What a day, what a day! So, my hands are scraped and cut up pretty bad. This morning, using my haynes manual, I tried to install the replacement window myself in my passenger side of my truck. Taking apart the door and getting to where the window is located was easy.
The rest of it was not so much. It only took me 10-15 minutes to get the door taken apart. I spent an hour and a half trying to figure out how the window pane is supposed to go into both sides of the track. I could get it in one, but then it was just past the other side, and I know there is a way to do it. After messing with it for a while, and pulling my hand out only to find it covered in blood because of a cut on my knuckle, I gave up and told myself I would try to see how flexible it is, and see if I can bend the glass, even if just a hair. That's all I needed, was just a fraction of an inch in order for it to go. Well, it apparently didn't like that, because once again, pieces of safety glass went flying everywhere as it exploded in my face.
Needless to say, some swear words were yelled out loud, people that were walking by stopped and stared for a moment until I turned and went into the house, etc. When I came into the bedroom, Erin was getting ready for work, and I was mumbling swear words to myself. She was like "What happened?" I was like "I f**king broke the other glass too." So, this morning before i got off, when I was unlocking, I met a guy that recommended this place called A to Z salvage. He said they have some ford truck doors still with the windows. He said they would even install it for me for like $20.00. So, at 9 when they opened, I called them and talked to them. On the phone, he had me convinced because of the good deal.
When I showed up, this place was a single lot, used to be a convenient store or something a while back, but now had several junker cars sitting around. They had a garage, and that was where they did work on the cars. I think had he been able to do it right there, I would have gone with it and let him install it. But he said "It'll probably be about 3 or 4 hours. Can you leave it here and come back later?" I was like "not too easily. It's our only mode of transportation right now." But, I said "Sure, I brought my daughter's stroller and so we should be able to leave it here for ya." But I couldn't shake a feeling. Something inside me screaming "Dont do it!" I stood there, Zoe in the stroller, looking from my truck, back to where these guys were sitting in some kind of office just bullshitting while they had a car that was in the garage that they were doing some kind of work on for a customer. I then decided, and took Zoe out of the stroller, strapped her back into her car seat, got in the truck and drove off. I didn't say a word to the guy's running this mini-salvage garage.
Will I try there again? I'm not sure. I'm kind of doubting it. From what I'm told, there is a bigger salvage yard in DeWitt. I'm familiar with it because it is located right by where the schwans depo is located. I passed it every day when I went to work, and then again when I left to come home. So, maybe I will go through them. I don't think I would have a problem with just buying 'parts' from the A to Z auto here, but the idea of leaving my truck there and coming back later, no. I would be afraid that later I would break down and find out that I was missing parts.
So, as I was driving back from the A to Z salvage, my mind was racing. a few thoughts at once. 1) "i should have left the truck there. I'm not going to get the window fixed for a while now." 2) "Damn I'm so stressed about this." Then when I got home, it was like a switch was flipped. I had decided what I was going to do. I decided "ok, first I will put the door back together. Then I will sweap up the pile of broken safety glass. Then Zoe and I will go to Jewel and buy clear heavy duty tape so I can tape over the window opening so that it isn't just a wide open window anymore currently, plus I am running low on deodorant so I will grab that also. Then we will go up to pizza ranch and eat, and will hopefully be back here just around noon. I will lay Zoe down and then crash myself."
I hadn't slept yet at that point. It was roughly about 11 oclock. I went inside and grabbed a drink because I got pretty hot by the time I put the door back together. I locked the door, closed it, said "Ok Zo Zo lets go!" She was like "Kay!" I got to the truck and thought "where are my keys? oh shit..." I didn't know for sure, but I feared that I had taken them inside and set them down when I got a drink. I went and checked and of course the door was locked. I tried a few windows but the security clip was up which only allows them to open a few inches. I tried a few more and I found one that wasn't. I don't know what we would have done if we couldn't get in. I didn't know if Erin had her house key. If she didn't, and I could'nt get in, we were screwed.
Finally I found a window that wasn't securely closed. I raised it up as high as I could. The window opening was about 3 feet higher than me. I braced myself, jumped, and pulled myself into the house. When I landed on the floor, I groaned for a minute because it hurt like hell to squeeze in, and also because of the effort I used in order to make sure I didn't just fall through the window opening onto my face on the floor. Of course, the keys were right where I had filled my glass with lemonade.
So I loaded Zoe up in her car seat, and we drove to jewel. Just after I got there, erin texted me. It was probably about 11:30 by this point. She said she hadn't felt well and they were sending her home. I told her how I had planned to eat up there, but would grab a frozen pizza instead. She told me to just grab what I needed and then we could order at the drive up window at pizza ranch. So we did. While waiting for the order, the tiredness was really hitting me. She wanted to go across the street to get some other grocery essentials, but I was dozing off as we were sitting there waiting, so we just headed home after we got the order.
I barely was able to finish eating because while I was eating, my eye lids were drooping. After I finished, I threw my uniform stuff in the dryer, grabbed Zoe and headed upstairs. Layed her down for a nap, then changed into my sleep pants, prayed, and climbed into bed myself. As I prayed, I knew it would not even be minutes till I fell asleep. I layed my head down on the pillow and it felt like a snap of the finger, and it was lights out. I had set my alarm for 5:30. At 3:30, I was up out of bed for some reason. I didn't remember what I had dreamed before that, but for some reason I jumped up out of bed and ran out into the hall way. After using the restroom, I convinced myself to go back to bed. 5:30, my alarm was going off. I hit snooze, and then next thing I know it was 5:50. I jumped up and got dressed for work.
After I got to work, I went out to the truck for about 20 minutes and I completely taped over the open window. I love the clear tape for that purpose. It's really clear so you can still see through it as if it's a normal window. But at the same time it keeps out the elements as best they can. Last night it downpoured and the inside of the truck got soaked. So, someday soon hopefully the window will be replaced, and then I will never ever mess with them again! EVER!
So I think for tonight I will call that it. I will write more for you all tomorrow.
Thanks for being here.
CB
