Tires pt. 1

Replacing tires on the family car was simpler when I was a kid. My dad always bought used cars. I don't think my dad ever replaced tires. His car would cease to function after various repairs and he'd replace THE ENTIRE CAR.

I'm not kidding. I don't recall him ever getting anything replaced on the cars so much but fixed with junk parts. I don't think he had the car's oil changed regularly either. I know he was a regular customer of mechanic Ray Crowe who owned a junkyard of cars which was Ray's inventory of parts.

My folks borrowed money off me when was I maybe 10 or 11. I forget what needed done, but it was engine related and cost more than $200. They refused to pay me back for a long time. They opened a savings account for me with the money they owed. 

Not sure how I accumulated $200 back then. I didn't spend money freely.

I think about my dad. I wish he were around still so I could ask dumb questions about why the heck he did stupid things.

Is it normal to buy a set of 4 tires whenever the life of tire is deemed up, or do most people replace individual tires when they cease to work?

Back in the day, you could buy a functioning car for the current price of a set tires. Granted it was back in '93 or '94, my dad bought a '85 Chevy Nova that had 250k miles on it for $900. 

My Passat's tires are generally quoted at $750 by Tire Discounters and Grismer.

I'm not thrilled with past experiences at TD nor Grismer, so I am trying Sam's Club.

I think today was Tuesday

Officially been home... 2 weeks and started my 3rd, I think.

I'm completely done doing the bathroom. I put the sink and mirror back today.

It's tiny, but it's very nice.

I wasn't thrilled about screwing the sink into the wall, but given I had one inch tiles I screwed through the grout lines easily.

Started to clean up my garage. It's been my work space for sawing and such. I think I used every tool set I own during this project, so I had everything thrown about the carhole.

I really don't throw out anything I could use someday, so I hauled bunch of odd things into my barn/shed in addition to my saws. I still have to put my tool boxes/cases away, but I have random pieces misplaced that I am trying to sort back into the proper set.

My garage has been a mess for a while. I need to organize it.  The barn needs to be cleaned up as well.

Regardless, I still need to make room for a car to fit inside the garage. Especially, since we had breaks and shocks done for the Passat today.

bye-bye Sebring

Being stranded at Kroger parking lot last week made me decide to part ways with the car that brought my oldest two home from the hospital. Plates expire soon, so took it to Carmax for a quick appraisal. Had an amount set as fair to sell. The appraisal was fair and we sold to Carmax.

after busy weekend

Aside from heading into work, making dinner, and scheduling an appointment for our recently purchased vehicle, I didn't accomplish much. Didn't really try. I fed the kids other meals, but I forget myself once.
Never thought I would enjoy driving but the Passat changed that.

sentimental

Bittersweet feeling of getting a car off a dealership lot and parting with another.
Neon was my first car, technically. Now it's not mine. I killed another Neon that was near and dear to J. I guess I understand some of her feelings better.
Actually learned a couple things about J, but I should have known anyway. I guess just hearing her say aloud the fact of why she's antichurch explained why we are together.
J is too perfect a match for me it seems. She can't control certain elements of her being like curly hair or paleness, but she doesn't wear  eye makeup or have a tattoo, which would look silly on her.
So much about J she keeps to herself. I probably talk too much, hence she knows me so well. I think my favorite birthday present from her was my Powerpuff Girls cake.  Oddly, I had never watched the show before but owned a Buttercup pencil sharpener.
As I type,  I see two months from now I'll be 36 which means my brother is now 39. He will get a text since he won't get his card where he's currently.

misc thoughts

Well, I did the three things I had hoped to accomplish before heading to work and some. Finished cleaning the Neon with vacuums and scrubbers(used two of each). Put together B's new bicycle. Mowed the back lawn. Loaded most of dishes in sink into dishwasher. Washed Neon* so that looks like came off a lot.

I didn't finish dishes because I had to get to work early to use my associate card. Technically I was at work when I washed my car, but I hadn't clocked in yet. Amazing what a premium car wash can do to a car's finish, it just buffed all the scuffs and minor scratches invisible. Mike's Carwash is great to cars. Not sure I'd pay the $17, but it's worth it when considering how lousy a handwashed car looks in comparison. Then again, other places do it for less, but I'm too cheap to compare the competition.

J seemed to think well of my accomplishments of solitude. She brought back a pie from her folks that was all mine since no one wanted apple. Sadly, I didn't expect it to be in box that said "baked in store" upon it. At least it wasn't made in China, I guess. Apple Pie is good, regardless of its preparation most of the time(Hostess "fruit pie," for example, is edible in a yummy animal fat sort of way).

AW, had a great day, all and all. Saw the Cordery family at Americana Festival, so they got to meet the rest of my beautiful family and K. They reiterated the cookout as being family friendly, but I doubt J and K would be comfortable there. I'm gonna bone up on small arms so I can follow conversations less ignorantly.

Nothing is as American as apple pie, supposedly, and I found myself wondering what a friend of mine posted upon her FB timeline. I'm not sure what it was, but I fear it was French toast. Last year, Boom posted pics of his fam, and one of his silly daughters wore shirt donning a Union Jack!  Have you seen Boom's mugshot? It's better than all of his selfies, I think, but I could be wrong and just plain mean.

J doesn't FB. She doesn't do a lot of things, but she is a good mother. I wonder how she'll be as an aunt. Not sure how I'll be as an uncle. I'll be a better uncle than any K has, is all I can shoot to be. The bar has been set so low.

I wonder how long I can go without blogging. Not going to try anything, just pondering... I only check FB for messages from former Hookers and I check Twitter for the fascinating trips LSD always seems to take. I could give up FB and Twitter, since everyone has my number or email if I am needed to be reached, I suppose.

Why anyone leaves the home fascinates me, so I'm lucky to be with J. Her reasons for venturing out are very simple logical reasons.

I wonder if there's a term for friendships that social media distort in significance. I mean I can be gone from the face of the Earth, then boom, there every day or so like time never passed or shifted or quaked. Transitioned?

Was tempted to say random thoughts as post heading, but that would suggest thoughtlessness as a motivator of much of the musings which were explicitly confined to real events significant to today (now yesterday).

Lorde helped me clean my car. Not sure about all the tennis references, though. Lorde only knows, I suppose.

home alone, break from cleaning

After hitting Americana Festival, we headed home. J and kids ate before continuing the celebration of America's Independence, leaving me to kill time before heading to work at holiday pay.
So far, I'm cleaning out my Neon. I vacuumed/carpet scrubbed backseats and passenger's side. Got a headache, so I'm now finishing off leftover Little Caesars. Hope to finish car and do a couple other things before I have to head out, but first things first.

Wednesday that isn't like normal

I worked Monday to get that pay difference and now I feel like it's Tuesday. Things to do and my body isn't in the mood. The whole phone search has lead me to think a certain Android may be best option for my CB needs, but having a conversation with someone who dislikes said phone because it's Android is typical of the endeavor to upgrade past the CB barriers.

I just tried to read Time online. It gave me a headache. Maybe it's not meant to be read on a laptop(LT)? Anyways, the article(IC) was derivative of everything I just read in TLAF, which I felt was derivative of all things I read of late(ATIROL)... anyways(AW) I didn't have the will to finish a couple paragraphs of said Time IC. I felt like I wasted my time on Time, so I questioned my trusting the source by which my interest was piqued.

Total FB fail.

I need to get myself organizized(MOZD). Phones and cars are the white noise of distraction(WND)... I so dislike shopping for upgrades, but contentment BE DAMNED(BD)!

Words bored me. I am going to make new ones or abbreviate old ones to fit my idiosyncrasies(MI) better. I'll use the label Dylan Speak(DYLS) to highlight this occurrence for future reference(FR).

feeling motivated

Irony is what humors me most. One day I'm told I lack empathy another I'm told I'm consumed by hatred. I'm trying to be more empathetic these days, and I have been avoiding hatred a while. If I hate anything I would say it's my lack of focus. Living vicariously via social media isn't my bag, but I find myself wanting to be able to do things like others do, but I know that I AM NOT PERSONALLY THERE YET for lots of things. I would like to go to church, but I have three hindrances. I'm not keen on strangers. I don't like being away from my wife and kids. I'm technically poor and feel I'd need to tithe, and I don't want to appear poor or cheap because I don't have funds to spare. Sure poor people go to church all the time, I just have a pride issue.

Anyways, the whole spat of QOTD of late started when I was thinking about glaciers. We are in an Ice Age according to the wikiapedia, though climate change of warming variety has been in the news, anyways KV started his most read work with a conversation basically saying glaciers are forever. Then I was looking at other quotes and thought of the others I admire most. WSB lived a long time as did KV and knew the latter's neighbor before he was famous. WSB is in the book the dude is most famous for writing in a scroll format. Anyways, I saw the gun quote and laffed because he killed his wife while playing William Tell. I think it's in the movie, I know it's the book.

I'm not a fan of the Beatles, but the fact they got their name from WSB's circle of friends and WSB was a junky gun nut along with the phony killing MDC made the Lennon QOTD über ironic.

Hmmm... it seems that blogger needs the ability to footnote so I can better explain my thought process for less confusion, or I should go on permanent hiatus. Perhaps the latter since I can still see and my loving daughters aren't old enough to take dictation. Then again, blogger allows for comments which could be utilized as footnotes if a dialog occurs regarding  my allusions.

DYK that roughly 1.2 million people die worldwide each year from car accidents and the vast majority of accidents are caused by human error? Anyone can be a killer behind the wheel of a car. Maybe I need to talk about cars next?

Wednesday recap/ Thursday preview

J was off, so I slept in. I went to the girls' appt, and my day was forgettable aside from my mom calling to tell me an old neighbor died. She was 54, but ceased being our neighbor 30 years ago. She used to watch me on my days off from kindergarten until my mom felt guilty since she wouldn't take money and started making me watch gameshows and soaps at a woman's house who took money. Jan's son would be home in the afternoon from his kindergarten while Shirly's was in the same school as me but on the opposite schedule.
I must have been five a very long time for I remember it better than other years.
J stayed with D throughout the day, so I went to Aldi and Home Depot alone. Spent more than I intended at the latter, but only since I'm not sure I can fix my Toro weed trimmer which spewed gasoline last time I used it. Ryobi has a battery/plug-in hybrid that wasn't hatefully priced.
I was annoyed by the rain getting into my car.
Made tacos for dinner. Took a nap before work. Work went quickly though I did little due the day of rain. Now its bedtime with dread for a repeat of today on Thursday.
Meh.

Steak N Shake, the wait

J will head back to work in a couple weeks. I was thinking she'd drive the Neon, again, but she seems to think she'll take the Journey. Mileage in Neon is above her comfort level, I guess, though it's been regularly maintained and serviced with only a couple incidents where it needed towed. That last bit doesn't sound good, but the matters that happened weren't engine related. Bad cam sensor and a deteriorating brake jamming wheel, both were quick fixes.
Meh. Journey should be the weekend car, while the Sebring and Neon are the work cars in a more perfect world. I miss having the Neon as my car, but I inherited the Sebring when it's check engine light decided to stay on and I wasn't working. It's still a good car, despite the rust and cracking interior door lining, which don't effect the engine that doesn't really need checked.

Anyways we dropped off the Neon for oil change and such today then went to SNS. It wasn't packed, but food took forever to get ordered and served. Food was good as always, just slow cooks on the grill.

that eureka moment

It's been cold lately. My Neon has been parked in the garage since I noticed the headlight out, but the attached garage is not heated. Though it's much warmer than being outside, the garage is still the coldest place in the house. After being annoyed with the resistance the headlight housing was giving me to sliding back into place, it occurred to me that a space heater may make the fascia more malleable to reinsertion.

After a few moments of being warmed, the headlight went in without having to be muscled in.

The passenger side wasn't easy to go in when I did it in the Spring, and that side has a lot more room to maneuver the headlight and coincidentally is the side always featured in the Youtube tutorials.

Still dislike changing headlights

Had to drive the Journey to work last night, for I was unable to re-insert my driver's side headlight housing before I had to leave. Not sure if I'll get around to trying today. Stooping makes my back ache. The only consolation is that I got the bulb replaced. It took me a while to get the dang thing out. Much more difficult than when I removed the p/s for I had wire slack on that side.

one headlight

As I motored into work last night, I had the sense that my driver's side headlight was out. I kept thinking about if it was out, then how had it been out. I drive mostly at night, so I would think I would have noticed it soon as occurred, but there were a bit of snowy and cold days when I last drove at night. Visibility was poor with a single headlight,  so I think I would have noticed it when the high was was snow covered and hard to see the yellow and white lines.

I have spare bulbs to replace the light. I bought a two pack when the last one went out since at least two of our cars use the same bulb. Of course, I have two lights because I replaced the p/s headlight housing last spring and a bulb came with it from Ebay.

I hate changing headlights. Used to be able to put my hand in and pull out the light and replace it without much effort, now I have to remove the housing and ponder how to put it back in. Very thankful for Youtube.

After having a week off with new baby D, I found myself recalling the smells I first encountering when I started my job last year. Amazing how one's senses adapt and need a week away to make the obvious notable again.

Snow

Third day of 2014 has been uneventful thus far. Picked up my father in-law to get his truck from the shop. Mechanic says it will be $800, but my father in-law feels confident he can do it himself. He just wanted to make sure he knew what was wrong. We use the same mechanic/shop, so it humors me to be there and not stopping in for coffee or donut.

Regardless, it's a 20 mile drive to the in-laws, so he treated the kids to McDonald's. Made the trip a longer by having to sit and eat. I just got coffee.

While on way to Mickey D's, we saw saw where K wanted to buy a comic book: Star Wars Legacy issue #1. The site he goes to has the place listed and he wanted to buy the issue for a buck rather through mail and paying an additional few bucks for shipping. After we dropped off Paw-Paw, we swung back to the comic store. The oldest issue they had was number 5 and it along with 6-10 were $3.50 a piece.

We got home after 3. We had left home at 1. Day is shot considering I need to clean sheets and other odds and ends before J gets home. She just texted me that we're due 6"-10" of snow between now and Sunday. We had 5"+ fall yesterday.

Looks like the kids will have snow days before heading back from Winter Break.

cars

I have a hoarding problem it would seem when it comes to cars. We currently have three, and I feel conflicted with the idea of parting with any of them. Two of them are paid in full, but have had their fair share of repairs. The repairs on the surface seem expensive but when considering the prospect of a long term commitment to a car payment, I feel better about the short term pain than ditching a car all together.

Having older cars is the reason we have AAA membership. When people make the argument that everyone that owns a car must buy car insurance is comparable to forcing everyone to buy health insurance, they are being silly. Car insurance doesn't primarily protect the owner, it protects banks and strangers from the owner if minimum coverage is purchased. AAA membership is more comparable to health insurance, yet not everyone has AAA membership.

Anyways, J is nine months pregnant and it is winter, so I have had her drive our biggest and newest car, Dodge Journey. Normally, it was for weekends and family trips, so the mileage has been low. The longer we hold on to the Sebring and Neon as weekday cars, the longer we can keep the mileage low on the family car. Currently the Sebring has noise it makes that sound like it's going over a manhole. Nothing too worrisome, but I'll drive the Neon until money is more freed up to pay for the repair to the Sebring.

The Neon has had an expensive year. Last winter and spring, it needed new tires in addition to new timing belt, water pump and another matter that was a few hundred bucks. I had the $2000 in upkeep spread out over a seven month period, and I was thoroughly annoyed when I had a rear brake fall apart and become wedged in the wheel well.

Ever back out of the garage and coast? Well I wasn't coasting, and for a moment thought I had hit something. Describing the situation to a mechanic, he aptly suggested I get the car towed on a flatbed to the shop. I called AAA, and a regular wrecker came! I said that I had asked for a flatbed since the rear tire was stuck, so the dude called dispatch and relayed to me it would a significant wait. He then tells me that he can use dollies, but it took him nearly an hour to get them attached. Before he started, he had me initial and sign a form. It was raining so I didn't read it before signing. I read my copy inside my house, and he had marked that my car had preexisting DAMAGE! Dude filled out a new ticket without a fuss, but I swear he was trying to pull a fast one on me.

The repair to the car was more than a car payment, but less than 2, so I am not too anxious to get rid of the Neon for a car that can seat 6 like the Mazda5. Haven't driven a Mazda5 yet, but there's a good chance it will be the next car we buy... if we don't get another Dodge Journey, at least! Just love the Journey! Mileage could be better in a Mazda5, but the known qualities of the Journey make it seem a luxury worth the extra gas. We have a Journey and don't need a second. We have two paid in full cars that are covered by AAA, so we're fine until one hits the beyond salvaging point.

Yes, I'm a car hoarder, but I think I'm content with 3 at a time.

Revisiting the Neon's headlight

When I replaced a headlight bulb in the Neon last summer, I discovered that the headlight was filled with water from a crack. I drained the water and tried to seal the crack with Krazy Glue, but the water returned.

I finally got around to buying a new headlight and replacing the cracked one. I actually had a harder time removing the older one than installing the replacement. Neither was fun or as simple as the Youtube clip makes it appear, but I have to say with practice, it gets easier.

I'd mention where I got the headlight, but they weren't a company I'd recommend. The part was a decent price and was what I needed, but they didn't send it to me until I complained about it not arriving on time. Take a look at those Ebay comments before buy something from someone.

I was surprised that the unit came with installed bulbs, so I returned the one I bought last year to the package with its twin until I need it. Trust me, I will since both the Sebring and Neon use 9007 bulbs.

Snow, 3 cars and 1car-hole

Having a 1 car garage is only annoying if you have more than one car and live in a part of the world that experiences weather variations.
We have long curb in front of our house which can easily meet our three car household needs, in addition to the driveway that can hold two cars, as well.
When it snows or frosts, having the car in the garage is ideal to avoid scraping before leaving for work in the morning. Can't block a car in the garage, so other cars need to find there way onto the street.

We got a half foot plus of snow last night. J drove home in it, and parked out Journey in the car-hole. So she'd have the Journey in the morning, I parked the Sebring and Neon on the curb.

Funny elements about the situation:

• The snow on the Journey melted and the car-hole doesn't have a drain. So about 9-12 gallons of water filled the garage.
• The driveway was completely covered with snow.
• The Neon and Sebring were buried by being on the unplowed side of the street.
• J called her work and didn't leave until after noon, so she got to play with K and B while I shoveled the driveway.

Am I wrong to be annoyed? Sure I get to be home all day while J is at work, but it isn't like I chose that arrangement. The only solution I can think of at the moment is to get remote start so no one would have to worry about scraping if parking on the street or in the driveway. Somehow, I don't think J will see it as a viable option.

Ice storm

All day the radio had been stating we'd have freezing rain tonight around midnight. I got off work at midnight and drove home in it.
I've driven in much worse, but I'm glad I didn't have to contend with many drivers. I had the car on cruise and adjusted it to be the same as the car ahead of me by a hundred car lengths. His speed was roughly 62mph. I can handle going that speed. I normally drive 65mph to see if I can get better mileage.
Had the Neon tonight. Sebring has had some leaks since its being serviced, so it's getting a look over. Neon has brand new tires, so I figured the traction would be nice.
Does traction exist on ice? This freezing rain is crunchy, so yes.
Speaking of  mileage, Neon didn't seem to get great mileage. I just filled it up today and didn't use it to pick up B, so it hadn't idled. Car needs stuff done next oil change, so the mileage could be related to those issues.
The Neon is technically MY car, but J has been driving her to work since HER car, the Sebring was older and I wasn't working. J hasn't suggested switching cars, but rather seems content with CD player and Keyless entry of the Neon over the Sebring. I know she misses the V6 engine. Normally I don't think of it, but I noticed the lack of it when merging onto I75. Normally, I feel weirded out by how low the Neon sits, but I haven't driven the Journey much of late to have the contrast.
If the Sebring had keyless entry, an accurate speedometer, and a CD player, I think J would still want to drive the car with less miles on it. Sebring drives nice, but it has 25K+ more miles on it.

no idea how fast I'm going...

Not sure when exactly it started, but my speedometer is inaccurate.  I noticed in October that I was going 80 mph and barely staying with the flow of traffic, then I happened to look at the GPS I happened to have with me that said I was going about 70 mph. I was driving to an interview, which was why I had the GPS and why I was on a highway which exceeds the speeds of 50 mph, thus making the discrepancy noticeable.

I usually drove the car to and from B's school. No one goes above the speed limit on the way there, so I wouldn't have anyone whizzing by me or even tailgating me for that matter.

I should get it fixed, but I don't really feel like putting the money into the car for something that isn't dire. It's just an annoyance when figuring out what sort of gas mileage I'm getting since I'm driving less than my odometer says I've traveled. I'll never get great mileage if I'm idling while waiting to drop off and pick up B four days a week.