Greasy Hands

Working with my hands feels good. This week I have both replaced the window in my car and changed the starter in my dad's car. My window took me all day to replace. It was ridiculous that it took me so long, of course; I could do the same job in under an hour now, but the important things is that I didn't give up. I came so close to getting that window in but it just wouldn't quite fit and I was becoming very frustrated. You can't exactly force a window or it will break, and I was not about to break my window. So I kept trying new angles. I gave in when I started calling different window shops for quotes but since the average ran $90, I found new motivation became more creative. When my window was finally in and working properly and the tools put away, I felt a huge wave of accomplishment. I had finally won. My window kept defying me, but I beat it in the end and am very proud of my work.

The next day, Tuesday, I replaced my dad's starter. It wasn't a hard job, and the actual work only took me a little bit, but I really enjoyed it. Something about pulling a ratchet so hard that when the bolt finally lets go, you smack your hands into some hard part of the engine and give yourself cuts is really rewarding. Working on my car gives me both a physical challenge and a mental exercise as I exercise my problem solving skills.

Meanwhile, since graduating from school, I have been taking life pretty slowly, traveling and see friends while also being home and helping out here when the family needs it. This weekend my really good friends from school (Paul Mueller, Andrew Vanderput, and Joe McCleary) are here, so we are going to the beach and Multnomah Falls, and then hanging out with my family the rest of the time.