Barracuda Diaries: blast from the past, Feb. 13, 2013

The following is a cut and paste from my original Barracuda Diaries blog on blogspot, titled Back to School?
Still not getting any work done on the project these days, as I am elbow deep in home repair plans/organization while hubby is off on his annual NYC children's book guild conference thingy. So the best I can do to keep it in my mind is to look back at how far I've come and how close I am to the end.
Enjoy

Back To School?
Maybe.
As one of my handful of readers, you know I have no practical knowledge of the inner workings of any automobile. If you were to take a look at the car I drive -my darling little green 2000 Chevy Cavalier (affectionately known as The Green Monster, or sometimes The Stagecoach)- you would see I don't spend much time cleaning it. Each time I take it in for servicing or inspections, I gather up all the trash and throw it in whatever might serve well as a trash bag. I have not one, but two reusable grocery-type bags that are full of clothes. Not to give away, but 'just in case'. This is a direct result of spending many days with my grandmother, who could never be prepared enough for any situation. This time of year, you'll also find two extra hats, two extra pairs of mittens/gloves, and a pair of snow pants added to the collection. You may wonder why a person would think these things might actually be needed, but more than once in my young life I had to 'get out and push' in the winter...I'll take it from Grandma and just be prepared!

So what does any of that have to do with school? Nothing really, I just have a nasty habit of going off on silly tangents...you're welcome.

But there is a reason I bring up school. I'm tempted to take an adult education class in Basic Auto Repair.
There's a class offered at a local Tech School and the class time would actually fit right into my schedule. Hubby would be playing poker at the time the class is running. It's just 8 weeks. It's pretty reasonably priced (only slightly more than I just paid to have my rear brakes replaced).

Ah! Windows open!
I don't know that having more smarts about car repair would keep me away from my regular mechanics (there is one who has a crush on me, after all!), but I don't like being so 'in the dark' with Spring quickly approaching. I want to get at that Barracuda when the weather changes. And this class will coincide with the weather change quite nicely.

Well, it's something to think about. I'm certainly not lacking support from friends and family! It's all up to me and what kind of guts I have to take a class I am pretty sure I will be the only girl in. Not only that, but probably the only person who would need a vocabulary lesson, as well! If only my sister would've remained interested enough to take the class with me. Oh well, as always, I live and learn...time to move on.*

I did end up taking the class. I was the only girl in the class with 4 guys. I did my own front brake job on my Cavalier, did a few oil changes, and helped with a CV joint replacement. I learned how to charge a battery, change spark plugs (and check plug gaps), and mount and balance tires. It was my hope that I'd mount my new tires on the old Barracuda rims, but the balance was way off. Since then, I've decided to try the old rims again, and maybe see if I can find someone to repair any bent ones. My fondest memory of the class was when the instructor, upon being asked if he wanted to check the tightness of a new oil filter, asked 'who tightened it?'...'I did'...'no, I'm sure it's fine.' I had a reputation of being the strong arm of the group!