2020-06-18 — Calm Before the Storm

Well hiya, peeps! 😊

Happy Friday madrugada. 😴

Comparatively, I took it easy today. I was grateful that the phone had its Thursday lull, not nearly as many people calling, which had a very calming effect for me. When the phone rings every few minutes, I think my blood pressure rises, and I start to stress out a good bit, unable to get cars fixed because I’m answering the phone all the time.

With that lull, and with me being wiped out and sort of dragging my feet a bit from long days and lack of proper hydration and nutrition, I did my first job fairly leisurely (it was a ways a way, so I had to be up early to get their by 9, though I think I did sleep in an extra 20 or 30 minutes?).

That first job–front pads and rotors–went mostly fine. The auto parts guy ordered me the wrong parts, but the other store delivered the right ones to me, so I didn’t really miss a beat, other than having to take the time to re-order the correct parts.

Anyway, so I did the brake job in a fairly leisurely manner, and when I got done and was about to test drive the car to make sure the brakes were good, I found that they’d screwed up their DIY alternator repair, leaving the upper radiator hose clamp un-clamped, which sprayed coolant all over their new alternator and also on their AC compressor, and, well… all over. I fixed the clamp issue and topped off the coolant, and gt them going, but I’ve got some concerns with the coolant. I think they had the wrong stuff in there, and I topped it off with the right stuff, but I found out later that what they had in there might not mix well with the correct stuff, so I’m trying to find out what they put in there. I haven’t heard back yet. We’ll see. 😬😬

After the leisurely brake job, I had a leisurely lunch at Subway 😊, getting some more rabbit food in my diet (everything but olives and tomatoes [hate olives, and… meh, kind of gross on tomatoes, though I like ketchup a lot]). Had to wear my mask, as I guess they only allow customers who are wearing masks these days.

I guess we’ll have to add a line to the old phrase. “No shirt, no shoes, no mask, no service.” Not my cup of tea, and though I have my opinions on the severity of the virus, I totally support a business having the right to ask me to wear a mask to enter their store. Do I want to? No. But I support their right, so I comply. 😷

Anyway, that brake job was a carryover from yesterday, and I was supposed to do one other carryover from yesterday, but as I said, I was just dragging and enjoying taking it slow, and I didn’t want to work anymore anyway, and the part I needed for the second carryover car wasn’t available at the regular parts supplier anyway, so I drove way back up north and went to two different GM dealerships to find the part.

Then I rescheduled the job for tomorrow, as they’re way back down south again, and they didn’t need the job done right away.

After getting that part, I took care of a friend’s truck that was leaking transmission fluid. I guess the tranny pan bolts had come lose after one of my tech’s did a tranny pan gasket and filter job. I torqued the bolts to spec, and got the leaks stopped. Hopefully, they don’t come loose again.

He also asked me to check his tranny fluid level. He’d overfilled it thinking my tech had underfilled it after the job and not knowing how to properly check the fluid.

Apparently, I didn’t know how to check it either because it took me I think an hour and a half to figure out that the way I expected to be able to check the fluid wouldn’t work with his truck.

I couldn’t just let it run and cycle through the gears at operating temperature. Let it sit while running for a minute or so, and re-check. Nope. I had to siphon some out. Then take it out for a drive. Then come back and test again. Then drain some out, take it out for a drive, and test again. Over and over and over–until I found the sweet spot for the level.

Ugh.

But… it’s done now. I solved the riddle of how it wanted to be checked (the other way was yielding vastly differing results every time I checked. Way over full… then way under full… then over full again). With the riddle solved, it was easy, just time consuming with all the test drives needed after each siphoning to find the sweet spot.

Admittedly, I got rather frustrated with that truck (didn’t swear, though–not even a flier). It’s crazy. I work on hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of cars a year, and this truck might take the cake for most pain in the butt I’ve ever worked on. Rarely do I have to go back to jobs. I do them. They’re good. They’re done. But this truck… it’s like everything has to be re-done. The thing is possessed. It won’t let itself get fixed.😤

So… aside from the brakes, the tranny stuff, and probably 6 hours of scheduling, quoting, planning, and logistics, that was all I did for the day, workwise. Probably a 10-12 hour day instead of a 14-15 our day, which I’m guessing is about the norm (the latter). Gonna be an insane one tomorrow. Today was sort of the calm before the storm.

After I got home, I ate a pound of strawberries (testing that allergy again. I seem to have escaped the last pound a couple days ago without any noticeable ill effects 😊). I had a few peanut butter and jelly burritos as well. 😁

I spent a boatload of time scheduling and going over communications with clients to get tomorrow figured out. My first job is early–8:15 at the ShortStop in Garfield.

After that, I went on a run, and now here I am writing in my journal/blog. Sorry, it’s a boring one today. I’m super tired and just need to rest.

#1. I’m grateful that long stretches of the day today were able to be leisurely. Soooooooo nice!

#2. I’m grateful that the tranny pan stopped leaking just by tightening up the bolts to the proper spec after they apparently came loose? (we’ll find out over time, I suppose).

#3. I’m grateful to come home and see another empty parking space (nothing new there, just soaking in the sale of the Accord from the other day). It’s nice to have it gone, though I’m gonna miss it. That was a nice car. My Civic isn’t quite the best little car out there, but the AC works, and it works, so… It’ll be my personal car for a while, maybe? Or maybe the Terrain will be. I don’t know. We’ll see, but that gives me one more spot out front, so I can get at least one of my trucks a little further away from the teeth of the squirrels that chew on everything. 😬

#4. I’m grateful to have my PB&J burritos again. So easy… so filling… so good. 😊

#5. I’m grateful to be able to put my head to my pillow tonight, and I’m grateful to have a comfortable pillow to put my head to. I imagine there are plenty of people around the world right now who don’t have one. Here’s to them. May we be graced with the means to help those who don’t enjoy the simple basic pleasures I usually take for granted.

Loves and hugs, my lovelies. 😊

Lift the World.

~ stephen

p.s. Oh! I forgot! I did take at least one positive step toward slowing myself down a bit. I changed the hours listing for my business from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.😇

You can also add another day to each of my commitments.😎

G’night!