9-04 10-04 11-04 12-04 1-05 2-05 3-05 4-05 5-05 6-05 7-05 8-05 9-05 10-05 11-05 12-05 1-06 2-06 3-06
4-06 5-06 6-06 7-06 8-06 9-06 10-06 11-06 12-06 1-07 2/07 3-07 4-07 5-07 6-07 7-07 8-07 9-07 10-07 11-07 12-07 1-08 2-08 3-08 4-08 5-08 6-08 7-08 8-08 9-08 10-08 11-08 12-08 1-09 2-09 3-09 4-09 5-09 6-09 7-09 8-09 9-09 10-09 11-09 12-09 1-10 2-10 3-10 4-10 5-10 6-10 7-10 8-10 9-10 10-10 11-10 12-10 1-11 2-11 3-11 4-11 5-11 6-11 7-11 8-11 9-11 10-11 11-11 12-11 1-12 2-12 3-12 4-12 5-12 6-12 7-12 8-12 9-12 10-12 11-12 12-12 1-13 2-13 3-13 4-13 5-13 6-13 7-13 8-13 9-13 10-13 11-13 12-13 1-14 2-14 3-14 4-14 5-14 6-14 7-14 8-14 9-14 10-14 11-14 12-14 1-15 2-15 3-15 4-15 5-15 6-15 7-15 8-15 9-15 10-15 11-15 12-15 1-16 2-16 3-16 4-16 5-16 6-16 7-16 8-16 9-16 10-16 11-16 12-16 1-17 2-17 3-17 4-17 5-17 6-17 7-17 8-17 9-17 10-17 11-17 12-17 1-18 2-18 3-18 4-18 5-18 6-18 7-18 8-18 9-18 10-18 11-18 12-18 1-19



"Holly had her ultrasound and it all looked good but there was one problem. The baby looks like Sloth from The Goonies." -Jason referring to his soon-to-be second child.

Thursday, 2-28-19: Final update of the month, and four new photos of our property.
This has been a pretty good month even though it is in the middle of winter and winter is a toilet. I got the most exercise that I have ever gotten in any February, ever. It is a guarantee that if I were still employed at JH that would NOT have happened. I really haven't worked too much this week, but I guess as usual I work more than I think I work doing a little of everything. Tonight I had to bring duct tape and velcro to one of my bootleg properties to rig up an extremely bootleg fridge door solution. The friggin' thing won't stay shut, probably because it needs a new seal, but I can't fix that. I called my appliance repair company, but they can't come until Monday. What a bunch of crap!

This month only has 3.5 hours left and then it is March. My awesome wife is hosting the karaoke at the Eagles, and after I helped her set up I lost to Deno at racquetball. That's two consecutive days of playing, and 7 straight losses in those two days. What a bunch of crap! Oh well both days were great exercise and I still put up a good fight in my defeats. Mostly. Actually I take that back I did win one game against Gav last night so I am 1-6 this week, not 0-7. I just get so used to losing...

This morning we went over to our new building to put the finishing touches on the DJ area. Kat's space is now 100% done. She hung up photos while I polyurethaned the center post. I took some pitcures for all two of you to see:

^We brought Groot. Most of the time she just chewed on a bone that we have there for her.

^The waiting room area not really shown in this photo is not 100% set up yet because Jason is coming tomorrow and will need to work in that area getting our three exterior cameras going.

^I have most of my tax office the way that I want it now. Hopefully I get enough customers to justify my having my own little business there!

My fourth and final photo of the day is the one that brings me the most pride because it was a lot of work getting to this point:

^OUR COO OH JESUS HELL YA NOW WE CAN OFFICIALLY DO BUSINESS THERE! All I wanna know is why? Why did I black out the address and leave the tax map and lot on there? I might as well have left the address of 426 because anyone can just look it up anyway with that lot number. That permit is temporary, but I only need to do a few things to get a more permanent one. A little bit of sheetrock and siding, piece of cake. Maybe? Hopefully!

Tomorrow will be a busy day for us. We plan to go to WalMart first thing to buy stuff for our welcome party tomorrow PM, and then I have to put a wiggle on it to get my ass over to the building to get it open for Jason and his helper. Our exterior signs were supposed to go up today, but that will now also be tomorrow because today people were out sick. What a bunch of crap! Oh well no big deal I don't want to open yet anyway. Hopefully next week I can turn on the OPEN sign a little and see what happens. The signs and cameras are two of the big final things that we have left in order to comfortably open.

I think our welcome party tomorrow will be a lot of fun. We expect 15-20 people, and it will be an open-house style event from 1700-1930. Some may stay the whole time and some may stay for 5 minutes. We are going to buy pizza, have a veggie platter, and have lots of booze there (and soda/water for non-drinkers.) I need to ensure that I don't get too trashed at our welcome party because that is just the appetizer before the main event. After that we'll end up at Jester's and party until 0200. I don't want to be all hungover for the weekend because hangovers are a bunch of crap.

I guess I'm done with this bootleg site that no one will ever read until next month. Time to go play some SNES Legend of Zelda before I head back over to the Eagles to help my awesome wife pack up for the night. If we can be bivouaced by midnight then bonus for us. (Her Thursday show is earlier, from 1900-2300.) Goonies never say die!

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wednesday, 2-27-19: One camera out of four done. A good inspection.
Jason worked like a boss on our camera system at our new building yesterday, and that was both a blessing and a curse. It was a busy day and a long day, but a very productive one. Before Jason even arrived I went with Kat to a business meeting at a big bar in Bangor, and she is now officially hired to be their Sunday night karaoke DJ starting in 1.5 weeks. Awesome for her! Even better the bar owners reached out to her because they heard through the grapevine that she is as cool as the other side of the pillow. Newsflash: she is actually way cooler than anything else, ever. If you disagree with me then you need to gggggggggggggeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttttt oooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!

I like to start my day earlier and quit earlier; on most days I am done working between 1600-1630 lately. Unfortunately, Jason wanted to work until almost 2000 last night. OMG 8PM IS DAMN CLOSE TO BEDTIME BRO! What was I gonna do, though? I damn sure wasn't gonna tell him to go home when he drove all the way up here and when he intends to not even charge me for his time. (F THAT HE IS GETTING A WAD OF CASH.) He really is hooking us up with used but in still good condition cameras and all the other goodies. He is really good at what he does, too. Today I was able to access the one interior camera from my laptop computer here at the house. I just logged in now and went back to before I played rball a couple hours ago:

^The three blank spots are exterior cameras not installed yet because there was not enough time yesterday and also because it was -20 with the wind. Extreme cold = what a bunch of crap! Jason plans to come back Friday with a helper to do those outside cams. It will be a "balmy" 32 degrees Friday.

The close-up of the one interior camera shows my loser-ass installing the fire extinguisher on the wall by the door not too long ago:

^I had a few minutes before Gavin was ready to play racquetball so that is why I am in shorts when it is so cold outside. He and I haven't played during the week at 1800 in seemingly forever, but my Sweet Pea is getting her hair done so I figured I might as well go do something fun and productive with my time while she is busy. Rball is always fun, even when I lose (and I lose 90% of the time what a bunch of crap!)

I was worried about a 1000 walkthrough with city code today for our COO, but that went great. No approval from the city = no customers. I guess I wasn't really worried, but part of me expected to get hammered on for something ridiculous that would cost me a lot of time and work (like needing more egress windows, etc.) Thankfully all I need is an emercency light, a railing for the back deck, a little bit of siding on the north side, and finishing a little sheetrock install in the unfinished office area. Piece of cake! As an added bonus I also got a temporary COO so that means we can do business there as early as tomorrow. Oh Jesus hell ya! I have until April 1st to get those four things done, but I know I can hammer it all out sooner than that. Maybe? Hopefully! I am a piece of shit if I can't do that since it is only about 12 hours worth of work all together. Hell I could have it all done by Friday PM if I really got to it.

We still don't plan to hang an OPEN sign up just yet because tomorrow we need to hang a load of photos, get exterior signs installed, and then on Friday Jason will be doing the cameras. Maybe next Monday I will see about opening to the public, but who knows we might get a snowstorm so if that happens then forget it. Actually maybe I won't open to the public until later next week. I dunno yet. That will be a day-by-day thing for me at this point. I am in no huge rush because I have plenty to keep me busy and enough money leftover from the bank renovation loans last year to hold the financial fort, so-to-speak, until spring. Maybe? Hopefully!

Oh, before I get off this bootleg site that about two people will ever read, my tax website is up and running now. Oh Jesus hell ya to that! My amazing wife built that website for me, and it is great to have it up and running. She did an AWESOME job on my site, and I really like it a lot. We have everything in place to be rolling over there with the exception of a credit-card-processing system. I think I have that locked down as well, though. For now whatever clients we do get will be friends and family so no worries there yet. I just want to keep moving forward slowly and surely so we can open soon, and we are almost there now. It is a great feeling.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, 2-26-19: I need an exit sign and security cameras.
I haven't done too much carpentry over at North Main since I finished the bathroom floor and trim last Thursday, but I have been over there doing a little of this and a little of that. On Friday I got the bathroom light and exhaust fan installed, and when I say I did it what I really mean is Ben and John did it. I could have done it, but my electricians were there finishing up the basement and a few other things anyway so I just had them take care of it. Bye bye $250 for that, and worth every penny. Then on Sunday morning Bruce and Kevin came to do the bathroom vanity and a few other things so bye bye another $300 for that, and worth every penny.

I've been over-budget for that building for a month or two. What a bunch of crap! Oh well, it happens. I had a $50k budget and am now closer to $52k for the remodel. Doesn't seem horrible since the remodel of the building itself is almost done now, but it is epic failer when I look at the garage and realize that will be a costly endeavor this year, too. My original $50k budget included the garage remodel as well as the main building remodel so my bad there.

Lately I haven't been stressed out at all about our newest property, but yesterday a couple things ended up onto my plate at about the same time, and important things at that. First one of the code guys called and wants a COO (Cerfitiface of Occupancy) inspect ASAP. Especially since we put signs in the front window that they noticed. COO is supposed to come before the signs. Derrrrrrr I knew that but I didn't make inviting the city to come over a priority. I never do because every time they come they find a way to piss in my Cheerios. It is their job, and I don't hold it against them because they treat me very well. I would dare say I have a good working relationship with them.

I know I'm not getting that precious... precious COO when they come tomorrow at 1000 because I need one of these:

^Does not have to be exactly that one, but our offices main door does need an illuminated emergency exit system. I totally forgot about that part since I'm not experienced in commercial space design. What a bunch of crap! Hopefully I can buy one today and get my electricians back over to there soon to tie it in. Also I hope I don't have to open up too much sheetrock to get it hard-wired. I think it can be done without too much hassle. Maybe? Hopefully! I'd love to have my sparkys come do it today, but Jason is coming and I think they'd be in his way so I'll wait on that.

Jason called me yesterday later in the afternoon, not long after my chat with code, and he plans to come up today to start our security cameras install. OMG SHORT NOTICE! I wish he could come later in the week, but we need those cameras and he is hooking us up so I'm just happy he can come at all. He plans to work some today and then come back Friday with a helper to finish. It is incredibly cold and very windy today so there is no chance he could do the three exterior cameras anyway. Today we will be busy midday because Kat and I have a very important 1100 meeting for a potential new weekly karaoke gig, and we have a lunch planned with friends. I also need to see my old tax boss from way back in the day, and I had hoped to play rball later. Seems most likely no rball today so maybe Deno and I can play tomorrow.

So all of the sudden I am busy, at least for several hours today. What a bunch of crap! I feel like I need to get a lot done today and tomorrow AM before the two code guys show up. Oh well not a big deal this little surge of things to do today is nothing compared to most of the fall when I had 10,000,000 things to do each and every day [slight exaggeration!]

Hopefully code doesn't drill me too hard tomorrow for their walkthrough. If I fail really hard then so much for opening to the public in the next few days. I do have a little more sheetrock to hang so I might get nailed for that. I also never sheetrocked the water-heater closet so I'm sure the code guys will have words with me over that as well. Hopefully whatever I do get dinged for from their walkthrough is easy to address because without that COO I really shouldn't be doing any business over there at all. Thankfully friends and family are all I need at this point; I'm not in a huge rush to open to the public because my website isn't done yet and I still am not set up to take credit card/debit card payments. One day at a time...

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thursday, 2-21-19: Second update of the day that no one will ever read.
My first bootleg blog update today was around 0630-0700, and now here I am nearly 13 hours later to write a little more before I head over to the Eagles Club. My awesome wife picked up a temporary karaoke-hosting gig there while their regular DJ/KJ hangs out in Florida. He isn't supposed to be back until the end of April so it looks like each Thursday for the next ten weeks she will be working from 1900-2300. Her first time hosting that event was last Thursday, and the place was very busy. Hopefully she likes being there and it leads to other opportunities. I like the fact that it ends at 2300 instead of 0100 like all her other weekly gigs have ended, and I also like the fact that the place is only about 2 miles from home.

After I helped my Sweet Pea set up at the Eagles I stopped in at WalMart to buy a few supplies (paper, markers, DONUTS, etc.) and then Lowe's for a few more supplies (toilet wax, siding blocks for security cameras, vent covers for ducts, etc.) Then it was back to the house to put the dogs out and over to North Main for an hour of cleaning and prep. Sparkies are supposed to be coming tomorrow so I need them to be able to access everything else that needs doing. I brought Groot with me and gave her a bone to chew on that I had bought at WalMart. She loved it and stayed right out of my way for the entire time. Oh Jesus hell ya!

Earlier today I brought all three dogs with me for an hour or so while I did some tax research and work. It was the first time that all three dogs have been over there this year, and it was their first time hanging out with me on the first floor. I did bring them often last fall as I finished the upstairs, but for them this was a whole new experience. I had a couple chew-toys for them there, but they were more interesting in sniffing around and exploring as much as I would allow. Groot watched me for a bit while I was at my tax desk:

I still have to hang up my precious... precious photos and other things. Every day I do a little more, but it is not yet 100% set up the way I intend. Oh well it's close enough and I don't have much for clients yet, just a few people whom I know, so no worries. I did get most of the bathroom done today, and when I opened the door all three dogs wanted to go in for a peek:

^Still needs a little trim paint and I have to connect the toilet. Hopefully Bruce can connect that sink faucet Sunday. He still has to run the Pex water lines and finish the PVC drain for that sink. I'm guessing he can get that done quickly as long as the weather cooperates and he can actually come (More snow predicted. What a bunch of crap!)

When I am at my tax desk this is my view forward:

^Mom saw the property back in December before I even cut the hole for that window, and she asked me why the hell I was installing interior windows. She thought I was a nincompoop for making that decision, but she can eat the peanuts out of my sssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttttttttttttt because it was definitely a good decision. When she sees our three interior windows next time she will admit that she was wrong to shit on our idea. Maybe? Hopefully! Her and Dad will likely come up in March to visit and to have me do their taxes and they can see the place then.

I really like having that window there so I can see out into the DJ area, and I can kinda see the entry door so I will know if someone is coming in. I also need to get one of those door-chime-thingies so I can ensure every person who enters is properly greeted. That post in the DJ area does impede my view of the door, but not 100%.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thursday, 2-21-19: Bye bye $430 for furnace repairs.
On Tuesday I had to dump $430 into a furnace at the rental property that I am most likely going to haul on this summer. I am so suck of that gods damned place. Might as well get rid of it and use the money to pay off most of this house. Free up some more of my precious... precious time, too.

It was really cold in that house first thing Tuesday morning. I called my heating guy, and thankfully he was on it like white on rice. Furnace tripped the breaker, but I didn't think it was a wiring or circuit issue because the furnace would start to run before it smelled like smoke and then shut off after about 15-30 seconds. While I waited for the furnace diagnosis I installed a new kitchen faucet for the tenants there, and that sucked becuase it was so cold that my fingers went numb. Their kitchen faucet worked, but not so well at all and it needed to go. I've had the new faucet for a few weeks but since their old one worked okay I didn't make it a priority to do the install. Faucets suck because there is hardly any working room in behind and underneath.

I got the bad news about the furnace when I saw this:

^DEAD. Bye bye over $100 for that part, but wait not so fast also bye bye another $150 or some shit for a new motor as well. And let's not forget the 2.5 hours of labor at around $75/hr. Circuit died because the motor was burning up. Or vic-versa. Either way it was a giant bunch of crap! Reason #34,876 why hauling on that entire property is the right thing for me to do. I think I'll give the tenants there a 3-month notice so their kiddo can finish the school year and so they can start looking for a new place to live. I really can't sell that house with them still in it because they are gross people who live in borderline squalor. What a bunch of crap! They are nice and keep rent paid so that's a plus.

Today I am going to *hopefully* finish the bathroom floor over at North Main. Yesterday I was able to spend several hours over there finishing the bathroom mud and paint. I even was able to start the floor before quitting time. Oh Jesus hell ya! I'd love to get that bathroom all done today so Bruce only has to come connect the sink faucet, but we'll see how it goes. I also need to clean this area later today or tomorrow morning before the electricians come:

They will need to do most of their work in that area so obviously it needs to be cleaner than what it is now. Next week I should be able to sheetrock the rest of that space and continue to mud/tape/sand there. Maybe? Hopefully!

Alright turds, all two of youz, I gotta go shovel snow and then do things. We only got 3" so bye bye another $160 for plowing. Sucks when we get these little dink storms that waste my precious... precious money on snow removal. Storms like these really drive home the point that I need to get my own plow truck ASAP. I am sick of paying thousands each winter for plowing. It is a bunch of crap!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, 2-19-19: The carpentry slowly winds down.
Most of the hard work is done over at North Main, and I only have the "other office" area left to finish. That other space is mostly sheetrocked with a first coat of mud and tape. Today I need to clean it up a bit and maybe do the last little bit of framing, but that all depends on how much work I end up doing in the bathroom. I only have a little bit of sanding and mudding left in the bathroom before I can paint and put it all together. I think by the end of the week I can have the barthroom 100% done and then schedule Bruce to come back to hook up the faucet.

^Needs a little more mud, paint, floor, etc.

I almost finished these shelves in the bathroom closet yesterday PM, but then I decided to play racquetball. I haven't done very much carpentry over there lately, only a little here and there, because we have spent most of our efforts furnishing the areas that are done. (DJ area, tax area, and waiting areas.) My tax office is not 100% set up exactly how I want, but it is getting damn close and I have everything I need to do taxes there. I need to figure out how to turn the ringer down on my office phone, but no one has called that yet except for us as a test to ensure the thing actually works.

I can't really officially open with no working bathroom for the general public, but I am in no huge rush because I am still learning my software and getting used to the entire setup over there. Hopefully next week Jason can come up and install our four security cameras, and I need to reach out to Davinci and have them install our building signs. The signs are already made and just need to go onto the building. Once the signs are up then I would say we are officially open. Maybe? Hopefully! I also have a sandwich-board to use during the day so hopefully a few stragglers wander in and decide to give us some of their precious... precious money for either tax prep or DJ services.

This morning I need to go over to one of my rental properties to change out a furnace filter, and I might install a new kitchen faucet for them. I've had the faucet there for a couple weeks, but I haven't made it a priority to install it because the one they have now still mostly works. The tenant over there might have to gggggggggggggggeeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttttttttttttt oooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuutttttttttttttttt later this year if I do decide to sell the building. I'm getting sick of owning that place, and I feel like I have one too many places in my ward so hauling on that place makes the most sense. However, booting tenants sho have lived there for almost 7 years seems like bad business. The tenants who live there aren't really great. They are gross slobs who waste my precious... precious time with stupid shit on occasion, but I know they won't screw me on rent.

Last week the Giblet-Head tenants at that place complained about the plowing. Apparently they didn't think the small area by their front door was plowed out well enough so I went over there to look. I thought the plowing was just fine, especially compared to our own driveway here at our house, so I told them they could pay the $30 to get a plow over there. That shut their complaint down pretty fast. I already spent $50 from the last storm on that fucking place because not only did it need plowing but it also needed sanding just so the plow could get into the driveway. There has been a lot of ice lately because we've had so many storms start as snow and then change to sleet, ice, and rain. What a bunch of crap!

I'll probably get to that property this morning and find a disgusting furnace filter because they live nasty and all their filth gets sucked into the thing. What a bunch of crap! I should have changed the filter back in the fall so my bad for not doing it yet. When these tenants do move out it will be a lot of work getting that house ready to sell. I'll need to do a lot of painting and install new floors in most if not all of the rooms. I've owned that house almost a decade now. Wow!

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Friday, 2-15-19: I got a pendant, and I have a functional tax office.
I just finished playing The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the SNES for about a half hour. I'm half drunk, but I beat the snake-thingies in the desert wasteland level in the bottom left area of the map. I DOMINATED. That last statement was a lie; I died a few times when I got regulated on, but then I won and got a pendant. Oh Jesus hell ya!

^I win, pixelated snakes lose. That is a generic Google image because I do not have 999 Rupees. I wish I did have that much fake video game money, though. Thankfully the CONTINUE feature in this game is generous because I died 4 times in like 5 minutes. Seriously. What a bunch of crap! 5 hearts worth of life ain't much when the bad guys hit hard and often.

I had not played SNES or any video games in many days because I have been busy doing other things like building an empire and shovelling snow. We got 10" or so of snow midweek, and that is a bunch of crap but not unexpected for this time of year. Unfortunately with no working snowblower for our driveway I spent a ridiculous amount of time shovelling not only our own driveway but also the rental properties. I did have our plow people push snow here at our house, but by the time they arrive we had half the shovelling done. Gods damn it.

Over at North Main I didn't work too much this week on carpentry, but I guess I really did work more than I thought there because now the waiting area and the DJ areas are mostly complete. My amazing wife helped a lot this week, and I greatly appreciate that. I stained the rough-hewn beam in her area midweek, and that was a bunch of crap because I got stain all over the place. Thankfully I stained before I did her floor. I really love how her area looks right now:

^Everything looks GREAT, including that fucking piano that can eat the peanuts out of my sheeeeiiiitttttttt. She really loves that piano, but I was too much of a nincompoop to know that so I treated that piano like a bastard stepchild of sorts. I didn't give a crispy crap about that piano because it was in my way half the time and it took all kinds of precious... precious time and money to get that gods damned thing from the upstairs to the downstairs. I beat it up, not on purpose as a malicious act, but as a result of the remodel of the entire property. My electricians helped with winches and come-alongs just to move that heavy-ass piano onto the first floor. I thought it would be ridiculous located where it is now, but I was wrong and it looks great. Chalk that up as a win for my sweet pea on that vision. Also, she was the one who managed to clean up the piano and make it look almost new again.

We might move that meeting table once her desk is all set up. You can see her desk in that cardboard box behind the table on the floor. It arrived today, but there was no time to put it together because I had other things to do like taxes and finishing the baseboard in her area. I truly am happy with how things look at that place right now. So far it meets my expectations, and it probably actually exceeds them. The place is inviting and comfy, and it's not even done yet. Oh Jesus hell ya!

The waiting area looks like this now:

^No doubt we will rearrange, but as-is it's not too bad. The bathroom still needs more sanding and mud, but next week I can finish that. Then all that will remain is the smaller "other office" area that is not time-sensitive to complete. This morning we got decals up on the windows so now we are *almost* ready to do some real business. I did a tax return there yesterday and one there today, both for people we know, and so far everthing is going great. I think by this time next week I'll be ready for the general public. Maybe? Hopefully!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sunday, 2-10-19: My first "customer" in my new tax office, Bruce Hornsby and the Range.
Yesterday I spent a couple hours in my new tax office setting up the printer and phone. No issues there, and I thank the gods who do not exist for that. I plugged the phone in, and it just worked. Oh Jesus Hell ya! I have not hooked up a landline phone in probably 12 years, maybe more. Actually I guess I did at Jackson Hewitt. Maybe? I can't remember. We had a landline phone in that bootleg little Walmart office, but maybe someone else actually plugged it into the modem-thingie.

I have not set up the answering machine yet for my new office phone, and I'm hoping there is a way I can forward the thing to my own cellphone from time to time so I can check messages from home in the evening, on weekends, or whenever else I am not there. Yesterday as I was plugging in the phone Gavin stopped in with his tax stuff, and we hung out over there for over an hour taking about his taxes and mostly about all the work he has to do at his own house and all the work that still remains at North Main for my awesome wife and I. Gav will be my first official customer; even though I did Katherine's taxes last week and printed her copies yesterday I don't count her as a real customer since I did those for free as a test to ensure all my systems are working. I would have done hers for free anyway since she's family and since they were very easy to do.

Since G is a great friend, a friend of probably 30+ years, I obviously won't charge him the going rate of $149. I think I'll start at $49 for a simple return, just one or two w2s state and federal, but since he has rentals that would make it more costly. Lot more involved, obviously. He's going to try to pay me full price, but I'll hopefully talk him down. I still feel like I owe him since I talked him into buying a building that will need hundreds of thousand of dollars of work before it is badass. He already has tens of thousands into his foundation alone, but then our foundation contractor died in a car crash. What a bunch of crap!

^Bye bye back part of house, 2014. Wow he has owned that place for damn near 5 years and it is still under construction, bigtime. I'll probably help him with a lot of it later this year, and for a very fair price since I feel badly that he got stuck with all that. Five years ago I was the one with the contract to buy that place, but then it didn't work out financially for me so I talked Gavin into buying it. Reminds me of the Tom Hanks 1980s movie, The Money Pit.

For now I will continue to take care of friends and family for their taxes, and hopefully in a week or two I will be ready for the general public. Probably closer to two weeks (twoooooooooooo weeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkksssssssssssssss!) or maybe even not until March. This coming week I will finish the waiting area and Kat's DJ/entry area. At least I hope I will. Her area is almost ready for flooring install already! The bathroom still needs a few hours more of sheetrock sanding and mud before I can paint that and get it all done.

I'm listening to Bruce Hornsby and the Range, Scenes From the South Side, and the dogs are having an epic rumble all over our nice clean floor. I se just about see the fur flying since they shed a shitload. Clean the floor, an hour later is has clumps of dog hair and fur on it again. What a bunch of crap! Oh Groot just played in the water dish so I gotta clean that up, too. Epic failer.

Scenes From the South Side is a great album, 1988 if I recall correctly. The Valley Road and Look Out Any Window are the two best songs from that collection. I remember when I was in the Navy I got the album on cassette, used, probably from some awesome music store that might have been called Rasputin's. That would have been in the San Leandro area not far from San Fransisco and Alameda where I was stationed. Uncle Kev and I used to eat at a buffet and shop at that music store near there, and it feels like it was a lifetime ago because it was 1994-1996. Damn near 25 years ago!

^Great album. Mellow and not one I'd listen to that often anymore, but better than most of today's crap music.

I probably still have Scenes From the South Side on cassette, but I can't say for sure. I did find an old box of my cassette tapes while cleaning in the cellar at my old apartment (where my bootleg gym and office is now), but I haven't gone through them. I'm sure after all these years they either barely work or don't work at all. They are obsolete now with CDs and especially with MP3s. When Kat and I were shopping a couple weeks ago we found a bunch of great used CDs for $2 each, and of course when I saw Scenes From the South Side I had to have it. It's not as good as their debut 1986 album, The Way it is, but it is still very good. Bruce Hornsby is awesome and if you disagree with me then I hate you. I probably hate you anyway, but I'll hate you a little more.

Alright turds, all two of youz, I gotta get off this bootleg piece of shit site because we have a meeting in Old Town shortly, wedding clients. It would have been nice to meet them at Kat's new studio/office area over at North Main, but the space is not ready yet because I am a month behind schedule. What a bunch of crap! I gotta finish that space ASAP.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Friday, 2-08-19: Grease, tax office, back to the bar.
I just came home from the bar, and in another lifetime a long time ago this would have been officially TAPS TAPS LIGHTS OUT ALL HANDS MAINTAIN SILENCE ABOUT THE DECKS. 2200, 10PM for you nasty civilians. Oh wait, I'm a nasty civvy, too. What a bunch of crap! I don't miss being in the military because F that Lenart used to bivouac in the rack above mine, and when he would rip ass the entire berthing compartment used to smell like we were under gas attack.

Tonight is the second theme night at Jester's, movies and musicals. I wanted to dress up as RAMBO, but when it is the middle of winter and you have to dress like this then no thanks:

^That RAMBO poster is awesome and if you disagree then I hate you. I probably hate you anyway, but I'll hate you a little more. I still have that poster in my bootleg gym all these years later. How cool is that?!

Party City does not have a RAMBO wig, those mudda fuckas. They should sell one gods damn it. I can't go into the bar with no shirt and a bazooka. Pretty sure I would go to jail if I tried to do that, but maybe not because everyone there knows me and might think it is funny...

Since dressing up as RAMBO was not going to work out I ended up being some dude named Zuko from some toilet-bowl of a movie called Grease. I have never seen Grease, but I have a feeling that it sucks. A lot. My ex from 2010, Kristen, loved that movie and she was more screwed up than a soup sandwich so I am all set. She had her cellphone ring to some song from that movie, or so I recall. I dunno for sure because I never watched the movie and I hope I never watch it. FU musical movies, plays, and operas. Actually, FU art in general unless you are my late awesome Papa, Ansel Adams, or Bob Ross.

My wife looks amazing as Sandy from that movie. I guess I am John Travolta? Hell if I know.

^Maybe that is not Sandy in the image above? I think it is, but I dunno for sure and I don't even care... whether or not I care. Grease can eat the peanuts out of my sssssssssssshhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttttttttttttttt! My wife looks 1000000 times better than the chick in that photo, and that is a verified FACT. Disagree with me and you die.

I got my tax office set up! I think my computer is even connected to the Interweb over there, but I can't be certain because I accidentally hit the OFF switch on the power-surge strip and shut it all down. Then instead of turning it all back on I just left because I wanted to use my bootleg gym and play racquetball. I also need to connect the new printer to the computer, but I think maybe it is wifi because I didn't see a USB-in port plug-thingie. The new printer looks badass, but until I actually use it who knows for sure? It has eco-tank technology and can supposedly print a shitload before it runs out of ink. Maybe? Hopefully.

^Still not 100% done, but damn near-so. Funny when you look from my tax office out into the other areas this is what you see:

^What a bootleg bunch of crap! No matter how fancy my tax office looks the point is moot when the rest of the areas look like shit still. Oh well, it won't take long to get the waiting area and my awesome wife's DJ area done. Another 2-3 work days and I'll be about there. The bathroom (far room in the photo above) won't be done for a week or so, but F it I'll tell the first few people not to come if they have to take a power-dump because the shitter is still under construction. Hehehe.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thursday, 2-07-19: Awesome Superbowl win, taxes, GOT.
I did my first tax return of the season Sunday, and later that day we watched the Patriots beat the LA Rams in the Superbowl. The Greatriots were not predicted to even get to the Superbowl a few weeks ago, but they kicked it into another gear and got shit done in the playoffs. The Pats were favored to beat the Rams by 3 or 4 points, and the final score ended up being 13-3 good guys. However, most of the game was a close and defensive contest. The Greatriots defense really won them the game by dominating from start to finish. That is now 6 Superbowl titles for QB Tom Brady and coach Bill Bellicheck. Amazing. 9 trips to the Superbowl for the Patriots since 2002 = OMG awesome!

I finished setting up tax software and antivirus/security programs on my brand new tax office computer Sunday morning here at the house, and I did Katherine's taxes as a test of sorts. She only has a w2, piece of cake. Nevertheless there is a learning curve with the new program that I will be using, a professional-grade system that is much more powerful than the TaxAct I had used in years past. As far as I can tell I am all set up and good-to-go with this software, but it is too early to know how I will like the program overall. The true test will be once I am set up in my new tax office and running the business for real.

^Accepted! I wasn't even sure if I got her taxes filed all the way because I am so new to the program. What a bunch of crap! Thankfully at least the IRS has her stuff and it is in process.

My tax office is coming along bit by bit. When I go over to North Main to work each day I have so much to do that I can't just focus only on my tax office. The bathroom still needs a bit more mudding and sanding, and I still need to install more trim and casing in a few spots. I did get the other office area door installed so we can close that space off and I can finish it later. I had a huge fuckup with that door, but thankfully I found an easy solution. The rough opening width needed to be 34.5", but I accidentally made it 33". OMG What a bunch of crap! Thankfully I was able to remove a 2x4 to get my width, but unfortunately now one side of the door is not double 2x4 like it should be. No proper header either, but oh well it's just an interior door and that entire wall is not load-bearing in any way at all.

Yesterday I painted my tax office door, the old wooden front door for the place. Now my tax office trim, door, and walls are all painted so I should be able to start the floor in there today. If things go really well then I should be able to get the office 100% done and maybe even bring in the desk and put that together. If I can't do the desk today then I definitely need to do it tomorrow so I can bring over my computer, printer, tax books, etc. Then I can do taxes over there! I won't be ready to open to the public for a week or two, but I can take care of some friends and family at least.

On Saturday PM Kat and I decided to start watching a show on HBO called Game of Thrones. Neither one of us had seen the show before, but Katherine loves it and we've heard a lot about it over the years. Every episode of all 7 seasons is available. I had no idea what to expect, but I thought it was about dragons, kings, and sex. Turns out my expectations were spot-on. After the first episode I wasn't 100% sold on the series, but I didn't hate it either so we kept watching. Now, days later, we are almost at the end of season 2 and I think overall it is pretty good. I easily get confused because a lot happens, and the gratuitous sex scenes are overboard at times, but despite those flaws I do enjoy watching the show.

^SPOILER: That chick calls herself the Mother of Dragons, she walked into a fire and hatched three baby dragons, and when those dragons grow up I assume they are going to lay waste to Throne-land and hopefully it will be epic. Pretty much every adult chick on the show shells em out at some point, which is unnecessary for the most part. It doesn't bother me, but now that I am married I don't need to see tits and ass all over the TV. I watch movies and TV for the stories, not for the sexual stuff.

I don't think GOT is as good as Westworld on HBO or Stranger Things on Netflix, but it is better than most of the stuff other channels pump out. We'll definitely watch all of the remaining episodes and seasons, but at an hour per episode and 10 episodes per season it will take a while to chew through it all. Oh well middle of winter can't enjoy the outdoors might as well watch TV! Speaking of middle of winter, it was 53 degrees two days ago. Oh Jesus hell ya! Overall it will end up being a mild week, but next week looks colder. The cost of natural gas has dropped a bit so that along with normal/slightly above normal winter temps so far in 2019 will save us a few bucks on heating costs.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Saturday, 2-02-19: A list of thing I need to do before I can open my tax office.
I still have a lot to do before I can open my new tax office, but hopefully it can all be done within the next week. I'm not planning to work much today, but if I can get over there and spend an hour or two installing trim and finishing paint in my tax office that will put me ahead a little for next week. My tax office looks like this right now:

Walls need one more coat of that tan color, windows need trim, I need a door, and I should have electricians there Monday or Tuesday to install outlets. I could do the outlets myself, but F that I am slow and they are fast. Plus they have to come to finish the panel and some cellar lights anyway. My office door will be a pain in the arse to install because I decided to reuse the old front door for the property so it needs to be sanded and painted. Plus the actual install will be a bitch since the door casing came off in pieces, some of which are in hard shape. I bet my office door will take a few hours to install and to paint.

If I can get my office floor and baseboards done Tuesday or Wednesday this coming week then I can set up my desk, computer, printer/scanner, etc. Just getting the office furnished and operational will easily take a full day. If all goes well then maybe I can do a tax return in there by next Friday. I won't be ready for the general public at that point, but friends and acquaintences *hopefully* won't mind if the other areas are still under construction. If they do mind then they can pay double and ggggggggggggeeeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttttt oooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!

Last night Jester's was epic. The place was super-crowded, and my amazing wife rocked the place like I have never seen before. The owner FINALLY agreed to have karaoke in the bigger restaurant space, or as Kevin "too tall" joked it is now Jester's annex. The door connecting the bar and the restaurant remained open so it was all interconnected and easy to go back and forth. At one point the log-jam was actually at the bar with people trying to get drinks. It took me 20 minutes to get a PBR, but I really wasn't in a huge hurry because I kept talking to everyone and letting people go ahead of me. Overall it was a fun night and a definite success. The bar revenues justified the extra expense of using the bigger space, at least that is how it seemed to me. (I don't work there and have no access to actual numbers, nor do I want that info.)

Alright slapnuts, all two of youz, I gotta go help Gavin remove his old ugly-tan cast iron tub from his upstairs apartment. Thankfully we can just throw if off the deck. Watching that heavy metal tub land on the frozen ground should be fun. It will shatter and make a mess for sure.*

*The tub wasn't too heavy, but when we threw it off his deck it bounced off the frozen, snowy ground and landed on his ladder. Pretty sure that ladder is in hard shape now and quite damaged. What a bunch of crap!

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Friday, 2-01-19: January exercise failer and photos of our renovation property.
I didn't use my gym enough last month. What a bunch of crap! I didn't do enough DDP Yoga and I didn't do enough cardio either. I keep track of it all since I have a myriad of problems, and it looks like last month was my worst January for exercise in at least a decade. However, I don't really believe it was my worst January. In fact it might have been so bad at all considering all the sheetrock work I did last month. Sanding drywall on a large scale is work, damnit. Getting sick for 6 days really sucked for my exercise routine, too.

I had planned to start this month off with a lot of exercise today, but I decided against playing Rball this afternoon with Deno and G because I wanted to spend some time with my awesome wife instead. I did do yoga this morning, and I had a good lift in my cold-ass gym. My gym is about 55 degrees right now, and that is a few degrees colder than what I like. The bars feel kinda cold and it is harder to get loose in the beginning when it is chilly in my bootleg gym. Oh well once I get going for a bit then that 55 usually feels pretty damn good. It will get back up to 60 in that gym next week once this cold-snap passes. 0 degrees with a stiff wind really drops the temp everywhere, including my gym. My office is even worse at 38 degrees. What a bunch of crap that is! Oh well I never use my bootleg rental office anymore anyway. Just enough to stash cash in the safe until it goes to the bank and to pay a few bills a couple times a month. Years ago that office was my base-camp with a fridge, microwave, TV and cable, and high-speed Interweb. I don't miss those days because my life is better now than it was back then.

I just got back from painting the first coat of wall paint in the waiting area at our newest property, and I took some pictures before I spread out of there to come home and to put the dogs out. I finally finished the mudding and sanding over there in that space this morning, and it was an awesome feeling. I still have to mud and sand a bunch in the 8x8 bathroom, but compared to the larger spaces that I have been working in that bathroom should be easy. Plus I have already done a bunch in the bathroom so that is easily half-done.

^The vanity for the bathroom has been a table of sorts for the router and for other things for about two months. That light is just temporary, and it doesn't even work anymore. What a bunch of crap! I'll have that waiting area done by this time next week. Maybe? Hopefully! I am very excited to get furniture over there, and hopefully in about a week we can make that happen. I wanted to have it done by today, the 1st, but F that it was not possible. Too much work.

My awesome wife came with me and worked for a bit for each of the past three days, and together we got a lot done. Her walls are all painted, and all that remains in her area is some edges and trim. I also have to sand and stain the wooden beam:

^Also once I box in that metal post it will look a lot nicer. We have blinds for the windows including the interior windows that Mom said were dumb. HEY MOM YOURE DUMB! J/K she is not really dumb, but when she shit on our idea of three interior windows then I thought she was being ignorant. Yesterday PM I did a lot of trim, but as you can see I still have some left to do. Also that piano can eat the peanuts out of my sssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttttttttt. I would have paid more for the property had it NOT come with a friggin' piano that weighs a half a ton. That piano is seriously heavy, and it gets in my way a lot. What a bunch of crap! Oh how nice in that photo you can see where the side of the piano is all gouged up from its horrible trip from the upstairs to the downstairs months ago. That was one giant epic failer.

We may or may not work on the building some this weekend. All depends on how we feel I guess. Tonight Jester's is rockin out, and my awesome wife FINALLY convinced the owner to do karaoke in the bigger restaurant space adjacent to and connecting to the bar. For each of the past three weeks that bar has been so full that people have left so using a larger space makes sense from the viewpoint of someone who might actually want to make a profit. I'm heading down there shortly, and it's nice knowing that there will actually be room for me because we are in the larger space. Hopefully the revenue coming in justifies the extra staff needed to accommodate the larger space.