I waited all day long to hear from my son.
Selfish? I dunno, I'm his dad, I want to hear from him on Father's day. If that's selfish, then I confess. Actually, I just want to hear from him, regardless of the excuse to get him to call.
But I didn't give up hope. When he is up at that camp, if I do get a call from him, it is usually on Sundays and usually late afternoon.
So, when the phone rang, I gave it 99% chance it was him - I do not talk on the phone much and mostly only get calls at work from salesmen and such. I don't much care to talk on the phone with anyone but friends/people I like or people with opposing views that can actually engage in a civil conversation, live, without getting into name-calling and such.
It was my son! Yes. Very nice conversation, not about me, either, I was asking him all about what's going on up there and he was convenient to tell me such. They take an entire week to prepare for the campers arrival. That starts tomorrow. I don't remember the age groups, they range throughout the summer from something like 7 to 17.
And so it was. I am so proud of my son. I could care less if he becomes "successful" in the worldly meaning of it if it means that his life is spent serving the Lord. But God isn't broke, lol. Eternity is forever and that has more meaning in THIS life than whatever else happens in this life. I'm preaching to myself, to be honest. Why do I care so much about a retirement account and having money in the end? I ask myself that question and the only answer I can come up with is that I don't want to be broke in my old age.
Not really a bad answer, really, but not sufficient in and of itself, alone. There is more and I am hungry for it. God has the destiny for our lives, each one of us and that is what I am seeking after. The message at church today was incredible. It was a love message unlike anything I have ever heard and it was completely backed up by Scripture, which, really, was what moved me so.
Speaking of my son, I moved Sebastion - that's the name he gave the old Buick - from the other side of the street to in front of my house today. I will start the car and run it for a while once a week. Should be sufficient to ensure it isn't going to get old and die on me. It's a 1994 Buick LeSabre, old but fired right up and idled without any hesitation. Ever since I had that car towed into an old-style electrical shop and had that guy figure out what's wrong with it, I have had NO problems with it whatsoever.
The sad part? I think that he figured out was wrong with it was the problem with it all along. I spent a lot of money getting that thing "figured out" at 3 different places. Well whatever. I intend on keeping it as long as my son says he wants it. Unless I get something else for me, a truck preferably, then I will get rid of that car and keep the Buick I am currently driving for him. Just like his bedroom. It will stay empty for whenever he may want to come home for a visit. Well, it's not empty, it has everything in it the way he left it. A keyboard on a stand, a large TV and other things.
Whatever. It made my day to hear from my son. That's all I really need to say.
ben
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Friday, June 14, 2013
Finally Friday.
This is the longest, most drawn-out work week I have endured in quite a long time. Only one day have I been "minimally" busy. The rest of it has been inventing things to do at the shop to keep busy. Even if it were acceptable to sit around doing nothing, I just couldn't do that. I would go insane attempting to not just fall asleep. I have to keep busy at work with something to keep me engaged and moving around.
I have no plans for this weekend, either. I am not going up north, I am not going to do much of anything. At least that's what I'm thinking right now, lol. The house is almost empty. My son is gone, George is gone for the weekend and the tenant that is never here? Isn't here! Mark and Lynnette the only ones around.
Abysmal paycheck. That's what I call it. It's a paycheck without any OT on it at all. Down more then $300 from what my checks were before this retraction in work started. A loss of $600 per month? That will be hard to swallow. Especially during summer months when my electric bill more than doubles what it is during winter months. I hardly have to use heat during the winter so the only electric expense is just TV's, computers, refrigerators and such.
I can only hope that business will pick back up and I will get at least some OT.
That's it. Off to work. There is enough work in the system to keep me busy for about 3 hours and then? Gag.
G'day.
ben
This is the longest, most drawn-out work week I have endured in quite a long time. Only one day have I been "minimally" busy. The rest of it has been inventing things to do at the shop to keep busy. Even if it were acceptable to sit around doing nothing, I just couldn't do that. I would go insane attempting to not just fall asleep. I have to keep busy at work with something to keep me engaged and moving around.
I have no plans for this weekend, either. I am not going up north, I am not going to do much of anything. At least that's what I'm thinking right now, lol. The house is almost empty. My son is gone, George is gone for the weekend and the tenant that is never here? Isn't here! Mark and Lynnette the only ones around.
Abysmal paycheck. That's what I call it. It's a paycheck without any OT on it at all. Down more then $300 from what my checks were before this retraction in work started. A loss of $600 per month? That will be hard to swallow. Especially during summer months when my electric bill more than doubles what it is during winter months. I hardly have to use heat during the winter so the only electric expense is just TV's, computers, refrigerators and such.
I can only hope that business will pick back up and I will get at least some OT.
That's it. Off to work. There is enough work in the system to keep me busy for about 3 hours and then? Gag.
G'day.
ben
Thursday, June 13, 2013
The "Red Line" has been crossed. Now waiting to see what, exactly, Obama is going to do about it. This concerning Syria, Assad's use of chemical weapons against his own people and more pointedly, Sarin - probably the gas version of it.
I don't like to give Obama too much time of my day, so I won't delve into that any further. Mr. Big Government The Bigger The Better And You Don't Know What's Good For You So We Are Going To Take That Right Away From You And Tell You Instead - President - will eventually go down in history as one of the worst Presidents this nation has EVER had to endure.
I was very disheartened and very sad to see an event take place before my eyes this morning. The property next door is being leveled. It used to be a restaurant. Behind and to the other side of the property is an apartment complex. The complex has a lot of pine trees planted in rows, beautiful, anywhere from 20 to 40 feet tall.
In about 2 hours time, an excavator/trackhoe took out about 20 of these magnificent, very-healthy trees and dumped them in a huge pile. There was an 8 foot tall block fence in front of those trees. I had no idea that not only was the block fence going to go, all of those beautiful trees were going to be destroyed as well. The apartment complex bought the unused restaurant property and the adjacent property and are going to add 62 more units to their already huge complex.
If I had known that all of those trees were going to be taken out, I would asked if I could have one of them - have it professionally removed and replanted at my house. There were literally tens of thousands of dollars worth of trees just torn down and reduced to a pile of rubble this morning. I am a tree love, but not a tree "hugger". Trees and their lumber and by-products serve so many useful purposes, I have NO problem whatsoever with lumber companies cutting them down and selling the products they make out of them.
But to just trash that many trees? Were there no landscaping companies or nurseries that were willing to come and take all or some of them out? I wonder if any such were ever contacted.
But after seeing probably 50 to 60k worth of block fence destroyed, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
I dunno, but tomorrow is Friday and I can say without hesitation, this has been one of the longest, drawn-out, extended, unbelievlably - did I say long yet? - LONG weeks I have endured in quite a while. Very few deliveries. We are running at around 100k worth of sales and we are almost at the middle of the month. NOT good. But it's not just our store, the decline is region-wide.
Funny thing? The company continues to hire people. Meanwhile, I was offered a job today at one of the municipalities I deliver to, lol. I was thinking: Pensions. Yeah, no pensions there, several other municipalities have pensions in these parts, but not this particular one and I seriously doubt they are going to start me out anywhere NEAR the money I am making now. But it's always good to have some kind of options available in case you get confronted by Mr. (or is it Mrs.?) Pink Slip.
I wonder if they even have such things anymore.
Meanwhile, George came walking through here with 2 suitcases a few hours ago and declared he would "see you Sunday", meaning he is going to spend the weekend with his girlfriend. I haven't seen the new tenant in several weeks. But that is the nature of his job. He is currently in New Mexico. My son's bedroom is empty, sniff-sniff. The only ones left are Mark and Lynnette. Mark is a very unhappy camper with his bike situation, but I don't want to go into all of that right now.
It is strange to go out every morning now and see my old, blue Buick sitting there on the street. The first thing I think is Caleb is sleeping and the next reality that hits is, no, I took Caleb up to the mountains last weekend. He is living life and he is enjoying it. I am happy for him, but that doesn't mean I can't miss him. The final weeks he is here after getting back from up there and leaving for Hawaii? I'm going to make the most of them, as time permits for him. I love my son dearly.
Enough.
Time to start preparing for bedtime.
ben
I don't like to give Obama too much time of my day, so I won't delve into that any further. Mr. Big Government The Bigger The Better And You Don't Know What's Good For You So We Are Going To Take That Right Away From You And Tell You Instead - President - will eventually go down in history as one of the worst Presidents this nation has EVER had to endure.
I was very disheartened and very sad to see an event take place before my eyes this morning. The property next door is being leveled. It used to be a restaurant. Behind and to the other side of the property is an apartment complex. The complex has a lot of pine trees planted in rows, beautiful, anywhere from 20 to 40 feet tall.
In about 2 hours time, an excavator/trackhoe took out about 20 of these magnificent, very-healthy trees and dumped them in a huge pile. There was an 8 foot tall block fence in front of those trees. I had no idea that not only was the block fence going to go, all of those beautiful trees were going to be destroyed as well. The apartment complex bought the unused restaurant property and the adjacent property and are going to add 62 more units to their already huge complex.
If I had known that all of those trees were going to be taken out, I would asked if I could have one of them - have it professionally removed and replanted at my house. There were literally tens of thousands of dollars worth of trees just torn down and reduced to a pile of rubble this morning. I am a tree love, but not a tree "hugger". Trees and their lumber and by-products serve so many useful purposes, I have NO problem whatsoever with lumber companies cutting them down and selling the products they make out of them.
But to just trash that many trees? Were there no landscaping companies or nurseries that were willing to come and take all or some of them out? I wonder if any such were ever contacted.
But after seeing probably 50 to 60k worth of block fence destroyed, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
I dunno, but tomorrow is Friday and I can say without hesitation, this has been one of the longest, drawn-out, extended, unbelievlably - did I say long yet? - LONG weeks I have endured in quite a while. Very few deliveries. We are running at around 100k worth of sales and we are almost at the middle of the month. NOT good. But it's not just our store, the decline is region-wide.
Funny thing? The company continues to hire people. Meanwhile, I was offered a job today at one of the municipalities I deliver to, lol. I was thinking: Pensions. Yeah, no pensions there, several other municipalities have pensions in these parts, but not this particular one and I seriously doubt they are going to start me out anywhere NEAR the money I am making now. But it's always good to have some kind of options available in case you get confronted by Mr. (or is it Mrs.?) Pink Slip.
I wonder if they even have such things anymore.
Meanwhile, George came walking through here with 2 suitcases a few hours ago and declared he would "see you Sunday", meaning he is going to spend the weekend with his girlfriend. I haven't seen the new tenant in several weeks. But that is the nature of his job. He is currently in New Mexico. My son's bedroom is empty, sniff-sniff. The only ones left are Mark and Lynnette. Mark is a very unhappy camper with his bike situation, but I don't want to go into all of that right now.
It is strange to go out every morning now and see my old, blue Buick sitting there on the street. The first thing I think is Caleb is sleeping and the next reality that hits is, no, I took Caleb up to the mountains last weekend. He is living life and he is enjoying it. I am happy for him, but that doesn't mean I can't miss him. The final weeks he is here after getting back from up there and leaving for Hawaii? I'm going to make the most of them, as time permits for him. I love my son dearly.
Enough.
Time to start preparing for bedtime.
ben
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Centurylink didn't bother to even call me about the tech coming over until around 3:00 pm and was informed that they wouldn't be here for another hour. No worries, I replied, I am no longer interested, I have Cox Cable over here installing new internet service now, you need not come.
The "real" Cox tech had the thing done in about 20 minutes and he was gone. Speed tests are showing that I am getting around 30mbps - though the package I asked for is 15-20. This compared to the 5mpbs Centurylink was giving me and telling me they couldn't do any better.
Well, hopefully, I am done with all of this nonsense. Making endless calls to Centurylink, getting sent over to Philippine incoming call lines, having to ask for Americans, then still having to go through a ridiculous process to actually speak to someone.
I have no intention, whatsoever, of paying the outstanding balance on the bill and intend on calling them to let them know that they can take that bill and remove it. For as many times as the service has gone down completely, for as much time as I have had to sit around and wait for techs to show up - they give you a 4 hour window that they can show up in - and for as much as the internet speed has dropped as low as 2.5 mbps, yeah, I have no intention of paying the 60 some dollars that is outstanding.
Half way through the work week. When I left yesterday? There was nothing in the system for deliveries today. Nothing. Unbelievable. Yesterday at least I had enough work to keep me busy until 2:00 pm and then go home after 8 hours. It might have changed since last night - contractors often call in the afternoon after they get home and place orders for the next day - but I won't be holding my breath. Meaning another long, drawn out day attempting to invent things to do.
It isn't the most favorable conditions to come back to work to after 9 days off, is all I can say, in having nothing or very little to do. Plus it's hot outside - though for whatever reason, I haven't had that much difficult adjusting to it this year. I usually need weeks to get to the tolerate-it point, not this year.
Nothing else new around here.
G'day.
ben
The "real" Cox tech had the thing done in about 20 minutes and he was gone. Speed tests are showing that I am getting around 30mbps - though the package I asked for is 15-20. This compared to the 5mpbs Centurylink was giving me and telling me they couldn't do any better.
Well, hopefully, I am done with all of this nonsense. Making endless calls to Centurylink, getting sent over to Philippine incoming call lines, having to ask for Americans, then still having to go through a ridiculous process to actually speak to someone.
I have no intention, whatsoever, of paying the outstanding balance on the bill and intend on calling them to let them know that they can take that bill and remove it. For as many times as the service has gone down completely, for as much time as I have had to sit around and wait for techs to show up - they give you a 4 hour window that they can show up in - and for as much as the internet speed has dropped as low as 2.5 mbps, yeah, I have no intention of paying the 60 some dollars that is outstanding.
Half way through the work week. When I left yesterday? There was nothing in the system for deliveries today. Nothing. Unbelievable. Yesterday at least I had enough work to keep me busy until 2:00 pm and then go home after 8 hours. It might have changed since last night - contractors often call in the afternoon after they get home and place orders for the next day - but I won't be holding my breath. Meaning another long, drawn out day attempting to invent things to do.
It isn't the most favorable conditions to come back to work to after 9 days off, is all I can say, in having nothing or very little to do. Plus it's hot outside - though for whatever reason, I haven't had that much difficult adjusting to it this year. I usually need weeks to get to the tolerate-it point, not this year.
Nothing else new around here.
G'day.
ben
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Cox Cable
So, this subcontractor from Cox Cable (remember what happened with a subcontractor with that company last week!) shows up and tells me he is going to start with the box out front and then work his way back. He is at the wrong box. I pointed at the other one on the other side of my property and said that's the one over there. "I'll find it myself, thanks". Attitude.
I just decided to go back inside the house and let him figure it out on his own. He comes in the house eventually and asks where a cable outlet is. Right there, I replied. No, sir, this is a phone outlet. Yup, I said, that's where my current internet line is, I want that one yanked out from the bottom and then feed a new one up through there, I don't need the phone line anymore and don't want it.
I had to inform this guy fully 4 times, saying the same thing over and over about where the interface was installed and how I want a line under the house. It became clear that he did not want to climb under the house. I said fine, I will just call Cox and they will send out someone that will. NO, I'm HERE, and went storming out of the house. I thought, this isn't going to turn out well, is it? to myself. About 10 minutes later, I hear this crashing noise inside of Mark's bedroom. I mean, really loud.
Mark comes out and says the guy had pulled the cable for his Direct TV box through the hole, cause the box to crash off the TV and everything that was up there to fall onto the floor. WHAT, I wondered, was this guy doing? Why is he pulling out a cable for the satellite? The guy came back in a while later and I kept my mouth shut. I want the cable installed, just get it done and if there is damage I will contact Cox. But this guy's tudes wouldn't quit.
Then, he went back out and disconnected George's Cox line. He couldn't get any work done until this guy rehooked it, though the tech never stated he was going to disconnect the other line. Whatever. I go outside and start watering plants, ignoring this man and just trying to keep my cool. I am standing on the side of my house and suddenly hear this loud crashing noise, like something had been smashed into the side of my house. I didn't even go over there, I figured whatever was going on, it was with this tech with the tude and let's just get this over with.
Well, the tech comes walking around the corner with Mark following behind him. Mark bluntly states that guy has an attitude problem and then informed me that this tech had taken the hatch that covers the access to get under my house and smashed it up against the side of house. That's all I needed to hear at that point. I got up and walked over to see if any damage was done while this guy is stating that the thing had fallen on his head. Well why didn't you just remove the damned thing? You can't. It weights maybe 20 pounds at the most, I picked it up with one hand and put it on the ground, but it was too late. We got into it. No freaking tech from some cable company is going to come onto my property with an attitude simply because he doesn't want to do the work - climbing under the house - and then start destroying my property.
The ensuing altercation became so heated that I told him to get off of my property. Get your stuff, get off of my property, right now. This tech went into a string of colorful adjectives including calling my house some choice words - which is when I informed the man that if he doesn't get OFF of my property NOW, I am going to call Cox cable. Which I was going to do anyway, but I was going to get my cellphone out and let them hear what this guy was doing. Instead, he became even more agitated which is when I just informed him if he didn't leave, I was calling the police.
I followed this guy all the way off the property, giving him some choice words of my own after enduring his outbursts.
I then called Cox and got a hold of management and told them the entire story of what had just happened.
I don't have time to go into the rest of it, but hopefully needless to say, they weren't happy about what they were hearing. Another appointment for a Cox employee to come out and finish the job is for later on this afternoon. I don't EVER want a Cox subcontractor to step a foot on my property again. I have half a mind to cancel the appointment and let them come out here and just take their router -which the "tech" left behind and just stick with Century Link, even though that service totally sucks and the highest speed rate I am now getting is somewhere around 5.5 mbps.
Time to be off to work.
G'day.
ben
I just decided to go back inside the house and let him figure it out on his own. He comes in the house eventually and asks where a cable outlet is. Right there, I replied. No, sir, this is a phone outlet. Yup, I said, that's where my current internet line is, I want that one yanked out from the bottom and then feed a new one up through there, I don't need the phone line anymore and don't want it.
I had to inform this guy fully 4 times, saying the same thing over and over about where the interface was installed and how I want a line under the house. It became clear that he did not want to climb under the house. I said fine, I will just call Cox and they will send out someone that will. NO, I'm HERE, and went storming out of the house. I thought, this isn't going to turn out well, is it? to myself. About 10 minutes later, I hear this crashing noise inside of Mark's bedroom. I mean, really loud.
Mark comes out and says the guy had pulled the cable for his Direct TV box through the hole, cause the box to crash off the TV and everything that was up there to fall onto the floor. WHAT, I wondered, was this guy doing? Why is he pulling out a cable for the satellite? The guy came back in a while later and I kept my mouth shut. I want the cable installed, just get it done and if there is damage I will contact Cox. But this guy's tudes wouldn't quit.
Then, he went back out and disconnected George's Cox line. He couldn't get any work done until this guy rehooked it, though the tech never stated he was going to disconnect the other line. Whatever. I go outside and start watering plants, ignoring this man and just trying to keep my cool. I am standing on the side of my house and suddenly hear this loud crashing noise, like something had been smashed into the side of my house. I didn't even go over there, I figured whatever was going on, it was with this tech with the tude and let's just get this over with.
Well, the tech comes walking around the corner with Mark following behind him. Mark bluntly states that guy has an attitude problem and then informed me that this tech had taken the hatch that covers the access to get under my house and smashed it up against the side of house. That's all I needed to hear at that point. I got up and walked over to see if any damage was done while this guy is stating that the thing had fallen on his head. Well why didn't you just remove the damned thing? You can't. It weights maybe 20 pounds at the most, I picked it up with one hand and put it on the ground, but it was too late. We got into it. No freaking tech from some cable company is going to come onto my property with an attitude simply because he doesn't want to do the work - climbing under the house - and then start destroying my property.
The ensuing altercation became so heated that I told him to get off of my property. Get your stuff, get off of my property, right now. This tech went into a string of colorful adjectives including calling my house some choice words - which is when I informed the man that if he doesn't get OFF of my property NOW, I am going to call Cox cable. Which I was going to do anyway, but I was going to get my cellphone out and let them hear what this guy was doing. Instead, he became even more agitated which is when I just informed him if he didn't leave, I was calling the police.
I followed this guy all the way off the property, giving him some choice words of my own after enduring his outbursts.
I then called Cox and got a hold of management and told them the entire story of what had just happened.
I don't have time to go into the rest of it, but hopefully needless to say, they weren't happy about what they were hearing. Another appointment for a Cox employee to come out and finish the job is for later on this afternoon. I don't EVER want a Cox subcontractor to step a foot on my property again. I have half a mind to cancel the appointment and let them come out here and just take their router -which the "tech" left behind and just stick with Century Link, even though that service totally sucks and the highest speed rate I am now getting is somewhere around 5.5 mbps.
Time to be off to work.
G'day.
ben
Monday, June 10, 2013
Off to the races. Amazingly, the hint of the sun's light already showing up at 4:30 am, when I got up for work. Weather forecast to get up to 109 today. This is one day - coming back from work after 9 off - that I hope and dream of just an 8 hour day, get it over with, get off work and get home.
History, however, usually has a much crueler version of coming back to work after extended time off. But I don't really care that much, working is a part of life, at least my life and there isn't much I can do about it at this point in time. As long as the AC works in that truck and hopefully there are runs to do - not sitting around the shop all day attempting to invent things to do. That was where I left off now that I think about it - work slow down and not looking up too much.
And, the hint of "head-count reductions" as my company likes to call it. Probably most companies call it something like that, a bit of a distanced way of saying you are getting rid of employees whose life-blood comes from the paychecks they receive from whatever company is laying people off.
But, I can't dwell on that. I still can't believe how fast that trip up to Heber and back occurred. I was "probably" not going the speed limit. My excuse is a malfunctioning speedometer that is going to cost hundreds of dollars to fix and not really high on the priority list to fix.
Well, whatever the case, time to be off to work.
G'day.
ben
History, however, usually has a much crueler version of coming back to work after extended time off. But I don't really care that much, working is a part of life, at least my life and there isn't much I can do about it at this point in time. As long as the AC works in that truck and hopefully there are runs to do - not sitting around the shop all day attempting to invent things to do. That was where I left off now that I think about it - work slow down and not looking up too much.
And, the hint of "head-count reductions" as my company likes to call it. Probably most companies call it something like that, a bit of a distanced way of saying you are getting rid of employees whose life-blood comes from the paychecks they receive from whatever company is laying people off.
But, I can't dwell on that. I still can't believe how fast that trip up to Heber and back occurred. I was "probably" not going the speed limit. My excuse is a malfunctioning speedometer that is going to cost hundreds of dollars to fix and not really high on the priority list to fix.
Well, whatever the case, time to be off to work.
G'day.
ben
Sunday, June 9, 2013
2 hours up, 2 hours back. Trip to Heber that is. Spent the entire time driving up there talking with my one and only offspring - Caleb, my 20 year old son. The conversation ranged the heights of the mountains and the depths of the sea and the trip up there was over too soon.
No emotion this time, though, the first time I took him up there I was pretty well undone. Prayed with him and asked him to PLEASE tell us what's going on up there, even if he didn't think it was important.
The drive back was so heavy with traffic that I didn't have time to think about what was going on, even though I have already given that much thought. But the reality sank in after pulling up to my driveway and seeing his car parked out there.
It's one thing to know something is going to happen and is coming your way, it's another thing entirely when that happens and then it hits you.
I'm not crying, but to know that form this point forth, I'm just plain not going to see him very much? Not really the happiest of thoughts. He's a good person, he's full of love and compassion, his friends posting on his Facebook wall attest to that fact. One of them was really undone, obviously, as he wrote to Caleb and told him about their growing up together and what it means to him for Caleb to be gone.
The whole thing has unsettled me. I'm sitting here working a job 5 days a week and really getting nothing out of it. It isn't what God has called me to do yet it's so easy to get snagged into it forever. I'm called to be a missionary, an evangelist, preaching the Word. I don't know what to do. Yet. I do have some ideas for a beginning to that end. Some serious life changes in order. Not quitting work or anything, but what I do with my free time.
Not going into that, just not the right time for it. Get it going in my life and then discuss it.
Whatever the case, a 9 day vacation is over. It's almost bedtime and then get up at 4:30 am for work. It's been very helpful to have this time off and give me time to think about things.
My son asked with a longing sound to his voice whether I was going to get rid of Sebastian. That's what he calls my old Buick that I gave to him to use until he didn't need to use it anymore. Well, the car isn't worth much and I have much more dumped into it than I will ever get out of it. Just for his exclamation of his apparently relationship with that old car, I decided not to get rid of it. Instead - sounds selfish and maybe it is - but the situation with the people next door is intolerable.
They used to call the police if anyone from my house parked their car even 2 inches on the other side of my property line and across theirs. There is nothing illegal about that, it's on-street parking. But we went ahead and made sure we were behind the property line and then one day, a female tenant that used to live here had parked a foot or so in past my line and this guy started cussing her out and giving her a very hard time. I wasn't there but my neighbor saw it and was shocked.
Now, for 8 months anyway, this guy has been parking in front of my house. Like anywhere from 1 foot to 4 feet beyond his property line. No, I don't call the police like he has on us. Instead, I am going to wait until that van of theirs is gone and I am going to park Sebastian right up to the edge of my property line. I am going to grease the front bumper in case he decides to back into it. It's going to sit there for a long time. Like almost 2 months until Caleb is back from the camp thing. He will be here a short time and then off to California for a youth convention for a week and then back here for a couple of weeks and then.....of to Hawaii for a year.
It's after he leaves for Hawaii is when I will decide whether to keep that car or not. I have no use for it, though I don't consider it a bad thing to have a backup car in case the main car breaks down.
Whatever the case, not a thing I need to concern myself with now.
And onto the final thing:
time to go to bed.
ben
No emotion this time, though, the first time I took him up there I was pretty well undone. Prayed with him and asked him to PLEASE tell us what's going on up there, even if he didn't think it was important.
The drive back was so heavy with traffic that I didn't have time to think about what was going on, even though I have already given that much thought. But the reality sank in after pulling up to my driveway and seeing his car parked out there.
It's one thing to know something is going to happen and is coming your way, it's another thing entirely when that happens and then it hits you.
I'm not crying, but to know that form this point forth, I'm just plain not going to see him very much? Not really the happiest of thoughts. He's a good person, he's full of love and compassion, his friends posting on his Facebook wall attest to that fact. One of them was really undone, obviously, as he wrote to Caleb and told him about their growing up together and what it means to him for Caleb to be gone.
The whole thing has unsettled me. I'm sitting here working a job 5 days a week and really getting nothing out of it. It isn't what God has called me to do yet it's so easy to get snagged into it forever. I'm called to be a missionary, an evangelist, preaching the Word. I don't know what to do. Yet. I do have some ideas for a beginning to that end. Some serious life changes in order. Not quitting work or anything, but what I do with my free time.
Not going into that, just not the right time for it. Get it going in my life and then discuss it.
Whatever the case, a 9 day vacation is over. It's almost bedtime and then get up at 4:30 am for work. It's been very helpful to have this time off and give me time to think about things.
My son asked with a longing sound to his voice whether I was going to get rid of Sebastian. That's what he calls my old Buick that I gave to him to use until he didn't need to use it anymore. Well, the car isn't worth much and I have much more dumped into it than I will ever get out of it. Just for his exclamation of his apparently relationship with that old car, I decided not to get rid of it. Instead - sounds selfish and maybe it is - but the situation with the people next door is intolerable.
They used to call the police if anyone from my house parked their car even 2 inches on the other side of my property line and across theirs. There is nothing illegal about that, it's on-street parking. But we went ahead and made sure we were behind the property line and then one day, a female tenant that used to live here had parked a foot or so in past my line and this guy started cussing her out and giving her a very hard time. I wasn't there but my neighbor saw it and was shocked.
Now, for 8 months anyway, this guy has been parking in front of my house. Like anywhere from 1 foot to 4 feet beyond his property line. No, I don't call the police like he has on us. Instead, I am going to wait until that van of theirs is gone and I am going to park Sebastian right up to the edge of my property line. I am going to grease the front bumper in case he decides to back into it. It's going to sit there for a long time. Like almost 2 months until Caleb is back from the camp thing. He will be here a short time and then off to California for a youth convention for a week and then back here for a couple of weeks and then.....of to Hawaii for a year.
It's after he leaves for Hawaii is when I will decide whether to keep that car or not. I have no use for it, though I don't consider it a bad thing to have a backup car in case the main car breaks down.
Whatever the case, not a thing I need to concern myself with now.
And onto the final thing:
time to go to bed.
ben
Friday, June 7, 2013
My vacation
Modern-day lingo calls it a staycation.
I spent it re-organizing and re-invigorating ideas on some changes both inside and outside of the house.
I won't go into the outside things, that's something I'm still contemplating and attempting to define what I want to do with, only considering the east side of the house where the ponds are.
My concentration of energy was in my bedroom and more, in the bathroom. I have, over time, been attempting to find pictures to put up on the walls in there and as I find them, I put them up. Just going to keep looking and hoping to find a good deal on something that appeals to me - which the focus is on the Great Outdoors.
Meanwhile, I am still coming to terms with the fact that my son is going to be gone for 2 months, back for less than a month and then gone for an entire year - and after that who knows what's happening. I thought about the trip up to the camp on Sunday to take him up there and got this feeling that I better make it a "quality-time" event with him, because after that?
Waxing sentimental and emotional. Daddy isn't losing his son forever, but he is going to have to wish him well as he goes on life's adventures, to put it in third-party terminology. He's a great kid and God has great plans for his life and I cannot interfere with that and wouldn't even try. It's just a final letting-go thing that I haven't gone through yet and already I'm feeling it. From the point of delivering him to the camp and after he gets back and going to the airport to leave for Hawaii, I won't be seeing him much anymore and that? A hard thing to grapple. It's a point in life I have no experience with and the thought of it brings tears to my eyes.
Okay, I can't really write about this anymore and it's my bedtime.
ben
Modern-day lingo calls it a staycation.
I spent it re-organizing and re-invigorating ideas on some changes both inside and outside of the house.
I won't go into the outside things, that's something I'm still contemplating and attempting to define what I want to do with, only considering the east side of the house where the ponds are.
My concentration of energy was in my bedroom and more, in the bathroom. I have, over time, been attempting to find pictures to put up on the walls in there and as I find them, I put them up. Just going to keep looking and hoping to find a good deal on something that appeals to me - which the focus is on the Great Outdoors.
Meanwhile, I am still coming to terms with the fact that my son is going to be gone for 2 months, back for less than a month and then gone for an entire year - and after that who knows what's happening. I thought about the trip up to the camp on Sunday to take him up there and got this feeling that I better make it a "quality-time" event with him, because after that?
Waxing sentimental and emotional. Daddy isn't losing his son forever, but he is going to have to wish him well as he goes on life's adventures, to put it in third-party terminology. He's a great kid and God has great plans for his life and I cannot interfere with that and wouldn't even try. It's just a final letting-go thing that I haven't gone through yet and already I'm feeling it. From the point of delivering him to the camp and after he gets back and going to the airport to leave for Hawaii, I won't be seeing him much anymore and that? A hard thing to grapple. It's a point in life I have no experience with and the thought of it brings tears to my eyes.
Okay, I can't really write about this anymore and it's my bedtime.
ben
Goodbye CenturyLink DSL, Hello Cox Cable High Speed Internet
I found the company on Craigslist that I was searching for in the past for hooking up to Cox Internet. It's a 6 month offer for less than half the price of Cox's regular pricing for that tier of service, plus free, professional installation. I have had more than enough of CenturyLink's rude, offensive and obnoxious attitudes towards customers. The only individual that I have really connected with in that company is the local field tech supervisor who hasn't played the denigration game at all.
But after having yet another conversation with CenturyLink management this morning - with this lady repeatedly interrupting me and talking to me in condescending tones, just enough is enough. As I have stated before, it's time to find out whether the grass is any greener (and even if it's partly browned, it will be vastly better than the blackened grass on Century Link's side) on the other side of the fence. I have been a CenturyLink customer since they started here, buying out Qwest, of whom I was a customer since - well since Ma Bell, unless there was another one before that that I am just not remember, of which I would have been a customer as well.
That's a pretty long-time relationship to be ending with a company. But so it is. I am getting such pathetic, low speeds on my internet now that coupled with CenturyLink never-ending attitude that's just time to cut the cord. The service cuts out frequently, it goes down to as low as 2,500 mbps (megabytes per second) - which is really slow when you are talking "high speed internet" - I have had them out here 4 times in the last 2 weeks and this problem is obviously not going to be fixed.
So, they were going to send someone out Sunday - but I am not going to be here Sunday afternoon in taking Caleb up to the mountain youth camp with Salvation Army and I definitely want to be here for the installation. See how much I can get away with, ie: having the cable installed underneath the house coming up through the wall. They may not be interested in doing that, but I am going to ask anyway. If not, I can have it installed the same way it currently is, which is from underneath the house through an existing portal going up to one of my kitchen counters. The different would be that a hole would have to be made in the drywall and line run up to it for the outlet I would like to have.
____________________________
A LONG time passed. Lol. Not going into the rest of today, cause' it's now my bedtime, interesting stuff, though, at least for me : )
But after having yet another conversation with CenturyLink management this morning - with this lady repeatedly interrupting me and talking to me in condescending tones, just enough is enough. As I have stated before, it's time to find out whether the grass is any greener (and even if it's partly browned, it will be vastly better than the blackened grass on Century Link's side) on the other side of the fence. I have been a CenturyLink customer since they started here, buying out Qwest, of whom I was a customer since - well since Ma Bell, unless there was another one before that that I am just not remember, of which I would have been a customer as well.
That's a pretty long-time relationship to be ending with a company. But so it is. I am getting such pathetic, low speeds on my internet now that coupled with CenturyLink never-ending attitude that's just time to cut the cord. The service cuts out frequently, it goes down to as low as 2,500 mbps (megabytes per second) - which is really slow when you are talking "high speed internet" - I have had them out here 4 times in the last 2 weeks and this problem is obviously not going to be fixed.
So, they were going to send someone out Sunday - but I am not going to be here Sunday afternoon in taking Caleb up to the mountain youth camp with Salvation Army and I definitely want to be here for the installation. See how much I can get away with, ie: having the cable installed underneath the house coming up through the wall. They may not be interested in doing that, but I am going to ask anyway. If not, I can have it installed the same way it currently is, which is from underneath the house through an existing portal going up to one of my kitchen counters. The different would be that a hole would have to be made in the drywall and line run up to it for the outlet I would like to have.
____________________________
A LONG time passed. Lol. Not going into the rest of today, cause' it's now my bedtime, interesting stuff, though, at least for me : )
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)