Adulting

Life tends to move quick in both your personal life and professional life. I recently took a different position at my place of work which now takes my daily commute from 6 minutes to 51; give or take a few with traffic. While I loved my Sierra, it wasn’t optimal for a commute like that and it showed signs of needing major repairs. A good indicator of that would be the colorful trail of liquid left behind when it would rain or snow lol I made the decision to try and find something economical but I would enjoy driving.

I decided to go with a 2011 Honda Fit Sport. My wife had one when we first started dating almost 10 years ago and I enjoyed driving the car. Fast forward to this past weekend and this popped up and I knew right away what my decision would be. However, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t test drive a few newer trucks before finalizing this deal lol I’ve owned it now for 24 hours and I can’t say how happy I am with my decision. While trucks will still be my main focus on the project side of things, you can bet I won’t be able to keep my hands off this..

It FITs

Change is in the air

Historically I’ve hated change. I get locked into a comfort zone and become complacent then just ride that wave to my hearts content. As my wife reminds me, I need to step out of my comfort zone. I normally don’ but sometimes there are no other choices. I have goals I set for myself which I usually don’t make or I get off the path somehow. I’m doing my best to change that narrative here in 2023 because time doesn’t slow down for anyone. So far to start the year we moved into a new place and we’re just about settled in; now I have an opportunity at work that I can’t say no to and another project related opportunity I shouldn’t say no to. I need to put myself out there a little more and take some risks if I want to make waves and gain ground on the goals I’ve set for myself.

No real progress on the garage, just slowly cleaning it out but my goal is to make some real progress this weekend. That’s all I got, but for anyone who actually reads this. A little teaser below.

Walk before running

I want it all done now. I want the floors and walls cleaned. I want the paint done, new lights, and everything set up so I can start getting back into turning wrenches on my own stuff. However, I can’t snap my wrinkle me nose like Barbara Eden and make everything happen at once. I have to be patient and frugal, spending an hour or two daily just doing the little things will eventually add up to the larger things getting done.

It’s an approach I fail to take with my vehicles (which I’m trying so hard to do now), but I’m trying to teach myself everything happens and comes to fruition in due time. Last night I spent an hour in the garage doing some of the little things. Cleaning up garbage, organizing and cleaning. For the first time I was able to back my truck into the garage to see how it fit. Newsflash, it doesn’t lol That’s fine, the Wifes jeep will reside in the garage since it’s smaller and the other half will be reserved for a special project. I felt accomplished, I felt the dopamine hit when I stood back and just looked at the truck in the garage. Feels good, man.

On the move

The title is quite literal. The wife and I packed up and moved! What a process, for as much as I thought we were ready and all set before moving day; I was off the mark a little bit. While I do have a pick up truck with an 8 foot bed, renting a 26′ U-Haul was one of the best decisions I made throughout the whole process. Our new place is on the cusp of being set up 100% but as with everything it takes time. Once the inside is “done” and situated, I can finally turn my attention to..my garage. Yep. 2 car, with heat AND compressor included. She’s a bit messy and rough but I can’t wait to start building out my little universe.

Small Scale

I love buying hoodies and shirts from different companies. I’m a sucker for a good design and even more so when the colors pop or hit just right. I don’t have a store, I’m not Mr. Beast, some famous influencer or even anywhere near Nike. However, having my logo on something is pretty cool. It took me forever to find a hoodie I liked and I hope they never go away.

There were a hoodie or two before these three but I’ve nailed it at least for my comfort and my wife. I still struggle finding a T-Shirt I like as I’m a thick fella and comfort is something I strive for in my shirts. Will this ever grow to the point where I need to open some kind of pre-ordering or an online store? My hopes are yes, but ultimately putting my logo on clothes I find comfortable is what I like to do and if it takes off I can only hope people are comfortable in them too.

EDIT.I FOUND THE ORIGINAL HOODIES.

Almost

Almost missed it. I brushed the thought of writing something this week off as “I’m busy” and kind of moved on from the notion. However, that’s usually how it starts right? I’m busy, I don’t have time today, or tomorrow and then a year later I’m staring at my last post which basically said the same thing it did before, “this time will be different”. Well here I am, trying to be consistent. My wife and I are in the middle of packing and moving. We hate packing, not sure if I’ve met someone who enjoys it actually. I’ll have a follow up post in a few weeks, however I’ll just put this out there. I finally have a garage and I am more than ecstatic. See everyone next week.

Origins

Everyone develops inspiration as a child from something. a cartoon they were obsessed with, certain toys, experiences or memories shape things we take interest in for the remainder of our lives. For me, it was my Tonka trucks and the commercial paving company that was located two doors down from my house. As a kid I loved watching the trucks leave for the day then return that evening. I knew the schedule, the make and model of the trucks and all of the equipment. I even took this to another level by having binders of vehicle spec sheets printed out. It was a mild obsession but what kid wouldn’t be?

When I wasn’t stalking the company next door, I was out back in the yard playing in the sand box by Dad had built playing with my Tonka trucks. Recreating scenarios and playing out my biggest dreams; burying matchbox and hot wheels cars, building large sand and dirt piles, etc. I can still picture those days perfectly, hours and hours of fun with me and my imagination. To no ones surprise who may know me, I still have the original Tonka trucks in my Dads shed. Something I’ll never get rid ( my wife will cringe at that sentiment haha). At 32, I’m still obsessed with cars and trucks, however big equipment still brings out the little kid in me every single time. While I may never be a big equipment operator, I still have my fun and enjoy my trucks to no end. The toys just get bigger. Below is my favorite VHS I watched as a kid, if you want a glimpse of what I did on rainy days enjoy your time with Hard Hat Harry.

Projects: Betty White

Yes. I call my work truck Betty White. I picked this 2013 GMC Sierra Work Truck up in May with the intention of flipping it. Were now January and that hasn’t happened haha. We sold my daily, a 2015 Jeep Patriot since car dealers were selling the farm for used cars, and Betty here landed with Daily duties.

It’s a Two-wheel drive work truck with a 4.3l V6 ripping under the hood. It’s a solid truck with minimal rust but you can definitely tell it was used to work. I removed the previous owners’ company’s decals, changed out the filters, and installed a hitch set-up so I could use it for lawn care over the summer.

From there, I paint-matched the front emblem, found white mirror caps, and bought an antenna that matched the white as well because I’ve become a fool for paint-matched things. After that, I decided against buying super fancy headlights and taillights to go with Amazon Specials.

While she’s not perfect, she gets the job done, and quite frankly having the utility of an 8-foot bed is something I didn’t know I was missing. Not much more I want to do except fix the interior, detail it, and get the front and rear bumpers fixed. It is a work truck after all.

On new years note; We’re one day into 2023 and things are already looking great.

227.4

Projects : Silverado

I’m no stranger to unfinished projects: Is300, Subaru’s, E36’s, countless trucks etc. Like I said in my previous post I’m trying to change the narrative. Starting with my 2002 Silverado 2500..

Years ago I had a bed cap and sold it. I regretted the decision ever since. With prices going way up for shitty used ones I managed to scoop this one local for a STEAL. Something about bed caps that get’s me going.

Finally pulled the trigger and ordered a roll pan for the rear. When the drop shackles were installed the rear bumper was cut off and I didn’t want to go through the hassle of replacing it. It gave me the chance to move to this look.

Non tow mirrors, tow mirrors and back to non tow mirrors. I couldn’t make up my mind, however I knew I wanted paint matched mirrors, which is what I ended up with and I’m super happy I did. Looking at this picture now I realize I need to ditch that ugly antenna. The truck is currently in the shop getting the rear brake lines replaced and new fuel tank crossmembers installed. Other than figuring out the rust issue I’m about 75% done with this thing, finally. Wheels, taillights and new headlights are all currently in storage. Weird things happen when you focus on one thing instead of 10 different projects. Imagine that.