Ready or Not, Here We Go

DAILY DRIVER | 09.15.23

Welcome back. I’m going to try sharing some of the stuff I’ve had on my mind lately. TGP has always been about the gearhead as the project as much as the projects that keep us busy. Not a single day goes by that I don’t wish I had something to say—or something worth saying—here.

MINDPUNTER: WHO AM I?

We all know the saying, “Do as I say, not as I do.” It’s our collective, go-to admission that we’re better telling others what to do than we are taking our own advice. We’ve all admitted it at some point. Lately I’ve been thinking there’s something of a cheat code in the sentiment.

Sometimes it’s easier to help others with their problems than work on our own. It’s been suggested that, if you’re not sure what to do about something bothering you, imagining someone else has the problem can make it easier to figure out what to do. It’s like, “Nah, Brain. I’M good. I’m asking for a friend.” (Riiiight.)

All of the above is to say I’ve been thinking about taking this concept even deeper. What if I went so far as to invent an imaginary friend-style version of myself; the PRO version of me, who has all his shit together. You know that chase cam view in racing sims where you’re just above and behind the car (instead of inside, behind the wheel)? I’m talking like that. Like, Mini-Me, SimCity-style , only I’m trying to level up my life.

KEEP ON TRUCKIN’ FEZZIK UPDATE

The Heater Core Replacement Quest continues. It’s been at least six weeks since I last drove Fezzik. The plan was to only be down for August, but it’s looking like it will be October before everything’s buttoned back up.

Long story short: The little hose couplers connecting the heater core to the coolant lines through the firewall finally gave up the ghost after 25 years of presumably hard living. Given a real, actual problem forcing me to pull the dashboard, carpet, and seats, I finally had cause to strip and refurb the interior.

It won’t be Mohenic quality, but I’m getting pretty excited about the drive this winter.

ADHD LIFE & LULZ

This is really what it’s like, by the way. (Captions are links. I’m rusty and didn’t like the massive embeds.)

In other news, at 46 years old, I’m finally able to swallow pills larger than a grain of rice and have been feeling cumulative benefits of taking some decent supplements alongside my ADHD meds. Creatine, fish oil, zinc, magnesium, D3, and a nootropic.

WINTER IS COMING. I’M READY.

Believe it or not, I’m kinda looking forward to Winter this year. Last Winter was hard for a number of reasons, but I think chief among them was that we had no frame of reference. V&P are Zonies who had never, ever lived through a Winter, and it had been 20+ years since I’d lived through one.

The second biggest reason why Winter broke us was all the dark, dreary days. 131 days passed between the first snow in November and the last in March here in Iowa City. Most of them were gloomy. Compare that to Phoenix where, whether Hot or Not-Hot, it’s generally sunny. Phoenix averages just 65 cloudy days a year.

I’m feeling a more harmonious relationship with the seasons now. Summer’s been great, but the yard’s feeling shaggy, all the indoor projects tabled in April are itching to resume, and I’m looking forward to the clean slate Winter brings. They say it’s going to be colder and wetter this year.