A Pleasant Day

That's what I expect it to be today. 

Anyway, it rained this morning. I was going to wash my car. No worries though, I am happy that it rained. I can wash the car tomorrow morning. I'm still put a lot of thought into car parts and garage upgrades. I think that I will get a mid-rise scissor lift for my garage. I'm torn between a Twin Busch and a Nussbaum lift. There's about a $1000 difference between the two. The Nussbaum being more expensive. The drawback I see of the Twin Busch is that it says it takes 8 weeks for delivery, plus there's two accessories I would need to buy. Which are extended ramps to drive onto the ramp and the mobile kit to allow me to move it around. The Nussbaum comes with the mobile kit and I'm not sure if extended ramps are needed for it. I am also unsure of the amount of time for delivery. If it is half the time or less to deliver, maybe the extra $1K is worth it. I may need to send an email to both places and ask.

The Elkhorn, NE water tower. The one thing I remember the most about my home town. June 20th, 2014

A praying mantis on my car at work - June 20th, 2019

June 20th, 2020

Productive Day

I was feeling down Friday afternoon and I felt that I did not get anything done except my normal day of work. That night, I told myself I would get a lot more done than just playing video games for Saturday. I can say that was accomplished. I got up at 5:00 AM, ate breakfast and did my daily post. Around 7:45 AM, I pulled the car outside and washed the rear end of the car. The reasoning was because I wanted to clean underneath the license plate in the back. I had removed it before washing. Washed with soap and water, I sprayed it with iron remover. I was surprised at the amount of iron on just that area. Letting that sit for a few minutes, I sprayed it off with water and backed the car back into the garage. I used towels to dry the area. To make sure it was dry before doing any polishing, I then trimmed and mowed the lawn. That took just over an hour. I'm glad I did it in the morning because it got warmer as the day went on. I have been diligent to make sure I put sunscreen on my ears and neck while mowing. I wear a hat and a bandanna around my neck to help other areas. Once I was finished with the lawn, I went in and attempted to polish the license plate area. I used my cordless drill since I have a foam cone attachment for getting in the hard to reach areas. I would say I removed 95% of the dirt that was in that area that was stained on the paint. Also, as luck would have it, the LED bulbs from Diode Dynamics came in the mail and I changed those out. It was easier that I thought it would be and I'm glad I looked up how to do it on the web. I almost messed up the light housing. While I was changing these out, I had applied Gtechniq ceramic coating to the license plate area in hopes that later, it will keep that area clean in the future. After applying the last coat of ceramic coating, it was 5:00 PM. I also managed to get my 12,500 steps in for the day, which marked 175 day goal streak. I feel yesterday was productive.

Dirty license plate area

Clean license plate area

The LED bulbs for reverse and turn signals

Reverse lights before. I did not know until then that one was out.

Reverse lights after

Turn signals before

Turn signals after. The picture doesn't look like that much of a difference, but in person it is

A turtle on the walking trail at Forcepoint - June 14th, 2016

Storm clouds after the gym - June 14th, 2015

June 14th, 2020

World Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Day

June 1st is World Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Day. Until recently, I would not have know this day exists. I was unaware that there was a such a thing as narcissistic abuse or that it could effect a person in such an adverse way. Another thing for people to know is that narcissists are not all men. As my abuser was a woman.

I like to think that I was a person that could not fall into what happened to me. Yet, it did happen and it lasted for five years. Besides the narcissistic abuse the relationship also had other aspects that I was aware of, but was told they would change. That promise never happened, along with many other promises she told me.

The hardest part for me in getting over what has happened is understanding that everything I believed about her, everything she said to me and everything she did for me was all a lie. I was just used for her narcissistic supply for whatever she needed at that time. Months of counseling has helped me understand, but I will admit I am still messed up in my head. #IfMyWoundsWereVisible

And now, onto something better. I washed my car this morning. Again. It was dirty from the drive yesterday and the rain we ran into during the drive. I don't mind washing my car because it's something that makes me happy. I also have today off of work, so that's a plus as well. I still have not heard back about the question I had about missing parts for the brakes I ordered. If I do not hear anything later today, I will send another email. I do not like doing that, but the order said one thing and I got something else. If that was how it was supposed to be, then that should have been said at the beginning of the process.

June 1st, 2020

Austin Fs Cruise 2020

Here are a few pictures taken by me from the event. I left at the lunch stop, as I had things to do at home. It was a fantastic day for the drive and it was a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to going on another outing.

The Lexus F Cars - May 31st, 2020

Another group pic at the Lakeway Lexus dealership - May 31st, 2020

Getting Ready

Yesterday was me getting things ready for what is coming up. The cruise is tomorrow, so the car had it's initial clean up. I may do a quick wash again tonight depending on how dirty it gets from driving around today. I changed out the license plate bolts on the car. From steel to titanium. Oh boy are those titanium bolts light and pretty. Expensive though. The thought has crossed my mind of changing out bolts, screws and nuts as I go. I just need to find out how to measure them to get the right sizes when ordering. The license plate bolts were longer than the original, but still fit luckily. Also, the brakes came in. Those look pretty too. Although, the braided stainless steel lines and brake fluid were not with them. I emailed the seller to ask. I have a feeling that things changed and I may not be getting those parts. The brake pads are not what was said either. I'm not upset with the seller as it looks like he had them shipped from another place. I'm frustrated that the package changed and what I ordered is not what I received. Today is a haircut and grocery shopping. I am also going to the gym. I need to get over that fear of her and just go.

May 30th, 2020

Pro-Bolt titanium bolts I used for my license plates - May 29th, 2020

A comparison of the steel versus titanium. I wish I could show the difference in weight. May 29th, 2020

Racing Brakes brake discs I purchased from Figs Engineering - May 29th, 2020

A Lotus Esprit - May 30th, 2011

One of My Happy Places

Getting up early and washing my car. I took today off of work and decided to sleep in a little bit, but still was out at 6:00 AM to start washing my car. I am not sure why I enjoy washing my car. It's just something I can do and do fairly well. Like I've said before, I'm not anywhere near professional level detailer. I am good enough for me making my car look great. Yesterday was a so-so day. I tried to get Gaby to clean her room, but she won't do it. I turned off the internet for her and she just shrugged. I'll have to figure something out. Tonight there's another car show in Round Rock, but I am not sure if I will go or not.

May 29th, 2020

Lexus RC F before wash - May 29th, 2020

Lexus RC F after wash - May 29th, 2020

A picture of another bunny while walking - May 29th, 2017

There's a squirrel in the tree at work. Trying to taunt me. May 29th, 2019

Early Morning Storm

There was a storm that rolled into the area in the afternoon. Nothing bad, but there was some small hail. This was around 5:30 PM. The power went out three times as well. A lot of lightning. I went to bed and I was woken up at 12:17 AM by some loud thunder. Then the rain began and with it large hail. I could not see the hail from inside looking out the window, but this morning on Instagram, people were posting pictures of golf ball sized hail. I could hear it hitting the house. I hope my roof is alright. That is something I do not want to have replaced right now. Fingers crossed. Today is my last day of the week. I took time off for Friday and Monday. Giving myself a four day weekend. I'm looking forward to it. Although I do not plan on doing much. I am going to get a much needed haircut. Although I am reluctant about that too. I believe everything will turn out alright.

Panoramic of Sofitel Resort in Fiji - May 28th, 2015

May 28th, 2020

Just Carrying On

That's it basically. I'm just going to leave today as it is. I have a lot of parts showing up on Friday, which is fun. Although, the Yperion Titanium parts are still on the way. That is frustrating. I figured it would take a long time to come here from Russia, but it's getting ridiculous. I have Pro-Bolts titanium license plate bolts, a 2020 Lexus RC F rear emblem and the brakes from Figs showing up on Friday. The Diode Dynamic LED bulbs for the backup and rear turn signals are on back order, but hopefully it will not be too long. The next step is to get a Twin Busch mid-rise scissor lift for the garage in a couple of months. That's an item I have been wanting for quite some time. I'll be happy when I am able to have it. I am also going on the Austin Fs (Lexus group) cruise for Lexus F cars. Ugh, I hate saying Lexus F, it's so dumb. The F really has no meaning behind it and I think Lexus is dropping the nomenclature anyway. Typical Lexus in my opinion. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the cruise around the back roads.

May 27th, 2020

A random picture of crabs on a rock I took in Fiji - May 27th, 2015

A random tree picture from Fiji I took - May 27th, 2015

Memorial Day

What the Wikipedia article on Memorial Day says: Is a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

In my family, we did not have a lot of members in the military. It was just a day off of work and a time to be with family. Now that I am older, I understand the significance of it. The things I wish I could tell my younger self. Honestly, I am unsure how to honor Memorial Day. I am grateful for the people that put their lives on the line for our country.

Today, I would like to not dwell on the past. I would like to move on into the future and be in the present. Stop being afraid.

May 25th, 2015

Something Accomplished

Yesterday was good. It did take a little longer to get up and around, but when I did I was productive. I cleaned up the rear valance/diffuser area of the car again. Then I polished, or I tried to anyway. I need to go to an actual training class for that. Anyway, I did as best as I could. I then cleaned that up and applied some Gtechniq CSL and EXO that I purchased from Obsessed Garage. I also applied those to the fuel door area and the sunroof. I waited two hours between each coat because It's not possible for me to let the car sit for 12 hours at a time. In the garage, everything looks good. The rear part is low enough that if it is really bad, hopefully no one will notice it. Today is hopefully a nice day and I would like to try to go to the gym.

May 24th, 2020

Castaway Island Fiji - May 24th, 2015