For the Googlers of the world that have found this posting, I remain steadfast in my recommendation of eating at Subway FAR above eating at establishments such as Jack-In-The-Crack; Choke-N-Puke; Eat-N-Bleat;McBarpholds;Windy’s;Burger Barph and the like. 

Oh, those places have GREAT tasting food and the prices are cheap – and it’s all good as long as you don’t want to end up looking like the Goodyear Blimp (does that even still exist anymore?) – (and just because you are the size of a blimp or a whale does not mean you can float in the air – but it does mean you can probably float pretty well in the water : )   ).  If you want something with choices, then Subway is the deal – and I prefer Subway above any of the rest of the sub eateries – of the likes of which I have visited all of them in the past. 

I have had a few problems with Subway in the past, but nothing so-far that has made me want to stop eating there.  Now they have introduced something that will have me there even more often.  I am totally changing my eating habits – a small meal in the morning, a larger meal in the afternoon, a small snack in the evening, preferrably berfore 6:00pm and not eating, preferrably, after that hour. 

Subway now has breakfast.  I suppose you could call it a competitor for the fast-food junk eateries that have great tasting food for mornings – but the caloric and fat content is so high, it isn’t worth it.  Jack In The Box has a “Hearty Bowl” that is absolutely delicious – and is full of fat and fat calories. 

Anyway, I have been passing by my favorite Subway in the morning for a week or more now seeing the “Open” sign lit up, figuring it was a quirk.  I went in there finally for a salad.  I mostly eat salads there – occasionally I’ll have a sub but – not very often.  They have great subs, not dissing that, I’m just trying to keep the calories low and cutting out the bread is a great way to shave off some calories.  I can’t, after all, eat the plastic bowl that the salad comes in. 

Oh, well finally to the point: the breakfast sub – a 6 inch version – is a BUCK.  a 6 inch sub for a buck.  It’s a huge egg patty put onto whatever bread you want with cheese and you put onions and bell peppers on it with whatever dressing you might like.  I skip the dressing – unnecessary calories and it tastes great without it.  I do wheat bread – much better for you than all the junk in white bread.  It’s toasted and it’s wonderful.  I have added a couple strips of bacon for 50 cents, but I am not going to do that anymore, and no, I’m not going to make this a daily thing as eggs are also purportedly not that great for you for eating every day. 

Regardless, it’s a great tasting sandwich, it gets me through the morning and though I haven’t checked the caloric content, I’m QUITE sure it’s MUCH lower than a Hearty Bowl or a sausage McMuffin or whatever it is you might eat at a junk food place.  Oh, and Subway is now open at 7:00am for the breakfast.  I wonder how long the price will stay a buck.  If it becomes popular then maybe they will at least keep the place open at 7:00am. 

Alright, I also admit I unabashedly like the manager of the Subway that I frequent.  Some of her employees are pretty cool, too.  Maybe I just like the ladies and that’s all there is to it?  No, I’m into the caloric and fat conscious stuff too, and if you choose wisely, Subway blows everyone else away.  You just have to stay away from a lot of the dressings and if you really want to go all out, stay away from cheeses as well.  I do salads and usually either ham or tuna, so I’m pretty safe there.

Onto other things – the end of the Subway prop if you are a Googler and found this place, the rest is just personal junk – you are welcomed to read it but it has nothing to do with Subway, lol.

Ummmm – long break in writing this – tenants and things came up.  I’m outta here.

ben

Of course we all have an opinion about everything – some of it good, some of it extremely negative. My only thought about this today is the unwanted and unsolicited offerings of such in  situation where a person has absolutely no clue and – could care less.  Don’t take this is a comment bashing thing on here, I’m referring to life in general.

I listen to a lot of junk at construction sites – I am a professional and maintain that status throughout such ordeals when they occur – but sometimes it’s hard to bite my tongue.  I also listen to a lot of tenant junk and wonder how these people even survive a day in the real world. 

Mr. ex-Marine decided that he was going to take Saturday off – this last Saturday – but didn’t bother to clear that with his employer.  He was suspended for 2 days from work and then was told that if he did it again, he would be fired. 

WHAT is this guy thinking?  The world from my perspective is not full of jobs being thrown at people at every turn.  Even if it was, I can hardly imagine a company putting up with that kind of nonsense regardless of the economical climate.  Perhaps it’s a good thing he’s moving out soon, I don’t want a bunch of excess baggage going on here.  As it stands, he has paid only $200 of this month’s rent.  His offer is to give me $100 his next paycheck and then pay the rest of it plus all of December at the beginning of the month.

Although I can agree to such things, I begin to wonder if this person is going to disappear and then I don’t get any of it.  I basically have a bunch of kids living in my house right now – those that have yet to touch much of life’s realities – maybe some of it, but hardly enough to say a person has been around the block.

They haven’t even turned the first corner yet. 

I managed to eek out about 7 hours of sleep for today.  I went to bed at 8:23 pm – which is early even for me – woke up at 2:30 am.  Got back to sleep around 3:45 and then woke up at 4:45 which is when I got up for the day.  They want to start early again – open at 6 instead of 6:30.  I have been suggesting this fora  while – the day’s activities, if there are any to be had, are almost always earlier, not later in the day.  Means I get off of work – for now anyway – at 1:30pm instead of 2.  I guess you could call that good if you didn’t want to work much : |

Yesterday, my new manager informed me that I had strapped down the copper onto the bed of the trailer too tightly.  Not that he was telling me NOT to do it, but he wanted to get it off of there and said he couldn’t budge the winch with the bar.  He further stated that he tried pulling down with his entire body, then tried getting on top of it to push it down.  Nothing. 

I remember cranking it down, I didn’t remember cranking it down that much.  There were a few sticks of it laying side by side on the trailer, don’t really need to crank it too terribly hard. I went out there and tried it – I have, in the past, cranked on the bar so hard that I was barely able to get the thing to give to be able to release the latch that holds it into place.  This?  I just pushed the bar down and it gave way.

I have observed the new manager huffing and puffing away at chores that are less than terribly difficult.  I knew my job and it’s related components of activities was pretty strenuous, I didn’t realize quite how much until seeing someone who isn’t used to it come in and give’r a whirl.  We’re always lifting, pushing, pulling – moving – heavy material around. 

Well, I just noted the clock – I’m about to start the work day and must tend to it’s doings.

ben

Amazing. 

I’m talking with my manager this morning and he’s telling me that when they cut jobs down to 24 people, then we can get our hours back. 

????  We’re now at 32 people – down over 40 – and they want it to go down 8 more?  WHO are they going to get rid of and WHAT is the criteria going to be?  I have no clue, but I have firmly decided that I better get my @$$ to the annual Christmas function whether I want to go or not. 

I do not want to go.  It’s a 40 mile drive one way and then 40 miles back.  Booze is usually flowing heavily and though it’s usually a great time, I have no inclinations for such right now.  I’m not the socialite I once was – by choice.  I love talking with people, I can do parties, but I don’t want to.  I am not shy or intimidated or whatever – it’s just where I’m at in life right now.  I have always been referred to as the life of the party – the dude that can get people talking when it’s all cold and silent.  I have done it hundreds of times over – I hate a lifeless party and I want to see life in it. 

I have not yet officially committed to going – and I will be going alone – but I feel if for nothing else that I best get there, make a good showing and have a good time.   I will take a nice, fat cigar with me this time – the last Christmas parties had guys standing around smoking cigars and I had nothing.  I was woefully deficient in such – I love to smoke a good cigar occasionally. 

Oh, these are almost all great people, I have no problems with that.  I think I’m in my version of a mid-life crisis. I don’t want toys and huge houses and giant bankrolls (well Iwouldn’t mind some things, I just am not in a mode 0f get them or die), I just want to hibernate in my cave.  I have spent the last 32 years as a socialite – doing all kind of volunteerism and very outgoing – I’m not there right now.  I believe it will come back to me, but  a badly needed break – an extended one at that  – is necessary right now.  Burnt-out is actually a more accurate definer of my situation versus mid-life crisis, now that I think about it. 

Life must take on a new direction – I have always done that.  Do something until it is “conquerered” and move on.  I have several ideas of such things – things I want to do and things I know I can succeed at.  But – it’s not time yet. 

Work today.  Okay, well, I go to a jobsite right next to the Superstition 60 freeway.  I try to get into the site where they want product delivered – the turn from hell.  I cannot possibly make a right turn into THAT situation, I would have had to take the semi into opposing lanes, cut off a lot of traffic and possibly create a “situation”. 

I determined the only way to get in there was to come from the other direction and make a left turn, giving me much more clearance on the turn and get into this very narrow drive that lead – from my view – nowhere.  Yet, this is where the dude on the phone told me to go. 

I go up the road, flip a Uey  -come back and still have to tie up traffic making that turn as well.   I get in there and see that it really DOES lead NOWHERE. A yard and then – a friggin’ CANAL.  I get out of the truck before I get myself so dug into this situation that it will take a half hour worth of backing up and pullups to get out of there, it was THAT bad – the worst place I have been in in a while, and that is saying something considering some of the stuff I have had to go into in recent times.

The man with the plan says yeah, go in there and then you can go out the back and onto a road that leads out of there.  I am just not seeing it, but I haven’t been in there.  I’m always game for a challenge, though, so I just drive in there.  It is such a small yard with vehicles everywhere, that I have to stop the truck and wait for all the equipment to move.  Yes, they do see me coming and they do start hurrying to get their metal out of my way. 

I’m in no hurry – and anyway – this particular contractor is HUGE business for us and right now, that means a lot.  I get in there, get the pipe unloaded – and then do my usual walkaround.

I do an inspection of the truck and trailer every time I get out, I don’t care if I’m only there 30 seconds, I will walk all the way around the truck to make sure the load is secure, the tires aren’t flat – whatever.  I’ve been in this business long enough to know things can happen without you knowing about it and you have to make visual inspections to identify any problems.

Well, this time, I did find something.  I saw the mud flaps on my tractor on the ground.  ????  I took a triple look at that until it registered that roger, Houston, we have a problem.  Fortunately, I’m not in Apollo 13 headed for the moon, but still.  The airbags were totally deflated and no, this tractor is not equipped with a dump valve.  I’m a former truck mechanic, so I get on my back in my nice clothes, under the truck and start lookin’ around.

Nothing visible.  The levellor rod is intact.  I tapped on the valve with a hammer to see if I could get it to release – I’m thinking right away a stuck valve.  Nothing.  I turn the truck off and evacuate the system - all  of it – of pressurized air by opening the relief cocks on the air tanks – when that’s done, turn the truck on and see if it will correct itself.

Nothing.  Again  and again.  I finally give up on it – my ways aren’t working.  I contact the manufacturer to assess that my knowledge is still correct – driving a truck in that condition can damage the drive train.  ” We can’t advise you on that”.  What a crock of BS.  I just got off the phone with them after that. I call our fleet service contract – yes, you drive it, the drive axle is not on the plane it is intended and is at an angle going into the transmission that will TRASH the rear of that transmission, don’t drive it. 

Ironically, his service tech was at our main branch fixing a problem there, and yes, he would dispatch him to my location after he is done there. 

So, resolving that and getting the truck out of the way and walking over to Starbuck’s for a cup of joe – I wander back to the truck and look at this rear exit of theirs.  Unbelievable.  The chain link fenced yard ends and a canal starts with a narrow dirt “road” in between the 2 and I’m supposed to turn right out of that.  Lol.

I decide to pull the truck out of that miserable thoroughfare – it is always quite amazing at what people that don’t drive trucks think a truck can make it through.  I already knew that to make it around that, the trailer axles would be going up over a giant heap of dirt – and I was not let down on that prospect.

Somewhere along this maneuver, the tractor woke up and decided that it needed it’s airbags fully charged.  Great.  I have already been on the phone with half a doznen people concerning this situation because it was going to hold up a “we-need-it-right-now” delivery.  Now I’m on the phone all over – it’s good to go, at least for now: cancel the emergency roadside appointment; call the inside salesman; call my manager.  I’m on the road and – not feeling good at all.  I am losing entirely too much sleep and am at the point where I am going to be forced to start taking Ambien again – I cannot function like this. 

Long day today, really.  Got home and took a nap.  Dogs were not happy – I could tell that my leaving them outside was not their first choice.  Get over it, is all I can say about that and told them so, though I have serious doubts they actually understood me ; )

The vet’s projection that their balls would grow to the size of grapefruits temporarily has yet to surface.  There is some slight expansion, but they are almost flat. I really don’t want to see them going through that, I believed the vet, but – I don’t see it yet.  I have no regrets in getting this procedure done, either.  I had thoughts that – for some reason - I would regret it – but – what is there to regret?  I thought about it – the family “name”.  No more Princes and no more Dukes.  I’m good with that, there are plenty of Dane breeders out there making sure the supply line never goes empty.  I am totally NOT into puppies, anyway.

As for here – I did not dig anymore holes as I had hoped I would today, instead, I just watered everything and devised a few plans.

And, I am very tired and am done with this entry.

G’nite.

Ben

I didn’t sleep near as well last night as the night before – but still did okay. 6 hours of sleep is pretty good for me, really.

Paid a bunch of bills this weekend, freakin’ draining my banking account.  Somehow the water bill slipped by me for 2 months – just totally forgot about it – the “delinquent account” notice was no small amount of money.  Paid the whole blooming thing and figured I would have no such bills – that high anyway – for some time to come.

The ex-Marine is – behind on his rent by $175 - he was supposed to pay that on Friday.  He came home Friday, raced in and out – apparently in a bid to act as if he didn’t remember that I want my money – and left for the entire weekend.  He came back last night while I was sleeping.

Again, the man has something to learn about renting out an entire house AND paying all the bills that go along with it.  He has never done that before but – he believes – he is going to do it with his friend.  Sorry, electricity DOES fall out of the sky at times, but you can’t really harness it, the stuff coming through the wires isn’t free.  Neither is the cable or the internet.  Now, if you could live without electricity, cable, internet, phone and water, perhaps.  I guess if I were reduced to such, I could live without a lot. 

Water usage could be cut to baths and drinking water, electricity to the 2 loads of laundry, 1 refrigerator and some lights on at night and nothing else.  Oh, wait a minute, that’s what it’s at right now!  Okay, not really.  Electric water heater, computer on all the time and a some TV’s.  

I was thinking of how I could possible afford to live in that house without any tenants at all – that would be the gist of it.  Even then I don’t know that I would float, I haven’t really sat down and done the numbers, but it most certainly would preclude the use of AC during the summer.

I am still going to try and get the ex-Marine to give me an actual date on his departure – the newest guy has a friend who is looking for a place to live and apparently this newest tenant likes my house.  So he says, anyway.  That can always change, but I do do whatever I can to make sure that people are as happy as possible.  Fortunately, he is a heavy sleeper – considering his bedroom is right next to the living room.

However, he doesn’t get home from work until like 4:00am. 

I got most of my plants in the ground yesterday – a few more to go but then it’s all done.  ALL done, as in, I don’t want to buy any more plants unless they are cacti that don’t use any water.  My house will look like a rain forest or something by the time all of this grows and matures.

Doing all of that digging yesterday precluded getting anything done on the drip system – but I’m in no hurry, watering is every other day now.  In fact, I’ve let it go 3 days with no visible ill side effects.  The plants I just put in the ground will get daily waterings for a couple of weeks – but that’s just a dozen or so plants, not the entire house worth. 

I will say that when these plants grow and if I’m still in that house when they start maturing – I may not ever want to move out of the place.  I have “grand” designs of totally re-doing the living room in ceramic tile and new furniture and putting in nice “window treatments” they like to call it.  Yes, well I don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on that, but it is a nice fiction to dream about : )

So, today if I get the wild hair, I’m going to start painting some interior walls after work and/or continue on with the drip system project.  I’m opting for the painting – a couple of walls need it badly.

That’s life in my fast lane.  Didn’t get to meet Kelly/Sugarcane in person but we did end up talking for an hour and a half on the phone.  She’s a real sweety, actually, nothing like what she sometimes comes off as on her blog, lol. 

Well, off to work.

 

 

Lazy Sunday.

Not really.  I went to Home Depot, got the adapters I need to continue with the drip irrigation project and also bought a cheap set of vertical blinds.  The old ones were half gone and I just need something to tide me over until I can figure out what I want to put in there, number 1, and number 2, that I can actually afford such.

Affordability is off in the future. 

I have also planted a tree and about to plant another one.  4 of those left to go.  I also have 4 more vines to plant.  These are the leftovers from that nursery going out of business sale I went to several weeks ago.  Also picking up rocks and hauling them out front.  Found a nice looking bird feeder cheap, that’s out front and ready to use for whatever birdies might want to use it.

Pidgeons need NOT apply.  I’m trying to sell or trade the pavers that Mary wanted to put out in the very front of my house – I think they’re freakin’ ugly and I don’t want them here at all.  I have one party interested in the love seat – but I don’t know if they want to trade or buy it.  They want pics and I’m being too lazy to do that right now. 

Pretty quick here I’m calling Kelly – Sugarcane from KCL.  She wants to meet up for a coffee – I think it cool to meet other bloggers – though I have never done it.  I’ve met people from the internet – I used to do chat rooms a lot and I met a couple of people from there, but no bloggers yet.  There is a list of people I would love to meet from blogging – not the least of which is Fin and Bethany, but a lot of others too.  In fact, just about everyone and anyone! lol

I have always been a supporter of the idea of having an annual get together – I would scrape the money to get there somehow – would have to be in the U.S. somewhere though.  The idea gets some nods, but it really never takes off.  Prolly try to float the idea again sometime next year, but, maybe it’s really just not possible.

I am going to my dad’s for Thanksgiving, I haven’t talked to mother in 3 weeks.   She got mad at me because my middle brother was asking about why I wasn’t coming to Thanksgiving and I ended the conversation.  I will be calling her today, too – if she’s over it, if not, I’ll let it go for as long as it takes.  My family is pretty much the bane of my existence.  I HAVE no real family, just a bunch of separate individuals that are off in their own friggin’ worlds.  Dad is exuberant that we are coming – we being Caleb and I – his mother gave him permission to go.  She – the ex that is – actually respects my dad, a  thing she never shows me, but it’s all good, I’m used to it and just brush it off, usually. 

For the first time in months, literally, I slept – and slept – today.  I went to bed at 8:30 pm last night and woke up at 7:00 am this morning, with only a wakeup in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and I got right back to sleep.

You have no idea how good it feels to actually get that kind of sleep after having months worth of nights where you might get 4 or 5 hours if you’re lucky.  I have NO idea WHY I was able to sleep last night, really, I don’t.  Normally, I go to bed and wake up 3 or 4 hours later and if I do get back to sleep, it’s only in time to get maybe another hour or so.  I dunno, but again, it feels  really good and I have some energy today, which I am exuberantly expending on chores around here and also hopefully in some decent convo on the phone very soon. 

I guess I’ll call mother first and get that out of the way.  I hope it goes well as I have no desire to spend the rest of this day in a bad mood because my dysfunctional family can find nothing but fault with each other.  The last time I called her, the sole purpose was to thank her for the Christmas present, not get into some kind of altercation about my – stupid brothers.  They ARE stupid.  Dissing their father as long as they have is just plain stupid in my eyes.

Whatever, I have hashed that subject out on my blogs too many times, not going into it again today. 

Well, face the music and see what mother has to say and then give Kelly a ring if she’s home.

Have a nice Sunday, folks, it only comes once a week and it is the Day that the Lord hath made. 

ben

It was amazing, today – to see the expression on people’s faces as I brought up the fact that it’s a Friday and yes, it’s the 13th.

I wondered what kind of reaction I would get.  It was also unusual – this is the 1st year that I have experienced  for as long as I can remember that there wasn’t a lot of hype about it. 

Now that I think of it, tonight would have been a great night to go to the casino.  Not happening now.  Too late and I will not go tomorrow – doubtful anyway – I have too much to do this weekend.  Okay,  I don’t have to do anything if I don’t want to, but I want to and there’s plenty. 

First off, I need another washing machine.  Note that I did not say new – I have never bought a new washer-dryer set in my life and I doubt I will start anytime soon.  I have always been able to find a very good set in great shape off of Craigslist or in the newspaper or wherever to serve the purpose.  I get a LOT of use out of those machines with tenants and kids and me, so if it lasts 2 years, it’s all good. 

Second, I want to continue on with the drip system.  Nuff’ said about that, eventually I’ll get it done.

Third, perhaps might meet up with Sugarcane/Kelly who wanted to go for a cup of coffee.  She seems like a nice enough gal and I need to expand my horizons a little and get out of my cave.  I do, however, happen to like my cave, it has been decorated to sufficiency and continues to be improved upon.  Caves are dark and damp, however, and I’m a person about life and hope.  Like to think so, anyway. I’ll be calling her tomorrow, today has totally wiped me out with the dogs and the neutering and stuff.

I wrote an entry – al fin (finally) – in my KCL blog about it.  I’ve let that blog die long enough, time for a little shot and see if it revives. 

I have a couple of walls I would like to get painted – the hallway to be precise.  And other menial cleaning jobs that I would like to get done this weekend. 

Just noting things here.  The sky has been overcast for days now and the temps are finally starting to drop into acceptable high ranges.

I think I’m done.

ben

………….totally sweating it.  He is not experienced on a forklift and often stands there and observes me in action.  I have been doing the forklift thing since 1985. 

The reason he’s sweating it is because I am not showing up to work until about an hour late – with his blessing of cousre, I need to get the dogs neutered and I have to be there at 6:30 am with them in tow.  The vet has to do an exam on both dogs to ensure they are fit to be neutered – if either of them isn’t for whatever reason, then either or both go home and/or/hopefully both of them stay there and I come back 10 hours later to get them.  They will put them under for the procedure and I guess it takes a while for them to fully come out of it. 

I am NOT going to try and carry a Great Dane to my car, much less TWO of them.  I’m sweating it as well, I have trepidation, fear is more like it – that they will be put under and never come to.  Sometimes my mind takes me to very, very dark places and I have to fight my way out of it – stay positive and think in the “light”. 

Anyway, he is coming in early to try and have the truck loaded by the time I get there so I can leave.  Loading ductile iron pipe onto a semi is tricky business.  That’s not an exaggeration – it is heavy, it slides easily on the forks, the ground where we load our truck is full of holes and is very uneven, and yes, I have broken a couple of sticks of that stuff in the past myself. 

One 8-inch diameter stick of pipe weighs in the neighborhood of 450 pounds.  Anyway, I forgot to give him some very important instructions so I will be headed to my company’s website in a few minutes and write him an email.  In fact, there is a LOT to learn about loading pipe – it took me a while to get it and I am pretty good with forklifts. 

I just made my version of Teriyaki chicken.  Wonderful.  Boneless, skinless chicken breast is on sale at Fry’s – I got a package today, cooked it, dumped some of the pre-made sauce I bought for it on it, scooped it out and put over a bed of freshly made rice – yummmm.

I would love find a good recipe and make my own sauce, but the stuff I used out of the bottle was VERY good.  I was impressed at just how good it tasted.  I did not eat a lot of it – I am cutting back on eating to the extreme.  I had a salad today – Subway – with very little dressing on it.  It couldn’t have been too many calories as it was all veggies and some of their tuna mix.  Other than that, the small plate of teriyaki chicken, and yes it’s before 6:00 pm, so I’m good. 

I am still not sleeping well – I wake up in the middle of the night in fits, I will call it.  I am re-learning how to force myself back to sleep.  I learned the art a long time ago and departed from it when my sleep came back to me and I was sleeping through the night.  The art sounds simple enough – but certainly when so much is going in your life, it’s much harder to do than it appears.

Basically, I wake up and my mind floods with thoughts of things going on.  THAT – definitely – keeps me awake.  The art is how to empty your mind completely and dwell on nothing – sort of.  Our brains don’t shut off like a computer, we are always thinking about something.  I get my mind emptied – which can take a few minutes or half an hour – and then I let it drift to whatever  – which always puts me to sleep. 

Still, there are many nights when the thoughts of things going on – and usually stuff about finances – are too hard to shut off and it is a couple of hours before I get back to sleep. 

I think I’m going to be emotional leaving my doggies at the vet tomorrow.  I just have this fear and I can’t shake it. 

Well, enough of that.  No, not enough.  I’ll be worrying about them all day long tomorrow.  I’ll undoubtedly call the vet and ask if the procedures are done and how are they doing?  With a “they’re fine” – hopefully – gesture – I’ll also be fine and that will be the end of that. 

That’s it.  Nothing more – well, there is something else I wanted to write about but I can’t remember what it is. 

Oh well.

Later.

ben

I get a call from a saleman this morning asking when I’m going to arrive at a jobsite so he can let them know – they were waiting on the material I was bringing.  I tell him that I am just getting on the road and it will be at least an hour before I get there – far east valley/50 mile drive FROM the east valley.

So this guy is getting a bit uppity – why are you getting on the road so late?  Cause’ we had to LOAD THE FRIGGIN’ TRUCK.  Well, aren’t you supposed to do that the day before?

I’m beginning to get annoyed with this guy, he KNOWS our hours have been cut, what does he expect?  “Well, welcome to the world of 7  hour days.  I have to sign off at 2:00pm which basically means there is no or little time in the afternoon to do anything about loading the truck up.  If you want to get special permission for me to show up early/overtime hours, you have to go to the Ops manager and request it”. 

I get back later to the shop and my new manager is also annoyed at this whole setup.  There are fully 2 people running the show at the store I am at – him and I.  That’s it.  When it gets busy, we simply can’t keep up with it with limited hours to work.  He ends up staying after without being on the clock, I end up giving up half hours per day for my break which I don’t get, but whose time is automatically deducted from the clock. 

He is having a meeting with the ops manager on Monday – about what I don’t know we got caught up in talking about talking with him to find out about getting some hours available when the hours are needed.   The fact of the matter is is that I shouldn’t have to give away free half hours all the time and the the store manager shouldn’t have to do free work after-hours to be able to keep up with all of it. 

New tenant is moving in today.  Right now, actually, and has already handed me the pro-rated amount of rent for the month. 

The dogs go into tomorrow morning for their neutering.  This should help with some problems around here – nothing too major but I have heard that their desire to mark everywhere decreases once their testicles are removed.  I’ve also read countless times that neutering them reduces the likelihood of certain cancers and tumors.  Of course it also reduces or even eliminates aggressive behavior.  I don’t have too much of that as a problem, but still.  I am only concerned about what the Humane Society told me some time ago with increased risk for the procedure with larger dogs. 

Anyway, my finances aren’t the tragedy I had thought they might be this month.  The newest tenant paid a pro-rated amount, but it is enough to bring me back up to the surface.  I have several very-interested people in-waiting – I am going to ask the ex-Marine once again today if he  has a move-out date.  If it’s REALLY not going to be until January, then fine, I will let it go until sometime getting closer to the end of December.

December!!!!

CHRISTMAS!!!! 

I’ve posted an ad on CL for Christmas lights wanted.  I probably should have bought all the stuff I saw in July on CL.  Oh well.  If I have to buy new, I will but it will be limited amounts and I would rather find someone who is attempting to dump their stuff.  It’s only 2-1/2 weeks until it’s time (for me anyway) to start stringing lights around the house. 

I’m pretty much done with this one, I’m tired, there is nothing pressing to do and I think I’m going to take a short nap.

 

These constant issues finding tenants is beginning to wear me out to the point I need to find something different to do this weekend.  I don’t know what, but it doesn’t include being at home.  I mean, I got this guy in yesterday, but Geoffrey is leaving – at some unknown point – and I have no clue about the other dude.

Speaking of home, the neighbors that went to Michigan are still gone and that dog has been barking constantly the entire time.  I mean constantly.  It’s a non-stop, all day and all night long yelping or full fledged barking.  I didn’t know a dog COULD bark that long without tiring itself out.  If my neighbor doesn’t come home today, I’m calling the pound.  Yes, I am calling the pound.  They have quite a bit of authority in these parts, that dog’s incessnant barking is nothing short of an outrage.  It needs to be kennelled if the owner is going to take off. 

VERY busy day coming at me at work today.  Several deliveries were in the system from yesterday, now even more were added since I left yesterday.  I wrote the salesman on that account already and informed him his 2 deliveries will either be late this afternoon – or it may not even happen today. 

Anyway, that’s a shorty and I’m outta here.

C’yall later.

ben

Amazingly, the younger guy called me back awhile ago and asked if he could come over and take another look.  Heck yeah!!  Anyone coming back for a second look is someone who is seriously considering the place.  I had given some thought to the woman with the whacked out dog and I firmly decided that whatever happens, having that dog around here would NOT be worth it. 

So, he comes back, we shake, I ask him about the other places he’s visited.  He wasn’t really letting on about anything.  He wanted to wander around and check the place out – yesterday I followed him everywhere, today I figured I’d just let him make up his own mind.  I never try to talk anyone into renting a room here, they must be comfortable with it, if they aren’t, they aren’t going to stick around anyway and then you just have another empty room again. 

After about an hour of this, he says: “Well, Ben, I think I’m going to take it”.  Deal.  Some people you can’t really tell whether they’re good people or not, I can tell this guy is going to be gold – if he stays around.  He’s staying – but only committing long enough to see if he likes it.  I can understand that – my deal right now is to try to get the room filled and then hopefully get a date when Geoffrey is moving out and then start back up on that room again. 

This is going to be a never-ending process, I can tell, until the day I can say, gee, I don’t need tenants anymore : ) 

I started feeling REALLY bad earlier – scratchy throat, ill-feeling, started wondering if I was getting sick.  I dunno yet – the scratchy throat feeling went away.  If I don’t feel better tomorrow and definitely if I start getting a fever, I’m headed straight for the doc.  If I get that swine flu crap, at least I want to get whatever meds they have available for it at the git-go, not after it’s already in full force.  Swine flu?  Work says stay home, don’t bother coming back around for a week.  Ouch!!!

One slight sigh of relief at least that I have a tenant moving in even if another is moving out.

Temps here are still warm, amazingly.  It’ s unbelievable that it’s the middle of November and the highs are still getting up into the high 80’s – but who cares, I actually like it.  It’s the 115 temps I’m glad to be rid of.  Friday’s high is supposed to be 74 – that’s going to start feeling a little bittle more like winter.

C’ya later.

ben