2020-05-02 — Bad Gas

Well howdy peeps 😊,

It’s been quite the day for me. I’ve been working since early this morning, am just barely finishing up, and it’s after 10. If it weren’t for my tech, it would have been a super crappy crappy crappy crappy crappy money day.

The first job went decently well. I was late to it because I was trying to get everything squared away for my tech but it went fine. It was the next two jobs that really kicked my butt.

I really have to stop saying yes to people who need help with their RVs. They are just a totally different animal. It’s basically a house and a car Frankensteined together. I just don’t understand the systems, so when something is out of the ordinary, I don’t know whether it’s normal or not.

Anyway, I spent probably four or five hours working on it, and my diagnosis was wrong, so I didn’t charge for any of my labor. So after the first 8 hours of the day I made a grand total of like $85.

Ugh.

The next job after that also kicked my butt. I probably spent three or four hours trying to figure out why a car was running poorly but only randomly. It would run super super super badly for maybe 10 seconds (mostly on acceleration and going up hills), and then be fine. The best I could come up with was melted catalytic converter material clogging up the exhaust pipe when accelerating or going up inclines.

Fortunately, I had my tech meet me out there, so I could get him paid for the week, and he was able to help me figure out the issue, or at least what we hope is the issue.

We were doing a pressure test of the fuel system, and I let some of the fuel out of the system into a plastic bottle, and it came out super super super nasty. The first stuff that came out looks almost like straight varnish, followed by some diesel fuel ( it’s a gas motor). 😬

The next step to take was clear after that–drain the tank. That brought on a host of other challenges, as apparently I misplaced my schrader valve tool. I think I probably lent it to my tech, that rings a bell anyway. So I had to find another way of quickly draining the tank, so I uncovered the fuel pump and managed to get one of the lines free without breaking the brittle plastic pump (thank heaven 😊).

Once I was able to do that, then it was just a few minutes worth of using my scan tool to power on the pump and force all the fuel out of the tank.

Once all that was done, I left them with some homework to do, and hopefully they will get everything squared away from here.

After that job, I went over and did another freebie for a longtime customer who had some concerns about her brakes, but it all looked fine.

So I personally, in a 14-hour work day, made diddly. Fortunately, my tech burned through 7 cars today, so that was something at least. A decent money day.

Anyway, it’s coming up on 10:30 p.m. right now, and I’ve been dictating my journal on my cell phone on the way home. Honestly, it’s been a good day … like everyday. 😊

Unfortunately, my new phone seems to have the same issue as my old phone. I don’t know if it gets too hot or what it is, but it gets super slow and you can’t even really use it.

This is so discouraging. It *shouldn’t* be this hard to find a phone with good reception that actually works. I mean… Seriously.

Ugh.

I guess it’s a good time for gratitude, food, and bed.

#1. I’m grateful for my tech saving my butt in multiple ways today.

#2. I’m grateful that we were able to make some headway on that BMW with bad gas.

#3. I’m grateful it’s Saturday so that means tomorrow is Sunday, and so I don’t “work” tomorrow.

#4. I’m grateful to have been able to stay away from junk food and whatnot for so long now. It’s good to feel my self-discipline increasing again. I know that’s repetitive, but for a while now I’ve just been eating, watching, whatever I wanted to. So, this is progress. I would like to one day have complete mastery over every part of my body and mind. Little by little I will get there.

#5. I am grateful to have a nice recliner to rest in and a fan to blow on me while I sleep.

Sorry, for the boring posts lately. I’ll try to get things a little spicier for the next one.

Lift the World.

~ s