Been a while.

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7. In return, you must post this in your LJ

The gearbox in the Excel blew a bunch of seals and crapped itself the other day.

Luckily, I have my good car still, so I'm not buggered. I'll get the Excel fixed when I get back from holidays, a reconditioned gearbox shouldn't be too much for it, they're common as muck.

tick tick tick, usual rounds of working, sleeping, eating and drinking. Not much that interesting to actually report on, apart from it being hot as fuck lately (which means I still work in it, but only half days on my days off!)

Holidays in Feburary though, I'm looking forward to spending a month NOT at the bloody smelter. Give me a chance to unwind, get out of work mode, and work on a new five-year plan to give my life some direction again. I achieved all of my goals for my old five-year plan in under three years, so doing pretty good.

Edit: also, need to remember to buy a pair of cheapass spotties and a relay for the Excel to improve driving at night. Then trace out the fog lamp switch to save on having to install another switch in the bloody thing.

My new year's resolutions?

1) Start to work to live, not live to work.
- I am currently almost 100% obsessed with work, including working on my days off at a second job. My work/life balance is out of whack, and if I get a control on frivolous spending, I'll have plenty of cash to live without the second job. Speaking of that:

2) By the end of the year, build a new PC, and get at least two of my major accessories fitted to the ute.
- My current box is four years old, and while it still kicks a decent amount of ass for a four-year-old PC, its starting to show its age in performance. I have enough income to afford a new box, so its time to spend some money on myself and upgrade this poor old box.
-So far, I've had the ute for over a year and a half, and all I've done to it has been a bullbar and a set of spotlights that aren't even wired up ($400 spotties, and they're currently bullbar ornaments!). I want to have at least two of the following fitted by this time next year: long-range fuel tank, dual battery system, snorkel, winch.

3) Stay happy with being single, and NOT let Holly back in to my life.
- Harder than it seems, I'm still on the 'rebound', but at least this time around I was fairly comfortable before Holly showed up in my life again. Need to maintain that happiness, and comfort with my own company, and finally hit the stage where I'm not LOOKING for someone, I'm just living my life and letting things happen as they will.
-Also, resist any temptation or desperation and let her back into my life again, for anything. I can do a lot better, and I deserve better. She's burned her last bridge with me, now to let that bridge stay burned. Need sex? Go for a drive to Hay Street. Need a cuddle? I have friends who'll let me do that, or cats if my friends aren't available.

4) Improve my social life.
- I'm still too much of a homebody, and only hanging around with people I know from work. I have to spend less time at home, and more time with my out-of-work friends, and build more friendships outside of work. Yes, this means that I actually have to get out of the house and hit the town on a Friday or Saturday night.

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I'll do up a summary of the year that was when I get around to it.

So, Holly rings me today, and wishes me a happy Christmas, and says that she's ringing today instead of tomorrow because it might ruin my Christmas.

Bit late there. Should have thought of that before you ditched me a week before Christmas for a dole bludger.

BUT HEY, what are my feelings but something to play with and toss away? Pah.

I'm over this time of the year. I'm working at the smelter tomorrow (Christmas Day), so I can't drink tonight or tomorrow night, have to get to bed early on both nights as well, my family are about 4,500 km away, I don't have any loved ones, and I'd rather spend a night with my cats than go to a friend's place and see how wonderful having a family around you at Christmas is.

Oh, and I've also been working a second job on my days off, bricklaying under the hot Western Australian sun. I'm actually getting pretty decent at mixing mortar, and I can carry 12 housebrick at once without struggling too much. Pretty good for a tubby out-of-shape crane driver.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Went to the Nullarbor Muster? Passed out drunk? Nothing really 'special', but I guess the passing out drunk thing is about a first for me. Pretty good effort, tbh.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any, but I did go back on a couple of vows I made to myself.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yeah, seems half of my friends are popping out kids lately, or are up the duff. It's in the water, I swear.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Nope, everyone's still kickin.

5. What countries did you visit?
I didn't even leave Western Australia.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Mostly stuff for my ute, and a new PC. A girlfriend wouldn't go astray, but I'm happy being on my own for a while after my last experience.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
When my family came to visit, and having my folks see my own house and everything I worked for since I moved here, as well as going on a tour of the smelter.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I learned to like myself, and be happy being single.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Letting Holly have another chance.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Depression

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Hmmmm. This year? My little '92 Hyundai Excel hatchback. Bought it as a cheap runabout so I'm not running the ute into the ground, after some TLC its turned out to be an excellent buy.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Steph, Stuey and Glen, for being brilliant friends.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Holly and Karyn. Oddly, Holly more than Karyn, even though she nearly single-handedly managed to destroy our shift morale and nearly cost several people their jobs.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Holly, fuel, other car expenses, all the other million and one bills of owning a house.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Kambalda Volunteer Fire and Rescue, when I was on my first callout.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
I don't honestly know

So, yes, for those wondering, Holly again decided to take the easy option, and dumped me for someone else.

Its ok though. That was her final chance, I'm not going through this again. I don't especially care if she tries to off herself, ends up on the street, I'm never going to drag her upright again. If she wants anything from me, the other guy can provide it. If he can't provide it, then its not my damn problem at all. She's made her bed, she can lie in it.

OK, Nat, you where dead fucking right after all.

Okay, the electrics where a bit easier than I anticipated. A blown 10 amp fuse.

Now, just one last thing to poke at!

Yup, another fun evening of playing with the car. Done the coolant now, that was pretty inshiteful. It's meant to be a rich green colour, it came out of there yellow, complete with chunky crap. Not good for the engine. We also replaced the gearbox oil again, as there was still a lot of crap left in there from the last change, and it needed a couple of weeks to run through the gearbox and dissolve the rest of the crap. It's now been flushed out and replaced, with the addition of about 50% of this nice heavy gearbox treatment that should make things a bit quieter and prolong the lifespan of the gearbox.

Now, for the fun fun task of taking the dashboard off, getting to the back of the stereo, and working out what the fuck the guy who installed it did to the car. Currently, the stereo has no permanent 12v line, the clock doesn't work, no do the interior lights. If need be, I can run a 12v line in from the battery directly, shouldn't be a drama.