Prince, the black Great Dane, has an infection just underneath his ear. I hadn't even noticed it before today because of the location of the infection. Prince has Gumbo the Elephant sized ears - they are huge. Okay, not the size of an elephant's ears, but the things are massive. I got to looking at this huge ball that is, undoubtedly, filled with puss and found the intruder. A bite hole. Undoubtedly, Prince and Duke got into it again and just as undoubtedly, Duke got his teeth in there. This isn't the first time this has happened to either of them.
I immediately started the antibiotic treatment and probably am going to take him outsize and squeeze as much of that junk out of there as will come out. Gross, yes, necessary - yes.
The kid showed up again today. I started doubting that he was coming at around 9:00am and got busy with other stuff, namely, shampooing the living room carpet and working on my bathroom. I told him I didn't really have time to work with him today, I just showed him what to do and he got busy. He hauled all the rest of that rock. There is no pile out there now. It has all been spread out in the areas I wanted it done.
I continued on with what I was doing after that. When he was done, having no ride to get home - his brother was somewhere doing whatever - I offered him a ride since I was going that way anyway. His mother approved the ride and I went over there. I didn't know they had a pond - but Elijah offered me to go take a look at it. Yuck. That pond is bright green. It is so green with algae that you can't see ANYTHING in there.
His mom came out and we had quite the lengthy discussion about ponds. She said she didn't have any idea how to get the green out of it after she brought the subject up. Yes, well I have the answer and gave it to her: a UV sterilizer. I also stated that that pond was sorely in need of plants. I have given away a large amount of them in the last couple of days, I didn't know they had a pond, number one and number 2 that they needed plants for it. I could have given all of them to them. Well, just so happens I have another Umbrella plant that needs to be trimmed down quite a lot, plus my Yerba Mensa has several runners I could clip off and give to them.
Off to |Anna's Linens after that, picked up a few - cheap - items to spruce up the house a bit. Then home to unload everything I had acquired from yesterday that I still hadn't unloaded. Then off to Walmart. I could not believe how much traffic was out there. The major surface streets were moving at a snail's pace. I ended up taking back roads to get to Walmart and saving myself at least 15 minutes of driving. After Walmart, Gamestop. After Gamestop, Fry's Food Stores. I have acquired everything I need to acquire for this family Christmas celebration excepting the chair for Caleb's computer desk. I am not going to sweat it - if I find one today, great, if not, then at least I got the desk for him and will work on getting the chair within the week.
I am not done with house yet, but I figure just a couple more hours worth of work and it IS done. The last 2 weeks has been an amazing journey in a house and yard transformation. The family will come and go, but the effort made will still be there. So, I am on the downside to all of this. I need to pull out the Standing Rib Roast and pat it down with spices. It's a 3 hour cook time, allegedly, at 325 degrees. The ham will be in there with it. Spiral sliced ham and I am making a honey glaze to put on it. Home made mashed potatoes; corn; Cobb salad and grilled Jalapeno Poppers are my input to this dinner. Everyone else is bringing the rest.
I also found out today that my middle brother is bringing his son and another guest. There are going to be a lot of people here tomorrow!
So, my break time is over. I am going outside to pick up the last remaining tools/items that we were using to get the yard in shape and put those away. Then come inside and finish my bathroom. Wrap presents, do some pre-cooking chores for tomorrow and it will be ready. It has taken awhile, but the "magic" of Christmas has arrived back on my doorstep.
Hmmm, I did forget something. 3 Christmas cards to put the gift cards I bought into them. Oh well, I will have time to run up to the store for that tomorrow morning. I am home for the day.
ben
Friday, December 23, 2011
Friday 12/23/2011 The Final Day
I got so much done yesterday that today? Won't be a breeze, either. I'm close. Still have to finish buying some things and there is still some work left to do. I got started on cleaning the carpet in the living room yesterday but got pulled completely off of that to work with that kid outside to get all of that done out there. Basically, when you're working with kids, you really have to work alongside them in a project that requires as much finagling as that ordeal yesterday was. Otherwise, you will not see the results you wanted and you only have yourself to blame.
Unfortunately, there is still much I want to get done out there and there is 30 minutes left of cleanup I need to get done out there today, but for the gathering tomorrow? More than good enough.
I'm going to have to writer later, things just sort of blew up in my face right now, gotta go into overdriver.
Later.
ben
Unfortunately, there is still much I want to get done out there and there is 30 minutes left of cleanup I need to get done out there today, but for the gathering tomorrow? More than good enough.
I'm going to have to writer later, things just sort of blew up in my face right now, gotta go into overdriver.
Later.
ben
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Thursday 12/22/2011
First day of winter.
I wrote an ad on Craigslist to get some help on the east side of my house - thought maybe someone could use earning a few bucks and I want to get it done.
The funny thing is the people that are "begging" for money on there that say they will do just about "anything" to raise some finances - you reply to THEM and they won't do ANYTHING. I got 2 whole replies on that ad. 1 from a person that doesn't speak English and another from a 14 year old kid.
Well, I opted for the kid. Sometimes they are hard workers - sometimes they aren't. I'm just not a big fan of people who live in the U.S. and don't bother to learn the language of the land which is why I did not opt for that other person. You would think Spanish is the language of the land around these parts. _____________________________________________________________
Scored. Got a worker, not some lazy @$$. Kid worked his butt off for 5-1/2 hours and then he wanted to go home. No problem and wasn't unhappy at all with paying him. He hauled a LOT of rock from one side of the house to the other while I was laying out the plastic and spreading the rock. Still a bit left to do, but he wants to come back tomorrow so I stopped with it. I don't really want to haul the rock anymore today, anyway, lol.
Took a nap.
Left. On the road. Christmas present bonanza. Gotta git -er done. I didn't want to be rushing around tomorrow trying to find stuff, do that today in case there are any problems. Got everything but the chair for Caleb. I did get his computer desk, though. I am not going to buy a new one and if I don't have it before Saturday, he isn't going to have a cow about it, I am waiting for "the deal". One guy wanted $95 for his used one - probably a $300 chair but I decided against it. $50 and no more.
This has been a LONG day. If I didn't have these days off work/vacation, I would be screwed. Well, this place wouldn't be anything like I want it to look, really. The hard work outside is beginning to pay off. It's starting to look really nice out there. I still have stuff to do in here, but Mark has been cranking away for days now. Cleaning the runner for the sliding glass door, scrubbing door framing and windows and all kinds of stuff.
I let one of those pond filters go WAY too long! I spent an hour or more cleaning it out this morning. There was so much fish waste in it, it was amazing. Makes nice plant fertilizer. But it's done and the other one was done yesterday so they are both pumping out high volumes of water. When they start to get clogged up, the water output goes down - and down - lol.
Well, I am off to finish the bathroom. Caleb waited until 3:00 pm to call me and tell me we need to go to the college today to make the payment. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. I was out and about, far from the college. I told him to go into my room, get my checkbook. So he did. But then I remembered that my dad sent him a letter that arrived today, I was hoping it was the check for school. Sure enough. So, I told Caleb to go cash the check if he could, but take my checkbook in case they wouldn't cash it.
So, he goes to the bank and deposits the check. Gag. Meaning, it won't show anything until after midnight. So he calls me up from the college and tells me the card had been declined. Lol. Yes, son, because you deposited the check, you didn't try to cash it. Oh well. I'm getting a lot of phone calls from him at this point. Finally, I get a call and they are now telling him the grant had already gone through, the money is available and the he doesn't have to pay ANYTHING. It's a Pell grant. It is paying for the entire school year plus his books.
But I made him do this alone. Yes, I got the phone calls, but I made him go in there and deal with this himself. He's 18, it's time to learn how to deal with life. This went on for a couple of hours, he called me after it was done. I asked him if it felt good that he was able to, basically, do this himself without either of his parents having to be there? Yes, indeed. So, he has dad's money if he needs it and he is getting a "refund" from the grant. Apparently they give you more money than you need to help pay personal expenses while going to school. Nice of them, I guess, but you know who is paying for all of that.
Later.
ben
I wrote an ad on Craigslist to get some help on the east side of my house - thought maybe someone could use earning a few bucks and I want to get it done.
The funny thing is the people that are "begging" for money on there that say they will do just about "anything" to raise some finances - you reply to THEM and they won't do ANYTHING. I got 2 whole replies on that ad. 1 from a person that doesn't speak English and another from a 14 year old kid.
Well, I opted for the kid. Sometimes they are hard workers - sometimes they aren't. I'm just not a big fan of people who live in the U.S. and don't bother to learn the language of the land which is why I did not opt for that other person. You would think Spanish is the language of the land around these parts. _____________________________________________________________
Scored. Got a worker, not some lazy @$$. Kid worked his butt off for 5-1/2 hours and then he wanted to go home. No problem and wasn't unhappy at all with paying him. He hauled a LOT of rock from one side of the house to the other while I was laying out the plastic and spreading the rock. Still a bit left to do, but he wants to come back tomorrow so I stopped with it. I don't really want to haul the rock anymore today, anyway, lol.
Took a nap.
Left. On the road. Christmas present bonanza. Gotta git -er done. I didn't want to be rushing around tomorrow trying to find stuff, do that today in case there are any problems. Got everything but the chair for Caleb. I did get his computer desk, though. I am not going to buy a new one and if I don't have it before Saturday, he isn't going to have a cow about it, I am waiting for "the deal". One guy wanted $95 for his used one - probably a $300 chair but I decided against it. $50 and no more.
This has been a LONG day. If I didn't have these days off work/vacation, I would be screwed. Well, this place wouldn't be anything like I want it to look, really. The hard work outside is beginning to pay off. It's starting to look really nice out there. I still have stuff to do in here, but Mark has been cranking away for days now. Cleaning the runner for the sliding glass door, scrubbing door framing and windows and all kinds of stuff.
I let one of those pond filters go WAY too long! I spent an hour or more cleaning it out this morning. There was so much fish waste in it, it was amazing. Makes nice plant fertilizer. But it's done and the other one was done yesterday so they are both pumping out high volumes of water. When they start to get clogged up, the water output goes down - and down - lol.
Well, I am off to finish the bathroom. Caleb waited until 3:00 pm to call me and tell me we need to go to the college today to make the payment. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. I was out and about, far from the college. I told him to go into my room, get my checkbook. So he did. But then I remembered that my dad sent him a letter that arrived today, I was hoping it was the check for school. Sure enough. So, I told Caleb to go cash the check if he could, but take my checkbook in case they wouldn't cash it.
So, he goes to the bank and deposits the check. Gag. Meaning, it won't show anything until after midnight. So he calls me up from the college and tells me the card had been declined. Lol. Yes, son, because you deposited the check, you didn't try to cash it. Oh well. I'm getting a lot of phone calls from him at this point. Finally, I get a call and they are now telling him the grant had already gone through, the money is available and the he doesn't have to pay ANYTHING. It's a Pell grant. It is paying for the entire school year plus his books.
But I made him do this alone. Yes, I got the phone calls, but I made him go in there and deal with this himself. He's 18, it's time to learn how to deal with life. This went on for a couple of hours, he called me after it was done. I asked him if it felt good that he was able to, basically, do this himself without either of his parents having to be there? Yes, indeed. So, he has dad's money if he needs it and he is getting a "refund" from the grant. Apparently they give you more money than you need to help pay personal expenses while going to school. Nice of them, I guess, but you know who is paying for all of that.
Later.
ben
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Wednesday 12/21/2011
First day of vacation and acting like it. Got up at 7:38 am. That's 3 hours beyond my normal start up time. I am sitting contemplating finishing the bedroom and bathroom - I didn't do anything on it last night.
Procrastination? Hardly. Just taking a breather, but in about 30 minutes I am going to go full out on it and get it all done today. Hopefully, lol. I have such a large list of things I want to get done, I'm not sure it will all get finished in time - but - I am not going to stress over it. By the time Saturday gets here, it will look good enough.
___________________________
2 solid hours of work got the bedroom 99% done. Tired of that (come back to it later to give the finishing touches), I went into the bathroom. Gonna scrub that entire room including the walls. But I'm going to start alternating between inside and out of the house so I don't get burned out on one thing. I am not really all that interested in doing all of this during what should be vacation time, but the end result will definitely be worth it.
______________________
The All-Day Entry. Took the shower doors off and outside where I thoroughly scrubbed them. Then scrubbed the entire shower stall itself. An hour's worth of work or more just for that. Tired of this stuff, I left. Went to Fresh 'N Easy for my spiral half ham. No, I went to Radio Shack first, but that store was closed down. Having no idea where the other locations are and not having my computer with me, I figured to try Fry's Electronics, but went to Fresh' N' Easy after that and then Walmart after that. Had to get a couple new air pumps for my ponds, the other ones quit working. Got a bunch of other stuff, too, and then headed to Fry's Electronics. They had both nice and junky computer desks there (Caleb's Christmas gift). Also found the weather stations that my mother wants. Didn't really like any of theirs, so I am definitely going to go to another Radio Shack location.
Then I started looking on line for a nice computer chair. I can get the desk at Fry's if it comes down to that, but the chair? No way am I spending $150 or more on a good chair when people are selling off their stuff on Craigslist because of the bad economy.
Found several, but I'm home for the day and will take up this task tomorrow.
Going outside now to start cleaning out the pond filters. They are covered with gunk and goo and I need to thoroughly clean both of them, a task I don't especially care for but it has to be done.
_________________________________________________
First day of winter starts tomorrow. I have gotten more accomplished today than I thought I would.
But I also - well I didn't really want to but I was looking around - come up with more things to do that need to be done regardless of whether family is coming or not.
___________________________________
End of the day. Treated the house to the new Planet of the Apes movie. I order it online, it shows on every receiver in the house. I wasn't really being that generous: I wanted to watch a new release and that one stuck out because I have watched all of the previous movies - a lot of times - and because I just wanted to watch a movie. Well, if I'm going to do it, I do it on the internet and that way everyone that wants to can watch it as well. If I call Direct TV, it was good for the receiver I was calling for in my house. At least,that's the way it was quite a while back - I don't call Direct TV until the issues pop up. I hate dealing with that company.
Lots done today, much to go. Still looking for Caleb's computer chair - I think I found one. It's a $400 chair, used, going for $95. The pic shows it in excellent condition. I am either going over there tomorrow or - I have found some cheaper ones that still look very comfortable. If you're going to sit in a chair for hours playing your internet games or soon: doing school homework, the chair should be, at least IMO, be comfortable. There is a set that states that being uncomfortable doing homework or in school for that matter helps to keep a person alert.
Whatever.
G'nite.
ben
Procrastination? Hardly. Just taking a breather, but in about 30 minutes I am going to go full out on it and get it all done today. Hopefully, lol. I have such a large list of things I want to get done, I'm not sure it will all get finished in time - but - I am not going to stress over it. By the time Saturday gets here, it will look good enough.
___________________________
2 solid hours of work got the bedroom 99% done. Tired of that (come back to it later to give the finishing touches), I went into the bathroom. Gonna scrub that entire room including the walls. But I'm going to start alternating between inside and out of the house so I don't get burned out on one thing. I am not really all that interested in doing all of this during what should be vacation time, but the end result will definitely be worth it.
______________________
The All-Day Entry. Took the shower doors off and outside where I thoroughly scrubbed them. Then scrubbed the entire shower stall itself. An hour's worth of work or more just for that. Tired of this stuff, I left. Went to Fresh 'N Easy for my spiral half ham. No, I went to Radio Shack first, but that store was closed down. Having no idea where the other locations are and not having my computer with me, I figured to try Fry's Electronics, but went to Fresh' N' Easy after that and then Walmart after that. Had to get a couple new air pumps for my ponds, the other ones quit working. Got a bunch of other stuff, too, and then headed to Fry's Electronics. They had both nice and junky computer desks there (Caleb's Christmas gift). Also found the weather stations that my mother wants. Didn't really like any of theirs, so I am definitely going to go to another Radio Shack location.
Then I started looking on line for a nice computer chair. I can get the desk at Fry's if it comes down to that, but the chair? No way am I spending $150 or more on a good chair when people are selling off their stuff on Craigslist because of the bad economy.
Found several, but I'm home for the day and will take up this task tomorrow.
Going outside now to start cleaning out the pond filters. They are covered with gunk and goo and I need to thoroughly clean both of them, a task I don't especially care for but it has to be done.
_________________________________________________
First day of winter starts tomorrow. I have gotten more accomplished today than I thought I would.
But I also - well I didn't really want to but I was looking around - come up with more things to do that need to be done regardless of whether family is coming or not.
___________________________________
End of the day. Treated the house to the new Planet of the Apes movie. I order it online, it shows on every receiver in the house. I wasn't really being that generous: I wanted to watch a new release and that one stuck out because I have watched all of the previous movies - a lot of times - and because I just wanted to watch a movie. Well, if I'm going to do it, I do it on the internet and that way everyone that wants to can watch it as well. If I call Direct TV, it was good for the receiver I was calling for in my house. At least,that's the way it was quite a while back - I don't call Direct TV until the issues pop up. I hate dealing with that company.
Lots done today, much to go. Still looking for Caleb's computer chair - I think I found one. It's a $400 chair, used, going for $95. The pic shows it in excellent condition. I am either going over there tomorrow or - I have found some cheaper ones that still look very comfortable. If you're going to sit in a chair for hours playing your internet games or soon: doing school homework, the chair should be, at least IMO, be comfortable. There is a set that states that being uncomfortable doing homework or in school for that matter helps to keep a person alert.
Whatever.
G'nite.
ben
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Tuesday 12/20/2011
I get off work yesterday and go to find a Christmas tree. I usually have one long before now during the Christmas season, but, things have been piling up.
Well, I went to Home Depot which is where I normally buy one and they were all out. They had a couple of them in the back of the Christmas Tree lot, but they apparently were not for sale. The counter guy calls his manager to see if they are getting anymore: "We are all done for the season".
Wow, okay. Down the street to Lowe's. They didn't have any either, and weren't getting anymore!
Christmas at Ben Kranks?!!! NO WAYYYYYY!
I sat in Lowe's parking lot and started thinking. WHO always sells Christmas trees, even up to the last moment. Whitfill's! That name finally entered my mind. It's mostly a tree farm, actually, and the main location just happens to be 2-1/2 miles away from my house. Which is good, cause' I didn't really want to have a tree strapped to the top of my car for too long of a distance.
Fired up the music and zoomed over there. Not only did they have trees left, they had a LOT of trees left. Including one that was at least 25 feet tall, an elegant and stunning looking tree - with a price tag of $400, lol. The lady working there was all kinds of cheery and definitely had the Christmas spirit. I hated to make it sound like I was being cheap, but I asked what the cheapest trees were. I was hoping to hear $20.
Yes, she says, the Douglas Firs are $19.95. That's my kind of price. I am only going to have the thing maybe until New Year's, spending a lot of money on something that is going to end up in a recycling bin in less than 2 weeks - well it just isn't in the budget. She took me to 3 scraggly looking trees which I summarily rejected. She continued walking around and found one that had no tag on it, but was one of the $19.95 trees, a beautiful specimen, perfect dimensions with an almost perfect "stick" on the top for the angel.
I started to grab it, but she said no, his lot guy would take care of all of that. And sure enough, he got the tree, cut off a small portion of the trunk at the bottom, got some twine, brought it to my car, loaded it and tied it down for me!
I got it home and Mark and Lynnette immediately started working on it. Okay. I just sat there and watched, lol.
I also got nothing done on finished the room and bathroom project yesterday. I got home late and I was too tired out to do anything with it. Putting it off may not be so advisable, but, oh well. I'll get with the program today after work since, after work today, I have 6 straight, full days off. I can stay up late and just sleep in in the morning. The luscious part of taking a lot of vacation days, for me anyway, is the ability to be able to sleep in past 4:30 am. Get up at 6 or even 7 if I want to. Some people think getting up at 6 is early, lol.
Well whatever. Enough to do in the routing system today to keep me busy all day at work. Love it.
G'day.
ben
Well, I went to Home Depot which is where I normally buy one and they were all out. They had a couple of them in the back of the Christmas Tree lot, but they apparently were not for sale. The counter guy calls his manager to see if they are getting anymore: "We are all done for the season".
Wow, okay. Down the street to Lowe's. They didn't have any either, and weren't getting anymore!
Christmas at Ben Kranks?!!! NO WAYYYYYY!
I sat in Lowe's parking lot and started thinking. WHO always sells Christmas trees, even up to the last moment. Whitfill's! That name finally entered my mind. It's mostly a tree farm, actually, and the main location just happens to be 2-1/2 miles away from my house. Which is good, cause' I didn't really want to have a tree strapped to the top of my car for too long of a distance.
Fired up the music and zoomed over there. Not only did they have trees left, they had a LOT of trees left. Including one that was at least 25 feet tall, an elegant and stunning looking tree - with a price tag of $400, lol. The lady working there was all kinds of cheery and definitely had the Christmas spirit. I hated to make it sound like I was being cheap, but I asked what the cheapest trees were. I was hoping to hear $20.
Yes, she says, the Douglas Firs are $19.95. That's my kind of price. I am only going to have the thing maybe until New Year's, spending a lot of money on something that is going to end up in a recycling bin in less than 2 weeks - well it just isn't in the budget. She took me to 3 scraggly looking trees which I summarily rejected. She continued walking around and found one that had no tag on it, but was one of the $19.95 trees, a beautiful specimen, perfect dimensions with an almost perfect "stick" on the top for the angel.
I started to grab it, but she said no, his lot guy would take care of all of that. And sure enough, he got the tree, cut off a small portion of the trunk at the bottom, got some twine, brought it to my car, loaded it and tied it down for me!
I got it home and Mark and Lynnette immediately started working on it. Okay. I just sat there and watched, lol.
I also got nothing done on finished the room and bathroom project yesterday. I got home late and I was too tired out to do anything with it. Putting it off may not be so advisable, but, oh well. I'll get with the program today after work since, after work today, I have 6 straight, full days off. I can stay up late and just sleep in in the morning. The luscious part of taking a lot of vacation days, for me anyway, is the ability to be able to sleep in past 4:30 am. Get up at 6 or even 7 if I want to. Some people think getting up at 6 is early, lol.
Well whatever. Enough to do in the routing system today to keep me busy all day at work. Love it.
G'day.
ben
Monday, December 19, 2011
Monday 12/18/2011
2 days of work - today and tomorrow - and then off for 6 days going back to work on Tuesday. The painting in my bedroom has definitely been much more of a job than I had first considered. I have one wall left to go - where my bed and night table is and it will be done excepting some trim around the doors. That needs a different hue of white - like as bright a white as you can possible get.
I have a couple more things to hang up in my bathroom and that will be done. Well, a good cleaning but that is an ongoing thing anyway.
It was, after is said and done, nice to get that discount on that Omaha package yesterday. This is going to be a very busy week. Last night I was driving myself to get more done and then finally, I just plopped down on my bed and said enough. Enough for one day, anyway. It has been a bit of a plus to get that kind of motivation to get something done that you have been putting off - the painting of my room that is - but at the same time, that's because I have been working outside and there is still plenty to do out there.
I am not going to fret over it. I have a lot of rock to haul over there from the other side of the house - over there being where I am working - but I have no intention of getting all of that done before everyone shows up on Christmas Eve Day. I DO intend on getting the areas around the ponds over there completed. I want that to look nice. It's probably around 3 or 4 hours worth of work to finish those 2 areas, I am guessing. I did pretty much get the front done. I mean, there is more to do out there but it is looking nice right now and if I don't do anything else out there this week besides a bit of cleanup work, I will be happy with it.
Well, anyway, I will crank out the rest of that room today, hopefully, after work, finish the bathroom today or tomorrow and have the rest of the week to laze around out there getting stuff done, yes, but not at a frantic pace (unless, of course, time starts to run out and I haven't got everything done, lol).
As for work today, plenty. I pulled an order on Friday that hopefully was checked by my manager (I asked him to, this particular account has been giving us problems in them calling us and telling us something is missing even though we triple checked the order and then had THEM check the entire order after taking it out there) and only needs to be wrapped up, loaded on the truck and hauled out there. Then back to the yard for 3 more orders going to another contractor.
It is rather interesting that there is this much work going on near Christmas time. Historically, at this job anyway, that isn't the case at all. The week leading up to Christmas is usually pretty much dead. No problem for me, I would far rather stay busy, just an observation.
Later.
ben
I have a couple more things to hang up in my bathroom and that will be done. Well, a good cleaning but that is an ongoing thing anyway.
It was, after is said and done, nice to get that discount on that Omaha package yesterday. This is going to be a very busy week. Last night I was driving myself to get more done and then finally, I just plopped down on my bed and said enough. Enough for one day, anyway. It has been a bit of a plus to get that kind of motivation to get something done that you have been putting off - the painting of my room that is - but at the same time, that's because I have been working outside and there is still plenty to do out there.
I am not going to fret over it. I have a lot of rock to haul over there from the other side of the house - over there being where I am working - but I have no intention of getting all of that done before everyone shows up on Christmas Eve Day. I DO intend on getting the areas around the ponds over there completed. I want that to look nice. It's probably around 3 or 4 hours worth of work to finish those 2 areas, I am guessing. I did pretty much get the front done. I mean, there is more to do out there but it is looking nice right now and if I don't do anything else out there this week besides a bit of cleanup work, I will be happy with it.
Well, anyway, I will crank out the rest of that room today, hopefully, after work, finish the bathroom today or tomorrow and have the rest of the week to laze around out there getting stuff done, yes, but not at a frantic pace (unless, of course, time starts to run out and I haven't got everything done, lol).
As for work today, plenty. I pulled an order on Friday that hopefully was checked by my manager (I asked him to, this particular account has been giving us problems in them calling us and telling us something is missing even though we triple checked the order and then had THEM check the entire order after taking it out there) and only needs to be wrapped up, loaded on the truck and hauled out there. Then back to the yard for 3 more orders going to another contractor.
It is rather interesting that there is this much work going on near Christmas time. Historically, at this job anyway, that isn't the case at all. The week leading up to Christmas is usually pretty much dead. No problem for me, I would far rather stay busy, just an observation.
Later.
ben
Sunday, December 18, 2011
It Ended Amiably - Omaha Steaks
My annual call to Omaha Steaks to order a package for my brother and sister-in-law did not start out well.
I certainly did NOT call them to get into some sort of altercation with them. The light went off in my head: get it ordered or they won't have it in time by Christmas.
So I called. Now, before I got into this, I have an account with them. My name and what I have ordered with them is on file.
So I ask the lady that gets on the phone what kind of deal she can do for me. Instead of asking me if I have an account or if I have ever ordered before - or ANYTHING a salesperson should be asking - she states that there are thousands of deals and that she cannot possibly go into all of them. Wow. "Well, then, please connect me to a supervisor and perhaps they can give me the information I am asking for". She hung up on me.
Anytime a customer service rep hangs up on me is the pre-cursor for trouble for that person and a deal for me. But, honestly, I did NOT start out that way. In the past, I ask them the same question and they go off into the most popular, current deals that they have.
I call back, of course. A different lady answers the phone. I explain that I was just hung up on by a person at her company and that I would like to speak to a supervisor. She laughed at me: YOU want to speak to a supervisor because someone hung up on you?!!! saying it increduously, as if it were normal for incoming sales call centers to hang up on customers that are pretty much determined to make an order and yes, pay for it then and there, on the phone, with a credit card.
Yes, I replied, I do, not saying anything to her about her stupid attitude.
Her manager gets on the phone. I discuss with this person about the hang-up on the first call. Well, he states, I will look into that. Yeah, that doesn't work with me, not the way he said it, but I figured to play this one out and see what happens. It's the inflections and tones that the way people say things that give it away for me.
When we get to the point of making an order, I decided not to. I was dissed not by one, but 2 customer service reps and I decided I needed to call headquarters tomorrow when they are open. He asks why and I tell him. He didn't know because I hadn't told him about the second person. He says he will review the call after we get off the phone. No, I stated, you review the call now and then get back to me, because I have been treated quite rudely for no good reason and I WILL be getting a discount on my order.
He was surprised. He then stated he would have to end the call with me to review that call. Okay, review the call and call me back, here's my number. He says fine, but if he doesn't get back to me............EXCUSE ME? WHY would you start telling me you aren't getting back to me after you just stated you WOULD? I give him my cell phone number and we hang up.
15 minutes later, he calls back. I will say that this is the first time ever that I have sat here and listened to a supervisor telling me the conversation he had with one of his employees. That is pretty much taboo, but I listened to him because - fascinating. The woman tried to finagle out of it. He stated that it is simply intolerable to laugh at a customer who wants to speak to a supervisor regardless of what you think about it. The person I had first talked to that hung up on me had gone home for the evening and that, apparently, is the reason she hung up on me!! ROFL!!
End of the story: Same deal I got last year for $30 less PLUS 18 hamburgers added for free and of course free shipping.
That's not a bad deal, at all! I thanked him quite well and wished him a Merry Christmas and - end of call.
ben
I certainly did NOT call them to get into some sort of altercation with them. The light went off in my head: get it ordered or they won't have it in time by Christmas.
So I called. Now, before I got into this, I have an account with them. My name and what I have ordered with them is on file.
So I ask the lady that gets on the phone what kind of deal she can do for me. Instead of asking me if I have an account or if I have ever ordered before - or ANYTHING a salesperson should be asking - she states that there are thousands of deals and that she cannot possibly go into all of them. Wow. "Well, then, please connect me to a supervisor and perhaps they can give me the information I am asking for". She hung up on me.
Anytime a customer service rep hangs up on me is the pre-cursor for trouble for that person and a deal for me. But, honestly, I did NOT start out that way. In the past, I ask them the same question and they go off into the most popular, current deals that they have.
I call back, of course. A different lady answers the phone. I explain that I was just hung up on by a person at her company and that I would like to speak to a supervisor. She laughed at me: YOU want to speak to a supervisor because someone hung up on you?!!! saying it increduously, as if it were normal for incoming sales call centers to hang up on customers that are pretty much determined to make an order and yes, pay for it then and there, on the phone, with a credit card.
Yes, I replied, I do, not saying anything to her about her stupid attitude.
Her manager gets on the phone. I discuss with this person about the hang-up on the first call. Well, he states, I will look into that. Yeah, that doesn't work with me, not the way he said it, but I figured to play this one out and see what happens. It's the inflections and tones that the way people say things that give it away for me.
When we get to the point of making an order, I decided not to. I was dissed not by one, but 2 customer service reps and I decided I needed to call headquarters tomorrow when they are open. He asks why and I tell him. He didn't know because I hadn't told him about the second person. He says he will review the call after we get off the phone. No, I stated, you review the call now and then get back to me, because I have been treated quite rudely for no good reason and I WILL be getting a discount on my order.
He was surprised. He then stated he would have to end the call with me to review that call. Okay, review the call and call me back, here's my number. He says fine, but if he doesn't get back to me............EXCUSE ME? WHY would you start telling me you aren't getting back to me after you just stated you WOULD? I give him my cell phone number and we hang up.
15 minutes later, he calls back. I will say that this is the first time ever that I have sat here and listened to a supervisor telling me the conversation he had with one of his employees. That is pretty much taboo, but I listened to him because - fascinating. The woman tried to finagle out of it. He stated that it is simply intolerable to laugh at a customer who wants to speak to a supervisor regardless of what you think about it. The person I had first talked to that hung up on me had gone home for the evening and that, apparently, is the reason she hung up on me!! ROFL!!
End of the story: Same deal I got last year for $30 less PLUS 18 hamburgers added for free and of course free shipping.
That's not a bad deal, at all! I thanked him quite well and wished him a Merry Christmas and - end of call.
ben
Sunday 12/18/2011
Got up this morning around 6:00am, had my coffee and then got busy with the painting. I'm about 2/3rd's done with it now. I would have it all done but I have to move furniture from the walls and so I was doing sections at a time so the entire room wasn't thrown into chaos, but alas, it is in total chaos anyway and I am going to spend the rest of today attempting to get it all done or most of it anyway and get it back together again. I am cleaning the carpet and cleaning underneath, behind furniture and everything, it isn't just a paint job, hence it is taking longer.
Anyway, got 2 walls almost done excepting for some of the trim work and then took a shower and headed off to church. A highly amusing Christmas program they put together and then a Christmas Brunch, they called it, afterward. More like a complete Thanksgiving dinner! Sat around talked with some folks for a while, though the next time I want to invade other people's table privacy and see about getting to know more people in the church.
I left there and headed straight for Home Depot: must get 2 more gallons of that paint that is on close-out before it's gone. Then headed to Bashas', the grocery store selling the Standing Rib Roast for $3.67 per pound. Well they didn't have a big enough roast out. Including me, there will be 11 people at this dinner (3 more added this morning, gotta call from my other sister-in-law who found out I am doing Christmas dinner and wants to come). "Do you have any bigger roasts?". The kid (I mean, if this boy were 18 years old I would be surprised) said he would check. They have the Large End rib in a bigger size, but I would have to pay more per pound for it. Better cut of meat, apparently. I decided a few extra bucks for a larger roast would be worth it. He came out with a 15 pounder. Plenty big enough for everyone considering I am also going to get a half ham.
Half ham coming from Fresh and Easy. The rest of everything coming from Fry's. Trying to keep the cost down - going to 3, possibly 4, different stores may sound like a time waster but it's definitely going to save money, so no biggies.
So, here and now. Just sort of sat here for a while attempting to let some of this food I ate at church digest a bit. But, fun-time is over, I need to get back to work on that bedroom and the bathroom.
Later.
ben
Anyway, got 2 walls almost done excepting for some of the trim work and then took a shower and headed off to church. A highly amusing Christmas program they put together and then a Christmas Brunch, they called it, afterward. More like a complete Thanksgiving dinner! Sat around talked with some folks for a while, though the next time I want to invade other people's table privacy and see about getting to know more people in the church.
I left there and headed straight for Home Depot: must get 2 more gallons of that paint that is on close-out before it's gone. Then headed to Bashas', the grocery store selling the Standing Rib Roast for $3.67 per pound. Well they didn't have a big enough roast out. Including me, there will be 11 people at this dinner (3 more added this morning, gotta call from my other sister-in-law who found out I am doing Christmas dinner and wants to come). "Do you have any bigger roasts?". The kid (I mean, if this boy were 18 years old I would be surprised) said he would check. They have the Large End rib in a bigger size, but I would have to pay more per pound for it. Better cut of meat, apparently. I decided a few extra bucks for a larger roast would be worth it. He came out with a 15 pounder. Plenty big enough for everyone considering I am also going to get a half ham.
Half ham coming from Fresh and Easy. The rest of everything coming from Fry's. Trying to keep the cost down - going to 3, possibly 4, different stores may sound like a time waster but it's definitely going to save money, so no biggies.
So, here and now. Just sort of sat here for a while attempting to let some of this food I ate at church digest a bit. But, fun-time is over, I need to get back to work on that bedroom and the bathroom.
Later.
ben
Saturday, December 17, 2011
There is nothing that spruces a room up quite like a fresh coat of paint on the walls.
In my bedroom, hadn't been done since the house was new. I'm not done yet, but I have the hardest part of it done. Still have to move some furniture, though. Home Depot was closing out Martha Stewart Living paint - which is usually pretty expensive, was half price. They were closing it out. I am going to have to go back today or tomorrow and get a couple more cans for future use. You don't find quality paint at that price - hardly ever.
I also bought some cheap, new mini blinds. I didn't really want to spend a lot of money on this project, just wanted to get that fresh, new feeling back to the room. I was surprised they sell mini-blinds for $5 each. They do, of course, have much more expensive and equisite looking versions, but this will have to do for now. Christmas is almost upon us and I haven't bought but one present so far. Now that I know that my family is coming, I am going to have to come up with something for everyone.
Caleb and my mother will be easy. Actually, now that I think of it, so will my brother and his wife. My middle brother - a bit more difficult. Caleb is easy because he told me specifically what he wants, and I best be getting about finding it. Mother also comes up with a specific list, but a hand sewn quilt should be arriving by Christmas time to give to her. My oldest brother, I just give the Omaha steak stuff every year.
In fact, I am just taking a short break here. I have a guy coming over to take some of the over grown pond plants. Just break off the overgrown parts, put into a trash bag, take home and replant. They look really nice and they grow like weeds. I try to give the stuff away versus throwing it in the trash, lots of people have ponds with no plants.
I am also attempting to give away the love seat that I have tried to sell, off and on, for the last 6 months. Just posted an ad. I need it out. It looks tacky in my living room. BTW, I am typing this on my new laptop, the keyboard is MUCH easier to use than keyboards I have encountered with other laptops. Or is this a notebook? Well whatever, there is no difference, really.
Back to work.
In my bedroom, hadn't been done since the house was new. I'm not done yet, but I have the hardest part of it done. Still have to move some furniture, though. Home Depot was closing out Martha Stewart Living paint - which is usually pretty expensive, was half price. They were closing it out. I am going to have to go back today or tomorrow and get a couple more cans for future use. You don't find quality paint at that price - hardly ever.
I also bought some cheap, new mini blinds. I didn't really want to spend a lot of money on this project, just wanted to get that fresh, new feeling back to the room. I was surprised they sell mini-blinds for $5 each. They do, of course, have much more expensive and equisite looking versions, but this will have to do for now. Christmas is almost upon us and I haven't bought but one present so far. Now that I know that my family is coming, I am going to have to come up with something for everyone.
Caleb and my mother will be easy. Actually, now that I think of it, so will my brother and his wife. My middle brother - a bit more difficult. Caleb is easy because he told me specifically what he wants, and I best be getting about finding it. Mother also comes up with a specific list, but a hand sewn quilt should be arriving by Christmas time to give to her. My oldest brother, I just give the Omaha steak stuff every year.
In fact, I am just taking a short break here. I have a guy coming over to take some of the over grown pond plants. Just break off the overgrown parts, put into a trash bag, take home and replant. They look really nice and they grow like weeds. I try to give the stuff away versus throwing it in the trash, lots of people have ponds with no plants.
I am also attempting to give away the love seat that I have tried to sell, off and on, for the last 6 months. Just posted an ad. I need it out. It looks tacky in my living room. BTW, I am typing this on my new laptop, the keyboard is MUCH easier to use than keyboards I have encountered with other laptops. Or is this a notebook? Well whatever, there is no difference, really.
Back to work.
12/17/2011
The Police.
I'm walking out the front of my house today to go put power on the card - I totally forgot and looked, there was 12 cents left on the reader, lol.
There is a cop standing out in front of my house with my hoarding next door neighbor who is pointing at the concrete in my driveway.
Curious as to what they are doing, I walk over to the officer who starts talking about the blood in my driveway.
So, one of my tenants takes the dogs for a walk yesterday. However it happened, one of them had a toenail ripped right off his paw. Yes, it bled and it bled well. Paws tend to do that. There was blood everywhere. So, someone called the cops. Instead of starting an altercation, I simply brought the dog out and showed him the ripped off paw nail. That dog is not feeling well and I have been giving him low dosages of aspirin to help with the pain a bit.
Whatever. I stayed up late last night. My son's hours are so totally different than mine that I hadn't seen him since left for Florida 17 days ago. He and JD - the kid that comes over to get on the internet at night - were babbling away and I joined in the conversation until - 1 AM. For me? That's like not going to bed at all. But we had a good conversation. I didn't go into some of the stuff - my ex wife is mad at me again because I disagree with how she is attempting to handle our son's education. This is the way it has been for 2 decades now, if I disagree with her about anything, even a minor issue, she goes off the deep end. She ALWAYS has to be right.
Well, I got up late this morning, another almost unheard of thing, at least for me. Funny thing? I slept 7 straight hours, something that almost never happens.
Regardless, I feel fine today and I am heading out. I have a lot of stuff I want to get done before Christmas - things that I have put off. Painting my bedroom and bathroom one of them. New blinds in there as well - the old ones have basically fallen apart and I want to replace them if I can find the right size. So, painting, replace blinds and extreme cleaning. Like moving the furniture and beds type of cleaning.
Nothing like a bit of motivation to get things done that you have put off, aye?
Got several stores to git to, better git to gittin'.
I'm walking out the front of my house today to go put power on the card - I totally forgot and looked, there was 12 cents left on the reader, lol.
There is a cop standing out in front of my house with my hoarding next door neighbor who is pointing at the concrete in my driveway.
Curious as to what they are doing, I walk over to the officer who starts talking about the blood in my driveway.
So, one of my tenants takes the dogs for a walk yesterday. However it happened, one of them had a toenail ripped right off his paw. Yes, it bled and it bled well. Paws tend to do that. There was blood everywhere. So, someone called the cops. Instead of starting an altercation, I simply brought the dog out and showed him the ripped off paw nail. That dog is not feeling well and I have been giving him low dosages of aspirin to help with the pain a bit.
Whatever. I stayed up late last night. My son's hours are so totally different than mine that I hadn't seen him since left for Florida 17 days ago. He and JD - the kid that comes over to get on the internet at night - were babbling away and I joined in the conversation until - 1 AM. For me? That's like not going to bed at all. But we had a good conversation. I didn't go into some of the stuff - my ex wife is mad at me again because I disagree with how she is attempting to handle our son's education. This is the way it has been for 2 decades now, if I disagree with her about anything, even a minor issue, she goes off the deep end. She ALWAYS has to be right.
Well, I got up late this morning, another almost unheard of thing, at least for me. Funny thing? I slept 7 straight hours, something that almost never happens.
Regardless, I feel fine today and I am heading out. I have a lot of stuff I want to get done before Christmas - things that I have put off. Painting my bedroom and bathroom one of them. New blinds in there as well - the old ones have basically fallen apart and I want to replace them if I can find the right size. So, painting, replace blinds and extreme cleaning. Like moving the furniture and beds type of cleaning.
Nothing like a bit of motivation to get things done that you have put off, aye?
Got several stores to git to, better git to gittin'.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Friday 12/16/2011
Isn't it amazing? You get more hours on a paycheck - a LOT more hours - you figure out how much more money it is before you get that paycheck and then..........you also figure the government is going to take a huge chunk of it. Somewhat depressing to say the least. I don't go to work so I can have all of my money automatically taken by the government, total BS.
Whatever. It just pisses me off. A bunch of damn politicians who could care less about the people. They have THEIR agenda which usually doesn't come ANYWHERE in line with the demands that the people who voted them into office made and expect to be fulfilled when they do take the position. I could care less if we voted the whole lot of them out of office, both sides, and start all over again.
My dad is saving the day for Caleb. He wrote me back and said his college fund for Caleb has plenty in it, apparently, much more than he needs to get things rolling. Which is good, because otherwise, I was going to have to come up with $400 by the 22cd of this month. I am going to have a serious sit-down discussion with my son about this fiasco. It's really inexcusable. You don't wait until the last minute to sign up for college, you get it done as soon as they allow you to enroll. You have no idea what kind of problems you might encounter and THAT is the reason you get it done as early as possible.
Really, I am kind of inundated right now with a lot of junk going on that I am not particularly caring for, at all. This is Christmas and I want to enjoy the season, not have all kinds of things going on that are totally avoidable. I told a WalMart checkout lady yesterday Merry Christmas and she looked at me in shock. Her whole demeanor changed and she said: "Thank you VERY much!". Doesn't anyone say Merry Christmas anymore? Happy Holidays apparently are the norm now, which I also consider bunk. The Holiday that is being celebrated is CHRISTMAS, thank you very much.
Whatever. I am almost out of time before I have to leave for work.
G'day.
ben
Whatever. It just pisses me off. A bunch of damn politicians who could care less about the people. They have THEIR agenda which usually doesn't come ANYWHERE in line with the demands that the people who voted them into office made and expect to be fulfilled when they do take the position. I could care less if we voted the whole lot of them out of office, both sides, and start all over again.
My dad is saving the day for Caleb. He wrote me back and said his college fund for Caleb has plenty in it, apparently, much more than he needs to get things rolling. Which is good, because otherwise, I was going to have to come up with $400 by the 22cd of this month. I am going to have a serious sit-down discussion with my son about this fiasco. It's really inexcusable. You don't wait until the last minute to sign up for college, you get it done as soon as they allow you to enroll. You have no idea what kind of problems you might encounter and THAT is the reason you get it done as early as possible.
Really, I am kind of inundated right now with a lot of junk going on that I am not particularly caring for, at all. This is Christmas and I want to enjoy the season, not have all kinds of things going on that are totally avoidable. I told a WalMart checkout lady yesterday Merry Christmas and she looked at me in shock. Her whole demeanor changed and she said: "Thank you VERY much!". Doesn't anyone say Merry Christmas anymore? Happy Holidays apparently are the norm now, which I also consider bunk. The Holiday that is being celebrated is CHRISTMAS, thank you very much.
Whatever. I am almost out of time before I have to leave for work.
G'day.
ben
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Standing Rib Roast
Ahhh, the small joys you get here and there.
There is nothing like a chunk of Standing Rib Roast, otherwise known as Prime Rib.
You never see it excepting at Christmas. Well, maybe they are selling it at Thanksgiving, too.
I mean, yes, you can go into a restaurant and get it - which is all well and good - but to serve it at home? You are going to pay a LOT of money for that roast!
Considering the price of food and especially meat is going up and up/inflation, I was surprised to see this particular cut of beef on sale at near the same it was last year. Everything else has gone WAY up. Just check out the price of a pound of bacon (not to be confused with their gimmicks of giving you 12 ounces and charging the SAME price in some cases as 16 ounces for it!) now and compare what it was a year ago.
Yeah. This inflation was predicted a while back - like over a year ago and for 2012, if those predictions come true, food is going to cost a lot of money.
The term "double-dip inflation" is coming around a lot more in recent times as well - the prediction that 2012 is not going to be pretty. Trust in the Lord, that's all I can say.
Busy weekend en-queue. Rain? Yes, it's supposed to rain this weekend, if so, my activities will be indoors and getting some things I have - simply - put off.
It's nice to know, on a completely different subject, that I can still lift up and carry hundreds of pounds of weight from point A to point B. That would be at work. That may sound like a chore to most people, but I don't see it that way at all. I was lugging this - metal thing I'll call it since a vast majority of people won't know anything about the material that is involved with waterworks - that weighed 200 pounds this morning.
We landed 2 accounts with existing customers -it's all bids, folks, you either win it or you don't - and on both accounts the material is extremely heavy. I guess I'm going to have to take pics of it. One item is called a "megalug". They range in size, but the larger sizes are extremely heavy. My arms have been muscling up quite nicely in recent - weeks actually.
Whatever, it's bed time and...............................................................time to go to bed!
There is nothing like a chunk of Standing Rib Roast, otherwise known as Prime Rib.
You never see it excepting at Christmas. Well, maybe they are selling it at Thanksgiving, too.
I mean, yes, you can go into a restaurant and get it - which is all well and good - but to serve it at home? You are going to pay a LOT of money for that roast!
Considering the price of food and especially meat is going up and up/inflation, I was surprised to see this particular cut of beef on sale at near the same it was last year. Everything else has gone WAY up. Just check out the price of a pound of bacon (not to be confused with their gimmicks of giving you 12 ounces and charging the SAME price in some cases as 16 ounces for it!) now and compare what it was a year ago.
Yeah. This inflation was predicted a while back - like over a year ago and for 2012, if those predictions come true, food is going to cost a lot of money.
The term "double-dip inflation" is coming around a lot more in recent times as well - the prediction that 2012 is not going to be pretty. Trust in the Lord, that's all I can say.
Busy weekend en-queue. Rain? Yes, it's supposed to rain this weekend, if so, my activities will be indoors and getting some things I have - simply - put off.
It's nice to know, on a completely different subject, that I can still lift up and carry hundreds of pounds of weight from point A to point B. That would be at work. That may sound like a chore to most people, but I don't see it that way at all. I was lugging this - metal thing I'll call it since a vast majority of people won't know anything about the material that is involved with waterworks - that weighed 200 pounds this morning.
We landed 2 accounts with existing customers -it's all bids, folks, you either win it or you don't - and on both accounts the material is extremely heavy. I guess I'm going to have to take pics of it. One item is called a "megalug". They range in size, but the larger sizes are extremely heavy. My arms have been muscling up quite nicely in recent - weeks actually.
Whatever, it's bed time and...............................................................time to go to bed!
Thursday 12/15/2011
The kid tenant that moved out while I was at work, giving me no notice and leaving owing me money..........wrote back to my threat letter.
You see, it's a waste of time for me to go after the people that don't have jobs. They don't have any money and I would be wasting over $200 for - much of nothing. Well, it goes on their record for 7 years, but again, if they don't have any money, then that is pretty much irrelevant. If an eviction is on a person's record, likely any "good" apartment complexes are not going to rent to that person.
The threat letter was basically that I know where he works and that I can easily sue and win since he owes me. In the cases of tenants owing landlords money, it's open and shut case, the judge rules in favor of the landlord every time unless there is some sort of mitigating circumstance (think: slumlord or landlord doing something illegal such as shutting off the power or water because the tenant isn't paying).
That apparently got his attention. I saw his email in my box and steeled myself for the barrage of profanities and not-so-nice words that may be coming my way. Instead of getting an earful through and eyeful, he stated that he had left for California, had to do something with his dad and that he would be back at the beginning of January and that he wants to try and work this out versus going to court. I also had informed him I knew of the other court case he had already lost when an apartment complex sued him for unpaid rent and they - won. Undoubtedly, they went for garnishment if they - he and his friends that were all living together - didn't pay up.
We'll see how that goes. This weekend, I am shutting myself in. I hope anyway. I want to get the portions of the inside of the house that need some - changing - nailed down so I don't have to worry about it for Christmas. I can then turn my attention to the multiple other things that need to be done.
Oh, and I will definitely be going to Bashas' (local grocery chain): they have the deal again on Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib) for $3.87 per pound. You can't find that kind of deal - anymore basically. I want 2 of them, 1 for Christmas and freeze another one. I need a Christmas tree and I still have all that work on the East side of the house left to do - it's rained and rained and I haven't done anything out there since the rain began. However, it's done - at least temporarily - and I hope it will stay that way on Saturday, which is when I intend on getting out there as well and getting half (my goal, at least half of it ) done before the weekend is over.
I was thinking of asking for yet another day off on the week before Christmas - which is almost here - but I am not sure yet. Will definitely dig into my vacation hours and I want plenty of that for this coming summer.
Well, my time is already up for pre-work rituals, time to go to work.
G'day.
ben
You see, it's a waste of time for me to go after the people that don't have jobs. They don't have any money and I would be wasting over $200 for - much of nothing. Well, it goes on their record for 7 years, but again, if they don't have any money, then that is pretty much irrelevant. If an eviction is on a person's record, likely any "good" apartment complexes are not going to rent to that person.
The threat letter was basically that I know where he works and that I can easily sue and win since he owes me. In the cases of tenants owing landlords money, it's open and shut case, the judge rules in favor of the landlord every time unless there is some sort of mitigating circumstance (think: slumlord or landlord doing something illegal such as shutting off the power or water because the tenant isn't paying).
That apparently got his attention. I saw his email in my box and steeled myself for the barrage of profanities and not-so-nice words that may be coming my way. Instead of getting an earful through and eyeful, he stated that he had left for California, had to do something with his dad and that he would be back at the beginning of January and that he wants to try and work this out versus going to court. I also had informed him I knew of the other court case he had already lost when an apartment complex sued him for unpaid rent and they - won. Undoubtedly, they went for garnishment if they - he and his friends that were all living together - didn't pay up.
We'll see how that goes. This weekend, I am shutting myself in. I hope anyway. I want to get the portions of the inside of the house that need some - changing - nailed down so I don't have to worry about it for Christmas. I can then turn my attention to the multiple other things that need to be done.
Oh, and I will definitely be going to Bashas' (local grocery chain): they have the deal again on Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib) for $3.87 per pound. You can't find that kind of deal - anymore basically. I want 2 of them, 1 for Christmas and freeze another one. I need a Christmas tree and I still have all that work on the East side of the house left to do - it's rained and rained and I haven't done anything out there since the rain began. However, it's done - at least temporarily - and I hope it will stay that way on Saturday, which is when I intend on getting out there as well and getting half (my goal, at least half of it ) done before the weekend is over.
I was thinking of asking for yet another day off on the week before Christmas - which is almost here - but I am not sure yet. Will definitely dig into my vacation hours and I want plenty of that for this coming summer.
Well, my time is already up for pre-work rituals, time to go to work.
G'day.
ben
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Wednesday 12/14/2011
Hump day already.
Rained the last two days, supposedly going to clear up today.
I love the rain, don't get me wrong, but it's definitely put a hamper on the things I need to get done outside.
I did finally get the parts for my AC unit for the trailer yesterday - whether that gets done anytime soon or not considering everything else going on, I dunno.
Umm, sort of on cruise control here this morning, a bit tired and really can't wait until I get the 6 days off of work. Much needed respite and time to do other things that I would like to do.
Regardless, work day almost here, gotta git outta here.
G'day.
ben
Rained the last two days, supposedly going to clear up today.
I love the rain, don't get me wrong, but it's definitely put a hamper on the things I need to get done outside.
I did finally get the parts for my AC unit for the trailer yesterday - whether that gets done anytime soon or not considering everything else going on, I dunno.
Umm, sort of on cruise control here this morning, a bit tired and really can't wait until I get the 6 days off of work. Much needed respite and time to do other things that I would like to do.
Regardless, work day almost here, gotta git outta here.
G'day.
ben
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Tuesday 12/13/2011
Another rainy day. Day 2 of the rain and I have to leave for work in about 20 minutes.
The question is: do I leave the dogs inside?
I dunno. If it's still raining when I leave, I will probably leave the doggy door open and hope for the best.
Caleb is finally home - ie: he left all of his keys with the pastor's family in case they needed them for getting
in to water and feed the dogs while they were in Florida.
Meaning he couldn't drive the car.
Well whatever. I have an extra set of keys but prefer not to give them to him because it's the ONLY extra set
of keys and those are those things that cost $25 to make duplicates of.
Hard to do landscaping work in the rain, I got nothing done out there yesterday and if it continues as it is this morning, then nothing will get done out there today, either.
Trouble brewing with Caleb's education. I knew this was going to happen, I tried to avert it but, when she wants to do everything, usually something is left amiss and it ends up a clusterfreak. Have to go into it later, but I am now trying to fix what was broken and I am definitely NOT happy about it.
Well whatever. I have to get a couple of things done before leaving for work, now that I think about it, outta here.
ben
The question is: do I leave the dogs inside?
I dunno. If it's still raining when I leave, I will probably leave the doggy door open and hope for the best.
Caleb is finally home - ie: he left all of his keys with the pastor's family in case they needed them for getting
in to water and feed the dogs while they were in Florida.
Meaning he couldn't drive the car.
Well whatever. I have an extra set of keys but prefer not to give them to him because it's the ONLY extra set
of keys and those are those things that cost $25 to make duplicates of.
Hard to do landscaping work in the rain, I got nothing done out there yesterday and if it continues as it is this morning, then nothing will get done out there today, either.
Trouble brewing with Caleb's education. I knew this was going to happen, I tried to avert it but, when she wants to do everything, usually something is left amiss and it ends up a clusterfreak. Have to go into it later, but I am now trying to fix what was broken and I am definitely NOT happy about it.
Well whatever. I have to get a couple of things done before leaving for work, now that I think about it, outta here.
ben
Monday, December 12, 2011
Got Hit With A ..............
..................... curve ball this morning at work. I was supposed to go to a Conway (LTL/less than truckload freight delivery service, nationwide) terminal in west Phoenix to pick up some materials to deliver to a contractor. Well, I don't go on such runs until I contact the inside salesman on the account and have him verify that the material is actually THERE and ready to be picked up - both are equally important.
Well, the salesman said he would check in an instant message type of thing. Okay, meanwhile, I realized that after I had entered the building and began getting on with the day's work that it had started raining outside. And raining, and raining - you get the picture. Well, I got busy with stuff in the will call, there is still a lot to do and no lack of things to get done.
A while later, the salesman messages me back: Conway, for whatever reason, had transferred the material from the Phoenix yard to the distributor that we buy this particular material from - to Globe. That it would be there, in Globe, by 9:00 am. Yeah, baby and finally: a trip out of town that takes me to the mountains instead of the desert southwest.
It rained the entire trip there and the entire trip back. I got out the Verizon broadband device and saw the thing giving me 3G service all the way up to Superior. Outside of Superior, on that particular road, you go up a 7% grade in steep canyons and yes, the service went out, but no biggies. At the top, service back again and there is nothing up there, no towns, nothing. Into Globe - would hope an area like that might have 4G - no go. Not even Casa Grande had 4G service. In fact, the only place I have found with 4G service is the Phoenix area.
The 3G service is just slower is the only thing - I didn't know what to expect getting that service in terms of what has 4G service and what has 3G service.
Day not done early, I had to take that material to an extremely muddy and wet jobsite, I was surprised anyone was working out in this.
Well, got things to get done.
Later
Well, the salesman said he would check in an instant message type of thing. Okay, meanwhile, I realized that after I had entered the building and began getting on with the day's work that it had started raining outside. And raining, and raining - you get the picture. Well, I got busy with stuff in the will call, there is still a lot to do and no lack of things to get done.
A while later, the salesman messages me back: Conway, for whatever reason, had transferred the material from the Phoenix yard to the distributor that we buy this particular material from - to Globe. That it would be there, in Globe, by 9:00 am. Yeah, baby and finally: a trip out of town that takes me to the mountains instead of the desert southwest.
It rained the entire trip there and the entire trip back. I got out the Verizon broadband device and saw the thing giving me 3G service all the way up to Superior. Outside of Superior, on that particular road, you go up a 7% grade in steep canyons and yes, the service went out, but no biggies. At the top, service back again and there is nothing up there, no towns, nothing. Into Globe - would hope an area like that might have 4G - no go. Not even Casa Grande had 4G service. In fact, the only place I have found with 4G service is the Phoenix area.
The 3G service is just slower is the only thing - I didn't know what to expect getting that service in terms of what has 4G service and what has 3G service.
Day not done early, I had to take that material to an extremely muddy and wet jobsite, I was surprised anyone was working out in this.
Well, got things to get done.
Later
Monday 12/12/2011
So, it's a challenge.
Get the things that need to be done - done - by the time Christmas Eve Day gets here.
This is, apparently, the day we are doing Christmas at my house - so far anyway.
But, that is completely dependent - usually anyway - on whatever day my middle brother
can get off of work. That is, if he's even coming. If he does show up, he best be keeping
off the subject of politics, cause' if he comes over here starting that kind of trouble,
Christmas at my house is going to blow up on itself.
Not that that has never happened before.
So, fun fun. I haven't even gotten a Christmas tree yet, though all the lights are up outside. My Santas and various other Christmas things are sitting around my living room, though.
Time has run out. I wasn't really in a writing mood this morning.
G'day.
ben
Get the things that need to be done - done - by the time Christmas Eve Day gets here.
This is, apparently, the day we are doing Christmas at my house - so far anyway.
But, that is completely dependent - usually anyway - on whatever day my middle brother
can get off of work. That is, if he's even coming. If he does show up, he best be keeping
off the subject of politics, cause' if he comes over here starting that kind of trouble,
Christmas at my house is going to blow up on itself.
Not that that has never happened before.
So, fun fun. I haven't even gotten a Christmas tree yet, though all the lights are up outside. My Santas and various other Christmas things are sitting around my living room, though.
Time has run out. I wasn't really in a writing mood this morning.
G'day.
ben
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Sport Fishing
I was talking to Caleb on the phone. After his trip to Florida, he was all over going back out and going sea fishing again.
I have finally figured out what the holdup is with him in things like this. He is acutely aware, apparently, of both of his parent's financial concerns and problems and doesn't want to be a burden. So, when I say something about going on another fishing trip and he gives me a blank look, at the time, I didn't get it. I thought he had a good time, so what was up?
When we were talking yesterday about this, he said he really wanted to go again and this time he would save up for the entire trip. Ummm, yeah, well I don't know if he realizes how much a trip like that costs. Even on the cheap you are going to drop some Benjamins. A number of them, actually. I see now, it's all about money and that he wants to be able to help out. But he already helps his mom with money - she is unemployed yet again as she was let go of her recent job find. It's a bit of a story, but it didn't sound like such a great place to work at, anyway.
I replied we could go this summer sometime and if he could contribute towards it, that would be great. I REALLY want to do the overnighter. Actually, it's 2 nights now that I think about it. You leave the dock at 8:00 pm. The boat cruises to the fishing area while you sleep in a bunk. Boat arrives the next morning and you get up and spend the day fishing. Night comes, the boat leaves and comes back in the next morning. $195 per person, plus food, tackle and permits. Well, you can bring your own tackle, but I am not going out and buying all that stuff. I would definitely buy some lures, though. People using their own lures was what was really catching the fish last time.
I suggested to Caleb that we might rent a small boat and go out on one of the nearby lakes and sorta get a better feel for fishing. I used to love fishing as a kid, but life and it's issues have mostly gotten in the way of much of anything. Not that I care, it is what it is, nor that I'm complaining, but, that's the reason I set out to get the 5th wheel travel trailer and get it, eventually, up to mom's property. There is more to life than living in the polluted, vile city. I hate living here, I hate it. I ESPECIALLY hate hate the neighborhood I am living in, but I have gone into that quite enough.
Now I have a better feel for what's going on with him. He wouldn't eat much while we were on the boat last time and I only found out afterwards why: he thought it was too expensive and he didn't want me to have to spend a lot of money on him. Well what are dads for? I am glad, though, that he is on that end of things instead of the "Gee, you are dad, you must be an ATM machine, please gimme, gimme, gimme" attitude that I have seen in kids these days that makes me want to puke. Hopefully he gets a nice paying job after school and will have learned about saving versus spending everything that you get in. But, while I am on vacation, I expect to have to spend exorbitant amounts of money on food when you have no other choice. If we do this again, I will let him know that: you hungry, get something, they put it on my tab, I don't really care. Not like I do that everyday.
Well, I am going to go back outside and try again. I had absolutely no motivation when I went out there an hour ago trying to do the same thing: resume the landscaping project and grass cutting stuff.
Later.
ben
Sunday 12/11/11
Christmas draweth nigh.
........and I just found out last night that I am supposed to be hosting the family Christmas get-together this year.
Nice. Lesseeeee, a 14 day notice. Hmmmm. Okay, I didn't exactly tell her yes, yet. I said I would give an answer by.......today, actually.
This all started when my sister-in-law called her yesterday asking if we were doing Christmas at my house, apparently it's my turn.
What I am waiting on is to take an inventory of what, exactly, I will need to do to get the place in order for that kind of thing. Well that inventory is done. The work? Has not begun, though Mark did spend quite a bit of time putting up all of my front yard Christmas decorations and it looked really good last night when I came home from that party.
However. There is still to finish the landscaping project out there, though at least for now, if I just finish the part I started a week ago - I have not had time to do anything out there - it will look pretty good. Then the side of the house, that is going to take some time. I have issues in my main bathroom - which aren't a big deal to me, but if my family is going to be going in there using that bathroom then I am going to have to fix a few problems in there. Mark will help with the house-cleaning portion and so, I think it is doable. I don't have to have a perfect house for my family, but, it's got to look really good, as far as I'm concerned.
Now, of course, that doesn't include Christmas dinner. Last time family was here, I served Standing Rib Roast that I had acquired while on sale at 50% off normal prices. I dunno if such prices will be available.
First project done: clean out the refrigerator. I got to looking at it while writing this entry and decided to get that P.I.T.A. job done. Done : )
Off to the races!
G'day.
ben
........and I just found out last night that I am supposed to be hosting the family Christmas get-together this year.
Nice. Lesseeeee, a 14 day notice. Hmmmm. Okay, I didn't exactly tell her yes, yet. I said I would give an answer by.......today, actually.
This all started when my sister-in-law called her yesterday asking if we were doing Christmas at my house, apparently it's my turn.
What I am waiting on is to take an inventory of what, exactly, I will need to do to get the place in order for that kind of thing. Well that inventory is done. The work? Has not begun, though Mark did spend quite a bit of time putting up all of my front yard Christmas decorations and it looked really good last night when I came home from that party.
However. There is still to finish the landscaping project out there, though at least for now, if I just finish the part I started a week ago - I have not had time to do anything out there - it will look pretty good. Then the side of the house, that is going to take some time. I have issues in my main bathroom - which aren't a big deal to me, but if my family is going to be going in there using that bathroom then I am going to have to fix a few problems in there. Mark will help with the house-cleaning portion and so, I think it is doable. I don't have to have a perfect house for my family, but, it's got to look really good, as far as I'm concerned.
Now, of course, that doesn't include Christmas dinner. Last time family was here, I served Standing Rib Roast that I had acquired while on sale at 50% off normal prices. I dunno if such prices will be available.
First project done: clean out the refrigerator. I got to looking at it while writing this entry and decided to get that P.I.T.A. job done. Done : )
Off to the races!
G'day.
ben
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Saturday 12/10/2011
Well, church Christmas party was fun.
The food at that restaurant was good, too.
For whatever reason, the pastors were going out their way
to make sure I was feeling at home, but I am pretty capable of
doing that even in a crowd full of strangers. I just haven't WANTED
to get involved in such for quite some time now.
After the restaurant, a large portion of the crowd went to
one of the older couple's home for dessert. I had one treat and
that was it, though I did have a couple of cups of hot apple cider, yummmm.
Today is the company Christmas party. One thing that makes a party like
that a bit unbearable is when the attendees are getting to the highly inebriated
point. Even if I were so inclined, I couldn't do it anyway. Drinking and driving?
No thanks. I would have to sleep it off in my car on their property, which I am
sure wouldn't go over too well, either.
There is a huge difference in carrying on a conversation with a straight, lucid person
and attempting to carry on one with a person that is stone drunk. At least there
will be the Cornhole competition, that was fun last year and the year before.
Whatever the case, the food is always REALLY good, the main warehouse manager
is bringing his "pecan-smoked brisket' and his BBQ'ing is always awesome. I think
I will plan on having a couple of beers, smoke a cigar, do the competition and then - go
home. I haven't had a cigar in like 2 months now, I vowed to myself to slow down on
those things and sure enough, it wasn't too terribly hard to do so since I was not a daily
smoker and wasn't addicted to nicotine.
Umm, so whatever. I have so much to do and so little time to do it, I love Christmas but I have to say this year is getting a bit out of hand. Fortunately, this party starts at noon and that is the way I like it.
Much rather have a day time party than something that drags way into the night.
This, is sick: "Hayes was convicted last year of raping and strangling Hawke-Petit and killing the girls. The girls died of smoke inhalation after they were tied to their beds and doused in gasoline before the house was set ablaze. Komisarjevsky was convicted Oct. 13 of the killings and of sexually assaulting Michaela."
I remember seeing the dad on TV news - wow. He lost his entire family to these evil thugs. He didn't just lose them, either, his family was basically tortured to death. I wonder if this kind of crime would continue to go on if the people killing others in a manner such as these "men" did were to receive the same exact recompense as punishment? Just kind of slowly boil them alive hanging above open flames. I suppose it would do nothing to stop those kinds of crimes and would just make us all into barbarians and uncivilized, but still. I just know how I am: if I lost my kids to 2 guys that came in and tortured them to death, including dowsing the girls with gasoline and setting the house on fire, I would just want to kill them myself. Don't worry about the death chamber or electrocution chair or putting these guys up in a prison cell for 2 decades while they exhaust all the appeals, I'll just take care of this myself. At least those "dudes" are both on death row is all I can say about that.
Well, whatever again. I guess I better get out the salami, summer sausage and the cheese and start cutting. It doesn't take long to get a cheese try ready and I didn't want to open the packages until maybe a few hours before I have to leave.
Later.
ben
The food at that restaurant was good, too.
For whatever reason, the pastors were going out their way
to make sure I was feeling at home, but I am pretty capable of
doing that even in a crowd full of strangers. I just haven't WANTED
to get involved in such for quite some time now.
After the restaurant, a large portion of the crowd went to
one of the older couple's home for dessert. I had one treat and
that was it, though I did have a couple of cups of hot apple cider, yummmm.
Today is the company Christmas party. One thing that makes a party like
that a bit unbearable is when the attendees are getting to the highly inebriated
point. Even if I were so inclined, I couldn't do it anyway. Drinking and driving?
No thanks. I would have to sleep it off in my car on their property, which I am
sure wouldn't go over too well, either.
There is a huge difference in carrying on a conversation with a straight, lucid person
and attempting to carry on one with a person that is stone drunk. At least there
will be the Cornhole competition, that was fun last year and the year before.
Whatever the case, the food is always REALLY good, the main warehouse manager
is bringing his "pecan-smoked brisket' and his BBQ'ing is always awesome. I think
I will plan on having a couple of beers, smoke a cigar, do the competition and then - go
home. I haven't had a cigar in like 2 months now, I vowed to myself to slow down on
those things and sure enough, it wasn't too terribly hard to do so since I was not a daily
smoker and wasn't addicted to nicotine.
Umm, so whatever. I have so much to do and so little time to do it, I love Christmas but I have to say this year is getting a bit out of hand. Fortunately, this party starts at noon and that is the way I like it.
Much rather have a day time party than something that drags way into the night.
This, is sick: "Hayes was convicted last year of raping and strangling Hawke-Petit and killing the girls. The girls died of smoke inhalation after they were tied to their beds and doused in gasoline before the house was set ablaze. Komisarjevsky was convicted Oct. 13 of the killings and of sexually assaulting Michaela."
I remember seeing the dad on TV news - wow. He lost his entire family to these evil thugs. He didn't just lose them, either, his family was basically tortured to death. I wonder if this kind of crime would continue to go on if the people killing others in a manner such as these "men" did were to receive the same exact recompense as punishment? Just kind of slowly boil them alive hanging above open flames. I suppose it would do nothing to stop those kinds of crimes and would just make us all into barbarians and uncivilized, but still. I just know how I am: if I lost my kids to 2 guys that came in and tortured them to death, including dowsing the girls with gasoline and setting the house on fire, I would just want to kill them myself. Don't worry about the death chamber or electrocution chair or putting these guys up in a prison cell for 2 decades while they exhaust all the appeals, I'll just take care of this myself. At least those "dudes" are both on death row is all I can say about that.
Well, whatever again. I guess I better get out the salami, summer sausage and the cheese and start cutting. It doesn't take long to get a cheese try ready and I didn't want to open the packages until maybe a few hours before I have to leave.
Later.
ben
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