And it looks great! It is the shortest she has ever had it and I think she chose wisely! 
She says it is super easy to do each day, so now maybe she won’t make us late everywhere! 
I think though if she decides to go any shorter in the future I will think I am married to Sinead O’Connor 
Here is the camera phone pic that she sent to me while I was out of town for work this week. Let her know what you think by commenting below…
- peeps
I sent in the last payment for Tasha’s car yesterday! First time in 8 years we won’t have 2 car payments! Woohoo!!!!
- peeps
Or is the new Eminem CD “Relapse” just lame? I gave it 2 listens on the flight to Tucson and was thoroughly unimpressed. Out of 20 tracks only 4 were somewhat worthwhile. It sounds like he based the tone of most of his songs off the worst songs from his last 2 albums. Seriously, about 12 tracks are done in a stupid voice and there are about 4 skits. I sure wish rock music would have some worthwhile artists come around so I didn’t have to listen to mediocre hip-hop…
And since I can’t stand radio, I get very little exposure to new tunes aside from hunting down new albums from artists I have previously enjoyed. Taking music recommendations now…post ‘em up in the comments below.
-peeps
…and I still didn’t fix the problem. Who knew Tarantino’s methods were good for fixing broken mechanical things, not just for torture?
My shifter on the Goat had a weird rattle to it, so yesterday I decided I would take it apart to see if I could track down the rattle. To get at the shifter, there are 4 nuts underneath the car above the transmission that hold the rubber boot that fits over the shifter mechanism to the floor. I was able to get to 3 of them without much hassle but the 4th was just out of reach. I ended up being able to get the boot out without the 4th nut off, so all was good for now. I saw some debris sitting in the old pivot point for the stock shifter and thought that may have been the cause of the rattle. I got all of it cleared away and then noticed the handle of my shifter had a bit of play in the lower 2 bolts, so I decided I would try to re-tighten them. It was already pretty tight, so that didn’t help. Since there was still some play in it, I decided I would take the bolts out and replace them. As I was taking the 1st of 2 out I started to struggle due to the red loctite we had used when installing the shifter since these bolts are notorious for coming loose. To get ssome more leverage, I got out my breaker bar to really show it who was boss and as I tried to turn it, it gave and it sheared right off! I took the rest of the shifter apart so I could work on it outside the car and tried to get the sheared off bolt out with some vise-grips on the threaded portion that was still protruding out of the threaded handle. All that did was tear up that portion of the bolt. By this time it was time to head out to Jason’ party for swimming, eating, and drinking which I figured would be a nice escape after a frustrating day. After showing all the GTO guys at the party the handle, they all just said it would come out with a bit of heat to break the hold of the red loctite.
So after a night of chillin’, I went out to the store to get a torch. After wrestling with it for about 30 minutes using the torch and the vise-grips, I was FINALLY able to get the damn thing out. Now that I could get the handle back together, I had to figure out how to get that pesky 4th nut for the boot ring removed. After battling claustrophobia and frustration from trying to work in close quaters under the car with my arm and hand in tight spaces, I begged Tasha to get on some grubby clothes and see if she could snake her arm and hand up there with a wrench to get it out. Sure enough, she was just itty bitty enough to get the job done.
With that out of the way, I got it all back together enough to drive it but still troubleshoot, got Tasha to get the 4 nuts back on, and was ready to take it for a drive to see if the rattle that started this whole ordeal was gone. After a quick drive down the road, I realized I had gone through all that for nothing…it was still there! So I got Tasha in the passenger seat to listen and feel for the rattle while I drove. Sure enough, it is the washers on the other 2 bolts that seem to be loose despite the bolts holding the handle nice and tight. Those guys are red loctited in also, so I just gave up. I put it all back together to tackle another day. Now that I know to just “go to work on the holmes here with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch” I should have a less eventful fix the next time around…
Now for my remaining 3 hours of defensive driving that I had planned to start this morning…only 6 days left to finish it and I am out of town for 3 of those!
- peeps
My flight to Seattle on Sunday was delayed due to mechanical problems. I had already chosen the latest flight from DFW since we were in Austin for the weekend. I was scheduled to arrive in Seattle at 11:15p. After a late arrival of the inbound plane and a mechanical inspection that removed our scheduled aircraft from service, I finally arrive in Seattle by 12:45a. My rental car reservation was canceled due to my flight delay and I waited for 15 minutes for the Hertz rep who had apparently taken a “lunch” break. After getting the car and checking in at the hotel, I settled into my room at about 1:30am. I suspect I got to sleep around 2am for a 6am alarm and 7am breakfast with colleagues and a day of meetings at a jobsite.
The next night I settled into bed around 10pm hoping for a restful night. The alarm was again set for 6am so I could arrive to the jobsite early and get all my work done before catching my afternoon flight. Through the night I think I woke up on average about every 20 minutes!!!! I’m not exactly sure what it was other than maybe a paranoia that I would miss my alarm since all my colleagues were leaving that morning leaving me as the only one heading to the jobsite that day. I managed to get through the day OK but I had to drag myself to the plane…where I am typing this during airplane dinner a questionable cheeseburger…yeah, I dunno either!
I requested an upgrade for the trip home after determining on the flight to Seattle that 4 hours and 20 minutes is beyond my economy seat threshold (yes, even exit row due to the shorter seat length resulting in weird thigh support) when I am tired and trying to sleep on the plane which is normally next to impossible anyways for me. I find the larger comfy seat and the free cocktails and wine in first do the trick to calm me enough for some sleep
On a better note, we went to a place called Salty’s on Monday night for dinner and had some awesome NW food and wine. The weather was amazing!!!
Well enough with my adventures in travel….time for a nap!
-peeps