A Little Humor Amidst The Truck Stuff - (Gillette, WY)

Well, we weighed three more RVs this morning, and we've got two more stragglers tomorrow.  But we're not going anywhere, so no problem.  :)

After the weighings, we went back to the rig.

Now, we're sitting here in a field with no trees or character in 90-100 degree weather with all our blinds down to keep the heat out, and it can be a little depressing.  Of course, the whole truck situation with hours upon hours of research and tons of conflicting information doesn't help.  :)

In the end, we'll get the truck thing figured out one way or another.  But I thought I would share some additional happenings that might come under the phrase "piling on".  It's not big stuff, it's just the timing.

After we got the bad news about the truck and figuring we were going to be out several thousand dollars, our minds immediately went to "we can't spend a dime on anything new for the next five years".

Well, apparently our clothing reads minds and it started to revolt.  You see, we've become very thrifty when it comes to clothes.  We tend to wear the same things over and over 'cause they are comfortable, and in this life, we don't have any need to dress any other way.  So we buy cheap and our favorite items tend to wear out - but it's not supposed to happen all at the same time.

I threw on a pair of denim shorts one morning - I have two pair that fit comfortably and I wear them all the time.  Right in the middle of the front right leg, a hole suddenly appeared.  "Where did that come from?"  I want to be comfortable, but I don't want to have holes in the clothes I wear in public.

Then, I went outside after a little rain, and the bottoms of my feet got wet.  Sitting down and looking at the soles of my cheap Walmart tennis shoes, there were gaping holes.  I know they weren't there before the truck broke down.

One of the most expensive clothing items in Linda's wardrobe can be ... (she's going to kill me) .... bras.  But over the last couple of years, she has gone with more economical options.  Well, apparently having sympathy pains for the truck, the underwires have started to break.  Yes, there could be other causes, but I'm probably already in deep enough trouble to explore those possibilities in depth.

Teaming up with the clothes are our rig, computer software, and the U.S. Postal Service.

We have a large, heavy drawer under our refrigerator that holds pots and pans and larger cooking items.  I've repaired it and reinforced it over the years.  We have industrial strength velcro on it to keep it closed during travel.  The strange thing is it still comes open going down the road, but when we are parked, we practically have to get a crowbar out to pry it open.  Well, now it has decided to annoy us by requiring a more in depth repair - it is broken.

And it has joined forces with some of the other drawers.  We didn't quite get as level as we normally do (didn't want to take up too much time of the guys that towed us here), so, a couple of other drawers, when no one is watching, gently slide out.  I half expect to wake up in the middle of the night from a nightmare of escaped silverware and socks having a big party.

The randomly open drawers really bug Linda.  She can't stand an open drawer, or an open cabinet door or, heaven forbid, you leave the refrigerator door open a fraction of a second too long.  Oops.  Got off track there a little.

Oh yeah, that reminds me.  Speaking of getting off track, our bedroom closet sliding doors came off their tracks.  They haven't done that for months, but now was the time they chose to give us a little jab.  A quick fix, but still there is an air of conspiracy.

Remember our new LED lights we just received?  Well, we figured out how to get the little disc ceiling light covers off.  I taped up an oil filter wrench, and it grips the discs and twists them right off without hurting the glass or the ceiling.  However, I've got two lights where even that doesn't work.  It's as if the glass is melted to the fixture, and I've tried everything short of breaking the little devils.  Sheesh.

That brings us to receiving mail.  When we arrived in Gillette last Tuesday, we went to the post office as we were expecting two general delivery packages.  Neither were there and both should have been.  Here we go.

One of the packages was the LED lights.  I had requested .... not once, but twice .... that the lights be shipped U.S. Postal Service to general delivery and was told that would be fine.  Well, the shipping guy shipped them UPS so they didn't make it to the post office.  Fortunately, his boss discovered this and emailed us that the package was at the local UPS distribution center.  Not the Postal Service's fault, and it was an easy pick-up at the other location, but it was just one more thing.

Now, the other package was mailed from Louisville on July 10.  It was an express mail package from Stephanie who handles our mail.  If you recall, she opens and scans all of our mail and then emails it to us.  We rarely need originals, but she sends us a package once every three to six months.  Well, this time the package included our new debit cards (which expire this month) and our new Jeep registration, so this one was a bit more important.

Three days last week we went to the post office, and they kept telling us there was no package.  And Stephanie was on vacation, so we couldn't verify that she actually sent it.  Perhaps in preparing for her trip, it slipped her mind, but that wouldn't be like her.  So, a little panic set in that our new debit cards were lost and we wouldn't be able to get them replaced before all of our online automatic payments started hitting next month.  And, we might have to get a duplicate Jeep registration.  Not major problems, but it certainly would be a hassle we didn't want to be dealing with right now.

Now, this afternoon I gave the truck research a rest, and was going to concentrate on creating new web pages for our new extended warranty rep role.  Well, when I went into the software, they had completely changed how you build pages.  I had to sit and watch instructional videos to figure out how the new system worked.  It's actually better, but it will take time to figure out all the little nuances, and I'm not really in the frame of mind to be concentrating on those details.  Sheesh .... again.

Then I went onto our blogging software.  I hit my Favorites button link, as I've done every day the last several years, and it took me to a completely different page - the parent company of the blogging software.  It just suddenly changed.  No email, no warning, no nothing.  It took me about fifteen minutes just to figure out how to log in to do a Journal entry - again, no big deal, but why now?

It seems the powers that be might be having a little fun at our expense.   "Yeah, they've been a little too positive about all that's happened the last week.  Let's poke them from a bunch of different directions to see if they break.  It doesn't have to be anything major - that's already taken care of - but maybe one of these little annoyances will be the straw that broke the camel's back.  It should be a good show.  We'll call it 'Poking At The Paynes:  An Experiment In Testing The Patience Of Positive People'."

Well, bring it on!  We can take it.  Mmm, but take it easy on the bank account - that's a bit sensitive right now.  :)

 

So, the Journal has been a little serious the last few days, and it needed to lighten up.  Hopefully, this entry will make you smile - it worked for me.  :)

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Comments

[Darby Corwin]

Yes Howard I would say the shit has hit the fan. It all going down hill, remember there will be a time shortly that it will rise again. Good luck and keep a stiff upper lip.

[Sue]

Really great entry ~ so funny! Best wishes for more peaceful times! ;)

[Rod Ivers]

Well a few rocks in the road, and some of them are boulders.... But from a cancer survivor, look at the positive, at least you both still have your health.....

Hang in there, I'm sure there's a path thru all the boulders....

Rod

[Becky Robbins]

Well lol...ok maybe fulltiming isn't for me. LOL...sorry but you gotta laugh at the insanity of it all. I will still full time and can't wait to do just that! Even when your hitting a lot of road bumps. Good Luck and hopefully things will turn around soon!

[Bob Johnson]

Dont throw those worn clothes away; teenagers will pay you good money for worn clothes with holes in them!! : )

[Pam Hensley]

Praying that all your important elastic holds!!

[Cheryl B.]

Definitely made me smile - although I'm not sure if I wanted to cry. Been there before as well - we call it Murphy's Law. Not same circumstances, but everything falling apart at the same time. You guys are truly my role models and inspiration. If anyone can get thru these trying times, you can. Keep those strong chins up!!

[Dee Walter]

Agree with Rod, and to add to it. You have an extra car. You're not stranded or having to rent a car. It will get better. Hang in there.

[Donna Markey]

That's two posts in a row now that have had us laughing. We sure hope the "Powers That Be" let up on you two. It is refreshing for us to know that it ISN'T just us ! Hang in there.

[Sherry]

Keep on laughing and keep going your fabulous attitudes!

[Duane Rowe]

Howard, My thinking is "if it's not terminal then it's managable." You and Linda display a GREAT attitude. Good Luck!
BIG HUG!!