Minor Win thread - Life is good!

In reply to llysgennad :

I'm pretty sure nothing happened, one of the perks to moving to a very small town, but had my credit union replace them anyway just in case. 

Panic attack in a good way

I rebuilt the front suspension on Fester, the F-150.

It was my girlfriend and I's anniversary today, so we decided to visit two of the Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurants they announced recently for Atlanta. Went to Antico Pizza for lunch (been many times) it's the best pizza I've ever had. Then went to Miller Union for dinner, and had the best meal of my life. Braised duck leg with spiced donuts and apple compote for dessert 

plus a nice mescal cocktail. I think I could have eaten like 30 duck legs. Also went and bought some new cowboy boots. All around nice day

llysgennad said:

In reply to Wally (Forum Supporter) :

I have heard that some nefarious types will do that after copying your credit card/ banking info. If you don't cancel the cards, they have more time to do bad stuff. I would like to believe people are good at heart, but I'm often proven wrong.

I haven't heard that, but I guess I'm kind of a cynic since I did think of it. I also would have already canceled all the cards.

Our Sportwagen TDI has been getting finicky for the past year, to the point where the CEL could not be turned off, codes for cat efficiency, EGR plugged, DPF plugged, etc. Potentially thousands of dollars to repair or delete. I asked on the TDI forum about taking it to the dealer to belatedly get the Dieselgate recall done, which updates a bunch of emissions parts & gets a 4yr warranty against CEL trouble. And also the AC condenser & hose needed installed, evacuated & charged.

Somebody said "That's a pain. You should just sell it to me."

So I did. One less problem car in my life, and mo' money in the bank.

subframe mount is berkeleying FIXED. 

It seems like every car manufacturer plays a game to see how difficult they can make the simple act of changing a headlight bulb.  Not so on the Mazda 5!  It was literally a five minute job.

gixxeropa said:

Also went and bought some new cowboy boots.

What no pics/info on the boots? Come on, man, spill the beans!

Minor win, vehicular: despite the gas in the tank being many months past its best-buy date, the old pickup took a charge and ran just about as well as it ever has and allowed me to rid us of some bulky building materials that were cluttering up the joint.

Minir wins, work-related: The boss is out of the office for the holidays, but between the new hire and me, the fires are out and our favorite clients and trade partners are happy. Said boss notified me last week that I have a little promotion pending in a couple of months and gave me a year-end bonus that, although not as strong as they have been in years past, is still well into decent used motorcycle territory. Said new hire is apparently a plug-and-play fit for the work we do and the way we do it, and equally important seems to be a humble and agreeable sort, which is a huge breath of fresh air given what we just went through with another guy.

Minor win, personal: Little Monohue very quietly picked up an activity book last night and took an interest in decoding a secret message. Apparently something clicked in his brain and he's very suddenly able to write letters all by himself, from memory, without direction or assistance. There is no doubt now that he will be writing on his own before he starts kindergarten next fall.

My 14yo son has discovered Sabaton. Now he's reading about the history behind their songs. Homeschooling takes the weirdest turns sometimes.

We are coming up on the end of the year. What a year it has been.

We have been super busy and sales are up a little over 20% over last year. Total growth since I bought out my business partner two years ago is right at 55%. 

All debts will be paid by the end of the year and there will be cash in the bank to start off next year at a run. 

I was able to give out some significant bonuses to my team. They have been getting it done and done right so I wanted to make sure they know how much I appreciate it. 

Not to pat myself on the back, but I think that's pretty good for a high school dropout. 

Life is pretty good at the moment.

Got a solid performance review and end-of-year bonus. Informed my bosses that I plan to retire somewhere after Labor Day but before New Year's Eve 2024.

In reply to Toyman! :

Congratulations!

We got some actual cold weather overnight, and the battery in the Subaru couldn't handle it, and just cranked slow. It's time for a new battery.

How is this a win? 

Yeah, I don't think that battery owes me anything, being more than 12 years old.

In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :

I can't believe the price these days, but that has been my experience with Optima too. They last forever. 

The job I interviewed for on Monday sent me an offer letter. Which I just signed and sent back. Welp, I guess this means that it's happening.

Now I just gotta figure out how to move a household and 3 vehicles 1500 miles 

In reply to stanger_mussle (Supported by GRM undergarments) :

Excellent news!  I'm glad you got your ticket to elsewhere!

In reply to stanger_mussle (Supported by GRM undergarments) :

Congrats. I know that Florida wasn't doing it for you, what state are you heading to?

Another win: nobody pointed out I transposed the numbers used to calculate how old that battery was. I was working with EU format dates all morning.

In reply to Duke and NY Nick:

Thanks guys! I'm excited but dreading the logistics of a cross country move. The job is in Clovis, NM at the Air Force base there. I'll be making less than I am now but I feel that it will be more rewarding. Plus no humidity or people! 

Congratulations man!!!

In reply to stanger_mussle (Supported by GRM undergarments) :

Congratulations! I hope you're much happier at the new job.

Today is the shortest day of the year. It only gets better from here on. Whoopty do and wizz bang I hate winter.

bankrupt former employer sold off all laptops and accessories at rock bottom prices.  i picked up a ThinkPad P15 Gen2 (build date March 2022) with almost 2 years left on the come to your house and throw parts at it until its fixed warranty, 230W power supply, spare battery, wireless keyboard and mouse, wired headset, 27" LCD, 24" LCD, and a power strip, for $550.

barefootcyborg5000 said:

In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :

I can't believe the price these days, but that has been my experience with Optima too. They last forever. 

The old ones.  The new ones suck out loud in my experience.  I still have one that champcar gave us at least 10 years ago.  It basically goes 6 months with no charging and then proceeds to fire up the racecar immediately.

I have had 3 new ones go bad from being left alone for a month.  Won't recharge.  Won't recover.

Minor win: well.  Everything.  Literally everything is going well right now!