Is there anybody out there?

Heh, I kind of forgot about this place, but it is still here. I guess that is because I have the hosting automatically paid every month on my credit card.

Honestly, there really has not been a lot going on since my February post.  I finally finished this semester of school…it was a rough one for sure, definitely not “fridge worthy.” Just have to move on and do better next go around.

As far as the summer goes, I would like to find a job/internship. I may have something lined up, but that may no develop until the end of this month, we will have see.

In the meantime my dad and I have a wonderful mini-vacation planned. Well hopefully it works out as well as I have it planned in my head.

We are heading to Kentucky to do the Bourbon Trail and do the NCM Xperience. We will leave eeeeeeeeeeeearly on the 18th and return sometime after the 22nd.

I’ll have my Canon Rebel XSi with me and I’m sure I will take a ton of pictures.

Speaking of pictures, my interest in photography has taken a huge leap and I just invested another $400 in camera equipment. One aspect I am trying to improve (to no avail currently) is post processing. As I really do not have the money to buy a high dollar program such as Photoshop, I downloaded Gimp. It seems to be a very powerful free program. I am still working my way around the basics, but am software challenged.

I think that will be all for now, I hope to get back my couple regular readers and maybe a few more too.

Until next time,

-DH

I have just gotten to that point in the semester where I am starting to shut down. Everything is getting so mundane and it is just killing my spirit to continue. I often prided myself in the fact that I continue on no matter the task ahead, but sometimes it is just not that easy. This is not to say that I will not continue, but the momentum I carry to continue is diminishing quickly.

The holidays are about to hit us head on, and soon after Thanksgiving means finals. Oh joy! As far as I know I only have one cumulative final…I hope. Those are just not any fun, I know the object is to retain information, but this “life” that we talk about “not having” is really time consuming.

I’m positive I am not the only one that feels this way. We all have a drive to continue, but getting to the finish line can be nail biting, you never quite know if you are going to make it in, or just coast in on fumes.

Working this semester has really made a big difference, even though I have drastically cut my hours, it still weighs on me. It will be interesting to work Black Friday…I’m not sure if I come in at 7am or not, I have a feeling I will, because there is really only one other person with the experience to run one of the registers up front. I have seen the Black Friday print ad, and it really does suck, I’ll be surprised if we are really busy. I really would have thought there would be better deals than that.

Well now that I have rambled a bit off topic, how is everyone else about managing their focus to get to the end?

Have a good one!

-DH

Well big thanks go out to Bob, from Cleveland. I found him on CorvetteForum and he offered to take a look at the truck for me.

This is what he had to say:

Hi David,

Finally made it over to D M Motors this morning – the last couple days were busier than I expected. The guy who runs it has been around for a while – probably in his fifties. Decent guy, but had a little of that “used car salesman” aura around him. Anyway, about the truck…

EXTERIOR

–Body is very straight; much better than average for a 1999. Someone went over it with a buffer, and did a reasonable job. No indications of rust anywhere on the exterior of the bed – the inside is scratched up, but isn’t beat to death by any means. Fenders and doors are good; cab corners also seem clean. Tailgate works properly; doors open and close properly. One license light is completely missing from the rear bumper; the other one is hanging free – seems odd considering how nice everything else is. Rear bumper chrome is fair at best; front is nice.

–Frame has a pretty good coating of rust all over – seems strange that the body is so clean and the frame isn’t. Somebody threw a coat of rattle can undercoating over some of the frame (particularly where it’s visible in the fender wells, etc.). Of everything about the truck, this made me the most nervous. There were also weld marks right above the rear axle on both sides. This might have been factory – they were very straight, square and neat, and were identical on both sides. I haven’t looked at enough of these to know if they were right or wrong.

–Clear coat finish on wheels is poor – they should be refinished to be as nice as the rest of the truck (or replaced).

–Small thing, but it needs windshield wipers – mismatched, and one is pretty well destroyed.

INTERIOR

–Interior was clean, showed what I would call normal wear and tear for 83,000 miles. Upholstery all good – no tears or rips, but the edge of the driver’s seat is breaking down (pretty common, I think). Armrest center console didn’t want to open, then didn’t want to close…very minor.

–No owners manuals or other paperwork.

–Power windows and locks worked.

MECHANICAL

–I didn’t drive it, but did start it up and move it back and forth. Started right up, ran smoothly, no unusual smoke or odors.

–Check engine light is ON. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a code reader with me.

–Air conditioning compressor did not engage – guessing the systrem is empty and there is probably a leak somewhere, or an electrical issue.

–Tires brand new, as advertised.

–Steering seemed tight; brakes felt fine.

That’s the quick overview – if I’ve forgotten anything or you have specific questions, give me a call or send me a message. For what it’s worth, there’s just something about the truck that bothers me, and I can’t put my finger on it. It just doesn’t seem “honest” if you know what I mean – the biggest red flag is the undercoating on the frame and the lack of attention to some of the other details, like the license lights and windshield wipers. I’m not real familiar with the market, but it seems like he’s asking top dollar, and should have attended to some of these things.

Hope this helps…good luck.

I was very happy with Bob’s right up and have decided not to further pursue this truck. Too many things do not seem right, and when I asked the dealer for the VIN, he gave it too me, and I could find no record of it in the GM database, I even asked him to re-check it. So something is up.

-DH