Underground Car Guy

A few days ago, I was reminded that I started this blog 7 years ago.  It started out as a place I could relieve the pressure I was feeling in my head.  It was a suggestion from my friend Gary.   I have shared a lot about me, and still have a lot to share.  I have seen a lot of changes in that 7 years.  So here are a few. This blog was started out in one of the tough times in my life.  I was getting divorced, losing  the house and losing the business that I had started with my dad.  Things did not get better for me until October 2014, when I finally got the job with the Airlines and found a good place to live.   Got really sick in 2016, and was out of work for two months.  When I finally went home dragging an oxygen tank around.  It took a lot of hard work, but I was able to get off the oxygen 6 months later.   After 23 years I started dating again, which was hard.  I found a few women that I reall...

I know that it has been about a year an half since I have wrote any thing here.  So I think it is time for an update. Health I had been in and out of the hospital in May and July.  Came home with oxygen.  My goal was to get off the oxygen as soon as I could.  I started walking August and build up my strength.  By December I was given the OK to stop using the oxygen everyday, but at night.  At this point I don't use it unless I am sick. I had really turned things around health wise, but by January I started to slip.  Slow started to stop walking, drinking more soda, and not eating right.  In August I started watching what I ate and started to walk again. Kind of slip after Thanksgiving and December, but getting back on track.  (You will see why all the up and downs later.) Work Work is going good.  Still working for the airlines.  I have been working on the same desk for 2 years now and love it.  I like booking flight...

As I sit here in the rehab center, my thoughts are what happens when I get out.  I have to make a lot of life changes.  A lot I knew I need to change before I got sick, but there are some unanswered as well. The one that is unanswered at this time is oxygen.  Do I have to go home still using oxygen, and will it be for the rest of my life.  I am to young to be tired to an oxygen tank.  I have a lot I still want to do, and if I had the oxygen, I would not be able to do them, like go to Germany.  It does not seem like they are trying to whine me off it. So I don't know. I really worry about work and paying my bills.  On May 9, with the help of my dad and the hospital, I filed for Family Leave.  But my work has still not processed it yet.  Also with work, there was a week, were my phone did not work and I was so out of it, that I did not call in sick, even though my supervisor knows I was in the hospital.  But work marked me as a No Sho...

  Note:  I started writing this in the summer of 2014 when we did stop selling our products. I have struggled with this for a few weeks now.  Eaglegate is locking the doors and turning off the lights for the last time.  It really is not something that I want to do, but I can not afford to keep it running.  And dad's heart just is not into it anymore. I am grateful for all the things that I learned from this time.  I m grateful for all of those that believed in our products.  To see them go all around the world was exciting. Thanks you to all those that support me, my father and my family at this time.    

I know it is December, but I wanted to update everyone on last month.  I started the month coming off a long three week vacation, not going any where, and going right into training on the Elite Desk at work.  The Elite Desk is working with the Airline Frequent Fliers who have special statues of Gold or Platinum.  This is also booking with our partner carriers around the world using miles earned.  I have just two more days of training and they let us on our own.  I have learned a lot about miles and the new system that I trained on in September.  I am one of two guys in a class of 24 people. I don't really want go over my Thanksgiving again.  But if you want to read about about it, click on  the link Thanksgiving 2015 .  I don't think I have eat that much in a very long time.  Went in to work the next day and they still had food left over from the day before.  So I had two lunches that day.  And more Apple Pie!! I started d...

Thanksgiving was an interesting day for me this year.  It was the first time I have every worked on the day, and had to figure out what I was going to do, with my best friend not being in town and my dad moving to Chino Valley.  One of my roommates offered to have me over to her parents house, as well one of my ex sister-in-laws also invited me over.  Not the ideal way I wanted to spend my Thanksgiving. Work was slow and quiet.  Not a lot of people there.  Because I have  been in training for the Elite Desk, they took us out of training for the holiday and put us on the phones, just answering basic international calls.  Lunch was catered by Boston Market, and was good.  After a few houses of work I was released to leave.  Off to dinner number two at my roommates parents house.  It was not to awkward, because her parents are friends of my Dad and Bert.  Food was good.  Pork sausage wrapped in bacon is to die for!!! O...

A few nights go I had a dream that involved Harrison Ford.  I know that he is in the next installment of Star Wars, as his character Han Solo. So maybe that is why he was in my dream.  In this dream he comes to me for work on one of his cars, my guessing is that it is foreign.  One of my person goals that was never achieved was making Eaglegate a bigger and better company.  These included have a shop were we could do installations of the kits we made and branching out to other cars then just Triumphs.  So my guess was it was one of these other cars.  In working out the details of payment, we would charged him for labor, because I had employees to pay, and two autograph pictures, one for me and the company, and one for my sister, who is one of the biggest Harrison Ford fans I know.  And that was it.  Sorry it was not more exciting.

Looking over my blog and I missed the whole month of August.  I am sorry, but them again, I have no idea who really reads this anyway.   Another Birthday day down.  Spent the day before at my dad's. Went to work and had my birthday at my buddy Del Mar house.  His son Dalton made be a card, and Emily cooked my a good Steak dinner.  The big surprise of the day was spending an hour an half with my ex wife, just talking. My dad and Bert are moving to Chino Valley, Arizona, near Prescott.  I will be the only in my family left in the valley after 37 years.  Not really happy about it, but nothing I can do about it either. Work is going good.  10 months down.  Going into Acorn training next week, which will train me on the AA side of reservations. No relationship news and do not know if there will ever be.      Need to catch up on the Tie of the Day. Finish my second book this week.  Decision Points by Presi...

Was at my dad's for Father's Day, and we were watching "Walter Mitty" on one of the movie channels.  Walter Mitty is this character who always dreamed of doing great things but never did them.  I always thought of myself of some what a Walter Mitty, but as I look back at my life I can see some pretty amazing things that I have done. This is part two.   Part one was my life until the age of 21.  So now we will see what I have done since then. Got a job working at Mesa Community College Bookstore.  Worked there for about two months.  Next job was with Kieth Riggs Plumbing.  Worked there a year before being laid off.  Went on to work for General Plumbing in the warehouse.  Worked there for 17 years, until I was laid off.  Really loved working there, except for a few in the management.  Was hard to lose that job. Was elected as a Republican Precinct Committeeman for about ten years.  From 1998 to 2000 I was the Third Vice Ch...

Was at my dad's for Father's Day, and we were watching "Walter Mitty" on one of the movie channels.  Walter Mitty is this character who always dreamed of doing great things but never did them.  I always thought of myself of some what a Walter Mitty, but as I look back at my life I can see some pretty amazing things that I have done. When I was 9 or 10, my parents were working for a production company as extras.  My dad can be seen in the Movie Used Cars.  But this did turn into a job for the whole family one day.  My parents were going to a shoot and took me and my sister along.  Got us out of school for half the day.  We shot a Visa commerical and were paid I think $50 for just walking back and forth at the airport. At age 11 I started racing go carts.  First race out I crashed sideways into the wall going about 55 mph.  Was hurt really badly, but did not realize how badly until many years later.  Raced for a few months until...

So the picture blog for April had to take the back set for awhile.  I only have a few hours of Internet time from Monday thru Saturday.  I don't like writing on the IPhone.  But life kind of caught up with me this week.  We got an order for a few parts for the business that I had with my father.  This kind of took up some of my extra time this week and the blog had to take the hit.    But I hope to try to catch up.

Well, here we are in a new year.  The past year was not the best in the world.  But here is what went on. Moved out and sold the house that I had lived in the past 10 years.  Did not want to move, but really did not have a choice.  I miss having my stuff.  But I guess it is good that I am no longer there.  To many things to remind me of the past.  Just could not remove the pictures off the wall.  But we also got screwed by the sell.  Some one got more money then they should have, and it was not me or my ex.  My ex needs better friends. Was taken in my friends brother.  It was great living there and trying to get back on my feet.  Thanks for letting me stay there for 8 months Dustin and Nina! Went out and spent a few days with a girl that I served with in Ireland.  Had a good time and thought she was in my future.  Well she could not wait, and so in the middle of September she texted me it was over and that she ...

The Tie of the Day December 23  The Travel Tie I know some are asking here, why are you wearing a travel tie at this time of year?  I know it is normally all Christmas Ties this time of year, but today was a special day.  Today I graduated from my Reservations Class at work.  OK, so were are still in On the Job Training for the rest of the week (tomorrow and Friday).  But we still have our 90 day probation and 120 probation periods to complete.  So we are half way through the 90.  So let here it to Class 4007, all ten of use that made it this far! 

So I am sorry that I have not been posting for so long.  Since I don't have Wifi, I have to get my Internet service basically at the library.  Plus, I started my new job on Monday (Oct 20) and I had to do some studying for that before I started.  I am also sorry that Tie of the Day has been somewhat delayed.  Just have not been on much the past few days. I started working for US. Airways on Monday.  On Tuesday there was a test on 75 airport codes.  So since my hiring date, I have been studying over 153 airport codes.  You have to get a 90%  to stay employed.  So I studied hard and got a 97%.  I missed 2 codes out of 75.  So I will continue to go to work tonight. First Day of Work!

At one point in my life, I really wanted to work for the government.  I want to make a difference.  Politics has always been an interest for me.  As I was growing up, I always remember my grandmother working almost every election.  So when I became 18, it was important that I should be able to exercise my right to vote. Art Doane, one of my high school teachers, also got my mind thinking about the current events of our time.  He would always start the class off, with what was going on around us.  I read the newspaper every day back then, and so I was part of the class exercise almost everyday.  But what really did it for me was seeing, "Mr. Smith goes to Washington."  The idea, that a common man could go to Washington and bet back the establishment was an attractive idea.  So my plans was to go to BYU and earn a degree in Political Science.  But I went on my mission and changed my mind.  ASU and Architecture.  But that chang...

So moving everything out on Sunday, we had a lot of help.  One of those was a young man, who's father is a friend and is a Professor at Arizona State.  He started out in the college that I got my degree in Political Science.  So his son is there helping and I say, "Here Connor, you can give this back to your dad."  To my disbelief, he took if from me and did not even look at it.  I told him to take a look at it, and he said he knew what that was. For me, this has been a running joke.  Why don't I just give back my degree, because I am not using it.  It is not worth the piece of ... well what ever it is printed on.  But this is not true.  I do not want to go back and do it again.  But I spent a lot of time and money (Via Discover Card and Visa).  I had a work place that supported me, that when I was in school, they would let me set my own schedule.  During the summer, I would work 40 plus hours.  The felt like they could...