It's Been A Helluva Week

in #vanlife6 years ago

Last week I was able to get myself 12 hour day shifts at Nature's Path (cereal/granola bar/oatmeal manufacturer) for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through a temp agency. I was just thankful to get something as I wasn't hearing back on anything else I was applying to and had major cash flow issues. I just finally got paid for some farming work I did almost a month ago (not even all of it yet). Anyways, I went into the Nature's Path gig with $30 to my name. On Saturday I was backing out of my parking spot after work and scraped up against the curb with my front right tire, taking a big chunk out of the sidewall.

Tire Sidewall

I actually didn't even realize it until I got to the spot I was spending the night at as the tire still held air. I decided to take it off and put the spare on just to make sure I would make it to work the next day. It was quite a chore because I had to remove my bed and move a bunch of shit to get access to the spare tire in the floor of the trunk.

Spare Tire

I had to bum a lug wrench off someone as mine was missing from my kit (going to be getting one today). By Sunday after work, I had no money, was almost out of gas, and had barely any food. Nothing like eating some stale bread and peanut butter after a physically strenuous and hot as hell 12 hour shift. Yesterday, to add to my problems, my car battery died. It had been hesitant to start the last few days so I knew something was up. I had the battery tested and indeed it was bad so it had to be replaced. My only saving grace was that I had signed up for a credit card a week or two back in anticipation of cash flow problems and had the numbers (still waiting to get the card in the mail out here though). So I was able to pay for the battery with that. When my debit card didn't work at the Woods coffee shop I frequent, they gave me a coffee and bagel on the house which was super nice of them. I also was able to place orders online for food and pick it up in the restaurant using the card number without actually having my card yet but I hadn't figured out how I was going to get gas. I've had a deposit pending on my bank account for like a week. They're also hitting me with a bunch of overdraft charges. I hate my dumbass bank and will be moving my money out ASAP. My mom bailed me out with some Western Union cash which I feel bad about but am also thankful for.

Still dealing with the tire issue. Today, I ordered a used tire with matching tread wear so that I don't have to replace all the tires. They have like 6-7/32's of tread depth and 16,000 miles on them. The Subaru AWD has a tight tolerance for tire diameter so as to not damage the differential. Since I won't be getting the tire for like a week, I'm planning on taking off the spare, putting the damaged tire on the back and moving a good back tire to the front. Hopefully all will go well with that. I finally had some money clear in my account today and should be getting my physical credit card in the mail within the next few days. I will be better equipped to handle cash flow issues in the future but will do my best to avoid them altogether.

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Bummer on the tire, but at least you found out you needed that wrench in a parking lot and not in the middle of nowhere. Also wouldn't hurt to check the pressure in the spare, they can gradually go soft. How are you getting the card delivered? Do you have an address now? Any good fireworks in your area?

Ya, couldn't have really asked for a better low stress spot to deal with it. The pressure in the spare was quite low, I put some air in it. I'm getting the card and any other mail that goes through the USPS delivered to the Bellingham general delivery address. They'll hold it there for I think up to 30 days for me to pick up. The tire will be coming FedEx and I just put in the coffee shop address, haha. But once I get the tracking number I can go on the FedEx website and tell them to hold it at the closest distribution center and pick it up. There were a bunch of fireworks but I didn't feel like going into any crowds or driving much. I saw them in the distance around town. Also some kids were launching some big ones out of a gravel parking lot next to the gym where I was hanging out so I did end up seeing some good ones up close.