Category: personal

Hot. But less so. Humid. But more so. Actually got rain yesterday in measurable amounts even if I didn’t measure it. Weather station is still not connecting with the display. Still, I know there was some rain as things were wet and later the afternoon rain messed up my plans for the day.

I did take a few things to my auctioneer. Not what I wanted to do, but I told him I’d bring some more, and I did. We didn’t do any settlements, but we did talk about bringing in more stuff. I’ll keep bringing it, he’ll keep selling it.

Doctor visit was uneventful. In order to take a closer look at my arteries, we’ll get some CT imaging, so he can see if there are any indications of a problem. This getting old business is not for the weak.

Today is more auction stuff, weather permitting. I’ve got one pickup, maybe two, and if it’s cool, I can sort and stack for next week’s drop off. I’ve got to do some grocery shopping too. Domestic bliss. There’s always something that needs doing.

Oh, and I should meet the new tenant and hand over keys. That will be great if we can manage to meet. It’ll be good to get rent again, and the deposit.

I’m still getting tax stuff together for my accountant, and doing bills and other desk work, so there will be stuff to do, even if it’s pouring down.

Gotta keep moving, gotta keep stacking.
n

Hot and hotter. There is a rumor of rain and cooler temps but I’m not holding my breath. It was plenty hot yesterday. I was soaked to the skin and feeling very hot as I loaded up my truck and sorted out some bins of auction stuff.

I had to sit in the air conditioned truck for a while and cool down.

I did get another load to auction. Failed to pick up from two others. Those were the pickups I had missed or delayed thinking I’d have time. They both close early on Friday, which I know now…

I’ll have to take time next week to get the stuff.

I ended up at Costco instead, where I got a few pleasant surprises (prices for protein, and for rice) and a bunch of the things I buy regularly were on sale. The overall ticket was still shockingly high. I haven’t bought stacks of meat in a while. I used to feel like a certain number was a big number, but yesterday I was double that, and didn’t buy paper products or purely prep items. Double, despite the discounts and the actual low prices on some items (pork roast was only $2/pound).

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Today my non-prepping hobby meets. We’ll show and tell the stuff we picked up at the show, and management will do a ‘lessons learned’ AAR following the meeting. It went very well, but there are always things you can tweak. I just don’t want to get shanghied into running it next year. I’m willing to be support, but shouldn’t be in charge.

I think that is the best description of how I see myself- as an expediter, clearing the path for the other people to do the work, managing the problems so that they can keep going toward the goal. An awful lot of my various careers boiled down to that, when I wasn’t holding tools myself. In the most extreme application, people don’t even see that you are working, because they don’t see the resources already put in place, the permits already obtained, the backup shipper waiting to be called in if there is an issue… the drawings, plans, schedules, money, or relationships. It looks EASY.

There are parallels to my prepping too. We didn’t skip a beat when the lockdown came. I did my “last run” but probably could have skipped it. We had masks, disinfectant, TP, food, etc. When it was time for the kids to do school, we had stuff to make that transition. When my wife wished she had a second monitor for work, I offered her a choice from ones I had stashed. Of course there were things I missed and stuff I didn’t have, but the stuff I did have made 90% of the transition easy.

I’m starting to feel like the next transition will catch me more flat footed. I feel like I’ll be lucky to get to 50%. It’s not a question of taking it seriously but of taking it seriously ENOUGH. I feel a crisis of faith coming. Stacks are comforting, but not enough on their own. I need to figure out what else I need to get ready. And then I need to actually do it.

Ay carumba. So much angst. You’d think I was in my teens again.

Look around and ask yourself it things are getting better or worse. Ask what it would take to make it better. Do you see that thing actually happening? If you don’t see it getting better, or can’t see a clear path to better, you should be topping up your preps and making plans.

Expedite your own survival and success. And stack, always stack.

nick

Hot and sticky, again. The humidity has been crazy high, and I expect that to continue for a couple more days, just out of the perversity of the universe.

Yesterday I met with the appliance repair guy and got the dishwasher at the rent house fixed. Simple and quick, I could have done the swap myself, but getting the parts wasn’t presented as an option. Relatively simple and pain free process. Ya know, my first instinct is almost never to call for warranty service. My first instinct is to try fixing stuff myself, with a very cynical view of warranty guarantees,but this time it worked. Should work out at the BOL too.

I spent the rest of the day doing auction stuff.

Which is what I’ll be doing today before and after my doctor appointment. I should do a drop off at my auctioneer, and pickups of stuff I won on the other side of town later in the day. FWIW, prices were low again. That is now officially a trend in my view, and doesn’t bode well for the economy or my auction sales. As a buyer I like low prices. As a seller I don’t. As a ‘big picture guy’ I realize I need the auction houses to make money so they can stay in business and continue to provide lower cost items, and there is a balancing act between those elements. Low auction prices on discretionary spending items is a bad sign. It probably means that people are out of money. We’ll see.

Also FWIW, I’m seeing more food items listed by my various auctioneers, and they are selling well. By that I mean there are multiple bidders and the prices went past where I would have been a buyer. This is the case for both the “returns” auctioneers, and some of the estate sellers. My observation is that people are more willing to buy food outside of a store if they can save money than they used to be.

Take the opportunity to stack. Stuff, but also any extra money. There will be opportunities if you have the funds.

nick