3-6-10

Greetings from Eleuthera.

Count Blogulus, 3-6-10

Another interesting day here. Started out with a flat tire, and as luck would have it, the tools and jack are in the trailer, which were supposed to come with the truck, since they were shipped at the same time, but that didn't happen. The shipping on the trailer was a grand, and the duty was 60 percent of that, so considering it was a 400 dollar trailer, we regretted that it got shipped, but we were already in Ft. Lauderdale, with it, and just said fuck it. So, supposedly it shipped. Ruth and I complained to each other, but to no one else of note. Just someone here and there. I went to pick up the truck, and asked about the trailer, and they said they didn't ship it because they heard we didn't want it sent because it cost too much. I have NO idea how that made it's way through the grapevine and back to Fort Lauderdale, but it did. That's the Bahamas for ya.

So, anyway, the trailer weighed about fourteen trillion tons, give or take a coupla pounds, so I had to use a jack to get it on and off the trucks. So it made sense to keep the jack with the truck right? Wrongo. I woke up to find the flat, and tried the fix a flat that I brought. No dice. Besides, I could hear it leaking. My neighbor who gave me the coffee was kind enough to loan me her jack. I could lift it, but that was it. So I hitchhiked to the nearest place that fixes tires (it took two rides to get there), borrowed a wrench, hitched back, took the tire off, hitched back to the gas station, the guy fixed it, and I hitched back with the fixed tire, and then drove down to drop the wrench off. All in under 2 hours. People remain FRICKIN' COOL here.

After that, I went to the beach and ran around in the waves for the first time today. Amazingly, my skin is not going insane from the salt. I even played with a couple stray dogs for a while first, and then jumped in. The waves were about 3-4 feet, so it was a lot of fun. A bit chilly after, but very nice. It's still cooler than normal here, maybe 10 degrees. 10 degrees cooler that is, not 10 degrees out. It was nice, the dogs put up with me even before i had my bath.

My neighbor Barbara (with the jack and the coffee and the house with not one right angle in it) keeps telling me I'm insane if I want to move a palm tree, until I finally pointed out that I'm going to need to if I'm going to build a house. She seemed skeptical, but stopped talking about it. Anyway, the royal palms are a really big deal I guess, and it's sacrilege to cut one down and they run just around a zillion dollars apiece or so, and we have about 20 of em in the way of where we need to build. So I've been fussing around trying to get water, scheming this way and that, cajoling, begging, pleading, swearing oaths, bribing, threatening, stomping, and both hollering and whispering trying to find a way to get some water so I can move these stinking abominations of the flora world. I drive ALL the way to Rock Sound to go buy a pickaxe,and 45 dollars later, I happen to be driving by "the Farm" which is a fruitstand and nursery, and I holler to the lady back there and ask what those things cost. Around $12-$18 apiece she says. I'm not even gonna get this pickaxe dirty. I'm gonna bulldoze right over those suckers, and then jump up and down on the remains.

Well, I might try to move a couple of 'em tomorrow. We'll see. I feel like Robinson Crusoe over here, counting my wealth: now I have a pickaxe, and three buckets more than I had a few days ago. I found one bucket in the garbage, and two my friends Kelvin, Joe, Stevie and Nathan gave me, who left today. (Joe has a plane. How fat is that?) Anyway, I don't need a plane. Three buckets makes me feel like a rich man. I use one for a crapper, one to wash dishes in, and clothes, and one to mix cement in. I have to try to remember which is which.

Tomorrow I plant the temporary electrical pole, but it won't be temporary if I have my way. I have a pickaxe, and 94 pounds of cement, so considering that's 1/6 of what's needed to make concrete, I can make 600 pounds with what I have, and what's laying around these roads, like sand and gravel. I might also make a boat mooring while I have it laying around (what else is it gonna do?).

I think I mentioned, screamingly, that the water department lost my application. As luck would have it, I saved the confirmation of the fax of my original application. I never do that. And then, guess what? A few days ago, my notebook was about 6 inches thick, so I "cleaned it out" by removing around 3 pieces of paper. GUess what one of 'em was? And anyway, as my good luck would have it, there's no where to throw garbage usually, so guess what? I just ran across it. So I'm going to take it to the water department after wrapping a large rock in it and throw it at the supervisor's head. That oughta get that water on in two shakes.

What else? I think I mentioned, toothgrindingly, that the boat trailer now looks pretzelesque. That's supposedly getting welded right now. We'll see how it looks when it comes out the other side. It can't be welded with that boat on there. The welder wants to lift the boat up, tipping it back on the trailer, and then do the job.We'll see how that goes. I have my camp set up better than ever, with the card table set up now, the tarp up higher so I can sit without it resting on my skull, and the stove on the table, the food is sorted, and all that good stuff. Unfortunately, I hate cooking for myself as much as I ever did, so even though I buy fresh food, it sits there staring into my guilty soul while I eat another can of cold soup. Ain't it the life though?

I'm excited to start grading this lot. I'm also afraid of the fact that it costs $200 an hour for the machine to come out here. I'm worried I'll run out of loot. Unfortunately, because our permanent foundation, or a large part of it anyway, is being made for our temporary building, that kind of puts a gun to my head to know where the permanent building will be. Also unfortunately, people are wanting finished plan approval so I can put up the temporary building. I tell them that's a problem, since there's absolutely no way that can occur, unless I just throw a plan together. I want to make a finished plan once the site work is done, grading and what have you. And it's been those pointy stinking palm trees that have been clogging up the works. Them palms, they gots ta die.

I guess that's it for now. It's ten, past my usual bedtime these days. Today, I started the day with milk leftover fromlast night and a banana, then chicken from the local barbeque $4, dried fruit brought from home, and a can of campbells chunky chicken choker for dinner. I bought a casava, i think it is, onions and potatoes, got a plantain and a green pepper from Kelvin,et al., and they gave me more potatoes when they left. I'm swimming in potatoes. I'm never gonna eat all these things. If I had a giant rubber band I could fire 'em at the palm trees. Stinking rotten palm trees.

That's it. Stop reading. Time to go home. Nothing to see here, folks. Move it along, ya rubberneckers.

Oh yeah. That reminds me. How do you keep a bunch of weirdos in suspense?