Being alive is very expensive in NYC. I'm really looking forward to leaving this God-forsaken place. In all honesty, I realize I'm responsible for all but two of the seven parking tickets I've received here, but I still get really annoyed when I get one. For the record, the two tickets I'm not responsible for were given by mistake. I paid them anyway (actually, my Sweetheart paid the last two) just because it would be a full day to go contest them.
The day before yesterday I had a small job that I found on Craigslist that entailed finding studs, installing brackets and mounting shelves. I charge a $50 minimum, and good thing I did, because the job only took about half an hour and the ticket I got before I left for work was $45. Ok, I'm spinning my wheels here and so ready to be somewhere where parking is a right, not a privilege. (sigh) I'll write more when I'm not in a negative state of mind. My apologies.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Painting stripes in Upstate NY...
Well, seeing as I try to get out of Brooklyn during the week as to avoid parking tickets, I landed in my friend Don's yard in Springfield Center, NY. The closest "real" town is Cooperstown (of Baseball Hall of Fame fame). I decided I was going to come upstate to try my hand at painting Yankee parking lots.
I managed to sell a stripe job to a fellow who shall remain nameless, because I think he might just be "connected" (in a Sicilian way). Nice guy, though, and at the moment we're waiting for everything to dry out. I found traffic marking paint for $25 a gallon, which isn't bad, considering everything else up here is out of control expensive.
Hopefully I'll paint Mr. X's lot tomorrow morning and be able to head back into NYC by early afternoon at the latest. That way I'll be able to retrieve and cash a check for a job I did last week in Brooklyn. I'll probably stay until Monday and maybe hit Pennsylvania to try my luck with Amish parking lot stripes. We'll see...
I managed to sell a stripe job to a fellow who shall remain nameless, because I think he might just be "connected" (in a Sicilian way). Nice guy, though, and at the moment we're waiting for everything to dry out. I found traffic marking paint for $25 a gallon, which isn't bad, considering everything else up here is out of control expensive.
Hopefully I'll paint Mr. X's lot tomorrow morning and be able to head back into NYC by early afternoon at the latest. That way I'll be able to retrieve and cash a check for a job I did last week in Brooklyn. I'll probably stay until Monday and maybe hit Pennsylvania to try my luck with Amish parking lot stripes. We'll see...
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Debauchery
The other day I needed to find a Wachovia in order to cash a check, so my Sweetheart and I went to Manhattan. We got caught in the rain, and decided to grab a bite and a beer and wait it out. It was a nice little place where we split a bleu cheese burger with bacon and had a pint each. Uh, oh. That got the siphon going. After we found a Wachovia and I made my transaction, we did a slow bar crawl to the place where we were going to meet one of her co-workers for more drinks. Things got a little fuzzy after that. I do remember being asked to leave the NYC mounted police stables.
Once again, yesterday turned into a similar fiasco. We went to a party near Jersey City and once again, over imbibed a bit. As we were leaving the party, we poured our remaining beers into solo cups and proceeded towards the train station to head back to Manhattan. While walking down the street of a pretty suburban neighborhood a cop pulled up and we immediately poured out beers out. That didn't help. The cop wrote us tickets anyway and, to add insult to injury, checked the box requiring us to appear in court. So, on the 20th, we have to go back to New Jersey to pay the piper. Dang.
With that behind us, we proceeded to the train station, on time, mind you, and successfully made it back to Penn Station in Manhattan. I don't remember exactly what we were bickering about, but somehow I upset the little woman and she was walking quickly up the stairs as I called out her name. Evidently a nearby cop thought things were worse than they were, and detained me for a bit until I convinced him that I was, indeed, her boyfriend. He let me go and I managed to catch up to the woman of my dreams before she got too far, which is a good thing, considering the fact that I would have been completely lost without her marvelous sense of direction. I love that woman.
Anyway, I've decided that the NYC police presence is enough to leave me inclined to moderate. Or abstain...
Once again, yesterday turned into a similar fiasco. We went to a party near Jersey City and once again, over imbibed a bit. As we were leaving the party, we poured our remaining beers into solo cups and proceeded towards the train station to head back to Manhattan. While walking down the street of a pretty suburban neighborhood a cop pulled up and we immediately poured out beers out. That didn't help. The cop wrote us tickets anyway and, to add insult to injury, checked the box requiring us to appear in court. So, on the 20th, we have to go back to New Jersey to pay the piper. Dang.
With that behind us, we proceeded to the train station, on time, mind you, and successfully made it back to Penn Station in Manhattan. I don't remember exactly what we were bickering about, but somehow I upset the little woman and she was walking quickly up the stairs as I called out her name. Evidently a nearby cop thought things were worse than they were, and detained me for a bit until I convinced him that I was, indeed, her boyfriend. He let me go and I managed to catch up to the woman of my dreams before she got too far, which is a good thing, considering the fact that I would have been completely lost without her marvelous sense of direction. I love that woman.
Anyway, I've decided that the NYC police presence is enough to leave me inclined to moderate. Or abstain...
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Work in Brooklyn, NY
Being in Brooklyn a month ago made me skeptical of the possibility of being self employed in NYC. Come to find out it's the contacts one has and not one's ability. My Sweetheart sent out an e-mail to the people in her industry and the responses have been numerous!
Yesterday I patched the sheetrock under the sinks in the kitchen and bathroom of a very nice apartment here in Brooklyn. The repair under the kitchen sink was fairly straightforward except for the fact that the plumbers that made the repair requiring them to remove the section of sheetrock left the stub for the sink drain too deep in the wall and it was a bear to retighten it after I replaced the P-trap. I managed to get it, though, and that patch, for a one-coat patch turned out nicely.
When I moved into the bathroom, however, it was a different story. The wall behind the vanity sink was tile which the plumbers broke through with a hammer. Not the nicest hole. I couldn't realistically bring in my tile saw because it is a wetsaw, and it would have soaked the apartment down below. I called the landlord and told her that to repair the damage would be a fairly extensive project, entailing removing the newly installed vanity, chipping the tile out to the nearest stud on either side (which in this case would be a four foot span for some reason) , sheetrocking the larger hole and replacing the tile which means I'd be descending five floors to make the cuts on the wetsaw. She asked me what the alternative would be and I told her that I could silicone a piece of sheetrock over the hole and stub the plumbing through. A surface patch. To my chagrin that's what she had me do. I really don't like to band-aid stuff like that, but it is, after all, under a sink in a cabinet.
When I gave the landlord a bill, it was evidently not to NYC standards, (100$ for three hours is fine by me) and she said "That's just crazy talk!" She told me that no one would even show up for less than $150 and that she'd make it worth my while. I'm curiously anticipating the check. I'd be happy with what I told her was due me. We'll see!
That's life in the big city so far this go 'round!
Yesterday I patched the sheetrock under the sinks in the kitchen and bathroom of a very nice apartment here in Brooklyn. The repair under the kitchen sink was fairly straightforward except for the fact that the plumbers that made the repair requiring them to remove the section of sheetrock left the stub for the sink drain too deep in the wall and it was a bear to retighten it after I replaced the P-trap. I managed to get it, though, and that patch, for a one-coat patch turned out nicely.
When I moved into the bathroom, however, it was a different story. The wall behind the vanity sink was tile which the plumbers broke through with a hammer. Not the nicest hole. I couldn't realistically bring in my tile saw because it is a wetsaw, and it would have soaked the apartment down below. I called the landlord and told her that to repair the damage would be a fairly extensive project, entailing removing the newly installed vanity, chipping the tile out to the nearest stud on either side (which in this case would be a four foot span for some reason) , sheetrocking the larger hole and replacing the tile which means I'd be descending five floors to make the cuts on the wetsaw. She asked me what the alternative would be and I told her that I could silicone a piece of sheetrock over the hole and stub the plumbing through. A surface patch. To my chagrin that's what she had me do. I really don't like to band-aid stuff like that, but it is, after all, under a sink in a cabinet.
When I gave the landlord a bill, it was evidently not to NYC standards, (100$ for three hours is fine by me) and she said "That's just crazy talk!" She told me that no one would even show up for less than $150 and that she'd make it worth my while. I'm curiously anticipating the check. I'd be happy with what I told her was due me. We'll see!
That's life in the big city so far this go 'round!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Life since my last post... (long time ago...)
I've gotten away from writing much anymore and I've been told that I need to keep at it. I guess people want me to keep developing my vernacular and vocabulary... Ok, Folks, I'll try to be more consistant.
Not too awful much has happened since I posted last. Since the economy has deteriorated, I've been basically subsisting. I didn't rent a shelter in Apalachicola this past winter; my dog and I, more or less, just camped out of my truck. I had an invitation to park behind a friend's house, and it was very secluded considering that it was downtown.
Fortunately I have friends that had smaller projects for me to work on. I think they were, in all actuality, throwing me a proverbial bone. Thanks, y'all! I replaced some siding on a house, applied Ospho to a metal roof to stabilize the rust and then painted it with a tarnished copper-toned roof sealer. I then scraped a popcorn ceiling in a different friend's garage (to make it smooth) and painted the ceiling and walls with primer and two top-coats of high gloss oil based paint. That way, when it's raining and my buddy needs to process wild game in there, he can just hose down the walls. I then prepped the concrete floor of the garage and applied a 2-part tinted epoxy to seal and shine the surface. Turned out really nice.
When those jobs were completed, I decided to head up to Brooklyn, NY to be with my sweetheart, who I've known for around four years. Over Christmas, she came down to Apalach to be with her family, and I've always tried to make it a point to be able to see her when she's in town. We ended up having a really nice connection over our four day visit (staying up until 4am talking about anything and everything) and I decided that come hell or high water I was going to persue her to the ends of the earth. I was devastated that she planned to join the peace corps and I resigned myself to waiting for her for the 27 month sojurn. I think she's changed her mind for the time being, and we plan on doing a nat'l walkabout for several months come September. I'm really excited.
Anyway, I stayed in Brooklyn for a month with almost no work at all, and after harvesting 6 parking tickets, totaling $450 more or less, from my windshield, I decided that I should go where I could work. I went back to Asheville, NC, where my parents live, and over the course of another month I skim-coated raw cinderblock walls with topping cement, painted the soffit, fascia and trim on a garage and house, and cased and installed a steel door on the same cinderblock structure on which I applied the topping cement. Fun, fun!!
When I finished those projects in NC, paid my parking tickets and performed routine maintenance on my truck, I hopped in at 5pm last Saturday, and made good time on I-81 north. I drove all night on a steady diet of 1 energy drink every four hours, and arrived back in Brooklyn at 7am Sunday morning. I suprised my girlfriend because neither one of us thought I'd make it up here until 9 at the earliest. I think it was a pleasant suprise! =-)
I'm currently driving a 1986 full size Chevrolet Custom Deluxe 4x4 with the 305 small block v-8. I was shocked to see that she gets almost 18 mpg after a tune up! My last mid-80's 4x4 pickup had the 351 windsor big block v-8 and I was tickled in Kansas, with a tail wind, to get 12!! It's all relative!
Well, that's the news for now, and I'll try to keep y'all "posted" (snicker)...
Not too awful much has happened since I posted last. Since the economy has deteriorated, I've been basically subsisting. I didn't rent a shelter in Apalachicola this past winter; my dog and I, more or less, just camped out of my truck. I had an invitation to park behind a friend's house, and it was very secluded considering that it was downtown.
Fortunately I have friends that had smaller projects for me to work on. I think they were, in all actuality, throwing me a proverbial bone. Thanks, y'all! I replaced some siding on a house, applied Ospho to a metal roof to stabilize the rust and then painted it with a tarnished copper-toned roof sealer. I then scraped a popcorn ceiling in a different friend's garage (to make it smooth) and painted the ceiling and walls with primer and two top-coats of high gloss oil based paint. That way, when it's raining and my buddy needs to process wild game in there, he can just hose down the walls. I then prepped the concrete floor of the garage and applied a 2-part tinted epoxy to seal and shine the surface. Turned out really nice.
When those jobs were completed, I decided to head up to Brooklyn, NY to be with my sweetheart, who I've known for around four years. Over Christmas, she came down to Apalach to be with her family, and I've always tried to make it a point to be able to see her when she's in town. We ended up having a really nice connection over our four day visit (staying up until 4am talking about anything and everything) and I decided that come hell or high water I was going to persue her to the ends of the earth. I was devastated that she planned to join the peace corps and I resigned myself to waiting for her for the 27 month sojurn. I think she's changed her mind for the time being, and we plan on doing a nat'l walkabout for several months come September. I'm really excited.
Anyway, I stayed in Brooklyn for a month with almost no work at all, and after harvesting 6 parking tickets, totaling $450 more or less, from my windshield, I decided that I should go where I could work. I went back to Asheville, NC, where my parents live, and over the course of another month I skim-coated raw cinderblock walls with topping cement, painted the soffit, fascia and trim on a garage and house, and cased and installed a steel door on the same cinderblock structure on which I applied the topping cement. Fun, fun!!
When I finished those projects in NC, paid my parking tickets and performed routine maintenance on my truck, I hopped in at 5pm last Saturday, and made good time on I-81 north. I drove all night on a steady diet of 1 energy drink every four hours, and arrived back in Brooklyn at 7am Sunday morning. I suprised my girlfriend because neither one of us thought I'd make it up here until 9 at the earliest. I think it was a pleasant suprise! =-)
I'm currently driving a 1986 full size Chevrolet Custom Deluxe 4x4 with the 305 small block v-8. I was shocked to see that she gets almost 18 mpg after a tune up! My last mid-80's 4x4 pickup had the 351 windsor big block v-8 and I was tickled in Kansas, with a tail wind, to get 12!! It's all relative!
Well, that's the news for now, and I'll try to keep y'all "posted" (snicker)...
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Getting Warmer...
The weather here in Apalachicola is really beautiful; 78 degrees and sunny. The evenings are down into the high 50's to low 60's and dry. I'm loving it. I know these are temporary conditions and it does no good to wish for this weather year round, but I do.
I look forward to the next month or so when I'll head up to the mountains to escape the infernal heat and humididty of Florida. I've found some really beautiful places to camp.
I found out what happened to my blogger account; evidently when they switched to Google I received a verification e-mail on a defunct e-mail address I use to funnel spam. Yesterday I tried to log in twice and the second time they told me I haven't verified my e-mail address. I then verified it by responding and voila! Here I am. Hopefully something funny or noteworthy will happen before too long because it's kinda silly to sit and type about nothing.
Later--
I look forward to the next month or so when I'll head up to the mountains to escape the infernal heat and humididty of Florida. I've found some really beautiful places to camp.
I found out what happened to my blogger account; evidently when they switched to Google I received a verification e-mail on a defunct e-mail address I use to funnel spam. Yesterday I tried to log in twice and the second time they told me I haven't verified my e-mail address. I then verified it by responding and voila! Here I am. Hopefully something funny or noteworthy will happen before too long because it's kinda silly to sit and type about nothing.
Later--
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Finally allowed back on Blogger...
I haven't been able to post for quite some time as I either forgot my password (not likely, seeing as I use it for everything) or was vacant too long. Let's see if I can keep it up...
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Post thanksgiving update...
Well, we made it through Thanksgiving without any serious altercations. THAT's suprising. I grew up in an incredibly altercation-oriented family. This was one of the biggest family gatherings I've been to in a long while. One of my Dad's sisters was there with 3 of her children and her husband. Her kids had, I think, six kids. One of my aunt's sons wasn't able to make it. Four of my five siblings were there and no telling how many kids they have. It's like trying to count 75 bait fish in a live well in six foot seas. They just keep moving around too much. When I'm counting cattle I just count their feet and devide by four. That doesn't work with nieces and nephews. I know I'm leaving someone out, but all in all, there were over 30 of us, I think.
This weather lately has been very warm. I actually had to buy ice for my cooler. I like to not have to do that. The fact that the dog likes to lie on it when we're riding probably warms it up, too.
My truck has been giving me moderate fits. A couple of days before Thanksgiving it died on the way to town. I finally tracked the problem to the distributer cap. The points were corroded and I scraped them off and went on my way. Since I've bought a new one. Today on my way up to my folks house the top radiator hose blew out. Killed the engine with water and split in a place too far from the end to just cut it off and jam it back on. Dang. It just so happened that I was in the middle of a terribly congested intersection when this happened. As I'm pushing my truck backward the way I'd come, some guy stopped and asked if I was having trouble and in my irritated state I retorted: "No trouble, I just like to see if I can get away with pushing my truck backward into oncoming traffic." He gave me a lift to the autoparts store anyway.
Talk to y'all later! Think SNOW!
This weather lately has been very warm. I actually had to buy ice for my cooler. I like to not have to do that. The fact that the dog likes to lie on it when we're riding probably warms it up, too.
My truck has been giving me moderate fits. A couple of days before Thanksgiving it died on the way to town. I finally tracked the problem to the distributer cap. The points were corroded and I scraped them off and went on my way. Since I've bought a new one. Today on my way up to my folks house the top radiator hose blew out. Killed the engine with water and split in a place too far from the end to just cut it off and jam it back on. Dang. It just so happened that I was in the middle of a terribly congested intersection when this happened. As I'm pushing my truck backward the way I'd come, some guy stopped and asked if I was having trouble and in my irritated state I retorted: "No trouble, I just like to see if I can get away with pushing my truck backward into oncoming traffic." He gave me a lift to the autoparts store anyway.
Talk to y'all later! Think SNOW!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Crazy Pre-Thanksgiving...
Well, I'm in North Carolina now and things are already out of control. I've been at my folks house all afternoon and there are only ten of us here so far. It's already pretty dang loud. Tomorrow there will be thirty-five or so of us here. THAT sounds fun. Fortunately I'm camping about 30 miles south in the Pisgah nat'l forest and it's really quiet this time of the year. There are only a couple of the many campsites occupied and one of them's me. I'm really glad to have a place to go home to. It's after dark right now and it's still pretty, uh, what's the word, riotous.
On the way up here I stopped by to see my friend in Franklin, NC, and I'll swing by there on my way back. He loaned me a chair (as I forgot mine). We played Texas Hold-'Em at the restaurant where my friend works and I did fairly well. We played 'till about 4 am and it was heck driving up here the next day hung over and dog tired.
The first two days I camped I woke up to a fine dusting of snow which was such a welcome change from the dog days of Apalachicola. I've got an excellent supply of red oak, white oak and hickory to burn. The temp's cold enough at night to freeze a layer on the dog's water by 9pm. I LOVE it.
By the way, my cell phone wouldn't work as soon as I got out of my area code and the people at Trac-fone couldn't fix it remotely. They'll be sending me a new one which I'm not excited about reprogramming. I hope to have it back by the monday after Thanksgiving.
That's all for now!!
On the way up here I stopped by to see my friend in Franklin, NC, and I'll swing by there on my way back. He loaned me a chair (as I forgot mine). We played Texas Hold-'Em at the restaurant where my friend works and I did fairly well. We played 'till about 4 am and it was heck driving up here the next day hung over and dog tired.
The first two days I camped I woke up to a fine dusting of snow which was such a welcome change from the dog days of Apalachicola. I've got an excellent supply of red oak, white oak and hickory to burn. The temp's cold enough at night to freeze a layer on the dog's water by 9pm. I LOVE it.
By the way, my cell phone wouldn't work as soon as I got out of my area code and the people at Trac-fone couldn't fix it remotely. They'll be sending me a new one which I'm not excited about reprogramming. I hope to have it back by the monday after Thanksgiving.
That's all for now!!
Monday, October 30, 2006
Tornado in Apalachicola...
I've not been posting lately as I have a commute that leaves me computerless. (leave before dawn and back after dark) Today I'm taking the day off to help clean up the mess tornado "Syphillis" left in her wake. I named the tornado myself.
Friday evening I was on my way back from Carrabelle under very dark and ominous skies. By the time I got to the Apalachicola bridge, visibility was next to zero and the wind was shrieking at 40 knots, according to the NOAA weather I was listening to on the VHS radio in my truck. It was pretty frightening to me as I thought it was going to flip my truck. Every one else had pulled over, but I thought if my truck was going over I'd like to not have to walk so far to town, so I kept going. I was very glad to get off the bridge and begin spreading the word of my bravery and driving skill, but the wind was let out of my sails when I coasted into town and saw the devastation caused by the tornado.
The streets in this community are laid out in a NE and SW direction and SE and NW for the perpendicular roads. As tornadoes generally travel in a north-easterly direction, this one traveled 26 blocks from the outskirts of town (at the IGA grocery store) straight up Ave. G (towards the NE) all the way to the apalachicola river. No deaths were reported, but there were several tales of wonder and miracles. The two story houseboat I built is fine; 20 feet away a metal building built to withstand hurricanes was totally destroyed. The people were INSIDE the metal building when a 16 foot outboard powered boat crashed through the structure. Aside from 40 stitches to the man of the house, no injuries were caused. WOW.
I guess I need to go get some more gas for my saw and get back to it.
Friday evening I was on my way back from Carrabelle under very dark and ominous skies. By the time I got to the Apalachicola bridge, visibility was next to zero and the wind was shrieking at 40 knots, according to the NOAA weather I was listening to on the VHS radio in my truck. It was pretty frightening to me as I thought it was going to flip my truck. Every one else had pulled over, but I thought if my truck was going over I'd like to not have to walk so far to town, so I kept going. I was very glad to get off the bridge and begin spreading the word of my bravery and driving skill, but the wind was let out of my sails when I coasted into town and saw the devastation caused by the tornado.
The streets in this community are laid out in a NE and SW direction and SE and NW for the perpendicular roads. As tornadoes generally travel in a north-easterly direction, this one traveled 26 blocks from the outskirts of town (at the IGA grocery store) straight up Ave. G (towards the NE) all the way to the apalachicola river. No deaths were reported, but there were several tales of wonder and miracles. The two story houseboat I built is fine; 20 feet away a metal building built to withstand hurricanes was totally destroyed. The people were INSIDE the metal building when a 16 foot outboard powered boat crashed through the structure. Aside from 40 stitches to the man of the house, no injuries were caused. WOW.
I guess I need to go get some more gas for my saw and get back to it.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Previously owned truck...
Well, I finally bought a truck. Again. It's an 87 Dodge Dakota with 106,000 miles on it and not a drop of rust anywhere. All of you that have lived in Fla. know how bad rust can be down here. I guess it was kept in a garage. It's not so nice that I'll worry about scratching it, but it's one of the nicest vehicles I've bought. It was cheap, too!
I've probably got five or six license plates floating around this community and I couldn't find any of them. I have a hard time believing that the DMV isn't making a bloody fortune off of those chincy (sp?) pieces of metal... they charged me 45 bucks for the plate itself! That's highway robbery (so to speak)!
The weather has taken a turn for the worse. It's back up in the mid-90's and muggy, muggy, muggy. It's hard to get dehydrated here because one inhales about half a gallon of water daily. It almost looks as though we'll get by without being blasted by a hurricane this year. Knock on wood. Now if I can just get to the mountains before the tsunami hits. I suppose everyone heard about the earthquake in the gulf around Tampa latitude that registered 6.2 on the Richter scale. THAT's scary. I've had a sense of foreboding for some reason and I think I've figured out why. I'm as finely tuned in to the rhythms of the planet as are elephants and horses. Maybe more so.
I am kidding.
'Till next time...!
I've probably got five or six license plates floating around this community and I couldn't find any of them. I have a hard time believing that the DMV isn't making a bloody fortune off of those chincy (sp?) pieces of metal... they charged me 45 bucks for the plate itself! That's highway robbery (so to speak)!
The weather has taken a turn for the worse. It's back up in the mid-90's and muggy, muggy, muggy. It's hard to get dehydrated here because one inhales about half a gallon of water daily. It almost looks as though we'll get by without being blasted by a hurricane this year. Knock on wood. Now if I can just get to the mountains before the tsunami hits. I suppose everyone heard about the earthquake in the gulf around Tampa latitude that registered 6.2 on the Richter scale. THAT's scary. I've had a sense of foreboding for some reason and I think I've figured out why. I'm as finely tuned in to the rhythms of the planet as are elephants and horses. Maybe more so.
I am kidding.
'Till next time...!
Friday, September 08, 2006
Finally some relief!!
Wow, the past two days have been such a relief I don't know where to start. I'll start with the morning I woke up and it wasn't 82 degrees. The bank clocks were both at 69 degrees. That was wonderful!! Yesterday the temperature never got over 87. I never thought I'd consider that cool, but it was.
I'm now building a replica turn of the century door for the city hall building. I think these guys are wanting to "antique it". That could be fun.
Did I mention how nice and cool the weather's been? Hmmm, I guess I'll wrap this up and wait for MORE non-complaining blog fodder.
I'm now building a replica turn of the century door for the city hall building. I think these guys are wanting to "antique it". That could be fun.
Did I mention how nice and cool the weather's been? Hmmm, I guess I'll wrap this up and wait for MORE non-complaining blog fodder.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Uh, oh...
Ok, I need someone to talk me out of buying a 1950 Dodge Coronet with 285,000 miles on it. It's actually in decent shape inside and out...(it looks beautiful when you drive by it at 30 mph) been painted once and has some of the wide white wall tires on it. I don't need a project car right now, but if I had a vehicle to drive every day I'd sure as heck buy it. Those straight -6 motors are very straightforward and this one runs decent already. If anyone's in the market for an old Dodge, this one's only three grand... I could really see someone named DH driving it.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
More Torrid Heat...
Recently I'm only able to be outside from daybreak to about 11:30. Siesta at noon, then back out around 3:30 (it's still hot but getting cooler). This makes for extremely slow progress on the porch roof I'm building. Today at 10:00 a.m. it was 86 degrees. In the shade. Right now (2:30) it's about 98 degrees. That's cooler than yesterday (it was well above 100). Everyone seems to be a tad bit irritable.
I know I'm a tad bit irritable, which doesn't help me deal with a "friend" who was going to sell me the Bronco I was talking about. I acquired insurance and a temporary tag for it and rode up to Sumatra to get it. I only drove it about a half a mile up the road and back and gave him $1050 for the truck. He and his wife left for appointments with the kids and left me to clean it out a little bit. I then set out to drive it the 8 miles up to the Sumatra grocery for some fuel to drive it back down to Apalach, and about halfway there this shudder became apparent in the steering. I slowed down and said shudder became more violent. I didn't think I had enough fuel to turn around and go back to Mike's house, so I crept the rest of the way to the store. When I finally got there, the front left hub was too hot to touch. I put some fuel in it and waited about an hour before the wheel was cool enough to touch. When I realized the jack (Mike swore was there) was absent, I decided to cool the wheel and hub down with water and start back to his house. The cool down treatment worked, and at my new reduced speed I made it almost back to his house before the shuddering was anything significant.
Mike and his wife were gone, so I left a note saying that the title was in the truck and I can't afford to spend over a grand on a truck that I can't drive. (I've driven $500 vehicles for years and they all ran fine with a little TLC; this truck is beyond that point) Mike is giving me the runaround about getting my money back to me. He said "maybe sometime this week", and in the meantime I have insurance and a tag on nothing. He has a hard time with the fact that I don't want a check, even after I pointed out that I gave them cash.
I'm very perturbed and realize that there's no record of this transaction so he's got me by the short and curlies. Damn.
Ok, I'm done complaining for now.
Tune in next week when Prentice says: "Dang! I got a splinter!"
I know I'm a tad bit irritable, which doesn't help me deal with a "friend" who was going to sell me the Bronco I was talking about. I acquired insurance and a temporary tag for it and rode up to Sumatra to get it. I only drove it about a half a mile up the road and back and gave him $1050 for the truck. He and his wife left for appointments with the kids and left me to clean it out a little bit. I then set out to drive it the 8 miles up to the Sumatra grocery for some fuel to drive it back down to Apalach, and about halfway there this shudder became apparent in the steering. I slowed down and said shudder became more violent. I didn't think I had enough fuel to turn around and go back to Mike's house, so I crept the rest of the way to the store. When I finally got there, the front left hub was too hot to touch. I put some fuel in it and waited about an hour before the wheel was cool enough to touch. When I realized the jack (Mike swore was there) was absent, I decided to cool the wheel and hub down with water and start back to his house. The cool down treatment worked, and at my new reduced speed I made it almost back to his house before the shuddering was anything significant.
Mike and his wife were gone, so I left a note saying that the title was in the truck and I can't afford to spend over a grand on a truck that I can't drive. (I've driven $500 vehicles for years and they all ran fine with a little TLC; this truck is beyond that point) Mike is giving me the runaround about getting my money back to me. He said "maybe sometime this week", and in the meantime I have insurance and a tag on nothing. He has a hard time with the fact that I don't want a check, even after I pointed out that I gave them cash.
I'm very perturbed and realize that there's no record of this transaction so he's got me by the short and curlies. Damn.
Ok, I'm done complaining for now.
Tune in next week when Prentice says: "Dang! I got a splinter!"
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Wow, what a heat wave...
It's been incredibly hot here the past few days. I've been building a set of steps on the Apalachicola city hall in this infernal heat. They were quite large; 12 feet high to the landing and 5 and a half feet wide. I finally finished them Thursday and was very glad to do so. I'll post a picture as soon as I get my film developed. Yesterday (Friday) the temp was 97, which isn't really all that hot, but when you add in the 95% humidity it's torrid. Makes for great chafing, though.
I'm buying a nice redneck vehicle. It's a 4x4 bronco painted camouflage with nice mud stompin' tires. My last truck had the 351 cubic inch carbureted windsor motor and got 12 miles to the gallon. This one has the 302 cubic inch fuel injected motor and I expect over 15 mpg. I'll be happy with that. I'll be able to tow heavy loads and go where most vehicles can't. That's what I look for in a truck. The only thing I don't like about the bronco is that it's an automatic. Oh, yeah, my other truck was an 83 and this one is an 88. I'm really coming up in the world.
My plans after I finish rebuilding the windows on the house I'm working on will be to drive north to Franklin, NC to deliver a tent, AC unit, Boom box, 3 CD's and a side grinder to a friend who moved up there from here. I'll then look for a place to camp and stripe parking lots where it's not so dang hot.
On a different note, my parents and two sisters and their families are down here on the panhandle for a vacation. I'll probably ride over Wednesday to see them. I'm looking forward to it. I'll post some pictures of that auspicious occasion, too.
I hope this post makes it; the last two times I tried they didn't show up on my blog. I don't know what's up with that. I can only hope this one works.
Y'all take care!
I'm buying a nice redneck vehicle. It's a 4x4 bronco painted camouflage with nice mud stompin' tires. My last truck had the 351 cubic inch carbureted windsor motor and got 12 miles to the gallon. This one has the 302 cubic inch fuel injected motor and I expect over 15 mpg. I'll be happy with that. I'll be able to tow heavy loads and go where most vehicles can't. That's what I look for in a truck. The only thing I don't like about the bronco is that it's an automatic. Oh, yeah, my other truck was an 83 and this one is an 88. I'm really coming up in the world.
My plans after I finish rebuilding the windows on the house I'm working on will be to drive north to Franklin, NC to deliver a tent, AC unit, Boom box, 3 CD's and a side grinder to a friend who moved up there from here. I'll then look for a place to camp and stripe parking lots where it's not so dang hot.
On a different note, my parents and two sisters and their families are down here on the panhandle for a vacation. I'll probably ride over Wednesday to see them. I'm looking forward to it. I'll post some pictures of that auspicious occasion, too.
I hope this post makes it; the last two times I tried they didn't show up on my blog. I don't know what's up with that. I can only hope this one works.
Y'all take care!
Friday, July 21, 2006
High speed chase!!
Wow, y'all. Today was one of the few days that we Apachicolanders got to experience the thrilling excitement of big city (for example L.A.) life. We watched a high speed chase zig-zag all across town. I don't think they left a street out. (the north-south streets go from ave. A to ave. M; the east-west streets go from 1st street to 25th street) Everyone who was awake got to see it. It was kind of like a Keystone Cops comedy, or maybe Benny Hill. I'm not sure the cops had any cause to believe that they would ever have to deal with this; they never were in control of the situation. If they wanted to stop these guys all they had to do was stake out the two roads leading out of town. (98 east and 98 west) There is no other way out of town unless you're running by boat. (that worked for us, but that's another story) But, the cops had a chance to get over 35 mph and blow the cobwebs off their cars, and the parade of civillians following the chase (despite the vehement objections of the cops) showcased cars who's licence plate stickers expired as early as 1972. THIS WAS THE BEST DAY SINCE THE CIRCUS!
WHEW!
WHEW!
Monday, July 17, 2006
Seafood galore...
I love living near the coast and having access to inexpensive fresh seafood.
Today for lunch I had Shrimp flavored ramen noodles sprinkled liberally with REAL imitation crab meat. Beat that! I'm sure the shrimp flavor packet in the ramen noodles was made with local shrimp.
Lots of water falling from the sky today. Got rained out on the siding job. I'm really not that heartbroken.
I'm opening my friend's coffee shop in the mornings while she's out of town. Real smart to give me, the king of excess, the keys to a coffee shop and all the coffee I can drink between six and eight a.m.. I've almost quit vibrating. My handwriting looks like it was written by a person with Parkinsons suffering DT's.
Today for lunch I had Shrimp flavored ramen noodles sprinkled liberally with REAL imitation crab meat. Beat that! I'm sure the shrimp flavor packet in the ramen noodles was made with local shrimp.
Lots of water falling from the sky today. Got rained out on the siding job. I'm really not that heartbroken.
I'm opening my friend's coffee shop in the mornings while she's out of town. Real smart to give me, the king of excess, the keys to a coffee shop and all the coffee I can drink between six and eight a.m.. I've almost quit vibrating. My handwriting looks like it was written by a person with Parkinsons suffering DT's.
Friday, July 14, 2006
A practical joke too good to pass up...
During my down time I generally hang out at a friend's shop where we all tinker, drink beer and swap lies. There are always several projects going on at once whether they be lucrative or not.
This guy Jeramy (who shall remain nameless) is a goldsmith and keeps a crock-pot full of wax around he uses to obtain molds of various creatures and objects that he will eventually cast in gold. He decided to melt the wax to mold something and two seconds after he plugged the unit in there were complications. First, a geyser of steam erupted and Jeramy (who shall remain nameless) started yelling "Oh, God! Holy cow!!" Naturally I (being the curious type) ran over to see what was happening. I thought it was some sort of cool chemical reaction. Well, this nameless guy ran the opposite direction to the window that lets a cool breeze blow through the entire length of the warehouse. That was a really bad move, as the problem was a horrible, concentrated rotten fish stench.
Evidently as a rookie shrimper he'd found some cool fish (juvenile sheeps-head) that he wanted to cast and he'd put about 10 of them, the size of a half dollar each, into this wax and in the course of standard debauchery forgot all about them. The crock-pot then got unplugged to seal the fish in wax to rot.
I don't have the words in my vocabulary to explain how vile and foul the atmosphere in the warehouse was for about 30 minutes. We all thanked God for the breeze. I have been working on commercial fishing boats off and on for quite a while, and I have never in my life smelled a more unpleasant, thoroughly invasive stench.
This whole wax-pot thing is a prank waiting to happen. We thought about selling it in a yard sale for a dime or so, but then they'd know where they got it. I thought about taking it down to the thrift store and donating it, but all the ladies there are so nice I couldn't stand the thought of them plugging it in to determine if it works or not in the store. I guess I'm just going to wipe it down with bleach to take the surface stench away and keep it 'till April. This makes Walter Mathau's "dead fish behind the truck seat" gag in 'Grumpy old Men' seem tame.
(insert evil laugh here)
This guy Jeramy (who shall remain nameless) is a goldsmith and keeps a crock-pot full of wax around he uses to obtain molds of various creatures and objects that he will eventually cast in gold. He decided to melt the wax to mold something and two seconds after he plugged the unit in there were complications. First, a geyser of steam erupted and Jeramy (who shall remain nameless) started yelling "Oh, God! Holy cow!!" Naturally I (being the curious type) ran over to see what was happening. I thought it was some sort of cool chemical reaction. Well, this nameless guy ran the opposite direction to the window that lets a cool breeze blow through the entire length of the warehouse. That was a really bad move, as the problem was a horrible, concentrated rotten fish stench.
Evidently as a rookie shrimper he'd found some cool fish (juvenile sheeps-head) that he wanted to cast and he'd put about 10 of them, the size of a half dollar each, into this wax and in the course of standard debauchery forgot all about them. The crock-pot then got unplugged to seal the fish in wax to rot.
I don't have the words in my vocabulary to explain how vile and foul the atmosphere in the warehouse was for about 30 minutes. We all thanked God for the breeze. I have been working on commercial fishing boats off and on for quite a while, and I have never in my life smelled a more unpleasant, thoroughly invasive stench.
This whole wax-pot thing is a prank waiting to happen. We thought about selling it in a yard sale for a dime or so, but then they'd know where they got it. I thought about taking it down to the thrift store and donating it, but all the ladies there are so nice I couldn't stand the thought of them plugging it in to determine if it works or not in the store. I guess I'm just going to wipe it down with bleach to take the surface stench away and keep it 'till April. This makes Walter Mathau's "dead fish behind the truck seat" gag in 'Grumpy old Men' seem tame.
(insert evil laugh here)
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Oops, getting fat...
Well, since I've been in this house with all the modern amenities I've seemed to expand in girth. Where I used to ride a bike or walk for at least half a mile to feed myself, I now only have to walk the short distance to the refrigerator. I've been considering moving the fridge across town, but I don't have an extension cord that long. I still bike or walk wherever I go, but cooking breakfast, lunch and supper at home and having immediate access to leftovers whenever I want (and a microwave) is still packing the insulation on me. I'd do well in a cooler climate.
Sigh.
Sigh.
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