30 Days and Nights of Tattoos. update

SO I had to replace my engine. Friggen' baring in my crank is a two part baring. the two parts folded in on them selves and rolled around with the crank doing god knows what to my valves. so even if they repaired the baring and crank and did the machine work necessary to bring back to driving condition it would not be certain it was fixed or that other shit wasn't damaged. AND it would cost more than replacing the engine. so I'm replacing the engine. great. good times.

But there is a silver lining. I had other shit wrong with my trucks engine that essential will no longer be a problem because its being replaced. I'm taking care of other problems with this one big move and will pretty much have a new car. the replacement engine is used, but it comes from a company that specializes in importing engines from Japan. something about high standard emission codes leading japanese people to replace their cars after so many miles.

its my best bet. new engines are too expensive and refurbished ones are as well. 30 thousand miles on a used toyota engine is not bad at all. in theory my old engine should of survived 200 k more miles. but I didn;t drive it for a long time and it just sat and leaked oil. I neglected it. but now I have a second chance. shit. man, I tell ya its amazing how much time just flies by when you work for yourself. you don't think of normal shit everyone else thinks of. its so easy to consume yourself with work work work. I had some dental problems 3 years ago because of that. its all good now, but it was a reality check. got to take care of yourself. including your transportation.

This break down, it was so humbling. I mean it sucked, but I was being watched after. I was going out into the desert. theres this huge stretch between California and anything that resembles humanity in Arizona. no gas stations for days and IF my trucked seized out there so many things could of sucked about that scenario. SO I was being looked after. call them angels if you will. I call them my ancestors, spirits. but everything has its reason. it could of been waaaay worse.

I've been trying for so long to get out to the desert and commit some time to tattoo education and I have had nothing but obstacles thrown my way for the last two years so I just surrendered. I didn't get mad although I kept sayin' "that sucked" every once and a while. laughed a lot about it. I called my shop and we all had some good chuckles.

But the engine is almost in. My mechanic is gonna let me pay for the engine and then put me on a payment plan for the labor which will help me get back on the road and get to pokin' some skin already. I love my mechanic. how many mechanics let you make payments. He's a good man. its gonna be about 3k for the new engine and the labor, plus the 1300 from earlier makes a grand total of 4300 bucks on my truck in one month..to make a trip where I don't make any cash for one month, while spending money on expenses for one month, to coming back to needing to cover next months overhead in Los Angeles that I just spent on my truck....all I can say is, I'm glad I'm bringing my tent.lol good times.

I'm hoping my next post on the matter will be in my shop...for reals...