Tone Parsons

My eldest son turned 19 a few months back.  He’s got a job and finally got his drivers license a couple of weeks ago (who ever heard of a teenage boy who didn’t like to drive?).  The next obvious step was for him to save up money to buy his first car, which he did.

He had one particular car in mind, and had been searching Craigs List until he found it.  Last saturday, we drove out to Athol, Idaho to pick it up:  a 1968 VW Beetle.

As you can see, the body is in damn good shape for a car that’s 40 years old.  It also runs fantastic!! The interior and electrical are a different story.  So, the project began!

We went through the wiring (which is a spaghetti cluster of patches and re-wiring that makes little to no sense) and have it somewhat under control.  We’ve got the headlights, turn signals, running lights, gas gauge, and windshield wipers working now (they didn’t before).

Next, we need to get the brake lights, backup lights, and brakes in working order.  After that, it’s the suspension.  Once that’s all done, we need to get some good seats for it and it’ll be drivable.

The goal is to restore it to it’s original condition.  At the rate we’re going, it’ll be mechanically sound and ready for paint in about a month or so.

I’m really enjoying the time with my son working on the car.  There’s a lot of things I can’t do because of my back, so I’ve been explaining to him how it needs to be done and have been watching him do it.  It’s going to be a sweet ride once we’re done (and worth about 8x what we paid for it!!).

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As I mentioned in my last post, there was an issue with my disability insurance.

They check my medical records once a month to see what my current status is.  Unfortunately, some bone head in the transcription department of my doctor’s office made a huge clerical error.  They put someone else’s information into my record: that I had been released to work.

This started a snafu of biblical proportions.  My insurance company called me to verify that I had been released back to work.  “Um… no” was my reply.  Of course, they didn’t take my word for it, put my policy on hold, and began an investigation on me.

I called my doctor’s office and they took huge steps to correct the issue (they went above and beyond to get this straightened out).  After a review of my case, my insurance company finally backed down on their stance that I was somehow cheating the system and put my case back into active status.

This was a huge relief on my part, as the money I receive pays our mortgage and all our credit cards.  My wife was completely stressed out over it (as was I).  I’ll tell you… dealing with a disability insurance company is a total pain in the ass… but it’s better than dealing with L&I!

On another note… I finally broke down and got a handicap permit for the car.  I didn’t want it, but the time has come to get one (walking long distances is a bitch!).  It does make life easier when we go to the Arena to watch the Spokane Shock play (they’re 12 – 1 this season…. that makes them Division Champions for the 3rd year running…. GO SHOCK!!!).

Oh… and on a side note, while dealing with my insurance company, one of their reps told me that it was perfectly legal to drive while hopped up on all the narcotics I take.  I told her that it wasn’t and it would win me a DUI if I was pulled over.  She assured me that prescription medications were exempt from that.  I guess she’s not familiar with Washington State law.  I wonder how many people have taken her advice and gotten burned (or worse, killed themselves or someone else)?

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Sorry about the lack of posts. I just haven’t been up to it as of late.

Every day is exactly the same for the most part, so there’s very little to write about. I shall now fill you mind with what little trivial crap has actually been going on.

My doctor made a huge mistake!

He got confused as to which patient he was talking about and told my long term disability insurer that he’s released me back to work. Um… no you didn’t!! Now they’re making emergency calls to fix it and I’ve been dealing with the insurance company to make sure they don’t screw me! Crap.

My driveway looks like downtown Bagdad.

We hired some yahoo to do some yard work for us. He removed some bushes for us and did a nice job, even though it took him a week to get it all done, so we hired him to grade the front yard and remove the slab in front of our steps. BIG MISTAKE!! He came in with a bobcat and lifted the slab without using an impact hammer where it meets the driveway… so a huge chunk of driveway came off with the slab. They hit the driveway in two other places with the bucket of the bobcat, breaking off big chunks of concrete there too.

Of course, he promised to fix it all, but he’s made and not shown up for two appointments to do so and I’ve had it with him. I think he’s just walking away from it.. as it’ll cost more for him to fix than he was getting paid for the job (and no… he hasn’t been paid).

I finally hired a real concrete contractor to replace the slab, fix the damn driveway, and do some work on the front steps for me. If the yahoo comes back, I’m telling him that he’s fired and no… he’s not getting paid. If he decides to take me to court over it, I’ll win.

We put a new roof on the house!

We’ve been having problems with the shingles coming off every time the wind blows and finally decided that enough was enough! After getting 5 bids, I went with Mica Peak Construction. I am so glad that I did!! The bid was extremely competitive, they showed up on time, the roofers themselves were polite, courteous, and damn hard working, and they did one fantastic job!!!

We went with the ELK/GAF Timberline Prestique lifetime shingles in charcoal. They are high ridge and look amazing on my house!! Here’s a couple of pictures:

They even came back and painted all the pipes sticking out of the roof black to match the vents and D-metal I had them install (that was an extra… and it looks fantastic!!). Seriously, if you live in the Spokane area and are looking to get your roof done, make sure you call them… they do a great job!!!

And finally……

My son turned 16 yesterday!

We took him out for dinner at the Azteca (great Tex-Mex food!!!) and then gave him his present… a brand new computer (yeah… I built it). Here’s the basic specs:

AMD X2 6400+ Processor
EVGA Geforce 9600GT 512MB video card
2GB of DDR1066
750GB Seagate Barracuda 3GB/s SATA HD
DVD ± RW (SATA)
750watt Power Supply
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit

Oh yeah…. he’s happy! It beat the crap out of his old Intel P4 2.4gHz system (aka: slower than dirt!).

And that’s about it for me. Now I’m off to take a nap.

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I sold my motorcycle yesterday.

We reduced the price and it was immediately snatched up by a guy who had been looking for that exact motorcycle (a Yamaha Royal Star Boulevard).  He took me to his bank and they gave me a certified check on the spot.

When he showed up around 4:15 to pick it up, I walked him through all the things he needs to know (how to check the oil, where the choke was, etc.).  I warned him that the bike is VERY heavy and to watch it on the corners until he got used to the mass.  Of course, he stalled it when he went to leave, and looked very shaky on it as he went down the street.  I hope he didn’t drop it on the way home (as there’s no way you can pick it back up by yourself!!).

It about broke my heart to see it go…. I loved that damn thing, but I can’t ride it anymore and there was no reason to keep it.

After he left, my neighbor came over to congratulate me on selling it.  We started talking about this and that and I told him that I was having someone remove the hedges in my front yard.  The guy who was doing it was in the other neighbors yard doing the same thing for them and was doing an excellent job.  I walked my neighbor over to show him and that’s when we found the landscaper face down in the dirt.

We ran over to him… he didn’t appear to be breathing and I couldn’t find a pulse.  My neighbor helped me roll him over and we started slapping him and yelling at him.  Suddenly, the guy took a deep gasping breath and opened his eyes.  I called 911 while my neighbor helped him sit up.

The guy was shaking and complaining about pain in his arm (oh shit!!).  He also begged me not to call for an ambulance because he didn’t have health insurance.  When the fire department and ambulance showed up, they checked him out and said that he’d live.  He had been working on the neighbors yard since 6:30 am and hadn’t eaten or drank anything since (it was pretty warm out yesterday).  His blood sugar was stupidly low, so my neighbor got him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I forced him to drink a bunch of water.

Of course, when my wife came home around 4:40…. she saw the fire truck and ambulance in front of our house and about freaked (she thought they were there for me).

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