Well I got her birthdate, I just need the marriage start and end dates - things I have completely put out of my mind for obvious reasons but should be able to find it easily enough here in my piles of paperwork.

I'm not actually looking forward to my landlord's departure. They are friends and we spend a lot of time talking and hanigng out.  I don't really have any  other friends like that out here.  I have a co worker that we sometimes hang out, but nothing like what goes on on a daily basis here. Hit it off pretty well with the the new tenants that will be moving in, though and they are homebodies, they don't appear to be people that go out doing much of anything, anywhere.  We'll see how that works out, soon enough.

Regardless, They're leaving in 6 days and the new people moving in in 7.  This is going to be a drastic change, to be honest, but nothing I haven't endured before. I don't care about tenants moving in, I just wonder what's to become of me here without any real friends to hang out with?  Church hasn't resulted in any of that and I am thinking of making a change. I love the pastor, he preaches the truth, it's good word.  But it's a huge church and unless you've lived here all your life, you have no chance unless you were imported from somewhere else to be on their staff, in which case, you are instantly everyone's friend.

Well, I've got a lot on my plate, but a church search here in town might find something I like, can deal with and - well it's gonna be a smaller church where you don't get lost.

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Co-worker found a new job - with HD Supply which is our largest competitior - and claims he is giving a 2 week notice on Monday.  We don't need 3 drivers.  We would be kept nicely busy without a 3rd driver, but almost guaranteed they will just go out and find someone else to take his place.  Considering how long it took them to find the last dude, though, maybe there will be a window of extended working hours.  But again, for me, it's so late in the year I think I want to wait until after the New Year - but that's not guaranteed if I get a good job offer from somewhere that would be foolish to turn down, I won't turn it down.  Anyway, my coworker will be making over $3 per hour more, it's a good move for him.

May have found someone to take the new doggy.  He needs to go.  He greeted me out front today.  He chewed through the rope to get free out of the back yard.  Next door neighbor's daughter told her she might want  the dog. Yes! Please come now! Free! UTD on shots! I've completely changed my mind now, if I get another dog, it will likely be a Great Dane. But, one of the new tenants moving in is bringing a mutt with him and perhaps they will get along. But, if he keeps it in all day long, that won't work.  Just going to figure this out as each step is taken.

BUT, I am on a plan now that gets the 30 pound bag of Large Breed Iams dog food for $18.95.  This was a find, it is $28 per bag at Sam's Club - when they have it.  It's a great price, it's medium quality food, it has meat as the first ingredient and importantly, Addler eats less of it to get full and that cuts down on costs and dog poop.  Chewy.com is where I got the deal and they still have it going.  Petco also had a similar deal.

Well, this weekend I'm going to spend some time getting  my room ready to vacate. After a discussion with the new tenants today, they are coming here earlier than I wanted on the 17th, but I warned them the room wouldn't be vacated early and it will likely be late morning or even afternoon before its ready to move in.  The other room, though will be ready to move in.  I just don't need pressure from anyone to do anything. They knew when it would be available from the get go.

So, I've been trying to rent these rooms out for a while.  Now I know from experience that it's a little hard to rent out rooms so far in advance, but still, this is really something that has to be done and over with before they - my landlords - leave.  Now that we're into August and they're leaving on the 16th, I have been ramping up the ads.  Took the price down to $485 in the master bedroom but kept the other room the same.  Have to cover the mortgage or this isn't going to work.  I'll be covering the utilities.  So I ran more ads yesterday and finally scored today.

Called the guy, started talking...and talking...and talking....best to get as much out as you can and find out as much as you can and give ample opportunity for any "slip-ups".  But, he was convinced, they drove an hour out here - 60 plus miles away - and they showed up.  Showed them the house, the rooms, the dogs, everything, they shook hands, gave me $480 to hold the rooms and away we go!  Woohoo! A load off my back.  Nice people, mature, older, this should work out well.  And here I was thinking of options to bring the rent down.

Now, I just got done checking out my new room - which is the baby's bedroom. It's a large room. Not as big as the one I'm in and no personal bathroom -but - the main bathroom will be my personal bathroom so no biggies there.  I don't need a huge room, enough for a dog bed, my bed and my personal stuff.  So, it's good. Make this work and move on with other things. Spending so much time with this that I have put off any job hunting.  The 2% raise was a slap in the face as far as I'm concerned, but that's what they did last year - though I was getting the 50 hours per week so that made up for it.

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Monday. Taking today and tomorrow off from work to get some stuff done in terms of bill  paying here and going to the town to switch the name over to me for the water.  I didn't need two days off, but I have 3 personal days besides all the rest of my paid days off and I wanted to use them before it gets too late in the year.  I'm going to ask for the 17th off as well, for that is the day after the home owners are gone and the new tenants move in and I need to get the rooms cleaned up nicely and more importantly, get all my stuff out of the current room and into my new room.

I just wanted some time off without using vacation hours.  I'm still looking for a new job, albeit only a few applications being put out here and there, regardless, I will get all that vacation pay in a check if/when I leave current company.  But to be honest, unless a really good offer comes along, it's getting late in the year and I want to make a trip back to Phoenix to visit mom.  I won't be able to do that if I get a new job and starting all over again on the vacation accrual.

Meanwhile, 3rd payment on the trial basis for the home loan modification coming up this month.  After that, the modification is permanent, the amount paid per month is almost $300 less and more importantly, my credit score will slowly go back up.  Takes at least a year I've been told. I  was checking my credit score. Some company in Phoenix dumped a $300 unpaid debt on there for a time that i wasn't even in Phoenix, I have to dispute that.  Other than that and the late pays on the mortgage my record is in good shape.  I'm really trying to get it back up so I can attempt to get a small business loan to start a mobile home park.  Some interesting online courses that cover all of this that I am reading through, though I wonder if I dont' need a bachelor's or an associate degree to make a loan like that more appealing to a lender.

I dunno, I just know I don't have the money to start one myself.  My plan is to acquire the land, permits, and install infrastructure and put on X amount of homes already ready to rent out, with extra spaces for RV parking and even more for those that want to move a home into the park.  This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time now, it's time to do whatever it takes to get it going.   I don't have enough in 401k to start it up, though there is enough in there to at least purchase land.  I'm going to devote some time to this endeavor until I figure out how to get it going.  I have to research other parks around here - which are few and far between and there is definitely a market opportunity for it.  There is also opportunity for certain chain business that isn't here yet.  It's a growing community and more and more businesses are being attracted here.

It isn't pie in the sky,  get rich quick. You have to start somewhere and grow  it as you have extra capital to invest.  Which means having a big enough property to do that expansion.  There isn't really that much property available in town, but there is plenty just outside of the main town and at low enough rates per acre.  A tax incentive would help, too, lol.
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Tuesday. The end of 4 days off.  Back to the grind tomorrow morning.  Which may not be so fun if the rain that just fell and flooded everything including taking down a tree in the back yard and a large branch in the front - stops everything at work as well.

We went through the grind of changing accounts over to my name.  Not that way I do it with my house in Phoenix - all accounts are in my name, I really do like to have control over that stuff because I see everything and how much everything costs.  Which, on another note, I got pretty mad when I saw the newest Direct TV bill.  They have been raising the monthly rate since last year.  This time it jumped from $117 to $134.  Unacceptable.  I have called them repeatedly trying to get some kind of deal, they refuse.

This is the by-product of ATT. They were bad before, but not this bad. Well, installation done, called Direct TV.  Channelled over to the Phillipinnes.  Woman insisted on all kinds of information, I simply asked for a manager.  Defiance.  Hung up on them this time, screw that.  Called again, trying to figure out how to get to disconnection like you used to be able to without going through all the hassle.  Ended back up in the Philippines.  This time, though, they switched me over.  Dude answers. Lengthy conversation. "Wish I could have talked to you before you switched".  I've called them a dozen times in the last 8 months, was met with not possible, not going to happen, not even a few free movie channels.

Sounded like the superviser that hung up on me is going to experience a problem at least.  All of their calls are recorded.

I was just looking at property for sale around here.  I have to get something in my mind to get a grasp on some kind of goal  Lots of it for sale, one in particular is 27 acres for $25K. Expected monthly payment with a 5k down payment is $140 per month.  This is much more attainable than I had originally thought.  Of course. Small town, ample amounts of land.  Much more intensive research is going to ensue. Property taxes, business permits and taxes, viability of property pasrameters for intended use, potential problems and costs to fix.  Yes, now that I have this basic information - a bit of a surprise at that - I am going to start doing the research.  What I do about it, can't even begin to say until I come to a total cost of acquiring land and what it's going to take to make a portion of it into a mobile home park.

I'm not going to have enough to retire even if I work another 12 years, there might end up being a few hundred thousand in there, but that's just not enough, not imo.

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Wednesday morning.  My 4 day weekend over.  I used to enjoy going to work, considering the hellish, toxic environment it is now, I do not. I like getting out on the road away from the place when there are longer distance deliveries, but other than that, being at the yard just plain sucks. But, I've endured this "manager" this long, I can probably make it through the Christmas season and on into January, be able to take some time off and then refire the search.

New dog still an issue.  Came home yesterday, he was standing out front.  However, their dog hovers over it and attacks it.  Guess that's a no brainer.  If I were a dog and another were doing that to me I wouldn't want to be in that back yard, either.  They're gone in 12 days, the dog going with them so there is that.  Now, whether the dog will stay in the yard when the other one leaves remains to be seen.  Of course, the new dog actually has to live through the experience. No idea where it goes, what kind of traffic it may be running out in front of, if it will get lost, etc.
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Heat wave continues.  Tried to get the truck loaded before it got too late in the morning, but that was a non-happening event.  Didn't get out of there until after 11am and it was hot.  Humid type of hot.  Anyway, I get a call from the house today - in Phoenix that is - the water heater is leaking.  Wonderful.  Another $300 plus down the drain.

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$447 later and the water heater was purchased - just a few minutes ago actually - now the part about installing it.  Mark says he can do it, I believe he can - but still.  Spent that kind of money and have someone mess it up.  It's an easy install, hopefully he'll get it right. Same exact heater, nothing differnet about the hookups.  Instances like this I wish I was there to do this myself.

I left the tunnel under the sidewalk projecgt go the entire week. Just no energy to even think about dealing with that.  I finally got what was stopping it, for I had the hole coming in from both sides: huge root in the way.  I had to cut the root on both sides of the tunnel with a hacksaw blade, sans the hacksaw itself and in the blind, couldn't see a thing I was doing.  Got that done though and walaah, the holes came together easily.  Now to dig about 28 feet of trench to get it behond the front yard, really should be easy because the trench doesn't need to be deep and it's 4 inch pipe, so a fairly small trench.

Get to that in a while.  Meanwhile, still posting ads for the rooms available after the landlords leave.  Lost of inquiries have occurred so far but.....everyone needing a room right then and there.  Hopefully that changes, but it's still only the 6th, I was just really testing the waters and seeing if there was someone that wanted a place to secure in advance. I may have to reduce the rate and then-have to figure something else out to make up the difference.  I'll remain optimistic until the time comes that the mortgage has to be paid and if there aren't any rooms rented.  Then what?  Reduce the rate, that's all you can do, make up the difference by renting all 3 rooms out and figure out something else to do with me for a room - which I already have 3 ideas, 2 of them easy enough, 1 of them would require turning the backyard carport into a room.  This is something they wanted to do already for a workshop anyway, but the money and time spent.

I could do it though.  2X4's, door, windows, plywood or particle board, plumbing, electrical, dryway, bathroom setup with mini kitchen.  Concrete cutting to install toilet and plumbing.  There's already a roof and it doesn't leak, there's one plus!  Lol but that's not my first option.  Anyway, that's just going to have to be dealt with if the time comes and that bridge needs to be crossed.

Our raises came in yesterday's paycheck. 2% cost of living.  The raise the two of asked for, non-existent.  No explanation, nothing.  There is no future in that place unless you can get to salesman status, but that's the good ole' boy's club, the people that have been there for 20 plus years.  That's just the way it is there, there is no changing it and that isn't even the worst of that situation, the new manager is the worst manager I have ever worked for.  He jokes around with the good ole' boys but gives looks and "sternness" with everyone else.

Well back to the grind I guess. Just happy I have Monday and Tuesday off.  The weekend won't see quite so short.

I got to work this morning and faced a huge amount of material to be pulled, palletized, checked, shrink wrapped, loaded onto the truck and strapped down.  Which is normal. What was not normal was the extreme heat, the humidity was very high and it was HOT out there.  After 3 solid hours of it, I was not feeling well at all.  A heat headache set in, bad one and I lost energy.

I paid for that the rest of the day.  I mean, fortunately I was driving the truck but I was out of it.  Stopped once to close my eyes and nap for 20 minutes back on the road, to a delivery, to another delivery and then a third.  But on the way back, no way.  I had to stop for 20 minutes yet again and close my eyes.  I felt better after that and then it was when I finally looked at the weather app.  Real feel: 112 degrees with a heat advisory.  This morning before I left the yard, a UPS driver came back a 2cd time, went into the air conditioned will call room, sat down, drank several glasses of cooled water and hang his head down.  This wasn't typical heat.

Anyway, it's well before my normal bedtime but I am definitely going to bed early.  I just need to run another CL ad for one of the rooms and call it quits for the day.