2021-01-09 — Time to Rest

Hola tired, I’m folks! 🙃

Been a crazy day. Drove to Decatur this morning because a customer wanted a battery installed and didn’t mind paying me for two hours of labor to do it (long drive). That was nice, given I was going to be payin’ another shop to finish the Traverse for me. Nice to be paid to drive. 😊

Made it back almost on time for the grave side service. I got there about 10 minutes late.

After that, it was just crazy. Helped a guy get his crank sensor replaced. He’d broken it off inside the engine and had spent who knows how long trying to get it out. It took me about 20 minutes, but I was able to help him get it out. I also helped him get his oil filter off that was stuck on and his belt put back on. So… that was a successful visit, and he was super happy.

From there, I went to a car that has been sitting for a long time, and it took a good little while to diagnose it. I was there probably two hours or so, and then David came over and helped me with it. The other shop they’d been working with before had done a cruddy job. They said they replaced the alternator. It was still the factory one. They replaced the starter, didn’t bolt it in properly. One of the main mounting bolts wasn’t even tight.

Nutty.

Anyway, that was the last one for me or the day. David ran around like a crazy guy and had a good money day, so that as good for him. I’m glad about that. There have been some not-so-great money days for him lately with the cruddy weather and whatnot, so it was nice to have today be a good one.

I shot the breeze with David for a bit after that last job, and then I headed home, thinking I was done for the day.

But then I realized that I’d forgotten some stuff.

The big AC job I was having the other shop finish up for me got put on hold because the compressor turned out to be bad out of the box. Lovely. So… they buttoned a few things up for me, overcharged me, in my opinion, but whatever, and I had to re-order the compressor and let the customer know of still further delays. That meant that I had to bring the vehicle home tonight and reassemble the front end and rear splash guard, so that the customer could again drive it to work tomorrow/Monday.

Good gravy. So bless my mom’s heart, she drove me to the shop, and I drove it back and spent the next while putting it all back together but the PCV tube and the AC compressor that we’re now waiting on. Boy am I glad I spent all that time trying to find a workable bypass belt! It’s an inconvenience for the customer but not a huge one because their car is still drivable even without a compressor even in the vehicle. It’s more inconvenient for me than for them, I think!

Anyway, so I spent a while doing that. I also remembered that Mike is going to be borrowing my Civic starting tomorrow, so I did an oil and filter change in it, as it was a little overdo from my August road trip.

Then I spent a while preparing for Monday (which feels good to be mostly ready for Monday, so I won’t be as stressed out Monday morning… which… stressing out is a choice…). And now it’s midnight on the dot.

#1. I’m grateful to be mostly already set up for a massively busy day on Monday.

#2. I’m grateful to have made about as much money today from the jobs I personally did to pay for the work that the other shop did for me. All that’s left is put the new compressor in, vacuum down, and charge the system. Almost there. That’s nearly $2000 tied up in that car. 😶 Will be nice to get that off the books, as I believe most of that is just parts and paying the other shop. I’ve got something like $4+k in payments I’m still waiting on.

#3. I’m grateful to be able to have had a relatively easy day, though it was super long, and I’m super tired.

#4. I’m grateful to have tried to get prepared for Monday tonight, which allowed me to discover that I’d incorrectly bid a job, thinking it was one part when it was actually another. Actually, that happened twice. I underbid two jobs and need to re-quote them once I get more information. Nice to figure that out tonight instead of Monday, which could have led to a number of setbacks, including parts most likely not being available.

#5. I’m grateful to have taste buds that aren’t super picky. For example, Country Crock spread tastes a lot like butter to me, so… happy spread because no cows had to have miserable lives to provide me with it. 🙂

Thought of the Day. “Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” ― John Lubbock

Loves and hugs, y’all wonderful peeps. 😊

Lift the World.

~ stephen

p.s. I keep forgetting. 27 days sober. Love, not selfishness. Gotta stay focused. Gotta stay grateful. Good night!