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"Do you like your new apartment?" -Me
"Yes very much. Drama free. I'll be bouncing up and down on (hopefully hot) chicks in no time. lol." -Tommy
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" -Me

Sunday, 11-29-15: I'm 40 years young.
I’m 40 years old now. Is that old? When I was younger I used to think 40 was old, but perspective has a way of changing with each passing year. I feel great for 40. I'm healthy and fit. I consider that a blessing from the Gods who do not really exist. I wish I could give my health to my wife; she hasn't been feeling well lately and by lately I mean most of this year.

Hard to believe I was in my 20s when I started this pathetic bootleg site that almost no one reads. We didn’t do much celebrating for my birthday yesterday, and that suits me just fine. I actually worked a bit yesterday mostly finishing up this roof:

^Jeremy is putting on the last of the cap shingles. Epic fail by me letting the mortar for the south (left side) chimney to splooge all over the roof. What a bunch of crap! Oh well, in a year or so it will (hopefully) wash away. So far we've had a few rainstorms since I spilled that wet mortar all over the place, and it has washed off a little.

All the shingles are on now, and another hour this afternoon should do it for me. (Assuming Jeremy did his damn job, which is 50/50.) Then I can send the photos to the owners and get paid. It’s only 19 degrees outside right now so I won’t be finishing anything until it warms up into the mid 30s. The roof ended up taking longer than I anticipated; in a perfect world we would have gotten it done in 2.5 weeks. Now, 4 weeks later, we’re finally done. However, we didn’t work full time hours on the thing, ever. We did have a milder than average November with not too much precipitation so that helped us a lot, especially earlier in the month.

My profit from that roof will be just a hair over $2000. Not horrible, but an average of about $20 per hour isn’t fantastic considering the scope of work and the risk involved. One wrong move and bye bye profit/bye bye life if I fell from the peak or onto something unforgiving. I thought I was gonna have to pay for the neighbor’s flat tire because she parked right near our debris when I noticed it was flat last week, but she said the tire had a screw it in and we only used nails so I got a lucky break. Gavin went around with his magnet and found a lot of nails on his side. I need to borrow that magnet and see if I can recover more nails from the other side and near the road.

In hindsight I would have still done the roof, but I would have charged a bit more and I would have hired a more motivated helper. I put just over 100 of my own hours into the job including materials purchase, debris haul-off etc. If I charged them more I would have had a dumpster delivered to the property. That would have saved a few hours of my own time. Five trips to the dump cost me $95, not horrible, but the time value of money is a consideration as well. A dumpster would have cost a few hundred dollars, I’d guess at least $400. Those shingles are heavy and there was A LOT of debris. There is actually still a small amount of trash to remove, but 90% of it is gone.

I did the roof for $5300, $500 less than my original estimate of $5800. Thankfully I make a profit just managing the property so in the end it was worth it even at the lower $5300 price. Now I need to see how I can help the owners recover the $2400 or so that they paid to David Watson of Madison. (Watson’s Home Repair.) He took half their money and refused to finish claiming bogus needs as detailed in the recent archives of this bootleg site. I hope they can get their money back because that “contractor” really screwed them over. If they can get it to court they will win in a landslide, but they live in Rhode island so the logistics of that will be challenging. The owner is 67 years old and disabled so that makes it even worse for them.

Now I can resume focus on the work left to be done here at our own house. Yesterday Bruce ran some heating ducts and hopefully this morning I can get most of my electrical work finished when Ben and his boys come over. I’m hoping to start the ceiling in Kat’s soon-to-be studio this morning. Here is what it looks like as of 0730:



Once the ceiling is done I can install window trim and the floor, baseboard, and then it’s done. I could have it done by Tuesday if all goes well. After that it’s just the waiting game again as I coordinate with Bruce and Bob for the furnace install. That needs to be a top priority because right now it’s below freezing out there and I need to go fire up the kerosene heater.

For my birthday I got a $100 Lowe’s gift card from Mom and Pop. A great gift! I went down for an evening hunt in one of Pop’s favorite spots, the little field out at the Prison Farm. I didn’t see any deer. What a bunch of crap! We had leftover Thanksgiving fixings as Mom shit on our pet situation for the 100th time. “I can’t believe how many pets you have. Your house is way too small…” She makes me not want to even go visit, but thankfully Pop doesn’t shit on me, ever. All he wants to do is hang out and go hunting.

^Pop has gotten a lot of deer here over the years, but not me. I fail!

Kat got me the best gift of all, this gift:


OH JESUS HELL YA! It's parts 1-3. She got me Rambo 4 last year so now I own all of them. There are bonus features, deleted scenes, etc. so I can’t wait to check that all out. What a great gift. My wife rocks! We also went out to eat and then to see The Hunger Games part 4 (final one) with Katherine, and she paid for lunch since it was my birthday. I enjoyed the movie, but I didn’t think it was as good as parts 2 and 3. Overall a well-done series of films, though.

Thursday, 11-26-15: More deer hunting fail.
I failed again as a deer hunter last night. What a bunch of crap!

Yesterday afternoon/evening’s hunt was another awesome one. I’ve only gone five times all year, each time at my favorite Supertree spot with my bow, but I’ve had a great ratio of deer sightings and action. Yesterday just on the walk into Supertree I had deer running all over the place. First was a 4-pointer at the back end of the cemetery where I park. Second were two does running across the front end of the little field back in the woods, and third was another deer running across the trail at the back end of that same field. A good start, very promising to have that much deer action, especially at only 1430. (Full moon fever?)

I got to my spot at Supertree and was set up to hunt at about 1450. It was a great evening to hunt with light wind, some snow on the ground, and a temp of around 30. At just after 1530 two deer arrived, and my trail cam caught them in action:

^Smaller deer off to the right behind some brush. Time was actually 1536, not adjusted for Daylight Savings because I suck.

I had a great opportunity to try a broadside shot at the smaller of the two deer, but I was greedy so I waited for the larger doe. The deer had no idea I was there, and I sat still like a boss whenever they were within eyesight of my position. Once both of them had their heads turned/behind a tree to me I was able to draw and take a shot at the bigger doe. A miss. What a bunch of crap!

Fortunately she only bounded off a few yards then kept feeding under the same apple tree back to another shot opportunity. This time I felt more confident (and lucky for a second chance!) so I patiently drew and let my arrow fly. The way she reacted I thought I missed again because she ran off a bit, stopped, walked some, and then finally ran away. I was hopeful it was a kill shot, but I was filled with doubt. I sat tight for another 15 or 20 minutes before sneaking over to the tree to look for arrows and blood. No blood, no arrows. Shit!

I kept looking around and finally was barely able to discern a little line in the snow that an arrow might make, I dug around, and I saw some of my bright arrow fletching. No blood on that arrow. One found, one to go. I kept searching, I expanded my search radius, and after a few more minutes (felt like an eternity when looking and not knowing for sure) I found some blood in the snow. A hit, nice! The blood was a good 20 yards from where she was when I shot her so she didn’t bleed immediately. By then it was just about sunset and the light was fading so I decided to get the hell out of there and search in the morning. The forecast was for cold so I knew the blood trail and deer meat would be preserved, but I was concerned that if I did down that doe coyotes could find her in the night. That happened to Pop last year when he shot his deer, and it was horrible.

I’ve had bad luck trying to follow a blood trail in low light when I wasn’t certain about my shot in past hunting excursions so the decision to leave for the night was easy to make. I didn’t want a wounded deer to spook and run deep into the woods, screw that, so I let the woods settle and went home. I got home, uploaded my 245 trail cam pics (6 days worth. Awesome!) and was amazed to see this photo:


OMG OMG OMG NO WAY. HE WAS IN THERE ONLY 30 MINUTES BEFORE I ARRIVED. OMG OMG AMAZING. I WOULD GIVE MY LEFT NUT TO SEE HIM THERE STANDING LIKE THAT WHEN I AM 25 YARDS AWAY IN MY GROUND BLIND. (Not really but I would get very excited.)

Another cool photo of a bear in there last night making a half-assed attempt to climb Supertree:

I wonder if that's the same bear as last year? Pretty cool to know there is a bear hanging out in there, as long as he doesn't try to eat me of course. I've had other trail cam photos of him as well, but not that many and always at night.

I arrived in the woods at first light to look for that doe today. I picked up the blood trail and followed for about 40 yards until I found my arrow. It was bloody and had deer hair on it halfway up the shaft. A little further along was some more blood and a good amount of it so I was hopeful I would find my steaks and burger at any moment. Unfortunately, the blood trail disappeared so I had to look for a very long time before I was able to pick it up again. I had it, I lost it, and so it went for a while and for a couple hundred yards before I lost it for good in the deep, thick, coniferous woods. To add insult to injury as I was standing by the last drop of blood that I could find I saw motion off to my right and there was a spikehorn deer just ambling along about 25 yards away from me. That deer had no clue I was there, but I didn’t have my bow and wouldn’t have shot at him anyway. Can’t be too greedy and have two deer to try to find. It was awesome seeing him walk on by, though.

So after 3 hours of looking for that deer I gave up. I’m a piece of shit for failing again, and I hope that deer just bled a bit and will recover to live a good life. The snow helped me a tremendous amount; without it I might not have found any blood or my arrow. The deer sign in the woods at my Supertree spot is fantastic so I think I could go back a couple more times before the season ends and have another chance. Unfortunately, I don’t deserve another chance.
I’ve had three chances so far this year to shoot a deer on two different hunts and both times I have come home with nothing but empty hands and a heavy heart. Gods damn it! I should just quit for the season, but not yet because I want deer meat and I want to earn it myself. Tomorrow PM I plan to go down to Mom and Pop’s to rifle hunt so I still have a chance. The question is will I blow that chance?

Wednesday, 11-25-15: Roof finish fail.
We got a couple inches of wet snow Sunday night. Thankfully it wasn’t enough to require my bootleg rentals to be plowed ($150 a storm. What a bunch of crap!) However, it wasn’t something that the forecasters predicted in the days prior so it was a bit of a surprise. Only on Sunday a mere few hours before the storm began did they predict accumulating snow for us here in the Bangor area.

Often times our first snow of the season happens in November so it’s not unusual. Unfortunately, often times our first snow melts fast and this time that is not the case. Ever since the last flake fell we have been at or way below freezing so now, nearly three days later, there is still snow on the ground. Even worse, there is still snow on this roof:

WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! It’s 18 degrees right now with a forecast high of 33 today so I don’t expect much of that to melt. If the sun would hit it then no problem, but that west side doesn’t really get the sun this time of year. Epic fail. Of course it’s gonna warm up tomorrow on Thanksgiving and be in the low 50s by Friday, the two days I have plans and can’t finish the thing. I could finish it Saturday, but we will only be in the 30s again that day.
This roof is so close to being done, probably 98%, and I only need a few more hours to tidy everything up. Unfortunately, when winter hits this time of year it can stick around for a while. If Jeremy and I worked a little more on it earlier in the month it would have been done by now, but I hired a lazy drunk as my assistant and I have 50,000 other things going on so oh well.

I don’t get my $5300 paycheck for that job until that roof is done so I guess what I can’t finish today will have to get done tomorrow and Friday. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I have no desire to work since I’d rather go deer hunting and then spend the rest of the day here with the family eating food and watching football. I’m planning to go down to the midcoast to deer hunt Friday, but I may have to only make time for the evening sit down there so I can try to finish that roof in the morning up here. I should just cancel my trip to Mom and Pop’s, but fuck that I haven’t been down there even once to deer hunt with my 30.06 and come hell or high water I am going gods damn it.

This fall has been a disaster, and it’s my own fault. I’ve taken on way too much work, we have two dogs who suck, my wife hasn't been healthy, and I’ve learned a very important lesson about time management. I haven’t even been able to use the gym or go deer hunting that often because I have been so busy. It won’t get much better after I finish that roof either because I have this home renovation to work on and then the JH tax job begins. What a bunch of crap! Hopefully by next spring I can reduce the amount of work that I have going on.

Kat and I did spend Monday night down in Portland, and that was a nice little break from the stresses of the world. For the first time in my life I did a little Christmas shopping early. I suck at Christmas shopping and I don’t even like Christmas, but Kat is helping me be less of a scrooge. We did some shopping, we ate some good food, and we watched the Patriots improve to 10-0 as they narrowly beat the Bills. Unfortunately, we found out that we have to spend several hundred dollars more on the vehicles to get them up to par. Her Mountaineer needs brake work, and my truck needs new front pads and rotors. I had new tires installed while we were gone so bye bye $740 for that. (Original tires got me nearly 59,000 miles and over 5 years. Not bad!) An extra several hundred will be needed for the brake work on the vehicles as well so I really need to finish that roof ASAP so we have that precious... precious money rolling back in.

Sunday, 11-22-15: Can't wait to rehome Crowley.
On a scale of 1-10 our two puppies suck-level is about a 9 right now. I actually am at the point where I pretty much hate them. This morning I was thinking that if one of them died I would not even be sad at all. What a bunch of crap! Probably individually they are okay, but together it's normally holy hell. We do plan to re-home Crowley, but he has an unknown defect that needs to be addressed before we can do that. We took both dogs to the vet midweek, and Crowley's beta level is a 14 when it should be between 0-2. It's not a beta level; isn't a beta a fish? Maybe white blood level? I forget, and I don't even care... whether or not I care. However, I do care because we can't find him a new home until we find out when his body is a 14 when it should be a 2.

^HE NEEDS A NEW HOME ASAP.

To make matters worse Crowley is Katherine's dog, but she has school, babysitting, and now swimming several times a week so she is rarely available to even do the basics with her dog like feed him, let him out to go poop, walk him, etc. That means Kat and I get stuck dealing with him most of the time. When Katherine is home she doesn't even give a shit about him either. It's just a fucking disaster with these dogs right now. I seriously do hate them, and that is sad.

The morning routine with the dogs is get woken up by one or both of them (I don't really sleep in anymore anyway so I can deal with that.) The puppies race outside to take a fast piss, and thankfully I don't have to hook them outside for that because they always come right back on a dead run. They know they get fed in the morning so they have incentive to come back in, but otherwise if you put them outside not on a leader they won't come back in; they will dig holes and they will look for shit to eat as they both ignore calls to come.

So first thing in the morning the one small victory is the fact the dogs come back in right away. I get them their food next, and that sucks because they are sticking their faces as close as possible to the bowls and food tote as I try to ration it out. They can't be fed together because they will get into a nasty dog fight so I put Crowley in the crate to feed him then Castiel can eat in the kitchen. However, yesterday Crowley got possessive of the crate so now we have to feed him elsewhere. Gods damn it!

After I feed their asses I try to get myself a bowl of cereal. I can normally have a few bites before one of the two fuck-tard dogs starts scratching at the door to go back out. Time to poop! I often make them wait a few minutes so I can shovel in my cereal and watch the weather, but they are persistent and it gets annoying. I can't put them outside together anymore because we have to regulate their poop. It needs to be cleaned up ASAP because they will literally take a shit, turn around, and start to eat it. Castiel actually beat me to it this morning, that yellow dopey fucker.

I was able to scoop up Crowley's poop and toss it over the fence, no prob. His shit looked like it had pieces of cloth or something like that in it, only the 1000th time that has happened since we got the two terrors at the end of May. They will literally eat anything so what comes out the other end looks scary at times. They will even try to eat rocks. Fucking ROCKS. HEY DUMBASSES ROCKS ARE NOT FUCKING FOOD. A couple months ago Crowley took a shit that was literally the colors of the rainbow because he was eating a colored blanket in his crate. OMG FAIL. I'm amazed his intenstinal tract can even function anymore considering the various things that pass through it. Cardboard, pieces of toys, dirt, grass, weeds, cloth, etc etc. It's totally ridiculous.

We got these fuckstains off Craigslist. Sometimes you win off Craigslist and sometimes it is epic fail. My laptop computer came from Craigslist for around $200 and that has been great over the course of 1.5 years. The owners of the property I manage hired a "roofer" off Craigslist and he took half their money and refused to do the work. I once bought a rafting trip for 8 for $350 off Craigslist, a great deal. I list apartment rentals on Craigslist and have gotten some great tenants as a result. Our dogs, you know how the story goes. We paid $1300 for them both, too. Gods damn it!

^BUYERS BEWARE WHEN USING THIS SITE.

So this morning I successfully scooped up and tossed Crowley's still-steaming shit over the fence and into the Swamps of Sadness in the woods beyond. A lot of dog shit ends up back there because I shovel it right over. Kat thinks it's a bad idea, but it biodegrades and never stinks. Next it was Castiel's turn so I was right there and ready to scoop. One nugget hit the ground so I scooped it, but while I was scooping that turd up he launched another smaller little final piece, he immediately turned around, and he gobbled it up before I could stop him. I was only a foot away, but he was FAST. GODS DAMN IT YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE DOG DO NOT EAT YOUR OWN SHIT IT IS RICICULOUS. WHAT A LITERAL BUNCH OF CRAP! Then he will go back inside and try to lick your face if you get to his level. Fuck this shit.

I have to go work on the roof at the building I manage, the same roof we started three weeks ago. I only have a few hours left, but I don't think I can get it 100% done today because rain is coming this afternoon and then 1-3" of snow tonight. Yesterday there was no measurable snow in the forecast and only the call for some showers so at some point in the night their new model runs pushed a coastal storm further inland and now we are pwned. What a bunch of crap! Hopefully we only get an inch at most so I don't have a plowing bill to pay.

In conclusion, we need to get rid of Crowley ASAP because being home with both dogs absolutely sucks. It's not fun anymore. I could complain about the dogs for another hour, write about all the times they jump all over us on the couch, try to steal our food, hump each other, etc. However, I have work to do so nevermind. The end.

Friday, 11-20-15: Another busy week next week.
This roof job is a double-edged sword. I’m gonna make a couple grand, but it has taken up a lot of my precious… precious time. Thankfully it’s almost all done. Tomorrow will be a few hours of cleanup, two or three trips to the dump. After that only a few hours of work remain for both Jeremy and I. However, Jeremy is unmotivated so it will probably be several total hours for me and a couple for him. What a bunch of crap! If all goes perfectly I can finish it this coming weekend, email all the photos to the owners, and get paid.

The $5300 from that roof will be good to receive since we need to dump a bunch of money into vehicle repairs and maintenances, we need to do Christmas shopping, and of course there are the other regular bills to pay. I still owe the IRS a bit of money, but I don’t know exactly how much and the only way to find out is to call them. Get this, I tried calling them yesterday just after supper, I pressed 2 when it said “To find out how much you need to pay off your debt press this option.” And then it said “Sorry we are too busy so call back the next business day.” That wasn’t the verbatim message, but you get the gist. OMG WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! HEY IRS HOW ABOUT WHEN I CALL TO FIND OUT HOW MUCH I OWE YOU SO I CAN FUCKING PAY YOU DO NOT TELL ME TO CALL BACK BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO BUSY. YOU MUDDA FUCKAS.

I need to get this bill paid off ASAP so I can be a tax preparer again for Jackson Hewitt this coming season. I don’t think I can get a PTIN if I owe the IRS, and I need a PTIN to prepare taxes. This year Jackson Hewitt is actually doing a background check on their applicants. I guess last year they decided to take just anyone so I got in. Hehehehe. I’m already hired. I think? I had to do some bootleg online assessment where they ask dumbass questions like “Am I a scumbag, puke, piece of shit?” Then you select from the following options : STRONGLY AGREE, AGREE, NEUTRAL, DISAGREE, STRONGLY DISAGREE, or I HAVE NEVER HAD A JOB BEFORE. The I HAVE NEVER HAD A JOB BEFORE choice came up a lot on the test so I chuckled whenever I saw it. I shoulda clicked on that just to be silly, but I already bailed on one seasonal job (USPS) so I should take this opportunity seriously. Sorta need the money to pay for the home renovations.

Next week will be BUSY. In addition to trying to put the finishing touches on that roof Kat and I are going to spend Monday night in Portland for a break from the world and to do some shopping. We have to go to Waterville anyway to get the Mountaineer serviced so from there we will continue southbound to Maine’s biggest city. I also need to drop the truck off Monday AM at the shop up here so they can put on new tires, fix the brakes, and give me a sticker. My inspection expired in June. What a bunch of crap! The tires and sticker alone will be $800, and the brakes sound like metal on metal since Monday so I’m guessing at least new pads are needed. Hopefully nothing too costly beyond that, but the truck is 5+ years old now so I’m sure some parts are failing.

^I should trade in my truck and get a pink tank. Hehehe.

Overall my F150 has been great to me. I’ve never had any major problems. A few years back I had a key stop working so they replaced the whole dash computer, but that was under warranty and didn't cost me any money. Turns out it was just the key. I think? I love my truck. I treat it like shit and it treats me better. I never clean it, but I do get oil changes and I don’t drag race in the thing. My original tires got me close to 60k miles and over 5 years. Not bad!

We will get back from Portland at some point on Tuesday, and then I can finish that roof, celebrate Thanksgiving, and hopefully next Friday go down to Mom and Pop’s for a quick visit and a few hours in the woods. Pop is all excited to stick me in his favorite hunting spot at the farm in the little field since he is tagged out, and I would love to sneak up in there for an evening hunt. I do prefer to hunt up here because deer are all over the place at Supertree, but if I hunt that spot more than say once a week it will get used up. A hunting spot can burn out fast if you go to it too much. You leave scent and deer wise up fast.

I haven’t done much on the home renovation since I started the roof, but Kat’s studio is painted and looks like a real room now instead of a cluttered catch-all. We need heat out there and then I can do the suspended ceiling, floor, and trim. Once that is done her studio can be operational, and that will be awesome. However, I’m thinking it will be a couple or three more weeks before all that happens. My heating guy sucks ass. Seems like a decent guy, but is overwhelmed with work and his wife’s poor health so he can’t keep up. He was supposed to start my heat install last weekend, but he bailed. What a bunch of crap! If he doesn't come tomorrow I will threaten his life. Hehehe.

^Kat's studio last Sunday. She painted it Monday, and now it really looks great.

^The other two walls of her soon-to-be studio. Now that it is painted I am just waiting for the heating ducts to be run overhead to feed the upstairs rooms. After that I can install a suspended ceiling, flooring, and trim. If I had heat out there I could have her studio room 100% done in just a couple full days of work.

I took some more pictures of the home remodel, but I will save those for next time. I finished installing all the sheetrock in what will be Katherine's bedroom, but my main focus has been that roof so I haven't been working much at all on our own house. Thankfully the roof is almost done so I can refocus on the most important project of all, our own home expansion.

Thursday, 11-19-15: Late-night at Tag's. Deer and roof photos. Plus my wife is hot.
It’s 2315, and I am hanging out at Tag’s in Ellsworth with my lovely wife. There is a useless football game on TV, the Jacksonville Jaguars vs. the Tennessee Titans. Jacksonville just scored a TD to take a late-game 16-13 lead. Both teams suck, and I don’t even care… whether or not I care who wins. Nevertheless I watched a good part of the game in between reading a few articles and doing the weekly Edge newspaper crossword puzzle. Even the crappy teams of the NFL are watchable because football is awesome. (Not soccer futball. That is horrible to watch and is a bunch of crap!)

Tommy turned 40 today. He’s out in AZ, and we texted back and forth a few times. It was only a half a year ago when he moved out west, but it seems like longer. In 9 days I will be 40. Go me! Both he and I are in damn good shape for 40. So is Kat. Most 40-year oIds are getting fatter and closer to dying, but I am in great shape right now. I feel pretty good despite the fact that my right arm gets a little sore in the night and wakes me up. Every time I do strenuous physical activity using my right arm/shoulder for a prolonged period of time I think a nerve gets pinched a little. Stripping the old shingles off this roof caused that lately; it literally took hours upon hours to strip that roof. I would say about an hour per square of the roof, no joke. At 22 square that is a lot of work. Good exercise at least. I stripped the entire thing myself over the course of the past two weeks, too. Every gods damned shingle.

^Epic frost. It was 19 degrees Wednesday AM, our coldest morning yet, so I waited until 0845 when it had warmed up to a whopping 25 degrees before I started stripping off the remaining old shingles. Being on a frosty roof is very dangerous, but once I stripped off a section of the old shingles there was no frost underneath so I had safe places to stand. I started at the peak and worked my way down.

^Midafternoon before I quit to go deer hunting we almost had the final west side done. It would have been done already if Jeremy was more motivated. What a bunch of crap!

At least the back north side is 100% done including caulk, the little siding pieces on the two dormers, etc.

I’m finishing up a Monster Energy drink and also watching the drunks sing. Some are good, some are not, but just having singers is the goal so I clap for them all regardless of talent. I suck at singing karaoke myself. Hehehehe. I am kinda on duty with my MadKat DJ Services hat and tee shirt on, the usual Thursday night outfit. I don’t wear the MadKat gear to Jester’s on Friday because it’s frigging Jester’s. Jester’s is a huge piece of shit bar, but it will always and forever hold a special place in my heart because I met my best friend there. Plus I do enjoy going still, at least in small doses and when I have a couple drinks in me.

Kat picked up another karaoke gig, Wednesday nights at a place called The Roost up in Orono. Sweet! I know she is excited for that to begin in two weeks (Two weeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkssssssssssss!), but we are concerned that it might be too much for her considering her health lately. I told her I’d help out and learn how to be her substitute karaoke DJ for when she’s not feeling well enough to work so tonight she taught me a few things before the show started. I’m not afraid of getting on the mic and introducing singers, etc. However, I am not a good singer and the technology part of it all is still a bit beyond my complete grasp. The technology I can master with training, but the singing part not so much. I do love music, I often hum to myself and don’t even realize it much to the amusement of those who pay attention to my odd quirks, but singing is not something I ever plan to take seriously.

^MUCH BETTER AND SEXIER DJ THAN I COULD EVER BE. RATIO IS 1 TO A TRILLION.

I went deer hunting for only the 4th time all season this afternoon, but I didn’t see jack shit. I did swap out my SD card from the trail cam, and I have 397 photos to check out. Not bad for 8 days! I haven’t even looked at one of the photos yet so let’s see what we gots… OMG OMG OMG! HUGE 10-POINT BUCK UNDER SUPERTREE AT 0708, BROAD DAYLIGHT, THE MORNING OF THE 15TH. OH JESUS, HELL YA!

^I never adjusted my timestamp for Daylight Savings Time. What a bunch of crap! Think he is horny for that little deer off to the left? It's the rut, deer mating season, so he probably wants to stick his weiner into anything at this point.

Now all I wanna do is go park my arse in the woods for about a week straight until he walks on by again. However, I won’t really do that because, come on. Lots of deer activity at this spot at all hours of the day including legal times. Looks like deer go through there almost every morning. A spikehorn in there at around 1000 a couple days ago. Awesome! Oh great, I planned to go hunting yesterday PM and a whole crew of deer was in there with plenty of daylight left. However, they look like the same deer that I spooked a couple weeks ago so I’m sure they came in looking for me. This is a GREAT hunting spot, perhaps the best I’ve ever hunted in this hunt-fail state, so I will never tell any of you exactly where is it. Hehehehe. All two of you who read this bootleg crap.

I guess I am all done for the night. Fin. Hopefully I get a deer this season. Only about 3 weeks left so I need to get on it.

Tuesday, 11-17-15: So glad I am not doing the USPS job this year.
If I had taken that USPS seasonal job I would be getting ready for my second day of duty. It would be the beginning of a 6-week brutal stretch of working a ton of hours. Instead I am down to my last few days of a roof replacement, this roof:

^Amazingly has not leaked, but as you can see is in rough shape and definitely past time for new shingles. This is the west side, the final side we are doing.

I'm already just over 2/3 done, but I wish I was 3/3 done already. It is a big 22-square roof and I've done 3/4 of the frigging thing myself because my helper is a drunken lazy-ass. He didn't even work with me yesterday at all because, get this, he had to help his Mom get his yard ready for winter. Apparently raking and bagging leaves was more important than making money. He's broke, too. What a bunch of crap! All I wanna know is why? Why did he not do that shit over the weekend or why couldn't he do it later in the day after he got some hours in working for me? The simple and most brutally honest answer; He is a Giblet-Head.

The final section is the 6-square west-facing side, and in theory that should be the easiest of the three sides because there is only one dormer. However, the sheathing is pretty rough in spots so I will have to waste a big more precious... precious time fixing some of those spots. I still have to strip off the old shingles on half that back side, roughly 3 more square, and that will take a few hours as well. Stripping off the old shingles from that gods damned roof takes a long time.

^Took me about 3.5 or 4 hours to strip that west side down to the sheathing, about 3 square total. There is still another 3-ish square left to strip off to the left. What a bunch of crap!

Last weekend I didn't work on that roof at all. Instead we worked here at the house on the expansion. I sheetrocked and insulated upstairs, and we got Kat's studio ready for painting. She painted that yesterday while I did the roof job, and it looks great. If I can get this Giblet-Head heating guy to motivate his ass then soon we will have heat out there. If he doesn't get on top of it ASAP then he will get hauled on and I will need to find someone else. Having to hire someone else at this point in time = what a bunch of crap! However, I'm not gonna wait half the winter for this time-management-failure of a guy to get his ass moving. Every day we get closer and closer to the teeth of winter so I don't have much time left to get it done. It's already so cold out there that we need to run our kerosene heater to mud/sand/paint. On Sunday it was about 40 degrees in the upstairs room where I was working so I had to bundle up.

Rain is coming Friday so that gives me three more days to get that roof covered. In a perfect scenario I'd have the thing 100% shingled by Thursday PM, but I'm sure it won't be 100% done. The 2-square porch roof still needs shingles as well as a small part of the north side so I plan to put my helper on that, assuming he works at all this week. I really need to get this roof done by the end of the week so I can get paid. Plus I need to get back to work here at the house on the renovation. I need to get Kat's studio, the laundry room, the bathroom, and Katherine's bedroom all done before the end of the year.

Thankfully I am NOT working at the USPS this year or else I would be in a time-management world of shit. Just a few more half-days on this roof and I can check that off the list, get paid $5300, and profit about $2000. That money will go towards Christmas and the home renovation. Seems like a lot of money, but it has taken a lot of time and it is dangerous work. Still I will average close to $20 per hour. Not bad since my original budget had me averaging closer to $15 an hour for my own time and labor.

Friday, 11-13-15: FREE DOG(S).
We got these two little "bundles of joy" at the end of May, brothers from the same litter for $1300 total:

At first they were so cute and fun. It was a pleasure seeing them explore the world and learn. They didn't even know how to walk up and down the porch steps for the first couple days. We took them to the park, we played with them, and we gave them a good home. They sometimes did stupid shit like piss on the floor and eat things they shouldn't eat, but we took it in stride because they were so young and they had so much to learn still.

Now, months later, the puppies are much bigger. They're not even puppy-size anymore, not even close. Castiel must be 70 pounds, and Crowley has to be pushing 60 pounds. They are both just over 7 months old so I don't know when the term "puppy" no longer applies to them, but it must be close. They definitely should be trained well enough to not fail as much at life anymore since they've been with is for nearly 5 months. However, they still fail often and our patience has worn thin.

We've been talking off and on for the past few weeks about re-homing the puppies, and we finally decided to find a new home for Crowley. The two dogs separetely are mostly tolerable, but together they are little assholes. I actually don't even like them anymore, and that is sad. It's very difficult just to feed them because they will get into dog fights over EMPTY FUCKING BOWLS. They inhale their food then get weird with each other in a bad way. More often than not Crowley starts the fight by coming over to Castiel and his empty bowl, but that's not always the case. Sometimes they get into fights over dog toys and stupid crap like one little piece of cat food that got wedged under the baseboard two days ago. What a bunch of crap!

Their occasional fighting with each other is not good. It doesn't happen every day, but when it happens it totally sucks. Thankfully neither of them has bitten one of us yet. Castiel had a little wound above his eye a couple days ago, a narrow miss from his eyeball itself. Thanks, Crowley. Most of the time they are just fine with each other, though.

When they fail I often just want to Karate-Kid kick them. However, violence (usually) isn't a good solution, it just creates more problems, so instead I will just be content to make a horrible bootleg Photoshop Karate Kid NES game reference. What a bunch of crap! (I am P1 and the dogs combined are P2. I AM WINNING.) Now all I wanna do is play old NES games with my wife. Once I finish all my work ( a year from now?) I will sit on my arse and play old video games.

The dogs fucking hump each other, and they are brothers. Epic fail. That picture above is so wrong yet so funny at the same time! Where's my psychologist gods damn it?

The fighting is part of the reason that we are ready to haul on at least one of the dogs, but not the only reason. They go outside and dig fuckin' holes in random places in the yard, they roll around in mud on wet days, they don't come when called, and they chase around the cats sometimes. Sully, Kat's new kitten, is barely two pounds so one hard chomp could kill him. The puppies haven't hurt him yet, but what if they do?

Oh, Castiel has developed a new and totally disgusting habit of eating shit. OMG. He will go outside and just start eating dog shit. This afternoon Crowley walked through some shit and then got it in the house and on the couch when he jumped up on the furniture, which they do 10,000 times a day. WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! I went outside tonight to shovel away Chessa's poop, but Castiel beat me to it and started chowing down on it before I could even see it. I could not see it in the dark. Epic fail. I have noticed that Chessa's poop has been missing lately, and I know why. The fucking dogs eat it. Gods damn it!

So I am totally sick of both dogs. They are smart enough to know how to do it right, but they fail on a regular basis. Maybe if I was the fucking dog whisperer like that TV show I've never watched I would know how to get them to stand at attention and shit me Tiffany Cuff Links, but I cannot influence them to do it right. None of us can. Plus Kat has been sick, I have been working a ton, and Katherine is a teenager with about 50 other priorities. Katherine probably loves Crowley (technically her dog), but she doesn't show it unless it's some "selfie" with her $700 fucking dollar smart I-Pad-phone. She takes zero initiative to walk him, to play with him, or even to go out back and work with him on commands unless we tell her to do so. She loves him just enough to pose on occasion for a Failbook photo selfie-post. What a bunch of crap!

So if you want this dog let me know. He is seriously free for the taking at this point:

^FREE FOR THE TAKING. He has been neutered, he has his shots, and he needs a good home. I bet if he didn't have his brother to misbehave with then he would be great. He's just too much for Katherine and for all of us. I don't hate him, he is a cute dog with oodles of energy, but right now he's not a good fit in our busy lives. Three dogs are too much for us, especially when two of them are dinks. Chessa is awesome, but the puppies are not awesome.

Once we re-home Crowley we will see how Castiel does, and if he still continues to not come when called, to eat dog shit, and play too rough with the cats then his ass will get evicted from the home. I know it is harsh to just haul on a pet, but I'm not advocating we euthanize either of them. Finding one or both of them a new home is not a bad thing if it improves both our quality of life and their quality of life.

Final thought about Crowley. All I wanna know is why? Why does he still occasionally piss on the floor? Castiel is 100% house trained, but Crowley fails every once in a while. His fails are epic, too. He will just stand there and unleash the flood gates all over our precious... precious floor that cost 63 cents a square foot at Marden's. What a bunch of crap! Then he looks all guilty because he knows better. Both of these dogs are smart enough to know better, but they don't even care because they do what they want.

In other news, Jeremy worked a whopping ten fucking hours all week on that roof with me. EPIC FAIL. he literally lives right across the street, too. His Mom came over to talk to me yesterday, and she asked me if I gave him any money. I replied "Yeah, I paid him yesterday." (I gave him some cash Wednesday PM.) She then told me I was only to pay him on Fridays because he spends it all on booze to which I respectfully replied "He worked for me, he earned it." When I pay him he seriously goes and buys booze and gets drunk. What a bunch of crap! Then he skips work the following day while he recovers/continues to drink. What a bunch of crap! He apologized to me today for it and said he will work more next week. Pretty sad really. Jeremy, like so many people I know including members of my own family, has so much potential that is wasted because he would rather be a Giblet-Head. I hope he can get it together for the sake of his family and his son.

That roof is about 2/3 done now; the most difficult back side only has a small little piece to finish that should be relatively easy. The final west-facing side should in theory be the easiest because it's not as high off the ground and there is only one dormer. I'm hoping to have that 6.5-square section done by this time next week. Then I can do a cleanup on Saturday the 21st when the dump is open next and be done with that friggin' roof. I've already put 62 hours of my time into that thing. I had planned to work about 100 total hours on it so it looks like I will end up close to that, perhaps "only" in the 90s if Jeremy can give me at least 15-20 hours next week. When he slacks off it's less I have to pay for in labor cost, but it's more work I have to do myself so I am trying to strike a fair balance. If I did it all 100% myself with no help at all it wouldn't be done until December, and that is unacceptable.

Overall I can't complain because I haven't fallen off and/or dropped a brick onto someone's vehicle so if I can continue to do good work I will do okay financially on the job. One more week then I can get back to work full-focus on the home renovation. Tomorrow Bruce and Bob are supposed to be coming ot start working on my heat for the renovation. Kat painted the floor for the laundry room already, and that looks GREAT. She's an amazing woman.

Speaking of Kat, she's doing her Jester's show across the street right now and I am in the office. I'm gonna finish this bootleg update that only two people will ever read then head on down to the bar to drink another beer or two. I won't get too much sleep tonight because Bruce is coming at 0800. What a bunch of crap! It's well worth it, though. We need to get this house renovation done so I can screw off more in 2016. Working this much is unacceptable gods damn it.

Next time I should write about the new Def Leppard CD that Kat bought me for an early birthday gift. My love for her is infinite. Exponentially. Plus 110%. That math makes no sense, but trust me it works.

Oh awesome, Pandora radio just starts playing Def Leppard's Rocket as I wrap up this post. It's track 3 from the Hysteria album, song length 6:07. The radio version is "only" about 4 minutes long because they lopped off the long guitar and instrumental part. I don't really know exactly how long that song is, but I will look now... guy looks it up..... Nope, 6:37. I SUCK. I used to know the exact song lengths of all 12 songs from that album once upon a time. Hysteria is the best album ever made and if you disagree then I hate you. I probably hate you anyway, but I will hate you a little more if you disagree with me.

^BEST ALBUM OF ALL-TIME YOU TURDS. (Want a dog?)

Wednesday, 11-11-15: Happy Veteran's Day to... ME.
Today is Veteran's Day so I don't have to take Katherine to school. It's 0717, and instead of driving back to the office/home I am updating this bootleg site and watching Shrek on TV. Shrek is awesome! The sequels not so much, but the original is timeless and extremely watchable. However, today I won't watch the whole movie because I have things to do. I always have things to do. What a bunch of crap!

Today isn't a holiday that I give much of a crap about. I'm a veteran so that makes it okay for me to not care too much, right? Kat did buy a green light bulb for the front entry so we are showing support. Not sure if that's even a catching fad or not, but in an ad before The Peanuts Movie we were influenced to give it a go. We saw The Peanuts Movie on Saturday, and that was a decent flick. These days a lot of the classics get totally butchered by Hollywood when they are updated/remade/whatever, but they gave the Schultz characters their due respect and stayed true to the spirit and world that he created. Kat loves The Peanuts and Snoopy. As an added bonus we got to use our free movie tickets that I won from the I-95.7 radio station last month when I was able to name a song based off one riff (Alice Cooper's Poison.)

I'm heading over to work on that roof shortly. There is a rainstorm just south of here, but it appears to be a miss. We will get rain tomorrow around dusk so over the next two days I have to make sure things are water-tight. So far we've only had a few sprinkles since we started the roof so I've been very fortunate to have such great weather. We've mosty been above average in temps, too. Oh Jesus, hell ya!

Since my last update we've gotten most of the east side done, I re-mortared both chimneys, and I've done a good 1/3 of the back (north) side. Before and after photos of the north chimney:

^Many loose bricks that seemed to be about ready to fall right off.

^I slathered mortar all over that muther! The mortar only cost $5 and was enough for both chimneys, but it did take a couple hours to do both.

Here is the west side:

Notice that grey staining below the south chimney on the new shingles? My bad there. I mortared like a slob, excess went everywhere, and I dumped some water on it to wash it away. Unfortunately, the water that I put on it made it worse. Plus I forgot about gravity so the water drained down right over a bunch of our tools and stuff. What a bunch of crap! When it rains a good soaking rain I think that will wash right off, though. I hope! I learned my lesson from that chimney and did the north one before we installed new shingles anywhere nearby.

Jeremy, my helper, is extremely unmotivated. He didn't work at all yesterday because I guess his Mom tossed a cigarette butt into a pile of leaves in their yard, they caught fire, and some of their siding melted. HAHAHAHAHA. So he was trying to fix that before their landlord found out. Why that took him all day I will never know, especially since as of 1130 he didn't even have any siding. He sauntered over to ask me if I had any, but I only have one piece that I need for the house in the photo above for around some of the dormers.

I probably should just fire Jeremy and find someone else, but at this point even if I have to finish it all my damn self I could. Jeremy does good work in spurts, but the problem is getting him there to do the work. It's really sad considering he lives right in the neighborhood so his commute to work is literally a few seconds of walking. He's broke as well so that makes it even worse. What a bunch of crap!

Alright turds, all two of youz, I gotta get my arse over to that building so I can work. Goonies never say die!

Friday, 11-06-15: A long day.
Today was a very long day. I woke up around 0330, and I couldn't go back to sleep. What a bunch of crap! I did not feel tired anymore and my brain was in overdrive thinking about all the things I had to do. I tossed, I turned, and finally at 0420 I got my ass up for the day. Pro of getting up that early = you can get a lot done. Con = you get tired later in the day. I guess if I smoked pot then 4:20 would be the perfect time for to be awake, eh? How did that even become a fad anyway? Is it from a movie? I would look it up, but I don't even care... whether or not I care. Pot is not for me. I will consume alcohol with joy, but no narcotics for this boy.

Before daylight this morning I ate breakfast, got my swell on in the gym, posted my deer hunting fail update that I began last night on this bootleg site, emailed roof photos to the owners, and took care of a couple other things all before having to leave at 0700 to take Katherine to school. I got a lot done early.

I got over to that roof at 0730 and started right in to work. There was some fog, but it was mild and things weren't wet so the weather was no burden at all. In fact, this week has featured great weather for roofing. We did have a few sprinkles Monday and Tuesday mornings, but those were very minor. Unfortunately, despite the good weather I am still a bit behind schedule on the thing. What a bunch of crap

If I had put in a full 40-hour work week over at that roof I would be close to on schedule, but I only worked just a hair over 30 all week. Jeremy was even worse. he only worked 18 hours all week. OMG. For a broke guy WHO LITERALLY LIVES RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE BUILDING that is quite sad. Oh well, I guess he is content to live in poverty. I'm definitely glad he has been helping, and I'd rather he only work almost half days so I can save on labor expenses. However, I do wish he was slightly more productive when he is there. I budgeted $1000 for labor costs, but at this rate I will come in below that tally when it is all said and done. I also budgeted 100 hours of my own time, but I might go over that by a bit if Jeremy only wants to work a half-ass schedule. Jeremy working less = more money for me, but I have to strike that balance because I will be pissed at myself if I am still dicking around with this roof come Thanksgiving.

Tomorrow I have to go to the dump to haul on this debris:

There is more debris than that, but the majority is in that pile. What a literal bunch of crap! It may not look like too much, but old roof shingles are a burden and heavy so it will take several hours to clean up everything on that side. Thankfully I have this guy lined up to help me tomorrow with the debris:

^AAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHA! He LOVES wrestling. Plus he will work for cheap. I win. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That photo must be a few year old. HAHAHAHAHA. This neighborhood will always hold a place in my heart despite the fact that this town is pretty much busted.

The frigging landfill is only open twice a month, the first and third Saturday of each month from 0730 to 1400. How stingy is that?! They used to be open about 20 hours a week. Fuck this town. Property taxes go up, amenities go down, and it sucks. Eventually we will probably hit the road, but not anytime immediately. I do love my deer hunting "Disneyland" here in Brewer, but I've only visited that place twice so far so screw it. Out of the 250 or so times* I've hunted there over ten years I've gotten a whopping two, maybe three deer from the entire place so I can afford to lose that forever, too.

If I ever did haul on this town forever I would seriously miss the gym the most. I love my gym. However, I love my wife more thatn my gym, more than anything, and this state is not good for her health...

^Has changed some since 2013 when I took that photo, but I would give it up. One day I am sure I will.

I have totally fucked away this fall. Badly. I overpromised and underdelivered, but I don't think it's 100% my fault. Maybe 90%? Kat got sick, Katherine needs transportation, and I am trying to do what's best for my family. I work pretty hard, and I work very efficiently, but there is still not enough time. All I require for myself is a few hours a week to exercise, to play racquetball about once a week, and this time of year to do some deer hunting. It's not that much, but I can't even fit it in. Aside from food and sleep, the basics, I don't need anything else. However, it seems like no matter how hard I try lately I can't win. Kat isn't happy that I am doing this roof, but the way I see it doing the roof for 3 or so weeks will sure beat the toll working for the USPS would have taken on me and on our family.

Kat is pretty smart, and she told me what I already know but didn't address in the open. I was too ambitious this fall. As she puts it now it's like a buffet because I have so many unfished projects. Every time she looks she sees something that is not done, and that is an epic fail. We have a roof over our heads and food on the table so we're not in a world of shit, but there is room for major improvement. I gotta get this gods damned roof done so I can get back to work on the home renovation ASAP. I need to manage my time better so I can fit it all in. It's like the expression "Rome wasn't built in a day." yet I am trying to build it in 3 months. The end result of that is EPIC FAIL.

I'm stressed out major because I feel like Kat is upset with me for working too much, but gods damn it having a family is hard. for years it was just me, myself, and I but now I want to make sure everyone else is taken care of. I welcome that because my life before was a toilet, at least emotionally, even when I was with Kelly up in Bradley. Being with Kat is like nothing I've ever experienced before or ever will again in a good way. Once I finish some projects then her and I will have plenty of time to hang out and relax before we get old and die. Sounds morbid I know, but it's the reality of the world. I don't want to wait until we are both 65-70 before we can "retire." I want to "retire" when we are both still in our 40s. I use the term "retire" in quotations because her and I will never truly 100% retire. We will still do a little of this and a little of that for years to come just because that is who we are. Maybe when we are in wheelchairs and walkers our health will force us to watch Magnum PI reruns on TV in the nursing home, but as long as we are physically capable we will both do something at least part time.

Back to this frigging roof. Here is what the roof looked like as of yesterday. Jeremy was gonna work on it more after I quit for the day, but then he decided to drink instead. He didn't exactly word it that way, but that's exactly what happened. What a bunch of crap!

^That is the biggest section, a little under 8 square total. The porch is another 2 square, but that should be easy to finish. We're doing the roof in three phases. First is the east side in the photo above. Second is the 5.5-square back section that we will start Monday, and finally will be the 7-square west section that I hope to start by Monday November 16th. The entire roof including the porch is 24 square. (100 square feet = one square.)

*250 times is a wild guess, but most of the time that I hunt in this state I don't see any fucking deer. When just seeing a deer is exciting then you know your state is hunt-pwned. What a bunch of crap! Oh well, most of the time just being in the woods is enjoyable. Except when the weather sucks. then hunting sucks, too.

Thursday, 11-05-15: OMG DEER!
My second deer hunt of the 2015 season was awesome. I saw lots of deer! The fact that it is already Novmber 5th and I’ve only gone deer hunting twice is a pathetic bunch of crap, but that’s my own fault for taking on so much work. Lesson learned for future years.

I bowhunted not far from the house at my favorite spot (and only spot so far this year!), Supertree. It’s a few hundred yard walk from the parking area at the cemetery back to Supertree, and dragging a deer out of there is a bitch, but being that far off the beaten path is worth it because I’ve had more deer encounters further back in that piece of woods. The first part of my two-hour hunt was uneventful as usual, except for a couple grey squirrels. Then I heard rustling behind me a ways, but it was just turkeys. I fought the urge to fall asleep for a bit, but I was awake enough to see deer coming my way at about 1550, a good half hour before sunset. The deer came in at my 12:00 position, and a doe led the way before two skippers. I waited until none of the three deer were looking my way and I started to move my bow to a draw-ready position. My bad.

A fourth deer, a mid-sized doe, had been trailing a ways behind the other three and I didn’t see her until I moved. She saw me immediately.. I was wearing my leafy-wear camo so she didn’t exactly know what I was, but she could feel the threat. Deer don’t miss much, and when there are 4 of them together it’s very hard to be on the ground among them and not be noticed.

So I was busted by that 4th deer, and she stared at me hard. I froze and averted my eyes so I could only see her in the corner of my eye, and I forced myself to not even blink. Become a statue and don’t stare and you might have a chance if the wind is in your favor. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she seemed to accept me as a part of the woods and followed the other three deer towards Supertree. I had already passed up a shot opportunity at one of the skippers because I wanted one of the two adult does. The first doe was a bit wary of me as well, but shooting at her was not an option because of the 4th deer watching me so closely.

When the 4th deer worked her way into a broadside lane about 25 yards away she stopped to stare my ass down again, this time even harder and this time while stomping her front foot into the ground. That’s not a good thing to see as a hunter because you know your quarry is about to bolt. In a desperate move of sorts I figured no guts no glory so I tried to raise my bow, draw, and shoot before she ran off. The end result of that was epic fail because, even though I was very fast she was even faster. What a bunch of crap!

It was only about sunset and all four deer scooted out of there because I blew it. I almost just quit and went home, but there was still a half hour left of hunting time so I sat tight and bleated with my call a couple times. I was hoping maybe another deer (a buck!) would stroll through, but to my utter amazement those four deer started slowly working back towards Supertree and my blind. Sweet!

^I was hoping this big fella would stroll on by my ground blind at about 20 yards, broadside, with his head down and facing away from me. He seems to only come out at full dark, though. Way past legal hunting times. What a bunch of crap!

Even though no massive buck (or anything with antlers) came by my blind tonight those four deer did slowly meander back towards Supertree from the back side. A couple of the deer were spooked as evidenced by an occasional blow, but they did not leave. I had a nice broadside view of one deer, but it was about 40 yards away so no way I was taking that shot. That same deer puttered around back there for what seemed like forever before it ever so slowly came a tad closer. Finally, at about 20 minutes past sunset with the last of the daylight fading fast, the deer turned broadside at what I presumed was about 30 yards away. I drew, got a target, but had to look with my naked eye because I lost the deer in my sight. I re-acquired my target, and I let my arrow fly. Deer scattered, I waited a couple minutes, and I went to go confirm my gut feeling.

When you shoot and you hit a deer you should always wait a while, I would say a half hour minimum, but I was fairly certain that I missed so I went down there while there was still a little bit of light left in the world to see if I could spot blood or an arrow. I found no blood, but about 40 yards away from my blind I did easily spot my arrow sticking out of the ground with the broadhead firmly lodged into a root. No blood anywhere, and not a drop of blood or hair on the arrow at all. A definite miss. What a bunch of crap. I suck! That deer must have been 35-40 yards away, not 30, so my shot went low. In hindsight taking the shot was unwise, but I got greedy. Thankfully it was a clean miss and not a wounded deer.

The sad part of this story is the fact that three years ago I did almost the exact same thing at the same spot. I misjudged the distance at that same exact ground blind, and I only had this to show for my pathetic efforts:

^Dad's hilarious response to that image when I emailed it to him in Dec of 2012"Looks like a geriatric barber shop." Hehehehe. I looked for that deer and/or blood for a long time the following day, but there was nothing to be found. Again on that day my shot went low and I only grazed off some underbelly hair. Not a mortal wound, not even close, so at least that deer lived through the ordeal.

Now I need to rebuild my blind at Supertree in a totally different spot because the blind I have now is compromised. Whenever those deer come back to that tree they will be looking for a weird-shaped object that does not belong, and if they see said object (me!) then they are out like fat kids in dodge ball.

In conclusion I missed a deer, but it was a very fun hunt. If I was just a little better I would have made a kill shot, but at least I was good enough to keep the deer close to me for a good 40-45 minutes. They kept looking at me, but my ability to not panic and to turn into a statue kept my faint hopes alive. Also, staying at full draw for more than a minute or two is damn hard. I was at full draw three different times before finally taking a shot, and the second time at full draw seemed like an eternity.

You live, you learn, and you improve. I take small comfort in the fact that only a few years ago I would have spooked those deer out of there within a few short minutes at most. I have become a better hunter over the years, but I still have a long way to go before I can call myself really good.

Better luck next time.

Tuesday, 11-03-15: This roof...
This roof is going to take a while. I was hoping to have it all done in two weeks (two weeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkkssssssssssssssssssss!), but after spending 7 hours working on the roof yesterday I realize it is going to take longer. Just stripping off the old shingles is a ton of work since there are two layers, and cleaning up the mess is also quite time-consuming. The roof has a total of six dormers and two chimneys so that also slows things down. Of course I knew all this going into the job, but I still thought two weeks would be a reasonable timeline. Now it looks more like 2.5 or 3 weeks before we can finish (assuming working on the roof 5 days each week.)

^It took me 3 hours just to strip all that in the photo and sweep some of the debris aside. Lots of debris on the ground to keep track of, too. This side is the worst as far as debris management because of the tenant entries, the road, and the driveway.

Thankfully I do have Jeremy helping me, and he knows roofing very well. I wasn't so sure he would be able to help since he got drunk and punched out a window at the bar on Friday night. What a bunch of crap! Glad he's not in the clink because doing the roof all by myself would be borderline impossible. If I had to find someone else I could, but I have worked on and off with Jeremy for the past 8 years and I know what I'm getting with him. Decent quality work at a fair price. I might actually take on a third person for the occasional help lugging shingles, ground cleanup, etc. However, I have to really watch the finances on this job so I can't just sub the whole thing out or else bye bye profit. I need to make some money for all the time and work I will have invested on this job.

All I wanna know is why? Why does it have to rain some this morning? The forecast was for morning clouds and afternoon sun so they blew it. What a bunch of crap! Doesn't look like a huge amount of rain on the radar and it will end soon, but we do have the roof stripped so a lot of rain would wreak havoc.

^It's bad when you have a roof that looks like this and then it rains. Hehehehehe. I do have tarps, but I didn't put them on because THERE WAS NOT RAIN IN THE FUCKING FORECAST GODS DAMN IT. WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP! Oh well, a few drops won't hurt anything.

This roof reminds me of the roof we did at Chamberlain Street 8 years ago. We started that roof at the very end of October and didn't finish it until February or March of the following year. What a bunch of crap! However, on that job we re-sheathed the entire roof and we also had to gut the entire building so I wasn't just working exclusively on the roof. I remember that year the weather was ok for us until around Thanksgiving and then winter hit hard. We got tons of snow in December so it was all but impossible to finish. We learned a lot from that roof and won't be repeating those mistakes again. (I hope!) This roof should be all done by mid-month, give or take, and the forecast is for mostly decent weather for the next several days so we should be able to make some good progress.

^From 2007/2008. Let's hope we get this roof done before that much snow falls. Let's hope we get it done before ANY snow falls! I don't get paid until the job is done so I have a financial incentive to stay right on top of it.

Alright slapnuts, all two of you who actually come to this bootleg site, the showers appear to be ending so it's time for me to go strip more of the roof. Hopefully we can get that entire section in the first photo above all done by the end of this week. If not then we totally suck.