I have another thing to be neurotic about. Logan has tryouts for the Junior Cats basketball team. It's one where they will be trying out and there will be cuts to survive.
I wasn't terribly successful at that sort of thing when I was younger. Logan has a lot more athletic ability, though.
I went out back and watched him shoot the other day and he looked pretty good. Better than most 4th graders I remember, anyway.
I know I shouldn't be worried about it. I know that deep down, my anxiety is because I feel that if he doesn't make the team, it's because I have failed him.
I shouldn't worry so much about basketball, though. Baseball, maybe that's true. He always displayed an interest and always put the work in.
Basketball? Not so much. We've got a hoop out back on our concrete pad. I don't push him to practice. I did show him how to do a one-hand set shot. At his age, that's hard, though. He still mostly shoots a two handed set shot.
He did show me the other night that he remembered what I showed him, though. He's a very coachable kid. Always has been.
I just try not to push. He gets enough sports as it is. No need to push more on him. As he gets older, if it's important to him, he'll seek it out more and more on his own. I should provide resources, as best I can, and let it go from there.
In this case, there's a rec league team available to him, too, and the Cats recommend that he play both. Try to get the kids as much basketball as possible. So, worst case and he'll just play rec, which is fine. That'll be enough exposure that if he doesn't make the Cats, he can decide whether he wants to put in the work to make the team next year.
I think most of my worries are normal parental neurosis, though. We want the best for our kids. We want them to be happy.
Still, we can't shield them from everything. He'll have disappointments to deal with over the years.
So far, really, that day hasn't come for him. Some people live such charmed lives. I used to think that in the end, kharma sort of evened everything out for everybody, but now, I know that's not true. Life isn't fair and some folks get to skate through it with minimal pain, while others have to pay through the nose for everything they get.
I almost feel like the folks who get used to the hard knocks, tend to continue to have to do things the hard way all their lives. The folks who just sort of always fell into it, continue to look for ways to fall into it.
This scientific studdy sort of confirms it, too:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3335275.stm
Now, I really don't like to describe myself as having lived a life of hardship. In many, many ways, I'm the luckiest guy you'll ever meet. However, as I read an article like the one from the bbc, there is no doubt in my mind: I've got the "unlucky" mindset.
There were some formative childhood experiences I had that I believe made me that way. I was a naturally happy, outgoing and gregarious kid when I was very young, but a series of life-events and a few situations really wrung it out of me.
By the time I went to High School, I hardly said a word to anybody. I had almost no happy-go-lucky left in me and was mostly anxiety.
I just want Logan to keep the optimistic, happy side of himself for as long as he can. Though I think, one way or another, he has the basic tools to be successful and happy. Most of all, he's considerate, conscientious and careful. So, he has the basis to be a genuinely good person.
So, does the tryout mean that if he doesn't make it, he'll be unlucky the rest of his life? Nah. And sometimes things that appear to be our biggest failures end up being key, formative experiences that shape our life for the better.
Even so... I hope he makes the team.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
This is the Winter... well... Autumn of our discontent...
I was sort of looking forward to the last quarter of this year because we'd liquidate some debt and go into next year with about $15,000 worth of debt service and cost avoidance that could make things easier.
We're really stumbling into the last part of the year, though. The weather continues to be amazingly perfect around here. Things are really bad for business.
This thing has been sputterring for so long, it's just depressing these days. It's a challenge to work up the motivation to keep things going. Pretty much the only thing I can do to lower costs is to let a couple more people go, but that wouldn't make enough of a difference to matter, much.
I will start looking around for assets to sell. It's a bad time to be trying to sell stuff, but that's just the breaks sometimes. It's stuff I should have probably sold, anyway, though. So, it's not all bad to get rid of it.
I keep holding on in the hopes that business conditions will improve. If we could just get normal weather patterns around here, they'd improve a considerable amount. However, I just can't keep holding out forever. I won't put any more money into the business. It's already completely drained (and imperiled) my finances. At this point, I'll be selling off assets to make ends meet.
Eventually, there won't be enough assets to continue operations. When that happens, I know it's time to hang it up.
So, a year from now, I could be beating the street looking for a job, or I could be rich again because business finally took off.
Of course, there are no jobs, so that's not much of a realistic option. More likely, I'll try to get deployed with the Navy. Someday, the economy will recover, though frankly, the two historical examples of something like this both took more than a decade to get straightened out: our great depression and Japan's "lost decade". So, I will probably be almost 50 before America gets fully back to work again.
I'm selling off a lot of personal stuff, too. The guitars are down to just the ones that really aren't worth that much. I'm selling off guns, now. Will keep a few, but for the most part, anything that I can sell, I will be selling. It makes sense to streamline and consolidate, anyway. I just had too much stuff, and most of it, I never used. It'll feel good to simplify.
I don't see anything that will turn things around for a while. We're probably looking at another couple of months before things get really cold, and payables have really been stretched out lately. So, best realistic case for rescue won't happen for another 3 months.
That's a long time off. In the mean time, this is just miserable. I'm worn out trying to keep this thing afloat.
We're really stumbling into the last part of the year, though. The weather continues to be amazingly perfect around here. Things are really bad for business.
This thing has been sputterring for so long, it's just depressing these days. It's a challenge to work up the motivation to keep things going. Pretty much the only thing I can do to lower costs is to let a couple more people go, but that wouldn't make enough of a difference to matter, much.
I will start looking around for assets to sell. It's a bad time to be trying to sell stuff, but that's just the breaks sometimes. It's stuff I should have probably sold, anyway, though. So, it's not all bad to get rid of it.
I keep holding on in the hopes that business conditions will improve. If we could just get normal weather patterns around here, they'd improve a considerable amount. However, I just can't keep holding out forever. I won't put any more money into the business. It's already completely drained (and imperiled) my finances. At this point, I'll be selling off assets to make ends meet.
Eventually, there won't be enough assets to continue operations. When that happens, I know it's time to hang it up.
So, a year from now, I could be beating the street looking for a job, or I could be rich again because business finally took off.
Of course, there are no jobs, so that's not much of a realistic option. More likely, I'll try to get deployed with the Navy. Someday, the economy will recover, though frankly, the two historical examples of something like this both took more than a decade to get straightened out: our great depression and Japan's "lost decade". So, I will probably be almost 50 before America gets fully back to work again.
I'm selling off a lot of personal stuff, too. The guitars are down to just the ones that really aren't worth that much. I'm selling off guns, now. Will keep a few, but for the most part, anything that I can sell, I will be selling. It makes sense to streamline and consolidate, anyway. I just had too much stuff, and most of it, I never used. It'll feel good to simplify.
I don't see anything that will turn things around for a while. We're probably looking at another couple of months before things get really cold, and payables have really been stretched out lately. So, best realistic case for rescue won't happen for another 3 months.
That's a long time off. In the mean time, this is just miserable. I'm worn out trying to keep this thing afloat.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Sad, Shocking News
I've been dealing with some awful news for a day now. Wasn't sure what to say about it, or even IF I should say anything about it on my blog.
A friend of mine died about 24 hours ago. He worked 3rd shift and died at work. His name was Jon McCall, was a husband and a father of 2 kids who aren't that different than my son in age.
I didn't know Jon that well until a couple of years ago. Once a year, my Dad goes all out and sponsors a trip to Disneyland for all of his kids and grandkids. Jon and I, primarily due to the fact that our boys like to ride the same rides, spent a lot of time together walking around the park, and it was the first time I got to really know him.
I really, really enjoyed his company.
This has been a pretty crappy year for me in a lot of ways. There were some bright spots to be sure: I really like my new Navy unit. My son made a travel baseball team and the season was a blast. An exhausting blast, but a blast nonetheless.
So, the year wasn't devoid of joy, but with the economy, and trying to captain the ship of my business away from the rocks in an increasingly turbulent economic sea, it's been a nerve-wracking year. It's absolutely drained me.
It's been going on for a year and a half now, and I have to admit, it's been wearing me down.
Things like Jon's passing, though? It puts things in perspective. My heart breaks for his two wonderful kids. They are absolutely a joy to be around. Well-behaved, happy, bright, athletic. I just love them to death. He had been married to his wife for almost two decades, and she, just like everybody else in the family, is a remarkable and wonderful person.
How small my trials and tribulations seem in comparison. Every day I live to try and keep moving forward is a gift that I shouldn't ever take for granted.
There was a time, when deployment was a lot more likely, that I couldn't help but think what it would be like for my boy if he were to be handed the folded flag. It was sad to think of. To think that he would grow up with a hole in his heart where my memory would reside. That all his memories of me, regardless of how happy, would be bittersweet in the remembering. I have no doubt that he would have grown up to be a fine, quality young man in my absence.
Even so, there's a sadness about losing your parent that simply can't be reasoned away.
I hate whining, even though I do way more than my share of it. No matter how self-pitying I am, I know that there are people with real difficulties they're dealing with. Life isn't fair, but it's especially unfair to the people who have to deal with losing a loved one.
I remember learning this lesson early in my life. That I needed to appreciate the people in my life while they were around. There's no upside to waiting to tell people how you feel about them. I'd like to say that I hugged my son extra tight after hearing the terrible news about Jon. That's not true, though. I've always hugged him extra tight.
Life is a gift and we should appreciate every moment of it, and every minute we spend with our fellow passengers in time.
In the mean time, there is absolutely nothing I can do or say to Jon's family that will lessen the severity of this blow. The futility of it all is so maddenning.
All I can do is think how fortunate I was, after not-knowing him for so long, to have had a chance to get to know him and to form a genuine friendship.
I'm not a person who thinks there's a silver lining to everything. I also don't think everything is part of God's plan, unless we believe in a god who believes in capriciously killing off his creations and cruelly makes them suffer through war and disease. Sometimes things are just bad, and there's no getting around that.
So, Jon's passing? No offense to anybody's beliefs, but I don't think there's anything good about that at all.
However, there was good in his life. So, that's what I'll try to remember. Godspeed, Jon. You left us too soon.
A friend of mine died about 24 hours ago. He worked 3rd shift and died at work. His name was Jon McCall, was a husband and a father of 2 kids who aren't that different than my son in age.
I didn't know Jon that well until a couple of years ago. Once a year, my Dad goes all out and sponsors a trip to Disneyland for all of his kids and grandkids. Jon and I, primarily due to the fact that our boys like to ride the same rides, spent a lot of time together walking around the park, and it was the first time I got to really know him.
I really, really enjoyed his company.
This has been a pretty crappy year for me in a lot of ways. There were some bright spots to be sure: I really like my new Navy unit. My son made a travel baseball team and the season was a blast. An exhausting blast, but a blast nonetheless.
So, the year wasn't devoid of joy, but with the economy, and trying to captain the ship of my business away from the rocks in an increasingly turbulent economic sea, it's been a nerve-wracking year. It's absolutely drained me.
It's been going on for a year and a half now, and I have to admit, it's been wearing me down.
Things like Jon's passing, though? It puts things in perspective. My heart breaks for his two wonderful kids. They are absolutely a joy to be around. Well-behaved, happy, bright, athletic. I just love them to death. He had been married to his wife for almost two decades, and she, just like everybody else in the family, is a remarkable and wonderful person.
How small my trials and tribulations seem in comparison. Every day I live to try and keep moving forward is a gift that I shouldn't ever take for granted.
There was a time, when deployment was a lot more likely, that I couldn't help but think what it would be like for my boy if he were to be handed the folded flag. It was sad to think of. To think that he would grow up with a hole in his heart where my memory would reside. That all his memories of me, regardless of how happy, would be bittersweet in the remembering. I have no doubt that he would have grown up to be a fine, quality young man in my absence.
Even so, there's a sadness about losing your parent that simply can't be reasoned away.
I hate whining, even though I do way more than my share of it. No matter how self-pitying I am, I know that there are people with real difficulties they're dealing with. Life isn't fair, but it's especially unfair to the people who have to deal with losing a loved one.
I remember learning this lesson early in my life. That I needed to appreciate the people in my life while they were around. There's no upside to waiting to tell people how you feel about them. I'd like to say that I hugged my son extra tight after hearing the terrible news about Jon. That's not true, though. I've always hugged him extra tight.
Life is a gift and we should appreciate every moment of it, and every minute we spend with our fellow passengers in time.
In the mean time, there is absolutely nothing I can do or say to Jon's family that will lessen the severity of this blow. The futility of it all is so maddenning.
All I can do is think how fortunate I was, after not-knowing him for so long, to have had a chance to get to know him and to form a genuine friendship.
I'm not a person who thinks there's a silver lining to everything. I also don't think everything is part of God's plan, unless we believe in a god who believes in capriciously killing off his creations and cruelly makes them suffer through war and disease. Sometimes things are just bad, and there's no getting around that.
So, Jon's passing? No offense to anybody's beliefs, but I don't think there's anything good about that at all.
However, there was good in his life. So, that's what I'll try to remember. Godspeed, Jon. You left us too soon.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Friday... things have settled down...
It was like I got off the plane on Tuesday and stepped right into a storm of craptacular crappularity. Texas was so awesome this time around. When I got back, it was crisis after crisis for the next few days.
We got a few checks in, so we can breathe for a week or so. We'll repeat the entire process in a couple of weeks when the next payroll is due. Such are the joys of small business ownership in the great recession.
The weather is getting cold. It was in the 40s this morning when I woke up. In a way, that's a good sign. We need the bad weather to get us jump-started. In this business, our busy-season starts pretty much with the first hard freeze in December or January and ends whenever the thunderstorms end in the Summer.
Last year, we never had a hard freeze or big thunderstorms. Hence, we had a crappy year. I should be happy to see the seasons change and with it, perhaps, my fortunes.
I'm always sad to see the bad weather come, though. It's depressing here in the Winter. It's dark, cold, nothing much good is going on. Of course, ski season starts. I will be taking Logan to the slopes with his brand-new skis (a very late birthday present.) The ski shop still hasn't gotten them in, but they assure me that in late October, they should arrive. We'll probably get out on the slopes a half dozen times. So, that's nice.
As athletic and active as Logan is, it's good to get him one more sport he can do.
We have the pitching machine in the basement so we can work on his swing to get ready for baseball. I'll also be taking some stuff to the warehouse so I can work on pitching with him.
Next week, I think he's got tryouts for a somewhat competitive basketball team. We haven't worked on basketball at all. If he doesn't make it, we'll sign him up for rec. Tonight, I went in the back yard to watch him shoot some hoops and he did great. Couldn't say whether or not he'll make the team, but he seems pretty good to me.
Pretty soon, I'll start moving sports gear to the warehouse so Logan can work on pitching and shooting hoops indoors when the weather turns bad.
In a way, I guess I'm looking forward to the travel baseball season kicking off again. At that point, the weather will be starting to turn warm again. After next month, I'll have my June and July drills taken care of. So, I'll have those months off from the Navy. As long as I can get May off with my December drill, that pretty much takes care of the travel season.
My bud, Patrick, showed me a Tabata interval timer application for the droid. So, I tried my first tabata workouts. Did push-ups, sit-ups and knee bends. I also did some negatives on the chin-up bar. I need to do that routine once every 3 or 4 days, I think. It's a great way to stay in shape and it doesn't take much time. Of all things, the place where I feel it most are in my legs.
Last fitness test, my push-ups were not very good. Sit-ups (curl-ups for the Navy), were better than expected. The run was about what I would have figured. I also have a mountain of laundry at the house, so I think a rowing machine workout is in order.
My last Melancon guitar got a qualifying bid on e-bay. So, it will sell. They sold for more than I thought they would. My Gibson SG sold for less, really. All in all, I did okay selling off the 4 guitars. Things are going to be tight, financially, at least until January, I think.
I put up one of my guns for sale, and that's what's going, next. Seems like the market for guns is a little soft at the moment. I'll know more after the auction is complete.
Traded some more e-mails with the berthing coordinator and it appears that they will be able to give me a private room with shared bath because I'm flex-drilling. (That means I'm there for more than just the 2 days of a normal drill weekend.) So, that's nice. It's bad enough that I'm paying for airfare and car rental out of pocket. I don't need to be forking out for hotels, too.
Obviously, money wasn't and isn't my motivator when it comes to doing the Navy thing, but I do get about $400 after-tax for a weekend. When I double-up, I get $800 for 4 days work. Not a king's ransom, but nothing to ignore. Even with $300 in airfare and $12 in car rental, I still come out ahead.
I put an ad in the paper for a marketing person. I'm not paying much on this. I prefer to bring people in at a low wage and have them prove themselves to me. I considered doing this job myself, but it's something that really is best handled by an employee who can focus on it.
Football is tomorrow morning. Logan has just 2 games left, this week and next. After that, I will move the basketball hoop to the warehouse, so he can practice indoors in the Winter.
For some reason, I'm really feeling anxiety these days. We've had way too many close calls on payroll lately. Business will probably stay flat at least until mid-December. This has just been the year from hell.
It's hard not to get discouraged. I have no idea how I survived this long, and have no idea how I'll survive much longer if business doesn't pick up.
I really have no choice at this point but to hang on and hope that 2011 has normal weather patterns for a change.
This downturn came at such a bad time. I had started to establish savings and really had a sizeable rainy day fund. Thing is, things just never got better and after a year of this, I feel almost like I did during my first year. I have to re-build this business almost from scratch. Not totally, though. The employees I have left are awesome.
Let's hope we have awesome business in 2011. I've already written off 2010.
We got a few checks in, so we can breathe for a week or so. We'll repeat the entire process in a couple of weeks when the next payroll is due. Such are the joys of small business ownership in the great recession.
The weather is getting cold. It was in the 40s this morning when I woke up. In a way, that's a good sign. We need the bad weather to get us jump-started. In this business, our busy-season starts pretty much with the first hard freeze in December or January and ends whenever the thunderstorms end in the Summer.
Last year, we never had a hard freeze or big thunderstorms. Hence, we had a crappy year. I should be happy to see the seasons change and with it, perhaps, my fortunes.
I'm always sad to see the bad weather come, though. It's depressing here in the Winter. It's dark, cold, nothing much good is going on. Of course, ski season starts. I will be taking Logan to the slopes with his brand-new skis (a very late birthday present.) The ski shop still hasn't gotten them in, but they assure me that in late October, they should arrive. We'll probably get out on the slopes a half dozen times. So, that's nice.
As athletic and active as Logan is, it's good to get him one more sport he can do.
We have the pitching machine in the basement so we can work on his swing to get ready for baseball. I'll also be taking some stuff to the warehouse so I can work on pitching with him.
Next week, I think he's got tryouts for a somewhat competitive basketball team. We haven't worked on basketball at all. If he doesn't make it, we'll sign him up for rec. Tonight, I went in the back yard to watch him shoot some hoops and he did great. Couldn't say whether or not he'll make the team, but he seems pretty good to me.
Pretty soon, I'll start moving sports gear to the warehouse so Logan can work on pitching and shooting hoops indoors when the weather turns bad.
In a way, I guess I'm looking forward to the travel baseball season kicking off again. At that point, the weather will be starting to turn warm again. After next month, I'll have my June and July drills taken care of. So, I'll have those months off from the Navy. As long as I can get May off with my December drill, that pretty much takes care of the travel season.
My bud, Patrick, showed me a Tabata interval timer application for the droid. So, I tried my first tabata workouts. Did push-ups, sit-ups and knee bends. I also did some negatives on the chin-up bar. I need to do that routine once every 3 or 4 days, I think. It's a great way to stay in shape and it doesn't take much time. Of all things, the place where I feel it most are in my legs.
Last fitness test, my push-ups were not very good. Sit-ups (curl-ups for the Navy), were better than expected. The run was about what I would have figured. I also have a mountain of laundry at the house, so I think a rowing machine workout is in order.
My last Melancon guitar got a qualifying bid on e-bay. So, it will sell. They sold for more than I thought they would. My Gibson SG sold for less, really. All in all, I did okay selling off the 4 guitars. Things are going to be tight, financially, at least until January, I think.
I put up one of my guns for sale, and that's what's going, next. Seems like the market for guns is a little soft at the moment. I'll know more after the auction is complete.
Traded some more e-mails with the berthing coordinator and it appears that they will be able to give me a private room with shared bath because I'm flex-drilling. (That means I'm there for more than just the 2 days of a normal drill weekend.) So, that's nice. It's bad enough that I'm paying for airfare and car rental out of pocket. I don't need to be forking out for hotels, too.
Obviously, money wasn't and isn't my motivator when it comes to doing the Navy thing, but I do get about $400 after-tax for a weekend. When I double-up, I get $800 for 4 days work. Not a king's ransom, but nothing to ignore. Even with $300 in airfare and $12 in car rental, I still come out ahead.
I put an ad in the paper for a marketing person. I'm not paying much on this. I prefer to bring people in at a low wage and have them prove themselves to me. I considered doing this job myself, but it's something that really is best handled by an employee who can focus on it.
Football is tomorrow morning. Logan has just 2 games left, this week and next. After that, I will move the basketball hoop to the warehouse, so he can practice indoors in the Winter.
For some reason, I'm really feeling anxiety these days. We've had way too many close calls on payroll lately. Business will probably stay flat at least until mid-December. This has just been the year from hell.
It's hard not to get discouraged. I have no idea how I survived this long, and have no idea how I'll survive much longer if business doesn't pick up.
I really have no choice at this point but to hang on and hope that 2011 has normal weather patterns for a change.
This downturn came at such a bad time. I had started to establish savings and really had a sizeable rainy day fund. Thing is, things just never got better and after a year of this, I feel almost like I did during my first year. I have to re-build this business almost from scratch. Not totally, though. The employees I have left are awesome.
Let's hope we have awesome business in 2011. I've already written off 2010.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Navy Berthing...
I'm lining up all my stuff for November, and it looks like it was sort of a lucky fluke that I got my own room the first time I drilled in Fort Worth. Getting a room is called "berthing" in Navy terminology. The berthing coordinator said that having a room-mate would be the norm. Getting a single room with a shared bathroom would be the exception.
I'm a total Sally about this sort of thing. There are a lot of things I want to see before I die. Like Nuno Bettencourt playing all the solos from the songs he played on with Extreme.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jrfRp8Tshs&feature=fvw
Of all the things I want to see before I die, another man's hairy butt doesn't make the list. I suppose some folks might say that this makes me some sort of closeted homophobe or something. Personally, I think it just makes me a guy who doesn't want to see other naked guys.
This is one of those culture shock things coming from the Army to the Navy. Yes, in the Army you had communal living and a lack of privacy compared to civilian life, but for the most part, there was a thin semblance of privacy. I mean, yeah, you might have 4 room-mates at a training command. 2 room-mates once you got to your duty station.
Nothing like the Air Force, where pretty much every Airman has his own room.
But also, nothing like the Navy where you are in a berthing area with row after row of bunks 3 deep, or the Marines where they still believe in living in open-bay barracks.
Their seagoing heritage means that they're used to living in areas that most people would consider too small to be a walk-in closet. (One of my favorite quotes about the Navy is that when designing housing, never ask a Navy man what he considers an acceptable amount of personal living space.)
So, to have one room-mate? That's living high on the hog by Navy standards.
The Navy does see the problem with this, though. Mainly that when you treat people worse than you have to, and worse than society at large does, with no good justification for it, they tend to think the job you're giving them is crappy.
In fact, they have launched an initiative that will provide private rooms for various ranks, but it won't apply to junior officers until fiscal year 2012, I think. So, relief is on the way. It just won't happen for another year.
In the mean time, these drill weekends are utterly exhausting, as it is. Starting with my fly-out date, I'm up at about 5:00 a.m. every day and sometimes earlier. With trying to catch up with old friends in Fort Worth, I am usually out until 10:00 or 11:00 every night.
Folks who know me know I'm a very light sleeper. The last thing I need is to have what little sleep I'm getting interrupted by somebody snoring or coming in late. Also, time is at a premium for showering, etc. I just don't want the hassle.
I'm still trading e-mails with the very patient and forebearing berthing coordinator. It looks like, at this point, that I will stay on-post during the weekdays. At that point, demand should be down considerably. It's mostly Friday and Saturday nights where folks need rooms.
I can use the last of my Marriott Rewards points to stay at a hotel in Bedford, TX this weekend. Not ideal, but it works.
I used to think the Army treated it's soldiers really badly when it came to single soldier housing. The Department of Defense has guidelines on the minimum amount of space that each servicemember should get. The Army would then simply declare a "housing emergency" and make itself exempt from all DoD standards. Near as I can figure, the housing emergency on most Army Forts and Bases started in World War II and has continued for the last 70 years.
The Air Force, on this issue and most others, is way out in front. Part of it is that they have a ridiculous amount of money relative to their needs. Contrary to popular belief, the services don't really get money based on what they need. For the past several decades, it basically gets divided 1/3 to the Army, 1/3 to the Air Force, and 1/3 to the Navy.
They try to claim that it's need-based and zero-budget based, but that's a complete fabrication.
This 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 division is meant to keep the services from fighting among themselves for funding.
http://www.slate.com/id/2187616/
The end result is that the Air Force, which has a very small mission, has way more money than it needs. Always has. Probably always will.
The Army, which has to pay the largest number of people, is pretty much properly funded, though the fact that they shoulder the biggest burden in our two wars puts a strain on them from time to time.
The Navy? When you think about it, the Navy has it's own air-force, with all the aircraft and pilots it has. It has its own army because the Marine Corps gets their money from the Department of the Navy. It has ... well... a Navy, too, with ships and seaborne weapons systems.
So, packing people into a room isn't just based on tradition. It's based on lack of money, too. It's not just because of mean-spiritedness that the Navy has, for years, made lower enlisted people live on ship when the ship is in port. They have a lot to do and only a limited amount of money to do it with. They have to be very careful with the funding they have.
The Navy is releasing more funding for this in coming years, but it won't happen overnight. In the mean time, I think it's ridiculous that officers are required to have room-mates. When I went to MEPS for my entrance physical, I got my own room just because I was an officer candidate. When I went to the hotel while reporting for my first drill, and the desk-clerk told me I had a room-mate, I thought this had to be some sort of mistake.
It's not. It's how the Navy does things. Bad as it was that I had a room-mate, imagine how my room-mate must have felt. He was an O-5 (a senior officer) and they were still sticking him with a room-mate.
During a bad economy like this, it's not such a big deal. The military services can and do abuse their people in any way they deem fit when retention is high and applicants exceed available open slots.
However, once the economy improves, people who feel they're mistreated will leave. They always have. The fact that when I was a Sergeant in the Army, I had living conditions that were substantially worse than those in a typical college freshman dorm, played no small part in my decision to get out and seek my fortunes elsewhere.
Right now, the reserves are doing pretty well. Folks need the money in an uncertain economy. Patriotism is still running on a post 9/11 high.
However, things won't stay this way forever, and the Navy is wise to stop treating it's people like cattle when possible.
In the mean time, if I have absolutely no other choice, like if I'm deployed or on orders on a military base, I'll do whatever I have to do, including putting up with a room mate.
Otherwise, though, I'll be doing something else. Actually, weekend hotel rates tend to be pretty good, too. That's generally when hotels are at their emptiest. So, if I can get on-base berthing on the weekdays and go out of pocket on the weekends, that won't be so bad.
I'm a total Sally about this sort of thing. There are a lot of things I want to see before I die. Like Nuno Bettencourt playing all the solos from the songs he played on with Extreme.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jrfRp8Tshs&feature=fvw
Of all the things I want to see before I die, another man's hairy butt doesn't make the list. I suppose some folks might say that this makes me some sort of closeted homophobe or something. Personally, I think it just makes me a guy who doesn't want to see other naked guys.
This is one of those culture shock things coming from the Army to the Navy. Yes, in the Army you had communal living and a lack of privacy compared to civilian life, but for the most part, there was a thin semblance of privacy. I mean, yeah, you might have 4 room-mates at a training command. 2 room-mates once you got to your duty station.
Nothing like the Air Force, where pretty much every Airman has his own room.
But also, nothing like the Navy where you are in a berthing area with row after row of bunks 3 deep, or the Marines where they still believe in living in open-bay barracks.
Their seagoing heritage means that they're used to living in areas that most people would consider too small to be a walk-in closet. (One of my favorite quotes about the Navy is that when designing housing, never ask a Navy man what he considers an acceptable amount of personal living space.)
So, to have one room-mate? That's living high on the hog by Navy standards.
The Navy does see the problem with this, though. Mainly that when you treat people worse than you have to, and worse than society at large does, with no good justification for it, they tend to think the job you're giving them is crappy.
In fact, they have launched an initiative that will provide private rooms for various ranks, but it won't apply to junior officers until fiscal year 2012, I think. So, relief is on the way. It just won't happen for another year.
In the mean time, these drill weekends are utterly exhausting, as it is. Starting with my fly-out date, I'm up at about 5:00 a.m. every day and sometimes earlier. With trying to catch up with old friends in Fort Worth, I am usually out until 10:00 or 11:00 every night.
Folks who know me know I'm a very light sleeper. The last thing I need is to have what little sleep I'm getting interrupted by somebody snoring or coming in late. Also, time is at a premium for showering, etc. I just don't want the hassle.
I'm still trading e-mails with the very patient and forebearing berthing coordinator. It looks like, at this point, that I will stay on-post during the weekdays. At that point, demand should be down considerably. It's mostly Friday and Saturday nights where folks need rooms.
I can use the last of my Marriott Rewards points to stay at a hotel in Bedford, TX this weekend. Not ideal, but it works.
I used to think the Army treated it's soldiers really badly when it came to single soldier housing. The Department of Defense has guidelines on the minimum amount of space that each servicemember should get. The Army would then simply declare a "housing emergency" and make itself exempt from all DoD standards. Near as I can figure, the housing emergency on most Army Forts and Bases started in World War II and has continued for the last 70 years.
The Air Force, on this issue and most others, is way out in front. Part of it is that they have a ridiculous amount of money relative to their needs. Contrary to popular belief, the services don't really get money based on what they need. For the past several decades, it basically gets divided 1/3 to the Army, 1/3 to the Air Force, and 1/3 to the Navy.
They try to claim that it's need-based and zero-budget based, but that's a complete fabrication.
This 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 division is meant to keep the services from fighting among themselves for funding.
http://www.slate.com/id/2187616/
The end result is that the Air Force, which has a very small mission, has way more money than it needs. Always has. Probably always will.
The Army, which has to pay the largest number of people, is pretty much properly funded, though the fact that they shoulder the biggest burden in our two wars puts a strain on them from time to time.
The Navy? When you think about it, the Navy has it's own air-force, with all the aircraft and pilots it has. It has its own army because the Marine Corps gets their money from the Department of the Navy. It has ... well... a Navy, too, with ships and seaborne weapons systems.
So, packing people into a room isn't just based on tradition. It's based on lack of money, too. It's not just because of mean-spiritedness that the Navy has, for years, made lower enlisted people live on ship when the ship is in port. They have a lot to do and only a limited amount of money to do it with. They have to be very careful with the funding they have.
The Navy is releasing more funding for this in coming years, but it won't happen overnight. In the mean time, I think it's ridiculous that officers are required to have room-mates. When I went to MEPS for my entrance physical, I got my own room just because I was an officer candidate. When I went to the hotel while reporting for my first drill, and the desk-clerk told me I had a room-mate, I thought this had to be some sort of mistake.
It's not. It's how the Navy does things. Bad as it was that I had a room-mate, imagine how my room-mate must have felt. He was an O-5 (a senior officer) and they were still sticking him with a room-mate.
During a bad economy like this, it's not such a big deal. The military services can and do abuse their people in any way they deem fit when retention is high and applicants exceed available open slots.
However, once the economy improves, people who feel they're mistreated will leave. They always have. The fact that when I was a Sergeant in the Army, I had living conditions that were substantially worse than those in a typical college freshman dorm, played no small part in my decision to get out and seek my fortunes elsewhere.
Right now, the reserves are doing pretty well. Folks need the money in an uncertain economy. Patriotism is still running on a post 9/11 high.
However, things won't stay this way forever, and the Navy is wise to stop treating it's people like cattle when possible.
In the mean time, if I have absolutely no other choice, like if I'm deployed or on orders on a military base, I'll do whatever I have to do, including putting up with a room mate.
Otherwise, though, I'll be doing something else. Actually, weekend hotel rates tend to be pretty good, too. That's generally when hotels are at their emptiest. So, if I can get on-base berthing on the weekdays and go out of pocket on the weekends, that won't be so bad.
Back to Ohio...
Got back from Texas yesterday morning and jumped right back into things up here.
Texas was so nice, it makes me wonder why I came back.
I've always said that I don't like vacations and this is a good illustration why.
Vacations fall into two camps for me. The first, which is the largest sample group, is the vacation where I can't get my mind off of projects and issues back home. So, all the angst, none of the ability to do anything about it.
The other kind, which is really, really rare, is the vacation where I escape my issues for a little while. Then, I come back home and they hit me full-force. I've been busy as all get-out for the past two days. I feel like if I miss a day at work, it sets me back about a week.
My job is pretty awesome, but that's because once all the balls are in the air, it doesn't take that much effort to keep juggling. Stops and starts, though, are murder.
Payroll is tight again this week. So, I was scrambling yesterday. After some number crunching today, we should be okay. Folks owe us money, but nobody is paying these days. Makes life a little tough. For some reason, the guys I pay bills to don't seem to be as flexible and forgiving. Go figure.
We have still never made a late payment or missed a payroll, but the nail-biting is a lot more frequent these days. In years past, we might have one week where things are a little tight. These days, it's a more regular occurrance.
Part of me feels fortunate that I still have a business, and thus, a way to earn a living in this economy. I know people out there are really sufferring. I've seen it on a small scale all my life: a person loses a job, burns through every penny they had saved for retirement. Usually, sometime down the line, they find another gig and are able to get back to a normal life.
These days, I can't imagine how horrible it must be to try and find a job. Granted, if things don't improve, I may need to find one. I also have one potential position open in my business, which could be part-time until the end of this year, and then possibly a full-time position next year.
I was leaning towards doing the job myself for a few months, but I may try to bring in somebody and train them up so they can hit the ground running when/if business picks up in December. It'd just be an entry level marketing trainee job, but the last good person we had in the position worked their way up to a pretty good salary. Perfect position for a person who needs flexible hours and only wants to work 20 or so hours a week. It can also be a full-time job if the business climate improves.
If I had to get a job, the one that makes the most sense is for me to mobilize. Just got a notification of very few mobilization opportunities in 2011. For a while, there have been rumors that unemployed guys are snapping up these mobilizations. Hey, it's a crappy job in a bad part of the world, but it's pretty good pay, especially for officers, and you get a combat zone tax exclusion from federal taxes.
The recent mob list included an actual warning that if a person is interested, they need to start making calls now because the mob opportunities are going fast. Go figure.
Sort of a downer these days. The biz is challenging. Also, the weather is changing. Although this was truly the cruelest Summer so far for me, business-wise, I hated to see it go. Now, the bad weather comes and we won't have relief until maybe April.
Texas was so nice, it makes me wonder why I came back.
I've always said that I don't like vacations and this is a good illustration why.
Vacations fall into two camps for me. The first, which is the largest sample group, is the vacation where I can't get my mind off of projects and issues back home. So, all the angst, none of the ability to do anything about it.
The other kind, which is really, really rare, is the vacation where I escape my issues for a little while. Then, I come back home and they hit me full-force. I've been busy as all get-out for the past two days. I feel like if I miss a day at work, it sets me back about a week.
My job is pretty awesome, but that's because once all the balls are in the air, it doesn't take that much effort to keep juggling. Stops and starts, though, are murder.
Payroll is tight again this week. So, I was scrambling yesterday. After some number crunching today, we should be okay. Folks owe us money, but nobody is paying these days. Makes life a little tough. For some reason, the guys I pay bills to don't seem to be as flexible and forgiving. Go figure.
We have still never made a late payment or missed a payroll, but the nail-biting is a lot more frequent these days. In years past, we might have one week where things are a little tight. These days, it's a more regular occurrance.
Part of me feels fortunate that I still have a business, and thus, a way to earn a living in this economy. I know people out there are really sufferring. I've seen it on a small scale all my life: a person loses a job, burns through every penny they had saved for retirement. Usually, sometime down the line, they find another gig and are able to get back to a normal life.
These days, I can't imagine how horrible it must be to try and find a job. Granted, if things don't improve, I may need to find one. I also have one potential position open in my business, which could be part-time until the end of this year, and then possibly a full-time position next year.
I was leaning towards doing the job myself for a few months, but I may try to bring in somebody and train them up so they can hit the ground running when/if business picks up in December. It'd just be an entry level marketing trainee job, but the last good person we had in the position worked their way up to a pretty good salary. Perfect position for a person who needs flexible hours and only wants to work 20 or so hours a week. It can also be a full-time job if the business climate improves.
If I had to get a job, the one that makes the most sense is for me to mobilize. Just got a notification of very few mobilization opportunities in 2011. For a while, there have been rumors that unemployed guys are snapping up these mobilizations. Hey, it's a crappy job in a bad part of the world, but it's pretty good pay, especially for officers, and you get a combat zone tax exclusion from federal taxes.
The recent mob list included an actual warning that if a person is interested, they need to start making calls now because the mob opportunities are going fast. Go figure.
Sort of a downer these days. The biz is challenging. Also, the weather is changing. Although this was truly the cruelest Summer so far for me, business-wise, I hated to see it go. Now, the bad weather comes and we won't have relief until maybe April.
Monday, October 4, 2010
A little more positivity
It dawned on me the other day that although this is my worst year, financially, in the last 4, that I stand a shot at making as much money as my best earnings year when I was an employee. I wasn't the highest paid guy around, when I worked for Parker, but I considered my compensation to be adequate, bordering on comfortable.
So, even if things didn't improve in the business, I really should feel pretty good, all things considered. A lot of folks are really sufferring right now. I'm fortunate that I'm not one of them. Folks who know me might mistakenly think that I don't like my franchisor: Servpro. I have my issues with the franchise system, but I am thankful all the time that I bought into this franchise system. They've really done well by me. On balance, the relationship is overwhelmingly positive.
It's not all peaches and light in my life. I've got some things on the personal front that are pretty trying right now, but even the bad stuff in my life could be a lot worse. I'm a fortunate guy.
This week, I head down to Fort Worth for another visit. Jamie Basler is hosting a get-together Saturday night again. I knew her in college and we took some classes together. It never ceases to amaze me how generous some people are. Jamie is a peach for letting us invade her home once a month for the past 2 months.
In a sort of interesting twist, one of my biggest pet-peeves about the Navy reserve is going to be resolved in a couple of months. The Navy, due to its history and heritage, has this bad habit of thinking that everybody could and should live with a minimal amount of living space, and no privacy, usually with room-mates, and if you're lucky and conditions permit, just one. Fortunately, we drill at an old Air Force base. So, the officer bachelor's quarters aren't doubled-up.
In Fiscal year 2012, though, all E-7 and above will be entitled to a private room while at drill. So, that's one pet peeve off the list. Really, that's my biggest pet-peeve and one of very few with the Navy reserve. It's such a significant pet-peeve that I used to pay for my own hotel rooms in downtown Cleveland or stay an hour away with relatives, rather than deal with a room-mate. In fact, on this trip to Fort Worth, I'll be using my Marriott Rewards points to stay at a Courtyard, rather than double up because of a shortage of housing availability.
I can't say often enough what a positive experience the Navy Reserve has been. I look forward to drilling and enjoy each drill. The people are great, and it feels good to serve again. I also got a great benefit when they decided to let reservists buy military health insurance. That benefit, alone, probably saves me at least $500 a month.
Arabic is going well. We have a quiz tomorrow and I think I'll do fine. I don't know if it's open book or not. I'll be studying. It's to the point now where we're memorizing vocabulary. I continue to be impressed and relieved that Arabic is such an orderly language. It is much easy to read and write than English, and although I'm not into the grammar very deep, it seems no worse than English in that regard.
The biggest value of the class, though is that it has opened my mind about the Arabic people and the Arabic culture. Although I try to be fair-minded, in the years since 9/11, I have accepted some stereotypes and views regarding Islam and the Arabic nations that I'm not particularly proud of today. This broadening of my perspective is worth every penny of tuition money and then some.
The changing of the weather has me sort of depressed. This Summer was a good one, with Logan's travel baseball and all. I am in no hurry for this kid to grow up and leave the house. I know I have a long time to worry about that, but I just wish I could make time stand still a little longer. I want to spend more time with my boy. So many things I envisioned doing, but now, life is what it is, not necessarily what I envisioned.
Not that things are bad, but I just thought raising a kid would mean a lot more time with them. For the first 6 years or so of Logan's life, he and I were inseperable, but he's at an age, now, where he doesn't dislike being with his Dad, but he enjoys relating to kids his own age so much more.
An interesting note. As folks who know me know, I'm a big believer in nature over nurture. I honestly believe that most of what we become is predestined genetically, and that the bulk of what isn't genetic is probably determined in the first few years of life.
Recent studies have shown that how thrifty a person is can be determined genetically and that attempts to modify this proclivity, behaviorally, are difficult and with mediocre results at best. The reason I say this is that I recently e-bayed off all of Logan's old baseball bats. I bought a lot of them last year in the search for the perfect bat.
He's outgrown them all, now. He'll probably outgrow yet another one before the next season.
He lost his DSi. I think it happened when we were at a tournament in Columbus. I felt bad for him, but didn't have the money to replace it.
My rule, with his bank account, is that I match everything he puts in, dollar for dollar. So, for instance, if he puts in $50 worth of birthday money, I match it with another $50.
With the $100 I got from selling his bats, I told him I would match the money and that he could use it either to buy a new DSi, or if he didn't want to, the money could go into his bank account for something he might want to buy later.
His decision? Save the money. The kid is a saver and that's a good thing. If ever a kid displayed virtuous character, it'd be my boy. He's honest, conscientious, and apparently also thrifty.
Like any parent, all I really want is to feel secure that when my son leaves my sphere of influence, that he will be able to make his way in the world, be happy and make good decisions.
He's only 9 years old, but every passing day gives me confidence that when the day comes that I can't protect him and provide for him anymore, that he will do just fine with things.
In the category of making good memories and having good experiences with him, it is now October. In November, we do the annual trip to Disneyland, which I look forward to all year. Also, the ski shop should have his skis in. I want to try and find another family to ski with us, though, or at least one other kid.
Skiing is expensive and a little bit dangerous. We took one of his friends last year, and it turned out very badly. The kid didn't know how to ski, and was learning, but couldn't really hang out with Logan all that much. Plus, I have hammered some of the safety aspects of skiing into Logan. The main one being to always ski in control and be able to stop. His friend didn't really subscribe to either of those theories.
Between rental and lift ticket, it's a $75 afternoon for a friend, and throw in meals and snacks and it's probably closer to $100.
So, I'm hoping that we can find one other family with a kid about Logan's age that we can do our day-trips up to Brighton with. There's one other kid on his baseball team who skis. I mentioned it to his Dad, but they don't like Brighton. In any event, if we have to, we'll go ski, just the two of us. However, I hate to admit it: Logan has more fun when there's other kids to interact with.
This is going to be a busy week. I have a full schedule. I hate to admit it, but although I often fantasize about returning to school, I really shouldn't. It's expensive and I will be better served to focus on my business and try to make it grow.
There are a lot of things that are interesting to me, but in the long run, my life ended up with me doing exactly what I should be doing: leading a small business. I have the Navy as my somewhat interesting part-time distraction. Other than that, I just need to focus on being a father.
If the economy picks up, or the weather starts cooperating, I'll be trying to expand the business, again, by diversifying into an unrelated enterprise.
Until then, I need to farm the farm. The grass is no different anywhere else. I need to just water the grass where I am.
So, even if things didn't improve in the business, I really should feel pretty good, all things considered. A lot of folks are really sufferring right now. I'm fortunate that I'm not one of them. Folks who know me might mistakenly think that I don't like my franchisor: Servpro. I have my issues with the franchise system, but I am thankful all the time that I bought into this franchise system. They've really done well by me. On balance, the relationship is overwhelmingly positive.
It's not all peaches and light in my life. I've got some things on the personal front that are pretty trying right now, but even the bad stuff in my life could be a lot worse. I'm a fortunate guy.
This week, I head down to Fort Worth for another visit. Jamie Basler is hosting a get-together Saturday night again. I knew her in college and we took some classes together. It never ceases to amaze me how generous some people are. Jamie is a peach for letting us invade her home once a month for the past 2 months.
In a sort of interesting twist, one of my biggest pet-peeves about the Navy reserve is going to be resolved in a couple of months. The Navy, due to its history and heritage, has this bad habit of thinking that everybody could and should live with a minimal amount of living space, and no privacy, usually with room-mates, and if you're lucky and conditions permit, just one. Fortunately, we drill at an old Air Force base. So, the officer bachelor's quarters aren't doubled-up.
In Fiscal year 2012, though, all E-7 and above will be entitled to a private room while at drill. So, that's one pet peeve off the list. Really, that's my biggest pet-peeve and one of very few with the Navy reserve. It's such a significant pet-peeve that I used to pay for my own hotel rooms in downtown Cleveland or stay an hour away with relatives, rather than deal with a room-mate. In fact, on this trip to Fort Worth, I'll be using my Marriott Rewards points to stay at a Courtyard, rather than double up because of a shortage of housing availability.
I can't say often enough what a positive experience the Navy Reserve has been. I look forward to drilling and enjoy each drill. The people are great, and it feels good to serve again. I also got a great benefit when they decided to let reservists buy military health insurance. That benefit, alone, probably saves me at least $500 a month.
Arabic is going well. We have a quiz tomorrow and I think I'll do fine. I don't know if it's open book or not. I'll be studying. It's to the point now where we're memorizing vocabulary. I continue to be impressed and relieved that Arabic is such an orderly language. It is much easy to read and write than English, and although I'm not into the grammar very deep, it seems no worse than English in that regard.
The biggest value of the class, though is that it has opened my mind about the Arabic people and the Arabic culture. Although I try to be fair-minded, in the years since 9/11, I have accepted some stereotypes and views regarding Islam and the Arabic nations that I'm not particularly proud of today. This broadening of my perspective is worth every penny of tuition money and then some.
The changing of the weather has me sort of depressed. This Summer was a good one, with Logan's travel baseball and all. I am in no hurry for this kid to grow up and leave the house. I know I have a long time to worry about that, but I just wish I could make time stand still a little longer. I want to spend more time with my boy. So many things I envisioned doing, but now, life is what it is, not necessarily what I envisioned.
Not that things are bad, but I just thought raising a kid would mean a lot more time with them. For the first 6 years or so of Logan's life, he and I were inseperable, but he's at an age, now, where he doesn't dislike being with his Dad, but he enjoys relating to kids his own age so much more.
An interesting note. As folks who know me know, I'm a big believer in nature over nurture. I honestly believe that most of what we become is predestined genetically, and that the bulk of what isn't genetic is probably determined in the first few years of life.
Recent studies have shown that how thrifty a person is can be determined genetically and that attempts to modify this proclivity, behaviorally, are difficult and with mediocre results at best. The reason I say this is that I recently e-bayed off all of Logan's old baseball bats. I bought a lot of them last year in the search for the perfect bat.
He's outgrown them all, now. He'll probably outgrow yet another one before the next season.
He lost his DSi. I think it happened when we were at a tournament in Columbus. I felt bad for him, but didn't have the money to replace it.
My rule, with his bank account, is that I match everything he puts in, dollar for dollar. So, for instance, if he puts in $50 worth of birthday money, I match it with another $50.
With the $100 I got from selling his bats, I told him I would match the money and that he could use it either to buy a new DSi, or if he didn't want to, the money could go into his bank account for something he might want to buy later.
His decision? Save the money. The kid is a saver and that's a good thing. If ever a kid displayed virtuous character, it'd be my boy. He's honest, conscientious, and apparently also thrifty.
Like any parent, all I really want is to feel secure that when my son leaves my sphere of influence, that he will be able to make his way in the world, be happy and make good decisions.
He's only 9 years old, but every passing day gives me confidence that when the day comes that I can't protect him and provide for him anymore, that he will do just fine with things.
In the category of making good memories and having good experiences with him, it is now October. In November, we do the annual trip to Disneyland, which I look forward to all year. Also, the ski shop should have his skis in. I want to try and find another family to ski with us, though, or at least one other kid.
Skiing is expensive and a little bit dangerous. We took one of his friends last year, and it turned out very badly. The kid didn't know how to ski, and was learning, but couldn't really hang out with Logan all that much. Plus, I have hammered some of the safety aspects of skiing into Logan. The main one being to always ski in control and be able to stop. His friend didn't really subscribe to either of those theories.
Between rental and lift ticket, it's a $75 afternoon for a friend, and throw in meals and snacks and it's probably closer to $100.
So, I'm hoping that we can find one other family with a kid about Logan's age that we can do our day-trips up to Brighton with. There's one other kid on his baseball team who skis. I mentioned it to his Dad, but they don't like Brighton. In any event, if we have to, we'll go ski, just the two of us. However, I hate to admit it: Logan has more fun when there's other kids to interact with.
This is going to be a busy week. I have a full schedule. I hate to admit it, but although I often fantasize about returning to school, I really shouldn't. It's expensive and I will be better served to focus on my business and try to make it grow.
There are a lot of things that are interesting to me, but in the long run, my life ended up with me doing exactly what I should be doing: leading a small business. I have the Navy as my somewhat interesting part-time distraction. Other than that, I just need to focus on being a father.
If the economy picks up, or the weather starts cooperating, I'll be trying to expand the business, again, by diversifying into an unrelated enterprise.
Until then, I need to farm the farm. The grass is no different anywhere else. I need to just water the grass where I am.
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