Well...this was unexpected...

[Darkrider]

Originally Posted by wedooit

Congrats on the little one! Get on disability or whatever you need! Take care and keep us posted.

Thanks! And will do!

Originally Posted by Emerikol

CONGRATS!! Mrs. E and I have a two year old stomping around the house, and it's about as much fun as you can imagine.

Thanks! I have a feeling these next few months are gonna be interesting...

[cheesy]

I didn’t quite say it in the VW thread, but congrats.

Soon, you will get to experience the bliss known as ‘Dad Naps’. To paraphrase Emerikol, “Never pass up the opportunity to take a nap.”

[Weldangrind]

Chris, I'm so happy for you and your wife! That just made my day.

[Darkrider]

Well in the vein of keeping up with random updates in this thread.. as i have posted elsewhere in previous threads it turned out we had the rare occurrence of a false positive. But as Weld pointed out just more reason to get more "practice" in



The more unsettling thing is the fact that i will be ending 3 projects soon. I have sold the K5 Jimmy and had started to sell the Astro AWD in an attempt to save the Ram 1500 i bought earlier this year. But that was all for naught unfortunately. Things have slowed down to the point that it is just not feasible to keep it unfortunately so that will be going for a voluntary repossession. It sucks but as i pointed out to my wife yesterday it is probably for the best to help us get our finances in check. At one point we were at risk of losing both the truck and the Kia as well as my bike. Since the bike is the cheapest payment it is the easiest to keep in line. Kia being the next cheapest. I will simply look for another truck like it in a couple years when the Kia is finally paid off. In terms of trucks to handle that work load..well i still have my '84 C10 as well as the '69 F250. So on that side i am covered. I am currently looking at an '03 Mitsubishi Montero Sport for a DD to replace the Ram.

[Emerikol]

Sorry to hear about the false positive. Like you said though, just more time for "practice!" If you feel like driving it way the hell from here to there, we're selling our BMW X3 SUV. PM me if you think it might be something you're interested in.

[Weldangrind]

Sorry to hear that you have to turn your Ram in; sounds like the best decision.

[Darkrider]

Yea in the long run it is better. As i edited in I had started to sell the Astro but timelines will not allow things to work out. So i am either keeping it or picking up something else to replace the Ram.

[kirbo7106]

Originally Posted by Darkrider

Popcorn and maybe a large crash pad like they use in the movies... because it feels like i have been pushed out of the plane without a working chute!

I was in the military...don’t worry about the parachute...you can fix that on the way down...just don’t dilly dally too much...the ground does come quickly!!!

Remember, keep your feet and knees together!

[Darkrider]

So a bit of an update...i did manage to hold onto the ram for a few more months but it has been gone for over a month now. Still getting used to the quirks of the Toyota Previa i bought to replace it. Ended up selling the Astro after all due to it needing work i could not perform in a driveway. That all said things are starting to look up as i am returning to school in september.

[Darkrider]

Well instead of starting a new thread i might as well dust this one off for an update...A LOT has changed since the last one...


To begin with...i was unable to complete the schooling i had started due to needing to buckle down and basically work for two people. By that i mean my now EX simply ceased trying to find work during the pandemic even when there was plenty to be found. As a result of this i ended up using the rest of my student loan to keep us afloat for a few months. Prob not the best decision in the long run but it was the only option at the time due to limited work for myself at the time.



As a result of the above the later half of '21 was...rough to say the least. At this point the ex started working out of town helping her mom with cleaning jobs. At first that combined with what income i had coming in kept us going. It was also during this time frame i took on another security contract. It was not by choice however. I had taken this one over on a temp basis as the one who held it had contracted COVID. and well...yea nuff said on that one. Temp turned into permanent. The one who held it was my former manager at both United and Paladin. The guy treated his staff like family. So his loss hurt a lot. Eventually that contract increased patrols so that was a nice lil boost to the income. So essentially 2021 onward i was pedal to the floor grinding to get myself up and rolling building up the business my parents started when i was a kid and i kept in the back pocket since i was 17 as a fall back solution in case things ever went south working for others. So i guess one could say this when CMC started to seriously evolve. Mid spring 2022 there is a job fair in town and i push even harder to get the ex to try getting more work as her cleaning had slowed WAY down to one day a week and it cost more to drive her back and forth then she was making. Basically by that point it had turned into Spend $120 to make $40. So she started staying out there more and more...Should have caught this as a more major red flag but anyway...just as we are about to leave the house for said fair her family comes and gets her a day early for her to go clean out there and watch some kids.. Out of boredom during that same day i drop a resume at a local pizza place just to see if work is as easy to find as it always has been for me. Yup..less then two hours after that i started down the road of being a driver for there. So a non security contract for CMC is now added...May rolls around and another loss is suffered.. Not of a human but of a furry companion whom i had raised from being a kitten. Bella was a full on daddy's girl and she is dearly missed. She would have been 6 years old this coming November. It is during that night at the vets office i find out just how truly alone i am when i am unable to reach any of my so called family to get help with dealing with this. Even just a damn ear to bend while i dealt with it would have been nice...As it was the ex didnt come home for nearly a week after. Thing is i knew it was gonna happen that night and even told her earlier in the day. "Hey i think Bella is really sick...i do not know if she is gonna make it." Here is the thing we were thrown off by her symptoms. We had another "False Positive" this time it seemed even more certain to the point that Bella was acting in the way that some cats do when they sense their human is pregnant. So we completely misread what was going on with her. It was at this stage i could feel the foundation to my marriage crumbling...Ex is home for less then 48 hours each time at this point..this eventually dwindled down to less then 24 hours home...Meanwhile my fuel costs are going WAY up due to these turn and burns. By the time it was all said and done she had incurred a 6K debt with me due to this. When we were still together i didn't care because ya know..she is my wife and all. But now i consider it a debt because really she had checked out of the marriage in 2021 and it took me over a year to figure it out. Didn't fully hit me till new years this year when i was at the bar i had gotten to be a reg at over the past few months. So here i am in 2023 Single, Marcus has no companion to hang with while I'm at work but he seems to be fine with it as far as i can tell. Anyways...around June last year i started door dashing to make extra income. I have slowed down on it a bit because of some other changes. Those changes being leaving the pizza place i started at in '22 due to work slowing down to the point of having maybe 3 deliveries in one week...basically the same crap that had me leaving a prior pizza place. But before i left i ended up getting another pizza gig at another place. That one happened by pure fluke. It was from a conversation i had during a door dash picking up from that place. We got talking about how slow the one i left was getting and they asked if i wanted to try there for a bit. That was...almost 3 months ago now, I was working both pizza places plus door dash plus 2 security contracts pretty much 5 days a week. Left the under performing pizza place as mentioned and have done much better at the one i am at now. Its closer to home..i average at least 3-4 deliveries per day. The delivery fees are better and i get it paid out to me as a check every two weeks instead of every night. Usually leave with at least $10-20 in cash tips each day. Have the freedom of dashing while its slow per day so i have that income coming in as well. All in all im mostly back to where i was pre pandemic in terms of my own personal income. Once i get some bills settled i will have more play money. I am damn close on that.



Sorry for the novel but i just realized i had not updated ya guys for a LONG time.

[Darkrider]

Bit of a life update since i have made hints here and there. Finally took the plunge and trying to get out there again earlier this year and as a result of which i have been in a new relationship since late feb. I have also cleared off pretty much most of the debts i could which put me back in the position where i can work on projects again. Thus how i am picking up the Triumph, Planning work on the MGB as well as working towards picking up an '02 F150 Super Crew XLT FX4 in may. Getting the ford will allow me to park the Chevy for some much needed repairs. Ill keep the C10 operational for the summer cruising season but come fall its going out to get the trans rebuilt as well as brakes and exhaust. Who knows....i may even pick up another bike over the summer...