Friday, April 28, 2006

What’s in DZER’s truck ...

Regular readers of my blog know of my recent truck travails. Last week, had to replace the starter. This week, had to replace the battery. Between the two, more than $400. Ouch.

But I can't complain too much. The rusty old beast has served me well, and continues to do so. I bought it the day I paid off my last car, a shitty ass 1988 Nissan Sentra. Well, it was shitty by the time I paid it off, and I drove over to the Nissan lot after my trip to the bank, "just to look." My truck, a 1994 Nissan King Cab SE-V6
(sports edition with chrome package) was on clearance for $13,999, to make way for the 1995 models.

I really wasn't planning to buy until the salesman invited me to sit it in and see how it felt. It looked like I was going to have to do a twisting kind of bending move to get in and under the wheel ... until the salesman — Chico — pushed down this lever that made the steering wheel "jump" to an elevated position. Fuck that sold me right there. I even got $1,200 for the shitty Sentra, and it needed a brand-new fusebox
(though they didn't know that).

No one but me drove my truck for a full two years, and even then it was because my dad needed to go to the auto parts store for a part for our van and it was early and I was groggy and still in bed. He stuck his head in my bedroom.

Pops: "I'm taking your truck to go get a part."

Me:
(sleepily) "OK."

Took me a while to realize I'd agreed to let someone else drive my "baby." LOL

I've had to get repairs and stuff over the years, but never anything too major. And I'm gonna keep riding it till it stops working, or until I leave and need to sell it, whichever comes first.

So here's what is in my truck right now:

• My press passes.

• My sunglasses.

• Jumper cables — how is it that everyone doesn’t carry these in their vehicle?

• A tool set — one of those pretty cheap “all-in-one” packages — all sizes of wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, Allen wrenches, wire cutters, etc.

• Two flashlights — one small, one medium-sized.

• Scissors.

• Two old copies of Time magazine.

• 3/4- ton hydraulic floor jack. The scissor jacks that come with vehicles are total shit. Why squat and rotate a flimsy two-piece metal turning rod when you can slide a jack under, pump it like 5 times and be done?

• Pneumatic wrench that plugs into the cigarette lighter — makes changing tires a breeze! Plus it makes those cool “whirrrr-whirrrr” sounds.

• A 9-by-12 foot tarp. You never know.

• A baseball-style denim jacket.

• Two baseball caps.

• A straw golf hat.

• Proof of insurance and registration
(in visor pouch).

• Business cards
(in visor pouch).

• Assorted pens
(in visor pouch) and two small notebooks — hello, journalist!

• Two bulldog clips
(in visor pouch).

• Toothpicks
(in visor pouch).

• Some trash
(kept neatly in a plastic bag … usually).

• Gas station card — you collect points, cash it in after so many gallons for free gas or store merchandise.

• Laundry detergent — Why bother carrying it downstairs and upstairs over and over again every time I have to go do laundry?

• Some loose change.

• Brake fluid

• A rubber mallet.

• A couple of golf balls.

• In glove compartment: napkins, 1994 Nissan Kingcab SE-V6 owner’s manual, golf pencils, red tape and orange tape
(from when I had broken tail lights), clear duct tape, two decks of poker cards (you never know).

Random Guam Fact Of The Day:
• This is the current price of gas on Guam.
Shell's regular unleaded is $3.05. 76 is selling regular unleaded for $3.08.

20 comments:

KJ said...

I don't think I have jumper cables....

DZER said...

how can you NOT have jumper cables? what if your battery dies? are you going to hope someone comes by with cables? Geez!!

ell said...

i feel your pain, d. we just spent over $2,000 for a new transmission for our van.

ouch!

a rubber mallet??

SignGurl said...

Gas here is $2.99 for regular here.

I carry a JumpStarter in my van. It has a battery in it so you can jump yourself. Heh, that sounds dirty!

Cha Cha said...

Men talking about their tools totally turns me on.

Hubris said...

*sigh*

I really do miss having a car but I don't miss anything else tied to it other than its simple convenience. Living in a major metropolis allows me to rely on my bicycle & public transit.

I almost look forward to the day that the planet runs itself dry of fossil fuels.

terry said...

$3.35 here! the price has gone up nearly 10 cents a day, every day this week. it's one price as i pass in the morning, and a higher price in the afternoon. nice.

and i have no jumper cables either. i expect the nice man from Triple A to have them, if i ever need them!

Lindsey said...

I know...our gas prices just hit $2.95 I want to cry.

DZER said...

ell: yowza ... transmission replacement sucks!

chrissie: I guess hot chicks don't need jumper cables ... and yowch! *smooch*

signgurl: I was thinking of getting something like that for my truck ... heh

hubris: well, living in a big city you have those options ... I don't have that option here LOL

terry: holy crap! That's nuts ... makes me feel good for once that somewhere else is way more jacked than me

linny: I'm sure the prices will just keep continuing to go up and up ... *sigh*

Shay said...

Oooh
your truck is sexy!!

JMai said...

Your truck sounds a lot like my purse. Well, except the laundry detergent and tarp.

Rubber mallet -- that's so looney tunes of you!

Snow White said...

If I have car trouble, I'm up shit creek! I don't have any of that kind of stuff!

terry said...

yeah, whenever you see/hear stories that say gas prices are higher in san diego? bullshit. they're higher here.
always.
(and i say this as an ex-san diegan!)

Madame X said...

Rubber mallet?
Is that for those spontaneous games of whack a mole you come across?

Grace said...

Hmmm... gas here in Ottawa is at about $1.06 (Canadian) and we're complaining like hell. It is kinda extreme seeing that the price was around 40-some cents a few years back. But since I'm too poor to own a car (let's not get started on insurance costs), it looks like I'll just have to stick with public transo for the next few years. Sigh... poor me.

Cha Cha said...

What do I look like, chopped liver?

No response to my tool comment?

C'mon....DZ....

heh

=P

Oh yeah...that rubber mallet...that could be fun.

Suze said...

Dzer, girls don't carry a set of jumper cables for a very good reason. We can stand next to our cars and ask a good looking guy if he can help us get our car started.

Whilst he is leaning over the car we can also grab his ass. ;)

Grace said...

Good thinking Suze... I'll remember that for when I purchase my first car :P

DZER said...

shay: my truck says "rawrrr!!"

jmai: truck = purse? no hella way, chicka!! LOL and th-th-th-that's all folks! ;)

snow white: isn't Shit Creek a small town in Texas? heh

terry: funny that one of the most ecologically–minded and environmentally concerned people are jacked on gas prices LOL

madame x: hey ... there are many times when you need a rubber mallet and don't have one handy!

amazing grace: awww ... ya poor college student! *flicks you a quarter*

strumpet: god I hope you don't look like chopped liver ... sorry I missed you earlier ... I must have been too busy fantasizing about you and my rubber mallet ... heh

suze: what if one of us ugly-looking guys pulls over and offers to help? LOL

amazing grace: don't take lessons from that English wench! LOL

terry said...

see, i'm lucky... i don't drive every day...yay...so i usually get gas once a month at most...

but what i'm really annoyed about is the huge profits the oil companies are raking in while claiming there's little connection between all that money and what we're paying at the pump. it's a little hard to take.