03.07.09
Ongoing Frustration
I’m still suffering frustration with my disabled Escort. Diagnosis: no spark. All the ignition parts seem to have failed at once! Apparently, the coil failed sending a high voltage spike back through the low voltage side cooking everything with a computer chip in it. The last part for me to change is the stator which is inside the distributor so I’ve ordered a new distributor…
I tested one of the new parts I bought and have discovered that it may not be up to specs. Shit. How much time did I waste on that?
Luckily, I’ve got the smoke bomb to drive. It’s frustrating that I spent all that effort rebuilding the diesel engine in my little pick up only to have the new piston rings fail to seat. I’ve actually gotten some pretty good advice on how to deal with that situation from several different sources. Stay tuned. Hopefully I will have a great story to tell about how I fixed it (or maybe blew it up Ç;-).
Weather
At least it is a great day outside! Forsythia have been blooming for about 3 weeks, but the best is yet to come. The past week has been like Michigan during summer. The prettiest part of spring comes in April, but that is also the pine pollen season, so everyone here always hopes for a rainy spring to wash the pine pollen away still, it makes everything turn green for a couple weeks and folks with allergies suffer miserably.
I should be fixing my car, but instead I’m on on the computer. I don’t care much for car repair. And I try to get some work done on the story everyday.
Family
The generation of our parents is coming to a close. I think on Mom’s side there is only Uncle Bob (Bill’s twin) and Aunt Pat— both in their 80s. I have one aunt on my father’s side and her husband. After they are gone, we become the old farts in the family.
I want to go to MI this summer and visit my friends and family there.
Sanford
Other than living alone, things are good here and living alone isn’t terrible, I just prefer sharing meals with others. As long as I’m house sitting here, it is a hard choice to leave. I am fulfilling my primary vocation, and that is to write. Here I can afford the time. Elsewhere I may not, you know how life can get in the way. I’m over 3 years into this story project. The notion of all those thousands and thousands of hours becoming a waste has become a motivation in itself.
I hate to be restless. I am enjoying one of my best creative phases ever. But I am restless. This situation will end sooner or later whether I leave it or not, but once I do leave, the paradigm will shift. There is opportunity here that I will give up if I leave before it ends.
One house showing since Labor Day! Of course, someone could make an offer on the place tomorrow in which case all of the above considerations would become mute points. Meanwhile, I’m playing ping pong every week, supporting myself (for the first time in years!), playing lot’s of music, and most importantly, getting as much writing done as I am capable of doing. It’s a pretty good gig.
