On The Road Again

Goin' places that I've never been.
Seein' things that I may never see again.
And I can't wait to get on the road again.

I ended the blog before.  I am re-starting it now.

Sorry for the long delay, but I had a job to do.  I was Snack Master.

Today, I am not Snack Master.  This week, I initialed and signed and dated the documents that made me the late great Snack Master.  Removing that title leaves me simply as the Road Tripper, whom once again I shall be.

Thusly, I blog again.

Catching up, I bought the business, ran it for a year and a half, and have now sold it.  I sold it for about 55% of what I bought it for.  Quite a big loss indeed; however, had I kept my stock and condo two years ago, it probably would have been at least as big of a loss.  And considering a lot of my stock was Citigroup, I probably made out better owning the Snack Master business rather than the stock.

I liked the job and being my own boss, but I felt I wasn't making as much money as I wanted, and was also feeling the tug of going out on the road again.  Even if it is just for couple of months.  I really have no idea what I'll do after this trip, but I'll try to figure that out on the road.

I am moving out of my rental house here in Phoenix at the end of September.  I will be training the new owner for the next week, but after that I will focus on all the tasks I need to do to be able to drive out of Phoenix and start seeing the country again.  And the tasks are many.

My 'To Do' list currently has 29 items.  Most are mundane like submitting a change of address form or changing all my bills to be online bills.  But some of the tasks are going to be more time consuming, like running a yard sale or moving all my accumulated keepables into storage.

Anyway, I just wanted to re-establish the blog, and let anyone who checks in every now and then that at the end of September, I will be Road Tripping and posting again,

Cheers,

Road Tripper

End of the Blog

It's been more than a month now, and my life has come full circle. I have ended my recluse life. I own and operate the Snack Master vending route, a profitable and varied career choice that I can't be more pleased with. I am self employed. I am living in a house, with a front yard and even a back yard. I have a garage packed with my business equipment and a house far too big for the furniture I currently own. I need to make enough money in the next few months to make this house into a home, because even though I'm renting it, I feel that I am truly settled here in Phoenix Arizona. (Check out all the photos of my new house in the photo section.)


So, I've been doing this Snack Master vending route thing now for a month and a half. It's been a life changer. It's hard work. It's a grind. I get up every morning Tuesday through Friday, and go out and put the product in the machines. Occasionally, I need to go on a run and fix a machine that has either a malfunctioning bill or coin machanism, or has some other odd thing wrong. But for the most part, I do the route.

Shopping has been an adventure. I shope at Vend Source (a vending supplier) and Costco. It's a weekly expedition. If it exists at Costco, I buy it. Otherwise I need to get my stuff at Vend Source which is a fraction more expensive, but has the products that are right for the machines. It's sodas and candies at Costco, and chips and pastries at Vend Source.

I have been getting a lot better at this. It's amazing when you do repetitive tasks long enough, you find an infinite number of little time savers that shorten and ease each task. For example, when I need to load a 32 pack of coke into a machine, I now rip the plastic wrap off with a quick tug, grab hold of the 8-pack plastic bird killers and yank them off. Then, I have no impediments to quickly scuttling the 32 cans into their slots. Time saving breakthroughs like this still happen every day, and I am totally getting this job under control.

It's so under control that I have sort of cut down the work week to a 4 day schedule. I have Mondays off. Woo Hoo!!! Actually, I don't really have Mondays off, I now use Mondays as my shopping day. But I could certainly do the shopping on Friday if I want to work past noon. But who who would be fool enough to want to do that? I have created detailed product lists and google maps directions for each day that. Thus, I don't really need to think about what I need to do each day, it's all perfectly planned out. I guess my goal is to make this job monotonous and in a month or two, it will be.

Yet this job/business is everything I hoped it would be. I am disappointed that I have to work all the time. It will be hard for me to take a week long vacation. I have to keep the route going. But by working overtime during the week, I should be able to manage 4 day breaks at times. Travis (the former owners son, also said he would be willing to pick up the route at times if I need a longer leave of absence.) I also had concerns that the decrease in salary from Citigroup to this would be too much a decrease in lifestyle that I would regret it. Well, I must say that even though I don't make as much at this business, the decrease and the move from Hoboken, NJ to the Midwest, coupled with the lifestyle changes of not having a $400 sushi outing in Manhattan, it appears that I should be able to start saving for a future house purchase. So those issues are negated, and that leaves only the good stuff.

Good Stuff: First, I had wanted a totally different type of job. I had been in Information Technology since I left college, and I was sick of it. This job ain't that. Also, I wanted to be self-employed. I am so my own boss. I am so in control of the success of this venture. I am so my own boss.

I wanted a job outside. I had always thought of a construction job, building highways, but this fits the bill. About half my time is out driving around Phoenix, hopping in and out of the cab, strolling to and from the machines, and trolling in the back of the truck readying the product for the machines. It's a lot of out-dooredness, and in the dead heat of the summer will be a battle, but I love it.

I was really looking for a job that would get me into better shape. This job is it. I have been working so hard. I have practically never eaten lunch (not a good thing but relevant.) When I started this, I lugged each case of soda, torturing my legs, arms and back. Now I gingerly fling each case to where I want it. I heave multiple cases with little effort. I have so strengthened the muscles needed to do this job. I can beat you at an arm wrestling match. I am in better shape than I was when I was 29. I have lost 16 pounds...so far. Probably time to start finding time for lunch and/or breakfast, but this is a "diet regimen" that certainly works.

By the way, it's hot here. Really hot! My hair was dripping by 10 AM each work day. So I decided to solve that problem. I removed my hair. Rather, I had ex-Marine TP Hubby Nasty remove my hair. Clippers cut me down to a number 4. I like it. I look good. But the current heat really makes me concerned about the 110 degree days ahead.

Finally, I am more me. More confidant and outgoing. Happier and less self loathing. I am where I should be. I approach my 40th birthday next month, and it, not surprisingly, brings on deep thoughts. I spent my first 20 years learning. From child birth through college I was acclimating to the world. I had spent most of the last 20 years just following the path the first 20 had set. But this last year, I decided to strike out and change the path. I decided to take things into my own hands and I did. I quit the job, sold the condo and went tribal. I was fortunate in many ways to be able to do this, and in the end, it worked. It really, really worked.

So I think this is sort of the end to the blog. I mean, if business is good and the housing market continues to collapse, I might buy a house. Or if I tire of this business in a couple of years, I may try to sell the business and hit the road again. But essentially, I have said everything I have done and I am done with everything I want to say. Except perhaps, next winterm, I expect a string of you voyers to become visitors. From the North East, San Fran, Seattle, Ohio, Portland, South Africa and beyond...just drop by and enjoy the golf, the lifestyle, the perfect climate, the beautiful sunsets, the accessible adventures and me.

I've got to say, I am a quite impressed with myself. I didn't know over a year ago how this whole adventure, expedition, mid-life crisis would work out. But it did work out. I am in a home, profitably employed, in much better shape and in a city where a sunny day is every day.

I am my own boss and I do have weekends off.

Cheers,

Snack Master Scott

Feeling Quite Content

I'm feeling quite content tonight. I've just come in from watching a beautiful sunset. I'd headed out onto the balcony just as the sun touched the western mountains and was snuggled by the 80 degree perfect temperature. I let the tensions of the new job slide away and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Pretty awesome.

I'm now a week and a day into owning the Snack Master vending route. Let me tell you, it's a job. The day-to-day manual work of loading the machines is a bit tougher than I expected. The first day, my back, legs, and arms were sore from all the lifting. But as the week wore on and the patterns grew similar I have determined that the soreness was just the beginnings of long dormant muscles. Today I feel only minor aches and also can feel some muscles growing in my arms. I had hoped that this job would also help get me into better shape, and I now know it will. Not a bad side bonus.

I've been going around mostly with the son (Travis) of the former owner. He's a 23 year old kid, but is of the same stock as his father - honest, caring and real down to earth. I can tell I am lucky to have bought a business from such good people.

I have had to wake up at the ungodly hour of 4AM. I drive 45 minutes to Travis's and we head out at 5:15AM. This is certainly not my choice, and when I am done with the two weeks training, I will certainly move it back to a reasonable hour...say, whenever I wake up. We then go to all the locations on the days schedule. At each location, we hop out of the truck and head to the machines to take an inventory of what each machine has in it. With this, we can go back to the truck and pull out all the product that is needed to load the machines. We then go back in and load the machines. Oh yeah, and we also collect all the money that has accumulated into its own little bag.

The money. Here's something that is fantastic about this job. Every day you come home with a bunch of little bags of money. Presents. In this job you really do get an honest days pay for an honest days work. I get to flip through the bags, estimate the total, and know how much more money I have today than I had yesterday. I love it. As part of the purchase I have acquired a coin counter, and when I move into my new place, I will finally get to count up all the proceeds thus far. But just from this first week, I can tell that the numbers from the business are going to be at least what I expected.

Another nice thing about this job is that though I've gotten up early every day, I've been done early. The latest it's been is noon before I was heading home for the day, and one day we started at 5:15 and were done by 9:15 AM. And I'm still very slow at it because I'm learning. Travis said some days he's done by 8 AM. When I get a good bit better at this job, I believe I could cut a whole extra day off each week.

Unfortunately, when I've been done with the day with Travis, I have been busy late into the night with other work related crap. I have been inundated with tons of business info. I spent hours organizing and eventually filing all of it. Besides getting business cards and an address stamp made, I've also been working with Mom and Dad to pull together some work clothing. Bewick's embroidery business will be expertly producing some golf shirts with the Snack Master logo, and I may order up a few baseball caps because the sun out here can be brutal and I don't want to turn into a prune. But the most time consuming thing I've been doing is an eternal amount of data entry. Because Travis' computer broke, I have had to manually enter all the information into the MS Vending Management software. This has been a huge task. I've probably spent about 75 hours inputting each and every location, product, machine and individual slot in every machine. It's been a beast. But as dad said "Do the work upfront, so you don't have to do double later." Now that most of it has been entered, I know it will make the work much easier in the future.

I decided I needed to get this blogged now because I will continue to be swamped for the next few weeks. I will have a new address next week, the fourth one in a year. Next weekend I'm moving the business into it, and during the following two week, I will need to move all my personal stuff out of the rental. I certainly feel that I have overloaded the schedule with all that is going on.

But soon enough, I will be at home in my new rental house. The first house I've lived in since living with my parents. Running my own business, driving my own box truck, on my own schedule, bringing home little presents of money. With my two car garage filled to the brim with all snacks, sodas and candy you can dream of. As a kid, I had always wanted to get locked up in a candy store for the night. Well, now I will have that store in my garage. Pretty cool!

Snack Master Scott

The New Beginning

Tomorrow I start my new job. I don't think of it as a new career, because I don't see myself doing this for the long haul. But for now, I am an entrepreneur having officially bought the Snack Master vending business. Escrow went smoothly, and no real issues came up. I handed over the biggest check I have ever written, and the deal is done.

I will be doing two weeks of training with the former owners, and I am excited and nervous. Because I don't have a place to run the business out of yet, I will be travelling for the next two weeks down to Tempe early each day. I have a lot to learn, but I don't think there will be anything too complex about what I need to know. The majority of the job will be a matter of going to the machines, filling up what needs to be filled and walking away with the money that has accumulated. Learning where all the machines are should be pretty easy, but I would have a heck of a time trying to find them without the previous owners showing me. It's not like you just show up to a place and the machines are at the front door. In one school I will be servicing, I have to walk in a certain door, wind my way through the halls and find the teachers lounge.

One of the tasks that will be important to get right is the purchasing of product. I will be buying the sodas from Costco or Sam's Club and the snacks from Vendco (which services most of the venders in the area). If I buy too much, it can expire and have product loss. Or if I buy too little, I can lose sales because of not having the right product in the machines. It's important to get it close to right. But then again, this isn't rocket science (or computer programming), so there is a good bit of leeway with respect to mistakes.

Right now, I'm a little bit nervous and a little bit excited. The last time I started a new job was about 15 years ago and I'm chomping at the bit. It's sort of like the day before I set off on the Road Trip, but then I was a lot nervous and a lot excited.

I also have an update on where I am going to be running the business out of. This morning I signed a lease on a 2 Bed Room, 2 Full Bath, 2 Car Garage house that should work out nicely for me. I am disappointed that I will be losing the spectacular views and sunsets that I currently relish. The house is in a more residential area than my current place, but it is central to the route I will be working. The last time I had a house for a residence was when I lived with my parents. It's been all apartments and condos since then. I move in on the 15th.

CuzJoe's visit was great and we ended up doing a nice hike up Pinnacle Peak before he headed back to the cold northeast. I think he really appreciated Phoenix, particularly the weather, and I expect hi to return often. Now that I'll have two bedrooms, I will easily be able to have guests, so start making your plans.

Wish me luck!

Snack Master Scott

Going to Escrow and Joshua Tree

CuzJoe is back! He arrived last Wednesday, and we have taken a couple of good little road trips, but I'll get to that later. First an update on the Snack Master.

I close on escrow on Friday. That means that today is the last Monday of my unemployment. My hiatus comes to an end. By sundown on Friday, I will be the owner of the Snack Master Vending Company (vending route). I will own 87 vending machines at 44 locations throughout Phoenix. We ran into a few snags going through the due diligence. Perhaps I have over indulged in the accounting side, but I was able to uncover a few numbers that didn't add up, and have thus been able to further reduce some of the cost of the business.

I have been blessed by the current owner of the business. The current Snack Master is Alan, and he has been as good a seller as one could ever hope for. For example, this morning I was told by my business broker that one of the pistons in the truck I am buying went bad. He could have just replaced the one piston and left me to deal with any future problems, but he is supposedly sinking 4 to 6 thousand out of his pocket to replace the whole thingy. A very magnanimous gesture. (However, as you can tell from my writing, I know very little about auto mechanics, and I don't really know what pistons do, so I am just assuming this is a nice benefit from doing business with a good man.)

The big issue I am currently dealing with is finding a place to run the business out of. Originally, I assumed and was told that I could just rent a mini-storage facility for about 80 bucks a month. But then I also need a place to keep the truck - 70 a month. And I need to have electricity to run the fridge and freezer to keep the chocolate and pastries from melting - 50 a month. And I really need about 250 sq. ft. of space. All this brings the total price close to $300 extra per month. Since I am currently renting my apartment for $900 a month, I have determined that I am best served by ditching my apartment and finding a house with a garage to rent and run the business out of.

I've looked at 7 places so far, and a couple of them would be ideal for the business and for my comfort. I have a real estate agent currently working on one particular place that is a bit far out of town, but otherwise is ideal. It'd be $1195 per month, and if the current occupants would be able to get out withing the week, it could be my new home (and the 4th new home address for me in a year.) I wish I had time to test the buying market, but I just need to be settled fast. Perhaps if I can get a 6 month lease, towards the end of the summer, the prices might be even lower still and I can find that 3 BR with a pool that sis is looking for.

CuzJoe has ambled off to my complex's pool and perhaps can catch a nap after a spell in the jacuzzi. On Friday, we left by 8 AM and headed south through Phoenix, past Mesa, past Tuscon, past Benson and on to Tombstone, AZ. This touristy cold spot was the sight of the Shootout at the OK Corral where Wyatt and his Earp brothers were sheriffs, and accompanied by Doc Holliday, they gunned down 4 of the Clantons clan. It was worth stopping at if you are passing through, but also worth passing through quickly.

We then made our way to Bisbee, AZ where we walked the streets of this quaint old mining town that has had a bit of resurgence. The town is tucked into the foothills of the mine, and is a pretty good place for antiquing or just window shopping the main drag. It would be a beautiful place to live and they claim it is the most temperate place to be year round in Arizona. Sounds like the temperature is between 60 and 80 degrees all year. We decided to just make a day trip out of it, and headed back home.

Saturday was awesome. We left early and sprinted across the desert to Joshua Tree National Park in CA. UncLarry has a house in Yucca Valley, and Joe and I spent almost 5 hours passing through Joshua Tree to get there. Because it was a day trip, we skipped the multi-mile long hikes and focused on the shorter ones and were well rewarded. The highlights included the cholla cactus garden, the jumbo rocks, the arch, and Keys view. But really everything was amazing. But really everything was amazing, I repeat.

Just being in a national park again invigorates me. I think everyone should explore a NP every year. Even with just a day trip like this, it evokes so many questions and stimulates all the senses (well, besides taste, unless you do something wrong), that it is easy to understand why they selected such a location for a national park. Just go visit them, you won't be disappointed.

After our sojurn through the park, we got to UncLarry's where he had been brewing a vassal of half stew/half soup. The replenishment it provided was immense. the surprise was that the soup was all veggies - which belied it's hearty savor. But really, this was just to tide us over until the excellent meal we had at Patti and Harriets. CuzJoe and I shared out entrees of ribs and porterhouse that were grilled outside at the pit. Both were cooked perfectly. The place is well known and host local as well as well known bands on a nightly basis. Anyone who goes to visit Joshua Tree should consider this place as the whipped cream on their adventure.

UncLarry was a perfect host. We had fire, we had wine. We had a sumptuous meal and stimulating conversation. We argued whether Hillary or Barack was the next great hope and we trashed the republicants. (BTW, the answer is Barack). We sipped the wines, we drank the beers, and we gulped in the fresh air. UncLarry - Thanks! Thanks again, and Thanks for the untold future trips to Yucca Valley I shall take. I'll make sure to bring my "wild" mother along for the ride one day when she visits (and I'll tell her all the things you told me about her in her youth). But again, thanks UncLarry.

Anyway, I continue to look at places to rent. CuzJoe will have a full day of relaxing before heading back to the bitter winter of the north east, and I will try to post another entry just after I become Snack Master Scott.