more normal than not

It’s interesting to see some of these videos.

I don’t know who these people are….but watching a video is a fairly painless way to check out their world.

It’s nice to be able to turn off the video if I get tired of them.

Here’s a house that the narrator just called “ridiculously awesome”….and I guess that it is… sort of.

I know folks who’ve built mansions for a really low cost….in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (!!), no less.

So, to profile a couple who built a cool place in an area of the world where costs are low, and who didn’t spend a lot of money to do it, doesn’t really impress me all that much.

(There was a lot of hard work that went into these folks’ home, though.)

What does impress me is that there are areas of the world (or even in our country) where, if you’re willing to think a little outside of the “norm”, you can build something that’s comfortable and “nurturing” (for lack of a better word) for a small amount of money.

Your home doesn’t need to be compromised in design to appeal to a later market.

You don’t need to always design with “resale” in mind.

You can build in an way that’s specific to your needs and the needs of your family.

You can build your home if you have the vision and the energy to do it.

I’m blessed to know people who’ve taken that path.

It’s a good path.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmX8pGBJyvo

Man….first it was bicycles and touring on a bike….which is extremely cool….now….here’s a dude on a motorcycle taking an epic road trip.

There’s a constant in that equation….the road trip…getting away and seeing some unusual stuff.

Sometimes it’s all about getting on the bike…and staying on it.

There’s no mystery….just a fair level of endurance and a willingness to put up with the discomfort that might come with the adventure.

And…it looks like you need a GoPro camera….that’s a must…. these days.

Remember when all you had to document something like this was a couple of pictures and some good memories?

It’s fun to watch these movies…I’m glad that there are fancy cameras in the world.

Awwwww, man…..”lovin’ Lloyd”?

Really?

That’s super freaking creepy.

I’m just kidding around, anyway….what I should have called this post was “liking Lloyd”.

That was more appropriate.

I was going to say I should have called it “likin’ Lloyd”….but that looked too much like “lickin’ Lloyd”….and that was SUPER FREAKING CREEPY.

This dude is what I aspire to be when I’m older than 64…I think that Lloyd is in his mid 70’s now….still riding a skateboard….still putting out great books like “Tiny Homes” and “Builders of the Pacific Coast”….still curious about his world.

So great….Lloyd Kahn.

I like the dude.

Check out this recent video by Kirsten Dirksen…you’ll see what I mean….

See what I mean?

Did you watch the whole thing?

Nah, me either….but I will.

This guy is pretty darn interesting.

Check out some of his books….all of them are great….even the one about septic systems.

OK….so here’s the deal.

While trying to make a bad situation better, I broke the part on the car that made things bad….and in the end, only made things terrible.

Of course, “terrible” is relative.

“Terrible” is really when the shark has bitten off both of your arms and you can’t paddle your surfboard back in to the beautiful but deserted beach.

“Terrible” is when the flesh-eating bacteria has eaten most of you….most of you….before they find a cure.

“Terrible” is when you are trapped underground all by yourself while doing something that you didn’t tell anyone you were going to do…or where you were going to do it.

“Terrible” isn’t when you can’t drive your car for a while.

“Terrible” might be if the car had blown up while I was trying to fix it….that would be terrible.

I learned that you can’t trust what you read on the internet.

There are all sorts of goobs writing blogs out there…spreading misinformation about cars and a whole lot of other things.

You can’t trust them.

(I’m not talking about me, of course. Jenny just asked me if I was a goob. I’m not.)

Anyway….I ordered the part from the local Dodge dealer to expedite things…and when I went to pick it up this morning, the guy at the parts counter told me that the part for the order wasn’t ever picked down in Atlanta….and that it wasn’t on the truck.

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I was H.O.T.

With a capital “H”.

His response….instead of trying to help me by fixing their mistake…was to say, “It’s not our fault….we did all we could….there’s nothing we can do.”

LAME-O.

I hate that kind of attitude…..and that’s why I will never do business with Hendersonville Dodge again.

There’s too many other options out there to try and support a business that’s come up so short so consistently.

This isn’t the first time some weird outcome has been provided by these turds.

So….on the opposite end of “customer service”….the end with good and successful customer service, I called the dealership down in Spartanburg….they had the part in stock….they told me it was 101.00 instead of the 110.00 that I was quoted in Hendersonville….and that they’d hold it for me.

When Zoe and I got down there, the parts guy said, “I gave you a little break on the price….91.00 including the tax.”

So I ended up saving 40 dollars by getting the part in South Carolina.

(And here’s another mystery to ponder….why does a quoted 110.00 part end up costing 131.00 after tax at the Hendersonville dealer? What happened there? Was there some kind of mysterious butthead tax? Was there a service fee?)

So…I got the part to the mechanic and we should have the minivan back tomorrow.

But why does it have to be so hard?

Why does it have to be so consistently bad an experience at that Hendersonville dealership?

Spartanburg isn’t that far away.

I know where I’ll be going from now on.

(And this is a beautiful lesson for any future entrepreneur: Be the person who seeks solutions to a customer’s problems…even if they aren’t problems that you directly caused. People remember customer service that goes the extra mile…..and….they will never forget the guy who says, “it’s not our fault….we did all we could…there’s nothing more we can do…”)

I can’t coordinate everything in my head and fall asleep at the same time.

I can’t do it.

I realized that about 11:30 last night….and had to try to clear my head so I could nod off.

I was worried about the minivan….and getting everything handled that we handle easily when the van is operational.

But….you know?

The more I worried about it all, the more I understood how little good my worrying was doing.

I wasn’t getting any closer to things “rolling smoothly” by worrying about any of it.

“Action” might make some changes….but worry, without any action driven by the worry, was just driving me insane.

INSANE.

So I tried to slow down on all my worrying.

Of course, this morning I had a great chunk of hindsight, and thought, “Why, wouldn’t it have been great if I could have somehow driven the minivan into the shop, told the mechanic that I thought the fuel rail was leaking, asked him about replacing the o-ring on the part I lost….and then buying the new fuel rail and bringing the van and part back to have him put it all together….all this after he told me that you really couldn’t repair a leaking fuel rail….inspite of what the google man said?”

I could have bought the part online and saved 40 dollars.

I could have turned a 4 or 5 day project into a 1 day project.

I could have slept at night.

That would have been nice.

Knowing what I now know….I COULD HAVE…..

But….that’s not the way it all went down. I thought I could fix it. I thought I could get the gas fumes to stop coming into the car.

I thought that I could be some kind of cheap HERO.

But I turned into a ZERO when that little part squirted out of my fingers and back into the black hole at the unreachable side of the engine.

Oh, well….que sera sera.

We’re going to bike ride around the lake today….so all of our plans aren’t turned to crap.

We are resilient and will salvage the next couple of days.

And my worry will have nothing to do with anything good that happens to us.

I can’t worry all the time.

I need to get that stupid van fixed.