As I’m sure you may have noticed, I’ve started to upload the story I had written before. Butter. I am releasing it in chapters so it gives me a little time to touch up certain issues that the story may have. I’ve found some very obvious flaws while rereading it but it’s a lot more complete than I remembered. Getting to go back through it makes me realize how much fun I had writing the story.
I definitely enjoy writing horror, but this one had a nice mix of comedy that I sprinkled throughout it so it made it more enjoyable.
I’d like to write a followup to this story but I can’t decide if it should be from another character’s point of view of the same events or if it should be accounts of similar experiences in different areas.
On a side note, you can now check out the article that I wrote for Authority Magazine about the American Dream and my childhood by clicking here or here!
The Business
On the real estate side of things, I have good news and bad news.
A property we have been working on for a long, fucking, time now just got an even bigger delay. The contractor we were using has officially disappeared. The guy does not answer calls, texts, emails. Nothing. He has been stringing us along for a while now, left the project incomplete, and left us high and dry.
Big mistake I made was trusting him too much. Since my family has always believed in following through with your word, even if it is at a loss to you, I have a tendency to assume that everyone else will as well.
I followed through with the weekly payments as we had outlined in the contract and he kept communicating with me and sending me the occasional picture of everything he was finishing. Problem was that the pictures he was sending of the work completed made it seem like they were both units when in reality it was only one.
It’s been a great learning experience. I now know that the contract needs to be set up in a way that protects both parties equally.
The other property we closed on has officially started the rehab phase as well and is coming along nicely. This time around, I have come to an agreement with the contractor that work is to be completed in phases. No payment will be received until the phase is completed and verified. So far, it has been working out and both parties are working well together.
The dealership hit their goal in April, which has left all of management very optimistic. I’m extremely proud of the team for pulling through for each month so far this year. However, I also noticed that the last couple of weeks in April saw a dip in traffic and available down payments.
Car prices are insane right now. We are buying vehicles at nearly retail value, which makes it very hard to bank anything. If you are looking to buy a car right now, don’t. Right now is the perfect time to purchase a bike and sell your vehicle.
Don’t believe me?
One of our sales managers bought himself a brand new 2016 Honda Civic when they first came out for $17,200. He put quite a bit of miles on the car, got multiple dents and scratches all over it, and stained the seats. He just sold it for $15,800. The worst part was that he sold it to a dealership. It wasn’t even a private party transaction!
We have a very interesting few months ahead and get the feeling that it won’t be all rainbows and flowers. Prices will need to come down eventually. I get the feeling that some dealers won’t be able to weather that type of hit. When prices come down and you’re stuck with overpriced inventory, you’ll have to take a loss on it. By the looks of how many people run their budgets, not very many keep reserves to prepare for ‘unexpected’ situations.
I hope it doesn’t happen, but I won’t be caught off guard when it does.
The Leisure
We finally got some time off from the company. I’ve spent most of it with my puppies, playing video games, reading, and watching shows with Rachael.
I also got to enjoy my delayed honeymoon/anniversary with her. We took a trip out to San Luis Obispo and spent a few nights at the Madonna Inn. The experience was amazing and long overdue. It’s a very interesting hotel that is worth checking out at least once because of how unique their rooms are. The cavern-style walls and industrial looking furniture in our room made me feel as if we were staying in Bioshock’s underwater city; Rapture.
I don’t see myself going back to check out other rooms but I did feel like it was worth every moment.
Still playing Apex Legends. Nothing has changed there. No other games have creeped through. I’m still trying to get Rachael to learn to play it but she’s not really having it. She’ll come around.
I finished the Bible!
I found the new testament to be a lot more intriguing than the old testament. It had a few books that were very philosophical. There were some books that felt very pretentious and almost like the authors were trying to justify their behaviors because they were receiving scorn from different angles. It reminded me of celebrities having to apologize for behavior that the masses did not approve of.
Overall it was a very dry read, but there were interesting nuggets to take from it. The description of laws, governments, and human behavior made me realize that we as people have not changed since this book came out. We deal with the same issues that people dealt with back in the day with the only difference being the veil that we put over ourselves to act as if we are more evolved or advanced.
It made me appreciate the story behind the Expanse series that much more. Even if we go 2000 years in the future and reach different planets, we will always be human.
To me, that’s very comforting.
I am currently reading Pre-Suasion by Robert Cialdini and am thoroughly enjoying it. It’s a social psychology book about persuasion being influenced by setting up an idea beforehand instead of a direct barrage of pressure. It reminds me a lot of the book Predictably Irrational, which was very entertaining and influenced the way I began interacting with people a lot.
A show that I would recommend after watching this month: WandaVision
A movie I would recommend this month: Nobody
A book I would recommend this month: Leviathan Wakes
The Puppies
Chunky Clementine has joined our family and it’s as if she were always part of it. To say that Nova and her are best friends is an understatement. Those girls are inseparable. There isn’t a moment when they aren’t chasing each other in the backyard or rolling around together. Watching them take nap on top of one another is the most adorable thing to see.
We are very happy that they are so good together. That was one of the biggest driving factors behind getting Nova a little boxer sister. Nova has become a lot less destructive and obedient as she now has an outlet to release her energy.
Spartacus is still a mess but he has made some great progress as well. He tolerates them around him and even looks like he wants to play with them at times too, but he keeps his distance. I’m sure he’s grateful that Nova has stopped messing with him so much too.
Now we just need to figure out how to help Clementine stop snoring so much!