Today is my last day of actual work and my closest co-workers are taking me to lunch.  Tomorrow will be some final office clean out and handing over some documents, keys, etc... before I walk out the door for good.

Last night I was changing out my light bar bolts to ones that won't rust.  As usual, the very last bolt head stripped out on me.  It's  hex head and I tried everything from an oversized torx bit to a rubber band to get it out without success.  So, my last resort before trying an easy out was to JB Weld a bit into the head and let it sit for 24 hours before attaching a ratchet to the bit and seeing if it will hold while I remove the bolt. 

I'm going to go get my trailer from my friend's house tonight and start getting my Jeep and gear loaded so I am ready for Frostbite on Saturday morning.  We are looking forward to a fun event and maybe I'll bring home some winnings from the raffle. 

Yesterday, I was going to order a new set of tires to start the wheeling season.  I want to try the newer Mickey Thompson Baja Boss tires that the Genright guys are running but my friend can't get them local and the shipping charges are pretty high making them about $460 a tire.  I might just order three more Mielstars and then use my spare tire which will give me a full new set for about $900 instead of spending $2800. 

Back at work today with two work days and a walk day to go.  It's almost here.

Yesterday was Jayson's 7th birthday and we got to see him last night and give him his gift.  His big birthday party is this Sunday.

This Saturday is Frostbite but it sure won't feel like it as it is suppose to be about 65 degrees.  Sounds great to me as we will get the doors off while there and have a great time on the trails.  Hopefully it will be somewhat dried out by then as we had rain here on Monday. 

Our Wrenchathon was a huge success and we got a lot accomplish for some of our members.  We installed everything from a long arm kit on an XJ to mounting up some 40" tires on beadlocks.  We worked for 10 1/2 hours on Saturday and I got home after midnight.  I was back up and making the hour and twenty minute drive back to Topeka at 7:30am for another 6 hours of work before I headed home.  I got my CB working pretty good while there and I changed a burnt out turn signal lamp on my Jeep.  The rest of the time I was bouncing from vehicle to vehicle helping where I could. 

I met Jodi on my way home at a sub shop to grab a late lunch.  She was on her way back from St. Louis after going there to dress shop for the wedding with her family.  She found one they all liked and now she is set.  They went to a trivia night later on Saturday evening and then she met up for breakfast with her Dad the next morning.  After that, she went to see her aunt's new property along with their new race horse before heading home.

I wound up taking a nap after our lunch and then I woke up bored.  I decided to go to the casino for awhile and I'm glad I did because I walked with $900 in winnings at the blackjack table.  About a week or so ago I won $500 so the last two trips have been pretty good. 

I'm off work today and tomorrow before returning on Wednesday.  Two work days and then my walk day on Friday and I am out of there!  My first pension check should arrive March 1st. 

It's finally Friday and after today, I have 4 days off from work.  One more week and I am no longer employed by anyone other than myself. 

Today after work I am going with JD to pick up the new sofa that he and Megan purchased.  Now that we own a big truck, it gets called upon for duties such as these. 

I was hoping to get my light bar installed yesterday but when my shipment from Northridge arrived, the mounting brackets were not in the box.  Come to find out, they ship directly from the manufacturer so I won;t have them until next week now.  It's always something.  Speaking of that, I have to call a plumber today because our kitchen sink drain is clogged up and I have been unable to get it unclogged.  SO let's see, in the last couple weeks, the furnace quit working, the refrigerator quit working and now this.  Since things happen in three's, we should be done with this nonsense.

Business for the Spring is looking pretty promising so far.  We are getting a good amount of inquiries and sessions booked.  I'd like to get at least four more booked before graduation.  March and May will be slower months for us while April will be pretty busy.  Then when June rolls around, we will be humming.

I really wish warmer weather would get here.  I've grown tired of the cold that I use to like.  The good news is that next Winter, Jodi and I can go away to a warm climate for however long we wish.  I think Arizona is going to become a new winter hangout for us.  We can trailer the Jeep out there, stay with her family and enjoy the mild temps.  Sounds like a great plan to me.

Well, 5 more work days and then the last day is my walk day, which I think I'll just walk right out the door next Friday versus walk the plant, never to be back. 

I got my desk put together in my new office that I have been banished to.  I also moved my computer in along with set up some studio monitors for good sound.  Looking forward to becoming an expert at video editing in my retirement years.

We have a Wrenchathon this weekend, the Frostbite event next weekend and then the following week, a friend and I plan to get my lower control arm skids welded in place and install my transfer case skid.  That will leave just the rear truss to be done.  I will also be getting my job box mounted on my trailer in preparation for the Hot Springs trip. 



   

I got my Powertank on Friday and it is now installed.  Glad to have another option of airing up available or to use some air tools if need be.

I will be spending most of next weekend at Topeka for our club Wrenchathon at the offroad shop there.  We will be working on a number of members' Jeeps while there.  Jodi will be going to St. Louis to go dress shopping for thew wedding with her family.

I helped JD install a ceiling fan in their guest room and we hauled one of our beds over to their house to add to their guest room.  Jodi and I then went shopping and bought some new seating for our loft and I picked up a new desk and chair for my new office upstairs.  I got the chair assembled last night and plan to do the desk today after work. 

This is my last Monday working at Ford because I am off next Monday and Tuesday.  I have 7 working days left and then Friday the 28th will be my walk day where I get to go around and say goodbye to friends and co-workers.  It can't get here soon enough. 

I picked up my new to me Powertank yesterday afternoon.  It came with the behind the seat punting bracket as well so all told, I got the entire setup for less that what the previous owner paid for it 8 months ago.  Looking forward to getting it mounted this weekend.

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After work today, I'm heading over to JD and Megan's house to install a ceiling fan for them in one of their guest bedrooms.  After that, the rest of my weekend is free to do other things.

Jodi and I didn't do much for Valentine's Day.  I don't think she ever got out of her robe yesterday and for dinner, I picked up some food from our favorite Italian restaurant.  I think I was out by 9:30pm.

It's Valentines Day and lucky me, I get to purchase something red today, a 15lb Powertank.  One of our club members is selling his 8 month old setup and I'm getting it for half price.  Can't believe how lucky I got as I was about to order one at full price. 

We had our first club meeting of the year on Wednesday and I led the meeting, which was a packed house.  I think we were 100 bodies over the occupancy limit!  We really need to find a new location for our club meetings.  I am now officially the President of the club and I'm looking forward to a fun year.

We booked a venue yesterday for Justin and Megan's rehearsal dinner.  We were lucky they had the space still available.  We are planning on dinner for 50 and the venue is just a short drive from our house.  The wedding and reception location is about 15-20 minutes from our house so all is pretty convenient. 

This year I plan to do more video and documentation of our offroad adventures.  To do so, I am creating a brand.  I recently purchased a domain name to create a website for my brand and am looking forward to creating an entertaining as well as informative site for offroad enthusiasts to follow and interact with.  

Tonight is our first club meeting of 2020 and at that meeting, I will become the club President.  We will unveil our new club logo, distribute the new member t-shirts and vehicle decals and talk about the many plans we have forthcoming to improve the member experience this year.

 

Jodi and I went to the casino on Friday afternoon and we both played Blackjack.  I got up $150 and went to go to the high limit room but it was full.  I came back to the $10 tables and sat at a table across from Jodi's.  I went on a great run and walked with $500 while Jodi lost $25.  Not bad for a couple hours of play.

Yesterday, I attempted to install my light bar but the mounts for the light bar do not line up with the fairlead winch mount I have.  This light bar may not work for my application.  I have a friend checking into a collection of mounts he has to see if there is something to make it work.

A friend showed up to check on our furnace which quit working the day before.  All checked out when he used his meter.  He pulled a 3 amp fuse that was in the circuit board to check to see if it was blown but it appeared not to be.  Once he put it back in, the system worked.  Quite puzzling but it has worked fine ever since.

Tomorrow is our club meeting and I will officially become President of the club.  I will run the meeting and we will discuss the plans for the year as well as distribute the new club t-shirts and member decals. 

I've been thinking about what I still want to do to my Jeep and everything on the list means going to one ton axles, which I figure by the time I do the axle swap, get new driveshafts, new 8 lug wheels, ORI struts, and a custom 3 link in the front and rear.  I'm at about $25K.  It would make more sense to get a dedicated rock crawler that someone has already put $50-$60K in if I'm going to spend that amount of money.  So that leaves me looking at my tow rig and how to enhance it's appearance.  I think I've decided on a 3-4" lift and putting 37's on it.  Jodi says the tires look too small right now so that should fix it. 

We actually have a weekend with no plans.  I should probably continue my work in the garage at organizing things.  I also have two storage rooms in the basement that need attention and/or purging.  I have a lot of photography gear I don't use and that probably needs to be sold off.  I could always work on our taxes too.   Nah. 

The Kansas City Chiefs are the Super Bowl champions!  We got to enjoy seeing it happen with our group of friends and we enjoyed a fun evening with them.  A parade on Wednesday is expected to draw 1.5 million people.  I won't be going anywhere near that.

Still counting down the final days.  This will be the last month I work for Ford Motor Company.  It's almost over and I cannot wait to not have to get out of bed in the morning and go to work again.  That will never happen again.