Trying to knock a bearing out of a tube locked in a vise at work using a long rod, the hammer glanced off the end and I whacked my thumb traveling right to left.
Oh it hurt a bit but then it started bleeding.
And Bleeding.
And Bleeding some more.
There was a trail of blood across the floor to the garbage can and then all over the insides.
Oh there were the words too.
I was basically Speaking In Tongues at that point.
No cracks about the dirty nails, I work for a living.
Split that motherfucker WIDE OPEN and peeled it back from the knuckle.
Of course I was at work.
Of Course they had to call an EMT.
Of course there was four thousand pages of paperwork and a trip to the bathroom to pee in a little cup.
Then they wouldn’t even let me drive myself up to Urgent Care to get it sewn up.
Oh no, gotta ride up in an ambulance with the EMT.
He gets with six blocks of the joint and his little traffic alert thing rerouted him and we wound up a mile and a half away from where we needed to be, in downtown, until he finally discovers that what I have been telling him since he turned off was right and we had to turn around and go 24 blocks back the way we had just came from.
I’m really fucking glad I wasn’t having a heart attack.
He drops me off and then it’s more paperwork and a two hour wait to get seen.
Xrays, the works.
Finally some lady comes in and cleans the thing up and it starts bleeding anew.
More gauze. Then some lady doctor comes in, takes one look at it and says she doesn’t sew so good so out she goes and ten minutes later another lady comes in.
Young, from Tennessee, we had a great conversation while she was working me over.
I have split that thumb open before with a hammer, to the point you could see the bone.
Even then it only got like 6 stitches.
I told her she needed to sew this thing shut tight.
So she did.
I now have a new personal best for that thumb.
Nine freaking stitches.
Then this on top of it.
Oh, and another Tetanus shot because I can never remember when I had the last one.
Fuck me.
When they got all done they patted me on the ass and pointed me to the door.
No pain relief, just instructions to keep it clean and dry.
Yeah, those numbing shots are wearing off and this thing is already starting to throb like a sick chicken’s ass.
It’s gonna be a long night.
Then it’s back to work tomorrow.
This kinda shit may slow me down but it sure as hell isn’t going to stop me.
I told you about the deal I got on the slightly used tires for the back of my pickup.
$150, cash money off of Craigslist.
Well I knew of a little Gypo tire shop and stopped in there to see about getting them swapped out.
I figured they would be busy and I would have to make an appointment but as it turned out, they weren’t.
The minute I pulled in I could tell it was my kind of place.
Used tires piled up all over the place and a sign in the front window that said Cash Only, no checks, no cards.
Yessir, we are going to be able to do business.
After asking about the pricing and showing them what I needed done, it wasn’t long before the ass end was up in the air and the lug nuts were flying.
A grand total of $70 to dismount 4 off the wheels, mount and balance 2 and dispose of the used tires and wheels I didn’t need.
For a Grand Total of $220, less than half of what I was quoted by the Big Chain Tire Store.
Double Bonus, while I was waiting, I inquired about a couple of decent used tires they might have to go on the front.
2 of those are sitting there, they want $100 for both plus the $50 for mounting, balancing and disposal of the worn ones on it now.
Triple Bonus, also while I was waiting and the guy was breaking down the tires, I grabbed a brake drum and yanked it off to discover I have at least one axle seal puking oil all over the brake shoes.
Try doing that sometime at a Big Chain Tire Shop.
I can tell you it ain’t happening and if you ask them to check the brakes while they have the wheels off anyway and they find oil on the brake shoes, they are going to slam you with another $700 estimate to replace the seals and brakes.
Guaranteed.
So I plan on going back, getting the front tires swapped out and I will STILL be under what I was quoted for 2 new tires to be installed!
Since the weather has FINALLY started to turn, I’ll be doing those axle seals and rear brakes myself, Thankyouverymuch.
Not that I WANT TO but because I can and I’m not paying that kind of money for something I can do myself on a nice and sunny Saturday afternoon.
The lesson here is to shop the hell around.
I have been broke most of my life, mainly because of piss poor decisions I have made but I did learn how to get by on the cheap and have a nose for finding cheaper alternatives rather than bending over and paying full price for shit like most Normies do.
I’m not the least bit afraid to shop at shady looking places Sally Homemaker would lock her doors while driving by.
A couple of fellows that read the Blog but would like to remain anonymous donated a brand new Variable Frequency Drive and a 220 volt motor, already wired up about six freaking months ago now so I could upgrade my machine.
It’s been driving me crazy ever since, wanting to get that done.
It’s killing me that I can’t thank these two publicly but I will adhere to their wishes.
They know who they are and they probably think I’m a lazy worthless sonofabitch for not getting this done sooner.
Couldn’t blame them for thinking it.
Anyways, I told the Wifely Unit last Thursday that pretty much everyone could fuck off this weekend, I wasn’t doing anything for anybody.
I have been going full blast 7 days a week for at least the last 2 months and I am tired of it.
I figured having a three day weekend might give me a fighting chance to jump on this project.
It’s not completely done but it’s together enough to show that it does work.
I still have to mount the VFD, tidy up the wiring, figure how I am going to permanently mount the motor and make some kind of cover over the pully on the jack shaft to keep the Safety Nazis off my ass but it does work and I am just THRILLED!
Thanks again guys, I didn’t forget you after all.
Soon I will actually be able to use this thing the way I have been wanting to since the day I drug it home.
My old Chevy needs some tires. Been that way for a while.
A couple/ three weeks ago I stopped in at a local Les Schwab tire store and got a quote for 2 All Terrain light truck tires just for shits and grins.
Mounted and balanced, two tires would have cost me $550.00
Yeah thanks but I’ll pass.
So I have been looking around ever since.
I thought I found a pair a day later on Craigslist but the guy never got back to me and the ad expired.
Yesterday it was back and I actually talked to the guy this morning.
Ten minutes away from the house.
Literally the exact same tires I was quoted $550 for, Les Schwab Back Country All Terrain Light Truck tires, mounted on Ford 3/4 ton rims.
$150.
Cash.
They are sitting in the back of my truck as I type.
Even if it costs me another $100 to dismount 4 , mount and balance 2, I will still be ahead of that game at half the quoted price for the privilege of driving them out of their parking lot.
Double Bonus, because they are Les Schwab tires, they will fix flats and rotate them for free.
Just budgeting for their price, I will now have enough left over to go find 2 more tires.
Every freakin’ penny counts at this stage of the game but it’s also imperative right now to get what you need while you still can, if you can.
That $550 quote is going to be $650 or $700 by the end of Summer, IF, they are even still available.
The squeeze is on with the total destruction of the Middle Class as the end goal.
People on Fixed Incomes and the poor are already getting hammered, by Fall we are going to be seeing stories of malnutrition and want all across the country on a daily basis.
This next Winter is going to have people dying from lack of food and heat.
It is coming and it is being done on purpose.
This is an Open Thread, please let me know what’s on your mind and what you are seeing locally.
We are entering The Greatest Depression and no one is going to be prepared for what is coming down the pipe.
The lessons our parents and Grandparents learned have been forgotten and will be learned anew by necessity.
I’m going to leave you with a quick ten minute recipe for Pan Fried Bread.
