Okay, so it's not a Hooptie (hoopty?) mobile, as only one girl has ever been in it since I've owned my current V Dub, and she was my best friend's girl, so that doesn't really count. Go figure, as soon as I started posting about missing my VW, a VW commercial came on the television :(
My V Dub has it's heart ripped out right now, and some of it's arteries too. On the plus side, I was able to get the price down from nearly $2,000 for the repair it needs, to much closer to $1,000. Still a ridiculous cost for just a clutch (well it's actually the flywheel and the throw-out bearing. Not that anybody but me, and any random VW enthusiasts, or gear heads, know what the throw-out bearing, or a flywheel is, but they are very important to a manual car)!!! But I need my car. I really really need my car. No public trans for me. Even though one of my bosses tells me that the train stops at the station near my work 3 times before he leaves for work himself. Guess what, not from where I live. Maybe if I moved back to Cook County, specifically Chi Town, I could catch an early train and get to work on time. However, here in Libertyville, Metra doesn't think the upper crust folk need to start work at 7 a.m.. Guess what Metra? I share the road, sometimes at 6:30 a.m., and sometimes at 7 a.m., with thousands of other people coming from this here town, heading south!!!
In other news, it's raining, and that makes me feel a bit better. Hey Booger Brain, the only reason your text depressed me even more than I already was last night, is because it wasn't raining here at all, and I miss having a dog very very much (or immensely if you'd like)! I miss my grill too, but at least I can go downstairs, to storage, and look at my grill, pet it, scratch it behind the ears, and watch it chase it's own tail...oh wait, those are dog things, not grill things. But I wouldn't mind throwing it a bone now and again, with some muscle still connected to it of course. Oh fine, flesh. Not good enough? Okay then, with some meat still connected to the bone. What would be even better would be having 2 bones to throw my grills way, because that would mean that I once again have somebody else to cook for! But alas, my grill just sits there in the dark, locked away, like a dog at the pound :(
Now I'm sad, lonely AND hungry. Damn. One of these days I will have something good to post about, I promise! I just don't have a time line for you guys and gals. Oh, wait, I do have something to look forward to right now. Easter weekend! Not so much for that holiday, but I will be spending it with my family up north, eating some wonderful foods, and laughing (and maybe even singing and laughing, and generally being goofy!), and sharing life with my fam and a friend or two! Yay! Oh, and it is the same weekend as my parents anniversary, and my sister's birth anniversary (aka, birthday)! So that's holidayish enough for me!
I think I'll end it here, while I've got a smile in my mind.
Peace out y'all, and good music and food to all! I wish I could provide it for everyone, but I've gotta work on that second half for a bit before I can, he he he...
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Saturday, 21 March 2009
Nothing Came to Mind
Hey y'all
For starters, I haven't really needed to use the term "y'all" when typing a blog post before. Maybe now that will change though.
Today started out not all that different than a whole lot of days have started in the past. I woke up feeling well, and a little bit hungry. However, once again, on the weekend between pay days, I didn't have any money to go grocery shopping. However, I did, and still do, have cereal and milk. No juice though (kinda like Smokey), but food is food, regardless of what you have to drink. So I had a bowl of cereal. While masticating, I remembered something I'd thought about last night, trying to find a way to get the back door of my old work van to open from the exterior again. You see, that van has seen a lot of stuff in it's existence, much like me, and about 6 months ago the door stopped opening by the exterior handle. Meaning that this last Friday, while I was filling in for one of my drivers (who is in the middle of the desert, that lucky s.o.b), I had to contort myself to get to the back of the van to open the door from the inside. This is not good for my back.
If you're a newbie to this blog, I have a bad spine, as it's twisted a bit, and I have a couple pinched nerves and a tailbone that fuses a bit more everyday.
Anyway, I went to work, and took a really close look at the release cable in the back door of the van. I had brought my full tool box with me, and I came up with an idea to get the door to work. I realized that the cable that releases the latch was intact, but that it lacked the tension to do it's job, when you pulled on the exterior handle. So I took a wall anchor, and modified it in such a way that it would create the needed tension. It worked! For a few pulls anyway. Then the lock failed, and I couldn't get the door to open from either side. After driving home again, and doing a lot of other things, including trying to get some money for food, it hit me. I headed back to work, but this time with a dremel tool and a washer. I did my thing, and it worked! The door now open from the outside, without the lock failing!!! I was ecstatic!!! Then, the kind of luck I have kicked in. I got back into my car to drive home, and the clutch started acting funky. It got worse and worse as I approached my apartment. Crap, I need a new clutch. So I called the dealership.
As it turns out, my car isn't all that standard, and to replace the clutch, I have to replace the entire transmission! Crap!!! Stupid collector edition cars! I didn't know that it was a collector's edition when I got the car, but I've been fully aware for a while now, but still, I didn't expect the clutch would be any different than any other 5-speed I've owned before. It turns out that it'll cost $1,900 to fix. I don't have that kinda money. I struggle to get by paycheck to paycheck. I've lived alone for a few years now, and I can't save any money because it all goes out the door as soon as I get payed. So now I'm left with quite the quandary. I can't afford to fix my car, taking public transportation to work is not an option for me (I found that out a couple of years ago, and it hasn't changed), I will lose my job if I can't get there, and I have so many bills that a pay cut will ruin me. I don't know what to do! I hate this feeling!
Okay. As I've written many times before (when I thought more people than my Mom and Sister were reading this blog), if you read this whole post you deserve an award! As most people just don't have the attention span to get through that many words in one sitting. That's all for now. Hopefully I'll have more cheery things to post in the next couple of days!
Good music for all, and good eating too! Peace out y'all!
For starters, I haven't really needed to use the term "y'all" when typing a blog post before. Maybe now that will change though.
Today started out not all that different than a whole lot of days have started in the past. I woke up feeling well, and a little bit hungry. However, once again, on the weekend between pay days, I didn't have any money to go grocery shopping. However, I did, and still do, have cereal and milk. No juice though (kinda like Smokey), but food is food, regardless of what you have to drink. So I had a bowl of cereal. While masticating, I remembered something I'd thought about last night, trying to find a way to get the back door of my old work van to open from the exterior again. You see, that van has seen a lot of stuff in it's existence, much like me, and about 6 months ago the door stopped opening by the exterior handle. Meaning that this last Friday, while I was filling in for one of my drivers (who is in the middle of the desert, that lucky s.o.b), I had to contort myself to get to the back of the van to open the door from the inside. This is not good for my back.
If you're a newbie to this blog, I have a bad spine, as it's twisted a bit, and I have a couple pinched nerves and a tailbone that fuses a bit more everyday.
Anyway, I went to work, and took a really close look at the release cable in the back door of the van. I had brought my full tool box with me, and I came up with an idea to get the door to work. I realized that the cable that releases the latch was intact, but that it lacked the tension to do it's job, when you pulled on the exterior handle. So I took a wall anchor, and modified it in such a way that it would create the needed tension. It worked! For a few pulls anyway. Then the lock failed, and I couldn't get the door to open from either side. After driving home again, and doing a lot of other things, including trying to get some money for food, it hit me. I headed back to work, but this time with a dremel tool and a washer. I did my thing, and it worked! The door now open from the outside, without the lock failing!!! I was ecstatic!!! Then, the kind of luck I have kicked in. I got back into my car to drive home, and the clutch started acting funky. It got worse and worse as I approached my apartment. Crap, I need a new clutch. So I called the dealership.
As it turns out, my car isn't all that standard, and to replace the clutch, I have to replace the entire transmission! Crap!!! Stupid collector edition cars! I didn't know that it was a collector's edition when I got the car, but I've been fully aware for a while now, but still, I didn't expect the clutch would be any different than any other 5-speed I've owned before. It turns out that it'll cost $1,900 to fix. I don't have that kinda money. I struggle to get by paycheck to paycheck. I've lived alone for a few years now, and I can't save any money because it all goes out the door as soon as I get payed. So now I'm left with quite the quandary. I can't afford to fix my car, taking public transportation to work is not an option for me (I found that out a couple of years ago, and it hasn't changed), I will lose my job if I can't get there, and I have so many bills that a pay cut will ruin me. I don't know what to do! I hate this feeling!
Okay. As I've written many times before (when I thought more people than my Mom and Sister were reading this blog), if you read this whole post you deserve an award! As most people just don't have the attention span to get through that many words in one sitting. That's all for now. Hopefully I'll have more cheery things to post in the next couple of days!
Good music for all, and good eating too! Peace out y'all!
Friday, 13 March 2009
My Own Friday Night
As most of you know, well the only two readers I actually know read my blog, I quit my job at Dominos tonight (I really hate that every spell check thinks I'm misspelling Dominos, they all want me add an apostrophe!). It was a long time coming, and before Monica was transferred I talked about it. So in my own rationalizing of it, I gave way more than a two week notice. Today was the day though, I just couldn't take it anymore. No tips and low pay makes Dave go...something..something... (Ahh, the Simpson's)...
I digress. It is also true that I am tired of posting this blog. I talk to the only two people I think read it anyway! If I don't get more than 13 different people to post a comment, any comment, on this random blog session in one month from now, I will stop posting anything here. Kinda pointless to keep it up when I tend to tell my family what I've posted before they read it anyway. Ya know?
Lisa, I hope you got the song I sent you, and that you like it. I have a strange feeling I may have sent it to you a couple of years ago... If so, I hope you still like the song!
Mom, sorry I swore so much when we talked earlier!
Peace out, and good music for all!
I digress. It is also true that I am tired of posting this blog. I talk to the only two people I think read it anyway! If I don't get more than 13 different people to post a comment, any comment, on this random blog session in one month from now, I will stop posting anything here. Kinda pointless to keep it up when I tend to tell my family what I've posted before they read it anyway. Ya know?
Lisa, I hope you got the song I sent you, and that you like it. I have a strange feeling I may have sent it to you a couple of years ago... If so, I hope you still like the song!
Mom, sorry I swore so much when we talked earlier!
Peace out, and good music for all!
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Monday Blues and Late Tuesdays
Yesterday was Monday, and it went by like most Mondays do. However, when I left work, I headed over to Dominos, to pick up my paycheck. My heart was lifted a bit when I saw Monica's car in the parking lot. I went in and she was up front, wearing no hat. It's a rare thing for me to see her without her Dominos hat, but it was nice to see her red hair laying unencumbered. She asked me why I was still standing around after my check was handed to me by somebody else. Then she a got a glint in her eye, and she asked if I was hanging around so we could talk one last time before she heads up the Gurnee store. I let the corner of my mouth turn up slightly, and said "Yes, that is indeed why." Then she smiled, and we got to talking, sharing stories with each other that we hadn't ever brought up before together. After about half an hour, she had to get going, and I needed to head to the bank, so we left together, but got into our separate cars, and turned right. As soon as she had started her car, my heart sank again. That was one of the last few times I will probably ever see her again. Then, as I was waiting in the bank drive through, I started thinking about how odd it is to lose contact with both the red heads in my life, so close to each other. April, being the other one, was a bit of a punch to the gut, but we only talked online. Monica, however, I got to chill with, so in a way it is kinda harder to know that friendship is almost gone. Needless to say, I was a bit saddened by this, and still am today. However the Georges came over for a couple hours last night, so that was cool.
After they left, I watched the episode of House that I had recorded earlier, listened to some music, made what I believe will be my final "status" comment on Facebook, and then went to bed at the reasonable hour of 11 p.m.. Yesterday, I was feeling kinda crappy, presumably from some cashews I had picked up at Aldi on Sunday. I didn't drink any more than usual last night, or stay up later than usual, but somehow I managed to sleep right through an hour and a half of WGN Radio blasting right next to my head, and my phones alarms, and my Mom calling me. I was finally awakened by my boss Joe calling me at 8:11 this morning, of crap!!! I hate being late, really really really hate being late. I am rarely ever late to work in the morning, but I still beat myself up over it when I am. I still feel guilty, even though I am home from work now. I'm wondering if my phone is going to ring in about an hour, asking me if I'm coming in to drive tonight. My answer will be no, like it was last week. However I did check the schedule when i stopped at Dominos yesterday, and nobody had been written in for tonight. The normal driver had his license suspended because he forgot to pay a ticket. Oops. However, feeling kinda depressed and lonely, I have started drinking, so I wouldn't be willing to drive anyway, even though I haven't even finished one beer yet. Oh well, it's not like I plan on working there for much longer anyway, so nanner nanner nanner, ha!
Sometimes I hate when I get out of work at 3 p.m., as it tends to spark a daily depression. Most days, as soon as I get home, and close my apartment door, I know that I can expect not hearing from anybody at all until the next day. Which is fine every once in a while, but not so much when it's that way 365 (or 366) days a year, for 3 years. It's enough to make me a bit crazy, and it leads me to post super long blogs, even though I'm still pretty sure I can count the number of people that read this using only half the fingers on one hand. Oh well, whatever, that's what music is for. YAY MUSIC!!! On that cheery note, I'll shut up now, for a while anyway.
Peace out y'all!
After they left, I watched the episode of House that I had recorded earlier, listened to some music, made what I believe will be my final "status" comment on Facebook, and then went to bed at the reasonable hour of 11 p.m.. Yesterday, I was feeling kinda crappy, presumably from some cashews I had picked up at Aldi on Sunday. I didn't drink any more than usual last night, or stay up later than usual, but somehow I managed to sleep right through an hour and a half of WGN Radio blasting right next to my head, and my phones alarms, and my Mom calling me. I was finally awakened by my boss Joe calling me at 8:11 this morning, of crap!!! I hate being late, really really really hate being late. I am rarely ever late to work in the morning, but I still beat myself up over it when I am. I still feel guilty, even though I am home from work now. I'm wondering if my phone is going to ring in about an hour, asking me if I'm coming in to drive tonight. My answer will be no, like it was last week. However I did check the schedule when i stopped at Dominos yesterday, and nobody had been written in for tonight. The normal driver had his license suspended because he forgot to pay a ticket. Oops. However, feeling kinda depressed and lonely, I have started drinking, so I wouldn't be willing to drive anyway, even though I haven't even finished one beer yet. Oh well, it's not like I plan on working there for much longer anyway, so nanner nanner nanner, ha!
Sometimes I hate when I get out of work at 3 p.m., as it tends to spark a daily depression. Most days, as soon as I get home, and close my apartment door, I know that I can expect not hearing from anybody at all until the next day. Which is fine every once in a while, but not so much when it's that way 365 (or 366) days a year, for 3 years. It's enough to make me a bit crazy, and it leads me to post super long blogs, even though I'm still pretty sure I can count the number of people that read this using only half the fingers on one hand. Oh well, whatever, that's what music is for. YAY MUSIC!!! On that cheery note, I'll shut up now, for a while anyway.
Peace out y'all!
Saturday, 7 March 2009
$%&@!!!
Arrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here it is Saturday night, and once again between Thur, Fri and tonight I didn't even come close to clearing $100 in tips. I really need to find a new place to deliver for. Between the shitty tips, and the complete bullshit rules there are at Dominos, I almost walked off the job tonight. I got dicked by my new manager misquoting the price of an order that I delivered, so I didn't get a tip, AND I lost the part of the delivery charge that I get! But here's the one good story i have from tonight. A few stops after the one I lost money on, I arrived at a new customer's house. A kid answered the door, and I handed him the pizzas and told him the total, he said he would go get the money from his mom. While I was waiting, his little brother came to the door. He told me he had a dollar for me. He took his Velcro wallet out of his pocket, and after struggling a bit to get it open, he pulled out the one dollar he had in it and tried handing it to me. I told him that he should hold on to his money, but he still kept holding it out for me to take. Not being one to take money from kids, I tried protesting again. But he firmly held out the dollar bills, looked me dead in the eyes and said in a calm manner "I don't want it!" So I took it, figuring it was my "tip", and still feeling bad for taking it, he turned to walk away, but then turned back to me and said "Thank you!", then smiled at me, and then walked away. His mom did tip me, a lousy $0.78, but that kid made up for it. However I will be trying to find a new place to deliver for, as I got some very sad news yesterday. Monica is being transferred to the Gurnee location, so tonight was the last time I will see her. It was very sad for me, I feel like I'm losing a friend. When she was leaving tonight, I told her it was good knowing her, and she just kinda blew it off and said goodbye. Ouch. It's almost like not having April to talk to, but not quite, well kinda, because at least I got to actually physically speak with, and see Monica. But no longer, damn. So I will be searching for a new job, and hopefully i can hand back my stupid hat and stupid shirt, and tell Domino's to shove them somewhere rather uncomfortable ("like the back of a Volkswagen?", hee hee, thankyou Mallrats). Until then, I will grit my teeth, and suck it up like an adult. Hating every moment of it. On that note, I am going to imbibe some beer, tok some wacky green stuff, listen to some music, and try to relax a bit before what I hope is a proper lazy Sunday.
Peace out y'all, and I hope you are all doing well.
P.S. April, will I ever get to talk with you again? 12 years was a long time to wait, and I really hope it isn't another 12 years until we talk again. I hope things are going better for you!
Here it is Saturday night, and once again between Thur, Fri and tonight I didn't even come close to clearing $100 in tips. I really need to find a new place to deliver for. Between the shitty tips, and the complete bullshit rules there are at Dominos, I almost walked off the job tonight. I got dicked by my new manager misquoting the price of an order that I delivered, so I didn't get a tip, AND I lost the part of the delivery charge that I get! But here's the one good story i have from tonight. A few stops after the one I lost money on, I arrived at a new customer's house. A kid answered the door, and I handed him the pizzas and told him the total, he said he would go get the money from his mom. While I was waiting, his little brother came to the door. He told me he had a dollar for me. He took his Velcro wallet out of his pocket, and after struggling a bit to get it open, he pulled out the one dollar he had in it and tried handing it to me. I told him that he should hold on to his money, but he still kept holding it out for me to take. Not being one to take money from kids, I tried protesting again. But he firmly held out the dollar bills, looked me dead in the eyes and said in a calm manner "I don't want it!" So I took it, figuring it was my "tip", and still feeling bad for taking it, he turned to walk away, but then turned back to me and said "Thank you!", then smiled at me, and then walked away. His mom did tip me, a lousy $0.78, but that kid made up for it. However I will be trying to find a new place to deliver for, as I got some very sad news yesterday. Monica is being transferred to the Gurnee location, so tonight was the last time I will see her. It was very sad for me, I feel like I'm losing a friend. When she was leaving tonight, I told her it was good knowing her, and she just kinda blew it off and said goodbye. Ouch. It's almost like not having April to talk to, but not quite, well kinda, because at least I got to actually physically speak with, and see Monica. But no longer, damn. So I will be searching for a new job, and hopefully i can hand back my stupid hat and stupid shirt, and tell Domino's to shove them somewhere rather uncomfortable ("like the back of a Volkswagen?", hee hee, thankyou Mallrats). Until then, I will grit my teeth, and suck it up like an adult. Hating every moment of it. On that note, I am going to imbibe some beer, tok some wacky green stuff, listen to some music, and try to relax a bit before what I hope is a proper lazy Sunday.
Peace out y'all, and I hope you are all doing well.
P.S. April, will I ever get to talk with you again? 12 years was a long time to wait, and I really hope it isn't another 12 years until we talk again. I hope things are going better for you!
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Used Music Store Shortage
Hello again, didn't think I'd be blogging twice today, but here I am anyway.
I went out for my drive a few minutes after my previous post, in a search for some "new" music. Okay, so it came out in 2006, but I have not heard anything by the UK band The Heavy. At least not that I'm aware of. I grabbed my latest phone book provided by some guy who can fit into an above counter cabinet, and looked up used music stores. I found one in Lake Zurich, Yahoo Local(ed) it, and it came up with an immediate link with a map to get there. My mistake was in not dialing the digits listed before embarking. I got out to Lake Zurich in pretty good time thanks to my GTI (of course obeying the Rules of the Road to the letter), only to discover that in the bustling shopping district at Rtes 22 and 12, that particular store was gone. And it's not alone, the nearest one I can find, online anyway, is in Hoffman Estates, and if memory serves me, I'm pretty sure that one is gone as well. The internet may be great for many things, but it has killed a little thing called music retail shops. The kind of place where you can actually drive to in your car, or walk to if it's close enough. Open a door, interact with actual humans, and most likely find the album you want, or at least not leave empty handed. Not the point and click instant gratification crap called ITunes, or Napster, or any of the torrents and whatnot. I know that WAV files are damn near close to Master CD quality, but there is something about having a disc (or for you old true audiophiles, vinyl) that you can handle, and art work that you can hold, and all the info about everything that went into making the album, that you just don't get when you download it. And I dare to say, that CDs still sound better than the same album does on my IPod. So the internet has killed the jobs of people who really love music as much as me, and most of you! Damnit!!! I finally broke down and tried going to the mall, but in such a bad economy, I was surprised to find absolutely no available parking spot. That was enough, I'd had it. Feeling somewhat defeated and deflated, i went to get some food, and have since returned home. I'm now listening to some cds I already have, and doing some laundry, and feeling quite content about that. I still want to find a used music store though! Maybe tomorrow...
Until then, I hope you've all had a peachy keen weekend, and I will talk with some of you later (or all two of you as the case may well be).
Oh, and April, if you happen to read this at any time, I hope you are doing better, and that you've laughed at least once today.
Peace out y'all
I went out for my drive a few minutes after my previous post, in a search for some "new" music. Okay, so it came out in 2006, but I have not heard anything by the UK band The Heavy. At least not that I'm aware of. I grabbed my latest phone book provided by some guy who can fit into an above counter cabinet, and looked up used music stores. I found one in Lake Zurich, Yahoo Local(ed) it, and it came up with an immediate link with a map to get there. My mistake was in not dialing the digits listed before embarking. I got out to Lake Zurich in pretty good time thanks to my GTI (of course obeying the Rules of the Road to the letter), only to discover that in the bustling shopping district at Rtes 22 and 12, that particular store was gone. And it's not alone, the nearest one I can find, online anyway, is in Hoffman Estates, and if memory serves me, I'm pretty sure that one is gone as well. The internet may be great for many things, but it has killed a little thing called music retail shops. The kind of place where you can actually drive to in your car, or walk to if it's close enough. Open a door, interact with actual humans, and most likely find the album you want, or at least not leave empty handed. Not the point and click instant gratification crap called ITunes, or Napster, or any of the torrents and whatnot. I know that WAV files are damn near close to Master CD quality, but there is something about having a disc (or for you old true audiophiles, vinyl) that you can handle, and art work that you can hold, and all the info about everything that went into making the album, that you just don't get when you download it. And I dare to say, that CDs still sound better than the same album does on my IPod. So the internet has killed the jobs of people who really love music as much as me, and most of you! Damnit!!! I finally broke down and tried going to the mall, but in such a bad economy, I was surprised to find absolutely no available parking spot. That was enough, I'd had it. Feeling somewhat defeated and deflated, i went to get some food, and have since returned home. I'm now listening to some cds I already have, and doing some laundry, and feeling quite content about that. I still want to find a used music store though! Maybe tomorrow...
Until then, I hope you've all had a peachy keen weekend, and I will talk with some of you later (or all two of you as the case may well be).
Oh, and April, if you happen to read this at any time, I hope you are doing better, and that you've laughed at least once today.
Peace out y'all
Why I Like Driving My Car
For me, on most mornings, this is the first thing I see when I look out my bedroom window. When the sun is already up anyway. (I can pick out that badge with only moonlight :) )
It almost looks like it's already driving. Luckily however it's not, because if it were I'd have a car through my bedroom wall. Which is rarely a good thing.
I would go on, but I think I'm going to go for a drive.
Happy Lazy Sunday to all!
It almost looks like it wants to be driven.
It almost looks like it's already driving. Luckily however it's not, because if it were I'd have a car through my bedroom wall. Which is rarely a good thing.
I would go on, but I think I'm going to go for a drive.
Happy Lazy Sunday to all!
It almost looks like it wants to be driven.
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