Broken Brakes or Broken Face?

I have always considered myself someone who can fix most things. It came to my attention lately that i needed to change the brakes on my car. Having few tools of my own i waited for a chance to go to my parent's house. Thanksgiving (happy turkey-day everyone!) gave me a good chance to pull off the old pads and replace them with new ones.

Having driven my car into the garage, with all of the necessary tools for the job at hand, I proceeded to take the lugs off the tires. This is a simple procedure that I have performed a multitude of times. This time things were different. I applied my weight to the tire-iron and the lugs wouldn't budge. I jumped up and down trying to force them but they were stuck good. It was clear to me that i needed to approach this with a little more ingenuity. I grabbed a steel pipe placed it over the handle of the wrench and applied force to release the bolt. The lugs were still stubborn. I ended up bending my only lug removal tool. I took my dad's tire-iron out of his car and used that. It straight away broke.

It was time for a trip to Big-O-Tires to have them removed by the professionals. they removed and replaced them for free and then we drove it home for a second try. All but one of the lugs loosened easily on each of the tires. I was trying to take the last left front lug off. Applying pressure with a newly purchased multi-headed, tire-removing monster. As i was pushing down the integrity of the metal failed me again. anyone that has ever jumped up and down on something that breaks knows that acceleration soon follows. My head accelerated right towards the hood of my car. After a really fat lip, a bloody nose, and 3 broken wrenches I surrendered. my plan to save some money had failed and I, having been humbled, humiliated and hurt, took my car back into Big-O-Tires to have them put new breaks on my car.

I hereby relinquish my self-acclaimed title of handyman. i will now join the slew of shlubs that pay people when anything needs to be fixed.

btw. Righty tighty, lefty loosey. I know the rhyme and i was definitely twisting to the left. the left should have loosened the lugs.

Jobs Are Like Girlfriends

Jobs are like girlfriends. I had a friend get laid off today and it reminded me of how it felt to get laid off. The only thing i could think of was that it was just as if i had been dumped by a girl. my heart was sad, I lost my appetite, and all i wanted to do was to get revenge on my employer for kicking my butt back on the street. Yep....just like getting dumped.

The Rebound

Another funny thing is that in order to get over being laid off you need to go get another job. so you take the first offer that comes up. For our purposes here lets call it..."the rebound" you most likely wont like this job very much but it is comforting to have something stable that will comfort you. of course there is baggage left over from your last job. You are always afraid of being fired again at the whim of the economy. You cling to the job you dislike like it was the only thing worthwhile for you. At this point one of two things has to happen: you can either learn to enjoy your new job and stay with it, or you come to the realization that it is never going to work out and you are just using the job for comfort. You then leave that job, most likely to the regret of your employer, and start a search for a better match.

The approach i most often use.

I prefer to stay in bed for a few days after losing my job. After 3 or 4 days of sulking in the dark abyss of my bunk bed i emerge to see the sunlight. Then i pretend like everything is normal as i look for new work. I am ultra cautious for the first little bit never wanting to commit to any job for fear that I won't love it as much as my last job. Sometimes, I just pretend like i don't even really want a job. I play it cool for a little while hoping to maintain the image that i don't care. Eventually as I go unemployed i actually grow accustomed to not having a job and actually enjoy myself for a while. then i run out of money or the ability to endure and start searching for good employment.

In Conclusion

I could go on forever but i am sure people are bored as it is. I welcome your comments and additions to my analogy of how jobs are like girlfriends. (boyfriends...if that is what you are into)