Made it to church. Really liked the message, glad I went.  It was a challenging message, I'm not saying I liked it because it strokes the flesh/ego. 

Off to the property afterward, the people at lot 14 were all over the idea of getting at me and getting into an extended conversation.  Nice folks, they are buying property but, as usual, it's taking forever to close.  There weren't too many complaints, but they said the shed smells like cigarettes. I don't smoke cigarettes, James hasn't been in there in 2 weeks.  She said they may be at my place until October.  

Sounds about right. They have 3 closings to do - long story not worth going into.  Then they have to get utilities run to the intended RV site.  Yup, you're going to wait probably 2 months for the power company to get out there. They said it isn't Swepco and named the name of the company - Upshur. Yup, it'll be even longer than Swepco. She replied they told her 12 weeks.  Well, they can't start the utility request until they get the property they are going to end up with.

Ok, ok. Short version of the story:  They bought a property that is out in the middle of a rancher's property that surrounds it. Hundreds of acres surrounding this 6 acre situation. The lady that owned it wouldn't sell to the rancher after she listed it for sale, lmao.  Bad blood there, who knows, obviously a story and I would love to hear it. 

So, these folks bought the property and the rancher offered to give them 6 acres of property elsewhere that he owns in exchange for that property.  They agreed after seeing it, declaring that it was better property than the one they bought.  It's a long process just to get one property closed, lol.  I'm glad they'll be there a while, I can't really afford more people leaving right now.  I already have at least one more being sent somewhere else and if he leaves before the full month is up, I'll have to pro-rate a refund to him. 

After that conversation, I went into the shed.  Yes, heavy cigarette smell, I contacted the person I know who is doing it and asker her to please stop smoking in there.  I have received no reply, but the message is conveyed.  

Off to Applebee's. Yes I'm staying away from restaurants but this is just a thing I have been doing on Sundays, tho admittedly haven't been there in 3 weeks.  That was cut short with the oncoming storm whose intensity grew significantly into a severe thunderstorm warning.  That little dog of theirs goes crazy in thunderstorms, needed to get home and put her in their bedroom before the thunder reached us.  Wolf down food and left.  Kind of unfortunate.  My one restaurant outing of the week and I had to hurry up and leave.  

_________

Storm didn't even hit yet, a little rain but the worst of it yet to come and the power has gone out 4 times now.  I can tell you that after going 7 days without power not that long ago, I really don't want to do that again.  Like, do I need to run over to the park, hook up the trailer, go to where I have generator stored, push that thing up on the trailer and drag it home?  I seriously hope not.  

But I have this down now.  Run a heavy duty extension cord through my window, plug everything in including the AC unit and I can live normally. In my room, anyway.  

.....riding this one out. The power came back on and so, I'll just hope it stays on. Other people in town saying their power is still out.  

 The people that took off to New Jersey showed up yesterday.  The storyline is that they got into a minor accident, didn't have insurance on their vehicle (they were at fault), had the truck impounded and the police allegedly took all of their possessions including their ID's as well.  I've heard of vehicles being impounded for no insurance, I have never heard of police taking your ID and personal possessions and not giving them back unless you are being arrested.  Sounded sketchy to me.  Like, something is being left out in this story.  None of my business, really. What is my business is getting them to pay me or getting them out of there.

I unplugged their rig after finding out they weren't even in town, not anywhere near town and unknown return date.  I checked my notes, they pulled their rv in there on the 14th of last month, were supposed to pay on the 28th, instead, they took off and then get themselves into this predicament. We're at the 16th of July now, so that thing has been parked there over a month.  The only reason I didn't move it is because I have empty lots.  If all the other lots were full or booked, I would have moved that thing behind the shed and end of story.  I could have legally had it towed to an impound yard. 

So, we had a discussion yesterday, she said she would come up with money in the next 2 days.  Later on, she sent me a pic of a huge DeWalt cordless collection that is likely worth serious money that she is attempting to sell.  Where did she get it? I thought but didn't ask. Her father passed away recently, which is the reason she said she went to NJ, perhaps it was his stuff?  I have no idea.  I just know I have been patient long enough.  If they had money to pay for fuel to drive to NJ, they had money to pay me. She gets disability every month as well. She is clearly disabled, she has severe arthritis, she can barely use her hands/fingers at all. 

I have my own financial stresses right now and paying for someone's electricity to run their AC unit and other stuff isn't part of my plan to get the ship righted.  So, she has until tomorrow. After that, I'm going to ask her to move the thing off of my property - or - perhaps allow them to move it behind the shed. No electricity, just a place to park it. If they don't have money to pay me, they don't have money to move it to another RV park.  I'm assuming she gets her monthly payment on the 28th, but that's 12 days from now and I'm just not going to allow this to continue on.  I don't mean to sound harsh, but the idea that they had money and blew it without giving me anything doesn't set right with me.

Now.  Another guy called yesterday. It was a lengthy conversation, I will talk with people if they want to talk and try to set them at ease that my park IS the place they want to come to.  He says tentatively leaving where he's at on Wednesday but not 100% certain yet on the departure date.  He is also a pipeline worker, so it's definitely a long-term thing. I dunno, there have been a few of these types of conversations lately but nothing has come of it. I do have new, long-term in there but that was a "do you have a space?" and then "we're coming today after work".  And they did, lol. 

In terms of location, the plot of land I was looking at a long time ago for my park would have been better.  It is on the other side of town and before anyone gets to the other rv parks on that road.  Well, this was a side street off the highway and you had to drive back quite a ways. I would be getting a lot more of the pipeline workers than what I'm getting. It's several miles closer to Shreveport. 

I don't regret not buying that property, I just wish I could have found something over there that would have worked.  The reason I don't regret it is because the property is located next to the airport and right were small planes do their run-ups.  It gets very noisy and the noise goes on for a while.  

If I had property that was out of city limits and near an Interstate exit, I would definitely put something in there for RV's.  It's the way people like it, apparently, in wanting to get off the Interstate and not have to drive far.  This is why my focus switched to long term, begrudgingly so. Much more money to be made off of short term than long term.  But, I'm 2-1/2 miles off the Interstate and people just don't think it's so great to drive that far.  They would, apparently, rather listen to highway noise all day and night long.  I-20 through there is very busy and lots of constant noise. Especially from trucks using their engine brakes.  

It will be something that I will be looking at in the future, if I go back into trucking, get my debt paid down, get the amenities I want in the current park and get some more people in there.  The idea of putting in more spaces hasn't left, it's just on hold.  I figure when they start converting US59 into an Interstate in my area, I'm going to be full and will be able to charge more to boot.  That's a guess, but it's a pretty good one.  You have people staying locally, not people having to drive clear to Shreveport, which makes any decent park in the area a good bet that they are going to fill up if they aren't already. 

Another model I have seen are parks filling up with these little housing units.  They look like they are about the same size as my shed, but they are actual housing units, not converted sheds. One park is full of those things, owned by the park and they appear to be rented out.  I will likely have to consider doing things that I originally was opposed to in order to get the business I need in there.  I'm not going to stay stuck on a business model that isn't working.  It does, however, take money in order to accomplish such things.  

I just don't want the place to look trashy.  That's all I ask of myself, is not lower standards of a good looking, clean park.  I keep that place clean, picking up trash all the time.  I shouldn't have to pick up after adults, but we all know that people throw trash around like the earth is a giant trash can and there is little you can do about it.  It isn't usually a lot of trash, I just bite my tongue and pick it up for the sake of appearances.  

People drive through all the time looking at the place.  I don't know if they're potential customers or if they're competitors or just curiosity, but I both see them when I'm there and on the camera.  

Apparently my tiller won't be done until Friday, my  next focus is the RV. A water leak that needs to be fixed, carpet installed and whatever else I find that needs addressed.  I want to get it fixed and rented out or sold.  I'm not going to fix the engine at this point in time, it isn't going anywhere. If I need to move it, it will start and move, it just doesn't run that great.  The only priority is get it fixed and get it rented.  At the right price, I should be able to get someone in it quickly  

I have no idea the actual source of the water leak, it will probably be a pain in the @$$ to get at and oh well.  It is coming out from above a cubby hole accessible from the outside.  I don't know, but I'll take whatever I have to take apart to get at it and hope no damage is done in the process.  It has to be fixed, that's all I know.  I figure I can easily get $550 a month for the thing, just get it rented and get some money coming in from it. I like the idea of selling it better, but that may not be feasible.  People wanting to move into something that old may not have a lot of down payment money available and I will insist on a down payment, non-refundable.  

Whatever the case, at least right now, it appears going back on the road is inevitable, hence looking for a job, putting inquiries and seeing what I can come up with. I can tell ya, if the "right" job were to come to me, I would take it right now without hesitation and do the grass later.  Like, even wait until cool weather and just put rye grass down again. That stuff doesn't come back after planting it, it dies out and you have to start over every year.  The good thing about rye grass is it's easy to grow. You don't have to till anything, you just wait until there is forecast of rain for a week or so, spread the seed and eventually, watch it grow. It's also cheap compared to any summer grass. I was and stand astonished at the high price of bermuda and other grass seed.  $300 plus per 50 pound bag? 

75% chance of rain this afternoon. I wasn't planning on doing anything anyway. Well, I'm trying to get myself to get into the shower and get ready for church. No kids to motivate me to do that here, but I need to go anyway. It's only an hour and I usually get something out of the message.  I then go to the park, check everything and then either go to Applebee's for lunch or go home and cook something.  Right now, I'm staying away from restaurants of any kind.  It's pricey and I don't need my finances eaten up for something I already have in the refrigerator.  

Yes, I'm definitely going to church now that I think about it.  It's that or sit around the house all day long, alone.  Not that that's a bad thing, but it's good to get out and socialize a bit.  Or at least have some kind of human interaction.  

With that, it's off to the shower.

G'day

 I made the mistake of going back to the Park yesterday at around 7:30 pm and mowing the doggy park.  I just wanted it done.  I can't be having my park looking like some weed kingdom.  

I am calling it a mistake because I feel like hell this morning. My head is aching and unless I am going through another Keto flu, it is highly likely because I spent so much time in this heat.  It's not a riding mower, it is self propelled but you still have to push and pull it in frequently and you are on your feet, walking the entire time with heavy boots on.

I don't walk through tall grass/weeds with tennis shoes on, there may be snakes. It also ruins the shoes by getting that green substance on them.  

Anyway, the second time around did me in.  I came home and took a cool shower to clean up and cool off and drank a lot of water and tea.  But the damage was done. 

Now, someone has texted me saying the wifi is having issues.  I was going to wait until later, maybe start feeling a little better, before going over there.  I'll have to reset the device. They said it hasn't been working right since Wednesday, which is odd because I hooked up to it 2 days ago to access internet to run 2 credit cards through. Had no issues besides an old laptop that takes it's sweet old time even getting started up.  

It might be too hot for that thing. It's outside. Well, it's inside a plastic container but it's in the open.  The sun beats down on it.  I just figured I'd leave it like that and see what happens when I first installed it. It's had no problems until now.  Still, I wonder if maybe someone kicked the extension cord or something and moved it around inside there. 

It has to be face the right direction or it won't pick up the signal and it won't deliver internet.  It has it's own nuances that you have to figure out as you go along.  I do have the other router, but it's in the shed, doubtful it reaches the entire park.  It would, however, reach the people that are saying the other one isn't working. They are maybe 100 feet away. The routers have something like a 300 foot range.  Anyway, I will be going over there and checking it out...in a few. 

Funny how people just don't say anything about something going wrong.  I haven't heard any complaints from anyone else. They either have their own wifi or they just aren't saying anything about it?  No idea.  

I'm down 7 pounds in  a fast hurry.  It just plummeted and has stayed there.  No clue.  Ketosis hit and there it went.  About time, I was packing on the fat. It comes on fast. Even without eating any sugar and very few carbs - this was before I finally got back into ketosis - the fat was piling on.  It's crazy, the older you get the easier you gain weight? At a younger age, eating the way I am now, ketosis or not, I would have dumped the extra pounds quickly.  

It probably helps that I'm working outside a lot and quite a bit of physical exertion.  I have other areas that need mowed - I was just getting the lots, the triangle, some of it by meters and the doggy park done.  If I were to do the rest of it, there's probably half a day's worth anyway.  I may do it, too, because once those weeds get too big, the mower won't plow them down.  The stems get too thick and tough. You can mow over the top of them but it won't destroy them.  They will just stand back up and keep on growing.  

So, I will have to get that done. I don't know about today, but definitely soon.  

I also hooked up water to the rv yesterday.  The faucets were all working, but the toilet was a continuous flush.  They had installed a valve to open and close to shut off the water instead of fixing or replacing the toilet. Kind of dumb, IMO.  Fix it correctly, dang. Then I got outside to make sure there were no visible leaks.

Yeah, that didn't work out so well. There was a huge leak coming out of the rear passenger side. Shrugs shoulders. As long as I can get to the leak, I can fix it. Even if it's a bad water pump - those are expensive - I can bypass it. It doesn't need a pump, it's running off of city water pressure.  Pumps are only if you don't have a water connection and need water pressure.

Not saying it's the pump, but that would be the worse-case scenario.  I know, I just said fixing or replacing the toilet is what they should have done and now saying to bypass a pump, not the same. The toilet you are using daily, probably several times a day.  The pump? No need at all for it. I assume it's road days  are over with, tho a person could fix the problems with the engine if they really wanted to.  It's definitely a blown exhaust manifold gasket and probably carburetor needs replaced along with fresh fuel. It handles very well driving down the road.  Smooth ride, it doesn't wander all over the place. 

Still looking at jobs.  There is another one, it's not hazmat but it's local, home every day.  I have a list of fuel hauling companies that I have compiled over time. I am going to look at all of those.  I dunno if they offer training, but if any of them do, I would be very tempted to go that route. 

However.....this job where I'm home every day. It means that it must not be long runs and that it's a "short" day, at least by trucker standards.  The pay is low enough to warrant not much miles.  It would still be enough to live off of, especially coupled with park income.  

Alright. Enough doodling around. Time to go over there and check out the router. 

G'day

 I'm sorry but I'm absolute toast.  I mowed, mowed some more, then the thing ran out of gas. Refilled it and then? It wouldn't run.  This is getting ridiculous.  I pulled the spark plug out, it was in bad condition. Ran up to Auto Zone, got a new one, put that thing in there, took a few tries but it eventually fired up and didn't have a problem with it again. 

Got a call from a hazmat tanker company.  We went through the normal stuff, told me it was OTR. I don't turn it down immediately, I like to hear them out.  But, apparently, a new screen showed up on her computer and said, OHHH! We have a home daily position! 

Wait, what? She offered that after I informed her I don't know the type of tanker work she is referring to, I'd have to be trained, I only did cryogenic hauling.  But I have to tell you before I go into this any further, it's only $1,000 to $1,200 per week.  It's a short run, you do it every day? I'm not sure if it's a 7 day a week gig, I was very hot at that point, standing in the direct sunlight, had to turn the mower off to hear her.  

I don't want to work 7 days a week regardless of how short the run is, unless it's a very short run. I'm going to fill out this particular, entire application.  This is something I would be very interested in and even would consider starting right now if they mandated it.  

I'm just sitting here trying to cool off. I pretty much over-did it.  But, I kept getting lots done and thought, just one more.  And then at the last lot, the entry way triangle. Well, I'll just do that too.  It is the first thing you see when you get up to the RV park portion and I like to keep it looking decent.  

And then, after that, the area besides the last rv on the other side - chock full of weeds.  There were no weeds there before the winter grass died.  I got a good portion of that done and then it hit me.  Yup, it's time to stop right now, go get a cold drink, sit in the ac in the shed.  And that's exactly what I did. But after sitting there a while, I decided I'm done for the day.  

I'll think about going over and starting on the RV tomorrow morning.  Now that the park doesn't look like an overridden weed haven....but there's still the dog park to do and I want that done as well. 

_______________

Just decided to go ahead and fill out that application. So much personal information the feds require any given company to ask of any potential employee, it's a bit much.  I want to see if my accident is going to hinder me from getting a decent job.  But if it's possible, I don't want to pass up the opportunity for something that gets me home when I want to - daily is good. 

The house smelled soooo good when I came in this afternoon. I have that roast in the crock pot and it smells delicious. Couple more hours before I can eat that.  I dropped 4 pounds being out in that sun. Water weight, I'm sure but more interesting is that I am now in full fledged ketosis.  I don't know what I've been eating that has been keeping me out of it. 

____________

They called back already and basically offered me a job. It would entail flying to Oregon and staying there up to 3 weeks with orientation and then learning how to do the particular tanker work I would be doing. I was informed the plant loads but I have to unload.  I don't care about unloading as long as I have sufficient training to understand what I am doing.  You want to know everything about whatever product you are hauling when it comes to hazmat.  

This would not be cryo stuff, but I don't care about that either. They apparently didn't care about my traffic accident and said I had amply discussed my departure from previous company that that didn't phase them either.  The only drawback? They don't have the opening until September.  I don't know if I have enough finances to last that long.  I can definitely get into August, but September?  Well, I tentatively accepted the offer and will have to grind through my finances and see if I can make it. 

It's a no brainer if I could fill the park up with long term or get it to at least 12 spots worth of them.   I can't really do anything more than I've already done, I don't think anyway, in order to get more people in there besides dropping prices even more.  Yeah, no.  Well, I take that back. I'll see with my next electric bill. It should be well down with less people in there and 5 days of the power being shut off due to that wicked storm. 

If I could get some people in there at maybe another $25 per month deduction I might see if I can go that route.  It's not impossible that the park could fill up.  It's such a fickle market and I just don't have crystal balls to see into the near future.  People move here all the time for various reasons.  There was a nurse that said she'd be coming in the next month or 2 if she gets the gig. There was another lady wanting to move a tiny house in, but it was still under construction and she said months before it would be ready. There's been all kinds of things, I just haven't seen a lot of it actually coming in. 

Well, I'm not dead set on that job. I may need to find something sooner. Perhaps there is something even better out there, who knows. But I have my foot in the door for something if nothing else comes my way that has the same appeal as getting home every day.  And probably not very long days, either.  I have ample space to park a truck at my property and no concern about thieves or vandals getting into it.  My Hipcamp area is turning into an overflow parking area as it stands. 

Hipcamp fizzled out, I don't know how you get those kinds of people in to a place.  It may be that it's a seasonal thing and right now, east Texas is not a good season for much of anything considering the heat.  Haven't really thought about Hipcamp until just now. It's up and running on there, I get very few calls about it and even fewer people showing up from it.  I dunno if a kitchen is a necessity to get people in for that.  I am not thinking about putting that kitchen in there right now, no, it's just the thought.  I did the right thing by installing a shower, bathroom and laundry. People want access to that stuff.  I've had several trailers in there with non-working water and people being forced to take showers in my facility.  

Anyway, I'm worn out.  Went to the store for horseradish for the beautiful roast, it was quite delicious.  But now I'm just laid out doing much of nothing. Taylor posted pics of their outing with the kids to the zoo up there today.  I'm missing the fun, but I wouldn't have wanted to go. Just personal issues with the people they went to see which I have already gone into.

Well, I think I will keep looking at jobs.  Just focusing on local stuff right now.  

 Friday morning - early

Decided to get the roast in the crock pot early. Small roast, I picked it up many days ago, yes it's still good lol, I smelled it and it still looks great.  Glad I bought a small one now that the folks are gone, I'll have dinners for the next several days.  Not really looking to do a lot of cooking but also not looking to spend money at restaurants.  In fact, I've been doing quite well staying away from any restaurants at all.  

Sleep fairly typical. Wake up in the middle of the night, lay there awake for however long, finally get back to sleep.  Need that to change, but I don't have any idea how to change it.  

The amenities shed is getting fairly constant use now.  The toilet, the shower stall and the laundry. When I say constant, I'm talking day time hours and some night hours, tho last night it went late.  I had to mute the phone for the endless notifications coming through.  These people that came in yesterday for an overnight stay went immediately to the shed and started doing laundry. She was in there this morning continuing on with it.  Their water lines are leaking on their trailer, they are also doing all of their bathroom breaks in there.

But even without them, there is a steady stream of people doing laundry and using the facilities.  I say this because I went to a lot of work and expense to get that thing up and running.  Long time readers already know this but I thought I'd revisit the issue momentarily to thank God that that project is almost done.  Some of the people that are long term in the park would have never come if that facility wasn't there. Just trying to justify to myself the rather large amount of money that was dumped into the thing. 

As it stands, if the bathroom facility keeps getting that kind of use, it may warrant installing another, much smaller toilet room. Not a shower, nothing in it really, just a toilet.  I've got a place for it and I've got the sewer T'ed off the main line right there.  I'm not saying it would be an "easy" project, but it is doable. However, at this point? I am done with that thing for now.  I need a long break from working on that shed.  Well, take that back, I have some painting left to do but not very much.  

Today's agenda hasn't changed from what I declared it to be last night.  Mow, mow, mow.  Possibly get started on the carpet in the RV, depending on how long I have to mow or, more likely, how long I last mowing before the heat gets to me.  We have another of an endless chain of heat advisories, saying that heat indexes will go up as high as 109 today. It was very hot yesterday, I don't doubt it will be very hot today.

I am giving up on Maria.  She never showed, she isn't saying anything, I'll just find someone else or get a bucket of water and cleaners and do it myself.  Just something I don't want to do. There are cleaning companies around and just people doing side work that I can get to do it for me.  I have - hopefully - a minimum amount more of money left getting things done in there before I can rent it out.  Holding my breath about hooking a water line up to it and pressuring it up...

Well, excepting, of course, having the title switched into my name.  That window will run out next week, I am forced to pay it.  Hate the idea, but what choice do I have, especially if I am going to want to sell it on payments?  No choice in the matter.  I am hemming and hawing back and forth about renting or selling it.  Selling it takes the pressure off of me to fix whatever may go bad.  Renting it leaves it open into perpetuity.  I think, really, selling it is the best idea. If I could get someone to make a decent down payment plus make the monthly payments, it would be a boon to my bank account over just renting it. 

I'll make that decision when I get to it, which hopefully won't be too much longer.  It needs to be useable before I either try selling it or definitely renting it.  Ill get it occupied one way or another, I'm pretty confident of that.  There are far too many people looking for housing that is affordable in my area.  With utilities and wifi included, it is a no brainer, at least to me.  I hope I don't find out differently! lol

Ok, it's time to get off my @$$ and get over there.  My coffee break time is over.  My dinner is in the crockpot, probably come home for lunch and whoa. Forgot, I need to get over to the sign place before I go to the property.  I tried to go the other day but didn't know they close at 4:00. Anyway, I intend on getting a large portion of grass/weeds cut down today.

G'day

 Home alone.  The folks - all of them - left about an hour ago.  I left here - the house - for the park before the left.  Money talks, I need it badly and I will take whatever I can get.  

I need a couple more people in here immediately, really.  Tomorrow will be likely be split in getting the weeds cut down with the hand mower and either attempting to finish the painting in the shed or get that carpet installed in the motorhome.  

The great state of Texas is going to charge me a percentage fee of what I paid for  the motorhome to get the title in my name. This is an expense I could do without right now, but if I don't get it done within 21 days of having it signed over (they put the date on it), I have to go back and try to get the original owners to write me another bill of sale.  I know this because I was in there today getting my registration renewed on my SUV. It's just one thing after another. 

I'm going to have to focus on getting that thing ready to rent out or sell. Quick.  The money would be useful. I just don't feel good about a park full of weeds.  At least cut the damned things down even if it is with a push mower and will take me far longer to do than doing it with the riding mower.  

Anyway, it's an odd feeling being in this house alone. Well, not totally alone. My buddy Addler is with me and their dog and their cats as well. And can't forget about the fish!  Still, I just find myself pulling down the handgun, ensuring it's loaded and ready to pop.  It is highly likely nothing will happen.  It's just me, I guess.  They will be gone for a week at least and may stay even longer.  This vacation is in lieu of Taylor's original vacation.

She was going to take the kids with her to visit an old friend in Florida, but that family had some serious medical issues arise and it just isn't prudent for her to go there. Instead, it's his mother they're going to and then her relatives - I think - they will visit in Missouri. 

So what am I going to do alone for an entire week? Nothing different than I normally do.  The park is the main center of my attention right now, there is still much to get done, tho thankfully I can say the shed is just short of being done, at least for now.  I only need finish painting and then James is going to do whatever else he thought he needed to do in there and then I can get his tools out of there.  

Lol, they are texting me their whereabouts.  Like, they still have a long way to go.  Maybe the kids will sleep and spare them the irritation of the 2 fighting with each other, bickering, are we there yet, etc. 

One thing is for certain, I will have peace and quiet. It's summer, the kids have been in our faces every day that they have been home.  It gets old. They get bored so they start picking on each other or come asking us "what should I do now?".  I don't know, you're a kid, use your imagination, go figure it out! But I've been taking the older one to the property and yes, he actually will work. He's motivated to get certain toys he wants.  It's better than sitting around the house all day long getting bored out of their minds.  

We painted today and yes, he doesn't mind actually working. 2 days in a row he was picking up sticks and rocks on the freshly tilled lots.  It's a good beginning of learning a work ethic.  I don't think the kids in this house are going to grow up feeling entitled for much of anything.  It's much more of an old school upbringing and preparing them for the life that is fast coming at them.  They turn 18 quick.  It seems like a long time but it passes quickly.  It's refreshing to see versus all of this nonsense going on with younger generations now.  

I've been looking at trucking jobs every day for at least a week now.  Probably longer, I dunno, I've been pretty busy.  I've filled out inquiries on several of them.  Mostly hazmat stuff since it pays more.  You'd be surprised at how many truck drivers want nothing to do with hazmat.  I can admit I was afraid of it when I first started - morbidly afraid. Like, I think it's going to blow up while I'm driving down the road.

Irrational fear, but real fear.  The other issue with hazmat is the myth that is endlessly repeated about how hard it is to get your hazmat endorsement. Sure, you have to do some study but it's really not that hard.  It really annoyed me that I had fallen for that myth for so many years, where I could have been making so much more money.  It was a challenge to get that endorsement and another challenge to get it renewed last time I had to do my license - it's good until I turn 62.  And my medical is good for 2 years.  

Well, I'll find something eventually. I don't know what or how long I'll have to be out on the road in between home stops - or whether I can find a good local job - but I will find something.  There is only one way that I could extend my time off from trucking and that's if my park filled up in the next 2 weeks and I was getting 14 payments - well hopefully 15  with that RV - paying every month.  I'm just trying to make it until the middle of next month, when James and Taylor renew their wedding vows.

Pretty much a wedding in itself, people coming in from all over the country.  If I get a job now, the only way I could be home for that if it's not a local job is if I stipulate that I will be home for the weekend - the entire weekend - that the wedding is planned.  

But I can't go back to work just yet anyway.  Get that RV going, the grass done and that's the last of my excuses. There's other things that really need to be done, but there is no money for it.  Things that will just have to wait.  Eventually, I wouldn't mind having asphalt put in the main driveway for the first 800 feet.  I'm tired of dealing with pot holes and water damage from rain.  

Okay. I'm preparing myself to try and get up early tomorrow morning.  It's much easier to mow in the early morning hours when it's still relatively cool - at least compared to what the temp will get tomorrow afternoon.  I've been getting up early anyway, I just haven't been leaving too early.  

Enough.  Really want to run up to the store for Keto treats. I ran out yesterday, lol.

 I finally got another long term tenant in. They liked the place instantly and said they would be staying a "long time".  This very much fine by me.  I need several more of them to come in here.  Here - I'm at the property, I'm very unmotivated today.  I'm trying, folks, but it just isn't in me for some reason.  

The tiller is at one shop and the riding mower is at another.  I think that's what deflated me today.  I'm sitting here in limbo thinking, ok, do I get more paint? Go into the RV and start cutting carpet? Sit here and mope because I can't finish this tilling job? What?  

Anyway, these people just called out of the blue, said they would move in "tonight" - which was yesterday and sure enough. They showed up with 2 trucks that are probably worth around $150k and a very long 5th wheel trailer with numerous slideouts.  I marvel at the amount of money people spend on such things, but then again, it is there home. Some of them live in them full time and have no house anywhere else.  The lady is pregnant.  What a bad time of year to be heavy with child, it was hot yesterday and it's hot again today.

I have real-time access to that information being around Taylor and she is quite pregnant. She has lost a lot of body fat and actually losing weight but her belly has gotten very large, lol.  Apparently that's the best part of pregnancy, losing fat and weight for her.  Plus breast milk after the fact also helping with weight loss.  Still, the discomfort of having all of that bulge and weight on the belly....

________-

Late. Sitting at the park. We painted today, got most of it done.  I have some floor level edging to do and have to pull out the laundry machines to get behind them.  I don't think I"ll do the ceiling at this point in time, it just looks white and  that's fine for now. The tiller repair guy said it needs a new carburetor but it won't cost that much, which is also fine as long as he can get it running smoothly and at full throttle, that's the speed it needs to be at for the tilling to work.  

I am not, unfortunately, going to be able to wait until the riding mower is fixed to do the grass/weeds. It's getting too tall and unsightly. I'll have to come out tomorrow and deal with some of that. I don't normally do it all in one day, especially having to do it with a push mower.  

I came to collect from the new long term tenants and also an older couple who don't like navigating campground software online. The guy went into a long story about how some dude smashed his side mirror into his new trailer and then took off. Then told me about the water leak he had last time he was in here. 2 grandkids in tow, I felt for him. "I'm just trying to spend time with my grandkids".  I get that.  I don't normally get into long conversations with guests unless they initiate it, then I can talk for a while lol.  

Anyway, the sun is going down I'm half tempted to at least mow the doggy park. 

 

 Lol. Forced my butt out of bed, shave, shower, get dressed, coffee and fixin' to leave and what happens? It starts pouring rain. Lol. I dunno if that means I won't get to do more tilling today or not, but I postponed my departure.  I'm not getting soaking wet just to walk out to the vehicle.  I can paint or work inside the RV if not tilling, I just have my mind set on tilling cause' it's overcast again and working outside without the full sun baking down on you is advantageous.  

In fact, it was so dark when I woke up this morning what with dark, overcast skies, I didn't realize what time it actually was.  First night out of many that I was able to sleep without the itching factor. Didn't even have to take Benadryl. 

Bud Light.  Still watching this tragedy of errors from AH corporate making stupid commercials that are angering their customer - or now-former -  base even more.  Now, Mulvaney - the trans activist that Bud Light made a special beer can with "her" - actually his - face on it, has moved to Peru so he can feel "safer".  What is board of directors doing about this, because the CEO clearly doesn't have a clue?  Most people probably don't care if you want to be a trans person, they just don't want it crammed down their throats. And more importantly, this issue of pushing puberty blockers and other transitioning medications on to minors.  Or having school systems help the student hide all of this from their parents.  

Anyway, I have no idea whether Maria is going to come and clean out that thing, so if she doesn't do it in the next couple of days, I will find someone else to do it.  I don't have time to scrub the entire interior of that thing. I will if I have to, but I have lots of other things going on that need my attention more than that.  It isn't particularly dirty, it just has a musty smell from being left closed for so long and a freshening-up in there is necessary.  

I hate to open the windows because as soon as you do that, the mud daubers and wasps find their way in there. I never leave the windows of my SUV down because of that reason, having learned the hard way.  

I've got a slew of trucking companies that I have picked out as potential, first wave of applications.  After that, it's all regional or OTR.  Regional sounds interesting, but they won't get you home more often than once a week.  It's just the way it is.  There is a local company that runs this area that has you home every night, but the pay is a bit low.  I think you're making 70k per year, it's a bit less than I really want to get for having to sacrifice my personal life to drive a damn truck.  

At the same time, I don't want to be driving all over the United States.  I know what happens.  They will send you everywhere but anything close to your home.  At my age and life experience, I would just tell them to either send me home "as agreed" or I will drive the truck to the nearest terminal to my home park it, unload my stuff out of it and sayonara.  If you don't believe that, just ask Werner. They hired me in the 90's to drive their blue trucks and promised X amount of home time on X schedule.  

It didn't happen and I was pushing being out on the road a month.  There were other factors as well, but that was the major one.  They finally sent me on a trip home.  I got the trailer unloaded, went to the yard, handed in the keys, locks and other junk they assign you and left that company permanently.  I'd do it without hesitation again if I were pushed that far. 

If I can just find something local, I'm really going to try to get in with one of these fuel haulers. But I'd have to be trained and a lot of them don't appear to do the training. They want people who know how to do it right off the bat. Which begs the question, if no one wants to train you, how do you learn?  You have to learn the routine and nuances of loading the truck yourself.  It doesn't look complicated but there is methodology to it that you must know.  I've seen the videos of drivers driving off the loading dock without having had unhooked the lines.

The lines burst, some sort of lever comes flying down which automatically shuts the fuel off. The loading station is destroyed and has to have a lot of repairs, but there is minimal gasoline spillage.  I'm sure they won't be inviting you back to their facility again after such an event, either.  

Well, the rain has stopped, the youngest kid is screaming - he does that a lot for attention and to get his way - and I don't want to sit around listening to this nonsense. Not when I can go to the property, put on bluetooth ear buds, play music and work a machine. Or if it's too wet, start painting.  Any way about it, I'm outta here.

G'day.

 I don't know if it was just sweating my @$$ off all day or what, but at least at the moment and pretty much the entire day outside, I haven't been itching at all. Like it just when whoosh! and disappeared.  My painting ambitions went right out the window. Not a big priority. The ugliness of the lots IS a priority.

So, I fired up that tiller machine and went to work.  I got 3 lots done - it takes hours, it's not fast work - and then the thing quit on me. I looked down at it, the carburetor was half hanging off of it.  It's not a new machine by any stretch of the imagination. That put a dent in my progress as I had to go find a gasket for the carburetor and replace the missing screw.  

No gasket available at 3 different places,  I bought gasket material and cut my own out.  Got it back together, not sure if I got something wrong, it kind of choked, sputtered but finally got moving. 2 lots later and I quit. It was after 5, I was drenched in sweat, not feeling particularly good, but felt good to get some of this stuff done.  I've got 6 lots done and 1 partially done.  Basically 8 to go, the partial one was only one pass, that particular lot will take probably 6 or 7 passes over it to do all of it.

Just diligently working to try and get all of this stuff done, over with and behind me.  

Maria was a no show. She was going to clean the thing out. I have a couple practically begging me to let them rent the thing.  I couldn't give them a definitive answer when it's going to be done, I want it cleaned up and the carpet and sofa in there.  I think I will invite them up to take a look at it.  I don't know what their situation is, but they want to be near our town desperately for some odd reason versus the even smaller town that they are in. 

The nearest big city around here, at least my version of one, is 157 miles away - Dallas.  Houston is 240 miles.  All the towns around here are tiny little things.  I don't consider Shreveport or Longview a big city by any stretch of the imagination.  

Anyway, I think tomorrow I will break the day up into a couple of sectors.  Install the carpet in the RV and then do some more tilling?  I need to feel like I'm working on the RV as well, I need the money that thing can generate.  It's almost guaranteed that if I advertise that thing in the local gossip group, someone or several someones will be asking about it.  It's a place to live, it's near the town - ok they call it a city, I just think a place that only has 22,000 or so citizens is a town, lol - there's plenty of jobs in that town - albeit low paying, that's what some people's mentality is.  

In reality, if I get started on that RV tomorrow, the lot tilling will take a backseat and I will work on that thing all day long?  It's just the way I do things. It's a double whammy as far as I see it. The park is kind of a turn off in it's appearance, so I don't wonder if that's why I'm not getting more long term but the RV is a money generator. They are both money generators, which one should take precedence?  Hence, since I don't have the answer to that, I will work on both of them simultaneously.  

I have a heat headache, gag.  Just sitting in my cool bedroom drinking lots of fluids right now, trying to rehydrate. 

I don't know what's going on with Keto.  I've been doing it for a couple of weeks now? And still not in ketosis.  I have found the real fat loss really begins once ketosis is reached.  I don't know if I need to do a water fast for a couple of days or what.  My weight came down 10 pounds but I never checked if I was in ketosis. I noticed the scale moving back up even tho I really haven't been eating a lot lately.  Salads, some meats, cheeses.  Lots of salads.  Today I've eaten a very small bowl of spaghetti sauce - no noodles - and a slim jim.  

I'm fixing to eat a salad, maybe put some chicken on it.  

I take that back. There are 2 parties interested in renting out that RV.  I'm getting bad vibes on one of the couples, there is too much desperation.  Like, what's the whole/real story here? I'm trying to get it out of them. 

Well whatever. I just remembered that I saw one of the spigots at one of the empty lots leaking today. I think I have the parts already to fix it.  It's a slow leak, but you know how a leak going on 24 hours a day can equate to a lot of water and a high water bill.  

I haven't heard back from the people stranded in New Jersey.  I haven't even thought about it today until just now.  They're "supposed" to be getting a brother to come over and hand over some money.  I dunno, but I unplugged the thing, I'm not going to have the thing being cooled with no one living in it or paying for the electricity.  Senseless waste of electricity.  

Enough. It's only 9 but I'm super tired.  Going to sleep early. 

Tuesday - morning

Groggy.  Benadryl makes me feel that way.  It makes you sleepy but that still doesn't equate into sleeping all night long.  Definitely feeling groggy right now.  I'm trying to wake up so I can go get some work done.  The itching has subsided some, actually right now I don't feel any itching but that's the work of the antihistamine in Benadryl.  

Presumably, Maria is either already over there cleaning or on her way over there.  This was her stated intentions as of last night.  Deep clean the unit and get that musty smell out of it, hopefully.  

Disney. No, not the woke stuff going on with it.  Just the experience of going to the park and making memories.  Disneyland used to be a favorite destination point long ago, before the age of people being able to make reservations for the rides and the restaurants came into existence.  That's right.  People reserve rides well in advance of coming to the park.  You will find on certain days restaurants there that are booked the entire day, you can't just walk in, sit down and enjoy a meal.

I was reading about this and wondered what Walt Disney would have done or how he would feel about the guest experience in this digital age.  I've been to Disneyland when it's so crowded, you can barely move without bumping into someone else.  Not exactly the experience you wanted and waiting an hour or longer in line to get on a ride.  I've found at large parks regardless of which one it is, if you go during inclement weather, the place will be virtually empty.

Some rides may be shut down because of it, but you will find a much more enjoyable, peaceful and calming experience than with the place so full of people you can't move around much more get on a ride and experience it.  

I think I need a break from this park existence.  What's going to happen isn't really a break, just more work.  Instead, I will be going to a job locally or driving OTR or regional and not particularly enjoying the "experience", I already know what that lifestyle is all about.  This dude from the hazmat tanker group wrote another useless email yesterday telling me I needed to fill out the full application before they will do anything.  Answering questions is apparently not even on their horizon.

I wrote them back with specific questions and have heard nothing back from them.  Keep your job, I'll find something else.  It's OTR and it apparently involves going into Canada. That would be interesting, I will admit, but the rest of it? No thank you. And working for a company that feels their need to have you fill out an extensive application before they will answer questions raises red flags for me.

My agenda for today? Waking up to start with. Perhaps this coffee will drag my foggy brain out of that phase.  I want to paint the interior of the shed.  Or get a very good start on it anyway.  Like, get the first coat on and out of the way. I figure even with that thick stuff it's going to take 2 coats when applying it to raw drywall that's never been painted.  I just need that project done, over and behind me.  Rather tired of it, it's been going on for a while now.  It's been a real learning experience, lots of things I didn't know how to do before engaging in that "activity" I now have an idea of how to go about it. Seemingly useless information since I doubt I will ever even think about doing something like that again,

Give it time and I may change my mind on it. Small cabins are in hot demand, I could easily rent them.  I get lots of call for them.  Long term stuff, not overnighters. But they cost 10k to build.  Or more.  We're also in the middle of hot inflation and the prices of everything go up frequently.  I know because of the numerous trips I was making to Lowe's. I say 10k in building it myself.  You build the deck, the walls, install the windows, doors, shower, toilet, etc and you have a lot of money tied up into it. 

Now.  The alternative is to build "primitive" cabins that don't have bathrooms or showers, you just rent them and make sure they understand that bathroom facilities are in the shed. But, I have a project and that's this motorhome. I have to make it work.  I have to get it finished and someone moved in and living in it.  And so I will.   After Maria gets done in there today, I will endeavor to install that new carpet and then see if I can get the propane stove going.  The refrigerator works and I need to hook up water to it and see what happens.  

I've been attempting to determine which route to take, rent it or sell it on payments.  It seems the best idea is to sell it on payments with a decent down payment and make the person occupying it responsible for any repairs.  I hope the holding tanks work with no leaks......I won't pay someone to fix that stuff, I'll get under there and fix whatever it is myself, regardless of how much irritation there may be in dealing with it.  

Anyway, time to get offa  here.  

 Monday.

Got up early. AC repair guy was supposed to show up at 8:00 am.  A storm hit early and thunder woke up. So, there it is 5:30 AM and eventually got back to sleep, but at 7:30 it was time to boogie.

Got my coffee, got over there before 8 and ... nothing. Dude didn't show up but eventually called.  He didn't show because of the storm, however, he didn't bother to tell me he wasn't showing. Not the end of the world but I could have stayed in bed much longer.  I was up half the night itching all over again. Benadryl works - a  little - but my entire feet are just giant itching machines.  

Keeping my hands off of them, yes, but it doesn't stop the almost agony of intense need to itch the life out of them and get some relief.  

I'm so tired right now.  It's like, I may just go back to sleep for a while.  

Anyway, the guy finally showed up and gave me the news I figured it would be: it isn't putting out cold enough air and isn't drawing enough amperage. It's old, worn out and there's no fixing this thing.  It wasn't shocking or even surprising, I figured this is what i would be told.  He also said they had the cover on backwards.  Great.  It means that there wasn't enough air getting to the thing where it needed it and probably over heated it many times over.

He did say the thing was probably 20 plus years old.  

He quoted me a price much higher than I expected.  Rock, meet hard place.  What am I going to do? Not fix it and be stuck with a unit I can't rent out?  He had a replacement unit on his truck, said he could get a new one on there in no time.  So, that's what I did.  It's going to be a situation where I'm going to check everything out, get fixed whatever else needs fixing and get the thing rented out. If there is no water heater in there - we both came to the conclusion the propane version of one had been removed - I will rent it with the idea that there is a shower with hot water in the bathroom.  Just means I'll rent it cheaper than I want.  

I actually think at this point my idea of selling it on payments to someone is a better idea.  I don't want the headache of continual problems with this thing, tho admittedly the AC was the big ticket item.  The electrical outlets work, it only really needs (as far as I know) the new carpet installed, a couch (cheap) and a deep cleaning. I haven't hooked up water to it yet, that will be the next dive into the deep unknown.

However, if it has water leaks, I can fix those myself.  I can install a watered down version of a water heater as well.  Just a lower wattage version of an inline that is installed at each outlet you want hot water in. I don't know how much they cost and right now, I don't have to have hot water in there since it's in shed. It would definitely be nice, tho.  I also need to make sure the oven and stove top work - they are propane fired. A person renting or buying it would have to refill the tank themselves.  

Well, the thing is nice and cool in there now and the unit isn't staying on all the time so it's not drawing a lot of power.  I'll either be back over there later today after I get a nap or tomorrow morning. Hoping this itching will start to subside so I can get some sleep.  

Meanwhile, the tent lady supposedly has a job and is working.  I'll just go to the tobacco junction and find out, I can smoke a nice cigar.  The other low income people left quite a while back - like late last month and I haven't seen them.  Their trailer is there but they aren't.

Well, that's been updated.  They drove their old pickup to New Jersey for whatever reason I have no clue and informed me today their truck broke down.  Mind you, they were supposed to pay the lot rent 12 days ago.  They haven't been there, the window ac unit is blasting away, I was getting irritated.  She says they are stranded in NJ, but, that trailer is their only home.

People's decisions to do certain things often times bewilders me.  If you are poor and broke, why are you driving clear to New Jersey? That's 1,400 miles from here.  She said she could have her brother come tow it out of there. Well, honey, you've been sucking down electricity all this time - I thought but did not say to her.  I did say well, your ac is on and it's running up the electric bill.  You can leave the trailer there if you pay it up.

She claimed her brother would come and pay up.  It's a full month's rent owed at this point and that's back payment. I dunno, but their lack of good decision making isn't my problem. Me paying the bills and trying to make a profit is.  But yes, if they can't come up with the money I want that thing out of there.  I'm not trying to be heartless but they've  had ample time - more than I gave the tent people - to pay up. She claimed she had the money on the 28th when it was due but they left town for Oklahoma where they're from. 

No, they didn't move the trailer out of my park.  

Enough. I need to get over there and start painting that shed and now I'll have to find someone to figure out what's wrong with the riding mower. It runs perfectly fine, the PTO works great but the thing refuses to go into gear.  Yes, I took things apart to see if I could find the problem. The drive belt is on. The key in the wheel is not busted.  The linkage is good the tranny. The only thing I could see left is the transmission itself.  I read that the system can get air into it and needs purged. I tried to follow instructions how to purge it, but I'm not sure I was doing it correctly.  I've exhausted the limits of my knowledge, I'm not taking a transmission apart.  

I still have the push mower and I did start trying to cut everything down, but everything is wet and not behaving. I'll have to wait until the rains pass and everything dries up.  I've got plenty to do without all of that, it's just that the rains have pushed weeds up everywhere and I want them all cut down.  There's too much to spray week killer on it. I have to have a nice, dense layer of grass.  So that's next.  Grass. After the shed is painted I'll get with the grass and then if I can get that done I'll get with finding a new trucking job.  

It is what it is.  I've succumbed to the reality that I will be sitting in a driver's seat of a truck and running long days. Unless something drastic - drastically good that is - happens and soon to change that, I have no choice.  I'm running out of money and I have a lot of debt.  If I could fill the park up then I wouldn't be in quite the bind I'm in now.   I could take guesses why I can't fill the park up - time of year, not much transient work going on right now, the lack of grass is a turn off, who knows.  But it only makes sense to have the park looking as good as possible.  

Frankly, I need cash inflow to deal with a lot of stuff I can't deal with right now.  I want a dozer out there to plow up the entire front portion of the property, smooth it out and get something other than giant weeds growing there. That may just have to wait until winter, tho.  Blade it and spread rye grass seed everywhere.  

Okay, I said enough several paragraphs up, lol. Time to get a little sleep and see if I can get some energy going.  

 Went over there, started digging out holes, loosening up the soil around them.  The boy was helping and doing a good job, actually.  First load of dirt consumed by one, single hole, back with the trailer to one of the dirt piles, loaded a good amount on the rear of the trailer and back to the first and then second hole. 

Well, pothole to be more specific, fixing the driveway was on the top priority list. I don't know how many we did, I just know that we had to take a break after a good long while doing it. It was hot outside.  The boy actually was begging for a break in the AC in the shed, so I figured I best let him cool off for a few. 

Back to work and more dirt and all but one of the potholes is done. The only reason I missed one is exactly that: I missed it. It was time to leave after 3 hours, take the boy home, there was a birthday party at a friend's house for  5 year old.  It was an outdoor thing replete with water balloons and a swimming pool. I didn't get into the pool but I did throw some balloons. 

During the time out in the heat over there, my underarms broke out in a grotesque looking rash and also another area which shall remain nameless.  It got worse and worse.  I mean, very uncomfortable.  I have no idea what set it off, but coming home and into AC helped it subside a bit.  I may end up having to take a Benadryl if this itchiness doesn't subside, there is too much of it. 

I'll have to go back over those potholes with more dirt after people drive over them for a few days. Rest assured I'm not working tomorrow, Monday I'll work just not sure what I will be doing.  I'm getting pretty uneasy about the appearance of the park with no grass, actually, dead grass.  It may be a reason why I'm not getting anyone in there. All I know is, it needs to be rectified.  

I just lost another long term as of last night.  I knew about this, he was supposed to stay a year but as with another, the power company said no, we changed our plans, it will be next year before we will restart the project.  I'm getting a few - very few - inquiries about long term.  I don't know if summertime is just going to be a slow season or what. I just know that I am in line with what other parks are charging in the area.  

The lack of grass is very unappealing.  That's all I know.  And there are weeds that have grown up everywhere with all of the recent rains.  It is possible I will get out there tomorrow and do some mowing, actually.  

Monday, 8:00 am, the man is showing up to look at the AC on the motor coach.  I have no idea what that will turn into, but my guess is that I will need a new AC unit for it.  

I'm going to divert my attention to tilling the ground, I think.  Since I have to be out there early AM anyway, I might as well get with it while it's not miserably hot.  Get 3 or 4 hours in before the humid/hellish heat hits.  That's enough time to get 2 and maybe part of a 3rd lot done. It's grueling, hard work keeping that machine in place while it's churning up the ground.  I really wish I could have just found a tractor with an attachment to rent instead.  

With the park slowly emptying out, it will rush my return to work back sooner than expected or wanted. I'm going to really have to work my butt off to get that ground ready for sod. Even more work installing the sod and even more after that watering it until it is established.  Not really looking forward to all of that work out in this heat, it's going to be a thing to get up early.  

Seriously itching here, I'm really tempted to take that benadryl. It's just that it will make me extremely sleepy, it's only 5:00 pm.  

That's it for now.  Gotta do something about this itching. 

 Lol. These people showed up for an overnight stay, they reserved it in advance and had already paid up. I was there when they showed up.  Well, is everything ok? Yes, I replied, y'all are paid up, there aren't any more coming in tonight, you can pick whichever lot you want that's empty.  That apparently threw them for a loop.  I'll assign a lot if the place is full.  I also asked if they needed to use the shower facility or anything? Oh, no, we'll take showers in our trailer. Okee dokee.  

So what are they doing? My phone was blowing up with notifications from the camera.  They are all in there taking showers.  Plus there are 4 ladies in there shooting the breeze.  One of them is doing laundry, I guess the others just want to chit chat? I've never seen so many people in that shed.  

My sign is ready.  But, I need another one that says "Office". Everyone is always asking where the office is?  I don't have an office, but if it's going to make people more comfortable...I've thought about putting a small desk and a chair in there.  Nothing fancy and definitely nothing new.  Cheap, thanks.  Plenty of room for one now that I've cleaned everything up and moved 2/3rd's of the stuff out of there.  

I've got so much to do at the property and so little time to get it done....I really need a helping hand. If I could find someone to actually work.  Side hustle, lots of physical labor but I tend to pay well enough to motivate people. Yet, that doesn't seem to work.  

Well, the oldest boy wants to work tomorrow. Fine.  If parents say he can, we will endeavor to fix the driveway.  I'm glad I got that shed cleaned up today, but that driveway is high priority.  Kept getting shuffled off for other things and then I got sick.  After I get the shed painted and the driveway fixed, it's off to the tilling machine. For days and days, I am guessing.  It's beats your arms up and you can really only do it for 20-30 minutes at a time before you have to stop.  

I will only do the amount of area on any give lot that a pallet full of sod will cover. So,, 40X10.  No, 50X10, I forgot, this guy claims his pallets will cover 500 square feet.  Other distributors say 400.  

Oh, and the tent lady. She was all excited today. Came in the shed to tell me her wonderful news: I got a job!  Well yayyy!  That's great! Congrats! She will be working at the local Tobacco Junction, the most popular tobacco store in this town and the other town where the main store is at.  It's an easy job. Their store in our town is a shed like mine about the same size.  In fact, I think it's exactly the same size.

They get a pretty constant stream of vehicles lined up at their drive thru. Their other store is a huge place with 2 walk-in humidors and a cigar lounge that is available only if you have a membership with them. Anyway, this should pull them out of this tent camping stuff and I feel like I had some small part in helping them.

Oh, forgot to mention.  This happens all the time, people come in, hook up and then...their water heater doesn't work.  They ask if I have a shower? Used to say no. Now I can say yes.  However, it's just a 40 gallon heater, if people are taking long showers, the people after them are not likely going to have a hot shower.  Of course, it's warm outside but you still want a bit of warm in a shower. At least I do unless I'm burning up and I got into the shower so I could cool off.  

 It was an amazing mess.  James had been sanding the walls all over the place and the dust was on everything. It got into the AC as well and the coils are dirty.  I used a vacuum cleaner and got as much out as I could, but it's going to need better than that. 

Anyway. It was near 7 hours to clean that place up.  I had to pick up every single thing, dust or vacuum it off, wipe off, then to the next thing.  Hauled all the left over scrap pieces of drywall to the dumpster.  Got everything where I wanted it and then started scrubbing the floor - by hand. It was far too dirty for the mop to do anything.  I was using a 5 gallon back with water and pine sol, a scrub sponge, a roll of paper towels, a scraper and the vacuum. There was puddles of mud and also some dropping where spray insulation had dropped off the ceiling.

It was painstaking work, but there was no way to start painting in there before cleaning everything up.  I was done around 4:45 this afternoon, I had had enough. Hadn't eaten anything all day long, was hungry, needed to shower and get this grime off of me and take the boys to a church party.  

Oh, I did take several short breaks today.  Phone ringing off the hook, but nothing about people coming to stay at the park.  One call was from a recruiter. Pretty strange.  He asked me if I could access my email while we were on the phone? Yes.  He sent me an application via email, told me to fill it out, send it in and then we can talk.  He wouldn't answer any of my questions. Reading the thing, it said they figure that you are serious after you fill out an application. 

Well excuse me, but I'm not going to all of that trouble without having a few, key questions answered first, thank you and dismissed them. High paying job, likely out on the road for weeks at a time, something they don't tell you in their description.  At most, I will stay out a week at a time. If you can't/won't get me home that often, we aren't a good fit.  

Then there was another one. It's based in Shreveport. Hazmat tanker, lowest tier pay is around 95k per year.  But they list it as OTR, no questioning that, just no dialogue about how often you get home.  

Yet another one. This one is local. I've seen their trucks, they are usually 6 wheelers. They also pay quite well at up to 2 grand per week.  Home every night, it's usually delivering fuels to earth moving equipment, trains, mining operation equipment.  I will be applying there once I get to that point.  They have had ongoing ads for years, they are nationwide but they advertise for local work.  I might also apply at the propane delivery places around here.  It's probably part time work, but who knows.  I need health insurance as well or I really don't want anything to do with it unless the pay is high . 

Yes, I want to try and cash in on hazmat tanker work before going into the other stuff.  Dry vans are a total rat race and really don't like it much. I won't do refers, they are always too noisy.  There is a steel place 2 miles from here hiring, but one of the reviews says it's low pay.  Pilot, Gemini (Love's) and other fuel haulers are all hiring.  But are they training?  Fuel hauling would be local.  Pilot texted me back today asking me where I live? I told them - it's in their map area they have posted - but I heard nothing back.  

Of course, not hearing back right away from a national chain company doesn't really mean anything.  If you haven't figured it out, I'm preparing myself to go back to regular work.  I wouldn't necessarily call what I did today being lazy.  It just doesn't produce a regular paycheck.  Finances are starting to get low, I might have a few people coming in but who knows and I have several empty lots.  It isn't adding up to enough to live off of.  I have bills, like everyone else, responsibilities, like everyone else and I refuse to go bankrupt.

I also abhor this debt relief nonsense now that I found out what it's all about.  You screw the bank, basically. They get back half of what you owe.  Yes, I know, banks are evil, etc etc etc blah.  I'm not a student loan defaulter type person, I'd rather pay back my debts if at all possible. 

Well, I can see how I should just bypass mid afternoons and work mornings and evenings after just having gone and got the boys and then went over to the property to measure for a curtain.  It's low 80's right now versus heat index of over 100 in the middle of the day.  Get more done without burning up.  I dunno if I'll do that, but I have 12 more lots to till.  And then retill. And then rake.  And then lay sod. And then water endlessly.

Oh, the boys. Well, the church had their final summer fun night.  2-1/2 hours of fun. It was pizza, arts, playtime and then?  The church had made a huge piles of white foam that turned out to be shaving cream for the kids to play in. We were wondering why they wanted everyone to bring towels. How much money did they spend on it? I don't know and I have little concern about it.  The church never asks for money.  They have to have rich donors who give them as much as they need, because they are never in want for anything.  The other nice thing is there is always a cop there.  Not likely to be a church shooting at that place with an armed officer sitting out there monitoring everything.  

Well, I'ma get offa here. Look at some more jobs.  I think it was getting that medical card yesterday, it motivated me to get with it.  

The decision was made.  I was to go get this DOT Physical/medical cert. over with - yesterday that is.  

It's funny when you're doing your own for no company they really don't require that much.  In fact, it was laughable.  Eye chart - 20-20 tho I could have read the line below the 20-20 line, blood pressure in acceptable range on the first try, a urine sample.  Not for drugs or alcohol, either.  After the assistant was done, the actual doctor came in, made chit-chat, laughing hilariously about the neighbor calling the police on us doing fireworks - the police never showed up.  

I mean, she was giggling endlessly on that one.  Tickled her feathers apparently.  She listened to my heart for 15 seconds and that was it.  No knee hitting test, no test where they check your strength, there was all kinds of stuff that a company-imposed/required physical didn't include.  Whatever, I don't need all of that stuff, my reflexes are perfectly fine, I have a little arthritis but nothing that stops me from safely performing the duties of a trucker. 

I left there and went straight to the Texas DOT DL office. No waiting, I handed her the documents and my license, she input it into their system, walaah. I'm good for another 2 years, I won't lose my CDL and all is well in the world.  It certainly wasn't time to just let it go.  And I would have been very hesitant to go through all the rigarmoroo I would have had to go through to get the license back.  

_______________

That was yesterday.  After that I went to Walmart for paint supplies, the sign shop to order a sign for the side of the amenities shed - people are confused about that shed and wonder what's in it,  over to Super 1 for a nice, cooked rotisserie chicken (only $6.99 for several meals worth of food) and then home. There was to be no work as I decided it was too soon.

I'm not sure I will work today either. If my head clears up, sure, if not? I am definitely not working with my head swimming around like this.  I'm not looking for excuses not to work, I really want to get out there and get back to getting some of this stuff done.  

So, I am thinking to go over there and get what I can, done. When energy leaves, leave as well, go home and just vegetate.  And nothing terrible energy consuming.  I've tried to find a way to bypass tilling all of that soil for sod and I can't find it. Every site says to till the soil 4 to 6 inches deep even for sod.  And raking it.  

Enough. Time to get with it.

 There's a reason I haven't been posting.

I went to bed many nights ago - the night of the last post actually - and instantly was overcome with cold chills.  Like turning on a light switch, it came out of nowhere and persisted half the night.  No fever, but getting up the next morning feeling horrid.  The next night, hot sweats.  One extreme to the other, back to cold chills, then sweating, etc.  Headaches, certain body aches, things that would accompany a flu but there was never a fever.  

Fever or no fever, the effect was the same: feeling like hell.  Today is the first day that I can say I am feeling a little better.  When I say a little, that's exactly what I mean. 4 plus days into this.  I have painting to do.  I have no idea what happened to all the painting supplies this house used to have, but they have apparently and completely disappeared.  I very much do not want to go start from scratch buying everything you need to buy to paint drywall.  I guess I have no choice.  

I would have had to buy some stuff, yes, but everything?  No and no.  Does it cost that much? Well considering how much I've already spent, saving every last penny available to save is important at least ot me if no one else.  

Anyway, I haven't heard back from the RV repair guy.  No rush.  I have zero energy. Fixing that would simply mean having to install carpeting and testing other systems in the unit.  I don't think I'm going to have a big problem renting the thing out once it's ready.   At least, not if I'm renting it out at the right price.  I think $600 per month - after some thought - is about right. That's the regular lot rent plus a couple hundred towards paying back the unit.  

Anyway, that's just out of my thought processes right now. In fact, what I'm really thinking about doing is going to the healthcare express and dealing with this DOT certification I need done and done very soon. My previous employer used to make me wait until the last week leading up to the deadline as well.  I would have already gone but for being sick.  

Do I feel like going? I don't feel like doing anything, honestly.  But, life goes on and so do the bills.  If I do that, I might as well go to Lowe's afterwards and buy the minimum amount of stuff I'll need to paint that shed.  And after that - probably nothing.  

Just flushed $1,200 down the SWEPCO drain.  Power company. That one bites.  It's the biggest payment of any kind that I have besides a mortgage payment that is equally as high.  But as I noted earlier this year, once we get through summer, that bill will come down substantially. Not a little, a lot.  

I had a call yesterday.  A lady saw my ad and asked me questions - questions that are distinctly answered in the ad. How much, etc etc etc.  I answered all of her questions and then some and then she ended the conversation: Well I've found much cheaper parks elsewhere blah blah blah.  What did she think I was going to do, start begging her to come to my park?  Instantly lower my price?  Well, okay then, I'll bring my price down! 

No.  The electric bills are too high, I'm not eating it.  They can go find their dump.  Whatever place it is, it isn't a decent place for I check the at least semi-decent parks on a regular basis for their pricing and mine is either right in line with theirs or lower.  People may not care what kind of park they live in, fine. But it was pretty obvious they were hinting at me offering a lower price.  

It didn't even phase me. I instantly went to "well thanks for calling!".  Nonsense.  She knew what I am charging.  You get a lot of newbies into RV'ing and they have no clue what they are talking about. They think they know because they did 10 seconds of Google searching, found some clip notes and decided they are experts.  I didn't treat her with disdain on the phone, but after all of that? She could have just ended the call when she "found out" the price which I am 99% sure she already knew.  

There's nothing else for now.  I am going to push my butt out of the chair and go get this DOT physical over with.  

 So waiting paid off. I mean, they don't have anywhere else to go, they manage to get money, obviously, so having a place to stay is probably high on their priority list. What happened was, the sister called me. I don't know her and I have never spoken with her, they must have given her my number.  She had a credit card.  Great!  So, she paid up the next 9 days and said they have cash to give me.  I ran her card, got the money going to my account, sent her a verification email, all is well. Well, I still need to collect the cash, I haven't been over there today.  

James, however, is over there finishing up the drywall. It's finally almost done.  I have no idea what the bill is going to be, I think he's spent between 60 and 70 hours in there.  I really didn't know it was going to take that long.  No idea what the bill is going to be for all of that....

I've got another guy that's called me twice now.  He at least sounds like he's coming. He is currently in Georgia but is heading here on work assignment.  He asked lots of questions the first call and we chit-chatted.  He called again early this morning (Sunday) saying he forgot to ask if I have a shower and laundry room? Why yes, yes I do!  He said he would be heading my way in the next week, he didn't know an exact date.  

I've got my $300 special on one of my ads, but I'm fixing to update everything.  I also spaced out boosting one of Facebook posts, I'll be doing that tonight as well. I need more people in there, plain and simple. I've been a bit busy going through personal stuff today, throwing a bunch of stuff out and only keeping a small portion of it.

It's all my old trucking stuff that I just put into a pile and left.  It's like, ok, I might be going back out on the road or something, I need to get this stuff sorted.  I found a pair of boots that I had forgotten about. It's a $200 pair of Irish Setter Red Wings that I barely used, only at a few certain plants and that infrequently. They are in perfect condition.  I still have an older pair that are still in good condition, I won't be switching to those any time soon. And then, I have a brand new pair that were never used.  This was the benefit of working for previous company. Once a year, you got $125 for steel toed boots. 

We had company over with a bunch of kids all playing front with water balloons, one of the ladies asked if I was going to go back to trucking? Not sure what prompted that, but I replied that I am not sure, but probably unless business picks up. Even if business does pick up, it may be that I have no choice to be able to pay down some debt.  I'll have to make up my mind next month, that's a year away from trucking (haven't missed AT ALL) and after that, some companies won't hire you for not having had driven in a long time. 

I guess it makes sense, but I could easily get into a truck right now, hook it up to a trailer, do the pre-trip and drive right on down the highway without any hesitation.  I've done it too long.  It's second nature to me, picking up where I left off wouldn't be a big deal at all. 

I will probably start blitzing trucking companies that I think I might want to work for next month.  With the shed almost done - and just needing to paint it after James is done - and really not decided on grass - I feel like I would better serve myself getting the debt down, get the credit score back up and start preparing to add amenities that will bring people in. Or hopefully they will, anyway.  

Anyway, I think this week I will go get the recertification and get that sent into Texas DOT.  Make sure they have it and input it into their system. I can't be getting disqualified over something as petty as a medical card, I've never failed it.  It's like $75. Money well spent. ? I think? lol

There will be no report on the ac unit on the RV until the man comes and diagnoses it.  Bracing myself for - not so great news, lol.  

I'm still planning on getting my @$$ up early tomorrow morning if I get any sleep tonight. Those some 50 bug bites still itchy, but it gets far worse when I'm laying in bed and trying to sleep.  This is about hooking up the trailer, going to one of the dirt piles, loading up ample dirt - by shovel of course - and fixing pot holes.  If I don't get up early, I may still go do it in the extreme heat, it really needs to get done.  

Oh, and the local gossip. Some dude decided to try to avoid police and was on highway 59 going 130 mph for quite a ways before he crashed into whatever and that was the end of it. Allegedly, he was going that fast through town.  I can only imagine they must have shut down the road to avoid accidents.  

Anyway, not a particularly lazy Sunday, but we did go to church. I opted out of going out to eat, just trying to save money. We have plenty of food to prepare at home.  

It's bed time.  

 So my hopes were dashed. The 50 amp connector I saw was only a 50 to 30 amp reducer.  In other words, if you go some place that doesn't have 30 amp but does have 50 amp, you can plug it in to the pedestal and then plug your regular plug into the connector.  

That was not what I hoped for, of course. Especially seeing that the unit uses more wattage than 30 amp supplies.  Maybe the chart I was looking at is wrong.  Something is wrong, lol. But normally, when there is only one AC unit, it's 30 amp.  2 ac's automatically means 50 amp plus usually means a lot of appliance in the thing. 

Anyway, the repairman isn't available until next week, he's off for the holiday.  I have no choice but to wait. I'm not going to jump the gun and just go buy an ac unit that is expensive when there is at least the possibility that the unit can be repaired.  I am guessing at this point, it probably can't be repaired, it's probably something wrong with the compressor and I am screwed.

The lady was given an ultimatum today. They aren't working, they are using my facilities, it's not free to me, it's not free to them. Pay up today.  She said she has a plasma appointment later today and then she'll have the money. We'll see. Otherwise, I'll be right on top of them at their tent site telling them to pack up and leave.  I've had enough, they could have done something, but the original agreement was to pay money.  I only threw the work scenario in after they mentioned it. Sure, I could use some help.....

So, this benadryl I took last night is really kicking my butt today. I don't recall it doing that to me in the past, but it's been a couple years since I took it last.  I was going to get up early today and fix some potholes while it's "cool" and/or continue on with tilling.  I want to do 4 lots and give it a whirl.  It's going to be time intensive with 3 waterings a day.  Yea, the only thing I got done is confronting the lady and finding a 50 amp cord.  

And that's it. Tomorrow is Sunday, I will go to church, not go to work.  

 The drought of getting any new overnight reservations or people moving in long term continues on.  And I have more leaving soon.  One guy paid up an entire month but asked if I could pro-rate for when he leaves. These companies that bring in out-of-state workers seem to be notorious for leaving these employees hanging.  They tell them they are going to move them somewhere else "soon" but give date for that to happen.  

I put on one of my ads a move-in special with $100 off the first month's rent for any new long-term coming in.  We'll see if that does any good. The other parks aren't giving that kind of incentive, that I can see on their ads anyway. I think it's time to do a facebook boost ad again. I haven't done one in a while. The last 2 I did had some inquiries and maybe one person came in because of them, so I stopped doing them for a while.

But, they are cheap ads and if it even gets 1 trailer to move in, it's worth it.  

So here I am writing this and some guy calls and we get into a very long conversation.  But, he's moving back to my area and he wants a spot sometime within the next week.  I mean, if you could give a predictability percentage to people's intention to actually come as they say they are, I'd be in the high 80 percentile range.  

I don't think I'd give anyone in the 90's, just doesn't work that way. But, even if he does show up, I have 4 more lots available and more going to become vacant.  This guy didn't even care about the $100 off, he just wants a quiet place to stay. Yes, that's here.  

Anyway, we went to a fireworks show last night at a place called Bear Creek Smokehouse.  It's a local tourist trap type of thing, it brings people in from far and wide but also local.  Well, I was chatting for a few hours with some folks I know, but I was also getting bitten by some kind of bugs that I couldn't identify for I felt them biting but I could see them. 

Yeah, well last night in the middle of the night that all took over. I woke up out of a dead sleep itching all over my legs, feet chest, everywhere.  It was horrible.  I couldn't sleep worth a dead Petunia's rotten petals.  I got up, fished a Benadryl out of my travel bag and took one.  That stuff sent me to sleep within about 30 minutes, maybe 40.  The itching all but went away.  

Fast forward to this morning and waking up.  Wow.  I couldn't fully awaken and I was groggy, like I had been drinking the night before or something.  I dragged myself out of bed, got some coffee and discussed it with James. He said "You're going to be messed up for 2 days at least". Huh? He explained if you don't take Benadryl like once a month or something, it will do a number on you for days. 

Great.  You know, whatever the aftermath, the itching went away and I needed relief and I will take it again tonight if I need to.  I'm not big on taking pills, but I'll take the damned things if they offer relief.  

I can't just sit here all day, I've got to force myself to get up and go over there and do something.  And anyway, the kids are coming home today and with them, the grandpa and grandma. Grandma is jealous of me because of my relationship with the kids, grandpa has reasons that he doesn't like me that I won't go into here.  It's nothing I've done, at all, but the threat I apparently pose to his wife.  There is no threat and nothing has or will happened/happen.  

I don't want to be here when they get here is the point.  They allegedly aren't staying long and I hope they don't.   If they do, I may have to figure something else out.  

I need the rv tech to get over there and diagnose the ac.  I don't have his number, it's on cards that are at the shed.  I don't know if he works weekends or not, but if he does I need him to come over. I just want a diagnosis. Can it be fixed or trash it and put in a new one?  I'm not going to go out and spend $700 or more for a new one without getting someone to check the existing one out and tell me if it's good or not. 

The one in the trailer has heating as well as cooling, I'm really thinking now that it may be that I need to have 50 amp service to run that thing.  There is a 50 amp plus in it as well as a 30 amp.  I was using 30 amp for 2 reasons.  1, because that's what the dude was using when I showed up, 2 because I didn't know there was a 50 amp plug in there until I started opening doors.  It's going to be easy to figure out if 50 amp will do the trick. Move that beast to one of my lots and plug the 50 amp cord in.  

Turn the AC on an see what happens.  If it works, I'll install a 50 amp outlet behind the shed. If it doesn't work, back to the "please, mr. repairman, come over and look at this" drawing board.  That's what I will do today.  At least eliminate that option off the table. The reason I think it might be power is because it has that built in heater.  I doubt a heater will work off of 30 amp service.  Heaters drink the juice.  

Yes, I'm guessing that's it. I looked up 30 amp vs 50 amp and then looked up that particular ac unit. It uses 1599 running watts, which means even more on start up and 30 amp provides maximum 3,600 watts. It's got to be the problem? I don't know, but I'll find out! That would be great if it was just that. Just wire in a 50 amp service to the shed and bam, it's done. Or, ask guests if the thing looks too old to be in the regular portion of the park?  The exterior is still in great shape. Could use a little buffing but I don't think it's bad looking. But that's me.  I'll ask the ladies in the park.  They'll probably say it looks horrible lmao, if they do I'll move it back behind the shed and that's where it will stay.  

Thankfully I turned the AC unit off yesterday.  I sort of thought, well, if it's a power issue and not enough wattage, I might be damaging the unit trying to run it off less than needed power.  It might answer why some of the lights in the thing don't work, either.  RV's don't use 240 volts on 50 amp. It's all 110 volt wired that way in the rig itself.  So, it's all about the wattage, not the amps.  

Well, anyway, I think I might be getting myself into an answer phase here instead of a "gee, what do I do now?" phase. It would be delicious if this was the problem.  No new AC unit, just figure out what to charge for lot rent since you know 50 amp service uses more electricity.  

Trying not to get my hopes up too high here, but if it saves me the cost of a service call, diagnosis fee and a brand new AC unit, you can bet your lucky - well anyway, it would be wonderful.  

Keto - going ok.  I was tempted last night being at that place and all of those delicious, carb laden foods but I resisted.  Next week I'll be going in to get CDL medical recertified, was just trying to get my weight back down before going in there.  Going to step it up today and the rest of the days left before I go.  

Well, the check arrived yesterday for the 3 trailers and another one just paid.  So 4 payments received, have to look at my book but I think there are 2 more due today. My book saves me.  I write down when a person arrived, paid and how long they paid for.  I can't remember all of that. I just know I need the money to come in so I can pay myself.  I've got enough in there right now to cover bills.  

Going to sit down and go through ALL of my recurring payments and figure out what I have to have just to cover everything.  

Well, I'm forcing myself out of here, regardless of how I feel. 

G'day