why the hell can’t I concentrate? I want so badly to do better at my job, and just get back to the place where I felt like I had control. But here I am on a thursday afternoon, checking my email every 10 seconds, and staring into my screen, unsure of what I should do next.
This fucking sucks.
I know, I know, it seems that a guy who does a motor swap on his car, ON HIS OWN, would not get too excited when he gets another running after it wouldn’t start for two days, but I AM!
The car stalled out a few days ago after running like crap for a few hours (it had done this before, stalling out at stoplights). I couldn’t get it started, and I freaked out because it’s an old car, and I haven’t a clue how to fix it…it’s a totally new thing to me to not be able to run computer diagnostics on the car. It’s a 1968 BMW. They didn’t have that back then.
Anyway, I replaced the distributor cap and rotor just a few hours before it quit, so I know those are good. I thought it was outta gas, so I put another few gallons in the tank. That didn’t fix it. I looked at the fuel filter under the hood, and it had gas in it. I opened the carburetor and looked down in while pushing the throttle. The gas squirted. I had fuel, I had air…but I must not have any spark. But maybe I flooded it.
Take out the spark plugs, they are dry. Hold a spark plug up to the valve cover while Liz turns the key…no spark. Hold the coil wire up…no spark. Go to the store and buy points…they are the wrong kind. Go to another store to get points…they are the wrong kind too. Go home and file and gap my old points…still no spark. That should have fixed it, and it should have run, if rough. But then there’s the condenser…
My dad came down yesterday to help me figure it out, since I haven’t a clue how to use a multimeter to test voltages and crap. Imagine that: an electrician’s son who doesn’t know shit about electricity. Go figure. Anyway, he tested all the voltages, and it seemed like everything was in order, but we weren’t too sure about the condenser. And every friggin parts store around couldn’t get them sooner than Tuesday.
Well, today I asked Al to let me take my lunch break a few hours early, so I could ride my bike downtown and go to AJ Foreign Auto as a last-ditch attempt. They had points and a condenser in stock, and they were miraculously the right ones. Anyway, I get them and ride my bike home (here’s hoping it starts, since my legs are starting to burn), and pop the hood.
Just as I’m finishing up putting the new points in and gapping them, I see sparks flying at the end of my screwdriver. GOOD SIGN. Now DON’T GET KILLED! I put it all back together, get in the car, press the gas, turn the key…it doesn’t start. FUCK!
I go back to get my tools out from under the hood, and my distributor rotor is just sitting on the windshield wiper. Duh. I take off the cap, put in the rotor, put it back together, close the hood, get in, turn the key, it starts right up, better than new.
Christ.
So I walk out of the office to put some things in my car (YAY, I got it started, but that’s another story), and I see this cute old dog walkin’ around in the parking lot. Aimlessly. Broken rope dangling from its “collar,” which is just the end of one of those reel-in leashes.
Anyway, I figure I’ll watch it for a few minutes and see if it starts heading toward home ersumthin, but all it does is chum up to every human that comes withing sniffing distance. Then it walks (hobbles) into the road and almost gets run over. I stop traffic, I walk it across the street and tie it up to a railing while I go get the number for the SPCA. I call them, and apparently they had the dog in there a few days ago, it was loose, and the owner came and got it. Long story short, SPCA came and got it, and they know who it goes to.
Friggin crappy dog owners. She’s the sweetest old dog, fat and loving, and she deserves sweet owners who take better care of her.
No sooner do I set up a deal to sell my Jetta seats for $900, than do I go get on eBay and start looking for OEM Recaros. No need to spend $1500 on a set of seats that won’t be any easier to install than the ones I’m selling. I think I’m just addicted to buying things. No good.
Anyway, I’ve got to go to this send-off party for an employee who’s leaving, then I gotta go to a Dr appointment. Yay. No idea whether I’ll get to go to Lansing tonight. I need to rip shit up.
could today go any SLOWER? perhaps a hostess apple pie will help 
awake, but just barely. still catching up on sleep, apparently. looks like this week isn’t gonna be going the direction I had intended, but maybe that won’t be a bad thing. I met up with Jennifer last night to check out a project she wanted me to help her out on…getting back into Director for a few days. here’s hoping I can actually remember how to DO it. I used to love Director, but the last time I even LOOKED at lingo was before I learned JSP and Actionscript. And now I’ve been working in Actionscript for so long that I’m sure I’ll be disoriented. Here’s hoping I can do it.
Anyway, I might be getting a second wind to work on the GTI…just in time to not HAVE time to do it. I just need to get the GTI’s dash out and swap the wiring harnesses. Then I can get to work fitting the new motor and splicing the wiring. God, there’s so much to DO! Driveshafts and Plus-Suspension are needed before I can roll the thing, and after I get it on the road, I have to do the windows/locks/alarm and stuff, but that’ll come later…I think. Who friggin’ knows? Plan? What plan?
Another day at work, and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing. Damn lull.
