Two years is just in time for me

Posted on 09/28/2009 by RLW3

We have been limping along with just our two trucks to get the my wife and I to work and my daughter to and from school. We have made it work, but I REALLY don’t like the idea of my wife driving Wild Bill, our OLD F-150!

Well, tonight we replaced the Honda.

While fixing the Maxima’s rear window last weekend, I heard Dave Ramsey do a radio advertisement for Country Hill Motors. They primarily sell $3-12,000 cars. I had heard of them before but had never gone there. After hearing Ramsey vouch for them, I decided to check them out.

On Saturday morning,I had to take my wife to work at a different Costco. Since I was in the general area, I decided to hunt them down and check them out.

I was greeted by a great salesman! You know a great salesman when you meet one. They don’t pressure you or try to sell you anything…but you WANT to buy from them.

I told him about hearing the Dave Ramsey ad. He said that they had applied for that 2 years ago.

“Really? Why did it take so long?”

“First, he went through all of our financials to make sure that they were a viable company. Then he sent secret shoppers to see how we dealt with people. Then, some of those secret shoppers bought cars…and then brought them back for service when something went wrong to see how we serviced them. He finally endorsed us when he came here for his live event at the Kemper Arena a few months ago.”

They advertise that if you buy a car from them, they will service it AT THEIR COST! That is HUGE!

I decided that I like them enough to buy a car from them! My wife is now driving a 2004 Oldsmobile Alero. I’ll let you know how it goes.

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Now I know…

Posted on 09/27/2009 by RLW3

In our search for a new church, I have noticed that the Baptists have the most impressive buildings!

Now, I know why.

Today was our third visit to this church. We like the pastor. Not only is he a man of God, he is a MAN! There is no cowardice or compromise in him!

The last time we came, he addressed the church’s lack of financial support. Today’s sermon, nearly a month later, was all about tithing. 43% of the families in the church are faithfully tithing and 57% are not!

After the service, we went to a vision luncheon…My wife agreed to that when one of the assistant pastors called.

I need to take her phone away!

After the fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn, the senior pastor and the executive pastor informed the attendees about the church’s history, its programs, etc. At the end, they asked us to fill out a sheet with our personal information. I was fine with the name, address, phone number, e-mail address, children’s names and ages, birthday’s, etc.

At the bottom, they had a little Excel table showing yearly incomes ranging from $20K to $260K per year with the amount that should be tithed if you get paid weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.

Then they asked what my salary was and wanted to know the amount and the frequency that I was willing to commit to tithe! They even had blocks for MasterCard or an ATM!

While I don’t have a problem with the church asking its people to tithe but…

that’s aggressive!

I declined to give that information and said that I needed “a little more time” to decide whether I wanted to become a member.

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Super Dad is back!

Posted on 09/26/2009 by RLW3

I am back to being a hero!

The third opinion agreed with the second: the Maxima’s engine is not about to explode!

I had the injectors fixed and the transmission serviced!

The car runs so much better! Uncle Bob really came through.

All that remains is the heater, the A/C, the sunroof…

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A little good news

Posted on 09/25/2009 by RLW3

Trying to find a reliable, honest mechanic is quite a challenge.

Since my usual source for all things mechanical, my co-worker the Steel Trap, was on vacation, I was left to fend for myself.

I called my old Honda mechanic to see if he could recommend anyone who was as good at working on Nissans as he is on Hondas. The owner’s son answered and said that he did work on the side and would look at it.

He called me back a few hours later with great new that changed into a little good news followed by a little bad news…

He didn’t think the engine was about to die!

That’s great!

“but, I’m not an expert on these cars…”

“Oh, O.K….”

“and the spark plugs are shot.”

“Go ahead and replace them. How much will that be?”

“$50.”

He called me back after replacing the plugs and conformed that the front three injectors are bad.

When I went to pick up the car, I asked him if he knew anyone who was good with Nissans. He recommended his uncle. He was a partner with his father in the Honda business and now just works from his ranch.

I guess that’s O.K. but that is not quite what I was looking for…

I hopped into the Maxima to drive their. The car is already running a noticably better!

Stay tuned…

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Not what I wanted to hear

Posted on 09/23/2009 by RLW3

My grand plans to save the day for my second daughter took a blow today.

The likeable new mechanic decided to start our relationship off with a vicious shot to the body…

“The three front fuel injectors are bad. Remanufactured injectors cost $170 each plus installation.”

Ouch! I wasn’t ready for that. My plans to spend about $1,000 to get the car in top condition were not looking very good.

But he wasn’t finished…

“When you start the car up, it knocks like crazy until the oil pressure rises.”

I nodded my head in knowing agreement since I had heard that very same sound.

Then he threw the hay-maker…

“That comes from a worn out rod bearing.”

I held onto the counter to keep from going down for the count! Basically, that means that the car needs a new engine!

I weakly asked him, “Are you sure? It’s only got 110,000 miles on it.”

He was sure.

I have to get a second opinion.

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Let’s give the new guy a try

Posted on 09/22/2009 by RLW3

I tried putting injector cleaner in the last three tanks of gas but it still runs terrible.

So, I dropped the Maxima off at a new Nissan mechanic to see what he can find.

Stay tuned…

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The food was not worth the wait

Posted on 09/20/2009 by RLW3

This week was the IHOP’s 10th anniversary. Some friends invited us to come to the picnic after church.

The line for food was the longest I have ever seen! We eventually gave up and went to Chipotle. Shortly after we sat down, my wife recognized other people from picnic.

“So you didn’t want to wait in line for the food?”

The young responded,  “When I saw the mile marker, I knew we were in trouble.”

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A fabulous date

Posted on 09/19/2009 by RLW3

I try to take my wife out on a date regularly. Sometimes it monthly, sometimes weekly. It all depends…

on her work schedule, our finances, our energy level, our children’s schedules, etc., etc.

Well, we had an unusual date this week.

I wasn’t dressed to go out on the town when I picked her up from work at Costco. I needed to shower and change because I had been working on the Nissan.

As soon as we got home, she headed straight for the kitchen and made us a very nice salad which we ate at our cute, little two seat pub table on our porch.

We then walked a mile to the local liquor superstore and bought a bottle of wine.

The weather was perfect, the walk was pleasant and the conversation delightful!

I think we are going to like this next season!

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Back in the saddle

Posted on 09/18/2009 by RLW3

It has been a long time since I worked on a car. I was pressed into service because the rear passenger window no longer worked. I had to get it fixed before it rained.

I took it to a shop and was quoted $290!

That seems like a lot of money…

So, I bought the part from Nissan for $127 and installed it myself.

With that success in the bag, I decided to launch out and replace the fuel filter. I succeeded at that too, but not before I got squirted by a mouth and faceful of gasoline!

I have to tell you, it felt really good to be working with my hands again…

and I had no bloody knuckles!

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Aah, a good nights sleep

Posted on 09/15/2009 by RLW3

If you read the last few posts, you can imagine how tired I was at work yesterday! Last night, I went to be shortly after getting home from work last night and slept through till this morning.

It is amazing the difference one night of good sleep can make on one’s outlook and disposition!

It shouldn’t amaze me. About 10 years ago, I learned the importance and value of sleep.

About 20 years ago, I was extremely frustrated. I had so many more things that I wanted to accomplish than I had hours in a day.

So, I bought a book called The Sleep Management Program and trained myself to sleep less. I went from sleeping 7 1/2 hours per night to less than 6 hours.

For years it was great. I got more done, etc. Then something strange started happening.

This is going to be difficult to describe but I will do my best…

Periodically, I started having this feeling that I was going to cave in psychologically. It was as if my soul was like the crust of the earth but it was getting very thin…like thin ice. It felt like my soul was just going to collapse!

This feeling would usually happen at work and would last for about an hour. At first it occurred monthly. Gradually, I started having them weekly.

This perplexed me because at night, I would meet with and mentor young men, father my children, etc. How could I help other people deal with life and then feel perilously close to just crumpling into a shell?

After much thought, I decided that I just needed to be more efficient in my sleep! I saw a book that I thought might help me, Power Sleep.

I never finished that book.

In the first few chapters, the author described about 15 symptoms of severe sleep deficit. I was regularly experiencing at least three of them!

The very day after I read those few chapters, I went to church and learned that a friend of mine had had a nervous breakdown a few days earlier. He had been working at least 20 hours per day and been under an extraordinary amount of pressure. One day, he went to work and had a nervous breakdown. He just slumped down to the floor and cried. He cried for a week straight!

When I heard this, I realized that if I didn’t make an immediate about face, I was just a few steps behind him. My desire to accomplish things had run up against my physical limitations.

It took many months before I could sleep more than 6 hours. That may sound strange, but my body was trained. I went to bed two hours earlier at night only to wake up two hours earlier in the morning.

Now, I plan to get 7 1/2 hours. It doesn’t always work out that way, but I do try.

My wife is trying to teach me how to to sleep in on the weekends. She has a Ph.D in sleeping in. She can do it on ANY day.

Sometimes, I actually make it to 7:00. My all time best is 7:30!

Anyway, today was a nice reminder of the value of a good night’s sleep.

Good night!

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