2020-08-12 — No New Stories to Tell

So I sliced off the first *several* layers of skin on the tip of my right ring finger. Knew it wasn’t going to be fun, but I didn’t realize until I started trying to type just now…

Ugh.

The sliced off part is right in the exact place my finger strikes my computer keys. 😬

Ugh.

Oh well. Some people don’t have fingers. So… I’ll try to think about that instead of this extremely temporary minor pain and inconvenience.

Anyway, let’s see… I didn’t get up at 6 today, but I did get some things done. Got some laundry going, started my 4×5, had a good study session this morning. I recommitted to choose trust over fear, and I did better today with that for sure.

I was able to feel pretty grounded and be in a great space today most of the day. There was one job that I screwed up a bit. I was doing a water pump job in the Bentonville Walmart Supercenter parking lot (oddly not an uncommon job to do in Walmart parking lots?). Anyway, while I was taking everything apart, I forgot to take off one part in the right order. I should have removed the fan clutch first.. I didn’t. pulled off the belt, the pulley, and even took out the water pump, only to realize that the spacing in the engine bay was too small to let the fan shroud out without the clutch out, and too small to get the clutch/pump assembly out without the fan shroud out.

I fought with it for quite a while, trying to find some way of getting it out without having to put it all back together (which is a lot harder than taking it apart). I fought it and fought it, and I started to get mad. Fortunately one of my most loyal readers also happened to be on the phone with me at the time, and she copied the little mantras that I wrote and sent them to me via text as a reminder (I should have them memorized by now 🙃) for when I start to get frustrated/angry.

It was perfect. I read the texts she was sending, and I started to calm down immediately. It was super cool. I did still battle after that a bit, but it helped immensely.

Super cool. Thanks, again, for lifting my world.

I did end up having to put it back together just to get it apart, and it wasted a lot of time. But… such is life. Kick the dust in the breeze, and let it float away. 😊

After that, I tried and failed to help a lady with her Mercedes. I think she might have a bad fuel pump, but she’d had other weird issues, and so I wasn’t ready to call it a pump, so I politely bowed out and didn’t charge her anything. Then… I went and ate lunch and chatted with a friend. Then I went back to a customer who wasn’t happy with the diagnosis that my tech John gave (locked up motor), said it was a bad diagnosis, so I offered to go out for free to do a re-diagnosis.

Locked up motor.

So, John got it right. I showed the customer how it was locking up and explained the situation and options to him, and he was satisfied this time.

After that, I fixed a leaking fuel line on a truck a friend is going to buy, and… well… that was that for the work day. There was a ton more that I could have done, and I didn’t get to three customers I was supposed to get to today, but… I tried, and none of the three were in dire straits at all, I don’t think, just mild convenience issues.

I went home, spent some time trying to tame the nightmarish weeds in the garden, getting the laundry room organized, trying to get my weed-eater fuel mixture together properly…

Oh! I made some new progress today. I cleaned up the storage/exercise room, and made room again for me to do some exercise–weight training. I’m actually in really good shape right now, but… I’m motivated to do better, so… gonna do better!

What else… uh… Another cold shower! I’m starting to do them twice a day right now! One to clean up from the work day and one to jump start my morning.

Well, it’s 11:14…

#1. I’m grateful for my friend who helped recenter me and remind me where I’m trying to get to in my life.

#2. I’m grateful that I was able to type this journal entry reasonably well with a messed up finger. Hurts a bit, but it’s manageable.

#3. I’m grateful that things are going the way they are in my life right now. I’m still not sure how some things are going to go that are super important to me, but they seem to be progressing, and progressing quickly, even if sometimes I feel like it’s not fast enough.

#4. I’m grateful that I was prepared today with a ton of Powerade. I’m a little dehydrated right now, not too bad I hope. I feel mostly pretty good, but it was hot today, and I sweat buckets.

#5. I’m grateful to have the canopy I have. So nice to work in the shade! Without that, I’d probably have lost literally another gallon in sweat.

To be better…

#1. Still the bedtime thing…

#2. Still the morning thing…

Loves and hugs to all y’all out there..

Lift the World

~ stephen

Oh! P.S. In my conversation with one of my Utah friends, we talked about all the stories I have to tell, and I realized… I don’t have many *recent* good ones. I used to go on so many adventures. There were soooooo many good stories to tell…

But they’re from so long ago now… so few that happened recently. I’m gonna have to remedy that.

😁