What Pleased You Today!

[espo]

18 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

I handed in my resignation today. 

So after almost three years, I've left the Ford dealer.

Taking a few days to decompress and reflect and all that.

Next week, I start the new adventure.

 

 

I spent far too many years in the car business. Mainly issues with the owners of dealerships is what got me to retire early. Still have PTSD flash backs every now and then. 

[ksnow]

10 minutes ago, espo said:

I spent far too many years in the car business. Mainly issues with the owners of dealerships is what got me to retire early. Still have PTSD flash backs every now and then. 

11 years of flat rate wrenching was enough for me. Doesn't surprise me that every dealer has "Mechanics Wanted" signs out front.

[Ace-Garageguy]

7 hours ago, ksnow said:

 Doesn't surprise me that every dealer has "Mechanics Wanted" signs out front.

And they often want to pay 'em $15 per hour when the shop is billing well in excess of $200 in some cases.

I made really good money way back in the days when mechanics and bodymen got 50% of the hourly billed. I could always "beat the book" by a significant margin, always did quality work, and never had comebacks. And I always stood my ground and made sure we billed if a job ran over "flat rate" due to unforeseen damage, etc. But a lot of service writers and managers and estimators were afraid of the customers and insurance companies, and wouldn't up-charge them when it was legitimate. And then shops started chipping away at the percentage they paid mechanics and bodymen.

That's the reason I quit the "service" end of the business after I learned welding and fabrication and machine work and everything else that goes with restoration and race-car prep and full builds.

I work as a self-employed subcontractor now, in some cases getting significantly more than 50% of what the shop bills.

Pay me what I'm worth, or get some bubble-gum welder who spends most of the day on his phone anyway, and generates mostly comebacks 'cause nothing he does is right.

The two jobs I'm finishing up now will be the last client jobs I'll ever do in somebody else's shop, and frankly, I never intended to even do these.

[89AKurt]

On 9/3/2024 at 4:40 PM, iamsuperdan said:

I handed in my resignation today. 

So after almost three years, I've left the Ford dealer.

Taking a few days to decompress and reflect and all that.

Next week, I start the new adventure.

I've been self-employed most of my career, and am just about self-retired.  Pity the fool who wants to build anything, and have a building department full of people who never drove a nail home, with a hammer, not a nailgun.  Some people luck out and still consider their work a fun thing to do.

I'm obsessed/possessed with a full scale model, been building a camping kit for Blue Cloud.  Pleased with my latest, gotta go do another shakedown run.

[Falcon Ranchero]

2 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

I've been self-employed most of my career, and am just about self-retired.  Pity the fool who wants to build anything, and have a building department full of people who never drove a nail home, with a hammer, not a nailgun.  Some people luck out and still consider their work a fun thing to do.

I'm obsessed/possessed with a full scale model, been building a camping kit for Blue Cloud.  Pleased with my latest, gotta go do another shakedown run.

That’s a cool photo you took there; that must be neat to go camping around in a classic truck. I hope to do something similar in the farther future; drive up the Ontario Parks in a classic car or station wagon. 

[John M.]

A short week for the school kids and I'm happy as well. One more day and it's the weekend off. And the boss man will be paying the drivers holiday pay for Labor Day. 

[Rob Hall]

A short but very busy work week...got my fall vaccinations yesterday, feeling a but woozy from them still today...but happy only one more day at work then a week off......looking forward to disconnecting and getting in some quality beach time and an enjoyable road trip there and back..

[89AKurt]

3 hours ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

That’s a cool photo you took there; that must be neat to go camping around in a classic truck. I hope to do something similar in the farther future; drive up the Ontario Parks in a classic car or station wagon. 

Thank you.  I've been taking a bunch of pictures, hoping some will be nice enough.  Thought this would be good for my banner pic on Fakebook.

[Earl Marischal]

Playing trains with my layout at a local model railway exhibition.

steve

 

[Falcon Ranchero]

58 minutes ago, Earl Marischal said:

Playing trains with my layout at a local model railway exhibition.

steve

 

That’s neat; I grew up with something relatively similar; Thomas trains, you know, the ones with the faces. Though it is pretty juvenile, I used to have a ball setting it up and having them run along the track. Still have them as they don’t make them anymore so they could be worth something in the future.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I talk to an old friend who lives alone a couple of times every day, just to make sure she's OK, usually at about 10 AM and 10 PM my time.

Couldn't reach her all day, she finally picked up just now, all is well. 

 

[Can-Con]

Ever since I missed out on my one and only chance to see "Doug & the Slugs", one of my favorite bands in person in '99 I've always made my best effort to catch any shows "of interest" when at all possible. Doug Bennet passed form the classic rock and roll disease of way too much Jack Daniels before just a few months before they were to tour my side of the country again . 

I'm happy to say I've scored tickets to a show featuring 4 of the bands I grew up listening to. A couple of the names will be familiar to everyone and a couple probably only to us here in Canada.

So, at the end of November Mary and I are off to see "The Spoons, "Men Without Hats", Honeymoon Suite" and, most exciting for me, "A Flock of Seagulls".  ?

Should be a great night for me, can't wait. ?

Edited September 7, 2024 by Can-Con

[89AKurt]

I'm killing two days with one post.  What pleased me, very much, was finding a bloody awesome campsite!  Nobody out there, so quiet you could hear the airliners flying over.  It's literally at the end of a Forest Service road, and only an hour from home.  Think I should add red/white reflective tape to the matching patina can.  I was here earlier in the day, left that track. ?

It was the first real test of the tarp setup, rained after 1:30 AM, mostly successful, but just like a model....

Breakfast of chompions.

Throwing this in as an extra.  Another end of the road, which was really about a half mile back.

[ewetwo]

Waking up in our own bed this morning after a 2 day Dana Farber appointment in Boston Ma which turned into an unexpected 2 week stay. Glad to be home. Hate going to Boston.

[TarheelRick]

Went to a high school football game Friday night, my neighbor went with me. Saturday afternoon he called and told me he had Covid. Went to the drugstore and bought a test kit. Second test this morning showed negative, so all is good, at least on my end. Neighbor is still down.

[89AKurt]

I'm working as Stage Captain on the Prescott Rally.  Even though I haven't been on the bench for over a year, I thought the stash in the background qualifies as being pleased today.  I look so serious, because I was looking at the screen to take the picture, look like a snob. ?

[iamsuperdan]

Well, started the new job yesterday.

I am now the Commercial Sales Manager for Canada for Arctic Trucks North America. 

And as the only Canadian employee, right now I'm responsible for pretty much everything Arctic Trucks does up here.

Lots of responsibility, but lots of growth potential. 

Plus, I get to work with stuff like this.

 

 

The silver truck is actually coming to live with me.

 

[Earl Marischal]

11 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

Well, started the new job yesterday.

I am now the Commercial Sales Manager for Canada for Arctic Trucks North America. 

And as the only Canadian employee, right now I'm responsible for pretty much everything Arctic Trucks does up here.

Lots of responsibility, but lots of growth potential. 

Plus, I get to work with stuff like this.

 

 

The silver truck is actually coming to live with me.

 

Congratulations and good fortune for the future!

steve

[ksnow]

Good luck, and those look like some serious rigs.

[John M.]

My trusty Accord needed a bath so I employed a company perk which is having the use of a bay in the garage to vacuum the interior and wash the exterior of the car. It saved me $35 to $40 at the local car wash. I got permission from our GM who's cool as anything. As long as one asks him politely, he'll glad make sure that one receives. 

[JollySipper]

I ticked off one of my neighbors yesterday! I've been letting her do laundry at my place because she is without a washer. Maybe 3 or 4 times a month she has been using my machine. This last time she asked to do a load, I said "Sure, I'll call you tomorrow and let you know when....". I call her the next day, she's like 'maybe tomorrow'. So the next day I call her again, and again she puts it off with 'maybe tomorrow'. So I kinda said to her "I wish I could tell people when they can do ME a favor!" Like I have to do her laundry in my machine when it is convenient for her! Anyway, she got mad, throwing in my face the $10 dollars she had recently given me, which doesn't cover the water use or the bleach I used after her laundry........ Plus, you can't put a price on how good of a neighbor I have been to her..........

So, I'm pleased that I won't have to bother with her any more!

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

52 minutes ago, JollySipper said:

 "I wish I could tell people when they can do ME a favor!"

Been there more times than I can count.

I finally learned "no" isn't anywhere near as hard to say as I'd apparently thought.  

[89AKurt]

Spending time with family. ?  My goofiness is in the genes.
My mom passed on the 12th a year ago. ? Going to ditch her ashes at a secret location.

[89AKurt]

Gosh, how can anyone top that? ?

[slusher]

Great view!