I guess I have a few issues with trusting others. Although I have been aware of this in the past it was brought to light once again this week. I took my pickup to a mechanic to have some work done. The problem: a few teeth had broken off of the starter ring of the flywheel. This requires pulling the transmission and clutch to basically replace the flywheel. Had I been near Mullen I would not have had a second thought about tearing into it myself, but with a lack of the proper tools and my father's assistance, I felt the job was too big for me. It took just over a day for the repairs to be made. The whole time I am wishing I could be there watching/helping/advising (even though the mechanic knows more than I do). When I got my pickup back I had to take it for a drive to reassure myself that everything worked correctly. I am still monitoring all noises and shakes very closely (if I had done it myself I would likely have forgotten to tighten something and it would fall apart after a few miles.) I haven't gotten under it to make a visual inspection of the work, though it was a challenge for me not to do that first thing.
I hope that this trust issue will not carry over into my marriage, but how likely is it for such a problem to be limited to someone else working on my pickup?
(Mary, this is your warning in case you haven't noticed this yet.)
Friday, February 26, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Slip and Slide
I am from Nebraska, I know how to drive in the snow. And I did pretty good during the storm this weekend. The snow is pretty much melted off the roads now, making driving easier for all those who are challenged by the slick roads.
After leaving Mary's tonight I zipped home with no problem. As I am headed down the driveway at my house I realize that the rain we had gotten during the day had frozen on my drive. There is a curve at the bottom of my drive that leads around to the garage. However, being unaware of the ice on the drive and having other things on my mind, around the curve was not where my pickup wanted to go. There is a level spot for about 10 feet off the curve, then a steep slope for 15 feet, leading to a more level area with scattered trees. Don't worry, didn't hit any trees. Actually, I didn't even slide off the driveway, but was a little shocked at the ice on the driveway.
Hope you are having a good day.
After leaving Mary's tonight I zipped home with no problem. As I am headed down the driveway at my house I realize that the rain we had gotten during the day had frozen on my drive. There is a curve at the bottom of my drive that leads around to the garage. However, being unaware of the ice on the drive and having other things on my mind, around the curve was not where my pickup wanted to go. There is a level spot for about 10 feet off the curve, then a steep slope for 15 feet, leading to a more level area with scattered trees. Don't worry, didn't hit any trees. Actually, I didn't even slide off the driveway, but was a little shocked at the ice on the driveway.
Hope you are having a good day.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Trouble with Directions
I was thinking that I hadn't done anything all that stupid in the past couple weeks, then I allowed my memory to function and, oh ya, there are several.
Twice this week I have failed with directions.
The most recent was on the way to dance lessons. I don't drive in Greensboro much, so before leaving I printed out a map and highlighted what seemed like a reasonable route. It worked well, until I was ready to make a turn, the street was a one-way the wrong direction. Shoot. Well, so much for my planning. Take the next street. For those of you who do not live in this area, streets are not straight and sometimes change names at random intersections. Makes things confusing. Anyway, started down the next street, all is well, then the road has a 45 degree curve and we are no longer headed to our destination. Have to get off the street now, but the next street is again a one-way, and it is not the direction I wish to go. Take a right at the next intersection to hopefully start in the proper direction again and in about two blocks we are at the destination. I guess I got lucky because I was beginning to lose my sense of direction.
The other direction failure was earlier in the week. Mary and I were trying to install a pre-hung door in my basement. I quickly read the directions. Usually I just look at the pictures, but the pictures weren't very good so I actually tried to read. That is, I looked at the big words and filled in the rest based on past experience. I start taking the trim off, Mary says that I shouldn't be doing it that way, that the directions say the door is a split frame and will slide apart in the middle. I have installed doors before, she didn't know what she was talking about. I hate to admit I am wrong, so I usually say "just kidding" and then do it right. So we pull the frame apart and shim the door, nail it into place. As I am putting the frame back together I mention to Mary that there has to be room for the drywall to go behind the trim. It is not until the next day that I realize I am going to have to reinstall the door because I didn't leave room on the first side for the drywall. Maybe I should listen to myself a little more closely OR read all the directions. I guess I learned something from this experience - not sure what it is, but I am supposed to learn from my mistakes, right?
Twice this week I have failed with directions.
The most recent was on the way to dance lessons. I don't drive in Greensboro much, so before leaving I printed out a map and highlighted what seemed like a reasonable route. It worked well, until I was ready to make a turn, the street was a one-way the wrong direction. Shoot. Well, so much for my planning. Take the next street. For those of you who do not live in this area, streets are not straight and sometimes change names at random intersections. Makes things confusing. Anyway, started down the next street, all is well, then the road has a 45 degree curve and we are no longer headed to our destination. Have to get off the street now, but the next street is again a one-way, and it is not the direction I wish to go. Take a right at the next intersection to hopefully start in the proper direction again and in about two blocks we are at the destination. I guess I got lucky because I was beginning to lose my sense of direction.
The other direction failure was earlier in the week. Mary and I were trying to install a pre-hung door in my basement. I quickly read the directions. Usually I just look at the pictures, but the pictures weren't very good so I actually tried to read. That is, I looked at the big words and filled in the rest based on past experience. I start taking the trim off, Mary says that I shouldn't be doing it that way, that the directions say the door is a split frame and will slide apart in the middle. I have installed doors before, she didn't know what she was talking about. I hate to admit I am wrong, so I usually say "just kidding" and then do it right. So we pull the frame apart and shim the door, nail it into place. As I am putting the frame back together I mention to Mary that there has to be room for the drywall to go behind the trim. It is not until the next day that I realize I am going to have to reinstall the door because I didn't leave room on the first side for the drywall. Maybe I should listen to myself a little more closely OR read all the directions. I guess I learned something from this experience - not sure what it is, but I am supposed to learn from my mistakes, right?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Snowboarding
I have always desired to try my hand at snowboarding, but honestly, was just a little nervous about it. I believe my brother is responsible for planting this fear. During his first few trips he said he spent more time on the ground than going down the slope AND he dislocated his shoulder while boarding. I get injured just walking down the street, increase the risk and my probability of injury skyrockets.
Well, this past weekend I made my first attempt at snowboarding and I walked away in one piece. It wasn't so bad. At first, I did spend a lot of my time not standing, which means I was on my nose or rear. But after a few runs (about an hour) I was feeling confident enough to point the board down the hill and get a little speed. What fun is it to do something at half speed when you can go full boar. Only difference is that the crashes are a little harder if you are going faster. This was no problem as long as nobody was in the way and I concentrated on what I was doing. Most of the falls in the last two hours, which there were a lot, were due to a lack of concentration. The lack of concentration was highly correlated with me singing, which probably didn't sound too good anyway.
The biggest crash was at the bottom of the hill after making a solid run. I caught the back of the board and flipped over backward landing on my head, digging a trench about 6 inches deep and two feet long - good thing I had a helmet. The other crash was a collision with my friend who was learning with me. I fell and was just getting up again, when my feet are suddenly over my head. Didn't really know what had happened until I saw him skidding on down the mountain on his back. He had fallen just behind me and, not being able to stop on the icy snow, slid under me and flipping me. Neither of us was hurt, but I did hear a few oooos and ahhs from the folks just behind us. Guess they got a little entertainment.
But I feel like I can handle a snowboard now. Anybody ready for a trip to the mountains?
Well, this past weekend I made my first attempt at snowboarding and I walked away in one piece. It wasn't so bad. At first, I did spend a lot of my time not standing, which means I was on my nose or rear. But after a few runs (about an hour) I was feeling confident enough to point the board down the hill and get a little speed. What fun is it to do something at half speed when you can go full boar. Only difference is that the crashes are a little harder if you are going faster. This was no problem as long as nobody was in the way and I concentrated on what I was doing. Most of the falls in the last two hours, which there were a lot, were due to a lack of concentration. The lack of concentration was highly correlated with me singing, which probably didn't sound too good anyway.
The biggest crash was at the bottom of the hill after making a solid run. I caught the back of the board and flipped over backward landing on my head, digging a trench about 6 inches deep and two feet long - good thing I had a helmet. The other crash was a collision with my friend who was learning with me. I fell and was just getting up again, when my feet are suddenly over my head. Didn't really know what had happened until I saw him skidding on down the mountain on his back. He had fallen just behind me and, not being able to stop on the icy snow, slid under me and flipping me. Neither of us was hurt, but I did hear a few oooos and ahhs from the folks just behind us. Guess they got a little entertainment.
But I feel like I can handle a snowboard now. Anybody ready for a trip to the mountains?
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