Craziness in the News

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The headlines this past week or so have been pretty disturbing. There are natural disasters, like the flooding along the Mississippi River. There are all kinds of politic announcements – like Trump not running but Newt is running. Ron Paul is running and no one has heard from Palin for a while.

Schwarzenegger and is wife have split because she just found out about a love child born within days of her own baby. And now some religious kook says the world is going to end this weekend.

This is all too much for this old boy to take in and process. I think I will be better off if I just down watch TV for a few days and avoid the newspapers, too.

Exploring New Ways to Earn a Living

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One of my friends has been a manager of a local gas station and convenience store for several. We chat for a few minutes here and there when I stop in to buy gas or a soda, or every once in a while a lottery ticket. He was telling me that his days managing this store are numbered because, ironically, he can’t afford the high cost of gas to get back and forth to work from his home, about 40 miles away.

The corporate office says there isn’t a store closer to his home that he can manage, so he is facing losing his job if the cost of gas continues to go up. So we’ve been exploring ways for him to either supplement his income as store manager or to replace that income with something else. He is currently exploring ways to make money from the internet, and he sent away for a starter package of information on how to start an e-commerce site.

Third Week Money

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Thankfully my company gives out paychecks every week. I’ve gotten used to just every other week or even just twice a month pay periods, so it was a nice surprise to learn that we get paid every single Friday here. It probably sounds silly, but I feel like I have more money when I get a check every week.

The first two paychecks of each month go to the house payment, utilities, and other household bills. The third week’s check is my spending money. That’s what goes toward clothing, sports, trips, concert tickets, books, etc. The fourth week’s check goes into my savings and investments.

New Laptop

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I have a Dell laptop that I love and was stupid enough to loan it to a girl who needed it for a few days. I figured I could do without for up to a week with not much inconvenience. She needed it to do a big project and had a chance to make some good money from the project, so I didn’t mind. But after a week went by I started to worry and finally called her to ask for it back. That’s when she said that she was having a problem with it turning on. Arrrgh.

I had her bring it back to my house and sure enough, it no longer turns on. She swears she has no idea what happened. That she had worked on it a couple times and everything was great, but then for no apparent reason it wouldn’t turn on.

After she left, I looked at it more closely and I can see where the back left corner of the case is cracked and it is obvious it’s been dropped. That so pisses me off. I can’t tell you how pissed off I am. Not really that she dropped it – if it was an accident, then so be it. But to lie to my face and not take any responsibility for it at all. ARRRGGHHH. I can’t deal with this – she’s on the top of my sh*t list and that’s not a good place to be.

Life’s a Beach

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My folks have a cottage on the water and we try to get over there at least once each summer to most importantly spend a weekend with them and also take advantage of the boating and water sports while there.

Having grown up on and around the water, I know how hard the elements can be on wood products and even some metals. Salt water and wind are very corrosive to furniture, decks, boats, etc. and there’s a good reason why the good quality boats use teak on their decks and trim. Teak is a dense, durable wood that can hold up to the elements for years and years. Teak does not require much care or maintenance, compared to other hardwoods. And it looks great.

I thought it would be nice to get my folks something for the cottage for their anniversary and I’m thinking a pair of teak chairs for the deck would be appreciated. Let’s hope my folks don’t read my blog before I have a chance to get them ordered and delivered to the cottage for their anniversary gift. I love surprising them!