Haven’t had a day like today in a very long time. So I guess I’ll try and stay on the positive side of things and say that “how wonderful it has been to not have a day this bad in so long.”
😅
In fact, I’ll try and look on the bright side of every negative situation yesterday because… Why the heck not? The alternative is just to rehash how horrible the day was and just be super negative about it. 😜
So let’s see. I’ve always wanted to be able to need less sleep, so I could accomplish more stuff, so maybe the fact that I’m still waking up early on much less sleep than I normally need is just a step toward realizing that particular goal. 🙃
I headed out early as usual, and wait, I think my mom made breakfast. Maybe? I don’t remember.
Blur.
I know she did at least once in the last couple of days or so, so given that I didn’t mention it before, I’ll mention it now and just say that it was this breakfast.
Thanks Mom!
First job on the list was a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee that supposedly wouldn’t start. Except, when he went to show me that it wouldn’t start, it fired right up. 🙃
Since I was there, he had me focus on the issue it was having when he parked it–overheating.
So I checked and found that it was low on coolant and added coolant. Took it on a test drive, and sure enough, it started to overheat just as I was getting back. It also died twice while I was driving, and the heater randomly turned itself off and back on (on when I turned a corner).
After I got back, it wouldn’t start again. The key light came on, and it would just crank crank crank crank.
I hooked my scan tool up to it, but there was no longer any communication with the computer. The radio turned on but I couldn’t get it to turn back off.
Gremlins. 😬
After spending an hour and a half there, I threw up the white flag. Black-hole/gremlin jobs are not jobs for mobile mechanics unless you have nothing else to do. And I’m… Not lacking for work to do. 🙃
So I threw up the white flag, and gratefully, since we are putting a positive spin on everything, had very understanding customers who were happy that I didn’t charge them for my labor.
The second job was a 2017 Toyota Camry that had driven over a big rock and punched a hole in their oil pan. I went over to that one jacked it up, started pulling everything apart…
Oh, did I mention that I was migraining?
Yeah.
So add the tired and the migraining, pre-migraining, pretty much all day, to the experiences of the day.
Anyway, so I pulled everything apart, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t get the oil pan to come off. It was one of those ones where they put it on with super heavy duty RTV at the factory, and it just would not come off. With as solid of a bond as that stuff has, there’s no sense in even having bolts on the darn thing. 🙃
I fought and fought with it, but I was dealing with pre-migraine, and oh, did I mention that I was also depressed? 🙃
So… Pre-migraine, depressed, tired, and even with all that, I was able to go to six cars today. 😅
Perhaps not very smart, but I hate leaving people in the lurch.
So car number two ended up being white flagged as well, and once again, my customers were grateful that I didn’t charge them for my labor time, and they were also grateful that I found them a mechanic to go to that could get them taken care of. (Miguel)
Car number three was a 2013 Lexus ES 350 that was making sounds in the front end. I got there, and the sounds were so faint that I could barely hear them on the test drive, though I could hear them. Unfortunately, it was one of those things where it’s going to be best to have all four tires in the air and somebody behind the wheel while someone else is underneath listening around–once again, not the best for a mobile mechanic.
So after a lengthy test drive and inspection of everything that I could find, I sent him to a shop, and he was grateful that once again, I didn’t charge him for my labor.
😅
0 for 3… On to car number four!
Car number four was a 2007 Dodge ram pickup truck that he was having trouble getting the brakes back together on. He hadn’t compressed the caliper pistons back, so they wouldn’t fit over the rotor. So I compressed them back, pointed out a bunch of things that he needed to do, and got paid for a job!!! 😁
By that time, it was about 2:30 or 3:00.
I’ve been trying to help an old lady customer of mine find a vehicle because her truck is just… Bad.
So I went to look at a Honda Civic that I failed to notice in the description said it had an engine noise.
Oops.
I went out to it, there was no oil on the dipstick, and no coolant visible in the radiator or overflow bottle, so I added some oil and some coolant, fired it up, took it for a test drive, and found that it had a rod knock and would need an engine.
Oh well. At least I have the opportunity to try and help, And the owner got free oil and free coolant out of my visit. 🙃
The fifth car was going to the Chevy Cruze that’s been on my list for a couple of weeks now, and we just keep having scheduling issues.
I went out there, got there a little early before she was home, and then waited another 20 or 30 minutes after she was supposed to be home, but she never showed. Didn’t answer her phone, neither call nor texts, so after having been there for nearly an hour, I left.
Though it would have been nice to have another paying job since I had only had one to that point, it was also nice to not have to work, given that I was tired, and pre-migrating, and anxious, and stressed out, and depressed.
Actually, by that point, a lot of the stress had left because I had managed to get through the day without angry customers, so a good bit of weight was off my shoulders.
🥳
I had two more cars left on the list, but one of them was one that I had said might be Tuesday or Wednesday, so I took advantage of the flexibility, and I let them know that I would be coming on Wednesday.
So that left just one more job, another one that I was loathing the idea of going to.
It was the 2013 Nissan Maxima that also had a damaged oil pan and needed to be replaced, and it also was one that had factory liquid gasket as it’s main fastener and sealer.
Joy. 🙃
Just like with the Toyota, I pulled everything apart, and I could get it to move more than the Toyota one, but I still couldn’t get it apart.
Right about that time, the heavens opened up and dumped on me while I was underneath the car because tornado weather was rolling in, so I became a human sponge while I tried to put everything back together enough for them to be able to fill it with oil and drive it to a mechanic, since the hole in the oil pan wasn’t big enough to leak out so fast that they couldn’t drive it to a shop.
So that was it! That was the end of the day, car wise. One for six!
😅
From there, I went to AutoZone in Rogers to pick up a part to help my hill brother with one of his cars. I was grateful that they gave me a super big discount on the part, since it was charity work. 😊
From AutoZone, I drove back to Bentonville because one of my customers had found a tool that I had left there some weeks back–one of my multimeters.
🥳
After picking up my multimeter, I drove to Bella Vista to play basketball for the first time since… October. I was absolutely terrible to start. The first several games that I was able to play in, we lost, and I couldn’t shoot to save my life.
Finally during the last three games, I was able to get my shot going and my defense even better, and actually became one of the more impactful players instead of the worst player on the court. 😅
It was good to get some exercise–finally.
Don’t get much as a mechanic, and especially when I’m working 100-hour weeks. I lift my jack and tools and wrench on stuck bolts, but there’s certainly no real exercise, and no cardio at all.
What else?
I watched a bunch of YouTube videos for how to diagnose shoulder injuries, and it looks like it’s most likely going to be my rotator cuff that’s torn. It’s pretty bad at this point. Can’t raise my arm without worrying about when it’s going to give that sharp pain.
But it’s nice to have so many resources available to help me figure out what’s going on, so that I can be prepared for what I need to do and what might be coming down the pike.
From there it was some dinner which my wonderful mother had made, And then off to bed. No TV and no movies again. 🥳
It’s so funny how I always fall back into wasting my life away in front of screens. I’m disappointed in myself that I do that–so much of my short life wasted staring at a glowing screen when I could be making a difference for the world or even enjoying productive entertainment.
Such a waste of life most TV shows and movies are.
Just my opinion.
But I’m so easily sucked in, and with all of my struggles, it’s such an easy escape from life.
But i loathe that i keep going back to it.
I’m always so so so grateful when I’m able to pull myself back out of it and stop watching and stop wasting my time. It feels so so so much better to be free of that crap.
Sure, there are things that I can learn, and there are positives that can be gained from some TV and some movies and spending time with others enjoying them, but it’s just not what I want from my short, precious life.
There’s so many better things, in my opinion.
Time… it’s so fleeting. I feel a great sense of urgency to take advantage of every moment and waste nothing.
So I’m grateful to be freeing myself once again!
🥳🥳🥳
On a different note, it’s funny how our government and media can say that inflation is only like 7%. I mean, of course it makes sense when you realize that they don’t count just about anything important that us regular people have to buy every day. 😆
But those of us who actually buy food and clothing and whatnot? 7%?
Nice wish.
My distilled water has gone up almost 40% in just the last week or three alone. The polo shirts that I buy for work have almost doubled in price. And I could go on…
And on and on and on and on.
🙃
It’s amazing how in an age of so much information available to us, the lies and misleading information is what wins out so often.
Wait… positive. 😅
That note about inflation has been on my brain to mention in my posts for a while, and I just keep forgetting.
Oops. 🙃
Oh, I didn’t mention that my friend Miguel is interested in helping me find ways to use all of my heavy equipment to make some money. Perhaps we can come up with something that’ll be a benefit for both of us. He has lots of connections, so it might not be that hard to get something going that we can hire someone to run.
🤞
Love and hugs. 😊
Lift the World
~ stephen
Lift the World 