Thought I'd say hello!

Hi guys - I haven't been on here for a while as I have been very busy building a log home at 9,000 ft, but I am all finished now. My car has felt neglected as I rarely drove her due to the need to haul things in the truck, but now I can give her some lovin once again.

I know some of you have probably not missed me and my in your face posts, but oh well I am bored and thought I would check in to see how all you guys are doing.

I am also looking to add an E36 M3 to the stable so if you have any thoughts on that I would be quite interested to read your opinions. There seem to be an awful lot of low mileage M3 verts out there right now. I'm not sure that I am a vert man, but you never know until you try right?

Anyway, hope you have a great Christmas and a merry New Year!

Got any photos of the log house? I'd love to see that.

Welcome back and you are no where near enough to in our faces to be a bother. You are just a part of the character that makes this place interesting

I think an E36 M3 would be nice but I too have my doubts about a rag top. Since most of my hair has slipped over the top of my head and down my back, it gets drafty in those cars

BTW... since you were last around these parts; I have changed careers(not my choice) and now work with wood for pay. I work in a custom furniture manufacturing shop. I mostly make solid maple tables and counters.
This work is a LOT harder than pushing a computer mouse and it doesn't pay but a quarter as much.

But I'm enjoying the creation and finishing aspect of it all



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/2009 08:20PM by Archeo-peteriX.

Sorry Ferd, no photos of the place yet! I think Santa is bringing me a new digital camera next week so I will see if I can take some and post them. I still have some decks to build on the exterior, but the only access to the site is by snowmobile now so that won't happen till spring.

By the way, I was curious if you have ever gotten in a serious accident while you have been rallying? I was looking on you tube the other day and saw some really bad crashes and thought that you might have a few good stories to tell! Not that totalling a rally car is good, just that some of our most memorable experiences are the ones we survive.

Quote
Archeo-peteriX
Welcome back and you are no where near enough to in our faces to be a bother. You are just a part of the character that makes this place interesting

I think an E36 M3 would be nice but I too have my doubts about a rag top. Since most of my hair has slipped over the top of my head and down my back, it gets drafty in those cars

BTW... since you were last around these parts; I have changed careers(not my choice) and now work with wood for pay. I work in a custom furniture manufacturing shop. I mostly make solid maple tables and counters.
This work is a LOT harder than pushing a computer mouse and it doesn't pay but a quarter as much.

But I'm enjoying the creation and finishing aspect of it all

Peter - It sounds as if you suffer from the same sort of male syndrome as I do. That is why I grow a beard in the winter so I can be reminded of what hair above the neck looks like!

Wow, working with wood as a career can be hazardous to your health. I know times are tough out there for a lot of people. I was very blessed to have gotten this house to build. As far as your pay being 25% of what your used to, that can be taken care of by opening your own shop. Have you ever read the book "rich dad poor dad"? To me the concepts about money in that book are very enlightening and easy to understand. I know being an entrepreneur is not for everyone, but if I had to earn an hourly wage I would not be able to afford squat. Who knows, soon we might all have to revert back to farming just to feed ourselves. I think it is amazing how the powers that be seem to somehow keep us grounded for our own good. Maybe this experience is teaching you something very valuable...more than the value of a dollar.

I know that when times are tough it can be hard to stay positive, but you have to force yourself to look at the good. I have been a lot more cynical of late, but I keep telling myself that life could be much worse and to count my blessings. My biggest problem is that I have no idea what the future has in store so how does one prepare for the unknown? I am sure that I can endure anything, but it hurts to see the ones you love have to suffer with you, especially if you feel they are hurting because of you. I think to some degree suffering is what refines us into the person God wants us to be. I don't really understand the logic, but it is how He works.

Anyway, keep creating new projects and take satisfaction in the things you can do with your hands. You have skills that a lot of mouse pushers can't even dream of!

Quote
wodcutr
I was curious if you have ever gotten in a serious accident while you have been rallying?

Thankfully not. In all the events I've done with so far with Martin in his Nissan rally car, we've never once yet not finished a rally.

The closest we came to crashing was a minor mistake in this summer's New England Forest Rally in Maine, where Martin was caught off guard by some deep sand that snagged the car and pulled us off the edge of road. It could have been ugly as we went off on a very quick piece of road. But we were lucky and didn't hit anything, only losing some time stuck because the car was beached on top of some logs lying in the deep grass. [www.youtube.com]

The year before I joined up with Martin, with a different navigator, Martin had a big crash in his first ever stage rally with this same car. The navigator was a little behind in his notes, calling the corner as a very fast right-six, when in fact it was a tight right-three. They sailed off the edge of the road sideways, rolled, caught a tree while in midair upside-down smashing the right-rear corner of the car, before ending up on their side on top of another car that had crashed just before them. The sound is messed up on this clip, but it still looks scary. [www.youtube.com]

Oh, I hate it when that happens (being beached!), did you get out under your own power?

Yes, I've read Rich Dad Poor Dad and all the other books Robert Kiyosaki has written.

Up until recently and for the past 9 years, I was working for myself and truly enjoyed the autonomy. Alas, the work all went off short and what little remains is being forced on junior engineers along with a lot of other duties they never had to deal with before. It's the only way these local companies can survive

Yes, I'm lucky I have other skill that I could put to use to pay the bills.
There is an opportunity for me to open my own shop and take over the small projects that the big shop can't afford to do. Some of these shops have $50 operating costs and that doesn't include payroll!

One of my bosses is giving me an older machine to fix up; it's a combination table saw/jointer. It may or may not need a new motor but the basic machine is really solid.
If I take over doing these small projects, my boss will let me use whatever machinery I need and supply the materials, so there is potential to initially add some income to my current job.

You're right, there is a reason why I and you, along with everyone else; are in the postions we are. Don't know what that reason is but do trust that things will work out for the better in the end

Quote
rkj
Oh, I hate it when that happens (being beached!), did you get out under your own power?

It was frustrating because we couldn't budge the car on our own. There was nothing wrong with it otherwise.

We hitched up our tow-rope hoping for a quick tug from any of the following cars. But, because it was on a very fast section of road, nobody wanted to stop long enough to help us out. We had to wait until everybody else had gone by before the sweep trucks eventually arrived to pull us out.

We lost a whole whack of time standing around waiting and came very close to getting time-barred. If you fall more than 30 minutes behind schedule you are considered 'max-late' and not allowed to continue.

Ferd - getting beached sucks, but nothing like the roll over. I guess a good navigator is just as important as the driver. I am glad you have not been in a serious crash like the ones I saw the Finns do. I would like to attend a rally with my son like the one on the isle of Mann. Are there any like that one out here in the west? Maybe I need to look into building a rally car! B)

Quote
Archeo-peteriX
Yes, I've read Rich Dad Poor Dad and all the other books Robert Kiyosaki has written.

Up until recently and for the past 9 years, I was working for myself and truly enjoyed the autonomy. Alas, the work all went off short and what little remains is being forced on junior engineers along with a lot of other duties they never had to deal with before. It's the only way these local companies can survive

Yes, I'm lucky I have other skill that I could put to use to pay the bills.
There is an opportunity for me to open my own shop and take over the small projects that the big shop can't afford to do. Some of these shops have $50 operating costs and that doesn't include payroll!

One of my bosses is giving me an older machine to fix up; it's a combination table saw/jointer. It may or may not need a new motor but the basic machine is really solid.
If I take over doing these small projects, my boss will let me use whatever machinery I need and supply the materials, so there is potential to initially add some income to my current job.

You're right, there is a reason why I and you, along with everyone else; are in the postions we are. Don't know what that reason is but do trust that things will work out for the better in the end

You sound as if you are doing the best you can given the circumstances. I was reading a book today that suggested that owning a home, ie the American dream, can have its downsides. The author said that in these types of circumstances a renter would have been better off as they can pick up and move much easier than someone that has to sell a house first. Not being able or willing to sell the house I guess is very limiting when it comes to searching for a job that pays well. It was definitely a different perspective and one that I can relate to as I have wanted to sell my house for some time now and no buyers. I would not be building log homes if I was able to sell my home. I would probably be semi retired if that had happened. Oh well, I am just glad I can still do what I can to provide!