Did this on Jenny’s minivan last night.
At the beginning of any of these jobs, especially if they start before dinner, Jenny is curious how long it’s going to take to finish.
This is either a fast and easy job….or a horrible job that takes a while….depending on what you find when you start turning (or trying to turn) any of the fasteners.
I ended up cutting the bottom nut off on the side that I decided to finish last night.
“Horrible” is relative…but the job didn’t go really easy.
One thing that I notice in these videos is that it seems to be a lot more ergonomic to have the car up on a lift than it is to lay in the gravel.
That looks a lot more comfortable.
This isn’t a horrible job, really, but the simplest things can get hard if the nut is frozen on and the space is tight.
I’ll hold my tongue the next time I tell somebody that “it should be easy”.
Here’s another video that shows a mechanic working through the problems you’ll potentially run into…..
(He doesn’t have a lift!)
Here’s another sailing video.
Maybe it’s something about all the blue….liquid….beautiful….big horizons.
I used to say that heaven must be like a wheat field in the Dakotas….waving in the breeze….big horizon….blue sky.
That makes me feel peaceful just to think about that.
The ocean is like a wheat field….without the wheat or a piece of sod to step out on.
You can’t just dream about what you want to do, though.
You have to “do”.
Ahhhhhhh…..we “do”.
We maintain.
We just need to get out more…..way out…..more.
So….what’s so bad about thinking of sailing…..out on the ocean….anchoring somewhere offshore of a paradise island?
That would be kind of nice.
Building a cabin in Idaho would be nice.
What else?
Watch the end of this video where they talk about the coral in Bora Bora….sad.
Sparrow, our youngest child, told me the other night that she was afraid of the “pretend monsters”.
Knowing they’re the “pretend” monsters doesn’t help to not be afraid of them.
They’re real to her….even if she knows that they’re only pretend monsters.
I wonder how big my list of pretend monsters is?
All the financial stuff….decimal points and digits out in the cloud….filthy lucre….
Maybe social status or the things I might do on occasion to “keep up appearances”….
Aging…
Relationships….
I wonder how any of them are more real than the pretend monsters that bother Sparrow sometimes in the night…..when the light is going away and the shadows rule?
I need to learn to not be afraid of the pretend monsters, too.
What the heck?
I love my job.
If I really back up quickly….and look at things from a good perspective….my job is perfect.
I drive around and deliver mail….listen to the radio….say hello to my customers…and for the most part, I’m pretty independent.
I’m timed….I have time restrictions and deadlines….there’s stress….it’s not an easy job….but…it’s a good job.
I like being able to take care of my family.
Man, though, I wish that I was out in the world doing stuff like this.
Not “alone”, though.
Where I am is where my family is.
To wake up seeing a different sunrise occasionally is a good thing.
To wake up seeing a sunrise over the ocean would be about as different as anything I could experience.
I wonder if we could do that?
OK….here’s one more about sailing.
Check out the mention of crowdfunding and Patreon at the end of the video.
Of course, you have to have content that people would want to watch to make any money at it….but…it’s possible.
Make some videos….sail around the world.
Sounds good.
(A short PS….later in the morning: the cart doesn’t ever come before the horse. You have the adventure….make the videos…and maybe something will happen that makes it all self-sustaining. You don’t get funding without something good to support. I know that…..)
We watched a documentary a while back called “Maidentrip”.
It’s about a young sailor’s trip around the world.
The sailor’s name is Laura Dekker.
This is a talk that she gave about her life and journeys.
I know …..nothing….about sailing.
It would be easier to climb up onto a bicycle seat than it would to figure out how to sail.
But….what an adventure it would be to get out on the water!
Of course, at this point it would be a satisfying adventure to go to the beach and find a really good seafood restaurant that overlooked the ocean.
That would be a good adventure, too, I guess….just not the kind of adventure that sailing around the world would be.
Sailing.
Hmmmmmmmm.
There is so much to ponder in the world…..and, you know? Pondering doesn’t get you very far along in experiencing any real adventures.
You really have to get on the boat for the adventure to happen.
“Maidentrip” used to stream on Netflix….check it out if you get a chance.