Above 1200 Sq/FT The Salvage Garage
- Thread starter Strouty
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
Cool, hadn’t even noticed that.
Last night I went to be at 9, woke up at 4, couldn’t do it, slept u til 6:30. I can’t do 4 AM, just can’t do it. I like going to bed at 10 and getting up at 5, but for the next month my GF needs the bathroom from 5 to almost 6, so I can’t have my favorite time slot. I try getting up and doing things, but we end up in each other’s way so I just sleep until she leaves, it is easier than being trampled by a mad woman with a mission.
This is why the Hill will have two full bathrooms before we move in, then it will not be an issue ever again.
Today I have to meet with an HVAC guy about a mini split system for the upstairs office, we want to know where he will be installing things so we have a plan. I also would like to get the fuel tanks cut up and get rid of the last load of scrap steel. After that I can do some paperwork.
Last night I went to be at 9, woke up at 4, couldn’t do it, slept u til 6:30. I can’t do 4 AM, just can’t do it. I like going to bed at 10 and getting up at 5, but for the next month my GF needs the bathroom from 5 to almost 6, so I can’t have my favorite time slot. I try getting up and doing things, but we end up in each other’s way so I just sleep until she leaves, it is easier than being trampled by a mad woman with a mission.
This is why the Hill will have two full bathrooms before we move in, then it will not be an issue ever again.
Today I have to meet with an HVAC guy about a mini split system for the upstairs office, we want to know where he will be installing things so we have a plan. I also would like to get the fuel tanks cut up and get rid of the last load of scrap steel. After that I can do some paperwork.
slowzuki
Well-known member
Been a while since I posted on GJ, maybe 5 or more years, last time here I vaguely recall posting on a thread with you and a fellow with some health and hoarding issues in Michigan trying to formulate plans to clean up your properties. Glad to see a ton of progress.
I am always working on it, thanks for noticing!
Right now I am waiting on repercussions from telling Dad NO, he wanted me to put the sander in the plow truck because HIS driveway is icy. I told him I wasn’t ready, he starts telling me that I can use the 550 crane and blah blah blah, says he is sending my Cousin up to “help”. I told him the truck is full of snow and needs to be thawed, he said put it in the shop, I said no room. I will be ready tomorrow, he acted confused, then said see you tomorrow and hung up. I am trying to get things done that I should have easily been able to do on Sunday, except for having to deal with his generator issues all night Saturday and plowing the mess on Sunday due to a plow with no headlights. I am sure he will be mad, I don’t care, I have things to do today and that is what I am doing, my things.
Right now I am waiting on repercussions from telling Dad NO, he wanted me to put the sander in the plow truck because HIS driveway is icy. I told him I wasn’t ready, he starts telling me that I can use the 550 crane and blah blah blah, says he is sending my Cousin up to “help”. I told him the truck is full of snow and needs to be thawed, he said put it in the shop, I said no room. I will be ready tomorrow, he acted confused, then said see you tomorrow and hung up. I am trying to get things done that I should have easily been able to do on Sunday, except for having to deal with his generator issues all night Saturday and plowing the mess on Sunday due to a plow with no headlights. I am sure he will be mad, I don’t care, I have things to do today and that is what I am doing, my things.
XJSuperman
Well-known member
casmurbax
Well-known member
Strouty that's such a tight rope you walk on with your dad, I have seen my friends do with not just their dad but with their mom's, spouse's and siblings. It is not easy.
xtremek
Well-known member
Hang tough and good luck.
Dad can be funny, I might not find out what his devious plan to get even with me is for a while.
Got the last things cut up and brought to the scrap yard, also swapped the acetylene tank out for a full one. I am skipping paperwork for right now, plan is to get the shop cleaned out enough to get the plow inside to start the melting process so it is ready for tomorrow, might even try and bring Clark in to get the snow and ice off too.
Three of the four boxes of misc pipe fittings, definitely some usable parts in there, then a bunch that is useless.
Got the last things cut up and brought to the scrap yard, also swapped the acetylene tank out for a full one. I am skipping paperwork for right now, plan is to get the shop cleaned out enough to get the plow inside to start the melting process so it is ready for tomorrow, might even try and bring Clark in to get the snow and ice off too.
Three of the four boxes of misc pipe fittings, definitely some usable parts in there, then a bunch that is useless.
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Went through the pipe fittings, most of it is 3/4” and that is a very useful size, lots of different length *******, some super heavy duty stud too. There were some parts that I don’t think I will be using, some I don’t even know what they are for.
This is all that I think would not be useful.
This is all that I think would not be useful.
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xtremek
Well-known member
Looks like a good haul.
Definitely worth the money, assuming the last box shows up. I think the last one was ripped open and pieces went everywhere, will have to wait a few more days and see if it shows up, says it hit the local distribution center, but it has been there for three days now.
I was trying to do too many things at once, made a mess on the floor, underestimated the final approach angle of the oil stream and left it unattended, missed the pan for a bit, but on a good note, it hit the floor perfectly!
I was trying to do too many things at once, made a mess on the floor, underestimated the final approach angle of the oil stream and left it unattended, missed the pan for a bit, but on a good note, it hit the floor perfectly!
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steaks&anvils
Well-known member
I was trying to do too many things at once, made a mess on the floor, underestimated the final approach angle of the oil stream and left it unattended, missed the pan for a bit, but on a good note, it hit the floor perfectly!
Flat earth containment system. This has saved my **** many times. If not for the force of gravity, I would have made a mess of the garage as that oil floated everywhere.
Oh and as my Dad told me once: "don't use a "GOOD" rag to clean that up!"
I use a coconut shell material that works very well. It is so environmentally friendly that California deems it acceptable to throw in the regular trash after it has absorbed any oil. I guess it locks in the hydrocarbons and makes it disposable, it would work much better on a painted or epoxy floor, but it works very well for me, better than speedy dry, that is for sure. It is called SpillFix for anyone interested, not as cheap as other stuff, but it works great, it is even reusable until it turns black, then you should throw it away. I rarely keep the half used stuff for long, mostly I put it on another spill the same day or toss it. I will say that it comes out clumpy and I take the time to sift it, I feel it works better this way when dealing with smaller spills, if there is a major spill, this would not matter at all. I have found Zoro is the best place to buy it when they have a 20% off coupon, I just ordered 6 bags and they ship it free, those six bags will last me a couple years or more, I think last round I gave a couple bags away, plus I still have some at the SG. It was about $200 for the 6 bags, I would say that each bag is equivalent to 5 bags of regular speedy dry, it just absorbs oil so much better. Wish I had taken some pictures while I was cleaning up. I will get some pictures soon, I have to clean up around the 18 speed trans, it is leaking from the PTO and has made a good mess, I just lay down the SpillFix as a damn and clean it up every so often.
I discovered through desperation that the cedar shavings from my planer are about the best oil absorbent I've ever used. Makes me cringe a bit when I remember the 200-300 gallons of them I burned back when I was making my carsiding.
My favorite stuff was made from wood shavings with some sort of additive, it worked very well, so well the military uses it exclusively, the guy used to distribute it to places like NAPA, but now he only sells to the military or if you want to buy an entire pallet he said he would ship to a regular joe. I couldn’t justify the cost, then I found the SpillFix and it works well enough that I stopped dreaming of ordering a pallet of the other stuff.
Tonight I got the studded snow tires on the maroon burb, oil changed, door hinges oiled up, and changed the seat belts that bolt to the floor. One was broken, but they were the style from a bench seat and I have put buckets in, so they were annoying anyways, always had to dig for them in my pile of whatever I have stuffed between the seats.
Still have to change out the power lock mechanism on the drivers door, it doesn’t always lock and sometimes it doesn’t unlock unless you use the key. I probably have a dozen over at the SG, they rarely go bad, not to hard to change either. I also have a laundry list of things that need to be done to the truck for an inspection sticker, might have to see if my buddy will sticker it for me, only ran out in April.
Tonight I got the studded snow tires on the maroon burb, oil changed, door hinges oiled up, and changed the seat belts that bolt to the floor. One was broken, but they were the style from a bench seat and I have put buckets in, so they were annoying anyways, always had to dig for them in my pile of whatever I have stuffed between the seats.
Still have to change out the power lock mechanism on the drivers door, it doesn’t always lock and sometimes it doesn’t unlock unless you use the key. I probably have a dozen over at the SG, they rarely go bad, not to hard to change either. I also have a laundry list of things that need to be done to the truck for an inspection sticker, might have to see if my buddy will sticker it for me, only ran out in April.
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
I hate it when I spill something and it misses the ground. Make it so much harder to clean up.
casmurbax
Well-known member
you ****! with the pipe fittings.
racer-john
Well-known member
Chipmunks/mice love "Irish Spring" here, in my shed.
Mice love Irish Spring, its a good food source during lean times. Be sure to put Bounce in there too, keeps their nests nice and warm.
I put out the pellet bait. I mix boric acid in with it. It supposedly causes pregnant mice to have malformed babies that die. Breaks the cycle. I am somewhat successful and I at least feel like I tried.
ttpete
Well-known member
Mice love Irish Spring, it's a good food source during lean times. Be sure to put Bounce in there too, keeps their nests nice and warm.
I put out the pellet bait. I mix boric acid in with it. It supposedly causes pregnant mice to have malformed babies that die. Breaks the cycle. I am somewhat successful and I at least feel like I tried.
I use a commercial type bait station that uses 6 large bait chunks. The peanut butter flavored ones work well.
The bait stations are definitely working, the bucket traps caught some mice as well, not sure I have a huge infestation, but I do have some mice, there are trails and signs of them all over the place. I put the irish spring in there more to keep things smelling good than anything. I also used mint at one point and it seemed to work very well, but it had to be reapplied pretty consistently.
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kaymccampbell
Well-known member
The only cure for vermin that has worked for me is to seal the perimeter and all the joints in a building, and to apply a vermin shield around the lower edge. Then be fastidious about keeping the doors closed. After that, you can poison and trap the little devils to extinction.
I planted mint in garden to keep them away I see them hiding in it. Getting ready to dry ice all the holes on my property.
I think it is a regional thing, based on how the mice were raised.
Trying to get some tools organized int he burb, not going very well, nothing seems to fit where I would like it to go, totally going to have to customize the inside of one, but for now I will just have to deal with not perfect.
I have to find a galvanized ladder section that is close to one from another project so it can be attached to an existing setup. This will allow me to "finish" a job, all I have to do is get my Brother back over tot he site with his bucket truck, he did say he would do it, fingers crossed.
I am also figuring Dad has abandoned me on the tower steel, so I am going to dismantle things whatever way possible, I may end up using a cable to pull the two standing sections over onto their sides. This should make it easier for one person to dismantle things. Looks like we may get more snow next week and I would like to have the tower steel broken down by then, but I doubt it will happen at this point.
Trying to get some tools organized int he burb, not going very well, nothing seems to fit where I would like it to go, totally going to have to customize the inside of one, but for now I will just have to deal with not perfect.
I have to find a galvanized ladder section that is close to one from another project so it can be attached to an existing setup. This will allow me to "finish" a job, all I have to do is get my Brother back over tot he site with his bucket truck, he did say he would do it, fingers crossed.
I am also figuring Dad has abandoned me on the tower steel, so I am going to dismantle things whatever way possible, I may end up using a cable to pull the two standing sections over onto their sides. This should make it easier for one person to dismantle things. Looks like we may get more snow next week and I would like to have the tower steel broken down by then, but I doubt it will happen at this point.
I step outside and see a mess, I go inside and see a mess, I go in the shop and see a mess, I go in the Quonset hut and see a mess, I go to the SG and see a mess, the office is a mess, now I go on my phone and see 95 tasks on my current to do list. I think I should just poke my eyes out.
Every thing I try and clean up turns into more of a mess, there are so many outside influences on my life right now, I can’t accomplish anything that makes me feel like I accomplished anything, is that even possible? I feel like I am just chasing my tail, as soon as something is done or cleaned, there is another mess to take its place, then another, and another.
I think it is more about the fact that I don’t feel like I have any help, not in the sense of not having physical help, but all the things I do are all thrown on me and everyone expects that I will just do it and then they forget that I am working on it when they throw another project at me, then another. It is very overwhelming, especially when I am working towards a specific goal and the people that are benefiting from the goal are fighting me most of the time.
Every thing I try and clean up turns into more of a mess, there are so many outside influences on my life right now, I can’t accomplish anything that makes me feel like I accomplished anything, is that even possible? I feel like I am just chasing my tail, as soon as something is done or cleaned, there is another mess to take its place, then another, and another.
I think it is more about the fact that I don’t feel like I have any help, not in the sense of not having physical help, but all the things I do are all thrown on me and everyone expects that I will just do it and then they forget that I am working on it when they throw another project at me, then another. It is very overwhelming, especially when I am working towards a specific goal and the people that are benefiting from the goal are fighting me most of the time.
XJSuperman
Well-known member
Anyone who owns as much equipment and is involved with multiple businesses and locations has felt exactly like you do Strouty. And you know as well as I do that you have this conversation every 2-3 weeks in this thread.
Take a breath, and if the phone rings, tell them to take a number. People think they can be number 1 on your priority list just by calling or messaging. Most of us have been on both sides of that. Your job is to get them in line and tell them they may have to wait.
Emergencies are obviously the exception. But you have to have a good understanding of what an emergency actually is.
To hell with the Quonset hut. Its not yours, and you just gave a speech earlier this week about how you clean it but you don't really put stuff there.
The office needs to be high on the list. Its your place of work and when you get there to do a job, you need to be able to do it and get back to the shops or jobsites. If its raining, or cold, you better be in there. Its winter, so this should be easy.
You just finished moving all the **** outside of the SG, so its good until you finish higher priorities and can get back to burb-building or whatever you need to do there.
The Hill seems to be your current base of operations, so put it up on the list just like the office.
You actual job tasks need to be fit in amongst your organization, not the other way around. You'll never catch up if you don't get organized first. So the job tasks then need to be sorted by timelines and people involved. Tearing down tower steel is a low priority at this point since you have most of it done if I remember right. As cool as it would be to get it down and gone, that can be done at a later date.
Time to stand up for yourself and put people in their place. You don't have to be liked, you just have to have them like the job you do. Show them what you can accomplish when you are following your plans and priorities.
Take a breath, and if the phone rings, tell them to take a number. People think they can be number 1 on your priority list just by calling or messaging. Most of us have been on both sides of that. Your job is to get them in line and tell them they may have to wait.
Emergencies are obviously the exception. But you have to have a good understanding of what an emergency actually is.
To hell with the Quonset hut. Its not yours, and you just gave a speech earlier this week about how you clean it but you don't really put stuff there.
The office needs to be high on the list. Its your place of work and when you get there to do a job, you need to be able to do it and get back to the shops or jobsites. If its raining, or cold, you better be in there. Its winter, so this should be easy.
You just finished moving all the **** outside of the SG, so its good until you finish higher priorities and can get back to burb-building or whatever you need to do there.
The Hill seems to be your current base of operations, so put it up on the list just like the office.
You actual job tasks need to be fit in amongst your organization, not the other way around. You'll never catch up if you don't get organized first. So the job tasks then need to be sorted by timelines and people involved. Tearing down tower steel is a low priority at this point since you have most of it done if I remember right. As cool as it would be to get it down and gone, that can be done at a later date.
Time to stand up for yourself and put people in their place. You don't have to be liked, you just have to have them like the job you do. Show them what you can accomplish when you are following your plans and priorities.
steaks&anvils
Well-known member
I step outside and see a mess, I go inside and see a mess, I go in the shop and see a mess, I go in the Quonset hut and see a mess, I go to the SG and see a mess, the office is a mess, now I go on my phone and see 95 tasks on my current to do list. I think I should just poke my eyes out.
Sorry to hear this.
I know how you feel. I do this too, I call it "spinning". I have so much to do that I don't know where to start or what I need to do needs other things done before it can be done. BUT those thing are in a state that can't get done. So I just spin around not able to start anything.
For me, when I am doing this, I have started to just stop. Then I'll pick a task that involves disassembling something, cleaning up or putting away small stuff (tools, part, project debris, etc). The act of focusing on this small task lets me decompress, calms me down and actually gets something done.
Even just sweeping the floor can help me with this.
Think of it as a smoke break kind of work pause.
Hang in there.
steaks&anvils
Well-known member
Exactly this. Read this a few times, then read it again.
The current issue doesn’t revolve around any customer or job. It is all Dad and his “I want it now” behavior, yesterday I spent almost two hours getting the sander setup, the truck is still sitting there, now two hours doesn’t seem like much time, but when the day is less than 9 hours of daylight, it is almost a quarter of that time.
He has priorities that change daily, he questions everything I do, it is so frustrating. Unfortunately, the only way for me to break things off would be to move everything off the Hill and go completely to the SG and that would be almost impossible, or at least catastrophic for me this winter. I have to continue to deal with him, unless he sees exactly what I am doing, he thinks I do nothing. When he gives me a task to do, he thinks it takes minutes, in reality most things take months. I usually have to get other people involved, then you are at their mercy as well. Currently I have two separate banks and accounts that are in process of swapping, I have to get payroll swapped before the end of the year, this is just the tip of the iceberg, I can’t mentally or physically do everything, yet I have to.
This is on top of anything I need to do for myself. I try and steal the good weather to get things done, but it is getting to the point where I won’t be able to use the good weather days for anything but paperwork too. When I try and explain that I can’t do everything, Dad acts like I am not doing enough, he thinks he is paying me for nothing.
XJ, lots of good advice, only a portion of it can be followed. The tower dismantling is holding up some serious money, can’t get it until the job is done, with everything that has been going on, not having that money is going to start to hurt bad January 1st.
The office is this temporary mess, the primary office is supposed to be redone, so far the electrician has upgraded the panel and separated the meter, added all new lights, the HVAC guy is scheduled for April, but we have it figured out, the guy leveling the floor and fixing the drywall is supposed to start soon. Until that space is done, I have a mess in my makeshift office due to the shear quantity of stuff that got moved all at once.
The house is in limbo, looks like it will easily be summer before we could move in and that is very frustrating.
The Quonset hut is this problem that I can’t explain, I still have stuff in there, in order to get at it, now I have to move more of Dad’s stuff because he just went and dumped off random things. So it is frustrating that no matter what I still have to deal with his **** I. Order to deal with my ****.
S&A, spinning is a great way to describe it, today I had to drive to the SG to get away, I needed a few things anyways, but I don’t like having these feelings. I have way too much to do, it kind of feels like some sort of panic attack, like everything I need to do is hitting me all at once.
He has priorities that change daily, he questions everything I do, it is so frustrating. Unfortunately, the only way for me to break things off would be to move everything off the Hill and go completely to the SG and that would be almost impossible, or at least catastrophic for me this winter. I have to continue to deal with him, unless he sees exactly what I am doing, he thinks I do nothing. When he gives me a task to do, he thinks it takes minutes, in reality most things take months. I usually have to get other people involved, then you are at their mercy as well. Currently I have two separate banks and accounts that are in process of swapping, I have to get payroll swapped before the end of the year, this is just the tip of the iceberg, I can’t mentally or physically do everything, yet I have to.
This is on top of anything I need to do for myself. I try and steal the good weather to get things done, but it is getting to the point where I won’t be able to use the good weather days for anything but paperwork too. When I try and explain that I can’t do everything, Dad acts like I am not doing enough, he thinks he is paying me for nothing.
XJ, lots of good advice, only a portion of it can be followed. The tower dismantling is holding up some serious money, can’t get it until the job is done, with everything that has been going on, not having that money is going to start to hurt bad January 1st.
The office is this temporary mess, the primary office is supposed to be redone, so far the electrician has upgraded the panel and separated the meter, added all new lights, the HVAC guy is scheduled for April, but we have it figured out, the guy leveling the floor and fixing the drywall is supposed to start soon. Until that space is done, I have a mess in my makeshift office due to the shear quantity of stuff that got moved all at once.
The house is in limbo, looks like it will easily be summer before we could move in and that is very frustrating.
The Quonset hut is this problem that I can’t explain, I still have stuff in there, in order to get at it, now I have to move more of Dad’s stuff because he just went and dumped off random things. So it is frustrating that no matter what I still have to deal with his **** I. Order to deal with my ****.
S&A, spinning is a great way to describe it, today I had to drive to the SG to get away, I needed a few things anyways, but I don’t like having these feelings. I have way too much to do, it kind of feels like some sort of panic attack, like everything I need to do is hitting me all at once.
steaks&anvils
Well-known member
Dang.
yes, spinning is a type of panic attack.
With your dad's memory issues, when he gives you a task, do you ask him at that moment, what he feels the time it should take to do? and what priority it has? Then which other task you can not do in order to accomplish this? I had to start doing that with one supervisor I had, it didn't take him long to figure out why nothing was getting done.
I assume if you try this, that it will only make him mad at you?
Is your step mom any help with any of this?
yes, spinning is a type of panic attack.
With your dad's memory issues, when he gives you a task, do you ask him at that moment, what he feels the time it should take to do? and what priority it has? Then which other task you can not do in order to accomplish this? I had to start doing that with one supervisor I had, it didn't take him long to figure out why nothing was getting done.
I assume if you try this, that it will only make him mad at you?
Is your step mom any help with any of this?
I call it bowling. I set them up, they knock them down.
It doesn't help that you went about batshit crazy buying stuff this year. You are pretty much the poster child for "**** expands to fill the available space".
Now you need to constantly deal with the 50 more things you do not own, because it all owns you.
Sincerely,
The thread grumpy guy
It doesn't help that you went about batshit crazy buying stuff this year. You are pretty much the poster child for "**** expands to fill the available space".
Now you need to constantly deal with the 50 more things you do not own, because it all owns you.
Sincerely,
The thread grumpy guy
No help from any family members, usually they make it worse, especially her.
Dad would become a mad “toddler” if I tried to discuss the fact that he is putting too many tasks on my plate. His latest one, he wants me to build him a spreadsheet of all the towers and all the expenses, with all the contracts, all the dates, all the dollar amounts, plus he wants copies (physical ones) for his office so he can work with the broker that will be selling any or all of the towers, except this won’t be able to happen for another four years. Of course when I told him I didn’t want to make duplicates of everything because that seems to be how the office got where it is now, ten folders with almost exactly the same I do, but not quite, it is maddening, you have to go through each folder meticulously and sometimes even compare it to another one to see what has to be kept.
On top of that workers comp and out insurance company want to do an audit/review before Christmas and I just got notice of our SAM renewal and the HVUT to the big trucks. I don’t think there is enough time in the day to accomplish these things in the timeframe that I need to do it.
Oh yeah, the transformers need to be dealt with and removed ASAP along with the Town signing off on the project, and the layout of the first tower needs to be mapped out by the surveyor that won’t get back to me so we can complete a federal thing that was supposed to be done in 2000. There is a lot more, I am starting to spin just thinking about it. On top of all that, my schedule got destroyed by my GF’s schedule and that has severely messed with my routine. I may have to just get up at 4 AM and go to bed at 9.
Dad would become a mad “toddler” if I tried to discuss the fact that he is putting too many tasks on my plate. His latest one, he wants me to build him a spreadsheet of all the towers and all the expenses, with all the contracts, all the dates, all the dollar amounts, plus he wants copies (physical ones) for his office so he can work with the broker that will be selling any or all of the towers, except this won’t be able to happen for another four years. Of course when I told him I didn’t want to make duplicates of everything because that seems to be how the office got where it is now, ten folders with almost exactly the same I do, but not quite, it is maddening, you have to go through each folder meticulously and sometimes even compare it to another one to see what has to be kept.
On top of that workers comp and out insurance company want to do an audit/review before Christmas and I just got notice of our SAM renewal and the HVUT to the big trucks. I don’t think there is enough time in the day to accomplish these things in the timeframe that I need to do it.
Oh yeah, the transformers need to be dealt with and removed ASAP along with the Town signing off on the project, and the layout of the first tower needs to be mapped out by the surveyor that won’t get back to me so we can complete a federal thing that was supposed to be done in 2000. There is a lot more, I am starting to spin just thinking about it. On top of all that, my schedule got destroyed by my GF’s schedule and that has severely messed with my routine. I may have to just get up at 4 AM and go to bed at 9.
Kev, you are correct in a lot of ways, that is one of the reasons that makes it soooo frustrating, I can see exactly where I screwed up, yet there is nothing I can do to fix it. All of this comes down to the day that I told Dad “no, I don’t work for you in that sense, I am not going to the island today”. Ever since then, my life has been hell. He has actively worked to take away things that were normally available to use, he took the tractor, he took the bobcat (don’t care so much about that one), he kept taking the chipper when I said I was going to clear trees, he would make sure my cousin was not available to do much of anything, and he would create pointless work to overlap with projects that were much more important. Everything with him is a manipulative game, I know it, but this year it has become near impossible to deal with.