If This Sounds Dystopian, Well, It's Becoz It Is

 So, Today the Exterminator is coming, we have them on Retainer but this will be the last Month we do coz in August they're raising their prices and I'm trimming the Budget so we won't be renewing with them.   We can Hire one when we just need one and it will be cheaper I think than paying a Monthly Fee to have one on Retainer and pre-paid.  We don't get many Bugs anyway, especially now that the Commercial Agricultural Fields to the East of us have been Sold and Rezoned to have redevelopment of Residential Subdivision Hells.  At least that cut down on the amount of Insects and Vermin coming in from those vast expanses of Fields that used to be there.  But, I do miss those open Fields where they grew various Crops, it Cooled the area considerably, now it will Heat up with dense Housing and Asphalt replacing the Plants.

Trimming the Budget has become necessary since the Cost of everything is going up and it's getting harder to make the ends meet otherwise on a Fixed Retirement and Disability Pension Income.   The discretionary income stream from Selling Off excess Cargo at the Antique Mall isn't as Strong as it used to be, so I can't rely on that at all to supplement our Income anymore.  The paltry Check I will get for the last Pay Period won't be enuf to Buy a nice Lunch somewhere, I kid you not!!!   And that included me Working for Comped Space Rent to defer that Cost some.  Anyway, hopefully this Pay Period will be Stronger, it has started out to be, but could flatline too, so you just never know for sure anymore.  People just aren't spending Money on non-essentials like they used to and it's understandable as to the Why.  Most are struggling to afford just the essentials these days.

I'm sure Companies of all kinds are having to raise their prices due to the Tariff Wars and uncertainties of what their Product is even gonna cost them now.   So, the Tariff Tax will be passed along to the Consumers and so we'll just have to consume less I think.  I'm okay with that, but Businesses won't be, some won't make it and that's just an unfortunate fact.  I don't even know at the Antique Mall how many Vendors will hold on if Sales continue to crater?   The Daughter can often make as much at a Yard Sale on a Weekend than we can make at our Showroom during a whole 2-Week Pay Period when Sales are Soft!  Coz we still have to pay our Overhead, Commission, and Fees if the Customer doesn't pay in Cash... and who uses Cash now?   I still enjoy what we do there and some Pay Periods remain Stronger, so for now, I'm not thinking of Closing Out.

We have been Hosting Yard Sales coz The Daughter doesn't mind doing all the Work for one.   And she's fluently bilingual, speaking better Spanish than most Mexican Americans do, so we get a lot of Spanish speaking Mexican National Customers coming to Buy from us.  Some of them are Buying for Businesses they have in Mexico and she gives those Customers bulk Deals to keep them coming back often with no saturation point.  A lot of my Customers at the Antique Mall are other Vendors or Industry People too, it's how we've done so well.  The 5th Wheel has an excellent exterior Speaker System, so she puts on Spanish Music and has her whole Fiesta going on out there. *LOL*  She Loves Spanish Music after having lived Two Decades in Mexico and knows all the Words to the most popular Songs, so is often singing her Heart out in Spanish out there while working, we get a kick out of it.  *Smiles*

Since our Property faces on the Main Road several of our Neighbors also do their Yard Sales on the same Day, so we attract a lot of Shoppers who do the Yard Sale Circuit.   Almost everyone on our Street also has a big Warehouse sized RV Garage for Storage too, coz many of them run their actual Businesses from Home, either in Trucking or other Resale Businesses they Own.   So there's always Big Rigs, Expensive Boats and Recreational Vehicles on the Properties of our Street.  More than half of us have an RV or Bunkhouse on the Property that a Family Member lives in becoz it's permissible here.   So, most of the Families are also living Multi-Generationally on their Mini Farms too.  Growing or Raising their own Food too, I think it's the way of the Future since Housing has become unaffordable for most Locals and long term sustainability is important.

We plan to grow more of what we eat, many in this Community also Sell their overage since it's grown Organically on these small Farms and so it's desired by Customers and Restaurants.  I've had several smaller Indie Restaurants tell me that if I get to where we're producing more than we need, they'll Buy my excess Produce, Eggs, etcetera.  Some Neighbors also do raise Bees, but, I'm not getting into all that due to the threat of Africanized Killer Bees infiltrating Arizona so badly and replacing a lot of the Native Species of Bee.  The Africanized are far too aggressive and dangerous to risk trying to have a Colony of on my Property.  So, no thanks, I have plenty of other Farmers I can just Buy our Honey from who Raise Bees and assume the risks.  *LOL*  Killer Bees HATE the sound of Tractor Mowers and that will set them off every time!  They 'killed' our Old John Deere's Engine when they attacked it when our Neighbor Omar had some build a Hive in his Olive Tree.

Long time Readers will remember the Killer Bee Threat we had until the City came to eliminate and remove that Hive, it was scary stuff.  The Son, Princess T, our Hired Help that did our Irrigation and Yardwork, some Neighbors and their Livestock and Pets all got attacked!   It was terrifying, coz the Bees have Facial Recognition and so once they consider you a Threat to their Hive they fucking Remember you and will try to Kill you!!!  Isn't that terrifying?!  That's the stuff of Horror Movies.  So, anyway, tho' Bees are important to the Environment, Manmade problems involving importing African Bees to Labs in South America to increase Honey Production went all Wrong when the Africanized Hybrids escaped and started migrating and now here we are. 

 I'm allergic to Bee Stings so I can't afford to be attacked by aggressive ones.  And now they're here in Arizona, we have to co-exist with them as best we can.  It's expensive to remove a problem Hive and without Killing the Bee Colony, so it is a problem tho'.   And at the Parks the Bees tend to hang around the Trash receptacles if people throw out Sweet Stuff from their Picnics and Parties, like Cakes, Desserts or Sugary Sodas.   So there can be this tenuous co-existence between us and the Bee Populations in the City.   Commercial Farmers hire the Beekeepers to put their Hive Boxes around the Fields they're pollinating or around Trees and Cacti Blooming that they want the Honey to taste like.   So there is some reciprocity between Bees and Humans that is Positive too.   Bee populations are in decline so we should try to ensure they can thrive and survive, they're crucial to our Food Production.

 I had thought about going to The Gym after the Exterminator is done. But the Window of Time they gave for his arrival spans several Hours and if he doesn't come at the earlier end of it, I won't feel much like Working Out later.   Plus, I know The Man will want to drag along and tho' I can get him to do a couple of things there, it is a distraction from me having a proper Workout, having to Babysit him while I'm there trying to Exercise on Machines I use and he won't.   At times I've sat him in the area that has comfortable Sofas and Chairs, so I can go in the Ladies exclusive areas to use the Wet Sauna and get changed, but I don't like to leave him out there alone too long either.  He's pretty good about not wandering off and remembering not to go look for me.  But, there's nothing to occupy him and so he gets a bit agitated, restless and confused as to why he's still there?

Above is when The Young Prince made Front Page Local News for Scientific Achievement at the STEAM Center when he was identified as a 14 Year Old Prodigy.  All the Kiddos are at Work Today, even The Daughter and her Boyfriend have a Property Cleaning Gig, so there's no Backup Caregiving available to me, so, I probably won't go to the Gym.   There's a lot that I'd like to do but can't have the Freedom to do while doing Full Time unpaid Caregiving of a Loved One.   I work around it sometimes but the logistics are often challenging to manage that.   And lately he's been wanting to be Entertained by Doing something and gets real Cranky if he can't Occupy himself sufficiently.   And so I also feel somewhat like a Nursing Home Activity Director trying to keep someone Elderly and in cognitive decline Occupied and Stimulated for their Benefit and mine.  Most Senior Living Communities have all kinds of Activities and now I know the reason Why!   Christ on a Bike, Bored Seniors can be like a Bored Child in so many ways... and that's never gonna be Good!  *Bwahahahaha*

I long to have a Dull Moment, with all Honesty, being a bit Bored and having to Do Nothing would give me some much needed Rest.  *Ha ha ha*  The Man has already interrupted this Blog Post a couple times before 8:00 in the Morning, even tho' he knows I like the Peace and Serenity of Blogging to Start or End my Day.  Why?  Well, becoz he feels the Need to tell me bits of what he's watching on the TV in the Livingroom!   So toddles in here to the Bedroom where my Computer is set up to interrupt and tell me all about it!!!  And so it goes... *Le Sigh, Eye Roll and LOL*   I mean, it's Important Stuff, like the size of a Bass some Pro Fishing Dude on a fucking mind numbing Fishing Show just caught in Ohio or something!   Hey, my Day wouldn't obviously be Complete without Knowing such Trivia I don't Care about...  *LMAO*

I guess Grok AI went all Nazi, so, another blow to the Ketamine King, since he developed it and they had to run damage control behind Grok on X going all Pro-Hitler.   I don't know anyone whose not nervous about AI and how much can go sideways and Negative with it.  Seems it's quickly developing a Mind of it's own, stuff of Sci-Fi Horror Movies.  I don't and won't use AI, I don't Trust it and there's already so much Wrong with it.  They rolled it all out too fast and hastily, it's making up shit and outsmarting it's Human Creators, so, I've seen plenty of Sci-Fi Horror Flicks over the Years that show how that all ends.  I like and prefer Happy Endings.  *Winks*  The misuse of almost anything is gonna outweigh any benefits from Positive uses pretty quickly.  I just think it's not gonna be anything we have the Control over they assumed we would.

I Love these Pixs of one of my Great-Granddaughters being the "IT" Clown, she looks suitably Terrifying, No?  *LMAO*   And Below are a couple of Pixs of Rocker Alice Cooper with my Friends Kendra and Kim.  He comes to a lot of the Events and also to our Antique Mall quite often, really nice Guy, so Gracious, and Socializes with everyone as if he's not a Famous well known Celebrity and Talented Musician.   I've talked to him several times, tho' I've not had a Pix taken with him becoz I don't know him as well as some of my Industry Friends do.   Metro Phoenix actually has quite a few Celebrities that live Locally and you see them tooling around the Cities since they are Locals.

Our Exterminator just left and he was one of their Managers too actually, which was fortuitous so we could Negotiate.  *LOL*  So I worked out a Deal with him to not have to Cancel our Prepaid Service, but to expand it and yet pay a LOT less for it, since we've been Loyal Customers for over Two Decades now and several Properties.   And, have Termite Treatment done for a LOT Off the regular Price and Lifetime Guarantee as well, since, they can be problematic in the Desert and tho' we've not had them, some of the Neighbors in the Community have, so, we don't wanna get them either.  Very Expensive to remediate if they infest your Property to eradicate them, much cheaper to do the Specialized Treatment to not get them in the first place.

So, I was very pleased with the huge discount given, clearly they wanted to keep our business.   It was never about them not doing an excellent job for us in all the years we've done business with them.  It was cost was getting high and budget was getting stretched in this Economy that's tanking.  And that's the shame of it, a lot of good Companies are gonna suffer due to Customers having to cut way back as prices escalate.  Depending on what their margins are, they can only do so much and I understand it puts all Companies and their Customers in a bind.  We've got a President in charge whose Bankrupted everything he's ever touched and been fiscally irresponsible and morally corrupt his whole life.  So, putting him in the White House with unlimited Power is having huge Negative Economic consequences for America.  

And with the Moral Compass of America also taking a nosedive, you've got too many Americans who seem perfectly okay with all of that.  And if you think the fabric of Society is in good shape, how can you explain then why such things as Looting during a Catastrophic Event is always a problem?   Yes, these Crisis like the Floods brings out the Best in some folks, who still have a strong Moral Compass and Compassion, but it also bring out the Worst in others, who don't, and the dichotomy of that isn't lost on those of us paying attention.  And it's showing up at the Polls now too and when we Vote.  So we cannot deny it exists and that both types of America exist and now have to figure out a way to co-exist.   And it seems to me that the Morally Corrupted really prefer to eliminate that which is still Good in America and Purge it and us if they can get away with it.   And if that sounds Dystopian, well, it's becoz it is.

This Cool Mural that they had Painted an Old Historic Garage in our Olde Town District has now been Painted over with a horrible ugly Paint Job.  I guess the Building got Sold and rather than having some Cool Hispanic Art on the Building, the New Owner would rather have a really poorly done shitty Color Paint Job that was cheaply applied and is hideous.   It's now all a watery Red in obviously the cheapest Paint you can buy, ugly!  Olde Town had previously hired local Artists who were really good to Paint Murals on many of the Old Buildings, Phoenix has done the same Downtown and it's Beautiful.   But, somebody in Olde Town has been Buying up a lot of the Old Buildings now and Tenants say they're difficult Landlords and have Painted over all the lovely Art with these cheap shitty Paint Jobs.  I suspect they're doing what the Chinese National did that bought out so much of Historic Glendale and intentionally blighted the area and the look of it to buy up the Real Estate even Cheaper?

That's what a lot of these Deep Pocket Investors just do in order to buy up Real Estate on The Cheap, intentionally blight and depress an area they want to dominate, probably for Redevelopment Purposes.  They don't renew Leases so that more Properties go Vacant, which in turn tanks the Economy of an area.  Everyone Sells to get out while they still can have any Equity left, and the Investor screws them all over buying for Pennies on the Dollar or becoz now the City has had to Condemn Buildings that get Vandalized or the Homeless and the Criminals move in once the area has gone downhill and mostly seemingly abandoned.  I've seen it happen over and over again, just before Gentrification happens.  Just sayin'.   Drive the long time Owners/Residents out, buy it all up, then Gentrify it.   It's why I have a Love-Hate Relationship with Gentrification, I know the Shady Side of it... and really, most all Gentrification is Shady by it's very Nature.

The Definition of the Word explains it all really:  gen·tri·fi·ca·tion

/ˌjentrəfəˈkāSHən/

noun

1. the process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, typically displacing current inhabitants in the process.

Yep, it sums it up perfectly in fact.   And as long as you're not among the Displaced, or the Wealthier and more Privileged that certainly benefit from it, well, you might just think it's all Good.   Anyway, like I said, there can be some things I wrestle with having a Love-Hate Relationship with and Gentrification is certainly one of them for that very reason.   But, I'm not gonna go all Dark on ya with this Post, I Promise.  *Winks and Smiles*  The Daughter and I did some more decluttering, spent most of Thursday doing that together in fact.  If I have someone partnering with me on Projects I get a lot more done and stay encouraged, even if it's an overwhelming task at times.  She actually Tapped Out first this time so I was Proud of myself for hanging tough and having the better Stamina this day to tackle it.  *LOL*

In Real Time it's already Friday and I will be Working my Shift this Week, so will go in Tonight.  I had taken the 4th of July off, which happened to fall on a Friday Night, and also turned down an Extra Shift as well last Week, I just didn't wanna Work, what can I say?  I'm allegedly Retired and so sometimes I get Militant like that about wanting to Work or even having to Work, tho' I'm not opposed to Work, I do like having my Options.  *Smiles*  And sometimes I just don't have it in me, you know?  Well, those of you who are Retirees KNOW what I'm talkin' about.  *LOL*   It's Why Retirement happens in the first place, you get to a certain Season of Life where you just know it's the best decision for a slew of reasons.   I don't need to make a List, those reasons will differ from Person to Person as to the Why.

 

For me Retirement came Early due to having to focus on Family and The Issues of Life facing us.   Raising Special Needs Grandkids and doing Full Time Extreme Unpaid Caregiving for a Spouse became enuf of a Full Time Job that I didn't need to try to keep juggling a demanding Career too.  In fact, it got to the place where I just couldn't, so, something hadda Give... and it was the Career that I decided hadda Go.   And once I got Elderly enuf to finally draw all Pensions Earned, it gave me more Options to not have to Work as many Side Hustles to make up for the significant amount of Income that was Lost when the Career had to be ditched and I took an Early rather forced Retirement.   Now I'm at the Age and Health to where Working Side Hustles to supplement a Fixed Income is just harder on me, so, I have to accept my limitations, such that they just are now.  My Dance Card is pretty Full without Outside Work.  *LOL*

 

I do see some unfortunate Seniors who clearly MUST slog on, even if they really Physically shouldn't be anymore.   I've seen 80 Year Old Geriatric folk in pretty bad Physical Shape that are Working at McDonalds and I don't think it's becoz that was their Dream Retirement Activity in their advanced Golden Years.  *Eye Roll*  The things Teenagers used to be Hired to do are now being filled by Senior Citizens that have to keep on Working long past Retirement just to Survive and Exist.   More Seniors are also Raising Grandchildren or Great-Grandchildren too.  We're not called The Sandwich Generation for nothing, some are also Caring for Elderly Parents that are even hanging on longer than we are.  I did that for a Time, looking after my Parents when they were still Alive, while also Raising the last of my Spawn AND a couple of Grandkids, and Caregiving for an ailing Disabled Spouse, while holding down a Corporate Career, so, it was a fucking LOT!  No wonder my Sanity suffered and I began Blogging!  *Winks and Bwahahahaha*

 

I'm rather Proud of Self for only going completely Off The Rails once during it all, and having to be involuntarily Institutionalized for a mere Week, for a little R&R, shall we say.   Yeah, that's what we'll call that infamous Week in Psyche Lockdown one Fine October.  *Bwahahaha*  Looking back at that from Time to Time, for Perspective, since Perspective is EVERYTHING, I realized I might have been the Sanest Person in the Psyche Ward!   Sweet Jesus there were some fucked up folks in there that I knew were not gonna Make It or ever get out.  I would venture to Guess a great many of them were gonna be Toes Up and were on very Short Time in this Realm... this Realm had chewed them up and spit them out too many times for a Happy Ending.  I decided I was Swinging For The Fences and having my fucking Happy Ending.  Since, I figure, if I don't Deserve it, who does?!  *Winks*  And so here we now are, Living The Dream!  *Bwahahaha*  Above:  The Daughter, Age 5, she was Adorbs and picked out that hideous little Dress for herself!  *LOL*

And Above, The Young Prince presenting as a Female, he looks so much like his Mom when he does, that it's eerie and gives me Chills.  He looks more like his Mom than any of his Sisters do!!!   I don't have a lot of Pixs of The Grandson in Drag, since tho' he Photographs really well and is more Photogenic as Female, he doesn't like having his Pixs taken at any time, with any of their Alters, so I Respect that and don't press for it.  When someone has Dissociative Identity Disorder you learn that each fractured Personality is completely different than any of the rest so you're Dealing with a completely different Individual each time an Alter is dominant.   Since he and his Mom have it along with their Paranoid Schizophrenia, it took me a long time to have a Peace about how best to Deal with the Alters that were more difficult to have Relationship with.  It used to be called Multiple Personality Disorder, a Mental Health Condition which recurrently take Control of their Behavior and Thinking.  It's a very tough row to hoe for the afflicted and their Families.

The Daughter has 4 Alters, The Grandson has 7, it's a lot of Personalities to be Dealing with at any given time, for them, and for us.  Some of Them, you don't want to meet.   Others are a Joy to have around, but, it's a Mixed Bag, that's for damned sure.   We Joke about it, but it's probably a Blessing that their Crazy does Respect and have Reverential Fear of MY Crazy, so, it tends to Work out most of the time.  *LOL and Winks*   The Young Prince, who has Genius IQ along with being SMI, so is a very Deep Thinker and evaluates everything and anything, has often told me, "Gramma, you know you're very Unwell, Right?"  *Bwahahaha*  Yeah, my response is that sometimes I'm acutely Aware my Child, but often I guess I'm not.  *Ha ha ha*  I used to Think I was perfectly Fine and completely Well... so the Awareness did come later in Life, when other folks would Speak the Truth in Love.   And, I Guess they weren't Wrong... *LOL*

*******

Blessings, Love and Light from the Arizona Desert, where, who can remain Sane when it's sometimes 120 Degrees... Dawn... The Bohemian