Month: November 2006

This Crazy Little Thing Called My Life

I said goodbye to Big Red Liquors yesterday, and said hello to FirstLease today.

In some ways, this job at FirstLease is a dream.  I get to drive Tractor/Trailers, a.k.a Rigs.  In 2001 I went with a buddy of mine out on the road for 3 weeks, and loved every minute of it!  He let me drive a few times, not long, but enough to be addicted.  I cannot drive a rig due to my epilepsy, but I would if I could.

 

 

I must say I enjoyed today tremendously.¬† The only bad part was the weather, which in Indiana, changes like a womans mind.¬† The main tasks of this position are fueling the tractor and trailer, checking fluids, cleaning the inside of the trailer and parking them.¬† That’s it!

There is only one thing I don’t really like about this job, and that’s the hours.¬† After I am fully trained, I will move to 3rd shift, 12am to 8am.¬† I will work every weekend and have 2 days off during the week.¬† It’s¬†a decent paying job, so I can’t complain¬†that much.

Now a little update on my garage renovation.

My father called a “friend” who “knows his stuff” about electricity in to take a look.¬† He told me the best thing to do was to rip all the wiring out and start fresh.¬† So that’s what I did.

To quote J from episode 91, “we have some anal leakage.”¬† The main drain line for our upstairs bathrooms is leaking.¬† I called in the plumbers on this one, they recommended to replace a whole section of line.¬† I’m glad we got that home warrantee.

After we get the leakage stopped, I will start actually remodeling our garage.¬† Something I’ve always wanted, a nice garage.

I have almost everything picked out, or purchased for this renovation.  The only new things left to purchase are insulation, OSB and new light fixtures, I believe.

Home Improvement?

It all started with my wife. Not saying it’s her fault, she just wanted to park in our garage(I don’t blame her).¬† The key problem was our garage door openers and the lights.¬† The openers are as old as the house (1974), and the lights in the garage¬†are a very complex and complicated situation.

I found a really kewl website for all of you out there who enjoy making your home hi-tech.¬† It’s called Smart Home.¬† I found devices that made it possible for my loving wife to open the garage doors with a remote like all new openers, without buying a new one!¬† I also found something called an “occupancy sensor.”¬† In the short of it, it’s a motion detector that turns your lights on when it senses motion and/or heat.¬† I thought I would install these items and we would be on our way.

I thought wrong!  When I went to install the occupancy sensor, lets just say I got in WAY over my head.  I ended up disabling all of our lights in the garage, now our only means of light is daylight from opening the doors and plugging a fixture into an outlet.  The way the circuit was wired for the lights is very strange and I cannot figure it out.  I am probably calling an electrician in to fix this.  To help lower the cost, I am removing everything covering the wiring, so he can trace the wiring and I can be on my way.  My plans are to cover everything with OSB (Oriented Strand Board) aka Plywood or Chipboard.

Our homes’ previous owner did not maintain this place like he should of, and because of that, many things need 10 years worth of maintenance or replacement.¬† In this adventure I have discovered mold about knee high on the drywall backing.¬† Much of the insulation is moldy as well and needs to be replaced.¬† So in the end, it seems the first room we are renovating in the house is the garage.¬† A surprise to me, but it needed done.

As B is finishing? his basement, I am beginning on mine!

Major Props

I am by no means a music critic.  I know everyone has their own tastes in that department.  I never turn a deaf ear to something new though, a good lesson I learned from ROX actually.

For my birthday I received Bob Seger’s new CD, “Face the Promise.”¬† I must say I enjoy it tremendously!¬† It’s his style, in the 21st century, and I can’t get enough of it.

One song in particular has a special meaning in my heart at this moment, due to my daughter’s pending movement to an undetermined location.¬† You may have heard it on the radio, “Wait for Me.”¬† I almost cry every time I listen to it.¬† The song is me through and through when it comes to my little girl.¬† As one line states,”In the cool of the night, in the heat of the day, if your ever in doubt, I’ll be on my way.¬† Straight to your side, I guarantee, I’ll be around if you wait for me.”¬†

Something many people, including me, did not know is he disappeared from the music world to be a part of his children’s life.¬† More props¬†to Mr. Seger on that one!

If you do decide to purchase this, be careful.¬† There are 2 versions, one with a bonus DVD, and one without.¬† The bonus DVD has many extras, and really make it worth the extra couple of bucks.¬† 2 music videos are included, “Like a Rock” and “The Fire Inside”.¬† Also there is some “lost” footage from a 1978 concert in San Diego, and “Making of” footage.

According to his website, http://www.bobseger.com, he is coming to Indy on 11/18.¬† I wonder if I can get dad to spring for a couple tickets?¬† I guess I’ll ask tonight.