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...that's all I have to say.



No, I'm not sick.



*sigh*

...seriously. A very good friend of mine is a mechanic. An award winning mechanic. The guy is amazing - he can fix anything that has an internal combustion engine and more than one wheel. Some of the race cars he has built are incredible. But daily, he fixes vehicles in a garage for the government...



And I don't know how he can stand it.



I fix stuff that is technology driven. Computers, networks.. stuff that runs on a combination of hardware and software.



Today I dug back into my roots and attempted to work on my new company delivery vehicle.



Ok, it's not new. It's a 1998 minivan, but hey, we're a small company, what more do we need?



So I picked this van up cheap, of course it needs some work. But it's been a good 10 years since I've worked on a vehicle without just calling my friend and offering a night of beer drinking if he would help me... which of course serves two purposes, but that's besides the point.



I had a 1986 Cutlass that, when I was younger, I built out the engine on... upgraded cam, lifters, intake, 4bbl carb, headers..etc... did most of it myself. I really enjoyed turning wrenches then. It was fun. It was gratifying. I'm no stranger to this work...



Today was just.. annoying. How these auto manufacturers can design vehicles like this, where doing basic maintenance tasks requires hundreds of dollars in special tools and the mechanic to have at least 3 wrists in his right forearm.



Ok, it's obvious.. they want you to take it to the dealer, more money for them, etc... but I think they can design it so maintenance like, flushing the cooling system and changing the battery can be done on a driveway by the owner if he is so inclined.



I'm going to write a letter to the President about this one... I'll include that whole toe-nail thing in the letter too, I promise!

...I have so many better things to look forward to... and these people... here... at this job are killing me.



They refreshed my memory as to how many problems the technician who did their first install had. I think the place is just cursed. This server is doing things no other server in the history of technology has done.



So I'm stuck here trying to sort it all out, instead of... being somewhere else and actually enjoying myself.



Grrrrr.



Having to work sucks sometimes...

Actual conversation in my life....



Customer: "I know we still owe you money from last November, but this is an emergency! We need to get this fixed now!"



Me: "When my technician arrives, will you have a check ready to settle past dues?"



Customer: "Well, I don't know if we have the money for it right now...."



Yeah, being in business for yourself really bites sometimes.