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"Why do you have red handcuffs with you at work?" -Me to Dakota, a hilarious co-worker after we closed and were all drinking.
"Why would I NOT have them? You never know when you need them!" -Dakota after he handcuffed a co-worker and couldn't get them unlocked.
"Why do you have a cock-ring with you at work?" -Me to Dakota again after he pulled that "toy" out of his bag.
"You never know when you need that, too!" -Dakota

Friday 4-30-21: We have the 'rona. It sucks. A LOT.
We are fucked. I mean, bad. Like possibly Mad Kat & Company Bar & Grill game over bad. We have an official Covid-19 outbreak with 5 staff having tested positive and actually sick with Covid symptoms. Kat and I also have the coronavirus, and it is a serious illness. We are both wasted like Doc-J and 8-Ball from Full Metal Jacket. What a bunch of crap!

It all started down the wrong path Wednesday afternoon just a bit after a staff meeting we had at the bar. We planned to close for the day on Wednesday because we are in the process of trying to sever our business relationship with our business partners, and that is an entire other story that I won't write about on my bootleg site because it is still in litigation. After our staff meeting Kat got a call from one of our servers, and she was sick and had tested positive for Covid. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Thankfully she was not at the meeting because she was sick, but she had been around many of us in the days prior to the meeting.

We had a Covid-scare at the bar earlier in the month and we lost a Saturday night when we had to close. That was a huge financial blow, but we overcame it. We all got tested at the Walgreens drive-thru rapid test site here in Brewer, and I believe we were tested on Easter Sunday. No one else had the 'rona and the server who tested positive back then stayed away so we were able to reopen. As part of the covid-protocol in place by the state CDC we all needed to get tested again so we scheduled our test, soonest we could get it was Thursday. I felt fine and didn't think I had covid. Kat wasn't feeling well, but I didn't think she had it because she is incredibly run down from working so much lately.

On Wednesday afternoon after I scheduled my covid-test I went over to Allen Rd to mow the lawn. Gavin was there throwing a few things into the dumpster so he and I chatted for a half hour about life, blueberry raking, and everything else. I told him I had to get a 'rona test so we didn't get close to each other. Then Pat came downstairs to talk to me, one of my longest-tenured tenants. She is moving next month after living in the same apt for over 20 years OMG! I told her I was getting a 'rona test but I felt fine, and she said no worries she is vaccinated anyway. Thankfully we were all outside during our talks.

So after I finished my social-hour I mowed the lawn for the first time, mower started on the first pull Oh Jesus Hell ya! After that I went home and felt a tad run down. However, the weather was fantastic so I really wanted to go for a jog and I made it 2 miles. It was a very bad jog, I had to stop and walk a couple times. What a bunch of crap! At the time I figured I had a bad run because I am under a tremendous amount of stress in my life, it's constant, and it does affect me physically. I cleaned up, had supper, laid on the couch to watch some TV, and that's when I really started to fade away. I was exhausted and could barely stay awake. I could actually feel myself fighting off a sickness. What a bunch of crap!

Kat was feeling worse, too. We bivouaced early, and I woke up a few times in the night knowing things were not right. When we woke up Thursday morning we were both feeling like 10 pounds of crap stuffed into a 5 pound bag. Things did NOT get better, and we knew we had to keep the bar closed all day. We did go down there to clean and take out the trash. I came home around noon to eat some food, and I had to lie down on the couch for a little bit before my 1245 rapid drive-thru test. Walgreens is only a couple miles from the house, but when I was driving there I felt like I was almost too sick to drive. It was not good.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Thanks Interweb for being able to cheer me up just a little bit.

Kat had her drive-thru test a little before I did, and she found out she was Covid-positive just before me. It was surreal finding out we both have the 'rona, and I've been constantly worried about her since she has a compromised immune system. It's now Saturday morning (I never finish these blog updates anymore what a bunch of crap!) so her and I have officially had the virus for a couple days. Obviously we've had it for longer since it takes a little time for the thing to actually make you sick. Thankfully we are both at home and not in the hospital. We have to quarantine for another week, no contact with anyone, and as sick as we've been I don't want to be around anyone else anyway. Most of the time I don't even want to talk on the phone.

This covid is a serious illness. I'm really sick, and Kat is more sick than me. I haven't been this sick in a long time. I don't feel like I'm on the verge of needing a hospital stay, though. I have no energy, I have a nasty cough, I have little appetite, and I feel like I am in a fog. Late Thursday night I had to use the bathroom and when I was done I felt a wave of nausea. I had to stand in the bathroom for a few minutes until it slightly passed, but I still thought I might chunder. I went back into the bedroom, and I got lost. I don't know what happened, but I didn't know where I was and I had to find the edge of the bed and crawl over Kat just to make it back to my side of the bed. I knocked over her water bottle, woke her up, it was all-bad. I had a fever, I guess a pretty bad fever, so she brought me tylenol. It was like a had a moment of total delerium. What a bunch of crap!

Most of the Mad Kat staff feels okay and they all wanted to work yesterday without any management there. Katherine was going to spearhead the operation and act as an unofficial manager. A Friday night there is a big revenue night so it would have been nice to open. Unfortunately since more people tested covid-positive yesterday we are now in outbreak status, I had to talk to the state CDC on the phone, and we are officially shut down for 10 days. Looks like May 8 we *might* be able to open. Maybe? Hopefully! Having the bar be closed for a week and a half is crippling, possibly to the point of bankruptcy. I have to figure out how to dump more money into the place so it can survive. We had to toss all kinds of food, and it is a worst-case scenario.

At this point I really don't know what to do. Since I'm quarantined I have plenty of time to drill down on every financial aspect of our lives. However, I often feel like shit and don't have the energy and mental focus to spend too much time on it. I'm hoping to put all the staff on unemployment since we can't afford to pay them for these missed days. We don't qualify for any PPP or pandemic handouts from the government because we are too new. I'll have to keep researching things in case there is something else we can do, but right now it does not look good for us and for the bar.

My first priority needs to be making sure the 'rona doesn't kill us. I don't feel like I'm gonna die from it, and I don't think it will kill my awesome wife. However, I don't know for sure and it does kill about 1% of everyone who gets it so we need to keep checking out temp and oxygen levels (we have a little medical device that checks.) If it kills me oh well it's been a great life (except for this year fuck you 2021) but Kat needs to live.

MY LIFE IS PWNED. WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP!

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Monday 4-26-21: A slight reprieve before things get busy again.
It's midafternoon on a Monday, and so far I haven't worked much today. Oh Jesus, hell ya! I'm just chillin' on the little couch upstairs with my awesome wife. She's saving video clips, and I was just reading some tax forums and doing a little training. I did have a tax client just before lunch, but that was really easy and didn't take up too much of my precious... precious time.

The tax-filing deadline is three weeks away. So far I've exceeded my goals for the tax office for the year, and I still have at least several more clients to go before mid-May. I've had a really good tax season considering how little it seems I've actually been at the tax office. Next year I'll have a big decision to make regarding hours of operation there. Do I have regular hours or an I just "by appointment only" as I have been since March 18 of last year. I won't make that decision until early 2022. Part of that decision will also hinge upon how the bar-restaurant is doing at that time and how much that place needs my presence. Hopefully I'll only need to put 15-20 hours a week in at the bar, but that remains to be seen...

I know a lot of work is coming in the weeks and possibly in the months ahead so it is nice to have a break from it all today. Starting next month I'll have an apartment at Allen Rd to remodel, and we have some big things left to do at the bar. Tomorrow I work at the bar for several hours and then I think I'll fire up the mower for the first time and spot-mow at Allen Rd. Spring is here a tad early, and that suits me just fine.

I got a good night of sleep last night. This is the first Monday in several weeks where I haven't felt totally beat. I actually had the energy to use my booglet gym and to play rball yesterday PM, and I did my morning yoga today. I didn't exercise much last week because I was beat for half the week and busy for most of the rest. What a bunch of crap! I did work late at the bar both Friday and Saturday nights as usual, but things didn't get crazy there. It was full-to-apacity busy, but we didn't need cops and there were no fights. Oh Jesus, hell ya!

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Friday 4-23-21: Time to book my Covid-shot... I guess.
The vaccine for the 'ronavirus has been around for a few months, and just recently it has become available to all people. At first only old people and a select slice of the populace could go get the vaccine, but now everyone can go do it. Kat had her first dose yesterday of the Pfzier one. There are actually three different brands of vaccine out there, but the Johnson & Johnson one got pulled from the market last week due to some people having blood clots and dying. OMG what a bunch of crap!

The covid vaccine is a two-shot process for the Pfizer and Moderna ones. You get a first shot, you wait about three weeks, and then you get a second shot. Are the shots effective? I really don't know, but experts say they are. They say once you've had the shot if you get the 'rona it is not likely to kill you or send you to the hospital. I've probably already had the 'rona, many of us have already had it and just never got officially diagnosed, but I'll never know unless I get some antibody test in the future.

I don't really want to get the shot because the thing was totally rushed to the market and there is not enough time to identify potential bad side-effects. However, I am going to get the shot because I love my wife and I'll do it for her. Plus I do deal with the public a lot so it will be a good thing for the restaurant and the tax business. If there are bad side effects and we all die then oh well I've had a good life see ya later suckas. Do I really want to be among the living anyway if everyone in my life also got the shot and ends up dead? Mom and Dad, Jason and Holly, and most of my other good friends and family either have already gotten their first shot or are planning to do it. Not everyone whom I know is getting the shot, but most are.

I'm actually gonna try to sign up for my shots through the VA. I need to start getting hooked into the VA since I'm a veteran, I have my DD-214 "honorable", and I've been told they should be able to take me in at some point. I don't even mind paying a monthly fee just to be in the system. Right now having no health insurance at all = what a bunch of crap! Especially when I have a habit every year of doing roofing and other ladder-required projects (siding, windows, etc.) If I fall off and get maimed I'm totally pwned with no health insurance.

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Tuesday 4-20-21: Hot water and air conditioning.
I watched some Gold Rush on the TV before I came onto this bootleg site that no one will ever read. There are way too many versions of Gold Rush on the Discovery Channel so I don't watch them all. About a decade ago there was just the original show with the less-than-skilled Hoffman crew. The first ever season for them was a total shit-show, but along the way the producers of the show found more entertaining characters and created a formula that works. Now I watch the Whitewater Gold Rush, the original one (thankfully without the Hoffmans), and the Freddy Dodge Mine Rescue one.

I actually hardly ever watch TV shows anymore because I always work. What a bunch of crap! These Gold Rush shows have been on the DVR for weeks, months. The Mine Rescue one is actually a Discovery+ show, but every now and then one will appear on the regular cable TV version of Discovery. That is the new gimmick from entertainment providers these days. Sign up for their network for a low monthly fee and get more awesome content. For $5 a month if I did Discovery+ I guess I could watch more shows on my computer or maybe even on the TV if I was smart enough to put it onto the TV, which obviously I am not.

We do have Netflix and the WWE Network. Actaually the WWE Network just switched over to NBC's Peacock thing so for $5 a month I guess we can watch a lot of wrestling as well as NBC shows. However, I don't know how to use Netflix or Peabrain networks without my awesome wife, and I don't even usually like to watch TV without her anyway. Lately we really don't watch much TV at all.

Our 6-year anniversary was yesterday, and we were both exhausted from working 15-16 hours on Sunday. We had most of the day off minus a few simple errands, but we were beat. I was supposed to get my awesome wife a gift and a card on my day off Sunday, but that all went to shit on a stick so that was a bunch of crap. I'm not posting details on this bootleg site, but late Saturday night things went amiss at the restaurant and we hardly got any sleep that night. So on our anniversary day she had a gift and a beautiful card for me and all I had was an apology for not getting her shit. What a bunch of crap! I could have done it Sunday, but I didn't want to stay gone from work long enough to shop since the place really needed both her and I there as much as possible all day.

Today I had to work in the tax office for a lot of the day because new clients just keep reaching out to me despite the fact I'm only by appointment now and I don't even advertise. I've exceeded my goals for this season there so that is awesome, and I still have damn near a month to go with several more clients (at least) to take care of. The tax business really cuts into the precious... precious time that I need to finish things at the restaurant. Oh well, I'll do the best I can and everything else will have to fall into place. Weekends at that bar are tough, but they need to be tough if we want the place to have a positive cash flow so we can pay our loans and invest in new equipment like a new water heater, air conditioning, and that back event room.

I found the water heater I think we should buy, but I'll do that tomorrow before a Lowe's special financing sale ends. Will I even have time to do that? Maybe? Hopefully! We were going to pull the trigger on the new water heater 3 weeks ago, but we decided to wait for financial reasons.

We really need to start getting quotes for air conditioning in the restaurant soon, too. Last weekend it got a little toasty in there, 78 degrees or so, and that's only with the outside temp being in the 60s for a high with 40s for a low at night. Once we hit summer that place will be an oven without A/C and then we won't have any customers. We need commercial-grade A/C that will work well. The old place only had a little home-use A/C in one window at Jester's and nothing at all in City Side. What a bunch of crap! It never got horribly hot in there because there were fewer customers. The event room does have a little bit of A/C, but that is on its last legs and might not even work anymore.

Tomorrow I open the bar, I get some work done there, and then I have tax clients again for a few hours. After that I plan to play racquetball, but I can only do that if things perfectly fall into place for me. I was gonna play rball Sunday, but I had to work. What a bunch of crap! Oh well, at least Gavin and I did play last Thursday evening. He beat me because I lose 90% of the time, but I make Gavin and/or Mike work for those wins. I have more range on the court than either of them do, but I lack their talent and accuracy > range. I'd like to play rball more often, but there are a lot of things I'd like to do more often that don't happen anymore. What a bunch of crap!

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Thursday 4-15-21: The not-ending of tax season... again.
I look forward to having a tax season that actually fucking ends on April 15th. When was the last time I had one of those? Many years ago. What a bunch of crap! This year the season would have ended today, April 15th, but the neverending pandemic once again pushed the deadline back. New deadline is May 17. The neverending pandemic makes me want a meme from The Neverending Story...

^AHAHAHAHAHAHA! I should change that to "Could have prevented Covid-19 but rides a dragon instead." AHAHAHAHA.

This gods damned pandemic is getting ridiculous. I know the 'rona has killed a lot of people, but frigging lightning and the flu kill lots of people every year. The mortality rate from Covid in most people is well under 1% yet the government treat it like it's a society-ending killer virus. I still wear my mask and I'll get the friggin' vaccine (for my wife) but this is some bullsssssssshhhhhhheeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttttttttttttt. It's time for this thing to end so we can get back to normal. Shit or get off the pot!

Even if the 'rona ended tomorrow we don't have enough tables and seats at our new bar to fill the room anyway. Max capaticy is something like 260 so we're never gonna touch that. Maybe if we pulled all the tables out and had standing-room only, but what are the odds we ever do that? Right now it seems like 80-85 people makes for a good crowd in the place. I suppose we could get it up to 100 or a little more once restrictions continue to ease. We'll build more tables this spring.

So in a non-pandemic world my tax season would have ended today. What would my life be like if that virus never left the lab in Wuhan, China in 2019? It became a pandemic in early 2020, but I'd bet dollars for donuts it was present in the public at some point in 2019. Hell we had a fun vacation to Arizona towards the end of 2019 and once we got home I had a mystery and serious sickness that lasted quite a while. Was it the 'rona before it officially became a pandemic? I guess I'll never know, but it was a bunch of crap!

In some kind of weird hypothetical non-pandemic world I'd say my tax business would have had several more clients because I actually would have been there more with the OPEN sign on. More walk-ins. However, maybe not because I picked up several new clients as a result of the nonprofits not doing free tax returns for old people this season. A lot of those free ones are cheap and easy, not a lot of money, but they helped me establish goodwill in the community and get some referrals.

I've already had people kicking tires on my availability for carpentry jobs. OMG! Today I was at the restaurant doing a repair just after we opened, a minor little job securing the lid to the ice-bin. An elderly couple saw me and asked if I was the maintenance man. I replied the truth, "I'm everything I work here!" Next thing you know the guy starts asking if I could build them a carport for their house, a 10x20 with a roof 3 or 4/12 pitch 4x4 posts. I politely told him NO, but I wrote down his info in case I can find someone who wants to do it. I know some contractors who use me for tax prep so I reached out to one today, one whom I thought would be good, but the good ones are booked out all year and so was he. I'm just about booked out all year and I'm not even good!

I do have time to take on some jobs here and there, but I'll be picky about what I do. I'll gladly help my good friends like Phil, Gavin, and Walter. Everyone else can get on a list and can most likely get told a hard NO. I don't mean to be rude, but at some point if I actually can put some money in the bank I want to have time to do our own house roof and this building front deck and siding:

^From 2018 when I did the new RR tie wall. The porch in that photo is a bootleg piece of shit now and needs to be replaced. I did that porch about 15 years ago, and I didn't do the best job with it so the thing is sagging hard and rotting in places. What a bunch of crap! Wow, 15 years have gone by already since I did that. Maybe even 16 years!

Alright turds, all two of you who read this bootleg site, I'm gonna go down to the bar and have a couple drinks and help my awesome wife close the place down. Goonies never say die!

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Tuesday 4-13-21: It takes two damn days to recover.
I think I'm almost old now? 45 years old doesn't seem ancient, but there is a reason why most professional atheletes are retired by this age or sooner. You can't beat time. When I exercise lately it takes me longer to recover, and I am not in good cardio shape at all. What a bunch of crap! I'm starting to feel my age gods damn it. I was in the best shape of my life last year after all the carpentry and out door work, but I've definitely lost a step since then. Probably the screwed-up sleep schedule and all the stress in my life affects me quite a bit physically, too.

I've decided I can give the restaurant 15-20 hours a week on average once we get the place a little more dialed in and once we identify who on the staff can take on some MOD (Manager on duty) roles. I don't give a shit about running the front of the house, not even a little bit. However, I can help with the books and the carpentry still. Maybe manage a busy night once a week to help the team. Other than that my ass needs to be out of there and doing things I actually like to do or else I'm gonna go insane. Kat wrote herself a work schedule that has her working 52 hours a week there. OMG! I love her passion, but I question how long she can actually do that before she goes insane. Both her and I are already half-crazy right now hehehe.

Hey cool the Red Sox won again today in an afternoon game in Minnesota, their 7th consecutive win after starting the season 0-3. Oh Jesus hell ya! I watched some of the Sox-Orioles game Sunday later afternoon before I fell asleep on the couch for a half hour. I was done. Fin. Friday and Saturday nights at that bar beat the shit out of me. What a bunch of crap! I got jack shit for sleep and I was not able to nap so that was epic failer. I slept okay Sunday night, but on Monday morning I was lethargic and did shitty at yoga and then in my bootleg gym. I had to quit in my gym after only 15 minutes. Every Monday since we opened that bar has been rough for me. I still am not caught up on rest and I'm getting old. Gods damn it! It does take me two days to recover...

I'm going down to the bar shortly to check out the debut night of "open mic" and to have a couple drinks. I had some coffee brandy and milk already, but I don't want to get wrecked tonight because I just don't. Maybe later this week? Thursday? All depends. Friday nights used to be the drinking night, but not anymore since I am always working at the bar. I don't mind working Friday nights, but eventually and sooner rather than later if I work Friday I want Saturday night off.

Mom and Dad came up Sunday. I did their taxes first and then we had lunch at the restaurant. Mom really liked her food and hilariously said she was going to get on Facebook to give us a great review. She recently signed up for the Failbook so she could follow our restaurant. Then she said "Oh wait, I don't know how to post a review." HAHAHAHA. It's hilarious because it's 100% true. Kat had to use her cellphone to show Mom the button to use to POST. I laugh about it, but I don't know how to use Failbook either because F that I don't even care... whether or not I care.

Sadly regarding a lot of things in my life lately I feel like Morla the ancient one from The Neverending Story. I just don't care. Kat yells at me and I don't care. Today she wanted to read some recent emails between Doug and I and I didn't care. However, I realized there might be some private shit in there so I tried to delete a couple of them first. I did it right in front of her, and of course she noticed immediately and got seriously pissed off at me. What a bunch of crap!

So that begs the question of who is wrong in that situation, her or me? I guess I should have just told her NO, but then she would think I have some master plan cooked up behind her back. Definitely my trying to delete shit right in front of her was unwise, but she shouldn't have wanted to read that in the first place. I didn't write anything bad about my wife to Doug, but some of the stuff he wrote to me about his life is personal to him and I have no right to share it. Thankfully she didn't read that far to get into his personal business. I told her to stop reading because it would just piss her off.

My life right now = shit-show. What a bunch of crap!

Alright turds, all two of you who read this bootleg site of mine, I'm gonna get ready to put the dogs out and then go to the bar for a while. The place closes at 2300 tonight and Neil is the closing bartender so I don't have to stay and help Kat lock everything up. I'll just walk my ass on home when I've decided I don't want to be there anymore. It might be a short trip down and back if my wife gives me a hard time down there...

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Saturday 4-10-21: 100, 70, 3.
I had my 100th paid tax client yesterday afternoon. Oh Jesus, hell ya! Last year my goal was 100, but I only made it to 95 because of the gods damned coronavirus pandemic that will not end. The 'rona has been a huge part of our lives for close to 13 months, and it will be quite a while more before it ends. Who knows, maybe it will never truly end?

^Covid-19, the 'rona, a turd in the punch-bowl of our lives. What a bunch of crap!

I'm glad I got my 100th customer already, but part of me doesn't even want the business due to the friggin' restaurant taking up so much of my precious... precious time. Eventually I should have a few hunrded tax clients and focus on that part of my life more than the other parts. That will mean I haul on the restaurant, but it will be a long time before I get to that point. Who knows, I might not ever get to that point. 300 tax clients a year would really be great, and I did that and then some when I worked at Jackson Hewitt a few years ago.

I'll definitely have over 100 paid customers this season because the deadline is May 17 and some of my regulars haven't even come in yet. Plus I have a few more in the queue who will definitely finish with me. Mom and Dad are coming tomorrow for their taxes, and we'll have lunch at the restaurant after that. I'll be exhausted because I haven't gotten good sleep in a couple days, but oh well it happens. I just tried to take a nap, but I only slept a few minutes. What a bunch of crap! I am worn out, but I wasn't ready to sleep.

I was planning to have a leisurely afternoon and enjoy a sunny 70-degree day, but I ended up making three trips up and down Wilson Street late morning and early afternoon. The first trip was to the bank and to WalMart with my awesome wife. While we were at WalMart Debbie called Kat all worried because they smelled what they thought was gas in their house (the house I sold to them last year.) They didn't know what to do, they called the gas company, and by the time we arrived to help them they were all bailed out of the house with their pets. The gas company did send a person over to investigate, but before he even set foot in the house I beat him to it and figured out what was wrong pretty fast.

Thankfully there was no gas leak. Unfortunately their 18-year old hot water heater was finally toast. Getting 18 years out of a water heater = winning. When I sold them the house last fall I told them to plan to get a new water heater asap because the one they had was ancient and way past it's prime. The water heater had sprung small leaks in a couple places, electrical started to burn, and that was the smell. Burning wires = thankfully no fire. I disconnected it all, found them a new one at Lowe's, and there went two more trips up and down Wilson Street for a total of three trips. Bye bye afternoon.

Installing the new water heater for them was not too hard, and I was happy to help out the family, but I wish I didn't have so much else to do. Too bad the thing didn't die AFTER tax season! Oh well, at least it was a beautiful day and at least I was able to get them back up and running. Plus Dillon helped so I like to think maybe he learned a thing or two along the way. Maybe? Hopefully! The new water heater, 50 gallon, and a couple sharkbite fittings only cost $439 so bonus for them.

I'm really looking forward to about 0200 tonight when the bar is closed and we are finishing up and getting ready to come home. Weekend nights down there are incredibly hard, but that's when we make money. Last night was very busy as expected, but at least no one tried to fight me, no cops got called, and we had an overall pretty good group of customers. We're getting a lot of regulars who love to come for karaoke so that is awesome. Kat puts on a damn good karaoke show.

The weather yesterday afternoon was also fantastic, mid to upper 60s, and before my 100th tax client I was over at Allen Rd doing some yard cleanup and raking leaves. It was nice to be outside, and I enjoyed doing that much more than I enjoyed working at the bar. I don't hate working at the bar as much as I did a couple weeks ago, but it still sucks and I'd rather not do it. Hopefully later this year we can hire/promote people so I can spend less time at that place.

I guess I should go eat some food and go back to work. Kat went in an hour ago so I could get cleaned up and try to rest. It's only 1744 so as long as I'm there by around 1900 I think things will be well in hand. Maybe? Hopefully!

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Thursday 4-08-21: Do I have the night off?
I think I have the night off from working at the bar. Maybe? Hopefully! Especially since my loser-ass is going to make a third drink shortly, and it is still only 1830. Still broad daylight and the sun is actually low on the horizon and a bit annoying coming through the kitchen window right now and glaring off my bootleg computer screen. What a bunch of crap!

Kat is running things down at the bar tonight, and as long as her karaoke-helper (Heather) shows up as planned then I think I can just drink tonight. I've already put in 18.8 hours down at the bar this week, and my goal is 20-ish sa week o I'm almost there. I'll be working there both tomorrow and Saturday nights so that will put me in the mid 30s for hours. We all got tested Easter Sunday for the 'rona virus, and we all came back negative so we were able to repoen the place Monday morning. All of us did the drive-through test at Walgreens, and Phil told me today those tests are wrong more than they are right for people not exhibiting symptoms. What a bunch of crap! Who knows maybe I did have the 'rona, but I don't think I did because I've been feeling great these past two days. Good energy in the gym, a good jog yesterday, and no aches and pains.

The weather today was fantastic so I had time to get my arse up on our roof to clean out the gutters and to measure for new shingles. Unfortunately we've had a leak when we get huge rainstorms. One of the leaks fried our newer microwave oven late last year. What a bunch of crap!

^Water got into the microwave and killed it. I knew it was going to happen, but I was NOT replacing our roof last fall when we had that restaurant to do.

I just did that brand new ceiling less than a year ago, too. Epic failer. The roof is only about 11.2 square because the house isn't huge so that is a bonus. The new addition roof is just fine; the main roof is needing the replacement. Basic 3-tab will be the way I go, and I think I can get it all done myself for under $2000 in materials and dump fees. Maybe? Hopefully! I haven't even priced roof shingles since early last fall when Neil and I did Jason's showroom roof. I was at Lowe's today and I noticed a basic 2x4 is $6.88. OMG WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! Hopefully shingles aren't too expensive or else my ass will have to staple down a giant blue tarp...

I was able to watch some of the afternoon Red Sox vs. Orioles game today, and that game was just ending before I came to update this bootleg site that no one will ever read. I joined the game in the 7th inning, and the Sox won 7-3. It was their 4th consecutive win after starting the season 0-3. There are still not many fans in the stadium due to the pandemic, but things are slowly getting back to normal. We all wear masks when out and about still. I have a MADKAT mask that I wear at the restaurant, and when I do taxes I wear a camo mask that Mom and Dad gave me as a Christmas gift. I like the camo mask because it is comfortable. I don't love wearing the masks and will be glad when we don't have to wear them anymore.

The DOW and S&P 500 closed at record highs again today, and I wonder why the stock markets are doing so well. All the government has done in the past year is mortgage our collective futures so eventually that bill has to come due. All I wanna know is why? Why are the markets doing so well in this pandemic? Especially with a fuckin' terrible president who probably barely even knows he is president anymore thanks to his old ass most likely getting dementia. I shouldn't even joke about that, but it does seem like he has one foot in the grave and one foot on a banana peel. He was talking about gun control today, and I was hoping he would just keel over because he totally sucks.

^To president Joe Biden. YOU SUCK.

Trump was a scumbag, puke pile of civilian shit but he didn't fuck around when it came to economic policy and I wish he was still in office. He was terrible, but he was by far the lesser of the evils. This country is going to be pwned so I think I should cash in my IRA and just eat the 10% early cash-in penalty on next year's taxes. I don't even have that much in the account anyway. Enough to pay a few bills and to slowly work towards a debt-free life that my ass has wanted for about a decade but that I can never achieve.

In a normal non-pandemic world tax season would be over in a week, next Thursday. However, now the season doesn't end until May 17th. The good thing about that is a day like today. I was in the tax office for about 3 total hours, I finished up some returns and had a drop-off, and I was out of there by 1500 so I had time to use my gym and get on our roof. In a different world I would have been open until 1700 so being "by appointment only" has its perks. Both yesterday and the day before I was out of there early enough to go for a jog and still be leisurely about the rest of my day. I haven't felt like I have a tight deadline to meet in a while now, and that is a great feeling.

Alright turds, all two of you who read this pathetic excuse for a website, my ass is going to make drink #3 and play some SNES Classic before I go down to the bar to either keep drinking or to work. I hope I don't have to work because I will be half in the bag. What a bunch of crap!

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Saturday 4-03-21: Do I have the 'rona? I'm a little envious of this life.
I took a piccture of Tiger Lily earlier, and I gotta admit this lifestyle does have some allure:

Lounging around without a care in the world. Obviously that is not even close to a realistic expectation in my world, but it is always nicce to dream a little. Truthfully if I had that little going on every day I'd probably start to go stir-crazy and just go find stuff to occupy my precious... precious time.

Today did NOT go down as planned, and that is both good and bad. Definitely more bad than good, though. I thought I'd be working tonight, but here I am drinking a rum and a coke after I had 4 coffee brandys and milk already since supper. I was going to work as the "cooler/manager" again tonight at the bar, but we are shut down until Monday at the earliest thanks to Covid-19. Gods damn 'ronavirus! One of our servers tested positive, and she lives with two other servers who worked til close last night with Kat and I along with a bunch of other staff. We found out only a few hours ago so we had to make a mad-scramble to close the place down and send everyone home. We all get tested tomorrow to see if we have the (not-so) deadly virus. What a bunch of crap!

I don't think I have rona. I feel pretty good, good enough anyway, and earlier this PM I took a nap, did DDP Yoga, and lifted weights in my bootleg gym. In hindsight I would not have taken a nap because now I can't sleep. Oh well that just gives me more time to write on this bootleg site that no one will ever read, and as an added bonus my half-drunk ass is about to go play SUPER NINTENDO. Oh Jesus, hell ya! I'm actually looking forward to it quite a bit, and at my current consumption pace I'll still be in bed by midnight or earlier. Bedtime with an open bar would have been 0300 or so and I would not have had any booze.

If not for 'rona I'd be in the middle of another hectic weekend work shift. By now we'd have some drunk people, and we'd probably have a waiting list of people wanting to come do karaoke and hang out at the new MadKat Bar. Last night was a shit-show, but we handled it well enough. I had people puking, I had to call the cops, a drunk beotch ripped a paper-towel holder off the wall in the chick bathroom, etc. Fuck I don't know why I opened a bar? Where's my psychologist gods damn it?

Having to close the bar on a Saturday night = huge financial hit. What a bunch of crap! Oh well we will just have to make up for it in other areas. I'm actually happier to be home getting drunk right now than I would be if I were working at the bar. Sometimes I like the place, but more often than not it is a pain in the arse and I miss a more simple life. Not so simple that I get to be like Tiger Lily in the photo above, though.

I'm gonna get off this bootleg site and go play Nintendo now before I am too drunk to succeed. Even when I am sober I fail at Nintendo these days. What a bunch of crap! I really love SNES Metroid. It is a fantastic game and if you disagree with me then I hate you. I probably hate you anyway, but I'll hate you a litte more...

Okay my drunk dumb ass is back and I didn't win SNES Metroid yet. However, playing the game was glorious and much-needed. I made it past the ghost-ship level, but I should go back to that level soon to get rewards that the game designers hid in walls and shit. I think you can get up to 255 missles, but I suck and have never gotten even close to that many. What a bunch of crap! Guy looks now to see how many you can get if you are great at video games...

230 Missiles, 50 Super Missiles, 50 Power Bombs, 14 Energy Tanks, 4 Reserve Tanks, and one each of Grappling Beam, X-Ray Scope, Charge, Ice Beam, Wave Beam, Spazer, Plasma Beam, Varia Suit, Gravity Suit, Morphing Ball, Bombs, Spring Ball, Screw Attack, Hi-Jump Boots, Speed Booster, and Space Jump.

Okay thank you Google. I have around 70 missles. What a bunch of crap! I don't have near maximum for the other things, too. However, I do have two reserve tanks. However, I just died so I quit and came back here to update this terrible website. I can still write pretty coherent sentences, but I have to rewind and fix them a lot. A LOT.

It got pretty late pretty fast thank you TIME WARP. I kinda get why some people just drink all the time because it does make life temporarily easier. I don't wanna be the town drunk, F that, but maybe one day I will. Earlier today I watched part of Rocky on HBO, and that movie is fucking awesome. If you disagree with me then I hate you. I probably hate you anyway, but I'll hate you a little more. I watched the part where Rocky went on his first date with Adrian, and I also saw it through the part where he hired Mickey as his trainer. Basically everything about that movie is perfect.

^Fucking awesome scene and if you disagree with me then you can gggggggggggggggeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttttttttttttttt oooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuutttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!

Tonight after the bar closed for COVID Kat and I finished watching Kong vs. Godzilla. So I watched one great movie today and one piece of crap movie, and it should be obvous by now which movie was a piece of shit. Rocky is a masterpiece, and Kong Vs Godzilla is a toilet. It is a bunch of crap! The monsters fought each other and then there was a mechanical monster and I hated the movie, but I was drinking so I tolerated it. Lots of CGI, lots of monster-roars, lots of carnage. They sank an aircraft carrier, and that shit pisses me off. DO NOT SINK AIRCRAFT CARRIERS IN MOVIES GODS DAMN IT 5000 + SAILORS ARE ON ONE DEPLOYED CARRIER AND THAT IS NOT SOMETHING TO JUST DO IN A MOVIE. WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! As a former sailor stationed on a carrier that shit really gets to me.

I fucking hate the new Kong and Godzilla monster movies with one exception. Kong: Skull Island was pretty good. Unfortuately the other ones can eat the peanuts out of my sssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!

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Friday 4-02-21: Another buy work night coming?
The restaurant/bar has only been officially open for 16 days, but in that span of time we have developed some expectations and a bit of a routine. Sunday through Wednesday = not busy. Thursday = growing in sales and customers exponentially. Friday and Saturdays, especially the nights = crazy-busy. Line out the door, full capacity, waiting list. Will this weekend be just as busy? Maybe? Hopefully! Should I really hope for crazy busy, though? It is incredible stressful when the place is nuts, and last week I just about got into a brawl with a biker gang. What a bunch of crap!

^Tonight I will try to emulate Dalton from Road House when I am the floor manager and the "cooler." Any drunk asshole who needs to ggggggggggggggggggeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttttttttttttttttttt oooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuttttttttttttttttttt will be send packing by me, myself, and I. I don't want to be the cooler, but we are not hiring a bouncer or a doorman yet so that role falls to me.

Kat and I will be heading down to the bar in about 40 minutes to do a couple job interviews and then to run the place through close after 0100. If we can do the revenue numbers we did last weekend I'll be very pleased. Yesterday we exceeded what I thought we would do by a lot. Oh Jesus, hell ya! We had good numbers despite the fact that the Red Sox season opener was delayed due to rain at Fenway. The Sox are actually playing right now, game probably half-over, so I should check the score. I took a little nap after I lost to Deno at racquetball so I haven't had a chance to check in on the game.

No score in the top of the 5th, Sox vs. the Baltimore Orioles. I don't give nearly as much of a crap about baseball as I did in years past. Last year epecially I just never really got into it much at all. However, the Covid-19 pandemic fucked everything up and there was only a 60 or so game season. Sox sucked. Bad. Last place bad. What a bunch of crap! The sooner the pandemic can end the better, but it will be quite a while more. Right now about 1/3 of Maine's populace has had a first-dose vaccine. 1/5 or so is fully vaccinated. Kat gets the first of her two doses Monday, and I have yet to schedule mine because I don't even care... whether or not I care.

I know I have to get the 'rona vaccine eventually for two reasons. First, I love my wife and will do it for her. Second, I think it will be needed next year when I do taxes. I also suspect it will somehow be a requirement for travel in the future. Speaking of travel, my passport expires this month so I should figure out how to get a new one. Ten years ago Gavin and I were planning a trip to Europe, I was finishing up my first season as a tax preparer, and I was just starting to date Kelly. I lived over at Allen Rd with Doug and Tommy, and everything in my world was different. Where will I be ten years from now? At the rate things are going it might be a lengthy stay in the mental asylum. What a bunch of crap!

I don't really want to go to work tonight, but I have to. It is the right thing to do. Plus I am making an hourly rate and that precious... precious money will come in handy come mid-May when our income tax bills are due. The tax filing deadline was pushed back a month to May 17th so that made for a very slow week at the tax office. It was actually a good thing for me because I could work on the event room at the bar and not feel overwhelmed.

This month I really want to finish most or all of the event-room renovations so we can start making some precious... precious money off that space. However, the ceiling still needs a lot of work and the bathrooms need a good overhaul. The walls need paint, we need better lighting, and the floor is totally ghetto. We do have several parties interested in the 2500-square foot room already so getting it finished would be great. Whether we can pull it off or not all depends on the bar sales over the first part of the month.

Next month I'll have tax season ending and I'll have an apartment in need of some overhauls at Allen Rd. One of my two really long-term tenants is retiring and moving out, and her apartment will need fresh paint, flooring, and no doubt several other renovations. She has taken very good care of the place in the 20+ years that she has lived there, but everything is old now and needs improvements. Doug is also planning to move back next month so maybe I can pay his ass to help paint it and get it ready. I dunno yet when he will be back, but early to mid-May seems likely.

I think this spring will fly by, but hopefully by summer I can get caught up and have more precious... precious time to do other things. I definitely do NOT want to be crazy-busy again like I was last year. I want some more time in the fall to go hunting and to get the tax office ready for a big push for new clients in early 2022. Hopefully by then the bar is doing great and I can be a lot more hands-off. Maybe have a general manager hired? We shall see...