Week 2
In the plus column, the cold has all but abated, leaving only some morning congestion and a slightly-elevated-over-normal need for tissues. Took the truck in for it's first oil change. I have four freebies through the dealer chain I bought it from, but the only local dealers in the chain are a Honda and a BMW dealer. I paid the Nissan dealer to do it in the hope that familiarity with the hardware would net a better result. I will take it up to Phoenix when the tire rotation is due, though. Finally, chassis decals for my Kymco came in. These were freebies, covered by warranty. How could decals be covered by warranty? Simple, they and the panel they were attached to were subject to pre-delivery damage before I picked up but bike in October 2012. The panel was replaced within two weeks of picking up the bike, but it took a wee bit longer to get the decals that went on it. Just need to make a template to align then with and my bike will finally be shiny and whole.
Replaced the flaky thermostat on the hot water heater and it's behaving better. I'm quietly optimistic that despite going on thirteen years old, it will last until I'm ready to replace it. I did drain and clean it out thoroughly last year, replace the anode rod, dip tube and both heating elements. Tank still looked good and no leaks were observed then or now. Not too shabby for a cheapie with a two-year warranty.
In the minus column, I ran by the scooter club garage Friday night to pick up a bearing puller kit I'd left there. I was less than happy to find the machines in disarray and that one of the club members and co-tenants had dropped by in the last two weeks, packed up all his things and vamoosed without telling anyone else. Another clubmate and I spent three hours today sorting through everything, making an inventory and looking for anything the vanished one may have left behind. The locks have been changed and the property owner has been advised that he is now a persona non gratia. I brought some of the secondsies/thirdsies/forthsies from my own tool stash to fill in what he took with him and made a shopping list for the rest. Minimal growling...keep calm and carry on. I'm feeling a bit betrayed at this point, though he has been very spotty in paying rent for several months now. At least he didn't help himself to things that weren't his.
I have been making a concerted effort to leave work out of this blog for this year, so I'll be brief with this: we were told Friday that the workload for the first third of the year will be ridiculous due to another huge project and yet another poorly-considered timeline. Lovely. We are also getting a new C-level manager to oversee our department. No idea how that will pan out; only time will tell. I used to worry about such changes, but now, worry has been replaced with indifference and mild apathy. I'm in my ninth year with this company and there have been precious few opportunities for growth in the last few years. I could go ten, or I could be job hunting this year...que sera sera. Right, enough of that.
One data point doesn't define a trend. We'll see where things are next week. May try to take a day off and go riding with a friend and I've negotiated a "go play at the garage" day next Saturday. Things to look forward to!
Until next time, wishing y'all the best.
Replaced the flaky thermostat on the hot water heater and it's behaving better. I'm quietly optimistic that despite going on thirteen years old, it will last until I'm ready to replace it. I did drain and clean it out thoroughly last year, replace the anode rod, dip tube and both heating elements. Tank still looked good and no leaks were observed then or now. Not too shabby for a cheapie with a two-year warranty.
In the minus column, I ran by the scooter club garage Friday night to pick up a bearing puller kit I'd left there. I was less than happy to find the machines in disarray and that one of the club members and co-tenants had dropped by in the last two weeks, packed up all his things and vamoosed without telling anyone else. Another clubmate and I spent three hours today sorting through everything, making an inventory and looking for anything the vanished one may have left behind. The locks have been changed and the property owner has been advised that he is now a persona non gratia. I brought some of the secondsies/thirdsies/forthsies from my own tool stash to fill in what he took with him and made a shopping list for the rest. Minimal growling...keep calm and carry on. I'm feeling a bit betrayed at this point, though he has been very spotty in paying rent for several months now. At least he didn't help himself to things that weren't his.
I have been making a concerted effort to leave work out of this blog for this year, so I'll be brief with this: we were told Friday that the workload for the first third of the year will be ridiculous due to another huge project and yet another poorly-considered timeline. Lovely. We are also getting a new C-level manager to oversee our department. No idea how that will pan out; only time will tell. I used to worry about such changes, but now, worry has been replaced with indifference and mild apathy. I'm in my ninth year with this company and there have been precious few opportunities for growth in the last few years. I could go ten, or I could be job hunting this year...que sera sera. Right, enough of that.
One data point doesn't define a trend. We'll see where things are next week. May try to take a day off and go riding with a friend and I've negotiated a "go play at the garage" day next Saturday. Things to look forward to!
Until next time, wishing y'all the best.