I get tired of church games.
I don't think there's a church in existence that doesn't "participate" in such frivolity in some way, shape or form.
But still.
The church I am going to now, well.
Over a year ago, I saw a note in the weekly flyer saying anyone that wanted to become a church member can sign up and go through the training course.
Cool, I thought, whatever the course is, even if it's stuff I already know, it should be good.
Well, I was informed shortly before the day of the class that it had been cancelled because of people out with sickness and I would be informed when the next class would take place.
Well that never happened and the there was never any mention of it in the flyer again. Now, whether that was due to them not wanting certain individuals and not making it public anymore (and yet still having classes that I don't know about ) or whether they stopped altogether - who knows.
But when I went in there this morning, I saw a table set up with 2 books on it. These books had people's names written in it. Mine was not in either of them. It was a listing of all the members and those who could vote for their annual board meeting. They had to have a quorum of church members present to be able to conduct the business.
I remember this last year as well. It didn't sit so well with me then, but now, after 20 months of going to this church, well, it rubbed me the wrong way. Not necessarily because I am not on their membership roles, but that the whole situation had been swept under the carpet, nothing was ever said to me again about membership meetings and no-one has, apparently, the intestinal fortitude to come up to me and tell me why I am not fit for membership in their church.
These are games, IMO. The type of games that, if not rectified, will lead me to leave permanently. If I am not eligible for membership in their church and they don't even want to confront me, if such is the case, and tell me why, then they can go blow. And unlike them, I will have no problem telling them that to their face if it comes to that. Which I hope it does not, but I certainly went through some mind games this morning after seeing that and not seeing my name in there. Why is that important to you? Because, not being able to participate in something like what everyone else in the church or most everyone else in the church can participate in makes me feel like and outsider looking in. No viable input, no nothing. I could stay if I wanted to, according to today's bulletin, but only members are allowed to vote.
I just want to tell them they can go jump in an icy cold lake.
Instead, I sent them an email and explained the situation (in case someone feigns to not remember) and that I would not be coming back unless they want to have a face-to-face meeting with me (forget the phone calls or the emails, thanks) and tell my why. That's it. Just a simple explanation. Even if it's telling me I am not somehow good enough/disqualified/ whatever, that's what I need to hear. I can then make a decision as to whether I want to continue on in that church, or, if there is something they prescribe - within reason - that I need to do (and biblically based, thanks), I can deal with that. But getting the cold shoulder? I've already been through that in churches and I refuse to just play along and act like it doesn't bother me ever again. Either deal with me and this situation or I will come to the last service I will come to, get up front and explain the situation to everyone in the church whether they want me to or not and let the congregation know the particulars. The the body of Christ in that church can decide - through hearing from the Lord of course and hopefully - what should occur instead of what's going on now.
That's it.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Saturday, February 9, 2013
The Funeral
Well, interesting.
Got to the funeral home. An all inclusive funeral at that place. No funeral procession and the wake the same day as the service. Walked in, got into the room where George was laying in a coffin and sat down. Just looked around, looked up front at George and pondered.
After a little while, they started a video showing on a drop-down screen of a very large series of photographs of George from birth until recently. In fact, the most recent photo was of him and his wife at the company party in December.
There was a pretty crowd there considering it was the viewing and the actual service wasn't going to start for another 2 hours.
I took a walk up to the front and took a look at George. His body had decayed considerably. I found that interesting because at other viewings I had never seen any decay. Bodies are filled with the fluid and kept refrigerated as far as I know. One side of his face was quite puffy looking and there was damage visible. They had a cap on his head - though for George that certainly wasn't unusual, I am guessing it would have been hard to cover up the "blunt force trauma" that killed him if they hadn't had that on there. His fingers were - not really fingers anymore from the decay.
I don't really know how morticians can work with bodies like that day in and day out, that is not something I think I would take much pleasure in - at all. Not to mention having to oversee the services and seeing this kind of thing on a very frequent basis.
Anyway, I got out of there after viewing the entire collection of photos and partway into it a second time and started getting into conversations in the hallway with his family members, only a few of which I know. I also happened upon George's best friend and not just self-described as such, either, pretty much everyone that knew George said yes, that was his best friend.
The service started and his mother was just losing it. Of course, that's to be expected. A pastor got up and used the service as an opportunity to preach the Gospel and I was listening to his mom making comments, turns out she is a very strong Christian woman.
At least half of the crowd ended up over at one of the step-son's house and there was food and tables set up in the back yard. It was and is quite cool out there. Cold, actually, at least by my standards. Which probably isn't saying much compared to those that are currently in the aftermath of that huge blizzard. I sat down at the best friend's table - they were sitting alone and then a crowd of managers joined the table I was sitting at and we had some interesting discussions.
I hugged the mother on the way out- she broke down in tears as I told her it was very cool that she is a strong, Christian woman. She gave me a look of surprise. Yes, I could tell from the way you were talking that you love the Lord, is what I told her. She went into a very long story of how she absolutely loves the Lord but hates the church, which she considers man-made and not very nice words about it.
I felt compelled to tell her that yes, many churches are built upon man, but there are plenty out there that aren't. But I didn't push it, no point in it. I simply told her that we had been praying for her and the rest of the family and that we would continue to do so. They are going to have a second service in New York, which is where George is from and apparently had many friends back there as well.
That's pretty much it. 5 hours worth and that was enough for me. Most of the people had cleared out by the time I left the gathering anyway. Our company's GM told me it did happen on I-40, contrary to some rumors that have been floating around, and that he had, indeed, rolled the pickup into a semi that was already rolled over in the Interstate's center median. George had hit black ice and that was also what had caused the 2 trucks to crash. The police report has not been released and won't be until 21 days, so we still won't know exactly what happened out there, but now I have a clear picture of it, anyway.
Home now. I didn't much figure I would get anything done today with this funeral and the amount of time it would end up taking considering a visitation; service and then a party at a different location afterwards. But I was glad I went. I saw some sides to people there that they haven't shown before - mostly referring to management. George and the ops manager used to hang out together here and there and apparently took trips to different places together. Well I assume their wives would have been there with them. The GM had nothing but glowing remarks about George the entire time.
It's already past 6:00 pm, so I don't suspect I will do anything today, have church in the morning and dunno about the rest of Sunday.
ben
Got to the funeral home. An all inclusive funeral at that place. No funeral procession and the wake the same day as the service. Walked in, got into the room where George was laying in a coffin and sat down. Just looked around, looked up front at George and pondered.
After a little while, they started a video showing on a drop-down screen of a very large series of photographs of George from birth until recently. In fact, the most recent photo was of him and his wife at the company party in December.
There was a pretty crowd there considering it was the viewing and the actual service wasn't going to start for another 2 hours.
I took a walk up to the front and took a look at George. His body had decayed considerably. I found that interesting because at other viewings I had never seen any decay. Bodies are filled with the fluid and kept refrigerated as far as I know. One side of his face was quite puffy looking and there was damage visible. They had a cap on his head - though for George that certainly wasn't unusual, I am guessing it would have been hard to cover up the "blunt force trauma" that killed him if they hadn't had that on there. His fingers were - not really fingers anymore from the decay.
I don't really know how morticians can work with bodies like that day in and day out, that is not something I think I would take much pleasure in - at all. Not to mention having to oversee the services and seeing this kind of thing on a very frequent basis.
Anyway, I got out of there after viewing the entire collection of photos and partway into it a second time and started getting into conversations in the hallway with his family members, only a few of which I know. I also happened upon George's best friend and not just self-described as such, either, pretty much everyone that knew George said yes, that was his best friend.
The service started and his mother was just losing it. Of course, that's to be expected. A pastor got up and used the service as an opportunity to preach the Gospel and I was listening to his mom making comments, turns out she is a very strong Christian woman.
At least half of the crowd ended up over at one of the step-son's house and there was food and tables set up in the back yard. It was and is quite cool out there. Cold, actually, at least by my standards. Which probably isn't saying much compared to those that are currently in the aftermath of that huge blizzard. I sat down at the best friend's table - they were sitting alone and then a crowd of managers joined the table I was sitting at and we had some interesting discussions.
I hugged the mother on the way out- she broke down in tears as I told her it was very cool that she is a strong, Christian woman. She gave me a look of surprise. Yes, I could tell from the way you were talking that you love the Lord, is what I told her. She went into a very long story of how she absolutely loves the Lord but hates the church, which she considers man-made and not very nice words about it.
I felt compelled to tell her that yes, many churches are built upon man, but there are plenty out there that aren't. But I didn't push it, no point in it. I simply told her that we had been praying for her and the rest of the family and that we would continue to do so. They are going to have a second service in New York, which is where George is from and apparently had many friends back there as well.
That's pretty much it. 5 hours worth and that was enough for me. Most of the people had cleared out by the time I left the gathering anyway. Our company's GM told me it did happen on I-40, contrary to some rumors that have been floating around, and that he had, indeed, rolled the pickup into a semi that was already rolled over in the Interstate's center median. George had hit black ice and that was also what had caused the 2 trucks to crash. The police report has not been released and won't be until 21 days, so we still won't know exactly what happened out there, but now I have a clear picture of it, anyway.
Home now. I didn't much figure I would get anything done today with this funeral and the amount of time it would end up taking considering a visitation; service and then a party at a different location afterwards. But I was glad I went. I saw some sides to people there that they haven't shown before - mostly referring to management. George and the ops manager used to hang out together here and there and apparently took trips to different places together. Well I assume their wives would have been there with them. The GM had nothing but glowing remarks about George the entire time.
It's already past 6:00 pm, so I don't suspect I will do anything today, have church in the morning and dunno about the rest of Sunday.
ben
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Money ain't everything, but it definitely is something.
So it goes in my head when I contemplate retirement and attempting to save enough money for such.
Beyond that, however, is where to retire and do I want to have a mortgage at the age of 65 or whatever.
Do I want tenants living in my house forever.
Do I want to stay at the property that I am currently living on.
The answer to all 3 questions is a definitive: NO.
Properties in the area where I would like to retire are running 150k to 200k.
Zestimate - whether accurate or not I am not sure - has come up 36k in the last 4 months on my current property. Another 35k and that's what I owe on it. To go any more than that would be surprising, but certainly not unwanted.
Go live in a cheap dump somwhere for 5 to 10 years, save up all the extra money and build a house or cabin.
I don't really know how else to get there.
Better yet, just save up for one of those huge RV trailers with all the slide outs and then live in that for however long, saving as much money as possible.
Or, my original plan, to build a casita on the side of this house and have another rental unit.
Could just find a woman that has a great income, get married and then we can save a LOT of money quickly living together, lol.
Hmmm, the last one certainly sounds tempting if nothing else.
Actually, I really need to consider raising the rent on the tenants I have in here now. Not being greedy, but my rates are around $75 to $100 per month less than "current market value", which is going up and up and up as renting is becoming the standard for people who have lost homes and have no choice but to rent - or live under a bridge. Ohhhh, that I could just find somewhere where I could live realllly cheap without it being a total dump. Of course, I have been known to fix up dumps to make them nice places to live.
Whatever. Lots of thoughts swirling around in my mind, no conclusions on what to do.
With that, it's off to work!
G'day.
ben
So it goes in my head when I contemplate retirement and attempting to save enough money for such.
Beyond that, however, is where to retire and do I want to have a mortgage at the age of 65 or whatever.
Do I want tenants living in my house forever.
Do I want to stay at the property that I am currently living on.
The answer to all 3 questions is a definitive: NO.
Properties in the area where I would like to retire are running 150k to 200k.
Zestimate - whether accurate or not I am not sure - has come up 36k in the last 4 months on my current property. Another 35k and that's what I owe on it. To go any more than that would be surprising, but certainly not unwanted.
Go live in a cheap dump somwhere for 5 to 10 years, save up all the extra money and build a house or cabin.
I don't really know how else to get there.
Better yet, just save up for one of those huge RV trailers with all the slide outs and then live in that for however long, saving as much money as possible.
Or, my original plan, to build a casita on the side of this house and have another rental unit.
Could just find a woman that has a great income, get married and then we can save a LOT of money quickly living together, lol.
Hmmm, the last one certainly sounds tempting if nothing else.
Actually, I really need to consider raising the rent on the tenants I have in here now. Not being greedy, but my rates are around $75 to $100 per month less than "current market value", which is going up and up and up as renting is becoming the standard for people who have lost homes and have no choice but to rent - or live under a bridge. Ohhhh, that I could just find somewhere where I could live realllly cheap without it being a total dump. Of course, I have been known to fix up dumps to make them nice places to live.
Whatever. Lots of thoughts swirling around in my mind, no conclusions on what to do.
With that, it's off to work!
G'day.
ben
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
They arrested her and threw her in jail!
I got a letter from the City of Phoenix today telling me all about it and how the city is sorry that I have been the victim of a crime. This is referencing Duke who was basically mauled by this woman's 3 pitbulls.
Look, I am just not that vindictive. Dogs biting dogs. If it was her 3 pitbulls mauling a human, I would have a different view of it. Her dogs are definitely gone - at the pound but I don't know if they are going to be put down or what, they are under quarantine. I don't know what to say. "Whosoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker: and he that is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished."
I dunno.
So I am making a delivery to a business. The business is in a complex which is only accessible through a narrow driveway going into the area. The are is a line of business down either side with a driveway going in a loop - or more like a rectangle once you get in there. This is not a place for a semi. Well it's too late, I am already in there. I get out of the truck after talking to the man at the business and walk down to the end at the turn and then another turn to come back the other side. No way is that truck going to make it around that turn with all those vehicles and motorcycles parked there, not even close.
I got a letter from the City of Phoenix today telling me all about it and how the city is sorry that I have been the victim of a crime. This is referencing Duke who was basically mauled by this woman's 3 pitbulls.
Look, I am just not that vindictive. Dogs biting dogs. If it was her 3 pitbulls mauling a human, I would have a different view of it. Her dogs are definitely gone - at the pound but I don't know if they are going to be put down or what, they are under quarantine. I don't know what to say. "Whosoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker: and he that is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished."
I dunno.
So I am making a delivery to a business. The business is in a complex which is only accessible through a narrow driveway going into the area. The are is a line of business down either side with a driveway going in a loop - or more like a rectangle once you get in there. This is not a place for a semi. Well it's too late, I am already in there. I get out of the truck after talking to the man at the business and walk down to the end at the turn and then another turn to come back the other side. No way is that truck going to make it around that turn with all those vehicles and motorcycles parked there, not even close.
The man starts informing me that a 53' trailer comes in there all the time with a long wheel base tractor. I'm looking at that turn and thinking this guy is on drugs. He doesn't drive trucks, he has no clue what he is talking about. I just said okay, but let's get the truck unloaded. He continues to tell me how this big, long truck comes in there almost every day. I continue to let it go through one ear and out the other. That turn is impossible with all the vehicles parked there, I wasn't even going to try it.
At the end of this "discussion" and his continual bantering about how this "other" driver could make it through there, he finally admits that the truck comes in there early in the morning before anything is opened and all those vehicles aren't parked there.
Give me a break. I was blocking a line of cars trying to get in. When finally done, I pulled over to the side, waited until all of it cleared and then started backing out of there. Talk about a test of backing skill. You would just have to see this place to appreciate it. All the way out to the major surface street with LOTS of traffic on it. I waited and waited until there was enough of a break and cranked that baby right out there. Traffic had to stop, yes, but what else was I supposed to do.
Oh, and now my company is going to install satellite and will be able to track every truck in the fleet wherever it is. A total and complete waste of money. The only purpose it will serve is to find out who is slacking off. I don't really care if they see where I am at every minute of the day, I am busting @$$ so whatever. But I do consider it micro-management at it's finest. Someone looking over your should as often as they please to look on the computer and see. This isn't just my manager, this is any manager in the company that has a hard-on to "catch" someone doing - what? It will not alter anything for me. I will still stop at the store and get my lunch. That's the only "slacking" I do, which is not slacking at all anyway. If I am driving all day long, I don't care what anyone thinks about me stopping at a store for 3 minutes to pick up a sandwich and a drink.
I guess what I am not really fond of is micro-management. I don't need or want someone watching over me every minute of the day. I am self-motivated and I earn my money, thank you very much. I'll get used to it, had it some trucks when I was doing OTR stuff, but I can see the use for it there.
Anyways, the GM (of my company of course) wrote a mass email today asking for anyone/everyone to send in any emails or whatever they might want to say to remember George by (the dude that was killed in the vehicle accident a week ago today). Well, that was in my in-box when I came back from the road but also a personal one: he was asking me if it would be okay to post my letter that I had written to him about the situation the day it happened. It was a fairly personal letter to him, I know he really liked that particular worker and just wanted to send him something to offer some support.
I re-read the letter and kinda hemmed and hawed on that one. But it was obvious he wanted to put it in there, but at the same time he was trying to make it not-so-obvious. I wrote back and said yes, if you feel it's appropriate, it was what was in my heart at the time and now still in my heart. He wrote back and conveyed that the letter was very good, or however he put it and he thought George's wife would really like to see that.
Cool. George was a great guy. A life taken to soon, I think. He had a lot going on and a lot to look forward to. We'll definitely all miss him. I already miss him, lol, not seeing him downtown. When he was there - which sometimes he was and sometimes he was out on the field - he would help me get everything together I needed to get on the truck and get out of there. We would chat and talk about all kinds of things. We weren't best friends, I'm not saying that, but we definitely got along and definitely talked about personal issues that had nothing to do with the company.
Nice birthday. The college aged tenant made steak dinner and included me along in that equation. That with fresh asparagus; mushroom and mashed potatoes - not made from boxed flakes. I'm guessing 60 or 70 birthday wishes on my Facebook page. My dad? Got a card to me today, right on time : ) Nothing from my brothers, but not expected either. An email with happy birthday would suffice - such as I do with them. But, same-o, same-o. Of course mom called besides already sending me 2 birthday cards!
And an eviction notice. The individual I was trying to help in the trailer has not been looking for a job. I have heard 3 reports from 3 different people that he's screwing girls in there. He has been avoiding me. I pounded on the door 3 times today, no answer. I just went in - but the "bedroom" draw-thingy was pulled close, I have no idea whether he was back there or not. Whatever the case, I give people a chance in life. If they do something with it, wonderful, if they do not, they can go mooch somewhere else.
Umm, so that's it for now. Much more, actually, but nothing I am going to go into now. It's almost my bedtime : )
ben
Monday, February 4, 2013
I was starting to get a bit antsy about it.
3 weeks and nothing.
I am speaking of rent coming from a certain individual. I have 3 rooms of tenants.
Anyway, I figured if I didn't hear something or better yet, see some dinero by the end of today, well, time for notices.
Fortunately, the situation was resolved without having to say anything at all about it and that's that : )
Copied and pasted from my Facebook wall:
Driving the semi (48 foot flatbed trailer on International 8600 tractor) down the Santan/Loop 202 Freeway this afternoon, toodling along in the "slow" lane, had been in it for about 8 miles. A car comes zipping up, cuts directly in front of me - less than a car length of distance between my front bumper and his rear bumper - and hits the brakes. Truck was fully loaded, but light material, meaning not a heavy load and I was able to get slowed down. Immediately went into the middle lane to get past this - person - which took a few seconds to get back up to speed. JUST as I was about to overtake that car, he tried to cut me off again! But I had too much momentum, no slowing down this time, he started to enter my lane - with maybe 5 feet between us if he had actually come over - but apparently the idea of being mowed down by a semi was not palatable and got back over in his lane. Not that I want to mow people down, this individual was putting his life in his own hands. This was, probably anyway, a person wanting me to hit him in a rear end accident and then collect insurance money. I got well past this driver - but then that person got into the third lane, sped WAY up and then did the cut-off yet again. I was prepared for it this time and also was at my exit ramp. I simply got off the freeway. I figured if this person wanted to continue this BS, I would pull over to the side of the road and call the police. The lunacy of people playing with semi trucks in traffic, especially at high speeds. A crash between the 2 vehicles could easily result in that person's death or serious injuries. To risk your life for money is - absurd at best.
Lol, why type it twice when it can be copied and pasted once.
That wasn't actually, the only thing that happened in traffic today with stupid drivers doing stupid things, but it was, by far, the most notable thing.
This morning was also - interesting. Pipe that was supposed to be picked up Friday - which I couldn't because I couldn't get to the manufacturer before they closed - was therefore picked up this morning. I called the inside salesman that is on the account to ask him about the ticket. He started going ballistic on me because I hadn't delivered the first load yet. I was not in the mood. I can't say my response to him was Christian-like, not even remotely such. I won't go into the details, but there were no pleasantries and I eventually hung up on him.
Then, I got to the jobsite to deliver the pipe. It is some sort of city owned ranch for educational purposes about farming. Whatever the case, I did not see a backhoe or trackhoe (excavator) and called the number on the delivery ticket to inquire where, exactly, they wanted the pipe to be dropped.
The man was a total jerkoff. He stated that I was in the wrong place. I was not in the wrong place. He insisted I must be at the wrong place and when I attempted to confirm with him where he wanted the pipe dropped at this site - many places it could be taken off - he hung up on me. The man's attitude was foul. I called the inside salesman again who said he was sorry, he had "forgotten" to tell me that this guy was known to be an @$$ with everyone. I could have cared less, I was not calling that guy back. In fact, I didn't care if I never saw him, much less talked to him on the phone again.
I resolved that situation -without dragging on this story forever - and moved on. It was on the way there that the above-mentioned story on the freeway occurred.
Interesting day, I guess.
I slept miserably last night, woke up probably a dozen times. When I finally got home from work today, I decided to take short nap - 20 minutes or so. I woke up an hour and 20 minutes later and had to force myself to get up, it was like it was the middle of the night I had fallen into such a deep sleep. The only thing that woke me up was it was still daytime and I usually do not sleep very well in lighted conditions.
Ummm, well tomorrow is my birthday - will turn 49 - and my manager wants me to go out with him to a fancy pizza joint and get "ripped". No thanks, but I'll have a couple of beers I guess. I don't want to get ripped, number one and number 2, even if I did want to, I still have to drive home afterwards.
Enough.
ben
3 weeks and nothing.
I am speaking of rent coming from a certain individual. I have 3 rooms of tenants.
Anyway, I figured if I didn't hear something or better yet, see some dinero by the end of today, well, time for notices.
Fortunately, the situation was resolved without having to say anything at all about it and that's that : )
Copied and pasted from my Facebook wall:
Driving the semi (48 foot flatbed trailer on International 8600 tractor) down the Santan/Loop 202 Freeway this afternoon, toodling along in the "slow" lane, had been in it for about 8 miles. A car comes zipping up, cuts directly in front of me - less than a car length of distance between my front bumper and his rear bumper - and hits the brakes. Truck was fully loaded, but light material, meaning not a heavy load and I was able to get slowed down. Immediately went into the middle lane to get past this - person - which took a few seconds to get back up to speed. JUST as I was about to overtake that car, he tried to cut me off again! But I had too much momentum, no slowing down this time, he started to enter my lane - with maybe 5 feet between us if he had actually come over - but apparently the idea of being mowed down by a semi was not palatable and got back over in his lane. Not that I want to mow people down, this individual was putting his life in his own hands. This was, probably anyway, a person wanting me to hit him in a rear end accident and then collect insurance money. I got well past this driver - but then that person got into the third lane, sped WAY up and then did the cut-off yet again. I was prepared for it this time and also was at my exit ramp. I simply got off the freeway. I figured if this person wanted to continue this BS, I would pull over to the side of the road and call the police. The lunacy of people playing with semi trucks in traffic, especially at high speeds. A crash between the 2 vehicles could easily result in that person's death or serious injuries. To risk your life for money is - absurd at best.
Lol, why type it twice when it can be copied and pasted once.
That wasn't actually, the only thing that happened in traffic today with stupid drivers doing stupid things, but it was, by far, the most notable thing.
This morning was also - interesting. Pipe that was supposed to be picked up Friday - which I couldn't because I couldn't get to the manufacturer before they closed - was therefore picked up this morning. I called the inside salesman that is on the account to ask him about the ticket. He started going ballistic on me because I hadn't delivered the first load yet. I was not in the mood. I can't say my response to him was Christian-like, not even remotely such. I won't go into the details, but there were no pleasantries and I eventually hung up on him.
Then, I got to the jobsite to deliver the pipe. It is some sort of city owned ranch for educational purposes about farming. Whatever the case, I did not see a backhoe or trackhoe (excavator) and called the number on the delivery ticket to inquire where, exactly, they wanted the pipe to be dropped.
The man was a total jerkoff. He stated that I was in the wrong place. I was not in the wrong place. He insisted I must be at the wrong place and when I attempted to confirm with him where he wanted the pipe dropped at this site - many places it could be taken off - he hung up on me. The man's attitude was foul. I called the inside salesman again who said he was sorry, he had "forgotten" to tell me that this guy was known to be an @$$ with everyone. I could have cared less, I was not calling that guy back. In fact, I didn't care if I never saw him, much less talked to him on the phone again.
I resolved that situation -without dragging on this story forever - and moved on. It was on the way there that the above-mentioned story on the freeway occurred.
Interesting day, I guess.
I slept miserably last night, woke up probably a dozen times. When I finally got home from work today, I decided to take short nap - 20 minutes or so. I woke up an hour and 20 minutes later and had to force myself to get up, it was like it was the middle of the night I had fallen into such a deep sleep. The only thing that woke me up was it was still daytime and I usually do not sleep very well in lighted conditions.
Ummm, well tomorrow is my birthday - will turn 49 - and my manager wants me to go out with him to a fancy pizza joint and get "ripped". No thanks, but I'll have a couple of beers I guess. I don't want to get ripped, number one and number 2, even if I did want to, I still have to drive home afterwards.
Enough.
ben
Sunday, February 3, 2013
33 days without any form of meat.
I can say that I eat far less food when eating meat versus not.
There is nothing else that fills you up like meat and keeps you feeling full and mind off of food.
That is, of course, my opinion. But I tried all of it, everything I found at the big veggie stores that cater to vegans. Some of it tasted delicious, some of it not so good. But whether it was delicious or not, it was, in the end, only veggies or tofu or some such thing and the full feeling doesn't last very long.
I'm sure it's great for your health - eating only veggies and such and probably good for lowering cholesterol levels. But I can't honestly say I "feel" any better than when eating meat on a daily basis (as some would suggest will happen). Though this is definitely not the point or purpose of fasting, it is still something I had wondered about for a long time.
As for the purpose of the fast, certainly there have been benefits of a personal nature of which I won't go into here, sorry. There have also been a number of mind battles going on, in the Christian realm they are called attacks from the enemy (satan). He doesn't want to let go of anyone. If he has you in any form of bondage - and if you are not saved, it's pretty much 100% guaranteed you have some sort of chains holding you down and some sort of addiction or things you do, usually self-destructive - that are keeping you in "bondage" to the enemy's desire for your life: to end up in a lake of fire. He doesn't care about any of us, he pretty much hates us, good thing God is FAR greater (being the Creator, that equation is easily true).
I'm still working through some things, to be honest, not easy things either. You get into patterns, habits in life and some of them may not be so good for you either spiritually, physically or both at the same time. I'm not talking about Jim Jones Kool Aid type of thing, not suicidal or anything remotely close to that, but we tend to look at things in life and think: "well that's not really so bad" in comparing it to everyone else or looking at the news and seeing all kinds of mayhem going on in this world.
Perhaps God sees your life differently and desires you to live a better life that is more spiritually fulfilled and that is a life that is pleasing to the Father in Heaven. Perhaps there is a greater purpose for your life which you may have not even thought about, much less explored. I have gone through all the thought processes - as much as I know anyway - in such realms and have come to the conclusion that there is nothing in this world that compares to simply loving the Lord with all of my heart and following hard after Him.
However, I can also honestly say that there are 3 T-Bone steaks sitting my refrigerator. I was going to get New York Strip or even Porterhouse, but I opted for the "bargain" priced stuff instead (50% off at Fry's). And besides, any steak will taste like a Porterhouse at this point!
So, the "prophecies" of the doom and gloomers are starting to come to light. Not that I wanted to see any of it happen, but, the fact of the matter is, inflation is here and not going away. Food prices continue to rise and so does the cost of just about everything else. A few are "prescribing" that food prices will literally soar in the next 3 months.
I read such things and wonder if they are going to occur. I then think that if they do, there is nothing much I can do about it and therefore, why bother worrying. I can store up some food in the pantry and try to save up a bit of extra cash if things get really tight, but in the end, I only have God and Him alone to trust and obey.
I have lived in poverty in the past and can honestly say that I don't think ill of the time I spent in such condition. It does, actually, cause' you to be more thankful for the little things you do have and if you acquire something that had been out of reach for a long time, even moreso appreciative of having had the opportunity to acquire such. Such as the time my water heater went out and I went without hot water in the house for 6 months. I was so poor that I couldn't afford to buy a new OR used one. Or going through very hot summers with only evaporative cooling to keep the house cool. In 115 degree heat outside, the house would get up to somewhere in the low to mid 90's inside. I would sit there with only shorts on and a fan blowing at me, drinking a lot of ice water. But, I didn't sit there feeling sorry for myself, it was what it was.
I have considered the ways of the rich and have come to the conclusion that regardless of what income level you are at, you can either be happy, or very often, be extremely miserable. Considering the ways of the rich as referred to in numerous places in the Bible, being rich is not, actually, a desirable thing considering the traps and snare that rich men and women can and often times do fall into. I could go live in a small travel trailer, such as I have done in the past, and be as happy as living in this 2,000 square foot house. If I have a comfy bed and my dogs can fit in there, who cares.
Do I put such a great value on my dogs? To some degree, yes. They don't care what I look like, how I smell or how rich or poor I am. They are content to be fed once a day and show me great affection regardless of what is going on in my life. They feel when I am stressed and they always come to my side when I am under some kind of duress. I don't know how they know that, but they do. They don't argue with me or tell me that I "should" be doing this or that. They're usually only unhappy when I am unhappy but try to cheer me up in whatever way they can.
They do not, of course, take the place of human interaction or a relationship with the Lord, not even trying to say that at all.
Regardless, though I don't really want to be poor, I will be happy with whatever situation I am in. I have tenants galore living here - sometimes that causes problems and sometimes I dream of having my place to myself - but usually we all get along and the little things that happen are usually quickly forgotten. I am not poor now, at least I certainly don't consider myself in such condition. I only need look to our friends to the south of the border to confirm that. Or even throughout our own nation. Or my friend in the Philippines who told me a few days ago that many of the people in the area he lives in can only afford to eat once per day. Which is why, he states, Philippine women like to find American men and marry them. He states their living conditions almost always increase exponentially and worrying about eating 3 times a day or even getting 2 meals per day is no longer an issue.
Do you have to worry about what you are going to eat every day? I only think of WHAT I am going to eat, not IF I am going to be able to afford to. How many nations on this earth are full of people in the same such condition: malnourished, starving and whose only thought in the morning is where to get fresh drinking water and what they are going to be able to put on the table to eat for that day.
Yes, you have heard that all of your life and though it moves you a bit, it doesn't cause you to take any action (such as sending money to a missionary overseas to help him or her in their endeavors to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and in many cases teach the people how to farm and feed themselves). If you would really like to get a heart for people in such condition, which is probably a good percentage of this world, you need only take a trip to such a place and visit them first-hand. There are plenty of missionary organizations out there that will allow you to take a week or 2 or however long you wish to stay and see and experience first-hand what it is like. Your life will be changed forever. If it is not, then I suggest you really need to seek the Lord about the state of your heart and your potential dwelling place in eternity, as I would also suggest that it may not include any portion of heaven involved.
If you wonder, readers that have been reading me for years and there are at least a a few here, why I give out food to hungry people locally even when I'm not doing that great financially myself, you need only reference the above statements to get where I am coming from. I doubt that, when I stand before the Lord, that He is going to fault me for having helped the poor and needy. In fact, Christ commanded us to feed the hungry. I undoubtedly will have to answer for a lot of other things, but then there is the shed blood of Christ, thankfully, that atones for my sin. Not that that gives me a carte blanche pass to go out and sin and do whatever I please, quite to the contrary, I am thankful for my name having been written in the Lamb's Book of Life (you can Google that and find that in scripture if you please) or I can simply give you the scripture to look it up: The Book of Revelations, Chapter 21, Verse 27. No, I am seeking to live a life that pleases my Father in Heaven, not causes him to look at me through the eyes of wrath.
Whatever the case, I have a bonus coming in my next paycheck and a portion of that is going to buy a case of Bible for my friend in the Philippines so that he can hand them out to those that he knows will read them. Earthly food is good for the here and now, the Heavenly food - the Word of God - is good for all of eternity. A person needs both.
I am also tired of my own lack of faith. Am I walking in the power and authority that is to be had for the believer? No. I have never raised the dead or done other such things as the Bible clearly states is for the believer to walk in - for the Glory of God and the expansion of His eternal Kingdom (and no other reason, such as puffing up man or attempting to show what "you" can do). I have cast out a few demons in the past and I have prayed with people that had been sick for a long, long time and seen them healed the same day. Glory to God alone. But what this world and certainly this nation needs is to see the reality of God. Tumors and cancers to be eradicated immediately from a person's body; dead people being brought to life that are laying in coffins at viewings - people whose bodies are ravaged by whatever and filled with embalming fluid being brought back to life. These things are possible. I firmly believe that. God is the Creator and the Creator who made all of these bodies is easily able to "fix" them. It's "me" that's the problem. This is what I am seeking after: that the world may "see" God through the miracles such as what Jesus did when he was walking this earth and healing the sick everywhere he went.
But it's a battle. The flesh doesn't like it and the enemy most certainly doesn't like it, either. Anything that brings Glory to the Most High God the enemy would like to bring down and stop before it starts. But I will not dwell on the enemy too long, he is a liar and he has been cast out of Heaven and his fate is sealed. I have a lack of faith, that's what I am saying and I want that faith to be increased and that is one thing that I have been praying for during this fast. I realized that before that is going to happen, certain things in my life have to be dealt with and the dealing has long since begun.
With that I must be about the morning's business. Namely, taking a shower and getting ready for church.
Happy Sunday.
ben
I can say that I eat far less food when eating meat versus not.
There is nothing else that fills you up like meat and keeps you feeling full and mind off of food.
That is, of course, my opinion. But I tried all of it, everything I found at the big veggie stores that cater to vegans. Some of it tasted delicious, some of it not so good. But whether it was delicious or not, it was, in the end, only veggies or tofu or some such thing and the full feeling doesn't last very long.
I'm sure it's great for your health - eating only veggies and such and probably good for lowering cholesterol levels. But I can't honestly say I "feel" any better than when eating meat on a daily basis (as some would suggest will happen). Though this is definitely not the point or purpose of fasting, it is still something I had wondered about for a long time.
As for the purpose of the fast, certainly there have been benefits of a personal nature of which I won't go into here, sorry. There have also been a number of mind battles going on, in the Christian realm they are called attacks from the enemy (satan). He doesn't want to let go of anyone. If he has you in any form of bondage - and if you are not saved, it's pretty much 100% guaranteed you have some sort of chains holding you down and some sort of addiction or things you do, usually self-destructive - that are keeping you in "bondage" to the enemy's desire for your life: to end up in a lake of fire. He doesn't care about any of us, he pretty much hates us, good thing God is FAR greater (being the Creator, that equation is easily true).
I'm still working through some things, to be honest, not easy things either. You get into patterns, habits in life and some of them may not be so good for you either spiritually, physically or both at the same time. I'm not talking about Jim Jones Kool Aid type of thing, not suicidal or anything remotely close to that, but we tend to look at things in life and think: "well that's not really so bad" in comparing it to everyone else or looking at the news and seeing all kinds of mayhem going on in this world.
Perhaps God sees your life differently and desires you to live a better life that is more spiritually fulfilled and that is a life that is pleasing to the Father in Heaven. Perhaps there is a greater purpose for your life which you may have not even thought about, much less explored. I have gone through all the thought processes - as much as I know anyway - in such realms and have come to the conclusion that there is nothing in this world that compares to simply loving the Lord with all of my heart and following hard after Him.
However, I can also honestly say that there are 3 T-Bone steaks sitting my refrigerator. I was going to get New York Strip or even Porterhouse, but I opted for the "bargain" priced stuff instead (50% off at Fry's). And besides, any steak will taste like a Porterhouse at this point!
So, the "prophecies" of the doom and gloomers are starting to come to light. Not that I wanted to see any of it happen, but, the fact of the matter is, inflation is here and not going away. Food prices continue to rise and so does the cost of just about everything else. A few are "prescribing" that food prices will literally soar in the next 3 months.
I read such things and wonder if they are going to occur. I then think that if they do, there is nothing much I can do about it and therefore, why bother worrying. I can store up some food in the pantry and try to save up a bit of extra cash if things get really tight, but in the end, I only have God and Him alone to trust and obey.
I have lived in poverty in the past and can honestly say that I don't think ill of the time I spent in such condition. It does, actually, cause' you to be more thankful for the little things you do have and if you acquire something that had been out of reach for a long time, even moreso appreciative of having had the opportunity to acquire such. Such as the time my water heater went out and I went without hot water in the house for 6 months. I was so poor that I couldn't afford to buy a new OR used one. Or going through very hot summers with only evaporative cooling to keep the house cool. In 115 degree heat outside, the house would get up to somewhere in the low to mid 90's inside. I would sit there with only shorts on and a fan blowing at me, drinking a lot of ice water. But, I didn't sit there feeling sorry for myself, it was what it was.
I have considered the ways of the rich and have come to the conclusion that regardless of what income level you are at, you can either be happy, or very often, be extremely miserable. Considering the ways of the rich as referred to in numerous places in the Bible, being rich is not, actually, a desirable thing considering the traps and snare that rich men and women can and often times do fall into. I could go live in a small travel trailer, such as I have done in the past, and be as happy as living in this 2,000 square foot house. If I have a comfy bed and my dogs can fit in there, who cares.
Do I put such a great value on my dogs? To some degree, yes. They don't care what I look like, how I smell or how rich or poor I am. They are content to be fed once a day and show me great affection regardless of what is going on in my life. They feel when I am stressed and they always come to my side when I am under some kind of duress. I don't know how they know that, but they do. They don't argue with me or tell me that I "should" be doing this or that. They're usually only unhappy when I am unhappy but try to cheer me up in whatever way they can.
They do not, of course, take the place of human interaction or a relationship with the Lord, not even trying to say that at all.
Regardless, though I don't really want to be poor, I will be happy with whatever situation I am in. I have tenants galore living here - sometimes that causes problems and sometimes I dream of having my place to myself - but usually we all get along and the little things that happen are usually quickly forgotten. I am not poor now, at least I certainly don't consider myself in such condition. I only need look to our friends to the south of the border to confirm that. Or even throughout our own nation. Or my friend in the Philippines who told me a few days ago that many of the people in the area he lives in can only afford to eat once per day. Which is why, he states, Philippine women like to find American men and marry them. He states their living conditions almost always increase exponentially and worrying about eating 3 times a day or even getting 2 meals per day is no longer an issue.
Do you have to worry about what you are going to eat every day? I only think of WHAT I am going to eat, not IF I am going to be able to afford to. How many nations on this earth are full of people in the same such condition: malnourished, starving and whose only thought in the morning is where to get fresh drinking water and what they are going to be able to put on the table to eat for that day.
Yes, you have heard that all of your life and though it moves you a bit, it doesn't cause you to take any action (such as sending money to a missionary overseas to help him or her in their endeavors to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and in many cases teach the people how to farm and feed themselves). If you would really like to get a heart for people in such condition, which is probably a good percentage of this world, you need only take a trip to such a place and visit them first-hand. There are plenty of missionary organizations out there that will allow you to take a week or 2 or however long you wish to stay and see and experience first-hand what it is like. Your life will be changed forever. If it is not, then I suggest you really need to seek the Lord about the state of your heart and your potential dwelling place in eternity, as I would also suggest that it may not include any portion of heaven involved.
If you wonder, readers that have been reading me for years and there are at least a a few here, why I give out food to hungry people locally even when I'm not doing that great financially myself, you need only reference the above statements to get where I am coming from. I doubt that, when I stand before the Lord, that He is going to fault me for having helped the poor and needy. In fact, Christ commanded us to feed the hungry. I undoubtedly will have to answer for a lot of other things, but then there is the shed blood of Christ, thankfully, that atones for my sin. Not that that gives me a carte blanche pass to go out and sin and do whatever I please, quite to the contrary, I am thankful for my name having been written in the Lamb's Book of Life (you can Google that and find that in scripture if you please) or I can simply give you the scripture to look it up: The Book of Revelations, Chapter 21, Verse 27. No, I am seeking to live a life that pleases my Father in Heaven, not causes him to look at me through the eyes of wrath.
Whatever the case, I have a bonus coming in my next paycheck and a portion of that is going to buy a case of Bible for my friend in the Philippines so that he can hand them out to those that he knows will read them. Earthly food is good for the here and now, the Heavenly food - the Word of God - is good for all of eternity. A person needs both.
I am also tired of my own lack of faith. Am I walking in the power and authority that is to be had for the believer? No. I have never raised the dead or done other such things as the Bible clearly states is for the believer to walk in - for the Glory of God and the expansion of His eternal Kingdom (and no other reason, such as puffing up man or attempting to show what "you" can do). I have cast out a few demons in the past and I have prayed with people that had been sick for a long, long time and seen them healed the same day. Glory to God alone. But what this world and certainly this nation needs is to see the reality of God. Tumors and cancers to be eradicated immediately from a person's body; dead people being brought to life that are laying in coffins at viewings - people whose bodies are ravaged by whatever and filled with embalming fluid being brought back to life. These things are possible. I firmly believe that. God is the Creator and the Creator who made all of these bodies is easily able to "fix" them. It's "me" that's the problem. This is what I am seeking after: that the world may "see" God through the miracles such as what Jesus did when he was walking this earth and healing the sick everywhere he went.
But it's a battle. The flesh doesn't like it and the enemy most certainly doesn't like it, either. Anything that brings Glory to the Most High God the enemy would like to bring down and stop before it starts. But I will not dwell on the enemy too long, he is a liar and he has been cast out of Heaven and his fate is sealed. I have a lack of faith, that's what I am saying and I want that faith to be increased and that is one thing that I have been praying for during this fast. I realized that before that is going to happen, certain things in my life have to be dealt with and the dealing has long since begun.
With that I must be about the morning's business. Namely, taking a shower and getting ready for church.
Happy Sunday.
ben
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Finally got some more information about the co-worker that was killed. He was driving up a hill on the highway, came to the top to be greeted by a crash that had occurred right there on the other side of the hill.
Road conditions were bad with ice and snow. A witness said he was swerving back and forth (lost control) attempting to avoid the crash, the pickup he was driving rolled several times and finally crashed into the semi truck that was already in the other crash that had already occurred.
The coroner apparently stated that he had 2 very deep gashes in his head - ie: brain injuries and a large number of broken bones. I did not hear whether he had survived and taken to a hospital or had been killed on impact, but from the sound of the injuries I would veer towards either instant death or fast death shortly after the crash occurred.
As word spreads around that someone was killed in our company, so are the reactions. Today, walking into a vendor to get some materials, the desk-dude was shocked to see me standing there. "I thought you were dead". A not-so-comforting thought. No, not me. The dude that smokes, that's the one that is dead. He's the only one that smokes that goes around picking things up, so easiest way to identify who it was that passed on to the next life.
3 days left to go one the meatless fast. Although I am definitely ready for a thick, juicy steak, the fast has been good and productive. Got some interesting words from the Lord at the prayer meeting a few nights ago and am going to go again to the final prayer meeting concerning this fast tomorrow night (Lord willing, of course). I think I might have a beer with that steak!
I was contemplating going up north tomorrow but with Duke's situation, I think I am going to give it a pass until next weekend. And anyway, the prayer meeting tomorrow night and the end of the fast on Sunday, this weekend really wouldn't be a good one to take off up there anyway. I tend to try and go up on a Friday afternoon so I can have 2 full nights up there and come back Sunday morning. But in this case, I haven't been up there in a while, so if I go next weekend instead of this, I can just sleep in on Sunday and come back by early afternoon and skip church for one weekend. Not the end of the world to miss one Sunday at church.
I was speaking with my mom today and she is all kinds of concerned about the door to her shed up there. Apparently my older brother was up there a bit ago and told her the door won't shut properly and can't be locked. She wants me to fix it while I'm up there. Well, maybe. They have the high temp for 2 Saturdays from now forecast at 56 degrees with the low at 24. My first thought in cold weather like that is not to be fixing things in freezing cold weather. We'll see. My first thought is to take some cocoa up and already have coffee and tea up there and spend some quality time in the Word up in the mountains. Of course I have Direct TV up there and internet access as well, so, not like cut off from the world (though in reality, I don't wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to go ahead and take a break from internet/facebook/all of this stuff and just meditate on the Word and on the Lord).
Caleb wants to take my car up to Heber - which is further on up the road from my mother's property, about another 50 miles I think - and go to the Salvation Army camp again with a friend in February. I am undecided about that one. He is a good enough driver - he hasn't been in any accidents since he started driving and no tickets - but driving on open highway and up on the Rim where there my be the potential for ice on the road is a completely different story. Not to mention that car is my ride to and from work every day. I will probably let him take it, but I told him I would be praying about it first before making any decision. Any "check" in my spirit about it and I will be inclined to say no. He started talking about taking that old Buick up there and I simply said no. I don't trust that car to do anything more than get him around town. If it breaks down in town, not terribly difficult to get it towed home or to a garage. Out on the open highway, totally different story. Rent a truck and a car trailer to get it back. I actually have no idea whether that thing would be good for a drive up there or not, I just simply don't think it's a good idea. I still have this thing about my co-worker being killed on an icy road on Tuesday running through my head, probably that is weighing on me more right now than anything.
I hit Walmart on the way home from work today to get some dog food. I figured to get some 12 gauge target rounds - I figured wrong. Not a single box of ANY kind of 12 gauge ammo in the entire case. ONE box of .40 caliber in there - expensive stuff at $45 per box, no thanks. I had been in that store about a month ago looking and it was low on ammo then, but this was even worse. I read today that some group wants to sue the government for allowing lead in bullets - their reasoning they did away with lead in everything else. Ummm, how much of the supply of ammo out there doesn't have some amount of lead in it? Yeah.
I'm not going to go into politics here, at least not today. Too much going on, much of it bluster and hot air, the same old stuff not even packaged differently. Dems blaming GOP, GOP blaming Dems. Same-o, same-o. The only thing I have seen of interest is the rise in the stock market - which has been great for my 401k! Umm, but let's not get too excited, my 401k does not have that much money in it.
Enough. Tomorrow is Friday, the entire day at work from the time I clock in until the time I clock out will be overtime. I was informed today that management "bitches" about it regardless of whether it is justified or not. Our 2-man crew has delivered/sold over 500k in sales this month at about 15% gross profit. I guess profit could stand to be a bit higher, but no other store in our region has higher GP so no biggies. Meaning, to me, that the OT is justified. All other branches have a lot more people working at it and most of them do not do anything close to the amount of sales we are dealing with each month. They are, in effect, saving money in not having to pay another full time person and the subsequent benefits they would incur with another person. I think the not having to pay substantial amounts of benefits to another person is quite the savings in itself - but - we had asked for another person to be hired either for our shop only or to be split up time-wise between our branch and the main branch. Nope, not happening. So, I have no sympathy. I need the money anyway, definitely not complaining about my paychecks : )
G'nite.
ben
Road conditions were bad with ice and snow. A witness said he was swerving back and forth (lost control) attempting to avoid the crash, the pickup he was driving rolled several times and finally crashed into the semi truck that was already in the other crash that had already occurred.
The coroner apparently stated that he had 2 very deep gashes in his head - ie: brain injuries and a large number of broken bones. I did not hear whether he had survived and taken to a hospital or had been killed on impact, but from the sound of the injuries I would veer towards either instant death or fast death shortly after the crash occurred.
As word spreads around that someone was killed in our company, so are the reactions. Today, walking into a vendor to get some materials, the desk-dude was shocked to see me standing there. "I thought you were dead". A not-so-comforting thought. No, not me. The dude that smokes, that's the one that is dead. He's the only one that smokes that goes around picking things up, so easiest way to identify who it was that passed on to the next life.
3 days left to go one the meatless fast. Although I am definitely ready for a thick, juicy steak, the fast has been good and productive. Got some interesting words from the Lord at the prayer meeting a few nights ago and am going to go again to the final prayer meeting concerning this fast tomorrow night (Lord willing, of course). I think I might have a beer with that steak!
I was contemplating going up north tomorrow but with Duke's situation, I think I am going to give it a pass until next weekend. And anyway, the prayer meeting tomorrow night and the end of the fast on Sunday, this weekend really wouldn't be a good one to take off up there anyway. I tend to try and go up on a Friday afternoon so I can have 2 full nights up there and come back Sunday morning. But in this case, I haven't been up there in a while, so if I go next weekend instead of this, I can just sleep in on Sunday and come back by early afternoon and skip church for one weekend. Not the end of the world to miss one Sunday at church.
I was speaking with my mom today and she is all kinds of concerned about the door to her shed up there. Apparently my older brother was up there a bit ago and told her the door won't shut properly and can't be locked. She wants me to fix it while I'm up there. Well, maybe. They have the high temp for 2 Saturdays from now forecast at 56 degrees with the low at 24. My first thought in cold weather like that is not to be fixing things in freezing cold weather. We'll see. My first thought is to take some cocoa up and already have coffee and tea up there and spend some quality time in the Word up in the mountains. Of course I have Direct TV up there and internet access as well, so, not like cut off from the world (though in reality, I don't wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to go ahead and take a break from internet/facebook/all of this stuff and just meditate on the Word and on the Lord).
Caleb wants to take my car up to Heber - which is further on up the road from my mother's property, about another 50 miles I think - and go to the Salvation Army camp again with a friend in February. I am undecided about that one. He is a good enough driver - he hasn't been in any accidents since he started driving and no tickets - but driving on open highway and up on the Rim where there my be the potential for ice on the road is a completely different story. Not to mention that car is my ride to and from work every day. I will probably let him take it, but I told him I would be praying about it first before making any decision. Any "check" in my spirit about it and I will be inclined to say no. He started talking about taking that old Buick up there and I simply said no. I don't trust that car to do anything more than get him around town. If it breaks down in town, not terribly difficult to get it towed home or to a garage. Out on the open highway, totally different story. Rent a truck and a car trailer to get it back. I actually have no idea whether that thing would be good for a drive up there or not, I just simply don't think it's a good idea. I still have this thing about my co-worker being killed on an icy road on Tuesday running through my head, probably that is weighing on me more right now than anything.
I hit Walmart on the way home from work today to get some dog food. I figured to get some 12 gauge target rounds - I figured wrong. Not a single box of ANY kind of 12 gauge ammo in the entire case. ONE box of .40 caliber in there - expensive stuff at $45 per box, no thanks. I had been in that store about a month ago looking and it was low on ammo then, but this was even worse. I read today that some group wants to sue the government for allowing lead in bullets - their reasoning they did away with lead in everything else. Ummm, how much of the supply of ammo out there doesn't have some amount of lead in it? Yeah.
I'm not going to go into politics here, at least not today. Too much going on, much of it bluster and hot air, the same old stuff not even packaged differently. Dems blaming GOP, GOP blaming Dems. Same-o, same-o. The only thing I have seen of interest is the rise in the stock market - which has been great for my 401k! Umm, but let's not get too excited, my 401k does not have that much money in it.
Enough. Tomorrow is Friday, the entire day at work from the time I clock in until the time I clock out will be overtime. I was informed today that management "bitches" about it regardless of whether it is justified or not. Our 2-man crew has delivered/sold over 500k in sales this month at about 15% gross profit. I guess profit could stand to be a bit higher, but no other store in our region has higher GP so no biggies. Meaning, to me, that the OT is justified. All other branches have a lot more people working at it and most of them do not do anything close to the amount of sales we are dealing with each month. They are, in effect, saving money in not having to pay another full time person and the subsequent benefits they would incur with another person. I think the not having to pay substantial amounts of benefits to another person is quite the savings in itself - but - we had asked for another person to be hired either for our shop only or to be split up time-wise between our branch and the main branch. Nope, not happening. So, I have no sympathy. I need the money anyway, definitely not complaining about my paychecks : )
G'nite.
ben
Still no word on what exactly happened in the crash with the coworker. I was downtown earlier at the main branch - new pics posted on the break room wall of the party a while back, he was in 2 of them. A bit eerie, him standing there with his wife. One of those things that will take a while to get used to. His signature on the last set of transfers that he had signed off on coming over to our place; the pics on the wall; the missing pickup with the company name/logo on it; not seeing him downtown - he would always help load the truck if he was around.
Duke is much better. Yesterday morning he could barely get up to go outside, but when I got home from work he was as close to good ole' Duke as it was going to get for only having had one day pass since the attack.
Not much else going on, I was going to go up north this weekend but Duke's injuries sort of have me playing the guessing game as to whether I actually should embark on such a course of action or just wait until another weekend comes along - though I would really like to get up there and spend a weekend in the snow and mountains.
I am going to visit the people's house with the pitbulls and discuss with them about repaying my hospital expenses. One would hope they would see that they are liable and responsible and simply pay it back, whether all at once or in payments, I don't care, but I am definitely not the one that had 3 pitbulls running loose in a residential neighborhood. I hear too many people telling me how pitbulls are great dogs if "raised properly". Yes, well I haven't seen too many of them raised properly, in fact none so far. From everything I've seen in the news and now up close and personal, they are vicious dogs that can kill both humans and animals.
Enough. I am sitting out a jobsite waiting to get some machines unloaded. They aren't in any hurry. I have been on overtime for this pay period since 9:30 this morning. Meaning the rest of today and all of tomorrow are basically OT. Couple that with 2 weeks pay for the Safe Driver Award on my next paycheck and that check should be substantial.
G'day.
ben
Duke is much better. Yesterday morning he could barely get up to go outside, but when I got home from work he was as close to good ole' Duke as it was going to get for only having had one day pass since the attack.
Not much else going on, I was going to go up north this weekend but Duke's injuries sort of have me playing the guessing game as to whether I actually should embark on such a course of action or just wait until another weekend comes along - though I would really like to get up there and spend a weekend in the snow and mountains.
I am going to visit the people's house with the pitbulls and discuss with them about repaying my hospital expenses. One would hope they would see that they are liable and responsible and simply pay it back, whether all at once or in payments, I don't care, but I am definitely not the one that had 3 pitbulls running loose in a residential neighborhood. I hear too many people telling me how pitbulls are great dogs if "raised properly". Yes, well I haven't seen too many of them raised properly, in fact none so far. From everything I've seen in the news and now up close and personal, they are vicious dogs that can kill both humans and animals.
Enough. I am sitting out a jobsite waiting to get some machines unloaded. They aren't in any hurry. I have been on overtime for this pay period since 9:30 this morning. Meaning the rest of today and all of tomorrow are basically OT. Couple that with 2 weeks pay for the Safe Driver Award on my next paycheck and that check should be substantial.
G'day.
ben
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