In the garden, and RAIN!!!! by SIGNYM

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

In the garden, and RAIN!!!!

POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Tuesday, November 1, 2022 17:55
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VIEWED: 708414
PAGE 226 of 231

Tuesday, September 20, 2022 9:46 AM

Got the 2nd batch of 8 casings painted yesterday. First thing on the agenda is staging them inside so I can get all the baseboard and the last 2 casings I need for the porch out there to clean off and paint.

Then it's back in the shed for me today.

I was painting until 10PM last night. Finally got everything scraped and clean out there and used up 2 full gallons of flat white paint/primer I got really cheap a year or two ago. Those plywood and OSB boards really suck up that first coat. I'm going to be figuring out what paint I want to use in there now with the colors I have on hand. If I plan it right I shouldn't have to buy any more paint for either the porch or the shed and I can use up about 2/3rds of the paint that has been sitting in my coat closet and on a shelf in the basement for a few years.

And probably tomorrow I can really clear out some space by getting insulation up on the wall between the porch and the shed. The rest of it is going to go in the attic above the porch, but that's got to be on a cool day when I feel like going up in that mess.

Too hot to be doing all that sanding of the mud in the porch just yet. I don't want to be doing that while I'm going to be sweating since it will stick all over me. I can't have the fan on or the windows open when I'm doing it or it's going to get everywhere. We should have a few cooler days this week for me to get that done so I can get primer on the walls.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Tuesday, September 20, 2022 1:12 PM

Out for my walk in a bit. Just a couple of small things to do today like pick up a Christmas present for a kitty.

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Tuesday, September 20, 2022 4:12 PM

Back from my walk and even remembered to renew my membership at my senior's centre.

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Tuesday, September 20, 2022 8:27 PM

I found an OLD can of enamel finish I bought back in 2012 that was somehow still good, so I was able to use that to give everything in the shed a 2nd coat. After the wood swallowed up that first coat the 2nd coat is holding much better. After seeing the enamel on it, I've decided that I want an enamel finish out there, so I'm just going to use one of the pricey gallons that I've already got to do the finish coat and buy more as needed. I should have enough left to do the rest of the trim I wanted to do and the shed for now and hopefully I can catch it on sale before i need it again.

It was 95 degrees today!!!! Hot day to be working in a shed with no airflow, especially when i was up on the ladder.

I was sweating too much to even attempt putting the 2nd/final coat of paint on the 4 baseboards and the remaining two casings. I'll do that tomorrow morning when it's cool.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Wednesday, September 21, 2022 10:04 AM

Well... Hopefully I get my car back today. My rides have dried up, so I'll have to walk to get it. I don't want to waste an obligation on a neighbor for something that trivial, although I likely will be in the middle of painting something when the call comes in.

I had to kind of tear the guy a new one on Monday. By that time he'd had it 10 days. I knew he must have been on his own because only one vehicle was being worked on since the Friday 2 weeks prior, and only even got my car up on the racks last Friday because he worked until 9PM that night.

But it was up there... So I assumed mine was going to be worked on next, right?

Well after getting the runaround with the bad communication skills of a mechanic with a heavy work load, his other mechanic not in town and no hired staff to man the phones, I had to give him the shit when it was getting clear I wasn't going to even have my quote by Monday afternoon.

You see, everything is rusted on the bottom of my car. I know this first hand, because I've been under there. So we've already decided I was replacing both brake lines on that side in fear that when the lines were bled after only doing one the other one was just going to burst. (Internet research tracks with this). But the fuel line is also right there on that side and is jenk too. (Which also tracks online, and typically all three are replaced together on old cars). So the problem was that for him to get me a quote on the fuel line as well, he had to take the back seat out of my car and see if/how he could get the line off of the pump.

So... He was working on another car in the mean time on Monday because he had to order extra brake line and fittings for my car. But by the time I'd called him the third time on Monday to find out what the hell was going on, I got him to tell me the lines were in. Well.... GET BACK TO MY CAR THEN. Do you even have fuel line on hand to fix my fuel line after you get me that quote? "Maybe? I don't know. I have to see it first.". WTF man? Get to it.

So he did. And he called me a half hour later at 3:30 to let me know getting that seat out was a bitch and he'd call me back when he got it out. Never got another call on Monday.

I wait until 10:30 to call yesterday. His other guy came back and was working on getting my seat out and they'd call me back. 1:30 I call back and he tells me they got the seat out but he's dealing with a customer and he'll call me back in 20 minutes.

2:50 I call him back to let him know that 20 minutes was an hour ago. Then it's back to the excuses that he just had 8 calls and had to run out to pick up a part. NOT my problem. It's been 11 days and I don't even have a quote. "That truck took a week to do". Yeah, it did. It's called time management man. It's called picking and choosing which cars to work on to satisfy as many customers as possible and not just hyperfocusing on the huge problem car while leaving everyone else without a car for over a week. I'm sure I'm far from the only car that still isn't drivable. "I'm the only guy here". Not today you're not. You already told me he's back. "Yeah. He's back today."

So... very calmly I proceeded...

Look man. When I called you over an hour ago I was just going to tell you to screw the fuel line and get my brake lines done. I got no gas for my mower. I got things I need to pick up at the hardware store. Soon, I'll be running out of food (that one was a lie). Look... I don't like being a Karen. But it's been 11 days now and I still haven't even gotten a full quote. I get your problems. I'm very familiar with jobs taking longer than you expected them to. But I don't live with anybody else. That's my only car. My friends and family live out of state. I just need my f*#(ing car back man.

And for once, I felt like I finally got the gruff old man on a defensive platform.

The good news... I should have my car back today... Tomorrow at the latest.

The bad news is that it's pretty much a ticking time bomb at this point. He can't even replace the fuel line with legit parts because nobody makes a plastic piece it attaches to under the seat anymore. There's a possibility that he could buy 50 feet of this new nylon fuel line (for the 12 feet I need for my car) and replace it with that, but he wouldn't know for sure until he cut the fuel line and destroyed that plastic piece that is irreplaceable. He'd also have to drop the fuel tank to do the repair. All cheap parts if he *could* do it, but labor is going to be expensive.

So we're back to just the two fuel lines being replaced now, and he has all the parts for that.

He's got to keep the old fuel lines down there to have something to strap the new ones to because the stuff you'd usually attach them to doesn't even exist anymore because it's rusted away.

The quote is $25 more than it was for the job a few days back. I don't know if he remembers the old quote or not, but since the two of them spent so much time dicking around with that back seat and I have more information now I'm just going to pay it.

Maybe i can work out a barter with my friend or his dad for one of their surplus cars and work it off. They both have 3 operating cars right now. Unfortunately, they like buying used Chryslers and Lincolns though, so if I do get one of their cars I'm going to have to learn how to fix them even quicker than I learned how to fix the Toyota.

It's my mechanic's birthday today and he's going to surprise his granddaughter and go see her vollyball game. So he's closing shop at 5PM. I'm not sure if he let me know that as a potential excuse to not have my car ready by the end of the day today or because he wanted me to know I'd have to be there by 5PM to pick it up when he's usually open until 6:30.

But one more day is fine, now that I know what's going on and that it's getting fixed. It's the not knowing that drives me up a freakin' wall.

And besides... It was nice not having to worry about wrapping up my painting to pull my car in every night while I was doing all the casings and boards. My car is a shit box, and even though you don't hear stories of people getting their catalytic converters cut out around here, I don't want to tempt fate.

I think I'm going to put the last coat on the baseboard and casings this morning than maybe I'll work on putting the self leveling caulk on the two slabs outside rather than get in the middle of a big painting job

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Wednesday, September 21, 2022 1:18 PM

Out for my walk. Couple of things to do before I play a pick up game of mah jong this afternoon.

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Wednesday, September 21, 2022 11:13 PM

Got back from my pick up game and no luck. Maybe tomorrow at my usual mah jong game.

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Thursday, September 22, 2022 9:06 AM

May we both have good luck today.

You win your Mahjong game, and I get my car back.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Thursday, September 22, 2022 11:59 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Indeed. Good luck to you both!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

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Thursday, September 22, 2022 12:21 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

I just noticed: happy first official day of autumn!

We've got a 1-week hot spell in the forecast, and for sure there's at least one more waiting for us, but at least it's we're on a cooling trend from now on.

I know you guys aren't big fans of winter, and with good reason, but for me in So Cal it's a giant relief.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

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Thursday, September 22, 2022 5:27 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
May we both have good luck today.

You win your Mahjong game, and I get my car back.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

I hope you got your car back SIX because once again my luck was terrible at mah jong.

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Thursday, September 22, 2022 5:28 PM

Back from mah jong and walk. And as I said to SIX, no luck today.

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Thursday, September 22, 2022 8:30 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
May we both have good luck today.

You win your Mahjong game, and I get my car back.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

I hope you got your car back SIX because once again my luck was terrible at mah jong.

It seems that lady luck was not with us today.

There's still 32 minutes of hope that the car gets done before he was calling it quits tonight, but that isn't going to help me because I'm not going to make it there on time to pick it up tonight if he finishes it.

He told me he's been working on it all day. I don't believe him. He's lied about everything up until this point.

I'm wondering if my car is even there anymore. I'm wondering if it is, are my hand tools that I didn't take out of the trunk still there. I'm wondering if he broke my fuel line and is too cowardly to tell me that he broke it.

If I don't get my car back tomorrow I'm going to have a stroke.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Thursday, September 22, 2022 8:33 PM

Work in the shed is almost done. But right now there's nothing more I can do until I get my car back. I need to pick up six 2x6 boards of value wood to add to the tops between the studs before I can paint them, and since two of them are going to have to be installed while I'm sitting on the top shelf I gave two coats of paint to tonight, I'm not putting the 3rd and final coat on both shelves and the fronts of the shelves until that's done.

I can, however, finally put up the insulation on the wall next to the porch tomorrow though.

I think I'll start sanding the walls in the porch too and maybe get the primer up there tomorrow too.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Thursday, September 22, 2022 11:16 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
May we both have good luck today.

You win your Mahjong game, and I get my car back.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

I hope you got your car back SIX because once again my luck was terrible at mah jong.

It seems that lady luck was not with us today.

There's still 32 minutes of hope that the car gets done before he was calling it quits tonight, but that isn't going to help me because I'm not going to make it there on time to pick it up tonight if he finishes it.

He told me he's been working on it all day. I don't believe him. He's lied about everything up until this point.

I'm wondering if my car is even there anymore. I'm wondering if it is, are my hand tools that I didn't take out of the trunk still there. I'm wondering if he broke my fuel line and is too cowardly to tell me that he broke it.

If I don't get my car back tomorrow I'm going to have a stroke.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

Oh, no SIX. I am so sorry to hear that.

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Thursday, September 22, 2022 11:18 PM

Another early day for me. Need to find some sunglasses at a decent price before I head to an eye doctor appointment. They didn't use eye drops on me the last time I was in which was 2 years ago, so I figure they will tomorrow. And the receptionist that I spoke to reminded me to do it. So, yeah. Not fun but necessary. Also want to get a bill paid and some grocery shopping done while I can still see before they do that to me.

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Friday, September 23, 2022 3:24 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
May we both have good luck today.

You win your Mahjong game, and I get my car back.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

I hope you got your car back SIX because once again my luck was terrible at mah jong.

It seems that lady luck was not with us today.

There's still 32 minutes of hope that the car gets done before he was calling it quits tonight, but that isn't going to help me because I'm not going to make it there on time to pick it up tonight if he finishes it.

He told me he's been working on it all day. I don't believe him. He's lied about everything up until this point.

I'm wondering if my car is even there anymore. I'm wondering if it is, are my hand tools that I didn't take out of the trunk still there. I'm wondering if he broke my fuel line and is too cowardly to tell me that he broke it.

If I don't get my car back tomorrow I'm going to have a stroke.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

Is there anything you can do besides rant at him over the phone?
What IS his problem, anyway?

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

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Friday, September 23, 2022 9:07 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
May we both have good luck today.

You win your Mahjong game, and I get my car back.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

I hope you got your car back SIX because once again my luck was terrible at mah jong.

It seems that lady luck was not with us today.

There's still 32 minutes of hope that the car gets done before he was calling it quits tonight, but that isn't going to help me because I'm not going to make it there on time to pick it up tonight if he finishes it.

He told me he's been working on it all day. I don't believe him. He's lied about everything up until this point.

I'm wondering if my car is even there anymore. I'm wondering if it is, are my hand tools that I didn't take out of the trunk still there. I'm wondering if he broke my fuel line and is too cowardly to tell me that he broke it.

If I don't get my car back tomorrow I'm going to have a stroke.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus
Is there anything you can do besides rant at him over the phone?

I could walk up there and rant to him in person. But I'm not sure a 4 mile round trip is a productive use of my time, other than to verify that my car actually is still up on the rack and that all my tools are in the trunk still.

I doubt very much that I could get the city involved somehow, and I also doubt that he would care about me starting a BBB case on his shop.

Last Friday he finally got my car on the rack after an entire week. He made it sound like it was possible I'd have my car late Friday night, so I was really pissed when it wasn't finished on Monday. And that's how it's gone all week. I start the day off positive thinking I'm going to get my car back today and then by around 3:30 I start getting really pissed off that I still haven't heard from him even though I carry that damn phone from room to room to shed to room to garage to room to shed to garage whenever I'm making any moves and it never rings.

This will be the third weekend in a row where my friend has to come out of state to pick me up to help him on his house that is in the complete opposite direction on the expressway if I dont' get it back today, and I'm pretty sure I'm not getting it back today.

Quote:
What IS his problem, anyway?

Time management is probably the biggest. Lying to your customers and not being sharp enough to remember the lies is a close second.

At this point I'm going to put lack of skills on the list. If he really was working on my car all day long yesterday and he was working until 7 or 8PM, there's no reason he shouldn't have been able to get the brake lines installed.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Friday, September 23, 2022 5:57 PM

Back from my eye doctor and all is well with my eyes. Lens in my glasses don't need an upgrade which is good. But flip side she said I do need computer glasses.

Also my area got rain today and it happened while I was in with the eye doctor.

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Friday, September 23, 2022 8:04 PM

I got my car back!

Going to take it easy tomorrow while driving to my friend's place.

Ran a few errands that needed to be be run and everything seems good so far.

At this point I hope he actually was doing work on other cars and wasn't working on mine for 3 days straight, because he charged me almost 20 bucks less than what the final quote was. I'm not sure how he stays in business at those rates. Maybe he just takes the bad jobs with the good ones and they even out in his favor or something.

I'm still not happy it took two weeks, but he says he's going to do some inquiries and see what he can do about fittings and the nylon tube to fix the fuel line too and give me a quote if he can do it. He showed me a picture of what it looks like and it's pretty terrifying.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Friday, September 23, 2022 8:08 PM

Got most of the insulation up on the shed/porch wall. I didn't even start with the ceiling like I thought I would.

Because I have no immediate plans to cover any walls in the shed and was hoping to get away without having to do so with the 4.5 gallons of paint on them now, it was not a simple insulation job. For starters, the studs on that wall are anywhere from 20" to 22.5" apart, so instead of being able to just run them vertically I have to cut them to fit horizontally and also have enough length on them to staple the flaps to the studs. And because it's going to look like this until I decide to cover it, I had to make a lot of intricate 3D cuts on them from the back to fit over things like electrical boxes, conduit and the 2x6"'s that I put up to mount the TV on the other side.

I'd say it's about 80% done now. As gross as the attic will be to work in, it should go WAY quicker than this wall did when I get to it.

I hope I have enough.

We'll find out next week.

Right now, I'm ITCHY!!! Shower time.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Friday, September 23, 2022 11:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I got my car back!

Going to take it easy tomorrow while driving to my friend's place.

Ran a few errands that needed to be be run and everything seems good so far.

At this point I hope he actually was doing work on other cars and wasn't working on mine for 3 days straight, because he charged me almost 20 bucks less than what the final quote was. I'm not sure how he stays in business at those rates. Maybe he just takes the bad jobs with the good ones and they even out in his favor or something.

I'm still not happy it took two weeks, but he says he's going to do some inquiries and see what he can do about fittings and the nylon tube to fix the fuel line too and give me a quote if he can do it. He showed me a picture of what it looks like and it's pretty terrifying.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

Alright, SIX.

I'm glad everything seems to be working on it now.

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Saturday, September 24, 2022 8:48 AM

Yeah. So far so good.

Wish me luck that I survive the trip back and forth on the expressway today. I usually like to do a lot more local test driving after something gets fixed before doing that, but I can't ask him to pick me up 3 weekends in a row when I finally got my car back.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Saturday, September 24, 2022 1:38 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Yeah. So far so good.

Wish me luck that I survive the trip back and forth on the expressway today. I usually like to do a lot more local test driving after something gets fixed before doing that, but I can't ask him to pick me up 3 weekends in a row when I finally got my car back.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

Good luck SIX.

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Saturday, September 24, 2022 1:38 PM

Out for my walk soon. Need to replace the hot water bottle I have been using on my shoulder. It sprung a leak last night.

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Saturday, September 24, 2022 2:42 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I got my car back!

Going to take it easy tomorrow while driving to my friend's place.

Ran a few errands that needed to be be run and everything seems good so far.

At this point I hope he actually was doing work on other cars and wasn't working on mine for 3 days straight, because he charged me almost 20 bucks less than what the final quote was. I'm not sure how he stays in business at those rates. Maybe he just takes the bad jobs with the good ones and they even out in his favor or something.

I'm still not happy it took two weeks, but he says he's going to do some inquiries and see what he can do about fittings and the nylon tube to fix the fuel line too and give me a quote if he can do it. He showed me a picture of what it looks like and it's pretty terrifying.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

My guess is he was working on other cars that he knew wouldn't take as long.

Working on old cars is tough. Parts are hard or impossible to find, and everything is rusted together or brittle as shit. Someone I know had a 20+ year old car in for repair and it took forever... and this was in SoCal, where cars aren't exposed to de-icing salts.

Those salts are murder on cars. My sis sent me a picture of "something" that fell off her car ... a rusted part ... and her car isn't even that old. Maybe 8 years. She asked me to ID the part ... my guess was, it was a bracket of some sort, possibly for a brake line, it was about that size. Back there, they have safety inspections every 2 years where they check the brakes and brake lines, wheel bearings and alignment, lights and all that stuff, so if they're doing a good job at least I know her car is safe to drive.

I'm glad it's back! Fingers crossed that it survives the freeway trip!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

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Saturday, September 24, 2022 4:52 PM

Back from my walk and all done for today. Local tv mag says "The Rookie" is back tomorrow night. Just hope "House of the Dragon" doesn't make me choose between the two.

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Saturday, September 24, 2022 8:15 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

It's been a conga line of cleanup... in order to do this, I have to do that, but in order to do that I have to do something else. But progress is being made! I got dear daughter to organize the pills and supplements she's been putting out for us, and the go ahead to (FINALLY!!) get rid of the old VHS tapes we no longer have a player for.
In the meantime I'm tidying and cleaning the office/storage space as best as possible.

Well, back to work!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

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Saturday, September 24, 2022 11:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
My guess is he was working on other cars that he knew wouldn't take as long.

Yeah. I know he must have been. I forgot to tell you at one point I said "put her on the phone. I want to make sure she's okay.". He didn't get it and said "what?" I told him I was treating this as a hostage situation now. He has a sense of humor. We actually did have a good laugh over that one.

Quote:
Working on old cars is tough. Parts are hard or impossible to find, and everything is rusted together or brittle as shit. Someone I know had a 20+ year old car in for repair and it took forever... and this was in SoCal, where cars aren't exposed to de-icing salts.

Those salts are murder on cars. My sis sent me a picture of "something" that fell off her car ... a rusted part ... and her car isn't even that old. Maybe 8 years. She asked me to ID the part ... my guess was, it was a bracket of some sort, possibly for a brake line, it was about that size. Back there, they have safety inspections every 2 years where they check the brakes and brake lines, wheel bearings and alignment, lights and all that stuff, so if they're doing a good job at least I know her car is safe to drive.

I'm glad it's back! Fingers crossed that it survives the freeway trip!

She ran like a dream. But in some sick twisted fate of irony, my friend's car didn't. I thought he popped a flat but he didn't feel it on his side. That's because he kicked up some debris from the road under his car and whatever it was broke at least one brake line and even worse... something that made his oil leak all over the expressway.

I was swimming in mouse shit for 10 hours (FINALLY got that done), and really wasn't feeling good and just couldn't wait to get home. Had to wait for an EXPENSIVE tow on the freeway, then when we got it back to his house after I moved my car, he went to move his other car and it wouldn't start. It turns out it just needed a jump, so that's not so bad, but the tow guy was impatient and dropped that car off in a spot that his fiancee is NOT at all pleased about. Now he's in the dog house and he really didn't do anything wrong.

The poor guy has this catastrophe of a house to deal with, his dad went to the hospital and isn't in great shape, and far less importantly his dad can't help him with the work he was going to help with on the house too, and then not one but two cars are non-starters in one day. It's probably not even worth fixing the car that's sitting in his driveway now.

At least I was able to give him a jump on the other one before I left.

Then I showered and I think I'm going to slip into a coma. I'm not going to say that anything is "wrong" just yet, but I may be coming down with something not too pleasant. Probably way too many days in a row working long hours and the stress of the car for two weeks and my friend's dad on top of it.

I can't even remember the last day I just did nothing.

I'm pretty sure the way I feel now tomorrow is going to be the next one though.

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Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Sunday, September 25, 2022 8:42 AM

Well.... I'm still alive.

Got a decent nights sleep, and though I'd love to sleep some more it appears my body and mind won't let me do that right now.

I'm fairly confident that any lingering thougts in the back of my mind of actually getting sick from the mouse turds and other horrors were unfounded. However not right I feel this morning is still about 100 times better than I felt last night. I certainly don't feel like doing anything laborious today though. I'll probably just tidy up the place and relax today. I tend to pile up things instead of doing chores when I get this heavy into working on projects everyday, so it could use it.

Or maybe I'll do nothing?

I gotta get that porch done though. Even if my friend's dad can't make it out any time soon. The window jambs were really the last part I needed him for, but I might have to attempt those on my own. They're tricky because the windows are all level but the porch addition is not. They need to be built out with blocks. But the more I think about it, it may be better if I do it on my own. If they aren't PERFECT, I'm not going to be happy. My friend and his dad do good work fast, but where I'd take 3 days to do those things to perfection, he'd get it done in 3 hours.

But yeah, they've got to be done so I can start putting up casings. And I can't put up the baseboard until the casings are all up. And right now I have tons of nice painted trim staged in my basement. It shouldn't flood this time of year, but what a travesty that would be if it did.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Sunday, September 25, 2022 1:32 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Er... Maybe move the trim from the basement to the porch? Just in case?

Glad to read you're feeling better. Most ppl feel worse in the evening if they're sick with something - has to do with biorythms and cortisol production and whatnot. So if you really have something and it's not just exhaustion and/or exposure to dust and mouse droppings you might feel worse again in the evening. Only time will tell. I like the idea of you doing something easy today, bc you'll know by this evening if feeling sick was just temporary or the real deal.

Sorry to read about your friend's dad. If he's still in hospital it must be serious. Just pass along my hopes that he'll be on the mend soon. And your friend... oy. Between his cars and his dad he's having a rough time. At least his car troubles are prollyonly temporary. The big positive step was getting that rental vacated, and you played a big part in getting it cleared out so much. At least there's that!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

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Sunday, September 25, 2022 1:43 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Out for my walk soon. Need to replace the hot water bottle I have been using on my shoulder. It sprung a leak last night.

Oh gosh. They don't make things like they used to! Mom used to have a hot water bottle made of natural rubber. It lasted for decades!

How's the shoulder?

Mine still hurts, that torn rotator cuff is still torn. Torn tendons take a LONG time to heal. If there's a way of making it go faster, let me know!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

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Sunday, September 25, 2022 2:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Out for my walk soon. Need to replace the hot water bottle I have been using on my shoulder. It sprung a leak last night.
Oh gosh. They don't make things like they used to! Mom used to have a hot water bottle made of natural rubber. It lasted for decades!

How's the shoulder?

Mine still hurts, that torn rotator cuff is still torn. Torn tendons take a LONG time to heal. If there's a way of making it go faster, let me know!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

No, they don't make things as good as they used to. That's cool for your mom. I've never seen anything like that.

Shoulder is still sore. Doing the exercises a bit and taking it as easy as I can on it.

That area does take a long time to heal and this is like the fourth time I've injured it. So yeah going to take a while.

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Sunday, September 25, 2022 2:07 PM

Call from my boss yesterday about taking me out for an early birthday lunch. Said she would call me back with all the details, didn't hear back from her last night. So, I guess that means I am calling her this evening for the details. Suppose to be going into Vancouver to hook up with someone else. Oh, we are suppose to do this tomorrow.

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Sunday, September 25, 2022 2:07 PM

Sunday, Sunday

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Sunday, September 25, 2022 4:22 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Er... Maybe move the trim from the basement to the porch? Just in case?

Oh yeah. Yanno, I'm sure I would have thought of that when the time came, but since I haven't even sanded the mud and gotten any primer up, I couldn't put them in there because there's work to do out there. Maybe instead of being hyper focused on finishing the shed and the insulation I should throw finishing the porch walls and ceiling in the mix this week. I know more mud needs to go up after a primer coat, but it's hard to tell where until I get that far. So with drying times in between I could be getting the shed and insulation done at a slower pace. Really no reason I couldn't have all of that done by Friday as long as I'm feeling good, and then I could just protect the finished paint where I'm leaning casings once it's had time to cure. No rain of note in the forecast for two weeks at least right now.

Quote:
Glad to read you're feeling better. Most ppl feel worse in the evening if they're sick with something - has to do with biorythms and cortisol production and whatnot. So if you really have something and it's not just exhaustion and/or exposure to dust and mouse droppings you might feel worse again in the evening. Only time will tell. I like the idea of you doing something easy today, bc you'll know by this evening if feeling sick was just temporary or the real deal.

Well I haven't done anything yet today. After that post I made a few phone calls and then I went to sleep again. I was up every 30 to 45 minutes or so, but it's after 3PM right now. I must have needed it.

My body aches a bit... mostly my back probably from sleeping so long. But the rest of the problems seem to be gone now. Just got that cobwebs in the head feeling after getting too much sleep right now.

Quote:
Sorry to read about your friend's dad. If he's still in hospital it must be serious. Just pass along my hopes that he'll be on the mend soon. And your friend... oy. Between his cars and his dad he's having a rough time. At least his car troubles are prollyonly temporary. The big positive step was getting that rental vacated, and you played a big part in getting it cleared out so much. At least there's that!

They discharged him late Friday night, but that's only because they dropped the ball on a test that they still wanted to do and are going to have him come back to do it. At this point we still don't know what the heart solution is going to be... Bypass surgery or rodding out the clogged artery. The one bit of good news is that they think the spots on his lung *could* be an infection. He's on some antibiotics right now and nobody should be freaking out about the worst case scenario until he gets re-checked. They've got him on some sort of life vest 24/7 right now. I think if times were better he'd still be in the hospital right now. But there's too many people and insurance doesn't want to pay for it anymore.

At least my friend's house should be smelling better soon. We didn't get to power washing the basement now that everything is out yet, but that should take the funk out of the basement after a few days of fan drying with the windows open. I could tell he's done a lot upstairs because the smell of ammonia from the cats that ruined the hardwood floors is gone.

He's got so much work ahead of him.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Sunday, September 25, 2022 11:18 PM

I'll check my email and if there is nothing there from my boss, I guess I can do what I intended tomorrow.

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Monday, September 26, 2022 8:56 AM

Feeling better-ish. Didn't have any problems sleeping last night even though I slept until late afternoon, so I obviously needed it.

I think I'll start today by sanding the mud on the walls and getting primer on the walls. We did some minor repairs to some of the ceiling tile that I'll hit with the brush while I have the primer out.

I doubt the one gallon of ceiling paint I have is going to be enough to finish that ceiling. Those tiles tend to suck the paint right up. And since I used all of my flat paint that was intended for ceilings on the shed I'll probably have to go out and buy more before that gets finished. As long as I get it done before painting the walls it's fine. I have some returns to the store now that I have my car back anyhow, and even though the paint isn't on sale right now the returns will cover it.

After primer and before I re-mud I'll either cut and install those boards up high on the far wall in the shed or try finishing the insulation on the inner wall in the shed. I hope to have all the insulation on the wall and ceiling done, the 7 boards cut and installed up high in between the studs on the far wall (and painted), and finish paint on the walls and ceiling in the porch done by the end of the week. All that will be left then is the jambs, casings and the eventual crown molding that will need to go up to cover the bad job they did on the ends of the ceiling tiles. I never sprang for any crown molding in the house because I'm good at cutting in and don't need it, but it's necessary out here.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Monday, September 26, 2022 9:17 AM

Well... It appears that my horribly energy inefficient furnace still works. That's nice.

Figured I'd better get her fired up for a test when I saw that the high on Wednesday is only 57 degrees. :(

We've still got a lot of mid-60's and low 70's in the next two weeks though, so we're not going to actually be using the furnace any time soon. My hard rule is no furnace until November 1st. It's a rule that is rarely broken.

Hopefully it gets broken this year though. I want the rest of the plebs to see how expensive heating is going to be this year in the weeks leading up to the election.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Monday, September 26, 2022 12:56 PM

Out for my walk in a bit. Call from my boss this morning about lunch. It will be happening at 1pm. Will meet her at the restaurant with another person. At least I will be able to get my chores done for today.

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Monday, September 26, 2022 6:29 PM

Back and in. All done for today.

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Monday, September 26, 2022 6:29 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Out for my walk in a bit. Call from my boss this morning about lunch. It will be happening at 1pm. Will meet her at the restaurant with another person. At least I will be able to get my chores done for today.

Free lunches taste the best.

Happy Birthday, Brenda.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Monday, September 26, 2022 6:32 PM

Well... the ONLY thing I did today was sand the walls down and clean up.

I really hate sanding. I'll have to let my friend know that I'd rather be swimming in mouse poop again than what I did today.

I'm not going to prime today. Don't want to push it after how I felt the last two days, even though I feel fine now. I'll just prime it tomorrow and put the mud up where it needs to go later in the day. At least the sanding I'll have to do for the 2nd round will be quick and easy.

Still some hours in the day left though. I think I'm going to round up the stuff I didn't need so I can return it for some store credit and pick up one or two things that I do need. Maybe do some grocery shopping while I'm out too.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Monday, September 26, 2022 11:27 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Out for my walk in a bit. Call from my boss this morning about lunch. It will be happening at 1pm. Will meet her at the restaurant with another person. At least I will be able to get my chores done for today.

Free lunches taste the best.

Happy Birthday, Brenda.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

They do. Thanks SIX. This was an early birthday lunch as my birthday is Thursday but they are busy that day.

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Tuesday, September 27, 2022 8:57 AM

Gross. It's 48 degrees out right now. Cold highs the next two days but it warms up a bit after that for a little while before winter follows.

My days of being able to leave my paint can in the garage overnight are coming to an end. I should be done with them before that happens though.

Got up early and was going to get a jump start on the primer, but at 48 degrees I think I'll wait it out for a little while. It will be 51 in an hour and 55 in two hours.

Got my returns back last night and bought another tube of watertite for the 6 boards I got to do the repairs to the upper-outer wall in the shed once they're installed. Freakin' cost $1 more than I'd been buying it for all summer (Thanks Joe*). But I did get 3 50packs of reusable cloths for $0.99 after rebate and four fiberglass furnace filters for $1.29 each... both deals I wasn't expecting to run into while I was there, so I'm still winning.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Tuesday, September 27, 2022 1:16 PM

Out for my walk on another beautiful September day. Suppose to be getting rain. Have to see if it arrives.

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Tuesday, September 27, 2022 4:41 PM

Back from my walk and I took myself out to lunch at a little Japanese place that I like. Teriyaki chicken rice bowl but too much even with me saying less rice and no miso soup. Have enough for supper tonight.

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Tuesday, September 27, 2022 4:49 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Sounds like a nice lunch. Happy early bday BRENDA!

You'd rather swim in mouse poop? Wow, you must REALLY hate sanding, SIX!

Really busy today.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

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Tuesday, September 27, 2022 9:31 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
You'd rather swim in mouse poop? Wow, you must REALLY hate sanding, SIX!

Yes. I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE sanding.

Unfortunately, there will be more, but it shouldn't be too much. I got the walls primed today and I'll mud the corners and the few other spots tomorrow.

I thought I'd have that done already, but I spent most of the day primering in between the ceiling tiles while cutting in at the top. I'm not even close to finished with that. My friend's dad said to just prime the damaged spots we fixed, but I told him about how dirty it was between the tiles. He said there's nothing I can do about that. He doesn't know who he's talking to though. I'm going to paint that entire ceiling by hand 3 times before I'm finished and it will look perfect.

But the walls are primed. And it looks AWESOME. I'm on the verge of adding another room to my house after all these years and by the time I'm finished it will probably be the best room in the house.

--------------------------------------------------

Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus

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Tuesday, September 27, 2022 11:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Sounds like a nice lunch. Happy early bday BRENDA!

Really busy today.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

It was a good lunch.

Don't over do it SIG.

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