I became confused on trying to estimate taxes.  That's because I wasn't thinking correctly - this isn't my forte, I've never done this before.  

I was thinking, ok, I'm going to take home X amount per month and then pay the taxes out of the business account. 

But it doesn't work that way, lol and I don't know why I was thinking that.  Whatever you get paid, you are taking the taxes out of that pay, not paying yourself out of the checking account your net pay and paying the IRS out of the business account.

Which in turn threw my numbers all off.  All I know is, if you want to take home over $44,725? You jump into a much higher tax bracket.  The tax rate goes from $1,100 to $5,147.  And you also pay 22% of a predetermined amount they have on the tax sheet - a jump from 12%.  I'm definitely not going to try taking over the $44,725 amount.  I can't really even do $44,725 net pay anyway.  

No, I just realized I am in error again. Not in my favor tho, I can take more, in fact, I should be able to afford taking all of that $44,725 per year which amounts to $3,727 per month gross pay and take out 428.91 per month of that pay stuffed into an account I'm going to open to put that money aside for Federal taxes, property taxes and insurance.  

No, that isn't right either.  I will have to set aside the federal taxes in a personal account and the property and insurance in a business savings account.  Good thing I'm writing this out.  

Okay. I am going to lower it to somewhere around 40k.  This is per year - starting now, tho, not from the beginning of the year.  It's crazy that I have to pay taxes on no earnings, but the estimated tax apparently forces me to average it out for 4 quarters.  I'm just groping my way through this, I have to send the IRS something by tomorrow.  

I'm pretty sure the CPA is going to tell me to switch the LLC to an S-Corp and somehow, that reduces the tax liability - substantially I am hearing and reading.  I don't know how to switch it and I have no idea what the tax table looks like for that.  I am looking off of the standard IRS tax estimation sheet for single taxpayers sole proprietor.  

Ok, see? I have no idea what I'm doing.  I'm calculating taking 3 grand per month from the beginning of the year.  But I haven't taken anything this year.  So if I want 3 grand per month going forward, the calculation is only for 9 months including April, which means $27,000 per year for this year.  

Next sheet of paper, please.  I've got all kinds of hand written calculations and now realized that none of those are correct, lmao.  

Alright, now I'll have to do calculations until I get my net pay around 3 grand per month.....tic tock tic tock.....that's it. I can take $3,400 gross pay per month, pay $287.66 in taxes (thank God Texas doesn't have an income tax) leaves me $3,112.34 net per month.  That in turn leaves me almost 3 grand per month left over for operating expenses.  

I literally have no idea how much I'm going to be paying per month for electricity once we get into summer, I'm guess $130 per lot that's $1,820 per month just for electricity.  That may be high, it could be less and could be much less.  I have no clue, there is no way for me to tell except going by other park's giving their averages.  These people for some reason won't tell what they actually spent on any given month for electricity, not sure what the big secret is, the page is for owners and managers only. 

Whatever. We get done with June and I'll flat post it on there what the entire electric bill was for however many units I have there at the time with AC units running all day long. I will give the number of units with 2 ac's and the number of them with 1 and break it down to average per lot.  

But it's this unknown with electricity that makes it next to impossible to guess how much I can pay myself and still pay bills plus put aside money for expenses.  This is why I want that Hipcamp thing up and going. It may draw people in - it may not.  I will set up 2 of them to start with and see what happens. I have enough wiring to set up 4, maybe 5 of them.  I'm going to try to stay at $15 per night and see what happens.  If someone is traveling through and sees a place offering basic electricity, a water spigot if they need one by the shed and a place to take a shower and use the toilet for $15, I figure I'm going to get some people in there.  

Well anyway, I have decided how much I will pay to the IRS so that check is going to come out of my personal account and I am going to simply write myself a check from the business for 2 grand to start with and dump that into personal account. I want a paper trail, but I don't have to go to the bank to do it.  Just write the check and do the online check deposit.  My business account has ample money in it to pay me at least 2 grand right now and still have plenty to pay whatever other bills are coming in this month, but the biggies have already hit.  

Those pay checks will go into a special folder and they will all get dumped in there religiously, there will be no guessing at the end of the year how much I paid myself.  Although, I should be able to set up Quickbooks to show a paycheck to myself.  So that's it, write out a personal check for $863, put it in an envelope along with the estimated Tax voucher and send it to the IRS.  The whole point is to stay out of tax trouble. If the CPA can reduce my taxes, fine.  What I pay tomorrow will not be repeated the next time, it will be a lower payment. 

That's only if my calculations are correct.  I'll show the man what I did and he can agree with it or tell me I'm wrong, either-or is fine by me.  

Now then, now that I finally have this figured out to the best of my ability, I can get that dumped into the mail tomorrow.  

It is done. Finally. Good, bad, ugly, right or wrong, it's done.  Pay myself tomorrow, this was enough brain activity for one day.  I have plenty to do tomorrow and going to try to get up early enough to get to the post office, drop this letter to the IRS off and get over to the property.  

____________

Untenable idea.  No vehicle access tomorrow, I went to the post office tonight instead.  Then to Kroger's for water and ice, over to the property - hadn't been over there today anyway - put some water bottles in the cooler and filled it up with ice.  That will keep at least 2 days.  We are done with this tax junk for now, have to pick it back up again when I go to the CPA

I'm very tired.  I didn't do a lot of physical stuff today, but what with being up 3/4's of the night last night eating too much pizza and this brain exercising today? Toast.  It's almost 11:00 pm anyway, past my bedtime.  I've got my pay ride coming over at 9:00 am - I'd go earlier and I might but I don't want to set an expectation I can't meet. If I sleep tonight, I will sleep in in the morning.  I don't have to worry about water and ice, just take some food, the laptop and an extra pair of clothes. If I'm doing the sewer line, I'm getting dirty.  I don't want to be dirty getting back into her car to go home. 

With that, I'm off to sleepyland. 

 Monday - morning - not very early. 

I screwed up last night. I knew what I was doing but I couldn't stop myself.  You see, I completed a 30 hour eating binge last night that included everything that I have been craving for a while now.  The final straw was Domino's pizza.  The Extravaganza pie that has all kinds of meat and some veggies on it.  I ate way too much of it.

The problem? If I eat more than 2 slices of pizza in the evening, it will keep me awake all night long.  This has been going on for many decades now.  But as I said, I couldn't help myself, I kept wolfing down one slice after another....after another..until my gut was completely full.  I knew at that point it was going to be a long night.  It's not that I feel particularly bad after eating pizza like that, it just keeps me awake for some reason.  Nothing else does that.  I gained 4 pounds in that little eating spree.

No worries here, I didn't get so carried away with it that I extended it for many days or weeks or even months.  I'm not going to do that, I have a goal to reach and I am going to press forward with it now that I have gotten that out of my system - for now anyway.  If/when I go back to AZ next month, I doubt I'll try to stay on keto then, either.  But  until then, I will keep strict keto.

So yes, I am a bit tired but I have stuff to do.  I just decided that getting up early and getting over to the property to work was out of the question.  I am now just going to wait until Taylor gets home at around noon.  I have to go to court and deal with this ticket and I have to get to the post office and return that DirecTV equipment.  That didn't last long - DirecTV that is.

I wrote ATT off several years ago and I should have just stayed that course.  But alas, I just had to go back to it to get away from Dish's high prices.  The next time this happens, I will just cancel Dish, stay off of it for a month and start a new service unless they offer me the discount again.  I can deal with not having access to satellite to save myself a bunch of money.  I can't really do that at the AZ property but I definitely can here. We have smart TV's and unlimited internet, easy enough to just stream stuff in.  

Well I take that back.  I can do it at the AZ property, I just don't want to if I don't have to.  I have switched several times over there when one or the other company refused to give me what I wanted or needed.  DirecTV once lost my business over there for the old equipment we had and kept breaking, they refused to replace it.

Well, they refused until I got to the customer retention department, a thing I had been trying to get to before I decided to switch to Dish.  Then, when I went back to cancel DirecTV, I finally did get to that department without asking and they offered all new equipment for nothing, not even a new contract.  Too bad, so sad, too late, at the gate, I already switched, you can have this junk back. 

They didn't want it.  Of course not, it was outdated receivers that were well beyond their prime.  

Anyway, I will get the post office and court done and then it's a toss up whether I will go do stuff at the property.  Probably not.  It's going to be too late to tear out all the sewer stuff. I want to get it all cut out of there and reinstalled in the same day, if possible. A solid 6 to 8 hours should afford me enough time to get it done. 

On an aside, I tried this new Bing with AI technology that the internet is raving about and apparently Google is freaking out about. I mean, it worked okay, I guess...didn't really think it was any better than Google but it was better than Bing used to be.  Bing basically is trying to give Google a run for it's money. The problem is, I have several accounts that are tied to Google and atm?  I am not interested in just canceling those accounts or attempting to change how to access those accounts, this blog being one of them. 

Have I actually gotten all the start up costs paid and over with?  Well if I haven't, I'm very close and I'm ready for that day to say yayyy! It's all done and no more money needs to be spent right now on new construction!  There's probably another 10 sheets of drywall I will have to get - not a huge expense, some outlets for the HipCamp, maybe have to rent a bobcat to backfill all of that trench dirt. We'll see, it's a lot of dirt, but I am loathe to spend that much money on what would amount to maybe 45 minutes worth of work on a bobcat.  I could use it for other stuff, I suppose, but it's so freaking expensive. Even their 4 hour rate is almost $400 after taxes/fees.  Getting anyone to do that kind of labor for hourly rate? Lmao, yeah, good luck with that. 

I probably could just do a little here and there and get it done over a week's time or so.  

I still need that outside hanging lamp for illuminating the door/entryway.  But that's maybe $30 - $50.  I want to get a small vanity and that's going to cost around $100.  Realistically, to finish what I have started, I probably have around $500 more to go.  The kitchen setup can wait.  It will wait, for now anyway.  I suppose I could just get a used oven in there with a range top.  That's really what those types of travelers need, something to cook on.  But, then I would have to get a sink to wash the pans.  And all the drain pipe and stuff to run the water and drainage plus the electrical outlet.  Well, I think I have the electrical outlet, but that heavy gauge wire? It's like $80 for just the little bit that I need! And of course I would have to buy a cabinet for pots, pans, mixing bowls and kitchen utensils. 

See? It will end up costing me $500 to $800 or even more just to do that little bit.  I just don't have that right now to spend on such luxuries.  A bathroom with a shower stall and laundry will have to suffice.  I've noticed people going in there using the toilet, lol.  Yes, they have a toilet in their RV's, as I have stated before, for whatever reason, people would rather use a regular bathroom. The funny part is that the walls aren't all up yet, lmao.  I haven't advertised that the bathroom is finished yet, either.  I mean, if you walk into the shed and some dude is in there taking a dump, you won't see him.  The wall is up right there and the door. You'd have to either go open the door or peek around the other side of the door where there is no wall.

That got put on hold temporarily to get everything else done.  It's a priority this week, but court is top priority today since this is the date they have printed on the ticket to get it done by. So is returning that DirecTV equipment.  

There are just some days where I just write off working at the property and that's that. Days I would normally go over there and work, I don't include Sundays on that list. Sundays - as I grew up anyway - are supposed to be a day or rest. Where you go to church, worship the Lord with other believers, go home and make a Sunday afternoon dinner then go take a nap. I complained about this regularly at my last job when I was driving most Sundays and absolutely hated it.  I dealt with it - yes for those huge paychecks - but I disliked it greatly.  It was even more disturbing that other drivers with more seniority were able to ditch Sunday driving to people like me with less seniority.  

I don't miss that job.  I haven't missed that job since I was released from it.  

I don't miss trucking in general, at all.  I don't care about the 'open road' in a truck anymore. It's nothing like it used to be 30-40 years ago.  There is no wonder there is such a huge turnover of new drivers in their first year. I think it was 86% the last time I looked and no, I'm not looking again now. It's way up there is the point.  The older generation of drivers is slowly falling off and newer generations of drivers is not keeping up with that attrition.  This is undoubtedly why they are trying to ramrod through all of these autonomous trucks that won't need a driver behind the steering wheel, or so they say. 

Whatever the case, I have 3 hours until Taylor gets home, I'm going to look once again at tax stuff.  My books are caught up now.  I mean, completely caught up.  It's all on Quickbooks and that's all I'm doing. I was going to keep a written ledger, but after seeing what Quickbooks does, I see no need for it.  QB literally does everything and more that hand written ledgers do and handwritten ledgers take up a lot of time.  I just wrote 2 receipts off of Quickbooks for cash transactions. That goes into the ledger and is counted as sales income.  I don't have to take the money to the bank if I don't want to - and I don't want to.  I need a riding mower badly.  Oh, that's the other big expenditure, of course!

I knew I was forgetting something.  Walking around behind a self-propelled mower does give some great cardio exercise, but come summer and the heat wave? No thanks.  It will be bad enough driving a riding mower, but pushing one?  Maybe early morning before the worst of the heat hits.  I remember building that bridge in the worst of the heat last summer. 

I'm sitting here attempting to figure out how much I will make for the entire year this year.  I've taken no paycheck yet.  

Wow. I was doing the estimated taxes all wrong.  The wording is sneaky from the IRS website.  I just figured out I can take $3,000 per month net pay, still pay the taxes and still have almost a grand left over.  I need to save money -not for expansion although that would be nice, but to have an emergency fund and be able to pay cash for the property taxes and insurance for next year. 

The only thing is, my calculations were conservative on what I will be taking in on a monthly basis.  It may be that every month I will keep getting these random reservations in like I finally got with a 33 day reservation, another 2 day stay that left yesterday morning and another overnight stay that I got last night.  

However. If I don't take more than I just calculated and it just sits in the business checking account, I am not taxed on it. It's just what I'm paying myself that counts.  If I were just to collect money and not spend what was leftover, ever, I would pay nothing.  Of course, I think that might open me up to scrutiny by the IRS and I am not going to do that anyway, but still.  

Since I have enough to last a while longer in my personal checking account, I don't want to take a paycheck until after the beginning of the month, where I will take in a nice sum of money and then I can take my 3 grand and hope that I can take even more after I get this other operation going.  Or, just get all the lots filled up with long term. The Hipcamp isn't long term tho I guess it could be if it goes that way.  It would be difficult for a person to live there long term.  No holding tanks, every time they needed to go to the bathroom, they would have to go to the shed. Not a big deal, until you think about having to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  

Not really intending that to be a long term operation back there, not atm anyway. But, I need to think outside of the box and consider all the potential alternatives.  If the operation doesn't sell for overnighters or several night's stay, I suppose I could advertise it as long term but with well worded caveats.  No surprises, folks, you aren't getting 50 or 30 amp outlet and you aren't getting a sewer dump.  You could probably run a garden hose clear over to the nearest water outlet, but that would be on your dime, not mine. 

I'm just optimistically hoping that HipCamp will eventually bring in at least $500 per month.  It will be on the reservation system as lots 15 and 16 with respective pricing to begin with, including that lengthy description of what they will be getting and what to expect before they rent it out.  

Never-the-less, I do feel a lot better now that I have figured out I can take more than I initially thought I could in a personal paycheck.  I assume but will be looking at whether I need to write myself out an actual check to show it listed in the bank as a paycheck to myself, or if it's legit to just transfer the money to my personal banking account.  Not sure how that's done, more research is necessary.  

I think writing a check and putting a copy of it in a file to show exactly how much I paid myself for the year is the way to go. Leave no room for errors, these are copies of the paychecks, this is exactly what I paid myself, any other questions, Mr. IRS Taxman?  One of the biggest reasons I wanted the books caught up is for the potential eventuality of an audit.  I will be hearing from a CPA soon enough as well, next week I think was the appointment.  

Anyway, I have until tomorrow to get that estimated tax in the mail. I'm going to stew on it - in a good way, not stewing like I'm angry - for the rest of today and try to decide what I can take without cutting my business account too short to begin with.  There is plenty of money in there right now, but taking a paycheck and paying estimated taxes will cut that thing to less than a grand.  Getting rid of constant start up costs is going to be extremely helpful as well. 

A person starting up a park like this from scratch likely wouldn't have any idea of all of the little expenses and even bigger ones from the vantage point of having had just bought land and getting the process started. You look at the big costs from the contractors to build the main portion of it out. You try to look at all the other costs but when you haven't done anything like this before? I was definitely way off.  

This is why I am not wanting to take exactly the full amount I can take for paychecks leaving little left over. Besides saving for emergency fund, taxes and insurance, there may be more things that I haven't considered that I will need to dump money into.

The grass situation coming up is one of them. I have considered it, of course, but how am I going to go about doing it?  

I dunno, stay tuned for that I guess. I'm going to keep searching out all the options before making a decision. The winter grass is still looking good, but the day is coming when it will all die out and I will have dirt lots - that's just not where I want this to go. 

Well, enough for one entry. My mind is buzzing with all of this tax stuff and attempting to figure out a reasonable paycheck.  I'd really need to be able to take at least $3,500 net pay to not have to go back to work and have a reasonable comfortable lifestyle.  Getting rid of the car payment in 3 months will help with that.

G'day

?? One thing I hate, and that's writing an entry, accidentally hitting whatever key that does what it does and having the entire entry erased. Hit undo? It doesn't come back. 

So there is an entire entry about the last couple of days that is just vanished.  

I am not going to go into the detail I had with the previous entry - I was almost done with it - but I will give a synopsis. 

Let's see. Friday.  Well, I got the small shed done and got most of my stuff out of the big shed.  I then framed the area for the ac unit and then started trying to cut the tin for the ac to fit into.  My blade broke and that was the end of that. Those 2 items took many hours to complete. I then assessed this disaster of drainage these people had done. Wrote down all of the fittings I would need and took a few pics - that helps me figure things out if I forget while at the store and don't understand why I wrote down a particular item that I then think, why do I need that?  

That was pretty much it for the day. It was 6 hours and then it was time to go home.  Actually got a ride from James and Taylor instead of having to pay for it.  I'll save my money where  I can save it, the lady giving me rides is pretty dependable at least.  

It wasn't until after I left that the 2 nighter, repeat customer pulled in.  And then at 9:00 pm, the long term showed up with their older trailer.  They pulled into a back in site, I was watching them through the camera and then they decided to take lot 7 - the lot where the trashy people pulled out in the middle of the night.  Yesterday morning, I started getting texts about them.  "There is junk and boxes laying everywhere all around the trailer!", they exclaimed and then stated that the dogs were left outside, unattended. 

Okay, those are both big no-no's in my book I'm not running a trailer trash park and dogs have to be attended - according to my insurance policy, not some thing I made up out of the wild blue yonder.  Much of my rules are either based on common courtesy and cleanliness or my insurance company requirements.  But, I have to give them the benefit of the doubt. 

It turned out, they contacted me right after the lady had sent me pics.  I very gently informed them of the rules I would like to have them review and sent a link of them.  Then I pinpointed dogs not being left unattended or stuff being stored outside.  Just not going to happen.  This was a very casual thing, done intentionally to not make them think people were complaining or that I was unhappy with them already.  At least give them time to sort through their stuff and get it organized.  

Anyway, yesterday/Saturday.

We went to the older kid's soccer game.  He was tired, cranky and irritated. Why? Because younger brother decided to wake up in the middle of the night and intentionally wake him up, keeping him awake for hours.  Younger bro is getting himself into all kinds of trouble both at home and school. Anyway, soccer star was crying on the sidelines as the coach took him out after playing for 40 minutes to let other players in.  He was pouty and crying all the way home.  We all knew why and when we got home? They both ate lunch and were put to bed.  

Mommy and daddy left for Longview to do a client thing and I stayed home with them.  They slept 2 full hours and woke up in a much better mood.  We went to Longview to meet up at Bubba 33's.  I did end up cheating yesterday, I had been planning on it. Months of no cheating was getting old, I had to take a break. A meat pizza and a drink.  After that, off to lowe's and then off to Dairy Queen.  An extreme chocolate blizzard, over to the park, tried to collect from the newbies but they had left.

I examined the lot. Good enough, they had cleaned everything up. The only thing of note was a busted door window. I contacted them, told them they needed to fix that. Busted windows on trailers just gives the appearance of a trashy park.  They said they already had the parts and were going to fix it. 

We went for a ride on the 4 wheeler for the fun of it and then went home.  That ate up yesterday, but I did get the parts to fix the tragedy that these contractors left behind in the trench. NO way I'm covering that all up and hoping it will work.  One of the fittings had already busted loose from them using the incorrect glue.  All of that is going to be cut off, trashed and start over. 

I'll be doing that tomorrow-Monday.  Today? Well, both James and Taylor are going to be out doing stuff, so we are going to have to miss church. Well, we've been going for moths, missing one week isn't the end of the world.  Yes, I'm just staying home today.  I don't see any reason to pay $24 to go to and from the park to work when I usually, at least now, do not work on Sundays. I do need to get over there and collect that rent tho.  The newbies and lot 3 - if he is staying. His friends, the slobs, left in the middle of the night, I dunno if he's staying or what.  But if he is, today is rent due day for him.  

I can see his trailer on the video surveillance, he's definitely still there.  

I am also going to pull the trigger on a trip back to AZ. I have been thinking about it a lot. I can make all the excuses in the world not to go back - I really don't feel like traveling right now - but I need to see mom and my son.  And a few friends if possible.  I'm not going to stay long, maybe 3 or 4 days.  3 of my credit cards have ample points to pay for a flight from the airport in Longview - GGG - which flies to Dallas and then to PHX.  I could probably make 5 trips with the points I have on them.

I have decided to go next month. The price is relatively the same regardless of which day combinations I choose. It's around $500, up over $100 from the last time I checked this.  

I haven't pulled the trigger yet, I will probably decide today which dates  to go.  

Anyway, that's enough for now.  

 First and foremost: 10 hours of beautiful sleep.  I mean, it's only 7:30 am right now, but I went to bed last night at 9:00 pm and I only woke up twice - and only awake a few minutes.  I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to actually get some sleep.  It's just amazingly helpful for the mind and body.  Okay, I'm still really fazed out in the brain right now, that much sleeps messes with me, but I'll pull out of it eventually.  I'm definitely going over to the property to work today regardless.  

My shed needs that sheet of plywood. Yesterday evening, I decided to get it at Lowe's in Taylor's truck. Otherwise, I don't even know when I would have been able to get the thing.  No, I didn't feel like going up there to Lowe's. Not after all the shoveling and putting that shed together and leveling and everything else I got done. The keypad door handle is installed.  Much easier than I thought - it always helps to read the instructions lmao.  

Today's agenda? I dunno, there's still so much to do, but finished the shed will be the first thing and then moving everything out to the shed will be the second.  The shed needs that ac installed, continue work on the drywall, install the insulation, backfill the trench - just still plenty of work to do.  I really just want the stuff out of the shed so I can get that thing opened to everyone and start getting the money in those coin collectors in those machines filling up so I can at least pay the monthly payment for them. A little extra would be nice to pay for the hassle of having to get quarters out and roll them up.  I didn't and won't be getting a change machine any time soon. Way too much money, the cheapest one I found was around $700.  

For $75, I can buy a coin counter.  For $11, I can buy a funnel with a special tube at the bottom.  You pull the quarters out of the counter, dump them into a funnel and the quarters drop into your wrapper. If this is a once or twice a month thing - the coin collectors on those machines are huge - I'm not going to worry about it. I just don't want to sit around counting quarters and I'm definitely not taking it to the grocery store to use one of those coinstar machines that counts your change, takes up to 15% of your money for the privilege and then you get what's left over. 

No thank you.  

On another note, I woke up this morning to find that 35 nights worth of overnight lot rentals have been made.  The - lesbian - couple are staying again.  I noted their sexual  preferences because I am not responsible for what people do in their bedrooms with other people or what gender the other person is.  I also don't go around making fun of or condescending to such people. They are human beings, made in the likeness and image of God, as the Bible states, and also that God is no respecter of person and further that he would have ALL to come to salvation.  The problem with the Christian community for so long is that they openly reject such people.  

But, if you believe one portion of the Bible, then you should believe all of it and take it all into context.  "ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God".  We are all in the same sin boat. Different types of sin, yes, but all of it has the same end result.  

And anyway, these are nice people. They don't start trouble with anyone and act perfectly normal.  

The other one is a person that has come 3 times already and is stopping through again.  I don't know why he likes my park so much, actually there are always 3 people traveling together. I have never spoken to them, lol, they want to be left alone. As long as they pay their lot fee, I don't care.  They can keep to themselves as much as they want.  This time they are staying 2 days.  They show  up, drop their trailer and take off to wherever they are going. I would guess they have family here or perhaps some sort of event that brings them.  

That was pretty quick. That's another lot taken for 33 nights that I don't have to worry about.  Hopefully these other people are showing up today with the Great Dane.  That's 2 lots taken. That leaves 2 lots open and I'm still trying to rent out that 13th lot.  I will leave one open for overnighters.  Pull through lot 5, to be specific.  I know I'm losing another renter - at least - in less than a month, so I want to get the place as full as possible while still leaving one space open for the travelers.  

I also don't know if the friend of the people that left in lot 7 is staying or going. He hasn't replied to me, sort of leans towards him leaving.  I have had several inquires in the last 24 hours about the long term spaces and I am not turning anyone away until people actually show up, pay the rent and occupy the space.  In fact, if it were to go that route, I would be tempted to rent all of them out long term and be done with it for a while.  That way, when someone leaves, I am not screwed for doing last minute ads for people to take the lot.  It really isn't much fun having these people leaving without notice.  Anyway, that person's rent is due on the 16th, we'll find out soon enough if he's staying or going. 

Still, it was encouraging to see reservations coming in filling up that many nights.  It's been quite the dry season without any of that coming in at all.  

That's it. I have my ride coming in 40 minutes to take me over there.  Taylor left early this morning, James is off today but he is super busy with his side business he has started and stuff that needs done around the house, I will just take a pay ride over there and not bother anyone with it.  I'm finally starting to wake up and get rid of this fog in my brain.  

Well, I guess I best get my stuff together and get ready to leave.

G'day. 

 Break time.  3 hours later the shed is 80% done. I still have to build the door - it comes with the kit and of course I forgot something vital to setting this thing up: a sheet of plywood for the flooring.  I'm not going to just have the thing sitting in the dirt, I want my tools and such protected.  So I will have to borrow Taylor's truck at some point, and get a fresh sheet of it. I was going to put everything in there today.  Oh well.

One good lead for a person wanting to move in. Not necessarily confirmed, but they are very interested.  I've got to get some more trailers in here, end of story. But I am balking at the thought of lowering the price again, I will just be screwing myself come summertime and extraordinarily high electric bills.  So, for now, I'm leaving them where they're at.  

Another person of interest told me there isn't anything available over my way. Ok? Well, I have availability, tho admittedly I was telling people I was full for quite awhile, I did also tell them that they could check back periodically for people come and go in these parks. 

That tow truck family may end up coming back after they get their trailer fixed. This has been going on for about a month and a half with them. The only park they are going to find cheaper over this way is a trailer trash park with people who look like they're hoarders.  Piles of useless junk outside, I wouldn't tolerate that for a minute.

In fact, I was loathe to tolerate these people in lot 7 that were throwing beer caps, cigarette butts and garbage on the ground.  Even after asking them politely to please stop and also get out and pick it up, they didn't do it.  I'm sort of glad they are gone, but, there goes that money as well.  I think it's more important to keep a good reputation and a clean park than it is to base decisions solely on collecting money - tho that is a highly important factor, obviously.  

Well, I'm going to get that door built and then I'm going to see about getting the new keypad door handle installed as well.  I still have several hours before my ride comes back to pick me up.  Yes, about 3 hours actually.  I just needed a break, hungry, I brought last night's leftover chicken with me, quite tasty.  I am going to want to get a sheet of plywood over here asap, I want this stuff out of this shed and get it open to everyone.  I aaalmost thought about putting a piece of drywall down, lol, but we all know how long that would last.  

If those things don't keep me busy for 3 hours, don't worry. There an AC unit to install - which will be a lot of work framing for it and of course there is the drywall venture to continue on with for the bathroom. And a lot of other stuff........weeks worth or work left here.  Cutting out the insulation is going to be a pain, I can tell just looking at the walls.  I'll get it done, yes but dang that's going to suck.  

The collision center called with an update: They don't see any way to get it done sooner than the 25th.  well, I wasn't complaining or begging to them, at all.  I just noted that I don't have a rental car.  The obviously told them I don't have until the second of never to get my vehicle back.  I want them to do the job right and get it right the first time. If that takes longer, so beit. 

I have a ride now - it's $24 per day. I suspect less than $200 worth of rides versus $800 plus worth of rental car.  And maybe not even that much for the rides.  Taylor will let me use her truck whenever she isn't needing it.  Which is very nice and sweet of her : )  But, we throw favors back and forth. I get the kids on the days she needs it - tho I don't really think of it as an imposition.  I buy a lot of dinner food.  I do things, in other words, for the household as much as they do. Just one big happy family.  

She has been in throes of frequent, intense nausea, unfortunately, and throwing up food a lot with this pregnancy. I really am trying to help her out as much as possible.  She's trying to work while carrying the baby, that's enough for any person in itself.  She hasn't figured out what she likes to eat and what she doesn't like to eat, that baby inside of her is apparently very picky!

Well, I'm going back to work. Feeling much better now that I've eaten something.

 Wrote a lengthy post yesterday and forgot to post it.

Oh well.

I spent near 4 solid hours yesterday pushing the mower - well it's self-propelled but it has to be lifted up to get over the humps - and picking up trash.  Mostly at site 7 where those people left abruptly overnight.  I'm guessing their friend will leave once his rent is due in a couple of days as well.  I only say that because I texted him asking if he was taking off with his friends or sticking around?  No reply.  That could mean anything, I suppose, but he's usually pretty quick to respond to texts.

I'm getting a mix of people asking about lots available and asking if I rent RV's with the lots?  No RV's, sorry.  Even if I did, I wouldn't sayit would be completely reasonable price. At least $600 per month. I think I previously said $550 but that's not enough.  There is too much risk involved with renting one out and potentially having them trash the place.  

And anyway, there is a huge shortage of rental accommodations in my area and in 2025, it's only going to get worse. Far worse. Well I take that back, there is a very large, luxury apartment complex being built on the other side of town. They are definitely spending some money on that thing, millions of dollars.  It will help alleviate the problem but it won't solve it completely.  

If I had more money sitting in my bank accounts, I would definitely buy an RV and give it a whirl.  But I don't and right now, I've got 4 lots sitting empty.  One being filled on Friday - hopefully - and I don't know if those people will come back that needed  to leave the day after they moved in because their electricity wasn't working correctly.

I'm just glad the thing didn't burn down and toast other trailers with it. Descriptions of it when it came in were that it was dirty and had pine needles all over it.  So it was sitting for a while, not being used. Yeah, you have to maintain those things or they go south - and can go south pretty quickly.  

Whatever the case, I am going to try and build that other shed today and get my stuff out of the main shed.  I don't particularly care for the idea of having to carry the tools back and forth every day, but to be able to set up the laundry table and get the place looking decent, Ima need to move all of that stuff out of there.  I may even have time to install that keypad handle for the door.  If I can get those done today, I will go ahead and try to get the sewer pipe leveled in the trench and start backfilling that stuff in.  

After that, just get those sheets of drywall up on the bathroom wall so I can say it's ready to use.  There isn't a lot to go to get that part done and start advertising it, but the sewer pipe definitely needs to be adjusted so everything as actually flowing, not sitting inside of pipes stagnating.  

Anyway, I have a ride allegedly coming at 8:30, about 35 minutes from now.  We'll see if that works out.  I have to be home in time today for the kids, but that isn't until 3:30.  It's plenty of time to get stuff done over there. I think it took 4 hours to put that other shed together and it wasn't any fun because the wind was blowing and trying to blow over the tin sheets standing up, only being held in place by a couple of screws at the bottom. It's just the way the thing is put together.  

Well, I probably should get offa here. I need to get a roast in the crock pot and get my stuff ready to go. I'm definitely not going over there without taking some food and ice.  Temps will only get up to 74 today, but I still get pretty thirsty after working for a while over there.  

There is still so much to do before I could actually ... the shed is finished! Oh well, soon I can say it's ready to use, just not done completely lol.  People are using that washer/dryer set like crazy and that's only a few of the people in the park.  Once I can get that keypad in, I can let everyone know it's ready for use.  But, I'm getting my stuff out of there first and getting a padlock for the door.  And I"m putting the shed in view of my eyes over there, on the side of the big shed instead of behind it.  The other one had to go behind it because it has the water heater inside of it.

Well, offa here.

G'day. 

 The lady was talking far too much technical stuff to me.  I was trying to keep up with her, but business tax stuff is out of my league.  I have an appointment with a CPA later this month, I'm going that route. Meanwhile, I filed form 4868 which is an automatic extension up to 6 months.  I'm simply not qualified to try to do this myself.  I want an accountant to hear all the info I have pertaining to this business startup and the 401k cash outs and house cashout - tho that is not taxable because it is considered a loan.  

This takes a lot of pressure off of me for right now.  Now that that's filed, I have to work on another form for estimated tax payments.  I shouldn't have to make any payments for the first quarter because I took no pay. I still haven't.  But I dunno how it works, the form is printed, I will be working on that pretty quick here. 

I also have to file a statement with the state of Texas, another thing I am going to work on next.  I have spent hours on this, literally. I just decided today was a bust and stay home and do taxes, that's that.  

Meanwhile, the newbies that came in yesterday are already leaving. They had just gotten their RV out of the shop, parked it, hooked it up to electricity and baam!  Half the trailer outlets including one of the AC units weren't working.  Back to the shop. I suggested that if that shop - or actually it sounded like backyard style shop - doesn't work, I have the number for a man that knows his stuff that will come to you to fix whatever is wrong.  

Now, I'm not saying he's free, I just know that he's worked on 2 rigs in the park and there are no complaints with his work.  

Unfortunately, instead of getting $475 from them, I got $15. I just charged them less than full night's stay to try and keep them on the baited hook. Yes, please come back whenever the thing is fixed.  So who knows if I'll ever see them again.  ?? Your guess is as good as mine. The other people are - allegedly - set on coming to my place once they get to town.  And then the dude that showed up last night at 1 am. He will be paying me some time today, he was at work when I texted him.  He must not have gotten much sleep, having come in at 1:00 am, having to hook up and then gone by this morning? That will make for a long day at work. 

But, he's young, you can tell by his voice.  He can manage it better than - people like me that frequently have sleepless nights.  I still try to get stuff done, but it's a real chore.  

Basically, I'm just taking a break right now with all of this stuff.  I had to snap photos of who knows how many more receipts to input to Quickbooks.  And then categorize them and save them.  It's been a day, I'll tell ya that.  Alright.  I filed the no tax due report to texas electronically. That was pretty easy, a one page form asking specific questions that were easy enough to fill out using the notice from the state they sent me a few months ago.  

One more thing off of the list. 

Now, to tackle this form for making payments for income tax.  As I stated, since I took no money from the account for personal pay, I shouldn't have to pay anything? Lol, I don't know. It's rather confusing, because they are asking for the amount of money you think you'll make, ie: take out of the business to pay myself - for the full year and pay a quarter of it.  

I think.  So, do I have to pay for money I haven't even received yet? This is where a tax professional will come in.  The lady from turbo tax is calling me back later after she's off work. She knew her stuff, at least, and recommended I file as an S corp. Yes, but how do I do that? Don't I have to change the whole designation of the business for that? And how is that done? And how much do I pay now even if I"ve taken nothing yet?  So many questions.  

I'll take a look at this form but if it's too much or I'm getting confused, I'll wait for her to call me and see if she can give me some guidance.  

At least I'm tackling this garbage and I have my bookkeeping for the business up to date.  I do mean, up to date as in, right now, it's all good.  At least, as far as I can tell it is. 

__________

So, I have a ride to the park early morning and  a ride back. Taylor, that is.  Works for both of us. She needs me to get the boys tomorrow afternoon (and today as well) and so she will take me early and pick me up. I'll have 5 hours to get stuff done, that's plenty of time to mow the lawn and get some stuff done at the shed.  I have put up a question about rides in the local gossip group. If anyone is doing it in this town, someone in there will know who it is.  There used to be someone giving rides for pay but they have since stopped doing it. The only thing here is a bus line that goes everywhere but where I need it to go.  

 What a not so great night to not have a good sleep. 

I was awake half the night and then finally fell asleep around 6 am.  Now it's just too late to have Taylor pick me up at the collision center. I'll have to take it over there later and find my own way home. I've got to get over to the park and collect money and get some stuff out of the vehicle that I will need for the shed in the next coming weeks.  

Taylor got up earlier than she had to to take me over to the collision center. I was just going to put it off and get my stuff done, but since there was a ride available?  I went over to the park, looked at the new trailers - I was going to get payments - and then left and met her at the repair facility.

It was better than drive myself there and then either walk or try to figure out a ride home.  

And, this morning, one of the long term had left.  There were 4 people living in that one trailer and they were slobs. Beer bottle caps, cigarette buttes and small pieces of trash laying around on the ground.  I had asked them the last time I received payment to pick all of that stuff up and keep it clean.  

Mixed feelings. I'm happy they are gone because of their slobbish natures, I'm not happy that I have yet another lot to fill.  Well, I was going to be up to 13 lots filled come Friday, now it's 12. I'm glad I didn't turn anyone away in the last rounds of people wanting to move in. I was really just holding back - I just had this feeling I need to fill up 13 lots because eventually, someone is going to leave. If not the guy that already told me he's leaving in a month, someone else. 

The nature of oil/transient workers, they apparently give you no notices and they just up and leave for the next job. That will take some getting used to.  So, after this guy arrives on Friday - which I suppose he is, we have had a lengthy conversation about Great Danes, walking trails, guns and snakes - I will still have 2 lots available.  Lol.  

It's not like the RV industry isn't transient in nature as it stands, but I'd like to get a few more truly long term people in there that actually are from this area and are going to stay in this area.  The insecurity of having people coming and going like this is a bit unnerving.  

Anyway, I spent $8.98 getting the 2 newbies in, the other guy probably found me via Google search.  I'm going to extend the ad now that I know I need yet another lot filled. At least I know where I can get some results and not pay a lot to get them.  Now, about the park...

Time to do some serious looking for rides, taxies, whatever.  Taylor will be gone literally all day today, I can't use her truck and I at the very least need to get over there and mow the grass.  

More stuff.  The people that moved in yesterday - well they had electrical issues with their trailer.  They had just picked it up at a shop and now they find out half the trailer still doesn't work for electrical outlets and AC. So, they are taking it back to whoever they were dealing with.  Personally, I wouldn't take it back to a place that doesn't even check their work to make sure everything works.  

So, who knows if/when they're coming back.  Just keep running an ad now.  Back down to 11 spots filled.  This stuff is a bit surreal how it works.  Just hope the ads will get a couple more people in there fairly soon.  These people that left without notice last night had their rent due tomorrow.  Not really helpful, lol.  

Well, I'm stuck at home and time to get busy with finances/bookkeeping.  

 Busy day. 

Lots of calls all of a sudden.  2 people want to move 2 trailers in, 1 person wants to move another trailer in and another one is allegedly coming today.  I could take all of them, of course, and eliminate my pull throughs.  It's tempting of course.  But, the 2 trailers coming in together are not a sure thing.  They want to come after work and see the place first.  Of course, I would want to do the same thing. I'd rather have those 2 because they are late model trailers and more in keeping with what I want in there.  

I dunno, I might just take whatever comes in at this point.  Overnighers are a rare commodity right now and not paying near as much as they need to to even come to the same amount as a long term.  I have 2 reservations for this month, they are far enough out I can cancel them and refund their money, they can find somewhere else to stay.  It's just down to the nitty gritty with trying to get in as much money as possible. 

Of course, all of these people might be no shows and there's nothing to consider.  That's very possible and happens often enough.  

Meanwhile, I got the keypad door lock today while I still have wheels to travel with. Tomorrow is turn in day for my SUV. I am going to get the trailer and bring my generator home before taking it in.  I don't have any use for it over there right now and it's in the way.  Without that large generator, everything else will fit into the next shed I still need to build.  

Whatever the case, I am very pleased to be getting results from my facebook ad whereas the google ads that cost so much money really don't generate much.  I spent over $200 on the last Google ad and only got one person out of it.  I'm spending $15 on this Facebook ad and have 4 serious inquiries.  

It's a good way to start out the week, at least.  I got some of the drywall up for the bathroom. I haven't done that in a long time so I kind of needed some time to figure it out again.  And I have no clue how to measure or cut the triangle shaped stuff at the ceiling.  I'll be looking for youtube videos once again after this, lol.  I got the inside camera working again. Someone had moved the router and it wasn't getting a good enough signal for streaming.  I started on the outside camera - but the battery needs recharged. I"m going to see how long that battery lasts.  If it can go a week or so, I will not drill yet another hole in the shed wall to feed a line through it. 

The cameras have giant battery packs in them  - like 4x2 inches.  They claim to last a long time, but who knows for sure.  Oh, I did get the framing up for the drywall at the ceiling. I figured out a way to do it without too much hassle. I mean, it was involved but nothing too serious, just tedious.  I ran out of screws before I could get any further with it.  

I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow. I want to get busy with getting tax stuff done.  I want a few days worth of time in case I get hung up.  I can see getting hung up on something, lol.  Even if the software does it all for me.  

__________

These people drive me crazy. We're coming as soon as we get off of work at 5:00! I'm over here almost til 7. No shows.  I text them, if y'all are still coming, that's fine but I'm fixing to leave here.  If you have changed your minds, please let me know and I will move onto the next person. 

Half an hour later? Oh, we're on our way! Great! Pick one of the back in sites and have at it! I"ll come over in the morning to settle up!  Hilarious.  The other dude coming from Oklahoma City and was supposed to be here this afternoon? He'll be here at 10:00 pm.  I wasn't sure which lot I would have him in so I told I would contact him later.  Well, I am giving him lot 2, a pull through.  These people are paying my new rate.  Everyone will be paying my new rate unless I get desperate, too much time passes and I can't get anyone in there. However, if the other guy shows up tonight, I'm good.  That's 12 lots rented out long term.

And yet another one says they are coming on Friday.  I had to vet them first. An older trailer, I wanted pics of all 4 sides. If it looks good, I don't really care how old it is.  If it's trashed, don't bring it to my place.  Well, they sent 4 pics and there was only one minor dent on one side.  The paint looked decent, I'm good with it.  That will fill up 13 of 14 spaces.  

Oh, if those people come on Friday? They have a Great Dane!  That would be cool if Addler could have a friend of his own size and breed.  Who knows, they are coming from somewhere 11 hours away, is all I was told. 

Then there was 2 ladies that were to come and take a look - 2 separate trailers.  After talking to my eyes over there, I'm guessing they are the truck that came driving through and left.  They didn't call back, so I moved on.  Can't please everyone, won't even try.  Just trying to make happy the people that I've got.  

Anyway, I hooked up the other camera on the outside of the shed today.  Now I can see these people coming and going - and anyone else coming through there. The cameras are recording 24 hours a day but they also take snippets of any movement that are loaded onto the phone app.  So, if someone is driving through there, I will see them either real time or afterwards.  I would like to see all of these people that are coming and going out of there.

And tomorrow. The dreaded day.  I have to take the vehicle in.  I'm getting up early to get my last stuff over there. If I had a small fridge I could take over, I definitely would.  It will likely be that I will have to spend whole days over there. If I need something from the store? It will have to wait until Taylor's truck is available.  Another day or 2 that trench should be dry enough to get with that program.  Damnit.  

That's what I forgot.  I need 2 inch pipe and fittings to run another drain pipe for a vanity to the bathroom.  Gag.  Oh well. It's not like I won't have any transportation, Taylor offered her truck when she's not using it.  She is going to pick me up at the collision center tomorrow to take me home - but it is likely I will ask her to drop me off over at the property. I will just fill her tank up whenever I am using it.  That's cheaper than a rental car.  

And I also forgot an outside light fixture.  Lol. At least I got the keypad handle today. 

Well, I'm not going to bed too late tonight.  I want to be able to get up when I wake up - which is usually around 6:00am. 

 Happy Easter - Resurrection Day!

The day celebrated when Christ rose from the dead, snatched the keys from Hades and ascended into Heaven!  

I thank the Lord for Salvation through Christ's shed blood, the final and ultimate atonement for our sin.  "For without the shedding of blood, there is no atonement for sin".  Blood sacrifice was God's ordained way, Christ was the sinless sacrifice that can wash you sin away into a sea of forgetfulness.  Thank you Lord!

Of course, we are going to church this morning.  After what they said last week, we will assume the parking lots will be full and I will probably be leaving a little early to get a space somewhere to park.  And then, proceed to the front row as they asked last week.  You know how it is, you haven't gone to church in a long time or maybe have never gone, but you want to be a part of an Easter celebration, you stand  or sit in the back of the church?  So, endeavor to make it more comfortable for them to experience a service that will undoubtedly be about the sacrifice Christ made and about how you can experience salvation for yourself, become a new creation in Christ and have your name written in the Lamb's  Book of Life!

Do you believe all of that? Absolutely I do!  Without hesitation or doubt! 

___________________

I look forward to this coming week.  Why? Well, to continue work with the shed, yes but also to say  goodbye to much of what happened this week. It wasn't all bad, definitely, but there was enough bad spots I'd just like to turn the page.  I have wonderful taxes to do this week and I will be without a vehicle for probably 2 weeks starting Tuesday.  Yayyy!  It won't be all bad.  I'll stay home a couple of days, get these taxes figured out to the best of my ability and get it over with.  That's tax return, projected tax for the IRS and whatever the comptroller of the state is demanding, some document you must file to show your earnings and such - even if you made no money at all.  

The shed will be put on hold while I do that. It will also be put on hold to mow the grass, which has grown quite abundantly. I really need a riding mower.  

But I will try to get some of the walls up for the bathroom tomorrow so that at least it can be used. The sewer line? No idea, I'll get to that when it dries up a bit more.  A lot more, actually, lol. I will be taking a complete change of clothing over there tomorrow with me to keep available for when I can get that done.  Including a nice towel so I can wash that stuff off of me before changing clothes. Well heck, if I get the walls up, I can actually take a shower over there!  

It really shouldn't take too long to get those walls up, but I do want to run the wiring in there first. Even that shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.  Well, maybe longer since I've added a few more outlets to the equation.  Make that half a day lol.  I tend to be very cautious about wiring - there really isn't any room for errors. Get the wiring done right the first time and triple check it.  I've already got the wiring over on that side of the shed, just need to drill more holes through the wood to get it to where I need it, namely, nest to the door to the bathroom for a switch and then up to the ceiling and install a light and down to the floor for a regular outlet.  

It doesn't sound like much until you start looking at it.  Now is the time to get it done, now that I have most of the framing up.  

There is still quite a lot to do in that shed. It's basically building a house but in a shed.  

None of this even includes a kitchen - I still want one and I want to at least get the water and electrical and drain pipe lines run to that area before  I close it in with drywall. But, that can wait.  In fact, I have so many "top" priorities this coming week, it's hard to decide which to do first. I think installing that other camera is right up there as well as mowing the grass again. 

Anyway, unless I get a wild hair, I am doing nothing over there today. I mean, it would be good to at least get the grass mowed in the dog park area today tho.  That's a large area and the grass has grown so much. 

Fortunately for me, the guy that didn't know how much longer he is staying has paid for another month and still doesn't know when they are sending him somewhere else, only that he is probably staying long enough to warrant paying another month in advance. 

I'm getting views on my Facebook ads, no bites on those, yet. It was interesting that a rash of inquiries didn't come in at the end of last month.  In fact, the whole thing is interesting in that inquiries stopped about the same time I lost 2 tenants.  I dunno, maybe I need to lower the price back down again.  That's what seemed to make people interested, it's just that prices that low are not really tenable when thinking about summer electric bills - which is just around the corner.  

It's a hard place to be in, trying to wait and hope a few people will show up to take 2 more spots or go down in price - but hamstring my profits once those high electric bills come in.  

Well, anyway, it's time to get ready for church.

 

 Temu - I believe a Chinese online store that keeps invading my facebook, google and other spaces with unbelievable prices on things.  If it's too good to be true, it almost always is, especially on the internet.  I'm interested in as little commerce with China as possible as it stands.  Not to mention who knows if it's legit - even if Chinese - to be buying from them. The only form of payment I've seen for them that I would even try is PayPal.  

I guess I accidentally deleted a new listing for Facebook for my park. So, I just boosted another one that I've relisted numerous times - it's actually done the best for me in terms of results and it's quite cheap.  Try, try again.  The ad did generate a person allegedly coming in Monday for a month or so.  Again, I'll take whatever I can get.  A day, a week, a month, a year, whatever it is, I'll take it. 

The more I look at new and used car pricing, the more I know that getting this SUV fixed - versus them paying cash for it's "current market value" was the right thing to do.  The cash they give me would be a fractional down payment on a new car or truck.  Prices for new vehicles have skyrocketed and prices for used vehicles have as well. These car dealers are offering cash on the spot for used vehicles. 

The problem is, even if they give you good money, you are going to have to turn around and spend a fortune on another vehicle.  I'll stick with this gas guzzler for a while longer.  Maybe a long while longer. Once they fix it, it will look great again, the rest of the body is in excellent condition.The interior needs a drastic cleaning, I'm not doing that until I'm done with the shed.  Then I"ll get everything out of it and put it with the rest of the stuff in the sheds.   

It's been quite the day.  An Easter Egg hunt, a birthday party, 2 trips to the property.  The last trip, the boys went with me and it just so happened another 8 year old was visiting his dad at the park as well, so the played for quite a while on a rather wet hill of dirt and they all got covered with it.  I also spent an hour talking with people at the park - it's the way it goes there. The guy that paid me today says he's not sure if he will be leaving in a month or not - he just doesn't know.  It sounds like he will be tho.

He apparently comes back twice a year to work on the power plant down there.  I need some more long term in there pretty quick.  One hopefully coming Monday but he already stated he was only going to be there a month. The guy that showed up out of the blue had said he has a friend that will move in and he also told the eyes of the park the same thing - but that hasn't materialized.  ]

I dunno, but I'll keep running my Facebook ads until 2 more lots are filled.  What else to do.  I've only got 2 more reservations for the pull throughs for the rest of this month.  That's on the 16th.  That isn't going to work - tho I am getting these last minute calls, at least a few of them, people needing a place to stay while traveling through.  I need a lot more reservations for April, May and beyond.  If I have to turn it into all lots being long term, I will. Versus losing money for the travelers that aren't materializing enough to warrant having any overnight lots.  Or, maybe just one overnight lot?  

Who knows, get the 2 filled up and then, I will probably just leave the ads up. Yes, I can hope that amenities will bring them in, but if they don't.....

I dunno, but it's getting late and I'm outta here. 

 Called the collision repair place yesterday  When do you expect to get this thing rolling? She looks it up, oh, well we were waiting on you to call us to schedule this,.

I had to laugh, not on the phone to her, but after they told me? Lol.  The lady told me 3 times the other day when I was in there that she would call me after they hear from the adjuster.  Obviously that didn't happen, lol.  Anyway, I got over that quickly, I just am appalled sometimes with customer service reps of whatever place you happen to be dealing with telling you one thing and then taking 180 degree turns.

That was Direct TV the other day. It's gonna be X price, the guy tells me after he keeps adding stuff and I'm like, I want to keep the cost down.  Oh don't worry.  Oh, I'm not worried, I thought, I don't need satellite that bad. There are plenty of apps on my smart tv that will pipe in movies and such. Maybe not specific channels I like, but to save the money? yeah. 

We get to near the end and I ask this guy specifically: what is the total cost going to be with ALL fees and ALL taxes?  He's off the phone for several minutes and then gives me a price.  Are you sure? this is the total amount I'm going to be paying on a monthly basis for a 2 year contract that won't ever go up?

Yes.  But what actually happened at the end? Yup, the price went up $8.  Nope, we aren't doing this and I interrupted him and told him as such. He tried to explain it away and I hung up on him. He called back and I did, in no uncertain terms, tell him to never call me again.  

These people at this collision place weren't that bad, it's just the idea that you tell someone something and then you come back to it a few days later and the story changes.  Whatever the case,  I was then informed that they won't even order the parts without at least 2 day advanced notice to bring the vehicle in.  Great, I thought, another little gem they left out.  The only good news I got was that they can have it done "in about a week and a half". I'll set my mind on 2 weeks in case they are exaggerating their completion date. I don't need a rush job, I need the job done right the first time, guarantee or not.

So, Tuesday is the day set to bring it in.  Which is fine. I get the whole weekend and Monday to get stuff done.  On Tuesday, I'll find someone to give me a ride home from there - I am not walking that far, thanks, and then I'll figure out how I'm going to get around.  A local taxi would work -if it's really available.  I'll be looking at that and any other options once Tuesday rolls around.  

Oh, I did get the Direct TV streaming device. Notice I didn't say devices. Yes, there are 2 TV's that I clearly told them I need to have devices for.  I find out there is only one device ordered regardless of the fact that if I want the other TV to show other channels? Yeah, you have to have a separate device.  So I had to call these people about it. OH, well you didn't order 2 devices ????  I told you specifically what I needed, I've never done Directv Stream before, I have no clue how it works.  I mean, I know it runs off the internet, that's it.  

So now, I am faced with another $10 per month for another device - or - pay for a "refurbished device" up front.  Apparently people aren't real happy finding out they have to pay more for the service they thought they were getting in the first place. I ordered the refurbished device at $49 - saves me a lot of money over the length of the contract.  Yes, I forgot to say, I did call Directv back the next day and talked to someone else about getting service. The nice thing about Stream is that you don't have to have a service tech coming out installing a dish and the whole setup. It was relatively easy to set up.

I can now see the inside of my shed with a camera.  That was quite the ordeal - another case where the instructions are less than helpful. It's more like a general guide to steer you in the right direction.  I wasn't able to install the outside camera because it was raining all daylong.  I still have a lot to do in there, this week kind of slowed me down with everything that happened.  

Anyway, there is an Easter Egg Hunt at the church in a little over an hour.  They are saying that there will be 5,000 eggs. Yes, you read that correctly: five thousand eggs. It's a big church and they apparently also expect non church people to show up with their kids. I am taking the kids even tho they completely misbehaved this morning, making all kinds of noise early and getting themselves into various forms of trouble. 

But, after that, I want to get some work done today while I have transportation to get back and forth. Take the kids home, back to the shed, back to work. The thing that is going to hold me up is the trench full of water and mud. I simply won't get down in there to install that P trap until it both clears of standing water - which it probably is by now - and at least dries up a little. Take an extra set of clothes maybe on Monday, get in there, fix that setup, get the sewer pipe set right, back fill enough to keep it that way and get with the program.  And change my clothes after I'm done, lmao.  

My next order of business, however, is to install and get working the other camera.  I have to drive over there to find out if people that have made reservations actually show up. Well, I can ask the older couple but I really don't want to be bothering them all the time with business stuff that they may not want to be involved with.  A camera on that shed will eliminate that problem.  I will be able to see who is driving through there, when and what times people are home.  

The other thing that desperately needs done is mowing the lawns.  Just can't do it with wet grass - it clogs up on the outlet where it blows either out to the side or into the bag and you have to keep fooling with it. Hopefully this coming week it will dry enough to get it all chopped down again.  It was strange that the stuff wasn't growing after it got to a certain height, then all of a sudden, after months, it started taking off.  Now there is grass that is close to 10 inches tall. It takes around 3 hours to cut all of it.  Right now? That's as good as it gets. It's that or buy an expensive riding mower or pay an expensive service.  Just not happening, at least for now. If I do end up on the road again, then I'll pay someone or a service to come out twice a month and mow all of it.  

I'm pretty sure I'll end up back on the road.  I dunno what kind of job I'll find with that accident, but I will find something.  

Enough. I'm just sitting here trying to wake up enough to get my @$$ in gear and get moving.  I'm going to work on taxes tomorrow.  Last year's taxes shouldn't be that hard with Intuit already having all of the construction costs in there, the only thing I need is my W-2 which I got in January.  Then I'll work on projecting my earnings for this year.  I have yet to take a single paycheck.  

I have 4 grand in the business account, that's after paying the electric, trash and water bill, plus buying stuff for the shed., the land payment, the washer/dryer payment and other things.  I'll be collecting a couple more grand in the next coming days - providing no one else leaves of course.  I've had some inquiries and allegedly a person coming in Monday to stay for a month.  That will help quite a lot even if only temporary.  They're all temporary, really.  I get so many inquiries about whether I have RV's for rent along with the lot? No.  I have read mixed feelings on the facebook groups about doing that. Some say it's not worth it, others say they have had success.  I don't really have the money to buy a decent unit right now, if I did, I would consider it.  Around $600 - $650 per month for everything.  I know, it's just a trailer but you are paying for a place to live plus the land to put it on plus all of the utilities including free wifi. I'd call that a pretty good deal.  

A "someday" thing along with building basic cabins for people to live in.  Not for glamping, to live in.  Either a one room deal or maybe one bedroom, a small bathroom and the rest open.  Not here and now, but it's something I will be doing sometime in the future.  For now, I have to have another septic system installed first before I can even think about adding anything.  I think the laundry is going to amp up the usage of the current septic system quite a lot, adding more lots to it probably won't work.  I'll be watching the sprinkler system to see how often it's coming on.  

I'm going to make a trip to Longview probably Monday to get a keyless entry handle for the shed door. It's expensive but it's the only real way to give access to both long term and overnighters without having to issue keys.  I don't see how issuing keys would work with overnighters besides having to make endless trips over there handing them out and collecting them.  Well, I could see a drop box to put them in after the overnighters leave, but people can be forgetful, especially when they are leaving and getting everything put away.  

A keypad would simply be issue the pad code to long term and have the code on the site when they register.  It's $150 to get one and it's going to be money well spent. My wire came in for hip camp, I have the circuit breakers, I just need to finish the trenches, install the wire and boxes and walah, that's done.  Simple? Yes, hard work? Definitely.  

I am, fortunately, getting to the end of the money spending.  The serious money is done and over with. I'll need a few more sticks of 2X4's -- maybe  - I'll need 10 or so more sheets of drywall.  I do need to get a vanity for the bathroom - that's $100 used or $139 plus tax for brand new, simple design.  Those are the 2 biggest money spending things left, the rest is small stuff.  I still have this pain of how I'm going to get that wood up on the ceiling.  I need some help - help is hard to come by and not cheap.  

Anyway, I know what I need to get done in the order it needs to get done in.  

And with that, I'm getting read to go to church with the kids for the egg hunt. They have been looking forward to it all week long.

G'day.  

 My size 35's are now just falling off of me.  If I don't use a belt, they are so loose that they don't cling to anything.  I had a couple of weeks of no improvement and actually going back up a few pounds, but apparently I'm at the end of that run and now going back down again.  My belly has definitely shrunk substantially.  No, I'm still not claiming to be skinny, not at 211 pounds, but the progress is palpable and visible.  

I can fit into 34's now. I have one of my pairs of 34's out I use for outings. I'm still in 35's for working. I've already ruined a bunch of them with dirt, glue and other contaminants, there is no sense in ruining even more of them for working purposes. I'm down 4 notches on the belt as well. Well, almost 4. In between 3 and 4, if I put it at 3 my pants fall off if I put it at 4, it's a bit tight.  If the fat loss continues, I will end up needing a new belt, this one will be far too long.  

I have heard nothing more from the insurance company except that they have it assigned to a local adjuster.  That adjuster hasn't called me and neither has the body shop. I will be calling the body shop today to inquire whether they have approved it or indicated if they will be approving it?  As much as I need my vehicle, I need it whole again even more.  I'll somehow deal with the inconvenience.  I don't know how, yet, I'm not interested in an expensive rental car, that's all I can say. Maybe for a few days, but definitely not several weeks.  I still can't believe this policy rider doesn't have a rental car included.  

_________

Kind of at a standstill here. It is pouring rain outside and has been for hours.  I need some of the lumber out back to finish above the door.  I simply don't feel like getting wet. Walking out there right now, I would be soaked quickly.  I also need a large T frame thing to do the drywall correctly and get good cuts.  I figure I can get one cheap enough at Harbor Freight.  It's been a long time since I installed any drywall.

I could also start installing insulation, that is even further out back and on the trailer. No thank you and anyway, I realized I forgot to get adhesive for it.  It has to be able to stick to the metal with something, lol. Oh well.  I got the big stuff out of the way, this has been a crazy week, there are cases where my thinking just isn't all there.  

The door is up, the framing is up, there is some framing to go above the door but not a lot. It's going to be difficult because it will be hard to reach.  It's probably 8 feet up to the top, maybe higher.  

I like rain - but this is too much. It's flooding everything, it's making life difficult. At least I was able to confirm the power is back on over here. Amazingly, they must have did a workaround on the downed line because it is still down and they aren't even out there working on it. They did put up poles - apparently a new setup to mitigate the lack of power getting over to the other side of the highway and hence, to the property.  I guess they will just come back to it when the weather is better? I can't imagine doing that kind of work in this kind of heavy rainfall.  

I haven't heard from the insurance agency or the body shop, but I don't think I'm going to call them today. I need to make some more runs and that will be much more difficult once they get my vehicle in the shop.  I'm sitting here, in the shed, listening to the rain pounding on the roof - it's pretty loud.  Trying to gather my thoughts - what else do I need besides that T thing and glue?  

My hipcamp wire came in yesterday, I'll need some outlets and a few boxes for that.  Well, and circuit breakers.  Unfortunately, I will have to drive clear to Longview for those, Lowe's doesn't have the brand i need for the breaker box.  I may have to do that today while I still have a vehicle.  Yikes. I hate driving in the rain, not because I am afraid to but because people don't know how to.

It also isn't exactly legal to be driving the vehicle with a busted out headlight.  I have been taking my chances because I have little choice. Get the stuff I need or don't, but if I don't, this project is thereby pushed out for a month or longer.  Hmm, best start writing a list, now that I'm thinking about it. 

The repair guy came by.  He knows nothing about commercial dryers and freely admitted it lol. He did, however, look at my exhaust hose and said "You have the equivalent of 5 elbows which is the equivalent of 25 feet when it comes to dryers. After 20 feet, the dryer has a hard time drying the clothes."....and other stuff I did not know and never heard before. So, I will be pulling the dryer out and cutting the hose to size. I just stuck the whole thing on there - I had no idea it can make a difference.  Apparently this dryer is like most other newer dryers in that it senses the moisture and knows when to shut off.

However, I figured out the mystery of why the dryer never shut off on my own. There is a label pasted to the top of the coin op part that has some writing on it that I never read. I read the instruction manual instead.  That label says something to the effect that there may be an "existing run time" left on the machine - presumably for testing it/quality control. Turn the machine on and let it run until it shuts itself off, which could take up to 8 houirs.

8 hours?!! lol, ok, well at least I now know why.  This guy didn't know either, it was just happened upon.  

I'm pretty burnt out today. Last night just took it out of me. You can only wake up so many times before it's just shrug your shoulders time and do what you can before you run out of steam.  I guess I will just close up shop here and head up Harbor Freight - my vehicle is parked right outside of the shed.  And there is parking close to the front door of the store.  The rain is unrelenting at least so far and it's been many hours now. 

 Some replies to my boosted facebook ad. I have it listed in something like 20 local facebook groups.  I also got a call - but the person was adamant the lots had to be level.  No ma'am, they aren't perfectly level, I do have boards and such to help you level it easily.  She hung up.  Once I realized that lots weren't level when the park was completed, I knew this would be an issue. But surprisingly, not that bad.  Most of these newer RV's have automatic levelers.  They just push a button and this jacks come down and walaah, no hassle.  I still offer boards in case they want the wheels fully sitting on something.

Well, whatever.  I'm hopeful the ad will result in a couple more long term coming over my way.  I need to join more Shreveport groups, that's where a lot of the oil workers are coming from.  

But it's been one heckuva week.  I could start it over and be thankful if such were possible.  Besides the accident and getting punched in the face, I have smashed a toenail and 2 fingernails, broke a window at the shed - I dropped a 2X4 and it of course landed right on that window, lost the key to my gas cap - I think that occurred during the accident but I cannot find it anywhere, I always put it back in the same place every time so I know where to find it, had the "plumber" tell me that a straight pipe out of a drain is "normal" - I can guarantee you that any real plumber will never say such a thing, if it's a drain, it has to have a p-trap unless it's a toilet that already has one built into it- and he refused to come back out unless I pay him  'service fee' - that after he got back with me and admitted his "mistake".  It was no mistake, he didn't know what he was talking about.

Oh, the power went out at the property yesterday afternoon.  Not for 2 minutes, not for 2 hours.  It was off for almost 7 hours.  And of course, part of that outage was during the time people are coming home from work.  Equally, the people that are mostly always there asking me what happened?  You can be rest assured the power bill has been paid (which it has, I'm good until the 13th of May), I have already sent in a power outage report to Swepco.  

But, after quite a while, Swepco had updated it saying "you power is out" but didn't update what was the cause or how long it will take to restore service.  Well, I went for a drive.  Didn't take long to find the problem.  A giant, humongous tree had fallen over during the storm.  It landed right on top of a power pole, tore 1/3rd of the pole off, downing the lines.  We're not just talking about downing the lines along the highway, it also took out the crossover line and the telephone pole those lines were connected to on the other side of the highway.  And when I saw downing the lines, I mean downing the lines all the way to the ground. 

To top that off, it was heavy downpour, thunder and lightning.  I don't think they allow those workers to do anything until lightning passes.  Even so, Asplundh was out there with 4 trucks cutting that tree back off of the lines and the pole - that was about 2 hours (pretty fast work considering the size of the tree) and then 5 Swepco trucks showed up.  I knew it was going to take a while when, at 5:00 pm,  I passed by again and saw that they hadn't even gotten the destroyed pole out of the ground.  

I just told people at the park, if you have a generator and want electricity, I suggest you use it. It's gonna be a while.  

So, these people had called earlier wanting a spot, they are on their way to wherever and are just passing through.  They showed up - sorry, there is no power here atm and no indication of when it will be turned back on.  Oh, says the older gentleman, well is there water?  Yes, plenty of fresh city water and the sewer of course.  Up to you whether you want to stay or find somewhere else. He looks at his wife, she wants a shower and she wants off the road.  We're staying, we just need water, our tank is empty.  I waived the fee.  I probably could have charged them a parking fee, but it seemed  a bit of a stretch to charge them for a spot under such circumstances. 

I'm sure other parks would have guiltlessly charged them anyway. It's the first time the power has gone out since I had it turned on, it's not a regular, recurring event.  The only thing I ate was a bit of water.  My water bills are quite low considering the amount of people staying there.  It certainly lends to the idea that the septic system isn't getting over-used.  I told them it would be free unless the power came back on soon.  It did not.  It was almost 10:00 pm and I just blew it off.

Another couple showed up hours later.  It was almost night time, they called. Which lot are we supposed to be in? Lot 5, but I have to tell you, the power is out.  I can refund your money if you want to find somewhere else to stay.  Nope, they replied, but is the water still on?  Yes, plenty of water pressure.  I did take their money for they showed up late and it was something like 3 hours later and the power came back on.  Plus they fired up their generator.  Maybe I should do a partial refund to cover the cost of having to use the generator.  

Not a pleasant stay for anyone considering the constant rain.  It also rained all night long, the power went out here, at the house twice but came back on.  However, couple those outages - which wake me up instantly since my fan goes off - and the thunder claps and the noisy heavy rain?  Yeah, sleep was fleeting.  I managed to get back to sleep after another awakening only to have the power go off again at 6:00 am. This time, it didn't come right back on.  Wide awake, I thought about just getting up and getting going. Which I did, sort of.  Went out, saw everyone getting ready to leave. 

Even discussion about one of them possibly having to stay home from school - when our power goes out, a lot of times, that school's power also goes out.  But, thankfully, the power came back on.  Toasted tired, I went back to bed. 3 hours later and I finally woke back up.  I have no regrets.  My sleep because of all of this last night was not very good.  I still have a fog in my head. It's 9:30 am.  I do intend on going over there to the park and continuing on with the framing.  If I work several hours, I should get the framing done.  Then I can start installing the drywall.  It doesn't have to be completely finished for me to be able to say it's ready to use. It just has to be functional and of course the walls up so there is privacy.  

I only mean that it doesn't have to be taped and textured to be called finished. I am going to do that, but I will be advertising pretty quick that the bathroom is available.  All except that damn p-trap they didn't install. The trench is muddy and half filled with water.   I am not getting down into that stuff to install a p trap, I would literally be bathing in mud.  There is rain forecast for the next several days.  It will be next week before I can install it.  What does it mean? It means there is the possibility of odors coming out of there. I had the other p trap open for many days when i was installing the washer/dryer setup.  Mostly never smelled anything unless someone was dumping their black water holding tank and even then, it was a mild odor that went away quickly. 

So yes, I will post it ready to use despite the p trap.  It's not a hard job, at all, I am just not going to get completely covered in mud to install it.  Plus the sewer line needs leveled, another thing they didn't do.  Well, they started to but apparently the rest of that is my job.  Lol.  Ok. I don't care at this point, I'll level it, backfill it and be done with it - next week.  You can't level line like that in the mud. The dirt needs to be dry.  

The laundromat, if you want to call it that, is being used by 3 trailers worth of people.  They all have keys and they are happy with the results. That drain line is on the other side of the shed and is unaffected by the setup with the shower drain. 

Anyway, there is plenty to do inside the shed.  It's cool, it is raining on and off, but the work inside will keep me out of the rain.  The door is installed, swings freely and closes squarely along the wood it comes in contact with.  I just need to install the door handle.  The hard part today will be trying to get the studs going from the top of the door setup up to the ceiling.  I am not going to frame over the top of the bathroom setup, it's a waste of time and the logistics would be ridiculous.  It's still going to be a chore doing it the way I'm going to do it now, but much easier than what I originally planned. I was just trying to save space for a vending machine.  I have another area for that where it can go.  

This is why I didn't finish the electrical over there. I didn't know where I would need outlets and switches.  Now I know I will need another outlet near the entry door.  I also know where to put a light switch and where to install a ceiling wire for the bathroom light.  

Ok. Well, the repairmen for the dryer called. He is supposed to come out today to look at it. He found out it's a commercial dryer and at an RV park. Well, we aren't really supposed to work on commercial units.....lol. I'll have to find someone that does work on commercial units to change the price on that dryer, or sit there and attempt to figure it out. There are instructions - as clear as a muddied windshield. It's very complicated, actually, from what I am seeing on how to take half the top of the unit apart to even get at the coin setup.  I don't really want to do it but I also don't want to leave the price where it is. 

It's at $2.50 for a full load - wash and dry - that's not enough. it needs to be $3.00 total price.  I based my calculations for the machines to pay for themselves off of $3.00, not $2.50.  They didn't bother to ask me what prices I wanted set on them and I didn't think to tell them - I have never done this before, kind of hard to think ahead about things you have no prior experience with.  

I'm down to 3 lots rented for overnights for the rest of April - so far anyway.  That's not good.  I dunno what's going to happen with that, I'm just pushing my Facebook ad all over the place and hopefully it will pay off with a couple of new people moving in. 

Well, one of the people staying overnight just called and said they aren't going anywhere. It's raining and they don't like to drive in the rain.  Fine by me, I'll be over there soon - to collect up lol.  They get the first night free but the second? No. The power is on and they can sit there and enjoy themselves.  

With that....I'm hungry, it's getting late in the morning and I have stuff to do.  

G'day

 I dunno, but I woke up this morning at 6:00, tired - extremely tired - like I hadn't slept all night long.  So I went back to sleep. this time, I feel into a deep sleep for sure and woke up at 9:15 am.  Not my plan for today, but I'll take the sleep.  The rain went from before 8:00 am, to 8:15, to 9:00 now to 10:15.  Lol.  So supposed in half and hour it's going to start raining.  I don't really care about that, I have plenty to do over there inside the shed with or without the rain.  I'm trying to decide what's first, but I think the cameras take priority.  

AC is going to be up there on the priority list as well.  There are 3 lots worth of people using the laundry facility atm, I want that to grow to everyone having access, just can't do it until that shed is built.  But let's at least get the walls and door up first? I hate to have to lug tools in and out of there every time I need to work.  I was going to cut grass today but if it's really going to rain, that will be put on hold.  

My friends were all over the internet looking for a mugshot of this dude.  No, I didn't encourage them, they just wanted to see what this guy looks like.  He's a year older than me.  I thought he was well into his 60's from his appearance. He's also 6 feet tall.  It's funny what adrenalin will do to your perception. I thought he was much smaller, tho I knew he was heavy. At 260 pounds, he's definitely in the obese territory.  I dunno what's going to happen with him, I am contemplating filing a civil suit after he gets done with whatever court hearings for damages.  Won't be a high dollar figure, but he has money. Or appears to anyway.  Why not? My mouth is still sore, I still have red marks on my cheek and his anger was unwarranted.

Completely unwarranted.  Again, I was about to apologize to this dude when he walked up to the window.  It was actually shocking to see him pull his arm back with clenched fist and see that thing hit me in the face.  I had no reaction time for that at all.  It was done before I even really knew what was going on.  

I'm still waiting to hear from the insurance company about approval.  Or the collision center - if they get the approval they will go ahead and call me themselves.  Until then, I will drive that thing around like that.  I was hoping to get it in yesterday.  

The forecast has completely changed. Now it's showing to start in a few minutes and go on for several hours.  The radar shows a large storm going just north of us.  I mean, just north of us.  OH, lol, that changed again as well.  We are surrounded by green, yellow and red but we're currently sitting in the white zone.  I don't give a whole lot of credence to these forecasts anymore. You prepare for storms but you wonder and you doubt the validity of their forecasts.  They are often times wrong. The other day, it was supposed to rain half the day. Instead? We got nothing.  

Don't get me wrong, I don't want rain right now.  I can't mow the grass in the rain or with wet grass, it doesn't work.  It's also difficult to work on the shed with having to get stuff outside.  I have a lot of it inside, yes, but not everything.  I needed to leave space in there to work and let people have access to the washer/dryer setup.  

Which reminds me, this trash company I was using is still charging me for trash pickup and haven't taken there can.  I both issued a cancellation online and spoke on the phone with them about it.  I just told them to please refund my money and come get your trash can, thank you.  If they don't, I will contact the card issues and reject and future payments. 

Oops, there's the rain!  I'll be. Their forecast was off by 4 hours but it did come to pass.  Oh my....and a sudden downpour at that!

It dawned on me in the night when I was laying there awake - almost always happens - that quickbooks is also turbotax, I do believe, and I won't have to do anything but file with them. They can figure out the business construction deductions and calculate what I can take off.  So that's what I will be doing in the next few days.  I will also fill out that IRS form for "projected wages" and send that in. And then, the state of Texas wants some form filled out for earnings from my business last year. Big fat 0, thank you.

Still running Facebook ads for the 2 available long term lots. Just put a boost on one, it's paid and will reach a more targeted audience.  It's cheap, but it usually gets results, far better results than Google ads, which are much more expensive and far less effective. My google business listing is enough without running any ads, my listing shows up on the first page and that's good enough for me. People do say they find me through google, all well and fine, but a lot of the long term are finding me through my facebook ads.  So we'll see what happens.  

Meanwhile, I have been following this Trump indictment - loosely I'll say. We all know about Trump, you made an opinion of him one way or another long ago.  These charges against him are actually misdemeanors that DA Bragg has somehow attempted to inflate to felony charges.  I don't suspect that it's going to go anywhere. Even if it ends up in a court, as long as they can find unbiased jury members (which admittedly would be hard to do in New York City, a bastion of democrat progressive policies and Trump/MAGA/conservative despisers), I find it highly unlikely they would find him guilty of anything.  

Apparently the judge in the case also has issues that show bias against Trump as well.  Trump wants it moved to Staten Island.  I doubt this is going to deter anyone that likes Trump from still liking Trump. Note I didn't say bow and worship him as many democrats say that trump supporters do.  I'm not on the fence about Trump's ethics, he has his share of ethical issues the same as the likes of Bill Clinton getting blow**** in the Oval office from a young lady that wasn't his wife.  He was impeached but he didn't go to jail.  

I also like what Trump accomplished during his time in office. The democrat socialists will deny he did any good for America, but there is a huge list of things he accomplished, some of them are quite significant.  

I don't like Trump's temper tantrums.  He's a typical New Yorker, I guess, so that probably explains a lot of his issues with anyone, especially in the media, saying anything negative about him. Get over it, that's the burden you agree to carry if you become a politician and especially the President.  

I am not watching the news all day long because of it. I just click on here and there to see what developments have taken place.  

Anyway, the rain is coming down hard now.  I'm still a bit out of it.  Just not the greatest night's sleep followed this morning by deep sleep, just throws me off.