2020-05-21 — Lollygagging

Well, not quite lollygagging, but I said no to working too hard today. 😇

I put my phone on vibrate last night, ignored the first two calls, and stayed in bed until 8 something, I think. 😴

I didn’t go out on my first job until about 11, bringing my nephew with me for the day. We did a job in Pea Ridge, managed to get out of one I didn’t want to do in Bentonville (got there, and the car was still under warranty, so I didn’t charge them [they gave me a $20 tip anyway]), and we went to lunch at Taco Bell, where I ordered one of everything on the dollar menu (except the cinnamon desert thingy… sugar and all 😁).

We ate a nice leisurely lunch, then drove south about 40 minutes and diagnosed a low coolant issue in a Mazda RX-8. It had dumped about a gallon of coolant on the ground, so it appeared to be a leak, and I found evidence of a tiny one, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem turned out to be fans that were either super weak or not turning on at all (depending on what it wanted to do in the moment). The messed up fans caused it to overheat, which expanded the coolant and pushed out out the overflow onto the ground. I was proud of myself for figuring that one out. RX-8s are a breed apart–rotary engines and all.

After that, we went grocery shopping at Aldi, where I bought more rabbit food, among other things. Then we rescued a semitruck driver who couldn’t get the last two bolts off his alternator, stranded at a truck stop. We got there just as the buckets began to pour as only they do in Arkansas, but managed to get him squared away nonetheless.

Then… It was home. 😊 It was a nice, slow-paced, leisurely day. I simply refused to do more than that, and it felt great.

I was excited to see my new phone in the mailbox today. Six-inch screen like the others, but the 2×1 ratio that’s becoming popular, so nearly a half inch thinner. I spent a good while loading apps onto it and getting our ready for use as my daily phone. I hadn’t bought any accessories yet, because I was waiting to see how the antenna was.

I was grinning from ear to ear when it appeared the antenna might even be better than my previous phone, so I ordered a screen protector, and then I went to order a case.

And guess what?

You can’t get a case for the phone. Only one company ever even made a fitted case for the phone, and they apparently don’t make them anymore, and three or four hours of searching online didn’t yield a single viable option. Not new. Not used. Not even a used phone of the same model that perhaps might come with a case. Nothing.

Without a case, my phone won’t last three days. My work is just too hard on them.

It was so discouraging. I’ve been trying to get a phone that will work for several months now. It’s insane that I can’t just choose a decent quality phone of any given reputable brand and be done. I’m not looking for bells and whistles. I just need reception (and a case!!!).

Yeah, so I melted down again.

Fortunately, I did manage to pull myself together enough to do my 21 minutes of running. Got back about 1:11 a.m. or so. Have an early job tomorrow 🙁. Not looking forward to that.

Overall, it’s been a good day. Sure I’m super discouraged with this phone stuff, but I made good progress today.

#1. I’m grateful that the number of calls today was conducive to my saying no.

#2. I’m grateful that I found an app that I think will give me decent canned text message capabilities. It wants an enormous amount of my privacy, but at this point, whatever.

#3. I’m grateful that I was able to just mostly relax and let go today. I certainly didn’t make much money, and that’s not wonderful, but it was a needed day.

#4. I’m grateful that I had the strength to go for my 21-minute run even with it being crazy late and being totally not in the mood for anything other than sleep.

#5. I’m grateful that it’s getting easier to lay off the things I’ve been keeping track of. Add another day to each on my list.

Well, my lovelies, peace and good dreams to you.

Lift the World.

~ stephen