Keyfob

 Brit came over last night. I'm picky, and even I admit this girl is a 9 out of 10. I still need to figure her out. Brit is quiet, but I don't see any red flags yet. She has blond hair, a pretty face, and a nice natural body. Brit says she wants to gain a few pounds but hasn't felt like eating lately. She looks perfect the way she is now. She should have her choice of options.

On the lighter side, I got in the Gladiator this morning and didn't have my key. You only need to have the key in your pocket to start the vehicle, which is a push-button start. I looked all over the place for my keyfob and started wondering if Brit had walked off with it. Silly, I know, but hey, I don't really know her. Twenty minutes later, I found my key in the kitchen junk drawer. I must have thrown it in there when I was cleaning up.

Tail End Of The Year

I didn't get a chance to post a Snapshot of November. Work has been busy, and I am looking forward to the end of the year and some time off. You can tell nothing new is happening here from the lack of posts.

To clarify a question from Harry I received. I didn't plan on taking Gia to a terrible place for a date. My lack of knowledge of the area led me to pick the first place that popped up on Google. It worked out, though. 

Gia and I continue to text. I am not sure exactly what it means, but I do love the mystery of it all. Gia texted me today and said she would be returning in ten days. She indicated she is staying till January. I am not sure if that means through the holidays or not. Still, I will have plenty of time off if she is interested in getting out during the day.

The steering stabilizer finally came in for my truck. Which is good. The Gladiator would vibrate like crazy whenever I went over a bump. I had it installed today. 

I am going to have to do an end-of-the-year Snapsot to cover both November and December.

Glass

I received my fourth chip in the Gladiator windshield last week. This one created a crap that ran down six inches and joined with another chip. I hoped that that would end the spreading, but that caused a horizontal crack to form that could not be ignored. 

I am having the glass replaced on the Gladiator today. It is costly. It costs $800 when you don't go through insurance. That is why I wait as long as possible to get these things fixed. The windshields on a Jeep are notorious for breaking.

Last night, Sam and I were driving home from dinner, and I kept hearing a whistling noise. My hearing is not the best, but Sam indicated she thought it was coming from the driver's side. I am going to have them come back out to at least evaluate the noise.

Gladiator Mojave

 I have been doing some upgrades to the Jeep. Some through the dealer, which has been a pain in the ass, and some through a local off-road shop. I have been to the dealer three times, and I still need to go back once more because they keep ordering the wrong steering stabilizer.

The off-road shop was a pleasure to work with in comparison. I hung out there on Monday (my birthday) and they put on the front and rear bumpers I ordered and installed the lights and winch. 

Yes, I had the stubby bumper on it before, but it was a cheap Chinese knockoff, and it started rusting. This one is a factory front bumper. The bar across the front is aftermarket but made by a local Michigan company. I am happy with the way things came out. Now I just need to find someone to travel with me.

I didn't text Billie on her birthday, nor did she text me on mine. Sam and I went to dinner on my birthday. After, I took her to the dealership to pick up her car that was being worked on. 

Upgrades

Lately, I have been holding up at home, playing video games, watching TV, and shunning the outside world. I have mixed feeling about this. Part of me wants solitude, and parts of me want to get out. I have been trying to play Borderlands with Twin A, but he doesn't last very long. Yesterday he dropped off without warning. For a person who says he plays a lot. He seems not to stick with it.

In a bid to cheer myself up, I have decided to invest in some upgrades for the Jeep Gladiator. I have ordered front and rear steel bumpers, a winch, and some extra lights. I have scheduled to have a local place to install the new parts on my birthday, September 18th.

I have been second-guessing my winch purchase. I bought a Zsuper from Amazon. It is a cheap Chinese winch. It has some mixed reviews on the site, but I figure that as many times as I will use the winch, it will be fine. Besides, it is orange and goes well with the rest of the color scheme.

Mixed Bag of Hope and Gas

 Hope and I had arranged to meet up last night, but I ghosted her instead. Hope and I talked about getting together for more than two months, but she would always back out, or the weather would get in the way. Through our brief text conversations, things with Hope never felt right. She sounded more like Firefly and less like Ava. In the end, I had an uneasy feeling about meeting her and decided to ghost her.

I woke this morning to an inch of snow on the ground. Yes, it is still coming down, but it looks like the weather will shift next week. I have been ordering parts and getting the bikes ready to ride. It will probably not happen until Ava and I get back from the caves in Tennessee.

I don't have any big plans for the weekend. I should pull out the big Lego project and decide what the next step will be. I think it will require the purchase of parts for water. March is turning out to be an expensive month. I paid $500 in taxes and software. It took $72 dollars to fill the Gladiator earlier this week and that was BEFORE gas went to over $4. It is going to make for an expansive road trip to Tennessee which is nine hours away. The trip will cost over $300 in gas alone. 

Gladiator Down

 The Gladiator is at the dealer. Friday, the truck felt as if there was play in the front end. I rotated the tires on Friday night at home in the garage.  A task not easily performed even with jack stands and a floor jack.

I did not do any driving at high speeds over the weekend, so I did not notice the issue getting worse, but by Monday, it was evident something was wrong, and by Tuesday, it felt like I was driving on ice at high speeds and the traction control light came on.

When I rotated the tires, I checked the wheel spacers and made sure everything was tight. I've read that the 2020 Gladiators have steering box issues and are just a few steps away from a recall. I hope the swap out the steering box as part of the repair.  There is supposed to be a new part. 

Meanwhile, I have been working from home until I find out how long this repair will take. There is talk about steering boxes being in short supply because of Covid and the port situation.  Dealers have a hard time getting the new steering boxes because the plants are hogging the supply.

Tinkerbell wants me to go up to Mackinaw Island with her bunch on the holiday weekend. The plan was for me to drive.  Between work and the Gladiator issue, I am a bit stressed. 

Kayaking

 Summer has not officially started yet, but I feel like I am already behind on making plans. I took my kayak off the wall and went kayaking for the first time this year. The set-up I have worked out well. It was easy to shift the kayak onto the Gladiator, and It only took a few minutes to strap it into the truck.

Sunday, I got in 7 miles of walking. Things have been quiet with nothing new to report. That is what happens when you get into a routine. I am beginning to think routines are counterproductive. They keep me complacent. 

Firefly has been around most days for about a week. She has been putting on weight. Her birthday is this week, and we are going away for a few days to celebrate. When she gets back, she plans to go back to long-term rehab. I am all for this plan. I would like to have my Summer unencumbered by her issues, and she does not seem to keep things together for very long.

Demons

 Sunday, I got early, walked for five miles, took a break, then went back out to ride my bike for ten more. It was still early in the afternoon, temperatures were in the 80s, so I decided to see what it would be like to strip the Gladiator of the doors and roof. It is more work than the old Jeep. There are more bolts involved.

Summer Will Be Here Soon

The Beast

The winch system I have in my garage worked great for removing the top on my silver Jeep. It is not positioned for the new Jeep, but the top on the new Jeep is lighter, and I think with some adjustments, it will work out fine.

I had nowhere to go and no one to enjoy it with me, but I didn't let that stop me from creating some errands and driving off. I went to the local Dairy Queen. They only had drive-through service. The line was long, but the idea was to enjoy the Jeep, so I didn't mind the wait. I indulged and got a burger, fries, and a blizzard. I cannot remember the last time I had a burger.

That night I stretched out diagonally on the bed. The song Sober by AJR was still stuck in my head. I was sore from my exertions but not tired. I am in a battle with my body. Age is trying to strip me of muscle and vitality, and I struggle to keep it at bay.

Firefly's boyfriend texted me late in the night. She is still trying to tell him she is clean. I feel sorry for him. He is a nice kid and obviously has no one to discuss the situation with if he is turning to me. I suspect he lacks an involved father figure.

I reiterated my warning and gave him some advice. "Find yourself a nice girl, or shut yourself off financially and emotionally from her." I ended it with, "Her birthday is at the end of this month. She will want to party. If you are still with her, I suggest you watch her closely. That is when she could end up doing unrecoverable harm to herself."

I realized this morning why the conversation with Billie is difficult. It is because neither of us can say what we would really like to say. Hearing she is happy would be as difficult as hearing she struggles. I think, though I will never know, it would be the same for her.

I wanna hide the truth, I wanna shelter you
But with the beast inside, there's nowhere we can hide
No matter what we breed, we still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come, this is my kingdom come...Demons, Imagine Dragons

Honey-do

 My friends Alexis and Sam live together with Alexis' mother and teenage son.  Both are divorced women in their early fifties. I went to their house on Sunday to help with a honey-do list Alexis had.  I installed a screen over the door wall that allows the dog to enter and replaced the existing doorbell with a Ring doorbell. Those went well without incident. 

She wanted me to replace a few drop ceiling tiles in the basement. Several had water stains on them. I've never dealt with drop ceiling tiles, but I knew how to cut and shape half tiles from when I researched them when considering doing the same in my basement.  I am glad I decided to paint the ceiling black instead. 

Four tiles need replacing. Only one was a complete tile. One required cutting a round opening for a light fixture, and two others were half pieces. The circular hole came out perfect, but one of the half pieces gave me trouble. It didn't want to lay flat for some reason, but Alexis was fine with the results. 

After I went and washed the Gladiator. I am anxious to take the doors and top off this summer. I can't wait for a few warm days! When it hits 75 degrees, I will be striping them off. The wench I used for taking the top off my silver Jeep is not in the best position for removing the top of the Gladiator because of the bed, but the Gladiator's top is smaller and lighter, so I think I can make it work. I am eager to see if I can make it work without moving it.

I am trying to increase my posts. I'd like to get up to fifteen per month, so these might sound a bit more mundane. The truth is, nothing of interest is happening right now. I suppose that is a good thing. 

I had Max take photos of some of my lego creations while he was here Saturday. He has the ability to replace the green screen background with pure black. I will post them once he gets them back to me. I used to do this myself, but I cannot load the software on my work computer. I need to break down and buy myself a new home computer. 

Shadowbox

 Yesterday I cleaned the house before taking the truck to the hand-wash car wash.  The temperature was in the mid-forties. The car wash needs repair. Several of the bays are blocked due to issues, and those that are open need cleaning or work. It was nice to get outside in the fresh air. The truck needed cleaning, I don't like letting it get so dirty, but I don't go many places.

Firefly asked for some money to buy a shadowbox.  She is creating a memorial for a friend who died. She stayed out late. When she did return, I was already in bed. She placed a cheaper picture frame on the dresser. I asked her what happened to the rest of the money, but I already knew the answer.  She spent it on crack. She would deny it, but it would be the truth.

"Don't ask me for any more money," I tell her. She knows I do not want to support her drug use.

She doesn't seem to have a plan. She has not mentioned the boyfriend in a while, and I don't ask. She did tell me he and she were using meth that weekend she wrecked her car. Along with dope, it is his drug of choice. Firefly does not usually use meth. They should work on themselves and avoid each other. Firefly doesn't seem ready to work on herself.

I think her being her is better than the streets, but I do not get much from the arrangement. Not sure how this will play out. 

All your dreams are made
When you're chained to the mirror like the razor blade
Today's the day that all the world will see...Morning Glory, Oasis

Tucson to Palm Springs

 My only mistake was not getting a national parks pass from the beginning.  We have been to several and have several more to go.  Spending Christmas in Tucson was a good idea.  The weather was great.  Highs were around 70 degrees.  We spend a few days at the pool and went to Sabino Canyon for a hike.

It was time to move on yesterday.  Firefly gets lazy and I like to see new things.  We are in Palm Springs, California.  It rained last night.  Their idea of a winter storm.  We are going to Joshua Tree tomorrow.  I would like to head for a few more places in the area.  The plan is to drive up through the Mojave with my Jeep Gladiator Mojave on the way to Las Vegas next.

Making Plans

 As some have guessed, Firefly first week home was a bit of a struggle.  It is smoothing out.  She is on Suboxone and has appointments with a psychiatrist and an addictionologist.  I am dealing with a bit of a horny insomniac.  Which I am not complaining about. There is nothing wrong with falling asleep after sleep and waking up to sex.

We are still making plans for a sweeping 25 day vacation across the southwest.  It should be a once in a lifetime adventure.  Sure I may go back out west, but will I have 25 days off and a willing companion again before I retire (which I never plan on doing).  

Today I started investing on upgrades to the gladiator for the trip.  I am adding a dash cam, racks for rotopax and holding equipment to things we might need on the road including first aid kits.

I was looking at adding a compressor but I don't think I want to spend the money for the amount of times I will use it.  I decided to use the portable compressor.  

It is only six weeks away.  I have been looking at cities and destinations along the way: Nashville, Hot Springs, Galveston Isle, Carlsbad, Roswell, Tuscon, Mojave Desert, Grand Canyon and back through Utah and Colorado as weather permits.  We are not booking things far in advance just picking and choosing as we go although we will probably celebrate Christmas around Tucson. 

The Crusher

 It is a beast!   It makes me happy.  It does have the premium suspension, Tommy, including Fox shocks and about anything else you can think of except for electronically disengaging sway bars.  I am only adding wheel spacers and swapping out the bumper for the steel Rubicon bumper.

I am going to add some orange crush logo decals in matching orange and black (instead of green) to the rear quarter.  

Today Firefly and I are going to take my current Jeep to the Silver Lake sand dunes, finally.  I didn't think we would make it this far.   

Thin Ice

Firefly is wearing out her welcome.  I know, addicts are addicts and chaos and destruction just follow in there wake. If it wasn't for this vacation coming up in two days I would be telling her she needs to get into a place now.  As it is she will need to start looking when we get back.  She wanted to stay for my birthday but frankly I don't care. 

Billy's birthday and my birthday are just about ten days away.  I have been thinking about her lately.  Not in an I want her back way.  More like I would have nothing nice to say way. 

A steady rain is coming down outside and I am about to jump in the shower before going to make a deal for that new Gladiator.  I would like the rain to stop before I get to the dealership but it looks like I will be bring an umbrella and a rain jacket.