Thwarted!

One of those days. . . . So I want to mow my lawn and I know I can't mow it until I change the oil in the mower because it is wayyyy overdue. I get home from school, eat some lunch, play with the Wiggle Pigs a bit and then hit the road for the mower place, with the dogs. I pick up some new oil, a new drain plug thingy to make the oil draining easier and less messy next time, and an oil filter. The way they make the engines on those Snappers, you'd think the engine people have never met the mower people! The drain plug sits way back on the frame, and it faces out, not down! This means you have to get oil every-frickin-where just to drain the stupid thing, which is why I bought that drain thing --so future changes will not be so messy. The oil filter is also something the design people obviously never thought much about because it is in between the back of the seat, under the gas tank, and in front of the engine, meaning it is nearly impossible to get out! I asked the lady at the mow shop if I would need any special tools to get the filter on or off and she said I could do it by hand. Ok, fine. I drive back home, and now the sun is getting low on the horizon because of daylight savings being done, and I set to work. I need to take off the drain plug, but I have no tool that will fit it except a crescent wrench, and I can't budge the thing! I ended up using a rubber mallet to tap the wrench down to get the drain plug to loosen. OK, we are draining now! I even remember to open the dip-stick housing to allow for better draining! I'm cookin' now! Then I get to the oil filter and everything suddenly grinds to a halt. I can't get a good grip on it because it is just plain welded on there! I try and try and still the thing will not budge. A short time later, I find myself back in my car, but this time I go to the AutoZone because the mower place is now closed, it being after 5:00 PM. I bring the new filter with me to get an idea as to the size I will need for an oil filter wrench, but the guy at the store is as dumb as I am, and it is a best-guess scenario from the get-go. I buy two different wrenches in the hopes that one of these stupid things will work. By this time, traffic is getting really heavy and I am in a shit mood. I finally get home and the sun is already sinking below the horizon, but I'm committed: I will mow no matter how dark it gets! Neither wrench will work on that damned oil filter! In fact, one of the wrenches actually puts a sizable dent in it! So here I am, sitting in the garage next to a puddle of oil on the floor, fuming and wanting to blow up the world because once again, I cannot get anything I want to get done! An afternoon wasted. I sit there a while and fume, trying not to act out or punch anything or smash anything. . . Waiting. . . . Waiting. . . And then after a good ten minutes, I slowly head inside and pour myself a few shots of whiskey. A few drinks later and some Words with Friends, and I'm feeling OK again. Now I have a sinus headache. Sigh.

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