Jan. 27, 2017

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Hello friends,

Happy Friday to all wherever you call home. Just wanted to check in really quick here from the West Seattle library, it will be closing in a few minutes so I have to be brief with my post. I have been in town for a week and a day and it has been a rough time for me in many different ways. To think that I was so looking forward to getting here and it has left me a bit disappointed to say the least. I don’t have too much time to go into all the details and unlike the romantic comedy with Tom Hanks, my experience in Seattle so far has left me sleepless and it has nothing to do with Meg Ryan or romance.

For starters my reliable gigs mobile has carried me through some tough roads and weather the last nine months and well over 26,000 miles and counting but now she has worn out her U joints and front seals. The drive from Idaho and over the Cascades took its toll on her drive line as well as mine. The truck needs repairs and can leave me stranded at any moment. I have received a few estimates and they vary in prices. The good news is that I worked all this past week so I should be able to pay for the work, unless they find more damage once they take it apart. Im keeping my fingers crossed, hoping for the best but fearing the worst. The bad news is getting paid by these people who hired me has been extremely difficult and frustrating. They owe quite a bit of cash now and getting this lady to pay me is stressing me to no end. I’m getting the runaround with false promises and “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you” lines every day.

I told this person from the outset of my circumstances on the road and sleeping in my truck each night so I needed to be paid every day or very couple of days as is the norm with Craigslist gigs. She told me not to worry and I went ahead and worked the last five days, commuting almost 50 miles a day from the nearest truck stop to be able to shower and park for the night. All along sitting on pins and needles hoping my truck doesn’t break down on I-5 during my drive. Now that I finish the work today she is nowhere to be found, no returned calls or texts all day. I’m hoping this ends good and she holds up her end of the deal or else I will not only be broker but broken down and stranded in Seattle.

I probably come off super stressed and to be honest it has to do with being super tired and fatigued by this point. I’m really struggling not to get too overwhelmed by people and things I can’t control but I have a feeling this is not going to end well for me with these people who hired me.

I do have some bright news to tell, my friend Greg’s friend Joel who I had mentioned last post hired me today to fix his chimney and I will finish up tomorrow. That at least gives me a few dollars until the other issue is settled or not. He lives just a few blocks away and is super nice and friendly.

 I hope to be writing you real soon with some good news so for now enjoy your weekend and thanks for checking in! #Yo-Ga-Fla

Juanjohn