Bonafide!

Wow! I'm practically a bonafide mechanic these days. Well, maybe not quite. I can say that I've now assisted in changing brake pads and rotors on the Dubaru, changing the oil (which I can do myself now), bleeding the brakes, rotating the tires, and last but not least, putting on new struts. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I really did help! I like to think that I could do it all by myself now, but I'm pretty sure that's not the case. If anything, I certainly need aid in the area of sheer strength. Apparently I'm lacking. It's definitely safe to say that the bolts that hold everything in and together aren't going anywhere without a damn good fight. 160,000 miles worth of rust has definitely cemented them into place for, at least, most of an eternity. It definitely took us a lot of frustration and energy to get them loose! In the end, we prevailed. Both struts on the passenger side were completely blown, so I think that the choice to put new ones in, though pricey, was a good one. Saved over $600 by putting them in ourselves! Thanks, Keith!

Other than that, all I can add is that I had a bit of an epiphany today. Despite all that's going on, I finally feel like I'm going to be okay. That's a really good thing. It definitely takes big load off my shoulders. Too bad it doesn't seem to be making my neck feel any better, though...