another ten bucks

I gave myself a haircut today.  It's about the 65th haircut I've given myself since 2000, and I didn't even start keeping track until 2003.  My haircutting kit was initially 29 dollars, and since then, I've added some fancy tres claveles thinning shears from Spain.  A cheap men's haircut is about ten bucks.  That means that I've already saved 650 bucks in just haircuts alone, not to mention the gas and time it takes to do that.  Plus, I've been cutting Scott's, Tyler's, and Heidi's hair.   If everyone in the US pinched their pennies like I do, many business would have failed much sooner.  That's not good.  But still--I enjoy cutting my own hair, packing my lunch, fixing my own car, and doing my own home projects.  Plus, we buy most of our stuff used from craigslist.  

I read that Japanese youth aren't stoked about getting a car, so Honda and Toyota are predicting fewer sales since the status symbol is no longer an automobile.  I've been talking less about a Corvette, because I think it's more fun to want one than to actually have one.  Plus, I had such a nice ride in the Riv yesterday.  The subs were working great and the engine had almost no vibration.  The acoustic dampening of the Riv is the best I've ever had in any of my cars.  I still think about replacing the Pitmann steering arm, but that's for a later date.

I wear scrubs to work now.  The good thing about that is that they are easier to maintain.  The bad thing is there are only two pockets total.  I am used to having five, so I think I"ll buy some fabric and sew them on.  These scrubs were so cheap, but I thought I ordered pockets.  Since I don't have as much use for my dress shirts, I'm going to see if my brother wants some.  If not, they're headed for goodwill or DI.  

Ironically, the shoes I wear to work are ones that were found in a bag next to the dumpster:  some Rockport size 10s.  They have conformed to the shape of my wide foot and are quite comfortable now.  I don't think they're too stylish, but I don't care.  They're durable.  Plus, when I work on my car or motorcycle at work, it doesn't bother me if they get scuffed.  Okay, time to go and be productive.  Heidi's actually thinking of having a professional cut her hair since i only know how to do one kind with layers, and that's getting blase.

Yo

How am I doing? Hanging in there. It would be denial to say I'm not grieving. I am, it's just in different ways. Grieving for me is just retreating to the garage and working on my cars. That's what I did this week, and it was great. Heidi, Scott and Tyler were all napping at the same time, so I dragged the trouble light out to the street and jacked up the Riviera to change the oil. While I was at it, I did a visual inspection. It looks like the Riv will make it through another year. The CV joint boot is still intact, and although there is a lot of oil on the drain pan, I'm not too worried about the leaks. I might replace the pitmann steering arm like I did in Provo. I called about a new muffler today. I want a throatier exhaust in the Riv, but not to the point that it would cause harmonic resonance at cruising speeds. Well, I had a lead to a muffler shop, so I was surprised when he came back with an estimate of 300. Woof!
I changed the front brakes on Heidi's car and changed the oil with some 5w-30. I was pleased about how my projects went, even though my oil spilled all over the place. Stupid ford puts the drain plug on the side of the pan, so you have to judge how far you think the oil will arc and position the drip pain accordingly. Well, I was off, so it missed the container. Stupid Ford.

Then, I finally removed the hand grips from the VFR and wired in my heated hand grips. It was quite a project and I still need to replace the grips. I called the parts house and the guy had a tone as he said, "You just want the OEM grips?" I said, "Yeah, the aftermarket ones wore out way too fast." He's not really interested in my mileage anyway. I wouldn't buy parts from these hosers, but they are close, so I save on shipping. Oh well. Yeah, so I'm making it, but times are tough.

Well,

I can't say I'm feeling that great. I'm not feeling super down, either, but I am not doing well. I thought I was mostly stable and on the road to recovery. Yet when I arrived at work and started reading about other HLHS babies and those with similar conditions to our fetus, I got feeling down. I bought starbucks for the girls and had to turn off the stereo in the Riv. The subwoofers are my favorite thing about the sound system, but I just felt like listening to the old v-8 with the hole in the exhaust pipe. I wanted to peel out too, but that is just wasteful and childish. Still, I am grieving in ways that are probably normal for men.

It's cold here. The furnace is on full blast and it's still only 61 degrees. I haven't taken off my homie hat or my trench coat yet. Yes, I wear a beanie with my trench coat. And I don't even care what people think of me. The other day at the school, a student asked, "Dr. McMillan, would you wear these gloves?"

Without much thought, I said, "Heck yeah, my steering wheel is 50 degrees below zero. Why?"

She said, "I gave him (another student) these gloves and he won't wear them. He thinks they're too girly." To the ungrateful recipient, I said, "Just wear the gloves. I'm at the point in life where I don't care what people think of me."

"I can tell," the student coyly said. Whatever. Merry Christmas. Yeah, so I'm a bit down. I feel like I'm back in concord, barely making it. Those were tough times. My mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I don't know. Someone asked if there was anything they could do to help us during this rough time, and I said, "Yeah, there are these chocolate chip cookies at Costco. I could really go for some of those." And they thought I was joking. Well, I want some cookies! I made some on Saturday night and we finished them yesterday.

Huff. Burl Ives just came on the radio. He makes me happy. Okay, time to find out why my patients aren't coming in.

Rubbish!

I just read an article about the failing American auto industry. Instead of wanting 25 billion like originally planned, they're asking for 34 buh buh billion. GM is reported to run out of cash in a few weeks and is asking for 4 billion immediately. Rubbish! Even though both of our cars are American made, I do not place much faith in them mechanically. The Riv made it all the way to Utah and back needing only a quart of oil, but any Honda or Toyota could do it without leaking any oil. In fact, I posted about the leaking VFR last week. Well, at work yesterday, I took off two fairings, cleaned off the bottom of the engine, and suspected the oil was coming from a faulty seal between the FRAM oil filter and the engine. I tightened the filter and could not detect any leakage upon arriving home. If that's it, I'll be pleased, though I won't buy a FRAM again. But still, I drive around over 5000 rpm constantly, and the engine still runs like it's brand new.

Rochester Quadrajet four barrel carburetor

In Utah, Bishop Dover and I tried to tune up the Riv by attending to the power valve on the old Rochester Quadrajet four barrel carburetor. We took off the top, couldn't see anything wrong, and put it back together. One gasket was misplaced, so the car didn't idle, and we had to take it apart and put it back together three times before getting it right. Still, the car hesitates when you stomp on it. The Riv and the VFR have roughly the same mileage, but if the Riv were extrapolated to consider total stroke cycles, the Riv would have something in the neighborhood of 350,000 miles. I hope GM goes under. They're driving to congress in a malibu hybrid, and it'll probably break down and they'll have to call on-star.

"Uh, onstar? I'm the CEO of GM and my car broke down."

Onstar: "Are you hurt?"

"Only emotionally."

Onstar: I'll send a rescue bus to get you. There are a few other stranded GM vehicles on the route, so it might be 8-10 hours."

Wagoner: "Dang! We only have enough donuts for six hours!"

Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish. GM talks aboug selling the Saab, Saturn, Hummer and Pontiac brands. Well, they should sell themselves to Caterpillar or CASE or John Deere and start making farm equipment, since they are good at making heavy, slow things.