Thursday, October 08, 2015

Birthday. Suck.

Lots of people love their birthday. They have lots of fun, they party, they go around smiling all day. Not me. Oh I know, I don't go around smiling any day. But I look forward to birthdays kinda like people look forward to colonoscopies. And root canals. 

Why? Maybe I'm a grumpy bastard, maybe I expect too much. This year I didn't expect anything, and almost got less. If it weren't for the passenger that gave me a rice krispy bar, the day would have totally sucked. 

I can think of a few birthdays that were good. I recall one year riding my motorcycle all around, and then going to dinner with some friends. That was nice...Val had arranged a good group. I think I remember our first year I surprised her by showing up, we went to the rochesterfest parade.

I only remember having one bday party growing up, had it at Bibbons Park. I don't remember who was there, but I do remember who didn't come. This should have been a clue for the rest of my life. 

Focus on the bad, disregard the good.

I remember having to share my bday with my cousin, since she had the misfortune of being born the same day. Must have been kind of like being twins, even though she was several years older. What the fuck is the fun of holding someone down and tickling them? It's goddamn torture, is what it is. Thanks a lot you fucking cousins.

I turned 21, went to Casey's and bought a 6pack of beer. Went to where Dad worked, and gave him one. He says "oh, is it your bday?" 

I turned 30, had to clean a fridge at the apt complex. It had been w/o power for 3 weeks, full of what used to be food. No hot water. The manager says "why don't you just move it to the office and plug it in, you can't throw away her property". 

what a fucking idiot

Facebook is great, though, huh? More than 100 people have sent a happy birthday greeting. I think a lot of them are sincere, too. Since I send almost everyone on my friends list one, I kinda wonder if it's just retribution. Half of them say "enjoy the day", kind like a command. Maybe that's the problem...I tend to do the opposite if possible. Sure as hell managed that today. 

Maybe I should take the day off and do whatever I want to do. The problem is that I cannot do what I want to do. And I'm not going to talk about that right now.


I wrote this on my birthday, but didn't post it. I don't remember why, probably because I'd been drinking heavily. Why post it now? Ah, WTF. 




Wednesday, October 07, 2015

94 F150 update

F150 update. Or getting ready for winter again. 

Yes, I do believe I remember saying a few years ago I'm not sure how long this thing will last. Well, I might or might not have mentioned that in January 2014, I bought a Subaru, so the poor old rusty pickup doesn't get much action any more....and it seemed to kinda like that.  

Did I mention I got a couple more jobs? Yeah, in January. So anyway, in February I had to work 2 or 3 of them on the same day, which means I needed one car to go north and the other to go south. Cold day. holy hell.....and the pickup didn't start to go north to the bus barn, so I put the charger on it. 

Cut me some slack, ok? The battery is old. (Dec 2007)I had not started it for about a month or 6 weeks. But 3 hours on the charger had it going. I had to do this 2 job thing for about 2 weeks, and mid way thru the 2nd week, this happened: 





That is a front wheel brake line. I wound up replacing all the brake lines on the front of the pickup, then couldn't get the bleeder screws loose to bleed them. I hired CSC, the towing and repair shop across the street to take care of it, which they did for $40.

In August, I see a puddle under the poor pickup....power steering oil. I don't have time to fix it, so I toss the keys to CSC again, and they guy replaces one hose. BTW, there are 2 hoses, and they are the same age. I'm not sure why he didn't put on both. Because it's leaking again, or still. 

Anyway, the point is I was going to change the oil, which I have not done for 2 years, because I've only driven it about 1700 miles in those 2 years. I plan to replace the wiper blades, fill the transmission and check the differential. I also plan to hook up a battery tender to it, so I can keep the battery charged, since it's still old. 

Cause when I need it.....I NEED it. 

edit and update again. LOL. Oil changed, transmission checked, winter air installed in the tires, including the spare, coolant topped off (where does that stuff go?) and windshield washer juice filled. 

I know, the pic kind of doesn't really show what is going on. that plastic tab broke off the reservoir, it holds that side of the tank to the pickup. I wrapped a long wire around the tank and gave it some twists to hold it tight. It's not a critical thing. 

I generally buy oil at fleet farm, in the 2 gallon jug. I did some math once and found it's pretty much the same price to buy it that way vs the 5 gallon bucket, and much easier. Easier still, but more wasteful is the quarts, or a 4 or 5 qt jug, but the cost is not the same....usually by the qt is the most expensive option, and then you have all those little bottles hanging around. 

I have bought oil for my motorcycle by the 5 gallon bucket, because there's been a great rebate on it. I'll pour a gallon from the bucket into a gallon jug, on the bench. I'm sure there's an easier way, and maybe I should look for a pump to install in the bucket. then I can just take the bucket to the bike, pump it full, be done with it, get rid of the gallon jugs. Hmmmmmmmm