If anyone was actually interested in the Amazon Kindle wireless reading device which I wrote about before, you’ll be happy to know you can now get $100 off the Amazon Kindle thanks to a special offer from Chase.

Sure, you have to sign up for their credit card, but you don’t have to use it! Well OK, you have to use it once to get the $100 off.

Upon approval, the card will be automatically added to your Amazon account. Just use your new card to buy the Kindle and they’ll instantly knock $70 off the price right there on Amazon. Then Chase will credit your first statement for another thirty bucks. And you can cut up the card when it arrives in the mail.

C’mon, you know you want one … I do.

Walking into a real estate office and meeting a new agent is akin to sitting your butt down in a dentist’s chair. It’s just gonna suck, whether you’re there for a root canal or just a cleaning.

Unfortunately, dealing with certain kinds of professionals that can rip your teeth out, make you bleed, and rob you blind, just seems like an evil fact of life.*

During our travels we’ve seen tons of great properaty listings, but we’ve never walked into a real estate office to learn more. Recently though, we got up the nerve to do just that, after learning that our neighbor’s daughter works for a Lake City broker. Thinking, “how bad could it be if we have an in with a local?” we went in.

We heard there was a 40 acre property just north of town, for sale at $200k, an unheard of price here. When we got to the office, we learned the property was actually listed at $299k, which is way over our cash-only budget, but still closer to it than anything we’ve seen for that many acres of western Colorado mountain property, with water rights.

We asked the agent if we could see it anyways (not mentioning that only a winning lotto ticket would give us a chance to buy it).

“Oh sorry, you’d have to cross private property, only I can take you there,” he said.

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There is one project on my list of workamping duties here at the ranch that I am particularly proud of.

Producing street signs for Vickers Ranch was the perfect opportunity to apply my expertise as a signmaker, brush up on my woodworking skills, and learn to operate a backhoe – all while getting a crash course in condominium plat regulations.

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One of the benefits to workamping at a resort, are the daily freebies you’ll pick up. When we workamped at Riverbend, people were so loopy from the hot water soaking and lord knows what else they were doing, that they often left cool t-shirts, booze, and other sundries behind. Here at Vickers, the guests leave tons of food in the cabins when they check out.

Some days, I’ll bring in a haul like this one. Notice there’s no beer in this photo. Well, there’s only been one or two times that people left behind any sort of tasty alcoholic beverage. Seems like they’ll drink all their booze before finishing their food.

Now, before you go thinking “eeew, sick, you don’t know where that stuff’s been!“, I’ll tell you that I have a few freegan rules about what I bring back: it can’t be home made, must not be in an unmarked package, and be relatively healthy.

Being the tightwad that I am, last month I started doing rough estimates of the dollar value of my daily hauls. In one month alone, I brought in $288 worth of food and other miscellaneous items.

And speaking of saving money, here’s our Road Trip Expense Report for July 2008. We’re saving tons of money here, and have only put in $99 worth of diesel into our tank since June 1st. Town is only 2.5 miles away, so I run most of our errands by bike. Also, notice our food bill. Part of the reason it was so high is because we went to Gunnison and stocked up. Our goal is to not have to go there again. So far so good, I think we have enough provisions till we leave. With a local garden nursery merchant now selling organic produce in town, we’re set.

Here’s to the roofers, framers, and ditch diggers who think they have it harder than those who sit in front of a computer for a living.

They may be right. I know because I now have experience working in both worlds.

Having toiled at a desk, driving a mouse for most of my working life, I’ve had a chance this summer to live the life of a laborer, driving everything from nails to a backhoe.

For years, as a busy desk-bound graphic designer, I often wished I was outside just digging a ditch or something. Now, workamping on a busy guest ranch has taught me to be careful what you wish for. And given me cause to reflect on the intricacies of my life on the job, whether it be behind a desk or under a truck.

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This has been a rough week at the ranch. In the span of three days, two workampers quit, the chef got into an accident and might be out for the season, and some guests are being a challenge. I see the look on my boss’ face, and I can relate.

Back in the day, whenever things would get rough while we were running our old business, I would read this quote on the wall above my computer:

“I’d rather be the captain of my own dinghy than a junior officer on the Titanic.”

-Dr. James Chan, Author of “Spare Room Tycoon; The 70 lessons of sane self-employment.”

It was a constant reminder of why Jim and I were working countless 12 hour days, jumping through flames to deliver impossible client demands, and barely stopping to catch our breath to show Jerry some love. Yet, despite the endless agonies that go along with being self-employed, I’ve never been happier while making a living.

It took me a long time to figure out that I was meant to run my own business.

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Since Jim got the world’s tiniest violin out and told you about his hard days here at the ranch, I’ll take this opportunity to tell you what I’ve been up to.

This summer, for me, it’s all about cleaning. I’m on the housekeeping and laundry squad. Rah! Rah! Rah!

Some days it’s just me, another workamper, and co-owner, Paulette Vickers. Mid-week, my job can be easy, and there might not be a single cabin to clean. On these slow days, I’ll go work in Paulette’s garden, which is a great change of pace, since I love playing in the dirt, and her yard is awesome.

But on the weekends, when we have to turn over nine cabins before 3pm check-in, that’s when things get really dirty, and the “all hands on deck!” call will go out for everyone to pitch in.

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I overheard this Texan tell an Aggie joke about a couple guys framing up a building.

One reaches into his bag, looks at the nail he pulled out and throws it over his shoulder. He pulls out the next nail, looks at it and pounds it into the wall. He continues to do this until the other guy asks, “Why you throwin’ out half the nails?”

First guy replies; “They’re pointing in the wrong direction!”

“Dummy,” he says, “Save ‘em for the other side of the house!”

It got me thinking to the workamping I’ve been doing this summer.

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Find us a boondocking spot in beautiful country in the middle of nowhere, and we’re all over it. When we started looking for a summer workamping gig, we wanted a job in remote, mountain location. There were a couple of forest service jobs we could’ve taken, but we ended up here at Vickers because 1) it paid more, and 2) it offered us the chance to see if we’re resort owner material.

But the one thing we didn’t really consider, were the foodie sacrifices we’d have to make to live and work in a really remote mountain town with a year-round population of 500 people.

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When I first wrote about the Amazon Kindle, I should have known I jumped the gun.

Having worked in technology marketing, I understand the importance of launching products in time for Christmas. But it always bothered me when Sales insisted on going to market before items were ready to ship. Which is apparently just what Amazon did last December.

But a couple months back Amazon announced that the Kindle wireless portable reading device is indeed now shipping. For real. So I waited a while to be sure, and sure enough, you can get your own Kindle for just $359. I heard it on NPR, it must be true.

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