I thought I had all the trash from the newly vacant rent house out to the curb. Some scavengers even took off with some of it. There was a fairly decent looking acoustic guitar and an old tape deck. I thought I had it all cleaned up without the need for a dumpster. . . and then I opened the storage shed! Car bumpers, broken pottery, an ugly pink chest of drawers, a broken washer and dryer, and I counted three broken lawnmowers! After walking around the outside of the house, I discovered a broken storm window and a broken window window. She stiffed me on the last month of rent, under the assumption that the deposit would cover it. Au contraire. I'm going to be calling her to collect on an invoice for this damage, I predict.

Memorial Day

"The weekends don't mean so much when you're unemployed. . . except you get to hang out with your working friends."  -Les Claypool

I haven't updated in a while, because I've been really busy doing things I didn't have time to do because of work.  And I've been applying for some select jobs online.  My interviewing skills are getting better after a few phone interviews.

Firstly, I had a great Memorial Day weekend hosting the folks.  I spent most of Sunday in Topeka with dad.  We went to the NHRA drag races at Heartland Park.  Incredible!  I must say, I've never heard a more ungodly noise than a pair of top fuel dragsters leaving the starting line.  Your ears literally hurt if you don't cover them.  I got an adrenaline rush every time.  Just the sound of a tire burn is pretty ominous, but when that tree turns green, it's like a bomb goes off. . . and keeps going off for 5 seconds.  The experience of watching drag races on TV is in no way comparable to being there.  To actually witness two cars going from standing still nearby to over 300 miles per hour a quarter mile away in just over 4 seconds is mind bending to see, hear, and feel for a newbie like me.  This was the last race of the day: Finals - Top Fuel - Doug Kalitta, 4.675 seconds, 310.98 mph., def. Brandon Bernstein, 4.691, 307.09.  I highly recommend the time and expense of actually feeling a pair of cars go by.  And Courtney and Ashley Force are kinda hot.  I didn't expect to see them filming a reality series for A&E, but these sisters raced twice on Sunday.  I saw a "these are the only curves in this sport" drag racing shirt with a female silouette.  The adrenaline/testosterone combo brings out a certain crowd, for sure.  Another interesting thing I saw was a new class of V6 turbo cars.  When the tree turns yellow the turbos spin up making a crackling and popping noise, and when the cars go, there's just a deep harmonic hum. . . and they take off like a streak.

We got back to KC in time to grill steaks and take the neice and nephew to see the Kansas City Symphony perform patriotic music, including the 1812 Overture replete with actual cannon fire, followed by one of the best choreographed fireworks displays overthe Liberty Memorial.  Hearing 35,000 people sing Yankee Doodle under their breath with a symphony orchestra in the background is a rare thing.

The old Jetta engine is out.  After a lot of trial and error with the hoist and the manipulation of jack stands on Monday, the deed is done.  I realized too late that a number system for labeling the electrical connections as I disconnected them would have been helpful.  Now I have to figure out how to wire the engine and transmission of an 1.8T Mk4.  But not after having to order some special parts and tools and moving the transmission from the old engine onto the new one. 

So much for the sabbatical.  I have a vacancy again at one of my houses.  Therefore, I have an extra mortgage payment that won't be covered by rental income.  I'm strongly considering getting a realtor's license and listing the house myself and selling it for a profit.  If I can't get the price I need, I'll just keep renting it.

Well, I worked a 12 hour day getting a house ready to be moved into tomorrow. I patched walls, knocked down cobwebs, swept the back porch, cleaned out a pretty gnarly garage situation which filled an entire dumpster, and helped the floor guy (who is another tenant working off some back rent) sand, sweep, seal, and topcoat the wood floors. I'll go back in the morning to replace the locks and the rubber food waste disposal gasket thing, which has somehow disentegrated. I have the items, but getting the floors done was more important and time critical than the screwdriver and wrench stuff. Tomorrow should be a pretty satisfying end to all this, when I can take video of the empty house to document any pre-existing damage (and lack thereof), collect the deposit and rent, and hand over keys and garage door openers, etc. She already signed the lease, so that's off my mind. Once her money is in my hands, my mental "no vacancy" sign can go back on, in more ways than one. I'll be back out of my recent negative cashflow situation.

Nice weather.

My roses bloomed and the wind promptly destroyed the blooms, but I've been enjoying the spring weather lately with the windows open most of the day.  I hope it keeps up.  It usually does.  My electric bill plus my gas bill is pretty close to $35 this time of year. . . because it's all turned off.

I played hockey tonight in the 3-on-3 league.  We lost again.  I'm on the "house team", which is essentially a mix of guys whose teams couldn't get enough interest in the 3-on-3 league and a bunch of misfit novices who have never been on a team.  There are some novice players who can barely skate and just don't know how to pass the puck.  Two of them were literally buying gear in the pro shop before the first game.  It's frustrating when your team gets possession and you skate like a mad fool to open ice, and one of these guys lobs a granny pass or falls down and you have to turn around and go back to pick it up. . . if the other team hasn't intercepted it. . . not once, but every single time they touch it.  Maybe I was like that when I first started, but it has been impossible for us to win even one game with these guys turning the puck over. 

Tomorrow I have to positively go to the credit union and deposit the rents.  I have rent checks I've been toting around in my wallet for a week plus while my bank balance shrinks so low I'm having to choose between gas or groceries or breaking out the dreaded credit cards.  I'll sell all my stocks or refi my house or take the tax hit on a 401k disbursement before I run up a balance and pay credit card interest.  I keep a Discover, an American Express, and a Visa for internet purchases, travel. and the odd emergency--like replacing a car engine.  Overall, though, I hate the predatory banks who issue them and the concept in general, but they smooth out the rough spots when my tenants pay late (or I procrastinate making bank deposits).  My debit card, though, I have a love/hate relationship with.  On one hand, using a debit card is convenient.  Knowing exactly what your balance is after you've used it a half dozen times a day, not so much.  I have overdraft protection that allows your balance to go negative, but it costs $22 for every transaction that ends with a negative balance. . . and there's no warning until the statement comes.  So, say, because of a misstep on the billpay site you pay the mortgages two days before pay day and the balance is slightly negative.  That's one $22 hit.  Then you use the debit card at the Wendy's drive thru for a $5 combo meal. . . I mean $27 combo meal, because the credit union took another $22.  And I didn't even want the fries.  I would rather be able to pick and choose.  Like have the mortgage go through and just take the hit.  That's my mistake, thanks for covering for me.  But have the Wendy's charge declined, so I'd know to use a credit card until my paycheck hits.  So, it got really expensive to not know my balance at all times.  I now call the bank before I use the ATM, even if I'm 100% sure there's plenty of money.  I think I've racked up more overdraft fees than I would ever have paid in late fees or return check charges, which the credit union's marketing purported that I could avoid by signing up for the service.  I'm kinda done with that game.  I'm resolved to pad my bank account such that it can't happen again.  And no more 'crasting the rent deposits.  :-) 

Overqualified

I interviewed in person today for a hot job and the interviewer and I agreed that I was overqualified, chatted for a while, shook hands, and that was that.  I'm only passively looking, but opportunities are falling in my lap.  At least I got a haircut and my resume is completely updated.  I keep thinking of things I should add, but the key stuff is already there and I don't want it to get wordy.

The KMBZ business luncheon at the downtown Marriott with John Stossel as guest speaker was great.  I've only skimmed the autographed book, Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity - Why Everything You Know Is Wrong.  I liked his first book, Give me a Break.  It pretty much boils down the difference between the real risks and what we're afraid of and how government regulation actually kills people.  It's eye-opening stuff and really hard to refute, because the numbers he's compiled put things in perspective.  The writing style reminds me of a Rush Limbaugh book, except that Stossel is more Libertarian and a smidge more sardonic.  At any rate, I had a good time and it was intellectually stimulating. . . and the grilled salmon was pretty good, too.

Depeche Mode cut their show short when Dave, the singer, had a 'medical problem'.  At $150 a pair for tickets, that calls for a contingency plan.  Heck. if they had played their popular stuff, the crowd would have sang every word.  Scotty and Carmen were in the row right behind me.  Now we're grabbing a snack at One80 in Westport.  Little consolation.

Low stress

I have learned a lot about not stressing about things which I do not control over the past year or so.  Consequently. the recent loss of my job. which was not much of a surprise. actually made me giddy.  The worst downside so far is the loss of my cell number.  The fact that I can scrape by for several months on rental income is the parachute which makes the change so interesting.  I have spent the last couple of days replacing the services and devices which the company provided for free.  I am typing this blog entry on my new pocket pc phone camera mp3 player wifi thinger.  I am also thinking about my potential at this point.  What would I really rather be doing?  I know that I want to take sabbatical time to nail down some ideas.