Getting older sucks...

[Ratdog68]

The great news here... over the last 10 months, I've probably dropped close to 100lbs. (m'be more) (8" from around my waist alone).

Past injuries are taking their toll on me though, a motorcycle wreck nearly 20 years ago (car changed lanes into me, resulting in a slow speed collision/fall) has me hurting 24/7 in my neck and mid back.

The water supply valves (both of them) under the kitchen sink have gone south on me, as well as a copper pipe sweat joint. So, under the sink I go today. I don't do plumbing repairs on a regular basis, but, knew what I needed to do.

Between losing $10K worth of tools a number of years ago, and presently doing some work in the basement, searching for tools caused delays, and netted two trips to the hardware store.

But, lines repaired, valves replaced, working hot/cold water once again... thus far, no leaks.

Laying inside a base cabinet and craning my neck around... pretty rough on those old injury spots though. Seems like those hard edges hit in just the wrong spot. Ain't as young as I used to be.

At least the other waiting plumbing chores should mostly be in the basement where a can stand while working.

 

[FrankT]

Congrats on fixing it, I use a thing called "plumbers" cause I can...lol

Congrats on the weight loss, that is a great thing!

OLD? Just turning 66, I need to lose weight and get into better shape!

 

[Ratdog68]

Thanks, definitely feeling better as the weight comes off.

I didn't say I was OLD yet... said getting older sucks. LOL Beat the snot out of my body when I was young and indestructible. It's catching up with me now in my mid 50s. Trying to lessen that impact nowadays, when/where I can.

I can't justify calling a plumber for something I can fix for $20 worth of parts. He'd charge me $400 for the call. LOL

 

[Chopperdrvr]

Me too! To all the ailments and years. Bad hip, vertebrae nearly touching in my neck from too many years in giant vibrators and pain 24/7. The mind thinks I can still do things I did 30 years ago. The body just can't cash the checks. Congrats on the plumbing success. I need help painting the house, want to make a trip to TX?

 

[Ratdog68]

LOL... I'm up to my eyeballs with my own alligators. Transforming the dumping grounds from hell (basement) into a usable work area, as well as storage, needing to do some siding repairs/priming, pull electrical for outlets in the basement, insulate it, tackle some much larger/less urgent plumbing chores... already did some major yard work and smaller household projects this summer. One of these days, need to strip the roof to the rafters and sheath/shingle it, repair some fascia/gutters, and paint the house too. A pre-1900 house ain't a cake walk.

Halfway done in the basement with building benches/shelves, sorting and storing so I once again know WHAT I have and WHERE it is. Woodworking benches/stations, automotive/motorcycle work benches, a new reloading/gunsmithing bench, plus over 8' of salvaged kitchen base cabinets converted into additional work area for a number of hobbies (guns, archery, leatherwork, camping gear, black powder...). Will be able to spread out as I'm working on a project... dedicated to the type of task at hand. I've been promising myself this endeavor for more than a decade as I've squirrel away materials, etc.

 

[Chopperdrvr]

Sounds like the mess I have in my shop. I have a 36' x 46' with 20' carport in front. It's so full of junk, most work has to be done under the carport. If you build it, I can fill it with crap.

 

[Ratdog68]

LOL... I unnerstan'. My basement's probably 900 sq. ft., but it was pretty bad before I started. It's amazing how much better things are already. No dump runs, no Goodwill runs yet, just moving/sorting/building (using stuff already there), recycling old lumber from the original hodge podge of benches that look like a teenager built. Scraps of 1 1/8" sub-flooring are now the countertop for the base cabinets, topped with Masonite and edged with 1x4... finished in teak oil. Some old cabinet (STURDY) that came from God knows where is my new reloading/gun building bench. But, it needed to be leveled on two planes first. Built some shelves above it, fabbed an extension on one side for my press/trays, and mounted one of my four vises to it. It's 53" x 24", and an arm's length from the 8' bench as needed.

Built an in-feed shelf for my table saw, an out-feed cabinet/counter for it... built a "built-in" stand for my router table, I now have 4' of bench on either side of it too. Will fab up extensions for either side of the chop saw too. I tested the table saw area, I can rip (length wise) a full sheet of 1/4" Masonite by myself (safely). It'll get fine tuned later, but functional now.

Still tough going now, but as I use up materials, more and more open floor space reclaimed ! Burn through all the rolls of new insulation and a bunch more space will appear. Phase 1 of this chore is rough... pick it up and move it, build something, pick it up again a few times in the process, and pick it up to stow it. LOL

 

[customcutter]

Congrats on the weight loss, hope it's for the right reasons. Heck in your mid 50's your still golden. At 54 I was cutting 55 lawns a week by myself when I left the corporate world, then I hired a helper. Now I'm 60 and can barely work 2 to 3 hours a day and I'm shot for the day. Pretty much the same weight, just age catches up to all of us after a while. Get the rest of the basement finished while you've got the gumption to do it. Then you can enjoy the hobbies a few hours at a time.

 

[Chopperdrvr]

Sounds like you have a heck of a nice work area in the making. Oh, and congrats on the weight loss too. Have you quit working on the Artic circle?

 

[RattlesnakeDan]

Congrats on the weight loss. 100 lbs is some serious weight to be gone. At 51 I feel better now than when I was in my 20's and 30's.

 

[Ratdog68]

Yeah the weight loss is all good, managed to kick start my metabolism. It went out of whack when I hit 50 and ballooned up. Thanks for the well wishes on that, 100 is a bunch, still got at least another 50 to go before I'll be content with it.

No, got laid off in April. Thought I was headed back up in June, bought my plane ticket, the optic gear I was gonna need... got a call the next day, "Nope, no go." Had to return the optic stuff, hosed on the plane ticket though.

Had a little side work here/there (working with my hands).

 

[Chopperdrvr]

Hope things open up for you soon. We had to lay off some pilots and mechanics. The low gas prices are a welcome sight for most people, but they don't realize what it does to the economy in general and our industry in particular. I am listed as a spare pilot for the first half of my hitch. That's unheard of and not a good sign for the strength of the business.

 

[Ratdog68]

Yup, it's a volatile industry, no doubt.

 

[Galveston340]

...first off I have to say "Good Job" to Ya Ratdog68 on both the weight loss as well as fixing those leaks you were dealing with. I have also had to deal with some past injuries that seem to pop up just when you don't need to have them around.
I'm headed to the far end of my 50's,...heck, call my Mom as she knows how old I am!
At the least we can still fix stuff and save that extra cash that the darn "Yuppies" will throw out in a flash to have a repair made just so they don't have to deal with it. Heck, I'll bet most these days don't have even half the tools needed to change a spark plug nor cut a piece of PVC. Let alone if they were going to have to sweat a copper water pipe!
Chopperdrvr, I feel for ya man. I woke up early this morning and watched the stocks/oil overseas drop like a rock out of the gunner's door. Seems that way too many countries are dependent on the output from China, as well as their consumption of oil. Then you add in that Iran is going to increase output...Shizz is hozed.
Hope things pick up in the near future for you.

 

[Ratdog68]

Yeah, back in '08 when I lost $10K worth of tools in a job site burglary... not only felt violated, but crippled and lost... being without my tools. Still haven't replaced all that I lost... but able to function once again.

Sure felt good a couple of months ago... lost the fan clutch in my truck, found the problem, $60 part, dig out my wrenches and fix the problem. No big repair bill to a shop. Plumbing leaks, fix it. Need a work bench, make one. Lost the thong on a $60 pair of leather flip-flops, fixed it (rock solid for two months of daily use thus far). Need a sling, make one. Set my mind to learn something, study it, learn the tools, and do it. The appreciation for it when your hands create it is greater.

 

[RattlesnakeDan]

Sometimes less is more. I had a few businesses that I lost when the first recession hit. Went from 250k a year to nothing. I survived for a few years selling my 4 wheelers/boats/jet skis/dirt bikes/harleys/motorhomes etc and finally lost my home. Filed bankruptcy and drove off in an old Subaru with nothing and no where to go. Now I live in a 5k mobile home, have no debt, wake up singing and go to bed laughing thanks to God himself! If you gave me all that stuff back I would give it away. Sometimes I get frustrated because I could use a little more cash for things but it always works out.

 

[sjb67]

I herniated a disc in my neck 14 years ago and was off work for 14 months. when it first happened i thought it was the worst thing that ever happened to me. went from making 100K a year to workers comp amd nearly lost everything i owned. 2 months in my dad was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. as a result of my injury i get to spend everyday of the last year of his life with him.

i learned that the things i thought i needed were useless and had nothing to do with being happy or actual needs. i finally after a year got my neck fixed, still have residual issues but have been back at work in the same field for the last 14 years but i have never forgotten the lessons i learned during my down time. i live a lot simpler life now and much like you Dan smile everyday.

things happen for a reason i believe and if you look sometimes it is real hard but you can find good in everything.

 

[customcutter]

Yes, eight years ago I too was in the corporate world, making 6 figures with chest pains everyday for years. I'd had 2 heart cath's 10 years apart, no heart problems. All the doctors said it was stress. I said it wasn't. The day I got laid off the chest pain left, the stress was not knowing if I had a job to come back to the next day everyday for the last 10 years I was there. They were constantly buying or merging with other companies and laying off salaried employees. Now I'm making a lot less money, a whole lot happier, and involved in Church again. They say "coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous."

 

[Ratdog68]

And every time your neck aches, it'll take you back, and remind you of those best times you had with your father.

Got a day's worth of work/wages yesterday. Installation of a shade awning system on a deck overlooking Puget Sound. "Shade Tree" brand. Channeled aluminum beams/posts, plastic corner/end bracketry, a lot of stainless steel set screws too. The canvas is roughly 4' wide sections that trolley out from the building along the channeled beams and lock into a bracket at the post end. Nice system, not designed as a water tight affair, this is for shade. Pretty solid once everything is aligned, squared, plumbed, and snugged up. Probably get a few more days' worth of wages later this week.

Doing some siding repair (basement level) today. Wood siding, this area is vertically set boards (tongue and groove). Had a section about ten feet worth, the boards' nails had loosened, and over 100+ years time the boards have shrunk (width). Peel off the boards, add some reinforcement backing here/there, and begin renailing them again (making sure they're plumb). By the time I finished with that section, I had to fire up the table saw and fab a 3 1/2" filler piece to add in. That's how much shrinkage happens over time. Caulked the groove half of the joints before installing too. No more daylight into the basement in that section, and has a nice tight/solid thud when you thump on them now. No more spiders crawling in around there.

 

[Drift]

Yes, "shrinkage" can happen over time.