Gravity Pulls So Much Harder
I officially hit thirty years old this past month! It was as if I flicked the switch and made it all go downhill. I no longer have tolerance for children, my back took a shit on me, my testosterone dropped to 0, and my memory is just not there anymore.
Just kidding, I’ve never had tolerance for children.
What I did have is a calm August that I got to enjoy with the wife and puppies.
Speaking of which, my wife is attempting a new project to help her students with their reading. The last two school years really seem to have affected them in all departments, but especially reading. I’d like to ask that you help her out by donating anything your heart desires towards the kids. You can read about it here.
We did have a bit of a scare with BD-1. He got a giant abscess right below his eye that ended up making him look like a boxer on the 10th round. We took him in and it seems he had a cracked tooth that had got an infection. They ended up draining it and he now looks like a gunshot victim.
I keep trying to tell him that bitches love scars but he’s a bit insecure. Without his sexy hair, he looks like a rat and he knows it. We’ll have to find a way to cheer him up before his surgery to have the tooth removed. We can’t have him going in with low self-esteem.
The Dealership
There have been some interesting developments on this front.
For starters, we had the one collector that ended up quitting. It sucked because, as I mentioned in the last update, she had been with us for a long time and she was like family to us.
Finding someone to replace her has been difficult. There have not been many people that have applied, at least not what we would have expected. To top this off, out of the ones that have, we’ve had a ridiculously low number of them show up to interviews. It’s almost as if they want to apply and make an interview just to check off a box but don’t actually want to get a job.
The second part is that we had a salesperson put in their two weeks as well. He had a newborn a few months back and wanted more support from his family, who is down south. He’s a good guy and I do wish him the best. However, I know that our new sales manager, as well as the rest of the salespeople, were having a bit of a hard time with him in the trust department.
Sales have been doing great, though! We’ve seen an increase in the amount of down payment available and in traffic as well. Collections is still staying strong, regardless of the lack of a second collector. The only department that has been lagging behind is service.
We’re having a hard time with absences, which is really affecting the overall performance of the shop. There also seems to be a lack of organization from the service manager in order to properly predict future work for the techs. A day or two missed isn’t the end of the world, but when it’s nearly every week it starts to affect the numbers. Same with the service manager, each time he has the techs waiting around for 20 minutes as he tries to figure out the next vehicle for them is 20 minutes of lost time…per change of vehicle.
We also will be having some help coming in from one of my nephews from the UK. Seems he was not enjoying his studies out there and needed a change of pace. He recently came and will be staying with us for at least a year so we will put him to slave away at the dealerships and find a spot that suits him well.
The Real Estate
On the real estate investing side of things, the plumbing and electrical contractor has proven to be an unorganized mess. The worst part is that he doesn’t want to admit it to anyone and instead keeps coming up with excuses. It’s quite impressive the amount of excuses this man is able to come up with on the spot. I’ve even called him out on them and he’s able to weasel out again!
He’s about a day away from finishing the first property, the problem is getting him to show up for that one day. As soon as he finishes, I will end up firing him from the second property. I’ll get someone new to come finish the job, even if it costs me more money.
It’s my fault at the end of the day. I should have recognized the patterns a lot sooner and booted him earlier.
On a more positive note, we closed on another property this past week! It’s a triplex in the same area that has two buildings. It’s got two units in the front building that are each 3 bed 1 bath and one unit in the rear that’s 2 bed 1 bath. We will try to add a 4th bedroom to each of the units, as well as a bathroom if there is enough room. The two units in the front may not allow for it, but the one in the rear should.
If you guys would like for me to get into the numbers more, please let me know. I’d be happy to show how I determine which properties to offer on and for how much.
The Leisure
My wife and I took the puppies to the beach and they had a blast! Clemmy absolutely LOVES the water. She was super excited to jump in with me and swim through it. Nova was a bit scared to get the water on her face so she would run up to it but stop as soon as the splashing started.
It was really nice to see them experience it there together.
I’m still playing Apex Legends. I’m still not good, but I’ve got a tad bit better. Just a tad. I have, however, been meeting a lot of really cool people on there! I decided to say hi each time I joined a match and it’s caused a lot of people to invite me after the match and play with me for a while. It’s made the game that much more enjoyable, although if you ask Rachael, she’ll just say I need more real friends…
Rach and I have made it through the first season of Star Trek Discovery. It’s a fun show to watch but I do have my issues with some parts. We just started season two a couple of days ago and so far it’s been a little better, but time will tell.
If you didn’t know, I love horror. Crazy, I know. Came out of left field.
We watched two horror movies that I’d recommend for their own reasons. A Quiet Place 2 was a great horror movie all around. It picks up immediately after the first and keeps the stakes just as high as the first. This is a movie that anyone could enjoy.
Fear Street 1994 is one that was super fun to watch. It’s not going to be winning any awards, but it’ll keep you entertained all throughout. There’s some jump scares, but nothing over the top like most slasher style flicks like it. It is gory, though, so maybe keep the kids away from watching this one.
As far as books, I finished To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. It was a very enjoyable story and I felt that Paolini did an amazing job of building the world. I personally enjoy more morally gray areas in my stories, but that’s just personal preference. The book is great.
We are still working on The Troop and I am personally working on The Stand.
A show I recommend this month: Star Trek Discovery
A movie I recommend this month: A Quiet Place 2
A book I recommend this month: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
The Puppies
Clem is officially bigger than Nova. Not thicker, just taller. It’s not by much, but obvious when you pay attention to them side-by-side.
It’s funny since she still acts like the little sister and thinks that she’s a lot smaller so she’s constantly jumping on Nova all the time. They’ve both developed this habit of sitting on each other too. When one of them is sleeping, the other will hover over them and then sit on their face. Not sure if it’s a dominance thing or if they just want to feel like they are together. Either way, it’s fucking hilarious.
As I mentioned earlier, we are waiting to take BD-1 in for his surgery. It’s coming up in the next few days and we are glad we can help alleviate some of his pain. I’m hoping that maybe this will make him less of a grouch all the time.
Clemmy met Nova’s Bofriend for the first time recently. She was a bit scared of him at first, considering he’s almost the size a fucking horse, but she saw how much Nova loves him and they all played nonstop. They also got to be on a trampoline for the first time!
The Writing
I’m about 60 pages in on the new novel. I’m starting to notice some things that I need to go back in and change up in order to make it flow better, as well as to add depth to the characters.
Overall, though, I’d say it’s going pretty well. I’m enjoying writing it and seem to be on a good pace to finish it by this year.
I have taken a break from it this past week as I have dedicated more time to studying to pass my real estate exam which is this upcoming week. Cross your fingers for me!
The full edit of Galapagos came back and I will have my work cut out for me there. Surprisingly, it didn’t hit me at all. Maybe the editor was just very gentle with her criticism, or maybe I am just that lost in my own world that I don’t feel it. Either way, it’ll need some chunks chopped, reworked, and a lot of shit added too. I’m excited for it.
As I mentioned earlier, please make sure to give my wife some love by donating anything you can for her kids. You can read the description of the project on the site and can help her out with anything your heart desires. Donors Choose for Rachael Beneke’s 4th Grade Class.
That’s all I got for you. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you next month.
Okay, byeeee!