Keep On Truckin' ~ Aftermath Of Catastrophic Monsoon Weather

 I'm frustrated with The Man still answering Spam and Scam Calls, no matter how often I tell him not to, he jumps on every Phone Call.  Then he can't remember what it was about, who it was, or what he agreed to, so it's messy for me to clean up behind him taking calls he shouldn't have.  The Niece said her Dad with Dementia does the same thing now and she's constantly cleaning up messes he's made for himself by agreeing to shit he shouldn't have and being the Target of Senior Exploitation.  *Le Sigh*  She's his Caregiver too and she feels he's reached a point where he should no longer make any decisions on his own, but he's stubbornly resistant.  The Man just forgets, then gets defensive, coz he then knows he just did something again that he shouldn't have and was told not to do.  But, he'll just do it again next time.  *Le Sigh*  Trying to maintain a Sense of Humor about it is a Challenge.

Anyway, Blogging Helps, it really does, coz I can Vent it in a Post and then Move On.  *Smiles*  I've got the Roof Estimate Guy coming in about Half an Hour, then I'll have more of an idea of Cost of the Job and if I can swing it or not?   I'm feeling rather overwhelmed with expenses piling up on things that just can't be avoided and you've got to try to find Money for some kind of way.  I'm very Budget conscious and careful with Finances, so I don't like to be pressed above measure with Expenses that can't be predicted or adequately Planned for that are large.  I don't sweat the Small Stuff coz that isn't too sacrificial to manage on The Fly, but big Expenses are.  I have an Emergency Savings coz I always set aside 10% of all Income for that.  But it gets depleted if  you have too many Crisis or Emergencies, which, we have, one right after another it seems.   And on a Fixed Income, and with so few Household Members having Money, yet Six of us in the Household, it can be tight all of the time now.

Anyway, Keep On Truckin' is all you can do.  I'm very achy too with the Storms, my Bones feel the Weather and I have a high tolerance for Pain, but it is really challenging at times when so much of you hurts and you cannot Mentally Override it all or enough.   The Storms and high Humidity have really made me hurt a lot and it actually makes it hard to do things when it's so Painful to do it.   But you have to do it and so you do it in Pain.  I think in part it's why I require the Naps, to recuperate from pressing thru the Pain to do what has to get done.  The Pain level does wear you out after a short while.  I've had Osteo Arthritis for a very long time and Docs really have never had Solutions.  I have some Topicals I use but they only reduce some of the Pain enuf to press thru it not being as excruciating.  I know it's just the Normal aches and pains of an Aging Body getting worn out.  If I had a Machine this Old I wouldn't even expect it to still be operational!  *LOL* 

Well, I just sent the Roof Guys packing, without even sending their Drone up to look, they estimated the Job at $15,000!!!  And I'm like Whoah, Repairs, not total Replacement Dude!!!  I suspected this would be the ploy.  And my initial impression of this Young White Guy was he was gonna be like a Used Car Salesman!  He started trying to hard Sell and Upsell me on filing a big Insurance Claim, so we could spend as much as we wanted to and he could get Big Money out of it, and we'd get a whole new Roof out of the Storm... yeah, No, forget about it.  That's the problem with most Roofing Companies around here, they hard Sell replacements when all you need is a repair.  Coz they wanna milk as much Money out of a Job as they can and file Claims that are not really necessary if they priced a Job right and fairly.  Nope, not happening.

  I got another Guy coming on Wednesday, and it's a Hispanic Crew that Princess T said she liked better and didn't seem to be just working some Hustle or trying to exploit an Old Man when they talked to her Grandpa.  She said it was not some Smooth Talking White Boy... I had to Laugh.  Coz, she's not Wrong.  That Guy is also Licensed, Bonded and Insured, so, we'll see what his Quote is and give him a chance.  Otherwise, this is gonna be another DIY for The Son and our Neighbors again.  I don't see our Insurance or an Adjuster getting convinced into a New Roof being necessary either from this Storm's Damage, I really don't.  I'd be pleasantly Surprised if they did, but then, Rates would likely get jacked up too to compensate on excessive Claim payouts.  So you have to weigh the benefits of filing any Claims unless you absolutely must.  Dealing with Insurances is yet another Pain in the Ass to get Settlements or not get Dropped once you cost them too much and are considered no longer Profitable to Insure.  Already went thru that with United Healthcare Medicare Advantage dropping all Veterans in Maricopa County, don't need our Hazard Insurance Company doing it too!

Rob and TJ have done Roofing a lot and said most of these Companies price gouge and they are absolutely Right.  Same with some of the Tree Services.  We Paid an Arborist to try to Save our Big Pine Tree that got the Blight a few Years ago.  They charged us a Fortune and the Tree Died anyway.  They had subcontracted a Hispanic Crew.  And after the Tree Died anyway the Head Crew leader came back and told me he felt bad that the Company who Subcontracted him to do the Work had overcharged us, but he couldn't say anything then.  He told me how much they only gave his Crew to do the Job, so they got exploited too.  He has done Work directly for us since then and the prices are always Fair and no Price Gouging.   We now bypass the Bigger Company that is charging people too much and exploiting Subcontractors to do their work anyway, they don't even DO the Work.  You can Hire that Crew direct, even paying them more than the Contractor would and still save yourself a lot of inflated Predatory Pricing or having to File excessive Insurance Claims and risk being dropped and ending up on Forced Place Coverage by your Mortgage Lender.

The Son, TJ and Rob have all spent their Adult Lives in The Trades, so I run everything by them too and they tell me when they feel an Estimate is ridiculous, even if I think it is, it validates that it is.  The Son said that Quote was excessive and they're exploiting that this Storm did a lot of damage and Tonight's Storm might do even more.  Lots of Trees were down, Power Lines were down, some whole Subdivisions had extensive Roof Damage where they Lost damned near their entire Roofs.  The Guy giving the Quote said they don't make our Shingles anymore, and I have Three Boxes of New ones for that Roof in The RV Garage Mahal and said so, he looked embarrassed when I Called Bullshit.  I think it was Bullshit, thinking I wouldn't know you can still Buy those Shingles, coz I have, within the past 24 Months.  So, clearly they are still being made and Sold.  Anyone who Lies to me I wouldn't Hire anyway. be Truthful or be Gone.  If I can't Trust you to even tell me the Truth, why would I Trust you do do any of the Work or even give me a Solid Estimate you bind yourself to and not try to jack it up later Mid-Job?

So, anyway, Wednesday the Hispanic Owned Roofing Company is coming back out and we'll see whatssup with them?   See if there is any consistency to Estimates for the Job?   The Son said if it's still Inflated and Exaggerated what's needed, he'll just ask TJ or Rob to help him and they'll do it for me and I'll just throw them some Money for their Work, knowing they'll do me Right, coz I know where they all Live.  *Winks*  Anyway, Crews were out in force all over the City doing cleanup and cutting up felled big Trees and Limbs, mostly.   And Utility Companies were out in force coz around 60,000 folks were without Power for over Six Hours during Last Night's Storm, so at least we didn't endure that added Crisis.  It's still well over 106 at Night so that would be miserable and you risk all your Food and Medicines that need Refrigeration Spoiling if they can't get Power back on before everything risks not being Cold or Frozen enuf anymore.  If you have folks in Fragile Conditions, it could even be Deadly.

I took a long Siesta, didn't even Wake Up 'til past 9:30 p.m., I felt Stressed Out from the Storm damage and what it might cost, and Wiped Out from doing Irrigation and Cleanup of all the Storm's debris that was everywhere on the Property.  It's not how I expected to spend an entire Monday Morning.  Then The Young Prince called saying he accidentally ordered something and had it shipped here instead of there, so could I ship it to them!?   I told him I can't be wasting Money right now on airheaded things like that, so don't do that again or I won't pay for Postage coz he is being Careless with ordering stuff and where to send it.  I think what happened is he ordered it thinking he'd be back in Phoenix by his Birthday to receive it and of coarse that didn't happen.  It's a small package that arrived just this day so it shouldn't be that much to send it to New Mexico in new packaging.  And I have another smaller Package that came for him Months ago I'll just put in with it.   

The Cashier at The Son's Work saw Princess T and I when we picked him up from Work this day too and said, isn't that T and her Gramma?   The Son said, yeah, it's my Mom and my Niece!  Why, you know them?  Turns out she's Timmy's Cousin and has known our Granddaughter for Years due to Timmy and her being so close since we moved here.  Princess T had told me while we were there, that Cashier is Timmy's Cousin, Gramma, but I forgot to tell The Son, it slipped my Mind.  Small World.  I'm thinking she's the Daughter of one of Timmy's Older Aunts. Coz his Uncle got Murdered, and his Uncle's Two Daughters are Young and his Grandparents are now stuck Raising them too.  They Raised Timmy already, the Grandparents, tho' his Younger Half-Brother lives with his Mom, coz she's still with the Father of that Child, and as far as I know, still a Train Wreck and active Drug User.  This Cousin seems to have turned out alright and didn't go Haywire.

I'm having some 2014-2015 Sweet Nostalgia about my Old Art Studio Cottage at the Historic Homestead.  So many Projects were Created there and I miss having a functional Art Studio Space to Create and Decorate Full On Me in how it looks and feels.  Each Property we have Bought since then had a Space that should have been my Art Studio, that was the Intention.  Then I had to give it up to House extended Family who found themselves Homeless and unable to afford local Rents.  I did there too, off and on that Art Studio Cottage also Housed Friends and Family who needed somewhere to Live, but, about half the time it was my Happy Place to retreat to and just be Creative and Lost in that Process, Feeding my Soul.  I do miss that.  I've now given up on having it again, not enough Space here, the Downsizing didn't work out when so much Family had to move back in with all their Worldly Possessions.  Que sera sera and all that.  Moving On.  Life happens, shit happens.

The Storm Tonight, at least so far, hasn't been as fierce and I'm hopeful it won't be so I can get that fucking damaged Roof fixed before any more Major Weather makes a Bad Situation even worse!   It's stressful.  It creates more Hardship and we're already at the breaking point of weathering too much more Hardship to get thru continuously.  Well, I am anyway, I know my limits have been reached on how much more I can get thru without it being a collapsing House of Cards.   I'm resourceful and adaptive, but it's been more than ridiculous the past Decade with this Political Nightmare wrecking functional Society as we once had and I am questioning whether we'll ever have again now?  I want to remain Guardedly Optimistic, but it ain't looking so good IMO.  And more Pessimism is creeping in and usually I'm a Glass Half Full kinda Gal... but this Regime has knocked the fucking Glass over again and again and again.  Hard to keep a Glass even Half Full with that going on constantly and what to fill it back up with getting scarcer and scarcer.

 

I've Started Over more than a few times in Life, it can be done, I've done it.  I could probably do it again but at this Season of Life I don't wanna, you know?  Tick fucking Tock and all that... the Hourglass is running out of Sand now.  You start calculating the maximum Time you MIGHT have left once you are at Geriatric Levels of Life and it's not a lot of Time any way you cut it.   So I just wanna enjoy whatever remnant is left, I feel we've Earned it after a Lifetime of Working our Asses off to be able to Retire in relative comfort and a modicum of Security.   I started Working when I was 13, coz in Europe you could go to Work that Young.  The Man was Drafted before he even finished High School and sent to Vietnam to be a Special Forces Sniper, coming Home with a High Body Count coz he's very good at any Job he's ever done. 

 Which, that kind of Work pretty much Wrecks your Psyche for the rest of your Life when you've been just Trained to be a Killing Machine for your Government with assigned specific Targets to Neutralize that are actual other Human Beings.  I don't think he's been 'Right' ever since frankly, I know I probably wouldn't have been either.  I don't think anybody would... especially being a Teenager doing it.  Don't forget, the Average Age of a Vietnam Veteran was only 19, and he was a couple Years Younger than that.  So was my Dad when he was Recruited off the Rez and Enlisted at 17.   And these Modern Politicians are still sending our Children out to do their Dirty Work for them and right now they're deployed around the World, and not just in Iran, and not just the places we're even supposed to be either, and that's not "New".  Lest you think it is.  Half The Man's Military Career was being in places we Never Were and doing things we Never Did.  *Eye Roll*

I remember us watching a Special on TV about Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, who of coarse was the Mob Hit Man for John Gotti.  He lives right here locally still, where he was sent during the Witness Protection Program.  The Daughter actually knew some of the Family back in the Day of her wayward spent Youth when she was Buck Wild and out of Control Crazy as a Mad Hatter.   She even Dated a few Mobsters in fact, on both sides of the Border, she got some Hairy Stories of her Vida Loca Days.  Dangerous Men tend to like us Crazy Bitches, that's all I can say about that.  *LOL and Winks*  But, I digress.  Anyway, The Man and I have zero Judgment about Sammy, coz like The Man said, the only difference between him and Sammy was, different Employer, same Job.  In fact, the Mob didn't have Sammy Neutralize as many of their Targets actually as the U.S. Government did require The Man to.  And all Governments are like that without exception.   It's why The Man says he Loves his Country, but he doesn't Trust his, or any other, Government, period.

The other Bad Storm hit at 1:00 in the Morning and was just about as bad as the one the Night before, Flooding, but our Sandbags seemed to have held most of it back enough.  Luckily I don't see any more Shingle Loss off the Roof of The RV Garage Mahal either.  *Whew*  Becoz I'd Napped most of the day I could be up all Night to check on things during it, didn't see any further damage on our Property, but more Street Flooding that the Night before's Storm, so probably more Rain fell in the 2nd Storm and our Front Yard looked Irrigated again coz it was holding just that much Water!  I was relieved we weathered that Storm better at least but don't know how much more catastrophic Weather is coming?  And, won't know until the Roofer that comes Tomorrow gives a 2nd Estimate, how much damage they will assess the Roof at?  Will it be in line with the 1st Quote, which seemed like a whole Roof Estimate, or will it seem more like a Repair Estimate we could do without filing an Insurance Claim?  I'd rather not file a Claim for a whole Roof, but we'll also see what TJ or Rob thinks about it, I Trust their Honest Opinions.

And The Daughter had a Point, with back to back catastrophic known Storms documented, Insurance might not even balk about a Claim that high and it might be beneficial if they don't to get a whole New Roof done?  It might hold up better to subsequent Storms if this is gonna be the New Normal in Weather severity?   She has a valid Point that I did consider as I watched Disaster Movies and Grim Documentaries, which seems to be what's on at 1:00 to 3:00 in the Morning during Bad Storms.  *LOL*   It does remind you that things could be way worse.  *Winks*  The Thunder was so loud and the Lightening so bright that it woke Princess T and The Daughter up, you'd have to Sleep like the Dead not to have it wake you... and both The Man and The Son apparently were in that kind of REM Sleep coz they Slept thru it.  *Smiles*  I've got a 4 Ft. Rain Barrel filled to capacity and overflowing Poolside, that came off the Roof.

They had clocked Winds at 84 mph which is Category 1 Hurricane Force... or Force 12 on Beaufort Wind Scale... both considered Hurricane Force, very unusual inland in a Desert.  They like to call them Gusts when they're Inland and not an actual Hurricane if you're not near Water.  But honestly, no Gusting, it was constantly at that Force and Rain was not coming Down, it was coming Sideways and feeling like Daggers and a Storm like that is considered Highly Dangerous!  It was debated whether it would be considered a Derecho or not?   It was widespread and long lived and a Straight Line Windstorm from what I saw of it, so I don't need it to be debated.   Was the Wind Damage Path Officially 240 Miles, hard to say Unofficially, but I know it stretched from Buckeye and tore thru Goodyear, Avondale, Litchfield Park and Glendale into West Phoenix, so it could have?   I don't Care about the Semantics really.

I know damned near a whole Post on Weather is probably boring, unless you're the one going thru it, but, it required some Venting about it.  *LOL and Winks*   Becoz of all the Fires, we did need a lot of Rain to saturate everything, would have been better moderately spread out instead of a Noah's Ark kind of Situation tho'.  Coz I just don't prepare for nor anticipate Hurricanes in the Middle of the Desert and this far Inland, that's all.  *LOL*   The News will probably cover any widespread damage incurred.  I Plan to go to the Nature Preserve and see how high the Rivers are running in the Tres Rios Preserve where the Three Rivers converge?  So, after I get both Kiddos to Work, that's my Plans, it's noticeably Cooler and very Overcast still, so I can do some Environmental Cleanup and make me some Can Money.  I did get my Stock Dividend Check and it was higher than usual, my Bank Stock is doing well, even tho' nothing else is. 

 Of coarse our Prez got 100 or so of his Accounts recently shut down by Capital One for suspicion of Money Laundering... in total, since 2021, over 300 of his Accounts had to be Closed by them due to Anti-Money Laundering Reviews, let that sink in for a Minute.   Of coarse he and his Family Spin that it's Politically motivated, but Federal Banking Guidelines are Specific and if specific transaction patterns exist and get flagged... well, all I can say is if it walks like a Duck, talks like a Duck, acts like a Duck, it's probably a fucking Duck.   And given all his other Laundry List of very Serious Crimes, and Career Criminal Activities and well known Corruption since the 1970's, would we even be Surprised he's deeply involved in Money Laundering too?  No, I didn't think so.  And this should make Major News, but with him, it's a blip on the Radar of him Flooding the Zone with Crimes too numerous to Focus on for long before he's committing yet another.  And his Fans don't seem to Care, so, there's that.  We're way past Voters clutching their Pearls and having the Vapors over a Prez just wearing a Tan Suit!  *Eye Roll*  I personally Hope Obama wears it to the Funeral, I really do.  *Winks*

I should go to The Gym Today but I know I don't have the Bandwidth for that so I probably won't.  There's lotsa things I should be doing or could be doing that are not gonna remotely have me doing with the way I just Feel on a Physical and Emotional level.   LATER the same Morning:  It was so Cool Outside and Breezy, that The Daughter and I worked The She Shed for over an Hour, sitting Outside and sorting thru Crates of what would be Donated or Sold.  We've got Two full Banana Boxes full of Donations to drop off at SAVERS when I pick Princess T up from Work later on.  Now I have more Curated Inventory to Price and Sell at the Antique Mall and we plowed thru a considerable amount of the Crates on One whole Wall of The She Shed.  So, we both felt quite accomplished and she set aside things for her next Yard Sale to try to Sell cheaply, if it doesn't Sell we'll Donate all of what doesn't and be rid of that.  We have Plans now to keep doing that with consistency to get thru everything in both The She Shed and eventually The RV Garage Mahal too.

We calculated that if we Work it Together with consistency, we actually could and might get thru it by end of Winter of 2026, which would be in range of the original Goal of being Done with it this Year.  It's a lofty Goal but we can see how close we can get to attaining it?   She sees that when I have someone with me doing it, I get enormous amounts actually Done without fading out or getting Overwhelmed.  I don't know Why that is, just that it's how I am.  Even if the person helping me isn't doing all that much, it just matters that they are there and talking me thru some stuff when I seem to get Fixated or Stuck inside my Head.  In my Corporate Lives I could make Unemotional Decisions Lightening fast that were very valuable to my Employers.  But when I have any Emotional Attachment to what I'm doing is when I get bogged down with more indecisiveness when lots of Decisions have to be made and relatively quickly, unemotionally and efficiently.  Mebbe that's Normal, I wouldn't know.  *LOL*

I just know we got so much done in just an Hour that only the Weather coming in fast shut the Project Down for the Day real early, by 9:30 a.m..  It looks like a big Storm is coming earlier than this Evening, mebbe even before Noon?!   LATER:  The Storm didn't hit during the Day, don't know about later Tonight tho', they've been hitting in the early Morning Hours just after Midnight usually.  The Young Prince might be here by the Weekend, I don't know yet when The Niece can get away with the complications she was having with her Dad?  He was making a lot of bad decisions for himself that she was now having to run a lot of damage control behind.  She may have to involuntarily have his competence assessed for his own good but she knows that will cause Estrangement and her Two Younger Sisters, who don't look after him, always oppose whatever she's trying to do for his own good.  They aren't there with him so either don't acknowledge his decline or are in denial.  

I called my Best Friend in Texas, she and I have been Besties since we were Tweens in England, we lived next door to each other in the American Projects off Base in a Town called Thetford.  Her Dad was Stationed at Lakenheath, mine was Stationed at Mildenhall, we both went to Lakenheath High School and have been like Sisters our whole Adult lives.  She's Two Years Older than me so is like my Big Sister.  She's a Caregiver for her Disabled Younger Brother who was Born with Spina Bifida, so he's severely Developmentally Disabled and is my Age.  He kind of stalled out Developmentally at a 14 Year Old level even tho' he's almost 70.   Anyway, we had such a nice Talk even tho' she knows I'm not one to often make Phone Calls, but she'd sent me a Birthday Card that was lovely, and a hand-written Letter.  She and I used to Write Letters to each other, epic ones, all of the time.  She joked that it's been so many Years since she Wrote in Cursive, she wasn't even sure it would be legible?  *LOL*  It was as nice as her Handwriting has always been, she's a Leftie so she Writes straight up and down and it's very legible.  It was so exciting to get a LETTER!  It's been YEARS since I got one!

I should knuckle down and Hand Write her one too and Surprise her with it.  We had resorted to Typing Letters on Word, many Years ago, but now I don't have a Printer and neither does she.  And we Instant Message each other infrequently and she's not a Blogger or a Blog Reader, tho' we keep in Touch some on Facebook.  But, like me, we mostly do Pixs on The Book Of Faces Feed and not much Writing.  She's doing better with her Health, which I was glad to hear, we've both Lost so many Friends now that we often feel like The Last Of The Mohicans.   Her Brother isn't doing well, he's been in decline for Years now and usually someone with his Condition doesn't even live as long as he's managed to.   She has One Son and Raised him mostly as a Single Parent after her Divorce from his Dad... and she'd had him very late in Life, so he's much Younger than my Kiddos are.   I bought some Tie Dyed various colored Lined Stationery Online, Free Shipping, and decided, that's it, I'll Write her a Letter on it.   Who knows, we might resurrect the Practice, but just for each other.  She joked that she'd only do this for me.  Coz we both have Arthritic Hands now.  Well, Arthritic everything.  *Smiles*

 It was good to catch up even tho' we talked just about trifles and nothing all that Serious.   We each know we've both got Tough Rows to Hoe being Full Time Unpaid Caregivers and she only Retired this Year, so is getting into the swing of the Transition of not Working Outside of the Home.   We had a lot of Laughs during the Call, she's always been so effortless to be Friends with.  And we're totally Opposites in every way you could Imagine, so it's not like we had a lot in common ever, we just hit it off like Family from when we first met.   And we've shared so much Life History now that it just got more effortless over Time and never was complicated, no falling outs ever, no lapses in the Friendship ever.  She's the easiest Person I've ever met to just be close to like a Sister and we've never had any Secrets from each other.  I told her I was able to Score some Old Yearbooks from the very early 1970's of our Old High School in England.  She said hers got Lost in a Home that got Sold and were never returned to her, which is unfortunate.   It's Rare to find any from our American High School in England.  The High School I Graduated from here in Phoenix it's easy to find Old Yearbooks For Sale.

Well, I finished that British Series about the Lockerbie Pan Am Flight bombing set in Scotland, the Brogue of most Actors was so thick you almost needed subtitles.  *LOL*  Mom's Country speaks a Gaelic Tongue so it's the same in Wales, and in Ireland, even when they can speak fluent English, hard to understand it with the Brogue Accent their 1st Language created.  The Man never could understand my Mom or my Welsh Uncle.  So I'd interpret for him even tho' they were both speaking English, but, I had to do that a lot here in America my whole Childhood.  And my Mom was used to it.  My Uncle often got offended coz he worked so hard to learn English and then thought, what was the point, these bloody Americans don't even understand me when I speak their Language!  *Bwahahahaha*  To be Fair, as a Teen, I didn't understand my own Welsh Relatives at first either, their Brogue so thick and their English not very good.   

 

I only learned the profanity in Welsh coz when Mom got Mad at us she'd forget English entirely and not realize she'd converted back to speaking Welsh!  *Ha ha ha*   And, she never taught us much Welsh coz she didn't want us to have an Accent, life was difficult enuf without one for Kids of an Interracial/Intercultural Union and one 1st Generation Immigrant Parent and a Native American Parent.   I'd always wished she had Taught us her Language tho', coz it's not a Written one and is a dying one, just like most Indigenous Tribal Languages are too, so you have to Learn it by just speaking it from Childhood.   It's not like I could take Welsh Class in High School... or a Tribal Language Class being Taught, they simply never Teach the Dying Languages anywhere.   Mom had an East Indian Doctor and Dr. Satapathy had a thick East Indian Accent, so I'd have to translate for both of them even tho' everyone in the Exam Room was speaking English.  But he didn't understand her Accent and she didn't understand his... so I still had to be Translator for them BOTH!  *LOL*

Once Mom got the Dementia, she began losing her English and began only Speaking Welsh again.  At her Hospice they thought she'd reverted to gibberish and I had to tell them that No, it was her Original Language of her Country, not babble, and that's why she was lashing out and getting so Mad and Violent with them.  Once they understood it got better for her and for them, since most of them were Dear Immigrant Caregivers and Nurses there too, so English wasn't even their 1st Language and they had a Point of Reference of how frustrating it must be for her, and not just more complicated with the Dementia.   Oddly, I understood most of the Welsh she was Speaking to me there at The End.  I didn't know how or why I could, it was like a Gift from God to suddenly be able to understand her 1st Tongue, and I still don't know Why or how I did?  

 But I highly Suspect that when I was very little, perhaps she Spoke it to me so she could converse in even a Monologue, in her own Language with anyone... coz nobody in America spoke it or understood it.  And she never met another Immigrant from North Wales in all the Years she lived here.  I never realized how Isolating it had been for both of my Parents to be not around anyone of their Culture for so many Years.   Tho' my Dad learned enuf Welsh to endear himself to her People while Stationed in Wales.   Perhaps that got resurrected out of my Subconscious then from very early Childhood, I just dunno?   One of the last things Mom said to me in Welsh was that they thought she wasn't all here, and she pointed to her Head, but I am... 

   *******

Today we should be getting that 2nd Estimate on replacing Roof damaged... Dawn... The Bohemian

The Fuckening & Post Storm Blues

 

I didn't Invent the new Word for my Blog Post Title Hook, my Guy, Andrew Yang did about the AI Situation.  I was part of The Yang Gang in 2020 when he was running for President. I really wanted him to Win, whether as a Democrat or part of the Forward Party, coz I know he's not a Partisan Leaning Two Party System Advocate.  He has too Sensible an approach and Intelligent Observations about what's Wrong and what would be viable Solutions for it.  He's been Right about a lot of what he Predicted and it's Aged Well what his Warnings have been, so accurately so that one would think he has the Gift of Premonitions.  But, I think he's just very astute, very Smart, very observant, very Solutions Oriented and not you Average Politician in the Pocket of Special Interests and Mega Donors.

  He had a Book Signing of HEY YANG WHERE'S MY THOUSAND BUCKS? {Regarding his Signature Universal Basic Income Proposal - UBI}, on Cable TV and I watched it, very informative and he took Open Questions with candor.  There are Pros and Cons of UBI, but with AI likely to eliminate about 50% or more of White Collar Jobs too, it could provide a Cushion to Automation.  He is a Tech Entrepreneur but calls AI "The Fuckening".  Taxing it and distributing those proceeds to all Americans he feels is a logical way to be a buffer to what it will do to the Workforce and what it will ultimately replace.  Coz it's not as if Corporate America is providing alternative Employment Options to who will be displaced.  Just that they will be displaced.

  I'd still like a Man like him to be President, tho' America isn't nearly Progressive enuf to ever Elect a Woman or an Asian Man IMO... no matter how much better they were than some Old White Man, no matter how incompetent, Corrupt or outright Senile.  He was saying that several Major News Channels, including CNN and MSNBC refused to Air several Candidates, including him, and had a List of who not to Cover.  We all really know how Selective and Biased our Coverage received is, well, most of us do anyway.  I've got a couple of his Books and am Hopeful he and the Forward Party have a Candidate in 2028 running for President? Coz I'm so done with our dysfunctional deeply divided Partisan Two Party System, which is infected and corrupted to an extreme, and having piss poor options to Vote for.  As a Moderate and a Lifelong Independent I want somebody WE can Vote into Office for a change, who Represent the People properly.

And even besides Politics, the whole AI Thing is loaded with Questions I NEED Answers for too.  Nobody is Talking about the Money or the Outcome when it comes to AI Revenue and that concerns me.  Why, why are none of the Big Players in it not talking about Revenue from it?   Crickets.  So, the Investment in it all seems Questionable, to Subsidize it for me at the levels they are, since it all costs a lot and it's not getting any Cheaper.   I'm Tech Challenged so I don't pretend to know the Industry at all.  It could be a Bubble that will burst and that's my Instincts about it actually, it will collapse in upon itself due to Debt Load, which is Insanely high already.  And AI Hallucinations also concern me, I don't Care how smooth what AI makes up is, if it's just made up information based on Math Patterns.  And most people probably can't tell the difference.   But back to the Money, coz I ALWAYS follow the Money. The Global AI Revenue estimated annualized Run Rate is roughly $150-$220 Billion.  The broader Net Economic Gain across the Tech Industry is deeply Negative due to Capital Expenditure and Infrastructure Funding which have surpassed $1.4 TRILLION.  

 Seems like a depreciation problem waiting to happen too and instant obsoletion.  Since it takes a very long time to build the Infrastructure, but they are churning out the Chips all the time.  Which, by the time everything is built, it has floods of Chips now already obsolete and a few Years Old.   What's profitable about it?   Some Data Centers are already losing a Million Dollars a Day, that doesn't sound like a good Business Model to me!  Stress Tests and Equity.  Loans already are in Stress Test Mode and starting to Default.  I used to run damage control for Major Lenders with Defaulted Loans.  Data Centers are heavily in Debt.  But shit has to be Profitable and you have to make Money.  I think an AI Bust is coming, sooner than later.  And, I have so many Questions, No Answers, and I don't like AI anyway.  So, I'm just finding more and more reasons NOT to like it and be more concerned about it.   And, I don't think enuf people know what other people do on their Jobs frankly... to assume a Computer can just do it all.  Judgment, Taste and Conscience are things Humans bring to the Table that AI can't.  

 

We had such a bad Monsoon Storm last Night it had 80 mph Winds and Torrential Rain that came Sideways!  We lost Roofing off our RV Garage Mahal and Shingles were in the Pool and scattered all around it, so we'll have to get damage assessment on repairs.  Luckily we didn't have any significant damages, as I'm sure there was some around the City, our Phones put out a Seek Shelter Alert all Night long saying to stay away from Windows due to flying Debris.   So, some debris blown into our Pool and some Shingle loss on just the Roof of the RV Garage was probably not so bad, tho' I'm hopeful not too expensive either.  Depending on what it costs will determine whether to file an Insurance Claim or not?  TJ and The Son have replaced Shingles up there before, but we've never had this many torn off by such high Winds.  We already have the Shingles, we bought a bunch and keep them stocked for minor repairs.

We're getting Irrigation this Morning regardless of how much Rain came last Night, so, the ground is already pretty saturated, Splendid!  I just Hope no more of that intensity hit, but they are predicting another one Tonight and said to wait for cleanup becoz you might need more.  I'm thinking of going to Wal-Mart and Buying some of that Flex Seal spray for the Guys to go up on The RV Garage Mahal Roof and just spray it where Shingles are missing until they can replace them.  Next Door's Irrigation was Flooding coz their Ground is too saturated to take on all their Water so we're taking ours on early so to alleviate their Situation, we can hold more Water than their Property can, we have more Pasture and bigger Trees that drink it up.  I Lost a nice Talavera Pot, Storm smashed it to smitherines and the Big Peruvian Cactus in it's Pot got knocked over again.  We're gonna relocate it to around the Pool and up against The Garage Mahal this time.  All in all we had Minor damages.  Online Buckeye to the Southwest of us and Glendale to the Northwest of us got hammered more than Avondale.

Look how Cute The Young Prince was as a Tween, he had such a Babyface and a very Androgynous Look, I liked his Hair like this.  It was when he was finally Old enuf to manage his own Hair coz I didn't know anything about how to do Type 3-4 Hair, with his Puerto Rican Ancestry, he has a Black Great-Grandfather and got that Hair Texture.  He also has such thick Hair that he now shaves 3/4 of it off and still has more Hair than me with just 1/4 of it left long!   He keeps it shaved short on the Sides and Back, just leaving a Mohawk Section long and it's still a massive amount of Hair that's very coarse and frizzy.  He could do well having Dreadlocks and has considered it before, his Hair would take to it well and grow faster and longer with Dreads.  They wouldn't take very long to form either and look mature quickly.  Anyway, I Hope he had a very nice Birthday Yesterday, he got his Money we'd sent to use for it, so he was Happy about that.   Allen is now Working and finally getting his VA Disability Checks and Disabled Veteran Status, so they're doing better financially now and why he's going to move back to Phoenix, he can afford to live here now.

 

And if Allen is willing and able to still help Support The Young Prince financially, it will be Helpful to us, coz he has no Income of his own lest he Qualify for that SSI Disability Status and Payments Monthly?  That's still Questionable given the Criteria Social Security is using.  Which makes no sense to only go back One Year for the Seriously Mentally Ill, rather than when they were 1st Diagnosed and the whole Medical History supporting that of Treatments, Hospitalizations, Medications over the Years.  Makes more sense to me that you can better assess level and severity of Disabling Factors using all the Applicant's Medical History and see that nothing has changed for the better, in most Cases it worsens in fact, and it is PERMANENT.  Nobody I have ever met Diagnosed with a Serious Mental Illness has EVER been Cured of it.   It doesn't go away, ever.   And Social Security fucking knows that already, so it's a total Sham and Scam for them to deny Services, Support, Treatment, and Disability Status AS IF someone just Miraculously got Better.

Anyway, The Systems are all rigged, and not in Favor of the Disabled or the Poor, the Indigent, the Geriatric, or the most Vulnerable of our Society, that is for damned sure.  But it is skewed in Favor of the most Elite, that is also for damned sure.   I do think this Caseworker he Lucked Out in getting is better and more compassionate than most, from the times I've talked to her and she is willing to talk to me as his Caregiver, which is huge.  Sometimes they make a big Dog and Pony Show about insisting the Disabled Person do everything, when most of them just can't and never will be able to, and they know this too.  I did tell her up front, you can talk to my Grandson, I'll give you his direct Number.  But he's not always tethered to Reality, even tho' he's highly Intelligent, and often he's too Paranoid to speak to someone New that he doesn't know or Trust.  She told me it was Okay, talking to me would be preferable, I agree.  Not sure, but they may forego a Face to Face with him, knowing he's a Paranoid Schizophrenic, due to Psychotic Risk factors during any Interviews or Pressure/Anxiety Triggers?

Even during Advocacy Meetings at places like Chicanos Por La Causa, he was looking Anxiously at their White Walls in the small Interview Room, coz he said they were Moving and closing in on us.  His breathing got rapid and shallow, Thankfully they rushed thru the Process to get us out of there before he Melted Down.   At DES he's often had complete Meltdown just applying for temporary Nutritional Assistance, so we just don't do that anymore.  Not worth what little Benefits they parse out for a very limited time frame of only 30-90 Days of Food Assistance to put him thru all of that, it's too traumatic for him.  I can put more Water in the fucking Beans and stretch it out enuf to Feed One more, you know?  Coz a Meltdown in a Federal Facility means Security is called, they always have Stud Muffin Security Guards at Federal Facilities, and he'll Fight them as surely and fiercely as I will, so it just wouldn't End Well.  *LOL*   

I often had Security called on me at the VA when they'd be jerking The Man around to receive timely Treatment, I wasn't having it, he's more than Earned anything they do for him.  I Go Off the Deep End if you mess with my Loved Ones or Neglect them.   So now I Greet the Stud Muffin Security Guards warmly at the VA the moment we arrive.  Coz we'll get to know each other real well if things go Sideways for The Man while we're there.  *LOL*  And some of the ones who've had a Situation with me before do remember me!  But they're all nice big Young Stud Muffins and Smile Sweetly, even if in their Heads they're thinking, Oh No, not her... I Hope her Old Man gets everything he needs and they call his Ass right away to receive it so they get them out of here?  *Ha ha*  We don't usually have to Deal with a long Cattle Call once we arrive anymore.  In fact, they always try to Transfer him immediately to a Civilian Hospital and give him a Ride there.  *Smiles*

 Last time they did just that when he had his most recent Heart Issues, got to us right away, they even had the VA Shrink come down and talk to us!  He said he distinctly remembered our whole Family {and he did}, and I was thinking to myself, yep, I bet you do, we're quite Memorable like that.   *Smiles and Winks*   He's East Indian, been there a very long time since The G-Kid Force were little, and a very Nice Guy.   I think his Name is Dr. Patel if I remember correctly?   Anyway, it's been awhile since The Man had to see him for PTSD or his Brain Damage TBI Issues, when initially we needed Placement and couldn't get it at the Old Soldier's Homes, they have Two of them but it's like Country Club Placement for Officers whose Wives have Died and they don't wanna take Care of themselves, but actually could, makes me pissed off.  But the Shrink asked how things were going while we were there for The Man's Heart, and I said the Dementia now is complicating things further.  He said if Placement becomes necessary he'll see what he can do to Help, I appreciate that, coz it's always a possibility.   

Dr. Patel thinks I'm doing a good Job for Extreme Long Term Caregiving of so many Family Members, and always asks me how I'm doing too.  He knows how I am.  *Winks and Smiles*  Anyway, The Daughter is helping me wrap up the Irrigation, we're going longer coz now the Head of Water we're getting isn't great so it's slow to fill up the Yard and we haven't taken on all the Water we're allotted even tho' it's now past time to receive it for our part of the rotation.   So, we're letting it run past our timing and won't drop the Gates yet or turn off the Pump until even later than dropping the Gates.  The Water is Cold and I've got Princess T here too so she and her Mom said they'd be the ones to Walk the Planks, so I don't have to or risk a Fall.  Which is good, I don't need to Fall and break a fucking Hip or something.  I've still got to go to a nearby Wal-Mart for that Flex-Seal.  We can see where Shingles blew off mostly the East Facing part of the RV Garage Mahal Roof... you have to go out in the Street to see up that high and Neighbors I don't really even know have been walking up to ask how much damage we've sustained and tell us how much they did. 

 

Nothing brings Community Together quite like catastrophic events.  Stuff got blown around our Property but not much was actually damaged, just created a mess to clean up really.   And it's so humid out there now that I only did minor cleanup for now.   And if another Storm is coming Tonight it seems pointless to tidy everything up now just to do it again after Tonight's Storm hits.  They even are saying on the News to just wait to do it or to have repairs done, so you don't have to do it twice.  But I want The Son spraying that Flex Seal up there where Shingles are missing so we have no Water leakage into The RV Garage Mahal that might damage the contents if it Rains that hard again Tonight.  We had some minor Flooding from last Night's Storm but our Sandbagging helped keep it at bay mostly.  The City had been handing out Sandbags all Week, now I know why.  The Daughter, Princes T and I got most debris out of the Pool and picked up.  I forgot it's Pool Cleaning Day so I was Naked doing it, but no Pool Guy came yet.   Naked Old Hippie getting debris, Shingles and Signs out of her Pool.  *LOL*

I almost forgot about Princess T's Dental Appointment at Noon, so I'm glad we got Irrigation done too, we never did get all the Water we should have, but it dumped enuf Rain last Night that I'm not too worried about it, especially if it dumps more like that by Tonight.   And we have a List of what we need from Wal-Mart to pick up after her Appointment.  I'm thinking I might go to TARGET instead coz I get a Red Card Discount on purchases there and they should have everything there too, I'd think?  But, after I You Tube temp Shingle loss repairs it warns not to use Flex Seal Products and why, so, dammit, I'm gonna have to give The Son actual replacement Shingles to do the Repairs properly and get him some Roofing Nails instead.  There's no easy temp fix it seems, so we'll just have to re-roof the areas damaged.  So, that's the Bad News and he's not gonna wanna hear that but we gotta do it Right.  And I don't know he can do it before the next Storm hits either, which sucks coz I don't want Water damage on top of Shingle Loss damage.  But, whaddya gonna do when it's back to back Bad catastrophic Weather hitting?  *Le Sigh*

I did look Online to see if any Local Companies do Repairs for Monsoon Roof damage and did find one that I'll call and at least get an estimate on what a Professional Team would charge.  But, looking Online, for a Two Story Structure with about 25 Shingles or so Lost, it's expensive, so I don't think we can afford it actually and I may not waste time getting a Quote, The Son and our Neighbor will have to do it again.  They've done it before and The Son said it's not hard, and he's not afraid of heights, I'd be terrified myself to be up that high doing anything.   God I Hate these damaging Storms and we have them with more frequency now each Year and they do so much structural damage and devastation each time they rip thru.  I don't wanna risk filing smaller Claims coz then your Insurance goes up and Costs of everything are high enuf already.  I Save filing Claims for something Major in Cost so that if they increase Rates afterwards, at least it was worth it and still Cheaper.   Anyway, other than that everything is fucking Swell.  *LOL and Eye Rolling*

Okay, I can't Fixate on Repairs I just can't afford that happened, it bums me out.   I don't even like sending the Guys up there to do it either, but, it's gotta get done or a small Problem turns into a larger more expensive and extensive one.   I think Roofing Companies exploit when demand is high for Storm Repairs too.   So I don't Trust they don't inflate the Costs after a big Storm coz they have high demand and will only do those willing to Pay whatever they ask for, even if it sounds like they're exploiting Emergencies.  And this time more Shingles blew off than ever before, so it's a small job but probably not the least expensive one to get Quotes on either.  And I don't have a Grand just sitting around doing nothing.   And I can't tolerate more Debt Load either.  *Eye Roll*  So, just Color me frustrated right now that everything is Costing more and Money is already Tighter than ever.

I went Grocery Shopping late last Night just for Essentials we were out of or low on and I noticed Inventory/Stock was really, really low, they were out of a lot of things and low on many others.  That is something I always pay attention to since the Pandemic and Supply Chain Issues.  And now Tariffs, and all the outbreaks of Disease coz we have an Idiot Conspiracy Theorist Roided Out Worm Brain Imbecile heading up Health and Human Services as Secretary, I knew that soon, shit's gonna get Real Real.   Coz I know eventually all these faux pas of incompetence, extortion, and intentional fuckery will catch up to us and be really evident and totally unavoidable.  The Man had wanted some Macaroni Salad, usually the Deli has it and they have pre-made Containers of it too... they had ONE Container of it in the whole Store!!!  I thought, that's Odd.  I wanted Chorizo, usually there's an abundance of it in the Meat Dept. and pre-packaged, that too, was almost Sold Out of every Brand!    Shredded Cheese, they were Sold Out of some types too.  And I'm like, this is really Weird and a bit disturbing actually... it doesn't portend well, what's going on?

 

I Googled to see if there's some Supply Chain Issues or Cyber Attacks again going on that I didn't know about?  Not seeing anything being reported, but it's noticeable, so something has to be disrupting Supply or Delivery?   I know Businesses like SALAD TO GO filed Chapter 11 recently and are going out of business, not surprising given the Produce scares right now and explosive shits it's giving people.   And the Screw Worm scare is pretty disturbing, they're claiming the Commercial Beef supply is Safe, but I dunno, not Risking it right now.  Coz who knows how containment is actually going with this Cabal of Vulgarian Idiots at the helm?   All of who often can't find their Asses with both Hands and do not make any Sense at all when they do National Televised Interviews now, and have no Proof or Evidence to back up anything they do say?   I just feel like they make shit up as they go along and Hope it sounds good enuf so that everyone is buying into it?   And Dementia Donnie, well, what falls out of his Mouth is beyond the Pale now in extreme Cognitive decline.

I'm having a Roof Guy give us a quote, he actually came by twice in a row over the past Two Days but I wasn't Home both times and The Daughter talked to him Today and Yesterday The Man got his Business Card.  So, we'll see how much the Quote is when he sets it up for an Inspection?   I may have to transfer Money from Emergency Savings to cover it if it's doable and affordable to.   We got the Dental Appointment done and she has just one more Fluoride Treatment before she turns 21 next Month that will be covered for Pediatric Dentistry on her Insurance.  He said she can keep coming but he's not sure if her Insurance will cover it or not, I think it should for preventative maintenance, which is all she's ever needed coz she takes good Care of her Teeth.  So a couple Cleanings annually and a Fluoride Treatment should be covered even by her Adult AHCCCS Dental Insurance I'd think?   She took me to "Wildflower Bread Co." for our Lunch, her Treat.  We were disappointed coz all their Breads were soggy... Weird... high Humidity to blame?

You can't tell by the pix, but the Bread on this half a Veggie Sammie literally fell to bits when I picked it up and nothing is worse than soggy Bread!  Even Princess T's side of Rosemary Sea Salt Bread, unbuttered, coz she just had 12 Vegetable Soup, was soggy too!   So, I hadda eat my Sammie as if it was a damned Salad and got Cream Cheese and Smashed Avocado all over my Hands when the Bread fell apart picking it up as a Sammich initially!   Yeah, messy and not pleasant.   And I accidentally fried The Son's System when I unplugged it last Night, but he'd fallen Asleep with loud Head Banger Music on it and I couldn't figure out how to turn off his System and he wouldn't wake up, so I just pulled the plug on it so we could get some Sleep.  I won't apologize for that, since, I've told him, don't play your Music so damned loud, use a Headset like your Niece does to listen to her Music.  Not everyone wants to hear it blasting, especially what he listens to, they Scream like they're Mental, it's disturbing to hear that incessantly.  Listen to me when I tell you NOT to do something in our Home... and then shit like that won't happen!

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Post Storm Blues... Dawn... The Bohemian