4A-F Without A Cam Cover

4A-F Without A Cam Cover, originally uploaded by thecat16.

So I got my car back the Sunday before I had to go in for Jury Duty.

...

I'm gonna leave my opinions out of this post in regards to the condition in which it was in. I'm just gonna post what we (me pop and I) fixed.

After I got out Jury Duty (early, btw), I looked at my car and just.. I grabbed a rag and started to take off what I could of the dust that has begun to turn into crust. I also cleaned the rims. Not only that I popped the hood and also dusted what I could of the engine, filled the radiator with water and then turned the car on to try to figure out when it had begun to leak from.

Water pump was damaged. Not to mention the Power Steering pump was also dying.

So I made my way over to my dad's and parked it in the S&R area and me pop and I started to work on it. Well, after it cooled off a bit. My dad checked on the condition of the water pump while I was screwing around with the spark plug wires. I pulled out the #4 and lo and behold, it was flooded with oil. Luckly the other three were fine which meant no damage to the head.

Rag was put in to begin getting any oil that was in there.

So the oil filter was taken out, as was the oil.

That slowly dripped into the oil pan as my dad took off the cam cover in order to replace the seal. He changed all four at which point I took this picture.

After the cover was back on, the oil was put in, the spark plugs, the oil filter, the air filter, one of the gas filters (it has two, my dad added another one to it) were replaced. The breaks in the back were tightened and as I rolled out, it was discovered the right drum had crystalized. So now when I hit the brakes, it annoyingly squeeks.

And so we made plans for the rest of the car.

I was to takeout the PowerSteering pump while the WaterPump was to be left to my dad to be done on Saturday the 24th along with changing the axle on Moses' Civic.

I couldn't get the stupid hose out. My dad came home during his lunch break in order to get it out and he took it in order to get it cleaned and rebuilt. Not only that but he also took out the PS hose that I couldn't even reach.

At the end of the day, I wound up cleaning my car with a rag and a little spray bottle. Turns out the rag had wax on it. My hands turned white after about 2 hours of constant scrubbing. Save for the bottom section of the side panels, I finished cleaning the entire car (including vaccuming it) the next day. Took me about 6 hours total to get it back to something I could remotely call 'clean'.

And so I kept it clean, then it rained and I took the opportunity and scrubbed it with the squeegee I have and dried it. Sure it got wet again, but I got most of whatever dirt I hadn't gotten before. And yea, I did dry it again.

And now that school has once again started for me, I am constantly cleaning it and keeping it in as dirt-free as possible.

Oh, and it also needs a new clutch. Me father plans to have the original clutch that it had on rebuilt since it's supposedly better than what ever it has in it at the moment.

The drums were spray painted white when they were purchased.

...they're no longer white.

*Sigh*

The Sleeper, originally uploaded by thecat16.

"You're a dumbass, you know that?" said the smirking neighbor sitting next to to her during class.

"Wha? Why?!"

Shaking his head and returning to his note-taking was his only response.

Puzzled by this, she desired to investigate but was suddenly interrupted by the professor announcing that class had finished causing the entire room to become too loud to ask for any explanation.

"*sigh* I haven't done anything lately to deserve that kind of commentary from him! Jeez!" she thought to herself as she hurried to gather her stuff and follow her neighbor.

"Great. I forgot my umbrella." She thought out loud as she saw the view outside.

"That's why I said you're a dumbass" said her neighbor while pulling out an umbrella suitable for two.

Left without much of a choice, let alone a response, she walked alongside in defeat.

A Fleeting Vision

Toujou Aya in a wedding dress..., originally uploaded by thecat16.

As I sat there in the dark staring at what was the ending of Ichigo 100%, a sense of dread and disillusion came over me. So much that I started tearing up. As I looked at the last pic in the zip file, which is the one currently up, one word came to my mind. 無理. Thing is, this word isn't just any word. It's used to imply many things such as 'can't do it', 'impossible' and 'hopeless'.

I really feel like I'm at the end of my rope.

On the one side I got school. Of which I'm not sure for how long I'll have it reason being my financial aid will most likely be cut due to my poor performance. There's a good chance I didn't pass my Data Structures final and I wasn't doing too well in that class to begin with. Then there's the Calculus final to which I attended with a fever. Eventhough I studied and crammed I still didn't feel ready for that test. And I was right. I'm not sure if it was the fever to blame or my own stupidity but when I started to do the test I went blank.

Nothing came to me.

Even the problems I had done before and had gotten full credit for on past exams...

Nothing.

Then there's the fact that I'm still unemployed. It's like the more applications I turn in, the more worthless I feel. I really don't want to work in a fast-food resturant and not because I feel I'm better than that or anything but because of my own mental torture that would go through my mind. "Look at what you've become", "So much for that idea", "Oh? And who said they'd never work in a fast-food place?"

That kind of stuff keeps me from turning in an application. Not to mention what I'd feel like if they also wouldn't call back...

Then there's the matter of my car.

At the moment. My friend Emery has my car. This was due to me lending it to him while his gets repaired.

...

It was a good idea when I though of it but these days I'm not so sure it was one.
Every time his car is brought to my mind I replay this one scene over and over in my head.

"Cut your losses. Sell the MR2 and use what money you get out of it to buy a running car."

Which is then followed by many a thing that my mind believes that he'd say.

Some of them aren't pretty.

Then there's the part of me that wants to ask for my car back and the other part that tells it to refrain from doing so because, well, what kind of friend would I be then?

Do I really want to burn a bridge?

For a car?

.......

And the more I think about it, the more insecure I become. I don't know where I'm going. I don't know what I want. I don't know what direction in life I want to take.

The harshness of this reality hit me quite hard yesterday. Enough to leave me hyperventilating.

It seems the more I go through life the more the impossibility of me seeing a scene like the above increases.

Maybe I should take a year off from school. But, what then?

Hotter Than Usual

Hotter Than Usual, originally uploaded by thecat16.

俺の友達が怒っていると思う。。。

俺が友達の車を小悪いる　俺のせいからと思う。

So I went for Dim Sum...

DIM SUM, originally uploaded by thecat16.

Another year is upon me forcing me to once more reflect where I stand, what I've done and what I plan to do.

After having my appeal for Financial Aid reinstituted, I feel glad to be where I'm at. But it also forced me to look back and seriously keep the commitments that I've planned.

Like my classes.

This year I shall embark on a journey, in a more deliniated way. i.e I'm gonna stop screwing around and get some work done.

I'm no longer taking Japanese.

I've planned study time.

I've got the resources necessary to stay on top.

And most of my friends time consuming friends have left to pursue other ventures.

Agh, who am I kidding. One person was who took most of my time. I'd like that time back.

But since it's not possible, I'll move on. Why? Cause I have a bright future ahead of me and if I let myself be reminded of all the crap I've been through, I'll go nuts! Not to mention I'm hard pressed to find anything positive out that experience other that I'll be careful next time around...

But anyway. I hope I can go for dim sum with my friends again like I did last time :D

I really liked the little fried shrimp dumplings XD

Not to mentioned I liked not being chastized for my random character. Specially when that part of my character was exacerbated by my friend Vy who is the most random person I've met.

To describe that morning I'll quote my friend Em, "When you guys get together, all hell breaks loose"

Summer Slacking

IMG_0911.JPG, originally uploaded by thecat16.

Gosh, I'm so bored...

I'm still waiting on those jobs to call back.

*sigh*

I really want to work. And at this point I'll take anything except a fast food gig or my last job.

But on the bright side, at least I have time to help out in the church projects!
On, saturday and monday we went to the Westin hotel in Pasadena to pull up their old carpet, which is still in rather good condition. And on tuesday I helped Em check out this MR2 that has a second generation 4A-GZE... I so want that engine

Anyway, still got to go friday to get the car.

High Rolla

High Rolla, originally uploaded by thecat16.

So I quit my job about a week and a half ago...

Oh, and I'm also out of school...

So, I have no job and nothing to do...

So I guess I'll look for a job...

I hope Fry's calls back soon...