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"Let's watch Sandoval bat then we can change the channel." –Me while flipping to a Red Sox game on TV
"Who? Santa Claus?" –Kat

Friday, 6-30-17: Bye bye to a good month.
This month was a good month, and it ends in just under two hours. Hopefully July will be a good month, too. In June I didn't work too hard, but I worked efficiently and got my "to do" list whittled down a bit. I had plenty of time to hang out with my awesome wife, and I had plenty of time to exercise. In fact, according to my Excel spreadsheet here June was one of my best exercise months, ever. I feel like I am in the best shape I have ever been in, but that is very subjective and I have said that before. How do I compare my 41.5-year old body to my younger self? I guess that cannot be done, but if it could be done I would say this version of myself could possibly top younger versions. Maybe?

The Red Sox are in a 4-4 tie in Toronto against the Blue Jays. The Sox won last night, the Yankees lost last night, so the Sox have a 1-game lead for first place in the division. Oh jesus, hell ya! However, there is still over half a season to go so they could blow it. They have some great younger players but no true power mega-bat, not since last year when a 40-year old David Ortiz went BEAST MODE in his final season. One week ago they actually retired "Big Papi" Ortiz's number 34. Good for him, he deserves it.

^Thanks for all the great moments David Ortiz.

My amazon.com order came in today. I got a new little radio, but this thing is complicated and I do not know how to change the radio stations yet. What a bunch of crap! It can connect to an mp3 player, too. I don't know how much I will use that part of it, but I do think I will tune it in to 100.3 WKIT and listen to the radio, especially when I am working. I do have a radio now, but it is bootleg and on its last legs. Sometimes it does not turn on because the battery terminal is about shot to hell. Ah well, it happens when things get old.

In a different world I would be in NH right now. This is Jason's bachelor party weekend, and they all went on an ATV trip to Gorham, NH in the White Mountains. They wanted me to go for both tonight and tomorrow night, but I decided to just go tomorrow night because I don't give that much of a crap about riding around in an ATV at about 100 MPH. I hope they do not really go 100 MPH, but in the past Jason had no problem going about 60MPH on his boat with my ass in tow on the inner tube. Somewhere in the archives of this bootleg turd-heap is a photo of Jason winding Mankwown through the weeds at what seemed like warp speed on lake Chicuakee in Rockland (lake spelled wrong what a bunch of crap!)

^OK that was not the time, but when you see Mank having that much fun on the boat you know he has it coming. Hehehehe.

I think Jason and his formerly named "Redneck Brigade" is more mellow now that everyone is older. He texted me tonight that he was taking it easy when I asked if they were partying, and I believe him. I don't want his bachelor party to be a shit-show because, like Danny Glover from Lethal Weapon, I am too old for that shit. I am looking forward to seeing everyone because they are a group of good guys, but the 3-hour drive one-way will kinda suck. Oh well, at least gas is $2.18 a gallon right now. Not bad at all!

Jason and Holly's wedding is Saturday August 5th. I will probably be camped out down there anyway for blueberry raking. Maybe? Cliff still does not have a solid raking plan, but Cliff did txt Gavin that we should camp at Mic Mac (same place as last year) because he will grab the best 10-12 acres available. Apparently the owners of the usually awesome Bull Hill fields did not even bother to put out bees this year because they are tired of losing money. What a bunch of crap! Machines and Canada have really hurt what was once not long ago a great seasonal gig for people who were not afraid to put in the hard work.

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Thursday, 6-29-17: Our little slice of the world.
We finally have our back yard set up just right. New deck, new landscaping, nw cat enclosure, new fire pit, etc. I'm sitting out back on the new deck right now enjoying what is a fine summer evening. For the second consecutive day Kat went to the gym with Debbie so it's just the dogs and I here. Normally my awesome wife will use the gym in the morning, but Debbie works until 1730 so that is when they have met over at their gym. Kat invited me to go each day, but I decided not to go because I prefer to get my swell on in my own gym, and this time of year I do not want to use a treadmill or other indoor cardio machine. After she left I jogged 3 miles (23:49, not bad!), I shovelled in some chow as I watched news lowlights about another offensive tweet that president Trump sent out, and I just took a shower so I am clean and refreshed.

This back yard really is nice now. It's never not been nice, but it's never been this comfy and inviting. I took some photos last week that I don't think I've posted on this turd-heap yet. Guy looks...

Nope, I hadn't posted the final photos yet. So far things are really growing in our garden; the two tomato plants have some little yellow flowers already. I don't know what some of the other stuff in that garden is, but I do know we also have a squash plant (Squash = what a bunch of crap!) and two cucumber plants that are growing fast.

The cats have been using their little enclosure. Right now Artorious (Daniel's cat) and Sully are in it, but during the day they all seem to come and go. It didn't cost too much to build because I had some spare parts on hand, and hopefully it lasts for years to come. Obviously in the colder months we won't use it because it would let cold air into the house.

I've had some free time to chop up some of the wood that we had from last year, and I stashed some of it under Katherine's deck that she never uses. Oh well, it does make the house worth more so I don't regret throwing that deck on there. Plus maybe one day in the future it will get some use. Hopefully.

Speaking of never getting used, the new fire pit has been there for close to a month and we've not had a fire yet. What a bunch of crap! I wanted to have one last Saturday night, but then Friday night happened and we decided going to bed > staying up late for a fire and some more drinks. We always stay up late Friday because of Kat's job at Jester's so Saturday night is a good day to do nothing most of the time.

There are still a few bare spots that will not grass in, but we've gotten the yard to look mostly green. A few bare spots aren't that big of a deal, but when it is wet outside it is nice to not have mud getting tracked in by the dogs. Speaking of the dogs, they just randomly decided to play tag and run all over the yard. The fence is great not only for privacy but also for the dogs to be able to run free. No fence = dogs would be gone either into the woods or, even worse, around the house and into the street.

^The back yard of the house in April of 2014 when I bought the place. I don't know what that bootleg deck-thing on the left side was, but we never used it. I hauled on that bootleg thing when I converted the garage to a functional living space with 3 additional bedrooms, a bathroom, and two closets. The laundry room now sits where that sagging, shit-show of a deck once sat.

^No fence, no nothing back in 2014. Even the lawn looked like shit, but of course that photo was taken before grass started growing for the season. Nevertheless it looked bumpy, rough, and horrible.

I suppose I'll hop off this bootleg thing and go check in on the Red Sox vs. Twins game. They are tied with the Yankees for first place after playing fairly well this month. Awesome! Plus Sweet Pea just got home and I want to hang out with her for the next couple hours before we bivouac for the night. We'll watch Jeapordy on TV before we crash out. We record it so we can watch it at our leisure and FF all the commercials and the part where Alex Trebeck asks all three contestants about their lives. We don't care what they have to say because most of their little life stories are a bunch of crap. A couple days ago a guy was on there who said his goal was to hug a cow. He said he loves cows because of milk and cheese. I swear to the gods who do not exist if I ever went on Jeopardy I would talk about something cool like 80s music, The Three Stooges, or cheap booze. Hehehehe.*

*I will never be a contestant on Jeopardy because I would epic fail. That show is hard!

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Tuesday, 6-27-17: My next upcoming open apartment.
As expected the tenants who live in the 4BR apt near my office/gym are hitting the road. The chick emailed me Sunday, and their last day will be July 24th. She gave me notice back in March so I've had plenty of time to plan. She even had some friends who wanted the place when they all left, but Daniel and his friends also wanted the place so I had to tell her friends sorry but the apartment was already spoken for.

Since then Daniel has had a friend or two who bailed on the whole plan so sadly he will not be able to take the place. What a bunch of crap! Even worse, the friends of the current tenants who wanted the apartment found other living arrangements so now I will have to hop onto Craigslist and post an ad. Oh well, it's not that big of a deal and it will actually generate more revenue because I was going to rent it to Daniel and his friends for $1090, the same price that the current tenants pay (with $20 off if rent is paid on or before the 1st each month lowering it to $1070.) I was also going to honor that price for the other people who wanted the place, the friends of the current tenants.

I've been looking at what the competition has to offer, and as usual there is not much out there to threaten my business model. It seems that most of the listings either look like 10 pounds of shit stuffed into a 5 pound bag or they are more upscale units for a much, much higher price. There isn't too many 4 bedroom apartments even listed so that gives me an edge, too.

Here in Brewer there is a 2-bedroom for $1050. That is pretty steep so let's take a closer look and see if it meets what I would consider upscale:

"Nice 2 Bedrooms and 1 Bath Apartment in Brewer Me 04412. This apartment will be ready 1st of August. Close to downtown Brewer and downtown Bangor." The apartment is 900 square feet with 10x10 and 11x11 bedrooms. Looks like it could be nice when it is done, but all I wanna know is why? Why is there not a photo of the bathroom? The kitchen does not look that big, and the floor looks... bold. Maybe it is a nice floor, but the photos definitely don't sell me on it. $1050 is STEEP for a 2BR, and I don't see any clear indication this is a high-end apartment. What a bunch of crap!

^A 4-bedroom apartment posted back on June 9th, and this one is in Bangor not Brewer. Eh, close enough. "Bangor 4 bedroom 1 bath, modern, clean, 2 floors, W/D hookup, heat and hot water included. No smoking or pets. $1100.00."

Hmmm... other photos make the place look pretty small. The kitchen in the photo above, wft? All I wanna know is why? Why are there seemingly only a couple cabinets? Again, no photo of the bathroom = red flag. No room dimensions posted either. Maybe the place is decent, but the four photos I saw did nothing to convince me. I don't know where that one is in Bangor either. Mine is in a good neighborhood so that is a plus.

Oh, here is a 4BR for $2000, also in Bangor. OMG that is expensive for a rental!

^Very nice looking.

"New construction in Bangor! 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom townhouse unit now available located off Kenduskeag Ave. in great neighborhood. Less than 1/2 of a mile from Husson University and other in-town amenities. Heat and hot water included. Plowed, paved parking and dumpster service on site. Washer/dryer in units. Laminate flooring throughout. Nice deck off the kitchen."

Other photos make it clear this is a high-end apartment. Looks like there are several of the same units going to be available in time for the upcoming school year, and being that close to Husson is a huge plus for them. However, $2000 a month is a MASSIVE cost. The 3BR at my Bangor duplex is only a mile from Husson off Kenduskeag Ave, and I "only" rent that one for $920 a month. Man, $2000 a month for a 4BR. What a bunch of expensive crap!

I'm going to list my 4BR for $1175 and see what happens. I'll also offer a $25 discount if rent is paid in full on or before the 1st each month so that would make it $1150. I don't feel like I am overpriced given the current other options out there, and I might even still be on the low side of things. I've never had trouble finding tenants for that 4BR. Usually I get college kids who split the rent, but not always. I've owned that building since February 2005, and when I bought the place over 12 years ago rent for that 4BR was only $730 a month. Wow!

In other news, a new Spiderman movie comes out next month (just saw the ad on TV.) All I wanna know is why? Why is a Spiderman movie made every few years that has a different actor, a different story, and a series reboot? Iron Man is in this new one. Where was he in the other ones? I don't get it. I am done carning. I don't even care... whether or not I care.

Oooohhh an ad for the new Planet of the Apes. That looks decent. There have been a lot of Planet of the Apes movies, too. However, the newer ones are all a continuing series and are not half-bad. There can never be a Planet of the Apes as good as the original. The plot-twist at the end of that one was done like a boss. Seemed he was on an alien planet until the very end when it is revealed he is on a future Earth that is wasted like Doc-J and 8-Ball from Full Metal Jacket.

^It's really EARTH. You damn, dirty apes...

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Friday, 6-23-17: Time for inspirational 80s music.
The Red Sox have a 7-4 lead vs. the Angels at Fenway Park tonight going into the 8th inning. Awesome! Tonight was also David Ortiz night at Fenway; the Red Sox retired his #34 in a big ceremony before the game that I did not watch. I like Ortiz, but I was playing racquetball at the time and losing in a cutthroat match against Gavin and Mike. We played until our shirts were soaked in sweat, and I am all done with exercise for the time being. I cannot exercise until next week. Fin. Done. Used up. For the second Friday in a row I am on empty and need a little time off from the gym. That is a good thing because it means I exercised a lot during the week. Right? I hope.

I have had the Kenny Loggins song Meet me Halfway from the awesome movie Over the Top stuck in my head for a good part of the day. It is not a great song, but it is a great song. I cannot explain it the right way. It's cheesy and a little sappy, but it catches the mood of the time and is a major win. How many Kenny Loggins songs from the 80s ended up in movies? A lot! Caddyshack, Top Gun, Footloose, Over the Top. It's one hell of a resume. I should sing Kenny Loggins songs tonight at Jester's. That is a great idea said no one ever except a half-drunk bootleg Crap site proprietor after almost three coffee brandy and milk drinks. What a bunch of crap!

I bought the Over the Top movie soundtrack, but it will be a few days until it is here so thank you to YouTube for this song to get me by.

^I am one or two drinks away from "Shit just got real." Too bad there are three exclamation points in that funny Interweb meme-thing. Any more than one at a time is probably improper. I will not sing this song at Jester's. I should not sing any song, but sometimes a Def Leppard, Tom Petty, or B52s duet (Loveshack) gets out when Kat needs singers. I weep for society when I have to sing. Especially when I do stupid shit like The Neverending Story and Mexican Radio. I should never sing karaoke. Before I met Kat I didn't even know how to spell karaoke. What a bunch of crap!

I think Footloose, Danger Zone, and maybe Nobody's Fool would be good Kenny Loggins songs to karaoke. We shall see..

Well my computer just crashed and I had to reboot. What a bunch of crap! I lost a paragraph of this bootleg update that no one will ever read. Gods damn it! Oh well, it was nothing important and thankfully I hit "save" every once in a while so most of this trash did not get deleted. Playing with the Boys by Kenny Loggins was on when it crashed. Is that my computer's way of telling me "This song sucks!" I think not because the song is great. It's from Top Gun, a great movie that has a great soundtrack and that is pretty cheesy. Once when I lived with my good friend Walter he said the soundtrack was there to hide the lack of plot. AAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That was my quote of the month many years ago. Walter is a good man, but we don't hang out like we used to because I suck at time management and need to do better.

Okay, it plays Nobody's Fool and hopes its computer does not crash again. This song is from Caddyshack, a movie that I have seen but that I have never ever loved like I love Rambo, Rocky, and of course Over the Top. Maybe that is because I think golf kinda sucks? A golf course takes up acres of precious... precious real estate that could be better used as a hunting preserve.

Okay turds, all two of youz who actually read this shit-show of a site, I need to go to Jester's to see my Sweet Pea and to hang out. I should not sing tonight. I should not sing any night. If it is busy that is good because I do not have to sing. Sometimes I have fun singing, but usually that is after I am pretty friggin' boozed up. However, if I have to sing it will be a Kenny Loggins song. Once I did sing (or "dance" to? Footloose and when he said kick off your Sunday shoes I kicked the air, my flip-flop went airborn, and it hit Sue/Tom. It was hilarious in the most unintentional way. Goonies never say die!

^I am wearing this shirt tonight for two reasons. First, Goonies never say die! Second, Mama Fratelli is awesome. Third, kids really do suck. Yes I know that is really three reasons but that is okay because I know 12 squared is 144 and the price of tea in China is $2.33 per ream. (just kidding I think paper is in a ream not tea. I forgot what I was insulting. Golf? Tea? Both suck ass. What a bunch of crap!)

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Friday, 6-23-17: Over the Top.
Last night we watched a classic movie that I have not seen in a very long time. It is the movie that most likely inspired me to put my hat on backwards when I get boozed up at the Jester's, and it is definitely the movie that inspired Jason and I to have arm-wrestling matches all over the house when we were kids. It's probably the movie that made me want to be a truck driver when I was a kid.

From 1987 is Stallone's Over the Top. A movie about arm wrestling, truck driving, and epic 80s music montages. I loved this movie when I was a kid! After watching it last night I realize I still love the movie. It's awesome. Parts of it make no sense at all (12-year old kid drives the truck with no experience, Stallone drives his truck into the evil grandfather's mansion and doesn't get life in prison for attempted manslaughter, etc.), but that does not matter because the movie is just a blast from start to finish. I told Kat last night after the movie ended that I'd put it in my all-time top 100 list for sure, maybe top 50, and possibly even top 25.

I don't think Over the Top would have been a great movie with any other lead actor than Stallone. Maybe Kurt Russell or Patrick Swayze could have pulled it off. Schwarzenegger, sorry Arnie but this one is not for you. Stallone just has that ability to play a humble everyman who can kick ass when needed and who has more heart than anyone else. Stallone's best roles are no doubt Rocky Balboa and John Rambo, but his Lincoln Hawk character in Over the Top is a great one, too.

^Lat pulldown machine in the truck to get arm-wrestling jacked while you drive. HAHAHAHAHAHA.

^Like me late-night after a few drinks. Hehehehe. However, unlike Stallone I do not have 22" biceps and I do not ever plan to become a truck driver or to enter an arm-wrestling contest. I would lose in .005 seconds and my arm would get ripped right off. I didn't even beat Kat when we arm wrestled last night. What a bunch of crap!

The soundtrack to Over the Top is way better than I ever remembered. It is classic 80s, and I liked it so much that I went onto amazon.com last night and ordered the CD for $3.96. Great price, well worth it! I also threw the soundtrack to Rocky IV in my digital shopping cart for $6.99 because that is another epic soundtrack. After I made my purchase (along with a few other things) a thing popped up onto my screen asking if I wanted to download my purchased music. What you say? Oh Jesus hell ya I do! It took me a few minutes, but I fumbled my way through it and ended up with not only the Rocky IV soundtrack but also Motley Crue's Saints of Las Angeles album. All I wanna know is why? Why did I get that Motley Crue album and not the Over the Top soundtrack? I guess because I bought Saints of LA a few years ago and amazon.com remembered that? Pretty awesome. I'm fine with not getting the Over the Top soundtrack on mp3 because the CD already shipped so I will have it soon. Can't wait!

Kenny Loggins Meet me Halfway for the win. Half the Over the Top movie contains musical montages playing in the background. "The world meets nobody halfway. When you want something you gotta take it." -Stallone in Over the Top

^The movie that inspired Jason and I to have about 1000 arm wrestling matches in the late 80s and early 90s. "Latch on." I think Jason beat me a lot. Several years ago I beat him once (yeah, we still would arm wrestle in our 30s), but that may have been the only time I ever beat him, at least that I can recall. Jason is strong and when we were kids I guess I was a pussy. What a bunch of crap!

In conclusion, if you do not think Over the Top is an awesome movie then I hate you. I probably hate you anyway, but I'll hate you a little more.

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Tuesday, 6-20-17: Bills = paid. Mostly. Back yard = done. Mostly.
Today is the longest day of the year. Awesome! It is still a 24-hour day like any other day, but sunrise is 0449 and sunset is 2025 so we get more daylight today than we get any other day. Summer officially starts tomorrow. There is a bit of rain this morning so I'm not in a huge hurry to go do any apartment work right now. Most of the work I have to do is outside; I could clean my office and gym area, but I don't have that too high up the priority list so I probably won't do any of that today. I'm thinking most of my gym and office deep-cleaning will be this fall. Rain doesn't look to last all day so I'm sure I will have some time to work outside in a bit.

I just paid the IRS the remaining $755 that we owed to them. I should have paid it all at the deadline on April 18th, but oh well at least I did pay our state taxes and $500 to the IRS in mid-April. It's been years since I paid my income taxes on time, and that is a bunch of crap. Hopefully next year I can do it right, but if not oh well. I also paid most of the property taxes that I owe for my old apartment/gym building. Taxes on that property are $6000 a year. OMG. When I bought the place 12 years ago I think taxes were closer to $4000.

Okay, I just looked it up and in 2006 property taxes for that property were $3844. HOLY CRAP THAT IS A HUGE INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAXES IN JUST OVER ONE DECADE. WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! However, the value of that property has increased a lot and the same apartment that used to rent for $760 now rents for $1090 there (rents have increased a lot in all 6 apartments there.) The bank does not escrow my taxes for that property with my mortgage so I have to pay it in large chunks. Half is due in September, and the other half is due in March, but all I paid last fall was about $2000 so I still owed $4000 this year. What a bunch of crap! Last week I paid $2000 so now I "only" owe $2100 (about $100 in interest and lien fees tacked on.) I should pay the rest of that off this July, and then unfortunately I need to make my payment for the fall in August.

I did get my Home Depot and Lowe's special financing all paid down so I can say the addition to the house is now 100% paid off. Hell yeah to that! Now the balances on the cards are much more manageable. I'm hoping to be on top of it so I don't have to spend so much of my JH pay and bonus on bills next year, but time will tell how well I stick to that plan.

All I wanna know is why? Why is my mouse not working? Thankfully my keyboards is working so I can keep typing to no one in particular. It is 0840 now, and Kat and I just finished watching the last part of WWE Monday Night RAW. RAW is a 3+-hour show so we never watch it all when it airs live. We watch some on Monday night before bed, and then we finish it the next day with heavy use of the FF button. RAW is unwatchable without FF because half of it kinda sucks. It's not as good as it was back in the "Attitude Era" of the late 90s/early 2000s when there was mega-talent in their primes like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, HHH, Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels, etc. Even WCW had some great shows in the late 90s with Hollywood "heel" Hulk Hogan, Steiner, Goldberg, Sting, the NWO, etc.

^Stone Cold Stunner while drinking a beer. Then he would flip off the crowd. It was so awesome, but now it is corporate and PG so nothing as great as that happens.

I'm gonna head over to the gym shortly and try to lift some weights. When I was lifting on Sunday I had a slight strain in my back during my final cable row set, but it is nothing serious. However, since then I've been pretty stiff. For once it would be nice to just be 100%, but that is so gods damned hard to do. If it's not one thing it's another. Poison Ivy, head injury from dropping a level (happened last week. What a bunch of crap!), etc.

We let the cats into the new cat area on Sunday afternoon, and yesterday we finished the benches on the interior 100%. Now all I need to do is throw some drip edge and shingles on the roof. I expect that to be pretty easy since it is only 32 square feet. One bundle of shingles, and I am not even going to worry about tarpaper underneath because it's just a spot for the cats to use. So far the cats seem to like it. Here is what it looked like Sunday PM:

^Hi, Tiger Lily. The cat-zone is the last bigger project that I have planned for our house for a while. We still need a new living room/kitchen floor, but I can pick away at that later this year and I already have the flooring here for it. I also have some trim and finish work to do, but again nothing too pressing. Our back yard really looks nice now; all that work has started to pay off. Hopefully next time I can share some photos of the 100% finished back yard.

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Friday, 6-16-17: It is past Three Stooges O'Clock, but not quite Jester's O'Clock yet.
I just watched a bit of the Red Sox vs. Astros game, and then I put on some Three Stooges because who doesn't love the Stooges? If you do not like the Three Stooges then I hate you. I probably hate you anyway, but I'd hate you a little more if you do not appreciate the classic trio of Moe, Larry, and Curley. Shemp was gods damned funny, too.

Tonight I watched a couple episodes from 1938. First was one where Curley dressed up as a gorilla. Fun times. Moe threatened to "mioder" Curley, and every time Moe says that I lol. However, I am too old to use the term lol so I really just get a good laugh. In the second episode they find a baby. The second one with the baby was not as funny as the gorilla one, but it was still good.

Betts just gunned down a runner so it is still 1-0 Red Sox going into the 7th inning. That was a throw like a boss. The Sox have a great young outfield with Bendentendi in left, Bradley Jr. in center, and Betts in right. The Red Sox have been playing well lately so hopefully that continues. The Yankees are still in first place (what a bunch of crap!), but the Sox are gaining.

^Hilarious, classic, timeless. Curley is the funniest person in the history of movies and TV, but Moe is my favorite stooge because he did that shit forever, and he was a bossy asshole in the funniest of ways. Moe's facial expressions of disdain for his fellow stooges are the best. Plus his threatening insults are awesome. "I'll moider ya." never gets old. Also, "Spread out." is a classic, and I still say "Recede" way too often thanks to Moe from one episode where he said that to Larry and Curley when they were in his personal space.

I don't think I will need to sing any karaoke tonight at Jester's. I don't mind doing a song or two when I am all boozed up, but it is better when other people sing. Right now according to Kat the bar is pretty full, and it looks to be a good night there. I'm pregaming as usual here at the house with my coffee brandy and milk, and when I get to Jester's I will switch to PBR beer. I never used to drink "Fat ass in a glass", but I like the taste and the protien from the milk is all bonus at this hour. I have been very focused on my kinesteology lately, and honestly I do not know how to spell that word so I will Google it now. Google is awesome, the best for sure. Who the hell owns Google anyway? Microsoft? I know it is not a Crapple product or else I would hate it because Mac users eat granola and are hippies. However, granola is great so nevermind.

KINESIOLOGY: The academic discipline which involves the study of physical activity and its impact on health, society, and quality of life.

Well obviously I don't take it that seriously if I can't even spell it. What a bunch of crap! If my diet was a tad cleaner I would be in perfect condition, especially for a 41.5-year old guy. Oh well, I am close enough gods damn it. Donuts, cookies, etc. taste to good to totally abandon. However, my diet is pretty clean these days. I also have made an effort to take in a little more protien from natural food sources like milk (fatass in a glass!), yogurt, eggs, etc. I've been exercising a lot; today I pretty much emptied the tank against Deno for 1.5 hours of very competitive racquetball. Earlier in the day I also lifted some weights so I "earned" the right to drink a few tonight.

I've played a lot of racquetball lately, about two times a week, and Deno (Mike) and I have had some great games recently. I usually lose, but I work for that shit and at the end I am pretty beat up physically in a good way. I love being able to play racquetball, having my gym, and having a decent jogging loop to do that doesn't make me almost get run over by traffic. Living in town means higher property taxes and lame quarterly water/sewer bills, but sidewalks make for safer jogging. Hey, Stephen King almost got his ass killed by a car on a rural road once. When I was a kid there were no sidewalks, but the roads on which I did some jogging were not that heavily travelled so I never got run over. Thank to the gods who do not exist for that.

John Farrell, the Red Sox manager, is kind-of a turd. he left Pomeranz in too long, and now it is 1-1 in the 7th inning. Farrell is not a great manager, but he is far from the worst. He should not have sent Pomeranz back out for the 7th because Pomeranz barely made it past the 6th inning. What a bunch of crap! Also, I am definitely not spelling Pomeranz right. Epic fail, but I do not care whether or not I care it is close enough gods damn it.

Man, what a difference my Fridays have been lately as compared to my Fridays when I had to do taxes in the winter. The past couple Fridays have been easy, and that is awesome. I did not take a nap today, but I had the free time if I wanted to nap. Most of the winter I worked 1000-1900, and some of the Fridays I worked 1000-2000. Ten hours, beotches. Plus I worked nearly every Saturday so I still had fun on Fridays, but not as much fun as I have been having this time of year. Summers are awesome here. It's not quite summer yet (58 degrees and rain today), but it is close enough. Sunset after 2000 is a major win, too.

Alright turds, all two of youz, I need to get off this bootleg turd and go down to Jester's to drink a couple PBR tall beers and to hang out. Hopefully it is fun down there tonight. I think it will be fun. I hope. Goonies never say die!

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Wednesday, 6-14-17: An easy week so far.
I have not had much apartment work that is pressing so far this week so I've spent my time exercising and working on the back yard with my Sweet Pea. On Sunday Kat and I built a raised garden next to the new deck. Yesterday she planted the last of a few veggies that she bought:

We have some herbs, squash, cucumbers, and tomatos. Since we got a relatively late start on our mini-garden we had to buy the plants already sprouted; hopefully next year we can plant seeds in May for a fraction of the cost. Also, the dirt for that friggin' thing was the most expensive part. I could have gone to a landscape place and bought a truckload of loam, but instead we bought bags of dirt with fertilizer in it at Lowe's. Hey, it was easier and it will last us for years. (Hopefully.) I bet all that soil was about $100. What a bunch of crap! Oh well, the lumber was "only" $40 and I already had the stain on hand so that part was pretty cheap. We did not use pressure-treated wood because Kat said the chemicals from the pressure-treating could get into the plants, and we don't want any of that in our precious... precious food.

Over the last couple days we've also spent some of our time working on this:

That is going to be a little space for the cats to hop through the window and enjoy some of the outside air. Obviously it is not done yet; I still need to do a roof and screen the sides above the base siding. Hopefully the cats use it a lot so they are not as often in the house getting in my way. I tolerate the cats fairly well, but sometimes I hate them all like when they puke on the floor, when they try to get outside (hence that soon-to-be cat area), and when they invade my damn personal space. Not all of the cats do that, thankfully. Simba loves to walk over us and steal our precious... precious space when we are on the couch. Sully likes to bang on the bedroom door sometimes when we are bivouaced, and Mittens on occasion tries to escape outside when we open the slider. What a bunch of crap!

We have nine cats in this house. OMG! Dillon and Debbie have 3 cats, Daniel has one cat, and Katherine has one cat. In theory all the kids will eventually go get their own apartments and then eventually homes and families, but not anytime soon. If things fall into place Daniel and his one cat will be moving into my lone 4BR apt at the end of the next month, but even that is not certain because his friends have not said 100% yes yet. I don't mind having the kids and their pets here all that much because it seems like we have enough space now that the new addition is fully functional (but still "only" 99% done. Hehehehe.)

In the news they said nips might be banned because the little liquor bottles cause pollution. There was a push to make them have a 5-cent bottle deposit like with other cans and bottles (currently 15 cents for the bigger liquor bottles), but I guess that ain't happening now. I never buy nips because F that it is cheaper to just buy a bigger bottle of liquor. However, I think it is a bunch of crap to ban nips so I hope that does not happen. I do see where it is easy for them to be littered all over the place, but gods damn it there will always be litter from Giblet-Heads and banning stuff is a shitty option. Plus nips are pretty awesome. Tiny booze bottles you can stash in your pocket for emergency use! One time I had to go to some stupid church spaghetti dinner fundraiser, and I had a couple or three nips with me so spike my soda. It made the event much more tolerable. Hehehehe. Nips and church go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Today is Trump's 71st birthday, and he has an 11-year old kid. That means he pumped out a kid when he was about 60 years old. OMG WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! I used to think Trump was funny when he had his Apprentice TV show, but now I realize he is a giant pile of civilian shit. We might have been better off with Crooked Hillary as our president... When was the last time we had a good president? 1988-1992 elder George Bush? Oh, they said on the news a couple days ago Bush and his wife just had their 71st wedding annversary. Wait, maybe it was 72nd? OMG WOW. That is amazing. They showed part of a love letter that he wrote to her from WWII when he was a pilot. Gotta give some respect to presidents who actually served in the military. I think it should be a requirement of the job as our president, to actually have military experience and an honorable discharge.

It is a crisp 55 degrees outside with low humidity, and that is a huge win after the past 3 days of heat and humidity. We did not officially have a heat wave because we did not have all 3 days of 90+, but damn it was close. 91 Sunday, 89 Monday, and 88 yesterday. The past 3 nights have been tough for sleeping. What a bunch of crap! Today will be 73, tomorrow around 70, then some showers for the end of the week. I am planning to go down to Mom and Pop's tomorrow for a lunch visit. Dad's birthday was a week ago and Father's Day is this coming Sunday. I was going to go down Sunday, but they are busy most of the PM because Nadia has some concert-thing that *thankfully* I do not have to go to. Holly invited me to Nadia's school crap in years past, but I am an absentee Uncle so I guess they gave up on me. Score! I'm sure my niece is a great kid, but F that I don't want to watch 6-year olds do organized activities. I would definitely need nips to watch her stupid school concert crap again. Yes, I am a terrible uncle.

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Friday, 6-09-17: The things I have done since my last bootleg update, and the things I need to do still.
It is Friday night, 2200, taps taps lights out all hands maintain silence in a different life that seems like aeons ago. It was nearly 19 years ago when I requested permission to go ashore for the last time and earned my honorable and DD-214. Wow, 19 years, or so it will be come August this year.

On the TV right now is game 4 of the NBA finals, Golden State at Cleveland with Golden State up 3-0 in the best of 7 series. Golden State has not lost at all in any of their playoff games, 15-0 and a playoff record. If they win tonight it will be an unprecedented playoff streak, but so far Cleveland has been dominant and has a 54-40 lead in the second quarter. I have also been watching the Red Sox vs. the Tigers at Fenway. 7th inning, 3-2 Detroit. The Sox need to win because they just lost 2 of 3 in New York against the first place Yankees midweek. What a bunch of crap!

This week has been easy with one exception, and that was yesterday. Phil came up to help, we worked a pretty long day (about 9-10 hours for me), and we got a lot of work done. We spent the day improving out old apartment; the kitchen floor and the bathroom floor needed replacing. We also installed a new toilet and new trim. The old toilet was not seated properly so we had to address that issue, and I think we had a very successful day. The tenants in that apartment now are great, and they really appreciated our efforts to upgrade the place. The old kitchen floor was only 7 years old, but the tiles were peeling and looked like this:

^The photo doesn't really capture how bad it looked. It was passable for a scumlord, but for me it was a bunch of crap. I would have loved to get more than 7 years out of that floor, but alas. No tenants abused the floor, it was just a poor product that failed. The first few times it scuffed to show the white I was ghetto and used a matching grey paint to hide the blemishes. Sounds stupid but did work well. I also did replace some tiles, but over the years no matter what I did it got worse and worse. Plus the toilet just never seated correctly and galvanized lag screws are not a good long-term solution. Even those failed to hold into the punky wood beneath so it was time to do it *mostly* right and throw down some new flooring and related.

The new kitchen floor looks great:

Phil did most of that floor while I worked on the bathroom and other things. I could have done all that work myself, but it would have taken 2.5 times longer and would not have looked as good. Phil is a smart guy who had some very good ideas, ideas I would not have come up with on my own, so in the end paying him for a day was a win for me and I think, I hope, a win for him.

Other than working a long day yesterday I have been working on some landscaping and other smaller projects not only at the apartments but also here at our house. I ordered 12 yards of reclaim asphault, and I used some of that this week to fill in potholes and stuff.

^Might not look like 12 yards, but trust me it is a lot. (Probably 11 yards still there 'cause I used some already when I took that photo.) $275 delivered, well worth it for all the use I will get. I hope.

At my other bootleg properties I have to take care of some brush and trim paint. My Holyoke house looks like this out front:

^If you look closely you can see peeling paint on the first-floor two windows. It looks like shit. It looks like a bunch of crap! Actually it is not too noticeable right now because that giant lilac bush kinda blocks it, but that stupid bush needs to go. I hauled on some of it Wednesday morning, but I hope to haul on the entire thing soon because the roots are going to slowly mess up my precious... precious sewer line. The sewer line there is already questionable because I have had two massive plugs in the past three years. They ran a camera down the line 1.5 years ago and it was ugly so I hope it does not plug again anytime soon. Stupid lilac bush that probably gives me allergies. What a bunch of crap!

So my plan for the rest of this month is to do smaller things like landscaping and trim painting, things that do not cost a lot of money. Doing the kitchen and bathroom in my old bootleg apartment was bye bye $700 total. (Including a benji for a new toilet.) I spent a few grand on the apartments in the past two months so hopefully most of the big expenses are done for the year. Maybe? I shudder to think about how much all the improvements would have cost if I hired it all out and didn't do a lot of my own work. Doing most of the work myself saves epic money, but the materials still cost quite a bit and there are always things that need doing.

Wow it is 80-61 Cleveland now and still not even the end of the second quarter. That is a very high scoring game, and I think it just set a record for the highest scoring half in NBA finals history. Yup, so says the announcer-guy. Wow. I don't care that much who wins, but it is a pretty good game.

Alright turds, all two of you who actually read this trash-heap. I need to shovel in a few more crackers and then head on down to Jester's to drink a couple draft PBRs before the night ends. Looks like tomorrow will be a great weather day so I will spend some time outside, then it will be 94 Sunday so I need to find a cool place to hole up for that day. 94 is way too hot gods damn it. Maybe it will not really be 94. God I hope not. 94 is ridiculous. 94 is a bunch of crap!

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Tuesday, 6-06-17: Happy birthday Sweet Pea. Oh, my JH bonus.
Yesterday was Kat's birthday, and I made a concerted effort to spend most of the day with my awesome wife. I only had to go over to my office for a brief time to receive 12 yards of reclaim asphault delivered from Hughes Bros. They were pleasant to deal with and gave me what I consider to be a fair price. (unpaid endorsement. This bootleg site will never get paid endorsements since about 2 people read it, ever. What a bunch of crap.)

In the past I have used 3/8 minus for pothole filling, but that stuff seems to wash away after a few months so I decided to try something different. 3/8 minus is basically tiny gravel. The reclaim asphault looks like gravel as well, but it should pack better. I hope. Not only will I use the crushed asphault for the potholes but I will also use it as a base for a driveway that I need to build this summer. 12 yards is a lot of material. The most I had bought in the past of the 3/8 minus was about 5 yards for $150-ish so for $275 and 12 yards I won't run out anytime soon.

For Kat's birthday yesterday we had lunch as Las Palapas Mexican restaurant, and unlike the time Tommy, Kat, Kate, and I went there nearly 3 years ago for the first time I did not pretend to be Schwarzenegger on Mars from Total Recall.

After lunch we made a spontaneous decision to go watch Wonder Woman at the movie theater, and I gotta admit that was a very good movie. Better than I expected it would be considering the saturation of comic book movies in the market these days. So far this year we've seen two very good comic book movies, Guardians of the Galaxy II and Wonder Woman.

I logged into our online bank account yesterday afternoon after the movie to make sure we had enough loot in the checking account to pay the Montaineer and cable bills, and I was shocked to see that we had over $4000 in there. Bank error? Did I need glasses because my eyesight deceived me? Nope! It was my JH bonus pay that finally got paid, and that bonus was for more than double what I was expecting and hoping for. DOUBLE. OH JESUS, HELL YA. $4184 after taxes. Last year my bonus was $1700 after taxes so that is a HUGE difference. I did a lot more taxes than I did the year prior so it definitely paid off in a big way. I made really good money doing taxes last year. Not doctor/lawyer money, but good for hanging out in a WalMart office for 3.5 months.

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Saturday, 6-03-17: Best week since... 2013? Oh, a new fire pit!
I just finished getting my swell on this evening in my bootleg gym, and it was glorious. I got a great workout in tonight, and even better I ran 3 miles in 23:05 earlier today. Best 3-mile run time in the spring in years. Since 2013. Since ever? Normally I am in my best cardio shape in the fall and not in the spring. This week I have felt great and I have gotten a lot of exercise. I played racquetball twice, I ran 9 miles and I lifted weights 5 of the 7 days this week. Oh Jesus, hell ya! It's my best non-blueberry raking week of exercise in years. I weigh about 146, and I feel like I am in great shape. That is no small feat for a guy who is 41.5 years old and who did not do much cardio at all this past winter. It is harder to stay in shape when you get older, but it is not impossible if you stick with it and make it a habit.

It is hard to feel great for an entire week. Last year I felt great for most of August-October. Last year I was having a great June until the middle of the month when my allergies caught up with me and I got sinusitis. What a bunch of crap that was. It put me out of exercise action for a week or two. F that! I was having allergy issues earlier this month, but I took some generic allergy pills and that helped. This past week my breathing has been great so I guess whatever makes me have allergies is not currently in full bloom. I'm sure later this month I will have more allergies so I need to make sure I take allergy pills so I don't get friggin' sinusitis again. I hate taking pills, but if they work I will take them like they are candy.

I am drinking a mix of coffee brandy, milk, and a Starbucks energy coffee tonight. I actually brought that with me to the gym and drank some of it there, but I did not get liquored up because lifting weights while boozed up = really stupid. Kat is working at Jester's tonight for the IWE wrestling show, and I will end up there shortly. Last night was fun at Jester's and thankfully I did not have to sing because it was busy. I don't mind singing when it is not that busy there, but I am bad at it so I prefer others to do it. Jester's is usually a fun place and I hope tonight it is fun. Usually Friday nights are the best and Saturdays are not so great so we shall see...

If all goes as planned this will be the first month in about 3 years where I don't have a ton of things that require me to do a shitload of work. I have a lot of things still on this list, but they are not time-sensitive and I can pick away at my leisure. All the apartment are rented, and the next vacancy is expected later in July. That apartment is "90%" spoken for already so bonus for me there. Last year at this time I had a lot of apartment work to do, and the house addition still needed a lot of work so I didn't feel like I could truly relax and enjoy the nice weather on a regular basis. This summer I hope to scale back the amount of hours that I work so I can enjoy life more. I still will work of course, but I hope I can also make plenty of time to hang out with my wonderful wife, read some books, exercise, and enjoy the coming summer months. Summer in Maine is fleeting so I don't want it to pass me by this year like it seemingly has the past couple years.

I finished the new fire pit today. It didn't take that long thanks to Kat building it with the blocks we had on hand Friday. All I had to do was buy a few more blocks, buy some mortar, and throw it all together. Guy uploads photos of it now...

^The mortar is still wet so when it dries it will look a lot better. (I hope!) Lowe's sells a metal ring for fire pits, but it is $99 and probably worth $20 so F that we just decided to use mortar to hold it all together. $11 for two bags of mortar > a Benji for a metal ring. Maybe the mortar will crumble and wear out over the years, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. The new fire pit looks more like the top of a well, but we wanted the height to keep the dogs out. I don't think the dogs will hop in, but with them who knows. So far so good, though.

^A perspective of the back yard, new fire pit, and the new deck. I think we will have some fun fires and cookouts this summer out back. Our yard is better than ever now, and it is a good feeling. The new fire pit probably cost $100-ish. Maybe a little less since the 35 blocks were on sale for $2 each. Yeah, I guess it cost more like $85. Not bad for something that will *hopefully* last for years to come.

The Red Sox have a 5-1 lead in Baltimore tonight. One out in the bottom of the 9th, Kimbrall in, and odds of the Sox winning = really frigging good. 98% or more I would say. Tonight seems like deja'vu from last night, but it is better because I got a better workout, the Sox are actually winning tonight (lost last night), and the fire pit is done and will be ready to use next weekend. I hope we can have a bbq with some friends next week or the week after that at this time, but we shall see...

Okay droolbuckets, all two of youz, I need to save this crap update that almost no one will ever read and then get ready to head down to the local dive bar to hang out with my awesome wife. I feel great tonight, the best I have felt all year, and it is a great feeling knowing that tomorow I do not have to do much except for hang out with my awesome wife, maybe read a few pages of Uncle Pete's book, and enjoy some almost-summer weather. Goonies never say die!

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Friday, 6-02-17: New deck = 100%.
Yesterday early afternoon not long after lunch I 100% finished our badass new 32x10' back deck. I got that shit done a few days ahead of my informal schedule, beotches! The goal I set for myself was to have it done by Kat's birthday, but I finished it 5 days early. Awesome!

The dogs, Kat, and I were all outside when I took my final photos yesterday. First is the view on the deck facing the right side of the house from the slider facing out into the yard:

^Hi Tiger Lily (left) and Copper (right.) Our dogs are awesome. They play very well together, and they are entertaining to watch. Today Kat was watering her new flowers when Tiger Lily tried to "catch" the water stream. Tiger Lily seemed to enjoy the water, including getting sprayed, while Copper ran away in fear. The things that scare Copper cannot be explained.

We had a massive thunderstorm roll through yesterday midafternoon, and Copper was terrified. By then I was losing to Deno on the racquetball courts, but Kat told me about it. We got a fast deluge of heavy rain, and some of that rain got into the new addition into the laundry room and cat litter-box area. What a bunch of crap! Apparently the new deck changes how the water runs off so now I need to create a solution for that problem. Hopefully I don't have to remove siding and turn it into a huge project...

^The lattice on the bottom was easy to do, but it took a few hours Wednesday. Kat was hard at work moving rocks and getting the yard squared away. Part of the reason water flooded onto the floor in the laundry area was the canopy for the swing on the deck, left side in the photo. That thing diverted a lot of water right towards the house. What a bunch of crap!

I am very pleased with how the new deck came out. It cost about $1800, not too shabby for a large deck. (Mostly special 18-month financing with Lowe's. My JH bonus should cover the cost. Maybe. Hopefully!) We haven't been able to enjoy the deck yet because the weather has been off and on, but hopefully all summer long we get plenty of chances to enjoy it. I plan to spend time sitting out there reading some books and enjoying the fresh air. Hopefully we can also have a few cookouts and fires out there. We started building a badass new fire pit today, and I think next time I will have that done with a photo or two to share.

The Red Sox are down 3-2 to the Orioles going into the 9th at Camden Yards in Baltimore. After the game ends I'll finish this bootleg crap update that no one will ever read and then I am Jester's-bound. Kat works down there both tonight and tomorrow night so maybe I will have a couple drinks tomorrow, too. I just finished a Bud Light Peach, and it was decent but not spectacular.

This fucking cat, OMG. It just ran over and tried to tip over the water bowl. I hate this one cat who lives in this house. Fucking asshole cat can kiss my hairy ass. I want to spray it with mace, but I will not actually do that because I am not really cruel and abusive. The cat I hate the most is named Mittens, and it belongs to Dillon. This fuckstain of a cat will tip over the water and spill it onto my precious... precious floor, and sometimes it even escapes to the outside world when I put the dogs out. I just regulated on that fuckface cat. When it comes back I will spray it with water to teach it a gods damn lesson. What a bunch of crap!

Dogs are awesome, and cats are not as awesome. I tolerate most of the cats around here well enough. I married a Kat! Obviously she is my favorite cat, ever. Hehehehe.

I am feeling a little buzzed right now, but I am not drunk yet. I don't want to booze too much because then I will feel like 10 pounds of shit stuffed into a 5 pound bag tomorrow. F that. I want to feel decent enough to go for a jog and to do some yard work tomorrow. Maybe I can finish the new fire pit tomorrow and then burn some stuff in it. However, it would be just me sitting by the fire so nevermind. I don't even have any firewood because I still need to chop all the wood up that is in the side yard. My "to do" list is still long, but it is shrinking now and that is a good feeling.

The Red Sox just lost to the Orioles. What a bunch of crap! I turned the game off and put on ABC's When Smokey Sings. A good tune that I heard on the 80s channel a couple months back and asked my awesome wife to get for me. Hey, she is a DJ and can make it happen. No more Napster, no more Limewire, and even my Youtube-mp3 converter tells me to fuck off these days. Good thing my 80s music collection is so large that I don't need to download much these days.

Damn these cookies are fucking awesome. Nekot cookie sandwiches. Lemon Creme. I need to buy these again!

^Lemon cookies for the win! Lemon is a great flavor and if you disagree then I hate you. I probably hate you anyway, but I will hate you a little more if you do not think these taste great. Nekot should pay me for the free plug gods damn it. $1 per click. (So I would receive nothing. What a bunch of crap!)

Speaking of kickbacks, my JH bonus still has not been paid. What a bunch of crap! Last two years it has come in mid-May, but this year I guess they blew it. Hell if I know but I want my money. Boss sent an email yesterday saying the payroll is more screwed up than a soup sandwich so I guess I get paid next week? It was supposed to be today, but oh well shit happens.

I do not know what when Smokey Sings means. It is a chick whom he needs so bad tonight. I guess her name is Smokey? She can sing like a boss? Right now I do not even have a clue, but my wife just had this to say to me via txt "I'm drynk." I guess that means I need to catch up because I can still type like a boss. Beotches!

Next is John Parr's Restless Hearts. End song to The Running Man. The two of you who actually read this shit-heap of a site already know that because I wrote about it last month. Awesome song, awesome movie! I wish I could go back to the 80s and just hang out. My wife and I would have been great friends back then, too. We would have played kickball and had Goonie adventures and done fun things.

I finished my lemon cookies so now I am eating chocolate Teddy Grahams and listening to Dire Straits Heavy Fuel. Kat drinks Jose Cuervo tequila so that is some serious heavy fuel. She just drinks it as shots, too. OMG. Count me out for that bullshit. I'll stick to draft PBR when I get to the bar. By some standards that is heavy fuel as well, but compared to Jose Cuervo it is like drinking flavored water. Hehehehe.

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Thursday, 6-01-17: Bye bye May.
The NBC morning news is on, and they have been talking about Trump and the Russian investigation. Now they are talking about the latest terrorist attack, a suicide bombing at a concert in the UK last week that killed a lot of people. That fucking asshole suicide bomber, he attacked a bunch of teenie-bobbers at some teenie-bopper concert by Ariana Grande. I cannot name one song that she sings, and I cannot pick her out of a police lineup, but I guess she is a popular pop singer.

I don't understand why people do things like that. Same for these horrible school shootings. To attack a place filled with lots of women and children is just pathetic. To attack any place like a terrorist does is pathetic, but it would be a little less pathetic if it was a military point of origin in a war effort. Blowing up a bunch of civilians = what a bunch of crap!

^ALL TERRORISTS FAIL AT LIFE. (Especially ones who blow up wommens and kiddies.)

Today I think I will finish the deck out back. It is actually all done now, but I have to put a little siding back onto the house and remove two small pieces of lattice along the bottom to add a couple more supports for them. Yesterday was a poor weather day, but it stayed mostly dry in the afternoon long enough for me to install the lattice. I think an hour or two will get me to 100%, and then I can start on the yard. We have some bare spots that need seeding, and we have some extra patio blocks that we plan to put to use. Also, a row of rocks along the back fence is going to disappear this week. Our back yard will look awesome later this month. I hope!

^I have the old siding all marked so hopefully I can match up all the pieces and putting it back together is simple. I just need to cut a new piece of J-channel and a new piece for the bottom. I had to remove the siding because the new deck extends about 3 feet further out than the old deck did.

^Weeds tend to congregate in all the rocks along the back fence, and they get annoying around the fire pit as well. It is hard to weedwack them all because there are so many nooks and crannies. (WTF is a nook and a cranny?) We put the rocks there a couple years ago because we thought it would look nice. It does look nice, but only when there are no weeds. We also put them there so the dogs would not be tempted to try and tunnel below the fence, but they are older now and I don't think they would have ever tried to do that even when they were younger.

^Kat started to do the patio blocks by the shed door since grass doesn't grow well there. We seeded that bare spot to the left twice, and yesterday Kat covered it up and raked in more new seed so that shit better start growing gods damn it. Ever since I bought this house 3+ years ago grass has barely grown there. It used to be a tree that was removed before I got the house, and the grass just never comes in. Poor soil I guess. What a bunch of crap!

I don't care that much about having a perfectly green and manicured lawn, but it does prevent the dogs from tracking mud all over the house so that is the primary reason why we are going to try like hell to get the entire back yard grassed in. Plus, as an added bonus, it will look very nice.

May was a decent month. I got a ton of apartment work done in the first half of the month, and then I had time to build us a badass new deck and even shoot a couple turkeys. I got a good amount of exercise, especially in the second half of May, and now I can actually jog 3 miles without having to stop and walk for part of it. I am still not in great cardio shape, but my run times have been about a minute faster lately than they were at the beginning of May.

I don't have a lot of work scheduled for this month, but I have plenty to keep me as busy as I want to be. I need to do some landscaping work at some of the rental properties. Potholes need filling, mulch needs recharging, weeds need to disappear, etc. I do have to replace a kitchen floor at my old apartment, but I think that will take a day. Maybe even less if Phil comes up to help. Phil's help last month was awesome, and together he and I got a TON of great work done. If I had more money I would definitely hire him on a semi-regular basis because he is good at carpentry.

The Red Sox have won more than they have lost lately, and they are not too far away from first place in the division. The weather around here has not been so great, and that sucks. A lot. I still need to find out about this coming blueberry raking season, too. I called CLiff and left him a voicemail yesterday, but as usual he did not call back. I don't take it personally because Cliff always sucks at checking his messages. I did just send him a text message as well so hopefully he lets me know soon what the raking plan is so Gav and I can get a campsite. Hopefully Cliff has a raking season. One of these years (this year?) he will retire and probably so will I...