaving this morning.  Their AC broke and they are staying in that thing without any cooling. Unbelievable. I would rather sit outside than in a hot vehicle like that.  In fact, I would just head over to the shed and cool off in there. But, I don't really like people hanging out in the shed, tho I never said anything to them about it.  It's something I would allow temporarily since they are leaving anyway.  

I have plans just need to execute them.  Getting the RV finished is a top priority, just because I want it over with and yes, I don't want to listen to people complaining.

I've got 200 feet of direct bury wire.  That's done and paid for, been sitting there for months. The length should be enough to go from number 1 lot to the rear of the shed, where I can install a second, small electrical panel.  The only drawback is I will have to trench through the lot and then through the driveway.  I'll have to measure that and make sure 200 feet is enough, but it should be.  A decent tankless water heater is 240 volts and requires a 60 amp breaker.  I don't think I want to put that kind of load on the already well-loaded shed setup.  I can put the entire RV on a separate panel on a separate circuit.  The drawback is $200 to rent a ditchwitch. That seems expensive for an hour's worth of use.  I doubt it will take long to trench it.  I might call a few places in Longview and see how much they charge.  

They make 110 volt tankless heaters but from reading the reviews, they are not that great.  If the water output of the sink and shower are slow, then I might work okay - and save me a lot of money.  It might just be that I do that for now and if they don't like it - well - there's always the shower in the shed.  The water output of both the shower and the sink are quite low, they do that intentionally so you don't fill up the holding tanks too fast.  It's just that if I do put one of those in there, they also have to turn the thing on and off when they want to use it. 

So what happens if they turn it on and forget to turn it off? Do those things have an auto-shut-off? or just that the water heats up to a certain temp and it shuts off because it isn't moving through it? The plus side is they have remote controls, you aren't flipping switches on and off.  

Since the thing isn't going to move anywhere, I'm sitting here thinking, hmm, my shed water heater is only a few feet away from that RV.  Instead of spending a lot of money on a water heater, why not just put a tee into the hot water outlet and run a pipe over there?  Just put a flexible hose somewhere so it can move with the rv going up and down with people walking around in it or getting in and out.  

This is so simple and there isn't a huge demand on that water heater as it is.  It's just half inch cpvc line, I can insulate any of it that is above ground, spend $30 or $40 on line and parts -well maybe a little more to get a flexible line - attach it to the RV, walaah, we're done.  I don't know why I didn't think of this right off the bat. 

Anyway, outta here. Got to get over there before the purple people leave, they owe another day's rent. 

G'day

 Hot water was coming out of the faucet.  I couldn't find a water heater anywhere in that thing.  So I don't know.  The propane line, a new water hose, a sewer hose and a few other minor things and I"m calling it good.  She was fine with the toilet setup.  In fact, she declared emphatically more than once "I want it".  Not in soft tones, it was definitely saying this is something I need in my life.  

I informed her I wasn't charging her any interest - the price tag for that old thing is high enough as it stands, but I've got it down to 22 months of payments.  That's not bad.  Just short of 2 years, she'll have to keep working of course, but she seems motivated. 

She also said her brother could get SS benefits if he had an address he could use, can we use yours? Of course.  Please.  Get some money, get a better lifestyle going.  I completely broke her taking that $325 off of her card, I know that because I tried to run it and it declined.  She called her sister to look it up and it was 20 cents short. They fixed that and the payment went through.

I'm not trying to break her bank, but I do want the money.  She will be easier to deal with than more picky people.  The water hose I have hooked up to the thing now is definitely not going to work. It's one of those cheap hoses I bought to water a long time ago and it looks like it's ready to burst under the pressure.  I'll spend another $100 or so on the thing and tack it onto the bill.  I just wish the ac would have worked and I didn't get laden down with $1,700 worth of debt.  A little bit ridiculous.  

The new guy is here, he has this small trailer with 2 ac's mounted on the roof. Never seen anything like it.  As if that thing actually needs 2 roof mounted ac units.  Oh well.  I'm just taking $400 per month and be glad that I've got another lot rented out.  I have 15 lots in reality now that I am going to leave the old rv behind the shed and no, they have no problem with it. A lot of privacy back there, actually.  

I didn't tell her I may end up moving the other people back there as well

It's $200 per day for the trencher.  That's a lot.  I think it is anyway.  It'll probably take me a couple hours or less to trench the ditch.  I'll immediately run the line and just leave it dangling on either end, backfilling it right away so I don't have an open trench running for people to trip into it and - sue me.  

Yes, I do plan on doing it.  I don't know when, but soon.  I want that old trailer out of there and it can sit next to my RV.  I can run the electric for bother rv's off of that side of the park and equalize it out to 2 different circuits.  I just think I'm asking alot out of the current cirbuit what with also have the shed on it.  As I say, I know what I'm doing now.  

It will open up another lot and if/when all lots are full at any given time, there are the dollar signs racking up.  

It's as much strain as I dare put on that septic system.  Those aerobic sprinklers must be getting some use tho, what with this laundry setup - but I did get the ok from the company that installed it to add it onto the system. And so far, nothing. 

Now it's crunch time.  Add up everything coming in in the next week and see if I'm going to make it to the next month.  I think so.....maybe.....lol.  I'll get another $325 from her in 2 weeks. Provided she can do that of course.  She's already moving in, it's nice and cool in there.  That AC doensn't have a lot of cubic footage it needs to cool and isn't straining it at all.  

Next time I buy one of those things, however, I'm going to have them run everything, including the ac for at least half an hour and see what happens.  I feel like I got ripped off with it being sold as an rv with a functioning ac unit.  

I'm just sitting in the shed waiting for the new guy to show up. He has the money, I'm sure of that.  He wanted to go into town to open up bank accounts, get supplies etc so I just told him  ok, go ahead and do your thing we can meet up later.  

Anyway, I need to go to Lowe's and get the rest of her stuff.  That is probably going to be a longer than shorter visit to that store trying to find the things I need to fix small stuff.

 No sleeping for me.

Thursday - morning

I woke up at 3:00 am and I was awake for hours.  I got back to sleep maybe around 6 am.  The kids had other ideas, however.  They started yelling, laughing very loudly and making  a lot of noise early.  It was so loud that I wouldn't have tolerated it even if it were the middle of the day.  Yup, I went out there and silenced them with one sentence. I have heard nothing from them since.

It's not like I don't need to get moving, but if I'm wiped out, I'm not getting anything done.  I need to go see if that guy actually showed up last night and I need to get over there and get to looking for a water heater on the rv.  I'm going to have to dig up the water line in back of the shed and install a water spigot, I determined they can just stay back there and they didn't seem to care about that, in fact, liking the idea.  The only thing I don't know and haven't checked is if WiFi reaches back there. 

Yes, the shed is right there, but the router is in the front window to get it pumping the signal out of that metal structure.  Anyway, I'm going to have to buy a sewer hose, an adapter line for the propane and hopefully find a water heater in there - somewhere.  If I can get all of that done, I'm done with that thing. They are apparently getting their own bed for the front for one of them to sleep on, I'll guess that would be the brother.  The back bedroom has a very nice curtain that is original equipment, or so it appears and is in excellent condition.  

I'm basically giving them a chance to get into something. They won't get this opportunity from anyone else, or not very likely to happen anyway.  No credit, no real, permanent address, just got into town a month and a half ago, other things - just didn't add up to creditworthiness.  But, since they will have to keep the RV in the park, there isn't a lot of exposure to risk beyond the fact that if it came down to it, I would have to take them to court for default and get them legally removed if they weren't to leave on their own.  I don't wish that upon them, obviously.  

Since the man at lot 10 isn't leaving any time soon - something it would have been nice if he had told me once he found out - I will have to cancel an overnight reservation.  I see no other way out of it. Wait, well I forgot, I need to chat with the people in the purple thing and find out their intentions.  If they are leaving, then I don't have to cancel.  I don't know what they're doing. They aren't working, that's for sure, I don't know where they get their money - or their groceries for that matter.  I'll determine my course of action with the overnighter after I talk with them.  Their intended stay isn't for another 11 days, if I cancel tomorrow, they have quite a bit of time to find other accommodations.  

Someone called me last night asking directly how much I charge for lot rent. Then "does it include all bills?".  Then they hung up on me.  Suspicious.  I think some of these calls are coming from other parks to find out how much I'm charging and adjust their rates accordingly.  

I've adjust wording to match other parks with "the best park in town" and "best rates in town", but I've also added "best location in town" - for it truly is.  I'm closest to the hospital and most of the medical buildings, supermarkets, etc. One park has "I have been in the business for many years, I know how parks should be operated" - yet he has a sardine can style setup and total gravel lot.  It looks ridiculous from my perspective.  

In other words, I have ramped up the rhetoric.  It's all true, I'm not making anything up, but it's much more - enhanced? - lol than anything I have posted so far.  

Now, I have a lot more money coming in if everyone shows up plus the beginning of the month coming up, I should be able to pay myself a couple thousand dollars even after paying the ridiculously high electric bill and stave off the creditors for a while longer.  No, I'm not in default on anything, I'm just saying I hopefully don't have to worry about finances for a while.  

I don't know if it was changing the wording on the Google business site, Facebook, Facebook ads - no idea, but something worked.  As I have said many times, I am new to this, have never owned a business before and well, I'm learning.  It could be I'm getting calls because other parks are full as well? The one I went to yesterday was crammed full of rv's. I'm thinking of having someone call them and see what their rates are, they aren't posted online.  I'd call myself, but I have a distinctive voice - or so I have been told repeatedly - and I don't know if these people have called me in disguise asking about my rates as well.  

I don't really get the idea of not posting your rates excepting to say that perhaps that's how they get people in.  They lowball.  Cut their rates just enough to eliminate the competition out of any given person's mind as to who has the lowest rates.  After taking a tour of all of the parks in the area, most of them now do not have their prices listed.  Scratching my head still, I can guess but I just don't know the point of it.  My research suggests people want it right up front: how much it's going to cost per night, week or month and what amenities are available.  

There were only 3 other parks out of all of them in this area that have their price listed. The 2 major parks owned by the same company are what I usually base my rates off of.  

Well whatever.  It's time to get moving.  The 8 year old wants to work, allegedly. I don't want the other 2 with me today. If the 8 year is going to work, that's what he's going for, otherwise, he can stay home.  I don't need the constant distractions to getting stuff done. Show him exactly what I want done - which I already have in mind - and then let him get with it.  Otherwise, I have to go through that RV and see if I can get all of this figured out so they can move in - tho I think they want to move in whether everything is working or not.  I'll be going to Lowe's today to get a sewer hose and I will have to alter the paperwork to reflect spending more money on it.  I want them to pay for all of this stuff, not me.  

Doesn't sound fair? Well, I'm not charging them interest, saving them a truckload of money. They would probably get an interest rate in the high 20's if they were even given the opportunity to get a line of credit to buy a used RV.  It's nothing different than going to a used car lot. They jack the price way up and they charge you a ton of interest. If you make all the payments, you have paid double or more what you would have paid if you could have gone to a private seller or a new car dealer. It's a racket and I'm trying my best to keep some standard of ethics in my business dealings. 

Anyway, time to go!

G'day

 So, my advertising will take a twist.  I visited one of the "main" competitors today.  It's a small plot of land with as many spaces as they could cram in there. And when I saw crammed, I mean crammed.  The RV's are so close together they barely fit into the intended lots.  It's got 30 rv's in there, I can only assume they are charging less to get more in.  They make their money off of quantity, not quality.  Lots of RV parks do this and older ones especially are all made the same way: a giant sardine can style setup.

There was literally nothing appealing about the place at all.  It isn't close or convenient to anything in town.  The nearest grocery store is something like 5 miles away.  It's right next to a busy highway, lots of road noise.  But, there are people that will take a lower price over any amenities and that's fine, they can stay there. But my next ad will refer to the fact that I have much larger spaces than "anyone else in town" because as far as I can see it, that's definitely true.  

They probably lose their @$$ during the summer with high electric bills and mitigate it with decreased utility expenditures during fall, winter and spring.  I don't have that luxury at the moment, I need people in there but I'm not going to drastically decrease the price. There will be very little profit in it and I might as well leave them empty.  

I texted tent lady today but she is at work and when she's there, I've found that she has limited time to respond to anything.  All well and fine, let's see what she says later on.  

The trucking company called yet again today.  I answered with the name of my park - I didn't recognize the number.  This time it wasn't the recruiter, it was the person that does the background checks.  He wanted a tax return showing my income for the time I've had the park.  Uhh, sorry. I spent from the time I quit trucking until January getting things ready and then I opened on the 1st of January (I think? No, I think I opened the last week of December but there was no business because it was very bad weather and frigid outside). I don't have a tax return yet for this operation.

Ok, we'll find a way to work around it. They have to do - whatever - to please the FMCSA.  That's the federal government arm that basically dictates drivers' lives.  They want an explanation of why I haven't worked for the past year.  I've worked, I just haven't worked at what you think I should have been working at.  They make it difficult for employers to hire anyone that hasn't been driving recently, I knew that I just didn't know the details of how they make it difficult, now I know.  

Well, when I was looking at this other RV park, I was also looking at a trucking yard filled with semi-tractors.  Lots of them. Like, I wonder if they're hiring?  I saw no sign out there but I'll be looking them up to see if they have any ads for drivers. If they don't, I'll just call them.  

Good news....the man coming from Georgia just called, he said he crossed the Louisiana state line from Mississippi and would be there - I told him 3-1/2 hours lol.  Maybe 4, depends on traffic and how fast he is driving. He's coming in today and will be paying tomorrow.  He says he doesn't like to pay with credit cards because another park charged him for a full month's rent even after he told them he was leaving and gave him advance notice.  They told him they would refund the money - but they never did.  

Okay.  Ad posted for the RV park lots available with new ad and just a post on my business Facebook about the coach being for sale.  If it comes to it, I will post the coach for sale - installment loan only and staying at the park - on Marketplace.  I'm giving her the benefit of a doubt.   

The New Jersey people gave me $25 today.  Well, they're trying.  Many places wouldn't allow such leeway, I'm seeing if they'll be able to come up with the money either here and there making payments or just come up with the money out of her monthly disability. I have no idea how much money she gets.  

________

I'm all of a sudden getting inundated with requests.  With the guy coming in today, the 2 short term guests staying 7 and 9 days respectively and now another guy coming in Sunday, I will be temporarily full.  In fact, I have a scheduling glitch.  An overnighter that I won't have any place to put - but they aren't coming for another 9 days.  I am going to contact that guy that is leaving and ask if he has an update on his departure date. I also have another guy that wants to move in.  This all just came up out of the blue.  Literally. Out-of-the-blue. I haven't seen anything like this for quite a while.  

Well. That is a pleasing turn of events.  This takes a lot of pressure off of me for paying bills until I can get the trucking job.  I'll cancel overnighters for long term as long as the overnighters get a good time frame to make other arrangements.  That's the RV park industry and it's nothing new.  I don't have a problem with it, I'm more interested in long term renters that are going to stick around a while than a one night stay that leaves the lot empty.  I've completely converted my thinking to long term. I'd have all long term if I could and be done with it. 

I've thrown Hipcamp out the window. It didn't pan out.  I never ran the power out there, I ran ads with the ability to get power out there and I didn't get any nibbles at that.  As tent camping, maybe it's just not the time of year for that, way too hot.  Maybe this region just isn't the kind of place hippers want to come to. 

I haven't exactly thrown tent camping out the window, but I would say, however, this isn't exactly the time of year to be tent camping.  Near 100 degree days, it does cool down at night fairly decently.  Maybe I'll try to pick that back up in the fall when it cools down during the daytime as well.  I'll have the mulcher guy come back out and spend half a day cleaning out the trails.  Yes, after I get another trucking job to pay for it.  I did get an inquiry for a weekend deal for some dude that wants to have a bunch of friends with several tents. I do have a cleared out area that the weeds haven't overtaken back there.  I told him I'd let him take the site for free in exchange for a Google review.  

You mean you won't charge anything? No.  Just trying to get the word out.  I could have lots of camping back there if there was any interest.  

I'm not sure if this dude showed up tonight or not. The outdoor camera is rather fickle in picking up passing vehicles. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.  

Oh, the dude that has been saying he is leaving? Yeah, he's not leaving.  I contacted him, he replied that he started working for a different company on the same job and that he's staying for several more months and then asked if he needs to find a new place? Uh, no?  I don't throw people out to bring in more, especially if they're staying awhile? lol.  So, unless someone is leaving that I don't know about, I'm going to have to cancel an overnighter.

However.  The people in the purple camper. I have no idea what they are doing, their week is over with tomorrow. Well, okay, they're good through the next morning when they would have to leave.  I'll be over there discussing their intentions.  They can stay and pay or leave.  The only thing I know is, that dude is not out looking for a job. They don't go anywhere. If they do, I don't see it and trust me, I'm looking.  

There is the idea that the New Jersey people need to be moved behind the shed.  I don't know if the shed power can take the strain.  I could run another line from lot 14 and power it tho. I have the line, it's been sitting there for a while, it was intended for HipCamp, I could put this - rather old and worn out stuff - in the back.  Park it next to my old rv, install another sewer outlet and call it good.  It's really a workable idea, I think.

In fact, I'm going to serious consider it.  I don't need to dig a deep trench like I had to for the sewer line running over there. A simple trenching machine rental for the 4 hours would easily do it.  In fact, remove my RV from the shed power and put it and this other thing on a separate system. I have plenty of water supply and my sewer system will be good. I have enough people that spend so little time in their rv's on a daily basis that these 2 units added to the system aren't going to overload it.  And I'm quite confident of my sewer line work now, if it were going to back up, it would have done it a long time ago.  Plus, I know what I'm doing with attaching another line to 14.  It's the closest electrical outlet that I can hook aluminum, underground wiring up to. Lot 1 is too far away.  Well, I'd have to measure it, maybe, but it doesn't matter which of them I take it off of.  

I've had no signs of overload on the electrical system for everything I am asking out of it.  All 14 lots can have AC units running continually plus the shed and it just does it's thing.  However.  If I run the line off lot 1, I place less load on the west side lot electrical system. It's 2 separate systems.  Actually, I'm sure I could run it off of lot 1 and that would make more sense.

I could have this done pretty quick. I have the line, rent the machine, get it over to behind the shed, put up a small panel with 8 outlets, now I have ample power for the rear of the shed and not drawing off of the shed power.  

I am new to this industry.  Business comes and goes.  I'm looking for those long term that are actually - long term. Like, we're here for a year. Or better, they aren't here just for work, they are here to live here in this area.  I'll tell ya what, those 3 oil field workers that showed up 5 months ago and show no signs of going anywhere have been a monthly boon to my bottom line.  I still want to approach the older guy about another $25 per month for his brand new, 3 AC covered 5th wheel. He easily spent 100k on that thing.  

My mind is working overtime again.  How do I get all of these people in here at the same time?  I need money, folks, I need to pay my bills.  I've been working with empty lots for a while, when the opportunity arises itself to provide some decent income, I'm going to think of ways to get this thing rolling.  

It's getting late. Need to go to bed. I can think all this stuff through tomorrow.

 Wednesday- morning

Time to go over there and install that carpet.  Well, I left the water pressure on on that thing yesterday, kind of wonder if I should have done that.  I guess I'll find out soon enough.  If it can hold pressure this long it's good to go.  The park doesn't have a lack of good water pressure, I can tell ya that for sure.

Now, just an aside here: Hunter Biden.  Do you think this plea bargain is fair?  Do you think if there were no politics in this situation or if his father was a Republican politician, the same thing would happen?  The more the Bidens are being investigated, the more it appears that Joe Biden is corrupted.  That he's for sale to the highest bidder from whatever country and that his priorities are skewed.  

If the House wasn't controlled by Republicans, none of this investigation would be going on and it would be life as normal for them.  Will Biden be impeached? Uhh, it is a good possibility since the House is controlled by republicans, tho I have heard that not all Republicans agree with it - yet.  McCarthy has changed course on his stance, drawing a line and saying if it's crossed, then he'll push for impeachment. The line is allegedly if the parties involved stop answering questions. I'm thinking this thing is headed towards impeachment, yes.

Would he be removed? Not likely.  Senate controlled by Democrats with the VP having the decisive vote, it won't happen.  I don't even think Manchin would cross the aisle, even if he thought Biden should be removed.  When is the last time you have seen McConnell doing any interviews with any news outlets or saying anything publicly that was worth noting in the media?  It's been a couple of months as far as I can remember.  IMO, McConnell is a RINO. 

Whatever.  I can understand why some people want nothing to do with politics.  When you look at the broad scope of it, most senators and representatives are extremely selfish, self-serving and get into Congress to line their pockets with cash, not just Biden.  

___________

Installment loan contract printed.  Includes caveat the motor coach will not be removed from the premises until the coach is fully paid for.  Most of the money I will "make" off of this thing will be lot rent.  25 month agreement.  Longer than I wanted but I'm not going to eat anything.  It's not really that long in terms of the world of financing tho.  

Well, I have 3 kids in-tow atm as Taylor is at a previous employer doing some work for them.  They miss her, she hasn't been there in years now, but they have decided they will just cut her a check for coming in and making diagrams for proposed new contracts.  That's going to work without being employed by the employer, sort of. I would love that.  You know, drive when I want to and come home when I want to? Lmao, yea that doesn't happen in the trucking world.  

Anyway, I need to get moving.

G'day

 Why does a relatively simple-looking job turn into an all day affair?  Ridiculous.  I put the setup together that I had gotten from Lowe's, only to have one of the shark bite fittings leak. They aren't supposed to do that, obviously and it's the first one I've used thus far that popped a leak on it.  I ended up taking the man at Lowe's suggestion and driving clear to Longview to a mobile home supply repair and parts shop that did, indeed, have the parts I needed.  

And then, it was quite the job to try and install that mess into that tight space.  It took forever.  When I finally got it in there correctly, I held my breath, turn the water on and .... nothing! Which is exactly what I wanted. Nothing to happen. No leaks anywhere that I can see.  I sat there for quite a while, just hoping that nothing would pop off and start leaking again.  

Nothing did, I tried all the outlets, everything working, I was happy with it, time to move onto other things in that rv.  

They want to move in tomorrow and have the money to make it happen. They being the tent people. Which means I need to come up with a total price and a contract that the will, indeed, sign.  She actually has half the first month's payment, this is what I offered her - twice monthly payments.  So, that is my job this evening, seeing what I can find that has all the legaleze, add my caveats to it and get them to sign it.  

If they don't sign it - they aren't getting it, plain and simple.  I want them to understand that I am not going to be responsible for any repairs after they take possession of the unit.  The AC is brand new, the most expensive thing in that unit, they are good there and there is plenty of hot season left.  Whether furnace works, who knows. Does the propane stove and oven work? Who knows.  I haven't gotten that far. One thing at a time with me and I also get diverted to doing other things.  

I also took the New Jersey people to the hospital today.  She has rheumatoid arthritis and you can see the pain in her face. Her hands are basically fused together.  Most people would just go to a doctor, but poor people go to a hospital.  I don't know if they have any kind of insurance.  She was going to go the other day but whoever she had taking her never showed up to the point that she hunted me down and very politely asked if I could take her.  Of course, what am I going to say? I'm too busy? I thought about offering a ride back but just left it alone and then, later on, messaged her that if she needs a ride, I could, indeed, come get her.  Oh, anyway, this lady is in so much pain that she actually wakes up screaming at night.  

I figure it's probably heavy duty meds to ease that kind of pain.  I'd like her to go deal with it next time before it gets to the screaming stage. 

I figured out that if I get all the money I am owed in, providing no one but that dude that is leaving, leaves, I should be good next month.  

Wait. I don't know if the people in the purple coach are staying or going. They only paid for a week.  I haven't seen them leave that thing besides going to the bathroom since they arrived. They only have that coach and the man has a bicycle.  He was going to go find work, but from what I've seen, they aren't doing anything but hanging out inside that thing.  None of my business excepting if they're staying, which they alluded to, they are going to need the finances to pay for the lot.  I don't care if they pay in increments or monthly all at once or what, but their week is going to be up soon and I will be visiting them.

It won't be shocking if they move to one of the cheaper parks.  Not that I want them to, of course.

The trucking company called again today.  After chit chatting, are we still good for this job? Yes.  I don't have any reason to tell them anything else unless I find something better.  They haven't spent anything on me other than paying a recruiter, which is their problem and expense long before I ever came along.  Apparently I passed their department's background checks.  Again. I have no qualms telling them that I've found something better, if that does, indeed, become the case. As it stands, I'll have to spend up to 3 weeks in Oregon.  Not necessarily the worst thing in the world, I guess. 

She asked me how long I figured I would work for them? Probably 2 to 3 years.  No telling for sure, I need to pay down some debt and get at least 15 more spaces in there plus upgrades.  And I want it done in time for the new Interstate they will start building through here in a couple of years.  You can't stay for 5? Uhh, probably not.  She went on with that for awhile before she began laughing. 2 years is great! Lol, ok!

I'm taking a pay cut doing this job. And once again, I forgot to ask her about the daily schedule, how many hours a day I will likely spend doing this job and does it require 7 days a week?  I keep forgetting because she keeps calling at the most inopportune times. She called while I was in the middle of putting the new line assembly together in the RV.  The RV - I"m going to set it at 25 months worth of payments. They can, of course, get up and walk away from it if they decide they want to, but I keep the RV and they get nothing.   

Anyway, if it's only 8 hours a day, it won't be a pay cut per se.  Just a lot less hours than what I was doing before.  Which would be very fine by me, as long as I can pay at least $1,500 per month on my debt load on top of everything else.  In fact, just let the profits from the business sit in the business account.  If I do that, I don't pay any taxes on it.  No income tax if there is no income, lol.  

 Saturday, a 7 day stay coming in and Sunday, a 9 day stay.  The man from Georgia called again, I had written him off, figured he'd found a different place to hang his hat.  Not so.  He started telling me about the managers of the park he is currently in, I had to chuckle. It wasn't actually funny, but it was so non-sensical that it just came off like something you would hear at a comedy show.   Overbearing, intrusive, threatening.  I get that parks have rules and guests should at least make an attempt to adhere to them, but getting angry and having temper tantrums serves no useful purpose and will get you a bad reputation. 

Ok, I will say that if the same person has been informed of the same violation repeatedly and it's a serious violation, I can see a person's temper raising a bit.  There is probably more to the story than he is telling me.  Unless he's really bad, I doubt I'd have a problem with him.  Most people will comply after you tell them once, the tent lady being a bit different in bringing that dog in my shed after telling her I don't want that dog in my shed.  I told the New Jersey people to get that tarp off of their unit, it makes it look trashy even tho they had it very nicely laid out on it and securely tightened down. 

It was supposed to be a temporary thing, I put my foot down after they came back and informed them they need to take that off of there.  

Anyway, he says "within the next week, they haven't given me a confirmed date yet, but I will be leaving here, do you still have lots available?". The answer, of course, is yes.

These other people contacted me again from the town about 50 miles north of here.  Well, we can't come until August now because we can't find anyone to move our trailer.  Well I can find someone for you, it will cost you around $300, but that's what everyone charges.  I made it clear that I am not moving their trailer for free (and really, I don't want to).  I also suggested a person that does it for a living and charges $3 per mile.  But there is probably a minimum he charges since the mileage won't be that much.  He would probably be able to crank that slide-out back in, but that will undoubtedly be an extra fee. 

I had another guy call, but it was obvious he didn't like my price.  I think the cheapest place is $350 per month but it's trailer trash at it's finest.  You can see piles of junk laying outside of people's trailers, something I couldn't stand.  No one will get away with that in my park, or not for long anyway. I will have them clean it up or I will have them leaving.  It's as simple as that.  Regardless, I am not lowering my prices any more than they already are, I'll give out specials but just money off the first month's rent. After that, they pull full price and I'll think nothing of it.

Just saw my current electric bills. The highest electric bills I have ever seen. And the reason I haven't paid myself anything.  It's extraordinarily high, but it's been quite hot and people don't care what temp they set their ac's at all day long.  Many of the units the compressors are on all day and they say it is just ok, ie: barely keeping it cool.  But I think what is "shocking" about is the fact that power was off 5 full days, so I figured the bill wouldn't be quite so bad.  

I was quite wrong.  I had this feeling the bill would be high, hence I didn't pay myself.  What I would like after the first full year is up is to have the bill equalized so that you pay the same amount every month.  That would bring it down quite a bit and I'd rather just have the same bill than this stuff where it's all over the place. Next month/August will be bad as well. What can I do?  If I install power meters and charge separately - even if I lowed my monthly rent rate - they will just leave for the parks that don't meter it. Which is all of them around here.  

Even if they don't equalize it for business - or especially an RV park - I can equalize it myself. Take a year's worth of bills, divide by 12 and there it is.  My shed probably isn't help anything with the power bill, but instead of paying the machines off early, I am just going to allocate that money towards the power bills instead.  My machine payment is a set amount and it won't go on forever.  I really need to find someone in the business that can come out and change the pricing on one of the machines. I want $3 per load instead of the $2.50 it's currently at.  My prices are lower than the laundromats, but not by design.  They came set that way.

Well, anyway, the only way I'm going to get that RV ready to sell is to keep working on it, get this water thing done and over with and start looking at other things.  

Oh, I forgot.  The power company raised their rates.  Everyone locally was complaining about their bill going way up.  Ours went down, but that's because they installed a brand new central AC unit which is much more efficient than the old thing that was in there.  People were getting angry, however, because they raised the rate yet the power goes out at every little storm.  Like, if we're going to pay that much, keep the damn power on.

And I can see a lot of potential along 43 for more outages. There are a large number of trees where the power line is buried in the branches, large trees that can easily topple the lines/poles once again.  In several places, the tree branches are pushing the power lines down.  They don't trim those trees? We're in for more power outages.  

And the guy calling from Oregon asking if I know of a water truck delivery service.  Telling me they are going to be working on the shutdown of the Pirkey power plant.  Yup, it's toast.  I don't know if they shut it down yet or not, but it's definitely going to be shut down and soon. These people are going to take up to 2 years to complete the entire shut down process, whatever that entails.  The significance is obviously that the power grid, which authorities say is already getting pushed to the limits, isn't getting any better by shutting down these evil, coal-fired plants.  And the WH - telling us that they are pushing to get rid of gas water heaters, dryers and stoves.  Or force manufacturers to make costly upgrades to them to make them environmentally acceptable. 

If a Republican gets into office, all of this nonsense will be wiped off the board only to have it come back with whoever the next, progressive/communist president will be.  California basically dictating to the nation what climate change policies will be enacted.  It's unbelievable.  However, who knows if Biden will serve out his term? By force of age and cognitive decline or the ever-growing pile of evidence against him concerning Burisma and his son.  I watch this with amazement, for if democrats went by the same logic they used with Trump, Joe Biden would not only be impeached, he would be labeled a traitor.  

Whatever the case, I don't really want any kids with me today. I want to get stuff done and they are a hindrance often-times to progress. I have to give them phones to play with to keep them engaged.  Well, mom's home today, no schedule and they can stay home and do whatever.  

Yes, the more I think of it, the more I am selling to myself the idea that I need to get the rate changed for the dryer in the shed.  It's at $1.00 and that's just not flying. With the AC, water heater and the dryer, I don't even know if I'm breaking even, I have no way of knowing how much power that shed is using.  It wasn't intended to be a money maker anyway, but I want to break even in there.  

The only good thing is that the worst of summer will be over in maybe a month and a half? A month?  The worst of the heat I should say.  I intend on installing one of those heat exchange boxes (whatever they call them) that allows the heated air from the dryer to go into the shed for winter.  That way, the place is heated by virtue of the dryer instead of paying even more to heat the shed.  

The park is slowly - ever so slowly - filling back up. There is only 1 more person that is leaving - sooner or later. I thought he'd already been gone by now.  I won't owe him anything for pro-rated return of money for days not used. It's almost the end of the month.  

Well, enough. I'll just wait until I get payments in before paying those electric bills. And then I will pay myself something.  I don't know how much, but it will be something.  My business finances are low because so many people left.  I got partial payments from some of them that stayed for another week after telling me they are leaving, but it was nothing near the full lot rent amount.  

There is really no way to live off of this income.. I need double the spaces and keep them full or mostly full.  The income off of each lot isn't high and I need enough lots to make it add up to a decent salary.

 This dude calls me today.  After I said hello, he said as if he just remembered, "Oh, is the park off of 43?". Yes, on a side street a mile back.  

He goes into the long bit***** session about how the road to my park is "bumpy", he drove through, there was a "handful" of trailers in there, yada yada yada.  The temptation to tell him to stick it where the sun don't shine was strong. Why did he even bother to call?  "Well how much are you charging?" after all of that, as if he didn't know.  I replied the price and he muttered something. I said, well, that's the going rate around here.  

The road to my park is not "bumpy" The county gives it priority for no known reason, tho I suspect because "old money" lives there and they have a lot of say in what goes on.  It's well taken care of, sometimes their repairs could stand a little better job, but it isn't a bad road.  I did correct him on the "handful" of trailers. "It's only a 14 spot park and there are 10 trailers in here right now".  The guy just says oh, ok, bye.  Yeah, you could have saved yourself the phone call.  

I figured he wanted a lower price, I am not going to go lower excepting the first month $100 off, which I did offer him.  These people want to go out and spend the kind of money it costs to build a park? They can charge whatever they want.  My daily rates are cheaper than everyone, my weekly rates the same, my monthly rates are at the bottom of everyone else's rates save a couple of trailer trash joints.  It's whatever to me, I'm not going to just basically give the lot away, making low profit because some dude is too cheap to pay the going rate around here.  He can go live at the trailer trash places, that's his choice.  

The way that he was talking? I don't need people like that anyway. They will find ways  to moan, groan and complain about everything even if  you give them a reduced rate.  

Anyway, it's the end of Sunday. We went to church this morning, it was good tho I don't agree with some of the pastor's teachings.  No-one is forcing me to go, but I really thing he isn't taking the Word into context on a few rather important topics.  For example, he doesn't believe you should tell people about repentance when you are talking to people about Christ. 

He used the woman at the well as an example of where he never said anything about repentance.  All well and fine, but there is another example where the Pharisees brought a woman that had been caught in adultery and asked Jesus what he would do.  Skipping everything, he told the woman: "And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go [k]and sin no more.”

Go and sin no more.  Sounds to me like he's telling her to stop committing adultery?  I could be wrong, don't claim to be a Bible scholar, but I was brought up in the Christian faith with much different teachings.  Who is right? Who is wrong? If we sin, yet we have eternal life by just believing, then does it matter if we sin? Clearly it does, if nothing else, for the direction and purpose that God has for our lives.  I apply this stuff more to me than I look outward applying it to anyone else.  I used to be the opposite, but the scripture about taking "the log out of your own eye so you can see the speck in your brother's eye" began to take a bit more hold of me as I grew older and realized that I am certainly not a perfect specimen with no sin. 

Now, in my view, you can't change the Gospel.  If you start saying something other than Christ came, died, rose again, shed his blood to cleanse away our sin or that we have to do "works" for salvation, you have lost me.  So I kind of just sat there and listened to him this morning and just inwardly thought, I really don't agree with some of this, but nothing to start some sort of altercation over.

Whatever the case, I did much of nothing today.  Yes, I went over to the park, pulled off the outside camera and put it on the charger, that's all I did over there.  It's ridiculous to have cameras that have to be recharged, I didn't know that when I bought them Or rented them? I need to call TMobile and get this worked out.  I may return them and just buy cameras.  Not that I can afford that right now, but these cameras have issues. First, the battery instead of just plugging it in.  

Second, it takes a while to get the cameras showing anything on the app. Third, these cameras are $20 a piece per month and then I find out to have any of the options you need, you also have to pay the company that manufactured the cameras - Arlo in this case - $10 for basic service. More if you want everything.  The Nest cameras we have are over $300 a piece, but then it's $5 per month for everything.  I can't imagine not having cameras over there.  So, for these cameras I now have, it's $60 per month for the camera rental and the option of having anything on them, such as recordings of "events", which is when people or vehicles come into it's view and records. That is the whole purpose of having them, look at the events if something is awry and figure out what happened. Our Nest cameras have 24 hour recording, these only show the events.  

The weeds growing all over the septic system are all but dead now. I am just waiting until they are completely dead, roots and all, before pulling them.  And then, pay more attention to it from now on.  Keep that area clear of weeds and anything for that matter so there is access to it.  The septic system is a the far end of the park and near the west side property line.  Just haven't been paying attention to it.  I have been preoccupied with getting the shed down and this grass situation, plus fixing other things, cutting down weeds, getting machinery fixed and now I need to go shovel more dirt and fill in the potholes I filled in a few weeks ago.

It rained shortly after I filled them up. Mud, just plopped out when people drove over it.  If it had had a chance to dry, it would have lasted.  They didn't empty completely out, tho and the dried out dirt is staying. They just need filled up to level again.  It doesn't appear like it's going to rain any time soon, unfortunately.  Helpful for the project, seriously not helpful for the grass I would like to plant.  

Whatever, like I said in another post, I am not stressing over grass. Even this dude today didn't say anything about grass.  He was basically just trying to get me to succumb to his whining and bring down the price.  

I have noticed that several RV parks in my area have taken down their rates and you either have to fill out a form for a "quote" or you have to call them.  The 2 big parks have their rates listed. I read another one that said "we have the best rates in the area".  $395 per month for long term - I charge $400 30 amp and $425 50 amp.  But his daily and weekly rates don't beat mine, in fact, one that has their prices listed does.  One of them that doesn't have their rates listed proclaims they have the best park in the area, well maintained, yada yada yada, then you look at the pics, it's just a giant gravel parking lot.  It also has a reputation for theft/crime.  

Whatever.  I am not coming down on my rates but I may change the verbiage on my website.  I have the best rates for exceptional parks in the area, I am the closest park to everything (which is definitely true) and whatever else I can think of.  

Yup, I'm going to rethink the wording on there and get with it. 

 Before everyone got home, I decided I wanted to go see this movie that has all kinds of people going off on it or praising it, all for political reasons from what I can see. Cry Of Freedom revolves around a man who is an agent for the Department of Homeland Security who is tasked with finding pedophiles/unearthing sex slave trade operators and victims.  

I will be frank and I'm sure my conservative friends won't like me take, but I thought the movie was boring, monotonous, tepid and could have a far better storyline and acting for that matter.  But that's me, I don't typically go to movies to see docudrama. I go for action/adventure/horror stuff. I like some drama stuff as well, but only if it has a good chunk of action in it.  

I already know there is a huge sex slave trade going on all over the world and I already knew the US is the biggest country that it's going on in.  If the movie was to raise awareness, all well and fine.  I didn't see any Qanon themes in it and really didn't see much of a political take going on.  It was a man driven to save a little girl and he went to the ends of the earth to find her and free her.  

Anyway, I got my stuff done today excepting the socks. They are in the dryer. Everything else is done besides a large carpet that I had to drape outside to dry.  My room smells nice and fresh.  That was the goal.  Get it done before all these kids get here - it's 3 of them again - and before everyone starts using the laundry.  

So, the day was spent cleaning, making home made picante sauce (it turned out pretty good) and a giant pot of spaghetti sauce, no spaghetti noodles. I have that to eat for a while to come : )

There isn't much else going on and I'm out.  

 So it's a father and son that pulled in that small 5th wheel last night.  I went over there a while ago to collect rent and they just called me in, the door is open! Ok? I heard a life story and then some.  Not going into all the details, but the reason he chose my park is because they are both broke, he was on the verge of bankruptcy, told his banker/friend that and then this job came along.  

He said he was talking with another friend - who is pretty much wealthy - saying he needed to come down here to work and...well who know what he said to his friend? His friend pulled out $300, handed it to him and wished him well.  That's a nice friend.  

There is much more to their story than this, that's all I really feel like writing about. How much of the story can you believe? Well, I dunno.  Maybe it's all true. Maybe there is exaggeration?  He handed me the cash, the son is a really nice guy and the father is a talker.  I was happy to get the money, they were happy to have a place to stay.  

_________________

That was last night.  Now Saturday - morning - started early but it's getting closer to noon now.  I decided to do all of my laundry - and I do mean all of it including my bedding, dog bedding, all clothing, towels -whatever - before they come home today.  They will undoubtedly have tons of laundry to do and I figured now is the perfect time to do it.  I've still got 3 load to do.  

I also scrubbed down the kitchen and fixing to hang now-cleaned/dried clothes and then go through the refrigerator and throw out old leftovers that have gone beyond any date that I would continue eating them. I was eating that spaghetti sauce for 7 days and almost finished it.  The rest is going in the trash.  Same with the roast, ate all the meat and a lot of the veggies, the rest of that going in the trash as well.  There are no other leftovers in there, I've been eating them.  As I said, my days of endless eating out are over with, at least for now, maybe a once a week outing to Chili's or Applebee's after church.  

It is fiscally irresponsible for me to be eating out when I am facing the finances I am facing and trying to hold off until the middle of September. Actually, the end of September, for if I go for that job, it's at least a couple of weeks before you see your first paycheck. 

I need 2 more long term tenants immediately.  So, to that end, I will run another Facebook ad boost.  The other guy that was going to be coming? I am assuming he found other accommodations, he never showed up.  These other people that wanted me to move their trailer I haven't heard from and I'm not necessarily interested in them coming here anyway.  I just don't have a good feeling about them and I already have "special" people in the park.  You know, the ones who feel like they don't need to follow the clearly written and understandable rules?  Especially the tent lady still taking that dog into the amenities shed. She agreed to not take that dog in there anymore. 

The only factor that diminishes the "severity" of her breaking the rules is that she does it late at night. Still, I have new tenants now that will add to the load there and I have no idea what their schedule is.  They have a water leak problem and they are using the shower in the shed.  It's the idea that she agreed not to have that dog in there - it growls at everyone - and then she just started bringing him in with her again. It makes me want to throw her out, that is my "knee-jerk" reaction.  I didn't act on that impulse, of course, I have had to learn how to just keep my mouth shut in situations that are less than pleasant and give it time to let any emotions cool down and deal with things in a rational manner.  

Apparently the kids are already at each other's throats and they haven't even left yet, lol.  7-1/2 hour drive, I can only hope for their sake that the kids fall asleep and just sort of - stay that way.  I don't envy them, but again, I didn't get to go on a huge adventure checking out all kinds of cool looking attractions and natural wonders (caves).  Jealous? Not really, more like "left out".  But, they were visiting grandma and grandpa on the first leg of the trip and I don't particularly care for them after hearing their rhetoric for a couple of years, they definitely don't care for me.  I'm not one of her subjects and her mouth gets her into trouble - a lot.  

The second leg and where they have been for the majority of this trip is at one of Taylor's relatives' house, people I don't know and so there were obvious reasons for me not to go on this particular trip.  So, that completely mitigates my not going but still, they had a lot of fun and the pics show it.  The downside is what they are facing now, a long drive home.  Frankly, it wouldn't have been good for me to leave anyway considering new people coming in and collecting money and feeling them out to see how long they are staying.  

The kitchen is now spic and span, laundry is on-going, I do need to go over there while laundry is doing it's thing and check the bathroom and stuff. You know, people blowing up in the toilet and not cleaning it after being done? I should be cleaning it on a daily basis anyway.  I'm going to replace the soft cushion toilet seat - what the toilet came with - for a hard one that cleans easier and doesn't hide - poop to be blunt - in little crevices and hard to clean out.  

No new reservations.  I neither expect nor not expect them. I just hope they come in.  A few are better than none.  The 17 days worth coming up definitely helps, but more would be better.  

Time to go to the property. See what, if anything, is up.

G'day

 I've been feeding Addler (my Great Dane) Iams Minichunks Chicken kibble for many years now . It was something like $25 per 30 pound bag when I first started him on it.  It kept going up until it hit $32 and then it stayed there for a while. Then, inflation hit. It jumped up to $41 per bag and now it's up to $46.  Yes, I went to Walmart, Target, Chewy, Amazon, all of them looking at pricing.  It's getting out of hand.  I don't know how they justify raising the price that high, I'm sure they'll cite inflation and high cost of everything, but a $14 jump in price in a short period of time?  

Anyway, I'm down to the last bag. I had it on auto-ship with Chewy and ended up with 5 extra bags laying around, shipping far too many for the amount the dog actually eats.  So I've had quite a reprieve from having to buy his food.  But this is getting ridiculous.  Sigh, I'll keep buying it but if it goes up much higher, I'm going to have to consider putting him on something different.  

_________

Went back to the property, sprayed 8 gallons of weed killer in areas that desperately needed it - especially my septic system, gag.  3 to 5 foot tall weeds growing over there! I sprayed almost 2 whole gallons just on that area alone.  Got some of the areas where I had already tilled and the weeds were coming back.  

I'm in kind of a dilemma. I've got 6 lots that were tilled.  Just let them go?  Buy 6 pallets of sod and just do them?  Higher price, by far, per pallet when buying less than truckload.  Or wait until it rains?

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Friday - morning.  I was informed last night that it will "probably be Saturday", citing the lack of motivation or desire to have to drive 7-1/2 hours with screaming kids fighting with each other.  I already knew this was coming, didn't know it would happen so soon. They were going on outings to fun places every day for .. a week? ... in a row and yesterday, kablaaaaam!  That was over and done with.  The kids were at each other's throats, whining, etc.  It is highly predictable aftermath after having had gone full tilt for so long, there is going to be a crash at the end where you are just doing what every one does - much of nothing, basic life, sitting around, the extreme adventure, the excitement of going to wonderful places is done, over with and gone. 

I wouldn't have wanted to go on that trip unless it were in my vehicle, which can comfortably seat 6 people without scrunching kids/people in. 2 front seats, 2 second row, 2 back row.  Or, if the kids all want to sit together, 3 back row and 1 middle row.  

Anyway...the new tenant did, indeed, show up last night.  He called several times. I had just left, in fact, when he arrived.  I missed him by maybe 5 minutes.  "Well, do you want to come back so I can pay?"

No, I replied, I just left there, I was hot and sweaty, I'm home cooling down. Pick whichever lot you want.  I think they think it strange that I don't just assign them a lot.  I don't care what lot they take, if there is a reservation for that particular lot, the reservation can be moved to another lot. Happens all the time in the RV park industry and people don't necessarily pick a particular lot, they just input one so they can make the reservation.  

There are people coming the end of next week.  Those lots are reserved already, no one can make a fresh reservation on them.  I have 2 lots available for long term right now after this newbie arrived and another one will be leaving - soon.  No idea when, he doesn't know, he was thinking he should have already left.  The longer he stays, the lower the refund.  I agreed to let him pay for a month and give him pro-rated refund.  So, now that the month is whittling away, the refund will be fairly small if he does, indeed leave before the end of the month. 

The heat is apparently making some of those RV's uncomfortable in midday, even with 2 ac units on the roof.  This is why I have such high electric bills - those ac's compressors are running all day long currently.  I'm still waiting to see what the next electric bill will be, it will by force of issue have to be lower than last month. Fewer RV's for one and 5 days, I think it was at the property, without power.  It should be less than a grand.  Hopefully a lot less, but I like to prepare myself psychologically for a high bill.

Agenda today? I still have that leaking water spigot to fix.  I have the parts now, including a new shut off valve in case it happens again, I won't have to shut off the water to the entire park for an hour.  I really don't have much choice in that. Once the water is off, then I can cut the line and install the valve. Unfortunately, you have to give that glue time to dry and set.  You can't just turn full pressure back on and expect that fitting is going to be good to go.  It'll be good to go alright, blasting right back off the pipe you just glued it to.  It's an inconvenience but what am I to do? Sit there and watch dollar bills dripping onto the ground? I should have already done that but I've gotten distracted with weeds. There is still the entire area behind the back-in sites to mow down.

Don't know if I'm going to do all of that with a push mower.  Take half a day.  Yet, the weeds are growing quickly and over a foot tall already.  Well, a foot and a half tall. As it stands, when I went back over there last night, I mosied on over to the septic system. The weeds have taken it over and are as high as 5 feet tall. I'm hoping by this morning they are looking like they are dying off. If they had to work on that system right now? They'd have a rather large undertaking moving giant weeds out of the way to get at it. No thanks, I'll deal with it, whatever that takes. I was a little apprehensive about snakes being in the midst of all of that. Fortunately didn't see any.  

I'm going to have to get the boots on, a pair of gloves and pull a lot of that out of there, but I want it dead first so there isn't any resurgence. I think some of those giant things are going to be hard to pull, tho, I may have to cut them down with a chain saw or something.  It's kind of a priority - if that system fails they can't get at it.  

Every morning now, apparently. The WiFi goes out on the main router.  It's not even hot outside.  The other router is working, I know because I just checked the cameras.  I don't get it, unless there is just too many people on the network and it can't handle all of it. But, that doesn't make sense if the other router is working off of the same network?  So that sort of narrows it down to something wrong with the device itself.  Which means I need to be over there when it's not working so tech support can do whatever they do with them.  As I said, I've racked my brains and done the research to try and find something else, there is nothing affordable and it is what it is.  It seems that resetting the device works, so I told the people that contacted me to go over and shut it off, leave it off a minute and then turn it back on.

No, obviously, I'm not over there.  I went to bed early last night and actually slept, with only a very bad dream waking me up in the middle of the night.  I was so tired,  I just went straight back to sleep.  I'm glad they aren't coming back today, I'll have another night/morning without kids making all kinds of noise.  It's basically many nights in a row where I didn't sleep worth a petunia's smelly leaves and then finally, getting some sleep, you bet I'm going to take advantage of it.  

Now that I think of it, I don't know what waiting another day is going to do for a trip back here? If those kids are cranky, it makes little difference where they're at, lol.  I'll just enjoy another day of freedom fro the bs, especially from the youngest one that starts trouble ... for the fun of starting trouble . 

Well, the day isn't getting any younger. I need to go get a new chainsaw chain and fuel. I have put off cutting trees up and I need to fix that. The chains on both saws are so dull they are hardly cutting through anything, but especially not wanting to cut through dense wood.  The problem? Those chains aren't cheap anymore.  They're in the $30 range, which is simply outrageous.  A year ago they were less than $20?  I'm not even referring to trees over the walking trails, there are small trees that snapped, fell over and need cutting from that same-said storm.  I move them out of the way, yes, but they are unsightly.  Cut them up into firewood sized logs and be done with it.  

Wait. I have that brand new 20" chainsaw from Walmart. Never been used. I brought it home for James to use but he went out and bought an electric thing. Whatever, I'm of the 2 stroke, much more power fan club. IT will have a brand new chain on it, no need to go buy a chain, yayyy! Still need 2 stroke fuel, probably better off buying a 2 gallon can, buy the oil and mix my own much cheaper than the ridiculous price they are charging for pre-mixed fuel.  

Look, everything is being affected by inflation. They say inflation is coming down, well if that's true, the price of everything is not coming down with it and actually still going up. 

September 18th. That's the date the trucking company just told me over the phone is my orientation date.  Can  I last that long? Well, I'll find out.  Take out upcoming, outgoing bill payments but also factor in upcoming, incoming lot payments, including this new person plus 2 short stays that add up to some money? Maybe.  Get a couple more long term in there and definitely.  We're getting close to the end of the month, it might be worth taking out another small-fee Facebook ad.  Even if it could net only one long term, it would be well worth it.

Time to get out of here. 

G'day.  

 I'm getting complaints that the internet isn't working at the park.  It doesn't line up with the fact that I can hook up to my cameras through the internet and it works fine.  That's the one in the shed, the other one I have had 2 complaints it isn't working. I can't hook to the from anywhere but there. I will be going over today and calling T Mobile and see if their support can figure out what's wrong, the signal is definitely good and it's been working all of this time....

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Went over there and checked both units. Both have good signal and both are working.  I spent an hour and a half on the phone with Verizon to see if per chance they might have come up with an unlimited data plan.  Now, they're telling me I can't get service at either location, lmao. 

I have a standing order opened with Starlink. That's where you paid their $99 deposit and you get in line. Their site says that for my area that they are "targeting your area this year" but no time frame. I don't have over 7 grand to run lines for the cable internet and there is nothing else available besides Hughes - which have consistently bad reviews on the service. 

There is nothing else available that I can afford and now shrugging shoulders. T Mobile Gateway works every time I try to look through the cameras.  No WiFi, no camera.  It words most of the time, I can't do anything else right now, they'll have to live with it, get their own provider or find another place to live.  It his highly reported in the RV park industry that many park have poor WiFi - this coming from RV'ers - and that if you want reliable service, you need to get your own.  Starlink has special RV internet, it costs a small fortune but if you really must have internet, that is what I would do. 

It's not ideal by any stretch of the imagination but what else am I to do? It's sort of like the grass, I have to wait until I can do something different.  

Right now, I'm drenched in sweat.  I mowed the large area across from the shed and also behind and beside the shed.  Weeds are ugly. Cut weeds are a lot less ugly.  But it doesn't take long to start sweating profusely in this heat. \

Came home to change and get lunch.  No eating out for a while now.  Eating at home...buy a roast and I can eat off of it for days. Buy a whole chicken and the same result.  A bag of lunchmeat is around $10 and provide probably 5 or 6 sandwiches worth. You can barely get a meal for $10 anywhere.  I take that back, Applebee's has a lunch menu and there are $9.99 options on there.  Fast food maybe.

In other words, eat at home.  

I'm resolved to wait until after the next rain to till the rest of the ground and I'm resolved that internet will probably stay the same as it currently is for some time to come.  

Anything else? Of course, there is always something. I bought the parts yesterday to try and fix the water line on the RV, have yet to tackle that problem.  

It is also wonderful to see overnighters coming in.  I don't count on that income at all. It's whatever I have coming in at the moment from whoever is there that is the only thing I can realistically count.  But, I had a 9 day stay and now I have a 7 day stay coming in.  This is real money and helps pay the bills. And this dude is coming in tonight, or so he said. He's made enough calls, I can at least hope that he's actually showing up.  It's at the first month discounted rate - that money is better than no money.  Plus it's a small trailer so it won't use as much electricity.  

Finally cooled off, go to the park and see if I can find everything to put the water line back together. Everything being that near $80 tool you have to have an the clamps.  I have everything else ready to go. 

 Completely forgot about the doggies outside, they are baking hot. Addler is laying in his bed panting heavily.  Well, it's the worst of the heat and so, they are now inside.  Try not to forget again.  He'll cool off quickly in my room, it's nicely chilled in here.

 Well....

The tiller worked, not great but good enough to spin the blades.  I went to work with it. Quickly found out the ground is much too dry to be tilling it.  I spent an inordinate amount of time with it and got maybe 30 feet in 45 minutes? I can't even imagine how many weeks it would take to till the rest of it at that pace.  I stopped.  When I realized the futility of it, it was time out.  It wasn't going anything near this slow pace when I was tilling right after rains. 

There isn't any real chance of rain around here for a while.  I don't even know what I'm going to do about grass now.  I think when you get to a point like this, you put on the brakes and you don't do anything until a clear picture/answer unfolds.  I'm going to keep looking around for a tractor for rent with a tiller attachment or a plow - disc assembly.  But I'm not going to waste as much money as that sod is going to cost until I have this right. That ground is hard and that is not ideal or even mediocre conditions for planting grass.  It's dried out, I would have to spend a lot of time and money in water just getting the ground moistened up enough to even think about doing that.

So I'm just putting it on hold.  I don't care if it stays on hold until it's time to plant rye grass. 

These people staying for a week showed up today.  It was pretty interesting the thing they were driving. A very old coach painted deep purple.  They paid the $150 and then I listened to their life story. They are poor, basically broke tho she gets disability.  He's going to look for a job,, they want to stay and asked if I could work with them on paying lot rent a couple of days late.  

Don't be confused here, I did collect what they owed me for the next week, but they are talking about staying long term.  Yes, I can wait a couple of days for the lot rent, I replied and they were happy about that.  

The guy that called several times last week wanting to come? Is coming tomorrow.  That helps.  Things might be starting to look up a bit.  A couple more and I'd be sitting in a much better place.

I easily found the water leak on the RV.  Just went inside, went to the approximate location where it was coming outside, found a panel, opened up and walaah. There is a water line going to the shower that came off of the fitting completely. I'm not saying it is going to be an easy fix, but it shouldn't be impossible. Just a very tight space to work with.  

Over to the sign shop, showed up there right as they were leaving? It was 12:30.  Weird. I did, of course, completely forget the stop at Walmart I need to make, oh well. 

Home - let the dogs in, quite hot outside then over to the property, deal with some things and then back home. 

I'm disappointed with the grass situation but I feel like it's out of my hands.  Realistically, I could water all of the remaining lots and get the soil loosened up. Just not interested in the water bill that will come the next month . 

Well. And now received payment from the tent people for 8 days past due and the next 7 days.  See? These people worked out.  I gave them a chance, they flew with it, she found a job and now I think I am comfortable in selling the RV to them.  She's lasted long enough at the new job to determine that they must like her work well enough to keep her around.  She has a really good attitude as well.  I'm very happy for them and I certainly hope the good things happening in their lives continues.  It is probably very much nicer in that air conditioned shed all day long than this ridiculous heat as well.  More reason for her to be motivated to succeed. 

I'm going to bed early. If I'm to stay up half the night, I might as well get whatever sleep I can before then. 

 I've watched series on serial killers and what motivates them, but it's still a foreign phenomenon to me . What would possess a man to just go out an indiscriminately kill strangers they don't even know?  This Gilgo situation is fascinating in that respect.  They expanded the investigation to South Carolina and put up on a map a series of murders that are unsolved that they apparently believe was his doings.  

Trump-DeSantis.  That's all it is in the Republican primary.  The rest of them in the pool have little to no chance of winning the primary.  I don't really care what people think about my views on this in terms of coming out and bashing Trump supporters, calling them a threat to democracy, domestic terrorists, a cult and all the rest of it: I'm voting Trump in the primary.  DeSantis isn't the man for the job right now, IMO. 

And I find it suspicious that the mainstream/legacy media is pushing for DeSantis. These are people that are far left progressives that have no say in what goes on in the Republican party. If they are pushing for a certain candidate, there must be some reason - and not likely a good one - that they want this.  Trump has been through everything, they are pushing to throw him in jail, if you want to solidify a base of supporters, just take the actions that the DOJ and other "government entities" have taken against Trump and continue on with new charges as you go along. 

What I like about Trump is his stance on the world stage. He is not for new wars and he isn't a pushover.  I like his stance with the EPA and other governmental agencies.  I loved when he forced any new bills to remove 2 existing laws before they could implement a new one.  His take on spending - not so great.  But with everything else he did, I'm fine with him.  Maybe Desantis is the man for another election, I'd like to find out why the left is pushing for him so hard before I want to step onto his side.  

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Enough politics, but I am watching it more now since we are basically in the Presidential election cycle.  A lot of things can happen between now and November of next year, I like to follow along with it and watch the developments.  I'd like to see Biden gone. Even if a democrat wins, it's an "anything but Biden" election cycle much like the left treated Trump in the last election. I continue to watch him muddling through press conferences, getting angry, definitely not all there...anyone that would dump their bias and just watch all the times he goes off in these tangents where he is mumbling stuff that is unintelligible should be able to come to grips with the point: there is no way this man can last another 4 years after this coming year is up.  And frankly, he can subject himself to mental acuity testing or whatever they call it just like they demanded with Trump....oh, he probably already has been subjected to that, they just aren't telling us the results.

Now then. I slept like - not so good last night.  I think some of this is stressing over finances.  That job offer may be too far out.  I just had a couple call me and tell me they need to stay for a week. Yes! They're coming in today.  Plus the other people coming in for 9 days 2 Sundays from now, it all adds up.  It helps me last longer before I have to throw in the towel and take whatever I can find for a trucking job.  

The tiller. I got that thing last night.  Like I posted, the man didn't even show up until 8:30, which apparently are the beginning of his prime hours for working. It's very warm inside his building, that may have something to do with it. No AC, just fans and what looks to be a swamp cooler.  It's a big building, keeping that place cool would cost a fortune in electricity.  

Anyway, I brought it home - I wasn't going to drive over to the property with it, no sense in it.  Fired it up, put it on the run setting that he had marked on it, ran on low idle. I was instantly a bit nervous.  Uhh, this isn't going to work. Moved the lever over to the middle and it instantly went into high idle mode - the only mode that thing will work in.  If it stays running like that, it will finish the job.  

Yes, I'm going to get out there in this wicked heat and do at least a couple hours of it.  Iced down Gatorades and water, keep hydrated, work until I can't take it.  The humidity is something I have never really gotten used to.  You can just stand there and start sweating profusely without having to do anything.  Wish me luck, lol.

I have no idea when the folks are coming home.  I will brace myself for cranky kids who just spent 8, 9 or 10 days (depending on when they get home but it is probably going to be Saturday which is 10 days) having a blast doing whatever they wanted and now coming back to reality and the "boring" home life.  In fact, I don't know that I want to even be here for that.  I didn't get to go on a vacation and I don't really feel like I want to hear people complaining about stuff simply because party time is over and they want to crank on people. Whether that's kids or adults.....I'm not saying the adults will be that way, but they will tire quickly of the kid' crankiness, that is guaranteed.  

Wherever the snakes went - I look for them frequently - I have no idea. They're back there somewhere, I just haven't been able to find them.  I don't like snakes, but if they're the kind that eats rodents AND they are non-venomous AND they aren't water snakes that will eat my fish, then I'll leave them alone. But I must see these creatures for myself and have them identified before I can say, oh, they're perfect!  I would love it King snakes would move in, they not only eat rodents, they also eat other snakes. Yup, just swallow them whole. Get rid of the Copperhead population.  

I can now fairly confidently identify cottonmouth, copperhead, king, rat, plain belly watersnakes, some garter snakes and a few other species after having been in a snake ID group for quite some time.  Any snake I don't know what it is, I can take a pic, put it in that group and usually within a few minutes, get a positive ID on it. I don't want copperheads in our back yard, I will kill them and think nothing of it, cottonmouths as well but I've only seen them over at the property.  

Keto.  I think the test strips just don't work that well with me anymore because I must be in a condition they call "fat adapted", which means there isn't a lot of free flowing ketones now because my body/system understands what's going on and uses the ketones more efficiently.  Whatever the case, I'm dropping weight again and fat.  Anytime I feel tempted to go off on a cheating binge, I just think about this last time I did that and how long it has taken to even start getting back to where I was before the cheating started.

This probably isn't the greatest day to be out in the heat. There is an "excessive heat warning" with heat index values up to 115 degrees.  If that's dry heat, I can deal with it. When you're talking the humidity which is what makes it feel much hotter than it is? I won't last long out there.  Shrugs shoulders, get done what I can.

With that, I bid you a good day. 

 Yes, it's my 3rd update today.  Meh, it's my blog and I will write when I feel like it, lol.  One lot paid the full price today via cashapp (knew it was due but I didn't have to ask them for it and they've told me repeatedly they are happy at my park), the second payment was going over there and emptying out the washer and dryer coin catchers, taking those home, counting them and adding it to coins that Taylor gave to me (I paypaled her the total), which came out to $370 and then collected $260 from the New Jersey people. 

That's $1,080 for today, which usually don't collect that much in one day excepting on the 1st.  NJ people owe more than what they paid, but I'll take it over nothing. That pays for the electricity they have used and including the shed shower/toilet and then some.  I know she gets her disability on the 28th, I will be asking her again for money on that date.  

The tiller dude finally responded to my text. He won't be available until 8:00 pm to give me the tiller, lol.  I don't have much choice, get it at night or don't get the thing.  Go out there tomorrow and bake my butt off in the heat operating the thing.  It's only a mile away from here, I"m getting it tonight.  I'm half tempted to go get the riding mower out of the other shop and take it to him.  It won't be until sometime next week before that shop even looks at the thing.  

The kids are having all kinds of fun on their vacation. I was sent pics and play by play on their daily activities.  I didn't know Branson had so much things for families to do there.  They want to a Titanic mock up, apparently.  Then over to some sort of water park today.  They've been busy every day.  I can't imagine how tired they will all be whenever they get back. It was originally going to be Thursday, now they're saying Friday or Saturday.   Vacations. Usually you aren't resting and relaxing, you're go go go instead.  That's exactly what they're doing.  

I got a little jealous of the water park stuff, I love those places. But otherwise, it would cost a lot of money to do what they are doing going into all of those places with entry fees and high food/drink rates, I couldn't really afford that right now.  

I have stopped stressing over getting new people into the park. They will come - or they won't. I have Facebook and Google updated frequently enough.  Im going to start asking people to give Google reviews again, even if they don't do it - which most won't - I need to at least try.  Even if they just enter how many stars they want to give without an actual, worded review, that's better than nothing. It's been stuck at 4 forever.  

These people keep calling me, I keep forgetting to ask how many days a week they want me driving.  I'm basically hired. I asked them why it will take so long?  They only have a few trainers and they can only do so many drivers at once.  Ok, I was just curious.  Must not be a drastic issue if they can wait 2 months.  They keep warning me that if it slows down, I'll have to take loads to Georgia or Florida.  Ok?  I flat told the man that I don't mind doing that,  just don't want to be an OTR driver and out on the road for weeks at a time.  

I'm not pulling any punches on that one, if they want me staying out for even a week, I'm not really interested.  He assured me that wouldn't be the case and probably wouldn't have to go to Georgia or Florida very often.  Good, because I very much despise driving through Atlanta.  I do wonder what it's going to be like to climb into a truck after being off for a year.  I then thought, it will be like yesterday.  It's all second nature to me.  I've spent too many decades in a truck to really "forget" anything.  Maybe a bit rusty on shifting - and thankfully they have manuals only, I despise auto trannys in trucks.  

So that's it.  It's 7:30, just waiting for this dude to text me so I can go get the machine and get that over with. It can come home and be parked in the driveway overnight, I'm not going back to the park again today.  I'm trying to conserve fuel, I've been over there twice today already.  Another thing I completely forgot when I was at lowe's was a new valve for the leaking faucet.  I need to fix that tomorrow. It's just a waste of money, water leaks can cost you a lot of money on a water bill even if it is a slow leak.