Bad luck for doing this with a ladder instead of walking under it?

Day…whatever:

Okay, obviously I haven’t kept up on the blog as well as I would have like. It’s not that I don’t want to. I think it’s because I’m just tired at night or I have other things I would rather be doing. However, I’d like to make up for it today by writing about a few experiences that have happened the past few days.

Yesterday I talked with a guy who was on his ladder trimming his trees. We spoke briefly and I left a pamphlet on his camper. I go to the next door that does not have a view of anything besides the trees crowding the front porch. While I’m waiting for someone to answer, I hear this loud crumbing/crashing sound coming from the direction of the neighbor on a ladder. I wait a few seconds. Hear nothing, obviously couldn’t see anything because of the trees. No one answers the door I’m at standing in front of, so I go out towards the driveway. There’s no sign of the man on the ladder (there’s a little fence dividing the houses). After a bit of me standing there, I see him stand up and try to pull his ladder up. Confirmed: this guy fell off of his ladder! As he didn’t seem in anyway hurt, it was more comical than worrisome. Yikes! If I was him, I would be thinking, “wow, I just fell off of a ladder”. When I walked past a few hours later, I saw the evidence of the ladder incident, as the ladder was sitting in his driveway with its legs bent. I guess he’ll need a stronger ladder next time, or not reach so far.

Our pest control pamphlet is brochure style with a tri-fold of information. The back side has pictures of different kinds of bugs and rodents that we can treat for. Well, a lady was looking through the front, the inside, and when she turned the pamphlet over to the back, she freaked out! She let out a shriek, dropped the pamphlet, and covered her mouth as her eyes grew bigger and bigger!!! After the realization that she wasn’t seriously scared, but reacted to seeing the mouse picture on the back, laughter erupted for about… 5 minutes. Wow! Hilarious!!!! She totally laughed it off and since her two adult daughters were also there, you can bet there was endless teasing about that one!

Also, I met the guy who makes these as a side hobby. Pretty cool, right?

Stay tuned for more stories from the streets!

A Stinky Situation

Day 17:

Ok... So today was pretty great weather, not too hot, not too cold, not a cloud in the sky. Perfect for working in the yard... And selling pest control. Two quick stride that I think will give you a pretty good idea of how my day went:

1. This first guy was pretty cool, about 60 years old, retired army. He stated from the beginning that he didn't want it, that he was with someone else, had been for a long time, and was also going to be moving out of state. Ok, fine. Then he talked to me for the next 25 minutes about what his day that day was like. I know, gem. You wish you could have been there. Apparently his dog got in a fight with a skunk that morning around 5:15 am. His dog then proceeded to run around the yard and through the house, to the upstairs. This guy had to wash his dog, the doors and walls it had brushed past, and the tub it had bathed with tomato juice in. He also said he was trying to figure out a way to ensure that the smelly oils from the skunk did not stay on the grass in the backyard, so that when the dogs went back there again, it wouldn't get back on their fur. He was thinking Dawn, you know, the liquid cleaner. He was also considering putting it through his pressure washer and spraying down the backyard grass. Um, please sign me up to be back in the neighborhood on that day. Suds and a light breeze means a fresh citrus scent and happy bubbles in the air. Also, the ultimate Slip 'n Slide!!

2. A guy shared a story with me today:

He was hosting a party with about 50 people during the wintertime. Beer was the main beverage. There was snow on the ground, and a lot of it. One of his guests had a lot to drink and decided that he was going to strip naked and run across the backyard to the fence and back. As he was running, he did not see the badminton net stretched across part of the yard. He clothes-lined himself and landed flat on his back, naked, in the snow. This guy told me it as one of the best parties he had hosted.

On another note, i just got my iPad this last week and will now be able to more efficiently document my tales via video and pictures. More to come as I knock my way through urge many interesting neighborhoods, and meeting even more interesting people.

Beets, Bears, Battlestar Galactica!

Day 15:

I had a very interesting experience today while knocking. This man opens his door. His door steps are much higher than my level, his stance takes up the door frame, and he is more or less towering over me. His cute dogs come out. Of course I reach down to pet them, but think twice about it, as he commands them harshly to go back inside. I give the pitch. He says he’s been out of work for a while and would not be interested due to lack of funds. In fact, he was working on his resume just then. Fine. No big deal to me. I notice a huge black bear mount in his living room and before any real relationship has been established say, “whoah! Is that your bear?” At first, he doesn’t want to share anything else about himself, so we talk bugs again.

After a few minutes, I asked if he shot that bear himself (of course I’m bored and hot and haven’t had a real conversation in about… 30 minutes). He relents and says, “You know, come on in”.

Jackpot! AC!

I’m in there for 30 minutes with his kids running around us and him telling me all about this bear that he shot. It was actually pretty interesting. Apparently it was ¼ inch shorter than the biggest black bear caught on record. He went up to Canada to shoot it. They couldn’t eat the meat because it had parasites in it. The hide alone weighed 100 pounds, he said. There was a photo album resting on the bear stand. He thumbed through it. We talked about all of the pictures. It took four men to lift the thing onto the UTV.

He talked about how male bears and female bears differ. Apparently, it’s not in the same way that male and female humans differ. Ok.

ANYWAY, the next thing he said was that he’s going to stuff is the swan in his downstairs freezer. It’s been there a year. His son shot it. His son was 11 years old at the time.

The thing about these types of situations is, I ask myself so many questions once I leave the house.

Why did I stay so long?

Why did I keep asking follow-up questions to encourage conversation?

Was I really that interested in hunting black bears/swans/geese/ducks/elk?

Did I really want to know if shooting cubs was legal (actually I really did want to know about this)?

I think that I like hearing people talk about what they’re interested in because I think people like talking about what they’re interested in. People like to talk about what they’re good at. They like to teach others. I think it gives that person some validity and worth in knowing they helped someone know more about what they do. This man, for instance, seemed rough on the edges and unwelcoming at first. Quite frankly, I don’t like leaving the door that way. I don’t want to feel like I made their day worse. But by the time we parted with a firm handshake, we were friends. He had taught me 30 minutes worth of bear hunting stories/strategies, and I had mostly listened. And I figured, if he’s that good at bear hunting, polishing his resume for a job hunt may be a lot easier.

His actual bear, right in the front room. Awesome!

Eliminate wasps and....free hugs!!

Day 14:

So, I’m not as consistent at recording my follies, triumphs, and otherwise average experiences as I thought I would be.

Pouty party.

Well, glad that’s over, now let’s get to the good stuff!!

I was walking down a driveway today and this girl from the next house over, comes up to me and says, “Hey, I know you”, and proceeds to give me a hug. Uh…I’ve never seen this girl in my life, and she’s probably ten years old. As she’s hugging my waist, I’m kind of trying to push her away and trying to not be rude at the same time. I’m sure the neighbors are wondering who I am at this point. And I don’t want them to become concerned that I’m just giving neighbor kids hugs, weird. I say, “Oh, where do you know me from?” She says, “Well, I just remember your face”. I just say, “Okay, well…are your parents home?” I continue walking up her drive way to see if they’re home. She leaves me alone. Crisis avoided. Usually I’m super nice to kids because really, they’re cute, and they brighten my day. But this girl literally came up to me from nowhere and suddenly we’re best friends. I guess I have that effect on people. jk

You know you’re out in the middle of nowhere when you see excessive use of PVC pipe as part of a home. This particular house’s front porch railings were made from PVC pipe. It was just cemented into the porch and probably had a diameter of 1.5 inches. There was purple glue residue seen along its sides. PVC pipe, so many uses!

I did see some classy tattoo work today on a gentleman with some solid American and Nascar pride. Wranglers, cut off National Guard T-shirt, barbell mustache, greasy hat, and steel toed boots. The tattoos were very colorful and covered both of his arms. He and I were at the same place. Standing in line at Maverick, or as I affectionately call it, The Mav. Of course, I was there getting the soft serve, he was getting the cigs. I wondered what it would be like to be a gas station cashier. You’d see and meet so many people. But then, I don’t think I’d like to be there past 10 or 11 pm. I’m not sure what kind of people would be coming into the Mav that late, and I wouldn’t want to find out. Plus, I would probably fall asleep. I value my sleep above food and drink. Ah, the life of a gas station cashier. I wonder about that…

Also, if you haven’t tried the Frazil yet, I highly suggest it. If eaten too quickly, you’ll double over with a frozen stomach, as Husband remembered all too well today (yes, that’s 2 treats in one day for those of you that are counting, don’t judge).

My secret to success...

Day 13:
My secret: TREATS!!!!

Today was a pretty good day. Sunny, warm, but not hot. Plenty of wasps to be treated so people were open to listening to me. Best part though, was when I knocked into the owner of one of the TCBY frozen yogurt shops down here. Of course, I asked about everything they had to offer (being an ice cream and frozen yogurt connoisseur myself, we had a lot in common). So, 18 flavors, 37 toppings, I found out which flavor was best, health benefits of frozen yogurt vs. ice cream, etc. He said they were open till 9:30 tonight and that a kid named S. was working there (different name, obviously). He asked if he should call and have him keep it open so we’d have time to get there. I said no, that we’d make it. Well, we had to pick other guys up, which put us behind schedule. I quickly called S. at TCBY and told him we were coming and that the owner said he would pay to keep it open for us to get there. We hauled down the freeway and made it at 9:28. Perfect! Oh and how glorious the experience was! He let us try samples, we got 5 toppings in the one shake, he was super nice! It was so great!

For future reference, I got the white chocolate mousse mixed with chocolate frozen yogurt with Reese’s, butterfinger, and Oreo toppings. This was an excellent choice! Surprisingly creamy texture, with small bits of tasty cookie. A+

Husband got a cake batter and peanut butter frozen yogurt mix with butterfinger, chocolate chips, and something else. I tasted a sample of his. Friendship fees. Not as good. Tasted a little tangy to me and the peanut butter flavor didn’t really come through. So, I will give that one a B+, since it still had the great texture.

As stated in previous entries, treats really are a great motivator for me. And I think I’ve found the highest quality treat. The TCBY frozen yogurt shake. I told S. at the store that we may be coming at 9:28 pm every week night. He said, anytime! Perfect!!

Same drawstring, color, and bunchy ankle hem!

Day 12:

1. Knocked on the door. Son answered. Said his parents were busy. I thanked him and walked down the driveway. The father had just pulled in front of the mailbox to gather his mail. I walk on the sidewalk and say hi. Father accidentally drops a piece of mail from the mailbox as I’m walking by. Before offering to help, I notice it’s an edition of a Victoria’s Secret magazine. But this guy is trapped. He’s sitting in his car, so it would require him to either squeeze his hand through a poorly opened car door or park first, then come back. Poor guy. I decided to pretend I hadn’t really seen the content of the misplaced mail and still offered to pick it up for him. He hastily informed me that he could take care of it. Eeeeeee.

2. Saw a kid fly off of his scooter today when he tried to land a jump from a ramp his dad had made. He promptly wailed, “My butt cheek! It’s on fire!” His dad ignored him.

3. Sooooooo…Husband and I spoke to a couple today on their front porch. They were about 55 years old, nice people. As we were standing there, I realized that something looked familiar. This nice man and I have the same pair of sweat pants. I’m certain of it. I bought mine from the men’s section at Walmart. $5. He, of course, was wearing them right then, and I was wishing I was wearing mine. Not only for comfort’s sake, but to point out that we were twinners! Hello?! Now, hindsight is telling me that this is something I should keep to myself and be glad I wasn’t actually wearing them for the sake of keeping that fact a secret.What can I say? Comfy sweats is where it's at.