What are you bad at?

[msb]

Getting down to making a decision on personal purchases. Have no problem at all making snap critical business decisions or purchases every day or advising others of a particualr direction to take when asked, but I've figuratively screwed myself into the ground on many occasions when reserching, comparing, and trying to decide which way to go, or to go at all on any type of significant purchase for myself    A prime example is with my beloved Interstate... I diddled and doddled on it for several days about 15 years ago, until my very smart and decisive bride went out and got a bank draft and kicked my a** all the way to the P.O's residence to purchase my then 2 year old beauty.

i find it awkward to diddle on my Tourer and wouldn't know where to start to doodle.  Maybe the interstate is different?

Ya,with a Tourer it's probably better to dither and dather

[art]

I'm a retired machinist and have run machines from a dinky little lathe to one that had a 16' chuck and could hold 100 tons but doing electric repairs forget it I'm no electrician, I can screw up real fast.I can't even program my sprinklers for the lawn. I'm real good at being retired. I do it every day.

[t-man403]

I am really good at messing up my garage  but to put it back in order  ??? ....... forget it!!!
It's embarrassing really  ...... somehow it overwhelms me  .

[RP#62]

Rushing.  I'm not too good at rushing anymore, but I can wait like nobody's business.

-RP

[threevalks]

            I have learned that when doing any plumbing job. Got to the plumbing store, buy 10 of everything, and when job is finished take back what you did not use.

[bigguy]

What am I bad at?


How much time ya got?

That doesn't mean I don't hike my britches and give it a shot. A fellow once asked me, Are you a good mechanic, do you work on your own cars?

The answers are no and yes.

Below is a 2003 entry from my journal:

THE JEEP

I think I told you the long sad story leading up to my replacing a perfectly good water pump. Some people, having wasted time and money, would have learned a lesson. I however, am made of sterner stuff! Me! Learn a lesson? Ha!

The other problem we have occasionally involves the starter. Sometimes you hit the key, and nothing happens. The gauges will peg, and the lights will go dim, but nothing else happens. Usually if you just wait a little while, or if you jiggle the shift, it will eventually start.

The Starter motor doesn’t drag. If it turns over at all, it turns over just fine leading me first to think that the problem was a faulty safety interlock on the shift. The "wiggle" solution wasn’t consistent enough to definitively point to this as the problem though, and I was eventually seduced by another hypothesis.

Immediately after having the coolant problem fixed, the starter problem got worse. It now refuses to start. No amount of waiting or jiggling serves the purpose.

I went out to resume the battle one morning, only to discover that the battery was quite dead. This is a new battery, and I was sure that it shouldn’t have simply died on its own. I recharged it planning to resume the struggle the next morning only to find the battery again quite dead. I removed it from the vehicle and charged it up. It held a charge quite well while disconnected so obviously there was a short somewhere in the Jeep.
 
I remember the old days when the starter solenoid was attached to the firewall. Sometimes they would stick. Occasionally they would unstick themselves. Other times, you could tap them gently with hammer and that would unstick them. The thing is; when they were stuck, they would invariably drain your battery.

"Ah ha Watson!" I cried in an affected British accent that would have made your eyes water. (I’ve been re-reading Sherlock Holmes) "The evidence is clear and points unfalteringly to the solenoid."
Holmes would have wept.

This vehicle, like most I have seen manufactured in the last three decades, has the solenoid attached directly to the starter. I had to remove the starter to replace the solenoid. I accomplished with about three hours under the Jeep, removing and replacing bell housing bolts from the transmission that I had mistaken for mounting bolts on the starter. There was much verbose speculation on theology, and the genealogy of various parts that refused to cooperate. Eventually however, I stood triumphantly holding the starter in my bruised, battered, and bleeding hands.

Quick as a flash, I dashed to the parts store for a new solenoid.
"Look mac," says the guy behind the counter. "Ya sure ya don’t want to replace the starter while ya got it out?" Obviously this buffoon had no idea to whom he was speaking. A solenoid cost about $28.00 while a starter (solenoid included) was going to run about $79.00. It’s true that if I was wrong about the solenoid, I was simply throwing away $28.00, but I was confident. My logic was impeccable, my conclusions flawless. I assured the imbecile I had no need of a starter. I secured the solenoid and returned to the battle.

As neighboring mothers ushered away children, hands over their ears, I climbed back under the Jeep. Holding the starter as I lay on my back in one hand, I tried to get at least one of the bolts in to hold the weight of the starter. Arms trembling, I tried desperately to get the bolt to bite the threads.

Let’s see, that’s uh lefty-loosey, righty-tighty? No, wait! I’m looking at it from the back so shouldn’t it go the other way? Come on you &&^%**, take a bite. &^%&*# this has got to be the right *&(^() way!!
&^^))& ^((*) %$#@$# %^^$^!!!!!

OK! I finally get it in.
I reconnect the wiring then spring to the drivers seat. I turn the key and

 -- - - lights dim, gages peg.

More verbose speculation on genealogy and theology.

I’m not sure exactly how, but some way, THIS IS HUSSIEN’S FAULT!!
It took me three days to get the initiative to gather up and put away my tools. I should have some money coming back from income tax by late February or early March. If the Mitsubishi will just keep running till then, I’ll have the Jeep towed to the shop and let someone who knows what the hell he doing have a shot at it.

Wish me luck.

[fudgie]

You guys SUCK ! I'm not bad at ANYTHING. 

Except choosing your political party.   

Just playin! 

[fudgie]

I seem to be bad at keeping wives. 

[baldo]

I'm thinking, I'm thinking......

[The emperor has no clothes]

You guys SUCK ! I'm not bad at ANYTHING. 

Except choosing your political party.   

Just playin! 

good one  (for the record though I'm registered Independent)

I seem to be bad at keeping wives. 

As long as you can keep finding new ones it's all good 

[fudgie]

As long as you can keep finding new ones it's all good 

That's thinking positive! 

[Rams]

As long as you can keep finding new ones it's all good 
[/quote]

I've been lead to believe that do so can be expensive.   I have no first hand knowledge of this but, based on other people's experiences, it seems to be conclusive, Ex's cost a lot of money!!!

[Miker]

I'm good at weeding out loser wives. It hasn't 't cost much as I started out with nothing and I have most of it left.
As for being bad at something - I'm good at everything. It will just take some time to prove it.

[The emperor has no clothes]

As long as you can keep finding new ones it's all good 

I've been lead to believe that do so can be expensive.   I have no first hand knowledge of this but, based on other people's experiences, it seems to be conclusive, Ex's cost a lot of money!!!
[/quote]Luckily for me I have no firsthand knowledge either. I can't imagine going thru marriage again. 

[baldo]

As long as you can keep finding new ones it's all good 

I've been lead to believe that do so can be expensive.   I have no first hand knowledge of this but, based on other people's experiences, it seems to be conclusive, Ex's cost a lot of money!!!

Luckily for me I have no firsthand knowledge either. I can't imagine going thru marriage again. 
[/quote]

I've been told, it's cheaper to keep her......YMMV

[Jess from VA]

After two (one for 3yrs, another for 25), the novelty wore off.  I don't want another.

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in a speech in 1938 talked about peace in our lifetime.  Two thumbs up.                            (not that the Munich Agreement was worth spit)

[BobB]

Well I can't think of anything I'm bad at, but maybe I'm just a bad thinker...   

[ptgb]

- keeping my mouth shut in situations that call for it.

- not interrupting people when they're talking.

- getting the weed whacker out and actually using it.

- closing the bathroom door

- in the home improvement realm.... plumbing

[SpidyJ]

......making friends.

[Art708]

  My biggest failure is getting that damn boot on the U-joint !