[189] Screed City

[189]

08/30/2022 Tuesday. Garbage Room. Beaver Haus. Lower Granville, Vermont.

Tickling in the dark. A huge thunderstorm came through. The lights have been off for nearly three hours now. l mean, I am doing a screed because I fear my computer will crap out at any moment and I will lose all my new writing. I suppose I should hit save every now and again. I guess. One of these days I will get a better interface that periodically saves documents as I am working on them. One day. I mean, losing power is one of the biggest bummers of living in Vermont. You are absolutely helpless about it. Knocks you right back into the stone age. I mean, it is annoying at the very least. And since the water runs on an electric pump there is no water either. I mean, I guess it would be smart to buy a generator one day. I mean, the lights went out at around 5p. It was still light out. I was able to fry up some steaks to make tacos on the gas grill. And I was able to make some black beans and heat the tortillas on the stove top. And because it was still light out, we were able to eat in light. I mean, after dinner we drove into Roach Town to get creemees. We both got dog cones. $1 dollar a piece. We ate them in the park. The town square. It was nice. Then we drove back and kind of just hung around in the dark for a while. And now I am tickling like the wind and Professor Curly is doing who the hell knows what. Maybe writing herself. I mean, it kind of blows.

The day was filled with adventure though. The new painter came over and sprayed the house down. The old painter is still MIA. Nobody knows where she went or why. Her $3,000 dollar paint sprayer is missing. She left behind a work bag and a random orbital sander. I mean, either she came and got the thing or somebody stole it. The new painter is a nice guy. He has a million tattoos. Gauges in his earlobes. I mean, at least he showed up. Not that his appearance would suggest otherwise. What I mean is, as far as Vermont-style workers are concerned, at least he showed up.

I mean, I finally cut a hole in the wall to get the insulation numbers. That space is 2 foot by 9 foot by 9 foot. 162 cubic feet. Combine that with the attic square footage which is like 420 square feet, I think I need to get something like 16, 25 lbs bags of fiber fill. Which I think I will borrow the New Landlord's truck tomorrow and go to Rutland and get the stuff. Also rent a blower, which, according to the landlord they rent it for free if you buy more than 10 bags of the stuff. We will see. It looks like Thursday will be perfect for doing the job. Mild weather all around.

I harvested the black beans today. Got roughly an lb of dried beans. I mean, I think I planted about an lb of beans, so, I mean, I would think I would have gotten like at least six times as many beans as I got, but apparently not. I mean, who knows. I am sure I did something wrong. Butwhatever. At least I broke even.

Vinney Junior stopped by while I was leaning against the tree, shucking the beans. He has some pretty cool long hair now. He was driving he truck. He told me all about what changes he's done to the thing. The loud sound system, plus some other things that I didn't know what he was talking about. He said he is starting school tomorrow. He isn't too excited about it. And he won't be 16 for another two years, so he won't be able to legally drive anytime soon. He did say he wanted to start a mobile detailing service. Which, I mean, that is a great idea. A very Vermont-specific job.

Lights just came back on! And the second they came on the rain started pouring like dogs. I mean, it is loud as shit!

I mean, we talked for quite a while. He is very cute. He seems healthy and happy. He told me I was lucky I didn't live here a few years ago when he and his friends would oil up his tires and peel out on the road because it was very loud. I didn't know what to make of that statement. I mean, thanks for not doing that anymore? I guess? But three years ago he was 11. I can only assume Vinney Senior was involved. I mean, I saw Vinney Senior today. He waved. I guess he is still at it. Although there has been exactly zero yelling incidents and exactly zero gun shots into the woods.

I think I figured out the Portland work coming up. Start on Monday. Work most of the month of September? The guy with the shag carpet said he would rent me his empty apartment for $500 bucks. Which is good. $30 dollars a night basically. As opposed to paying for a hotel room. Which would be at least a $100 dollars a night with the Brewery discount. I mean, Scott had an emergency rigging gig down in Florida, so the New House work got put on hold. I mean, sadly I don't think I will be able to help with that again until October. I mean, this stupid farmers market gig. Why did I commit to the whole season? It is a pain in the ass! I mean, I am supposed to go camping this weekend, but I don't see it happening. And had I not just been in Wyoming with G for three weeks, I would have adjusted my schedule, but if I don't start making money again AMEC, I am going to regret it sorely. Like my Winter plans are going to suffer. And not only that, but I really, very much dearly, need to get my schedule straightened out for book stuff. I mean, I am so behind on editing that I am starting to wonder if I can even pull it off anymore. I need a few absolute free days without interruption. At least. I mean, either that, or I just do like all the other writers do and drag ass for years. I mean, I started a new book. It is called Dangler [Italics.] It's a story about a guy in Casper, Wyoming that gets himself into a little bit of trouble that may or may not be of his own doing. HAHA. I am creating a new style of noir. Casper-centric. Loser, working-class goons that can't catch a break. I mean, I really am thinking about moving there for a couple months next year. Casper, I mean. Rent a cheap and sleazy apartment. Maybe get a job at the Taco John's or some oil changing place or something. And just see what happens. Maybe do some meth or something. Start chewing tobacco.

I mean, whatever. If I play my cards right I can figure this all out. I already brought up the idea of not being around too much this Winter to the New Landlord. Which, I mean, I don't need his permission to ditch, but maybe there is a way to sublet the place when I am gone, or even better yet, to rent the place out to skiers for the week or weekend. To at least cover the gas bill. Although, if there are people living here when it is super cold the gas bill will be expensive as shit. Even with the new insulation. I mean, even if I can reduce the bill by 25%, which seems unreasonable, the bill will still be extremely expensive. I mean, the New Landlord said we could Winterize the house when I wasn't there. But what would that mean? Aside from emptying the pipes of water. I mean, paying rent on a house I am not living in? I mean, $1,200 dollars seems like a pretty steep price for a storage unit, right? Per month. I mean, I don't know. There has to be a solution I am missing. Because I don't want to just pay rent on a house I am not living in, however, I don't want to lose the house, however, I also don't want to pay an extra $500 dollars a month in heating. I mean, also all my Ticklers curing in the basement. I mean, I guess I just suck it up and find a way to pay for everything. Maybe if is makes sense, have a couple weekends a month renting to flatlander chucks who I can charge like $200 dollars a night. I mean, right? I mean, yes. Why not. I mean, I think as long as I don't make any extra work for the landlords they won't really care what I do. And as long as the place doesn't burn down. I mean, the problem though is that the house itself is an unknown as it is. Two Winters in a row the heating has been an extreme problem. And to rent the place out and also have to depend on the fickle nature of both Vermont and the New Landlord, I mean, it is a recipe for disaster ATBMS.

I mean, I went into Roach Town today to buy a thermometer for the basement. My Ticklers are making me nervous. The 20 gallons that stalled are now bubbling pretty good, but the new stuff is acting like jerks. I mean, and the temperature here has been in the 80's. I mean, the basement is very cool. Like almost, ALMOST perfect. But my system for getting the things bubbling is lacking. And I need to know how far below the 68-72F range which makes the things go great, I am. I mean, something tells me that I need to move my operations back upstairs soon. But how the hell can I do that? I suppose I can use the Serial closet in the Winter. Maybe that is the solution? Move my printing operation into the basement? It would work, I just need to do a switcheroo. I mean, I already solved the dust issue. I mean, see! This is how you work through things. You put an idea out there, think about how to make it happen, and then enact it. I mean, however, the basement, as much as it stays cool in the Summer, it also stays warm in the Winter. Not super warm, but it doesn't freeze down there. Not when the heat is going. But then again, I really don't know. The Winters are so hard up hear that I forget the suffering from last Winter. I mean, if my Ticklers can't cure in the Winter in the basement, there is a problem. I mean, I am essentially closing off the attic when I do this insulation bid. So maybe it makes sense to use the Serial closet as a Tickler closet at this point? I mean, if I buy more floor mats I can increase my usage space in the basement. Which is an option as well. I mean, I can get the best of both worlds. I mean, if, IFF, if and only if, we are going to hold onto this house, I mean, I can turn the basement into a great thing for me. Like a printing press/Tickler curing house. I mean, why not?

I mean, I found the hole that fucking squirrel came in through. And, boy, was it a doozy. I mean, I was messing around and clearing out useless old fiberglass insulation and in the darkness I saw some light coming in from the house proper. I mean, on accident I had left the lights on in the basement. So I went inside and had a look-see. It turns out that fucker Stony Mike cut a huge hole for the hot water pipe, the heating pipe to go upstairs and he didn't bother closing the hole. I mean, there was a huge hole that went directly into the elements! I mean, how the hell I managed to keep the mice out this long is a mystery. I mean, I also found the hole behind the kitchen cabinets that the critters were originally coming in from. I mean, that hole also had tons of huge turds. Like the kinds of turds that squirrels make. But it couldn't get in through that hole. I mean, it went in that hole, for sure, but it couldn't get into the house through that hole. Because there was no egress inside. But this Stony Mike hole. It was huge. And of course the Winter air. I mean, whatever. I really am thinking I may not pay my gas bill from January through May. I may just not do it. Maybe give the New Landlord $500 bucks and call it good. I mean, this is absurd. I don't mind paying my bills, but when I find something like this? It gives me very little sympathy for arrears. I mean, I am already paying more rent than I need to pay. By at least $200 bucks a month. I mean, the cash cow needs to stop. It needs to not be me. And without any consequence to past actions, I mean, I am not morally obligated to just bend over and spread my cheeks, right?

I mean, I turned the heat of at the end of May. Every single ounce of gas I used since then I used in good faith. And I owe that bill. But the heating bill is not that. I mean, not once in the Winter was I ever warm in the house. I wore socks and long johns to bed. Two or three blankets. And my bill was still $500 dollars a month. I mean, we will see. The reason I am borrowing the New Landlords truck to drive to Rutland tomorrow is because this needs to be addressed, and he sure as shit is not going to address it. I mean, at least I can charge him for it. We agreed on $40 bucks an hour for the work I am doing. I mean, that is fine by me. And I can charge him for my travel and the gas and any materials I buy. I mean, in the end this benefits him way more than it benefits me, but I am willing to do the work if it means that things will neutralize. But still, I mean, the house needs a wood burning stove if you ask me. That, or an entire redo of the insulation. I mean, that will never happen. So we are kind of at a cross-roads. I mean, I don't mind paying rent and all, I am living here, but had he told me that rent was $1,200 dollars a month June through October and $1,700 dollars a month November to May, I would have told him to suck his own dick about it. I mean, like I said, it's not like I am frolicking around naked in the rental house because the heat is too hot. I am sleeping in night clothes, seeing my breath in the morning, worrying about my Ticklers.

I mean, this is some real class-struggle shit I am talking about. I mean, I know I am paying his taxes for him. That is okay. I have no real desire to paint it in any other way. But still, this idea of passing the cost onto the consumer is getting out of hand. I mean, it is false advertising. And the funny thing is that two Winters ago, when the boiler went out, I mean, that was the true state of things coming to a head. I mean, we were running what? 15 electric heaters day and night? The electric bills were astounding. But that is how it should be. He should be paying that shit until things get fixed. And as much as I am doing my best to fix them, the problem is not going to be solved. I mean, my heating bill should be at most nothing. Zero. It should be figured into the rent. But as it is, this being Vermont, sure, add a little to me. But how much? Okay, my electric bill is roughly $125 bucks. I have an electric fence, which, I mean, I shouldn't have to pay for that, but I do, those goats can walk off into traffic this Winter and it wouldn't hurt my feelings. I mean, at a certain point that electric fence is useless anyway. And there is a chest freezer that I use very much, that I don't mind paying the bill for, and the refrigerator, and the lights. I mean, it is all usage things. Which is fine by me. But the heating. I mean, I guess in my mind, I can swallow a $200 dollar bill when it gets cold. Like real cold. I mean, late December to the end of February. But otherwise. I mean, around $100 bucks all the other cold months. I mean, in March the days get above freezing again. In November it is cold, but not $500 dollars a month cold.

I mean, I am figuring it out. That is all I am saying. And I guess I am just complaining about how the systematic struggle between those who own things and those who borrow things is innately unbalanced because things like, I mean, you can write off your house payment on your taxes but you can't write off paying rent, paying someone’s mortgage bill for them? I mean, isn't that fucked up? I mean, what is that all about? A guy like me that spends almost all of his money on rent and bills doesn't get any special treatment, but the guy that rents to me gets ALL the special treatment? Even though it is me that is paying HIS bills? Shouldn't it be the opposite? I mean, I am being stark as a way to make my point, but, I mean, am I? Because it is true that the way things work, nobody can write off rent, but you can write off your mortgage? And there is nothing stopping anyone from renting out a home they bought to pay off there mortgage. Nothing. The system is so cocked to the side, I am astonished it doesn't fall over. I mean, maybe, just maybe I understand that the idea is to encourage people to buy homes instead of rent them, for the Economy? Or something? But if the idea is to have a stable economy that doesn't shutter whenever poor people get poorer, wouldn't it make more sense to give poor people a break instead of rich people? I mean, I am just asking.

I mean, of course the simple solution is to not have an Economy based on people owning homes. Or, OR, if that is the way to go, then maybe make it easier for poor people to own housing. But, sadly, it doesn't work that way. I mean, if I have learned anything from growing beans, black beans, it is that you don't get a 1:6 return on your investment. I mean, say I did plant a lb of beans. And the entire lb of beans sprouted. And each plant only produced a single bean sprout with six beans on it. Shouldn't that mean I get 6 lbs of beans? I guess not. And why not? Because every bean I planted didn't sprout. And of the beans that did sprout, some of them made many bean sprouts, and some, just a few. But because of all the ones that didn't sprout the numbers didn't work out. And, I mean, really, this is the Economy we live in. The beans that did sprout made more beans. The ones that didn't sprout produced no beans. And you can pretend that it is just nature taking it's course, but that is absolutely a specious argument. The factors that led to the beans either sprouting or not sprouting are pure luck. And once the ones that did sprout, they got all of the special treatment from the soil that the unsprouted beans do not get. NO, instead, the unsprouted beans are just left to rot in the manure, while the sprouted beans thrive. Stealing every single ounce of nutrients from the soil. I mean, if beans have taught me anything, it is that the rich need to pay their fair share, and mostly all of us are actually poor as shit because they don't pay their fair share. Because we spend our entire lives paying their fair share for them.

The rich are not rich because they are smart. They are rich because they are Socialized by the middle class, the working class and the poor. Without our infrastructure they would be as miserable as we are. I mean, not that we are miserable, in the philosophical sense of the word, but I doubt, I really doubt that anyone with enough money to buy a boat or a fancy car thinks about buying groceries or even a grocery bill at all. That percentage of their income does not even factor in. Remember that when you look at the $5.19 bag of potato chips you decide to not buy next time because that amount seems outrageous. For chips? Nah. But then, I mean, I want some chips with my sandwich. Fuck. Do I splurge? Splurge! It's five dollars! You see what I mean? The rich are cunts. They need to die. Or at the very least, they need to pay taxes. And I hate to say it, but if you are making less than $400,000 dollars a year, you are poor. With everything you do everyday just to stay above water, and the myth of the American Dream, I mean, the amount of time you spend every single day working? For whom? For what? I mean.

I mean, consider the arguments coming out of the media right now about how nobody can find any workers. How now there are restaurants that can't stay open seven days a week anymore because they can't get help. And boohoohoo for the business owners. I mean, nobody is asking the workers how they feel about this. About how it is great that you don't have to commit 40 hours a week anymore to a job that you have to take to pay off your debts. I mean, what is the difference between making that extra, I don't know, $70 dollars for the fifth day in the week that you used to be forced to work in order to keep your job? I mean, I would rather be destitute and have a free Friday than have the extra few beans that don't make a difference anyway, right? I mean, it's not just the hourly minimum wage being absolute garbage, it's the idea of working your ass of for somebody that will let you go the second things gets hard for them. I mean, you want loyalty? How about making my life easier? How about making it so I can have a family, have a stable life/work balance? Maybe health-care? Oh, healthcare is too expensive? Well, single-payer might solve that problem. I mean, if you want an actual mobile work-force how about giving anyone making less than $100,000 dollars a year government sanctioned health care. No, fuck that, give it to everyone! There should be no means testing. Health care should be a right at this point. I mean, if the idea is that we, in this great big Capitalist Economy, as workers, we come and go, let it be the thing that these stupid vampire corporations, like ride sharing, the Uber's of the world, who allow the workers to make their own hours, I mean, this is what they want, right? A liquid work force at the touch of the finger? I mean, go for it! Just give us the safety net to allow us to work. Pay a decent wage. Stop making it so hard just to stay afloat. I mean, what is happening is not this thing that the Corporate Media wants you to believe. I mean, are you not working right now? Do you not have a job? I mean, we all can't be lazy slobs at the moment. I mean, right? I know I am working. There are jobs galore. I mean, it's great.

I was at the Mac's today and the one new guy was drinking fucking hard Ticklers while working! Is that not the biggest fuck you going? I mean, I am sure he will get fired soon, but I don't think he was the only one doing it. I mean, there is chaos on the labor market. And that is great. My point is this; It is not the "Employers" we should be worried about. Boohoohoo they can't stay open seven days a week 24 hours a day. Because guess what? The labor force is catching on. We have been shit on our entire lives and now we have the power, so fuck them, I mean, whether or not anyone knows how to work anymore is not the issue, because humans work, that is what we do, but the issue is simple, it doesn't fucking matter. We are all poor anyway, what is the point? Boot-straps be damned! I mean, what is the point? If the powers that be just see me as disposable labor anyway, why commit to anyone? I mean, this is a good thing! But for some stupid reason, the Corporate reality is taking it's sweet ass time catching up to the labor market. And, I mean, I say, let them suffer until they figure it out. I mean, the simple solution is a living minimum wage and health care for everyone. Plus paid time off. Especially for birth and sickness and vacation. And, I mean, I guarantee that even the small businesses will get their employees too, when they don't have to worry about going to a doctor or a dentist or whatever. I mean, humans are humans. Nobody really wants to work for Google. They would rather work at the deli down the street if it meant that on the weekends they could hang out with friends and go for a hike with their dog. I mean. it's not rocket surgery ATBMS.

I mean, I guess I will get off my soapbox now, however, I really do find it absurd that we are all feeling like the Economy is shit because "Employers" can't get workers. I mean, that is Trickle Down bullshit to the max. I mean, stay strong and wait. Take the best jobs you can find and treat them like they are nothing. I mean, ask for a raise and then work less when you get it. I mean, as far as labor is concerned, we are living our best lives right now. Let's push the limits until we break them. Gold-brick like the wind! We only get a chance like this every 50 years. If that. I mean, since when did a teenager making nearly as much money as you make you feel like maybe things are not as good as you thought they were? I mean, I find it funny. Anyone that isn't suddenly embarrassed by the amount they are making right now, should start looking for another job. I mean, I have been in the workforce for 25 years at this point. And all I can say about is this:

It's about fucking time.

[Insert Beans Photo]