Haven't been here in a  while - which is okay.  I have another place I am writing.
But I can update here once in a while.
I have had one of my 4 wheelers over at this backyard mechanic's house for almost 2 months now.
Not that it matters, it was not in running condition when I got it.  I figured some engine work, I didn't
figure the amount of engine work it needs.  I would have taken the thing apart myself and slowly rebuilt it - with whatever tutoring I would need online to get it done.

I have rebuilt plenty of car engines, I doubt ATV engines are too terribly different. Piston, rings, crankshaft, head, valves.  Don't forget the bearings.  And boring the block if necessary.

I was informed by someone yesterday that replacing CV boots on the Polaris would be too difficult for me. Uh huh.  CV boots.  Yes, you have to take apart a lot of stuff.  You have to remember how to put it all back together.  I did truck and car mechanics for a lot of years. It was a while back now, but I figure I can figure it out with the help of the internet if necessary.  And for as much time as it has taken for this dude to get anything done, a 4 wheeler sitting up on jacks for a few weeks or less isn't going to be a big issue.

At least, not for me it won't. Other parties I dunno.

But, the dude has the other one torn apart and sent the engine somewhere so I just have to wait.  But the Polaris? I'm starting to get irritated. It should have been done 2 weeks ago.  The cooling fan wasn't coming on, I figured either a bad motor or more likely a bad sensor.  Turns out the things has 2 sensors and they are attached or built into 2 separate thermostats? What kind of nonsense is that?

I'm just going to have to start learning ATV mechanics so I won't have to pay someone to do the work.  Or have to wait forever for someone I don't mind paying to do the work for.  I was surprised to find out that ATV parts cost more than car parts.  Same kinds of parts - far higher prices.

Turmoil at the house with a non paying tenant and another who is attempting to dictate to the house what he can and cannot do.  Including turning up or down the thermostat according to the season/time of year it is.  The man is in danger of eviction, for I will not tolerate such shit in my house, even if it is 1,200 miles away.  He has been living there for over 3 years.  My tolerance does not include tenants dictating to the house what they will or will not do.

Work - crappy.  Pay reduction, a person working there that is constantly in a very sour mood,  long drive, just getting tired of it.

Church - still looking.  Passing by a retreat every day that I just found out is internationally renowned prophet.  Dunno if they have weekly church services or what, going to look into it.

Life in general not bad, just a lot of stuff going on.

FedEx Driver Runs Me Off The Road At 75 MPH!!!

Driving to Val's house after work today. 75mph speed limit so yes, I was going 75mph. I'm passing a FedEx semi - it's tractor with 2 28 foot pup trailers being pulled behind it. I'm right next to the tractor when - this truck starts coming over into my lane! It didn't stop either, in a flash it was almost entire over and where was I? In the median, flying through the grass at 75mph! I'm honking my horn the dude finally moves back over, and no he wasn't passing anyone, there was no-one on the right shoulder, he was just plain spacing out.

 This guy could care less, either, doesn't pull over to see if anything's wrong, just keeps on cruising right down the interstate. I get behind him and call his company. We're sorry, yada yada yada, we are going to contact his manager. And then what? The front end of my car is shaking now and I want compensation for any damages. Well we send it to the manager and then they - do whatever. Extremely unconvinced that this was going to end with any kind of reconciliation, I called 911. I was just run off the road into the center median by a FedEx truck and the front end of my car is shaking, he forced me into the grass at 75 mph (scared the pee out of me to be honest!), is there some way I can get you to have him be pulled over so I can get a report on this (providing this guy tells the truth, of course, who knows but I was going to try)? 

Lady says she will send it to appropriate department, what's my number? This doesn't sound good either, but I gave my number and the next thing I know, a dispatcher is calling me and telling me there are 2 units at mile marker 610 - where are you? 607! 3 miles! Gag. But the truck was going 63 mph and they caught up in about - 15 miles, lol. Pulled us over, dealt with the driver, got a form to fill out, etc etc etc sent me on my merry way, dunno if they issued him a ticket, warning or what.

 I'll tell you what pissed me off about this. I've been driving trucks almost 30 years, if I were to do something like that, I would immediately pull over and make sure everything is okay, not just drive on down the road and act like nothing happened. If he would have done that, the police wouldn't have had to have gotten involved. Whatever. I'll give FedEx some kudos, though, some level of management called me like an hour later and asked what had happened and profusely apologized for their driver's actions. Whether they pay up after I get it fixed and present them the bill? We'll find out!

Today. I get a text message from the 15 year old.  Can I work for some money? Umm, well sure.  How much will you pay me?  How much do you want? $100.

Lol.  This kid's version of working is to walk around in circles for 2 hours claiming he doesn't have this or that and can't do anything and then go up and watch tv or play the guitar and then come back down saying he's working - which he is not - and he wants a hundred bucks from me.

He steals money from his mom's purse to boot. Like the 20 he took 2 days ago.  Whatever the case, I replied no. 90? No.  Later - 10.  Okay.  I'll give you 20 if you do everything - large amount of work actually.  But he's done much of nothing around there for quite a while, if he actually wants me to give him money, he's going to have to work for it, not just screw off.

"I'll have it all done by the time you get here".  Ummm, that's a lot of work!  He hadn't even STARTED working by the time I got there, he was walking around acting like it but doing nothing.  I found him upstairs watching tv in mom's room after he claimed he had started.

No, he didn't get any money.

16 year old.  Has done very little around there for going on 2 months now.  It's to the point that I am starting to do his work because it needs to be done.  Gaping hole in fence.  I asked him to go look at it yesterday.  We were in the woods pickup up stick and such to make a pile for winter. Strike that: I was picking up sticks, he was sitting on one of the four wheelers texting his gf.  He rides off, comes back and says yup, it needs to be fixed. Just blankly staring at me stating it, knowing full well it's his responsibility.  I said nothing to him.

I came over today and set about doing it myself.  He "intervened".  Well nobody told me to do it!  Stupid answer.  Just pure BS and he knew it.  No, I'm going to do it I replied, you don't want to do anything around here, I'm going to do your stuff. And, I didn't tell him, I'm going to suggest to her that she take his phone and truck privilege away from him and oh well.

Next I am going to do the bush hogging.  He claims no one can drive that tractor. BS again.  I have operated cranes, forklifts, backhoes, trackhoes and graders, I can certainly operate a simple tractor.  But that wasn't his point I found out.  He is the "only" one that can use it.  Who cares, too bad, so sad.  You'll destroy the brush hogger. I hope not, I reply, but I am going to do it anyway.  Two children - 15 and 16 - totally abusing their mom.  Verbal abuse of a kind that is beyond any scope of sanity.  Especially Josiah.

House a disaster today. After Josiah just got the stuff and walking down there - who knows what kind of job he did, half assed I'm sure because he allegedly fixed that same fence a few months ago - I went in and worked with Nathan to clean the kitchen.  He wasn't mouthing off but he wasn't happy either.  But then again, who can be happy in a house where a 15 and a 16 year old are unloading shit?

Andrew - the 11 year old - the only one that really kept his attitude good.  After he had done a lot of stuff, I gave him 4 bucks and said this is for keeping a good attitude.

Whatever. A day in the life and times of.

ben

Today's musings.
Went to a job site.  Drove the semi onto the site as I have done before.  The top of the ground was dry, everything underneath it?  Mud.  Realized it too late and was stuck in clay.  I get the construction company to bring a dozer over and hook a strap up to it - no chains in the truck (retarded, what construction truck doesn't have chains?) and the strap broke.  Another man drove up in a pickup truck, got out, started cussing heavily.  Came up and started cussing at me.  I told you not to drive in here!  Blah blah blah lots of foul language.  I'm just looking at him biting my tongue.  I admit I have ulterior motives in not telling him to go shove it up his @$$, he has the equipment to get me out of there, otherwise we are going to have to call a wrecker to come and drag it out of there at big bucks.

The man says he doesn't have a chain, but then says he does have one - at the other end of the jobsite but refused to go get it - not that I asked, i was ready to knock his teeth out for the way he was addressing me and took everything in me not to do that. I usually do not take such s*** from people at jobsites.  I will get in the truck and drive off - which I couldn't do! lol.  Told me I would have to get someone to come out and bring a chain.  I just looked at him. Probably was glaring, actually.  He took off, I made the phone call. Send someone out with a chain, this guy has one but won't bring it.  Set off a firestorm I found out later, I am not the first person he has cussed out, in fact, he cussed out the manager last week.  Salesman said screw the idiot, he can go to our competitor.

Regardless, I got out of the truck after that and started digging out in front of the tires. Not the first time I got a truck stuck and undoubtedly not the last, not with the places we go to. I saw that I could get the thing unstuck and went at it post haste.  Digging like crazy, get all the mud out of the front of all of the tires on the tractor and the trailer and I should be able to get the thing moving again. That guy can go - jump in a lake putting it very mildly.

Next thing I know, I hear a truck pull up and a voice saying something.  That dude, undoubtedly,  on the other side of my truck, I completely ignored him. Just kept digging.  He came around to my side of the truck but I had already moved to the other side, I am NOT going to tolerate his SHIT, if he was to mouth off to me again, I would have let him have it, nose to nose, right in his face.  Instead, he had brought a chain and was going to pull it out!  What the freak.  Seriously, if you had heard the way he was cussing at me and yelling, you would have had the same reaction. I NEVER spoke an ill word to the man.

He pulled it out, I drove to another place where they wanted to unload, got that done, the guy came back and profusely apologized to me. Okay! Thank you for pulling the truck out!

Moving on.  Over at m'lady's house today.   I have a new weapon, lol.  The kids and the 4 wheelers.  Yup.  Clean your rooms, keep them clean, get up in time for school, don't give lip service no attitude, etc etc etc.  Okay, it's not a weapon, just a useful tool.  It's working at least for now.  Until they get bored with them.  If they ever do, who knows.

And now?  Too late for me.  Time for bed.

ben

Something that I have literally always wanted since I was a kid were dirt machines - bikes and back then 3 wheelers - to play around with and have some fun with.  My parents were totally against such things as well as guns. So, we didn't learn how to hunt or use guns when growing up and any kind of motorized off road vehicle was strictly prohibited.

One thing I insisted on before I even came out here was that i was going to buy some 4 wheelers and we are going to have some fun with them! Coming out here, for me, this was mandatory.  And in the last 2 weeks, I have scored twice on 2 of them that were priced well below what they are worth and today?  Aye yay yaiiiii!
I saw this thing on Craigslist and immediately sent an email to the poster.

Polaris 500, 4WD, in excellent condition, $1,500.  Are you serious?  When he finally contacted me back, I was already headed to m'lady's house - with fully 4 conversations going on.  I got to her place and discussing a plethora of issues going on with kids and the house and then the dude contacts me.  We're headed that way!  We (just her and I) headed over there.  Upon arrival I took one look at that thing and thought: if this thing is in the excellent running condition that they say it is, I am buying it!

Sure enough. Took that thing for a ride down a nice long trail and wow!  I had already gotten a final price well below the $1,500 asking price.  This thing has high and low 4 wheel drive.  The handle for front brakes actually operates ALL the brakes, there is a pedal for the rear brakes but not necessary unless under extreme mudding conditions, lol.  The selling point for me is that it has been WELL taken care of and yes, this thing will haul @$$!

I am done with all of the 3 wheel purchases.  2 running - in great condition and one a project but confident I can get it up and going soon enough.

That was my "day" after work today.

Now?

Time for bed.

ben