(no subject)
FIXED the fucker. The old nut had stripped the threads out of the throttle shaft. I ended up taking the carb back off to be able to get at it...took four hands. Then the secondary arm disassembled itself, the primary to secondary linkage fell out and tried to get lost, I applied thread locker and didn't realize I still needed a couple washers, I fucked up the throttle shaft, etc etc. It nearly had me in tears at one point because for about two hours I thought I'd hosed up the carb permanently. But I fixed and reassembled it and everything seems to work. Seems. So far.
Of course I still can't find my #13 wrench to tighten it down PROPERLY (and can't reach it with pliers or my #14, and the linkage has already slipped once, and SOMETHING caused it to idle at redline for a couple of horrifying starts, and then after getting gas the starter heat soaked and we had to leave Bug in the gas station and hike all the way across to Walmart for the shopping and spend about 20 minutes waiting for it to cool down even afterwards....
...yes, why, I /do/ have a remote starter relay kit sitting RIGHT HERE because I THOUGHT OF THAT...but I can't install it until I get jackstands and a jack. And there's still the leaking valve cover gasket (and valve check/adjustment) to be done...
Work in bloody progress. I'll get another #13 tomorrow and do my thing properly with the linkage. Make sure WOT is where it needs to be. Go from there. Maybe fix the pitman and idler arms next week so when I run into Houston the 1800 pound car doesn't wander all over the lane like a 5200 pound car. Struts, springs, BUSHINGS...maybe if I get a jack and jackstands I could do the pitman and idler arm myself. How hard could it be? Famous last words.
Reynolds & Reynolds is a no go but I'm not surprised. I got an email from Lyondell as well not five minutes afterwards, telling me I was out of the running....but then after the inevitable blood pressure spike I read further and it was turning me down for the other position I'd applied for back in January. I heard back from my initial SLB recruiters, so depending on how the Lyondell thing goes I may reach back out to them for assistance with other placements. Talk about airdropped into my lap.
Z's folks' situation is not looking so great. HUD fell through, MHA is toast unless they can come up with 3K in 4 days which is vanishingly unlikely. If they lose the house then I'll be buying Z a plane ticket down here sometime in late April/early May. At that point if I'm still on unemployment at least the household will qualify for food stamps.
Still struggling for Internet access...finally got AT&T to speak my language, which is 'waived install fee, voucher for equipment, you don't have to pay anything for outside-the-home wiring'. They also verified they could deliver service to my address...sadly the folks at the auction house already have service, which created a sales problem. Per the technical team, there's no reason UVerse and IPDSL can't coexist, especially since this is "Cabin C" but the CSR who took my deposit couldn't get a manager override. She said she'd try, give me a call back in a few minutes, two days passed and on my callback a different CSR told me that that account had been cancelled out. Leaving me up shit creek for the deposit, of course. She got the refund process started for it, but couldn't use it toward the NEW account, and of course I'm not made of Franklins so the NEW account had to (after an hour on the phone trying to straighten shit out) be cancelled. This time she noted it correctly. Maybe the next time it'll happen...
In unrelated notes, I find that working on Bug is surprisingly good for my temper. Those of you who know me in person (to your lasting regret!) know that I tend to flare hot and let it fade just as easily. Well, when everything goes wrong, or I need the tool to use the tool to find the tool to etc, or the vital bolt has fallen somewhere and is playing hide-and-seek, I'm learning to remain a lot calmer. Some of this is required...foot-stomping, shouting, and being violent with tools does nothing but break/dislodge/lose more stuff and only serves as useless blood pressure elevation. So I can stay calm and carry on.
Doing laundry by hand, in a bucket or the bathtub, flat sucks. So does hanging it out to dry. But it saves money.
Who do I have to murder, skin, and wear to have a better life like a normal person?