The West Coast is on Fire!

 

We're on day 5 or 6 of record setting BAD air quality. The WORST in the world! The WORLD!

Several days with AQI readings above 500 but consistently 150 to 300+.

Holy crap! As if the isolation from Covid over the last 6 months was bad enough, at least we could go outside.

 

As small business like shops and restaurants are struggling to get by, now cannot offer outside seating. I even saw that Burgerville closed its Portland & Vancouver, WA locations recently due to wildfire smoke. If outside levels are 400-500 then inside levels could be 100-200, i.e. wear a mask with at least a PM2.5 filter.

I took my box fan + filter to my mom because she needs it more than I do as her house is old and not very air tight.

I've taped my doors and a couple of windows. I didn't open a single door to the outside for almost 3 days.

Here is one of my masks, cloth with pocket for PM2.5 filter.

It's scary. I know I had an issue with CO build up outside my bedrooms last year. Worried that my mom or her cat will succumb to CO and I will not know it until it's too late. She's annoyed with me for asking all the time. (Ha, it's how I feel sometimes when she's overly concerned with me).

Jeep Service, Sept 2020

August

Back at the beginning of August as my "oil life" counter was dwindling towards 0%, I went on the NW Jeep website to schedule an appointment. The first available slot was one month later, Sept 7th.

The oil life ran to 0% around Aug 31st and I was reminded every time I started the car with a message on the dash.

At my Feb 2020 appointment, NWCDJR was supposed to rotate my tires as they do with other oil+filter changes. I didn't notice until months later that note "could not perform tire rotation, wheel lock not located". The service person that checked me out never mentioned it. The previous oil+filter change was at a Valvoline stay-in-your-car oil change place (the old Oil Can Henry's in the Rose Quarter). The tires were not rotated then either.

September

On Sept 4th, I knew I had the appointment but popped down to Goodyear Tires in Lake Oswego where I've been several times before. I wanted their opinion if I'd worn too much tread to do the 5-tire rotation. The service manager Jahari went to take a look and determined they could.

I wasn't there for "free stuff" and agreed to get the oil changed as well with "free tire rotation". They've taken care of me in the past with a couple sets of tires. 

Labor Day

It wasn't until a few days before the day that I realized the appointment was a Labor Day. I arrived at the dealer at 7:30am to find the gate to the service center was closed. The sales office was closed but figured they wouldn't be open at that hour.

I was immediately annoyed that there scheduling system allowed me to schedule an appointment a month in advance that fell on holiday. I'm pretty sure you can't select a Sunday. Somebody dropped the ball. To add injury to insult, I'd received at least a couple email reminders and two text messages. I'm surprised that no one on the service staff thought to check for Monday appointments and maybe call those customers to reschedule. Nope. I left both a voicemail and written comment on the website.

Note: As of 9/15, I still haven't heard from NW Jeep.

The next day I called Everett Street Autoworks. I remember the place from when I used to wait for the #4 bus across the street. I checked out the website and Google reviews. Pretty high marks but you wonder about the negative reviews.

It seems as if someone reached out to each negative reviewer in an attempt to remedy the poor service/experience.

Service History

Over the next week I found all but one NWCDJR receipt as well as all other stuff like Lift Kit from Automotive Outfitters, the Gorilla Glass windshield and window tinting.

It was great exercise to really know what's going on with my Jeep, especially since it just paid it off in July. It's mine and no longer under warranty.

I even prepared a ballpark "guesstimate" for the 40K service + maintenance "catch up". 

---

I couldn't sleep very well on Monday night. I kept reviewing my notes and how I was going to present my information to the mechanic. I set my alarm for 7am.

Day of Service Appointment: Tuesday, Sept 15

 

I woke and put on my "gear" for venturing out in the dense Portland smoke. I considered rescheduling the appointment because I didn't want to leave my house but figured I'd could minimize my exposure. I made my way down to the shop. I was crazy to see the smoking haze on the Willamette as I drove over the Broadway Bridge.

I pulled into the shop and a guy greeted me to check in the vehicle. I grabbed by things (service history, notepad, my Viso, and jacket) and went into the office. The service person started to confirm my vehicle details and why I was there. I felt a little rushed but presented my documents. I made sure to mention the oil+filter and air filters had been changed recently as well as the tire rotation. It wasn't quite the intimate chat with the mechanic that had been rehearsing. He said they'd contact me by noon after the inspection.

I called a Lyft and came home.

When I got home I decided to send a followup email and attach the actually service history and restate the major points.

At 11:15am, I got a call from the shop with the "punch list".

Rear diff, brake fluid, transfer case fluid all need replacing. The way the person reviewed the work assured me they were following my "checklist" but no unnecessary maintenance.

The rear diff job is $159.00, the brake fluid flush is $159.00 and the transfer case fluid change is $139.00. These are at the top of the range for these services according to my brief internet research.

• A rear diff job should be $80 to $150 for parts & labor. The actual Mopar fluid (80w-90) should be about $45 and labor about $60. So, ESAW is charging $54 more.
• A brake fluid job should be $73 to $104 for parts & labor. The actual Mopar fluid (DOT3) should be about $12 and labor about $90. So ESAW is charging $57 more.
• A transfer case fluid job should be $75 to $160 for parts & labor. The actual Mopar fluid (ATF4) should be about $30 and labor about $50. So ESAW is charging $59 more.

The bill should be around $457 which is lower than the budget I'd set for this visit.

I should be able to pick the Jeep up after 4pm. Woot!

Things are looking up

 A few days after my last post, I took a much needed road trip. The day before I left I had a chance to hang out with my buddy NV and feel sorta normal during a prolonged pandemic. He was also preparing physically & mentally for a road trip, an extended one across the country.

This trip lead to the Road Trips & Hikes blog. It's evolving from a log book of my adventures behind the wheel and on foot on a trail to something more personal, paragraphs of me pontificating and commenting on my observations.

Shaking my fist at the sky

I know I'm not the only one to feel the rising tension in people, especially with the masks, the virus, and widespread turmoil as a result (lockdown, covid deaths, BLM protests, economic stress).

I'm not dealing with it very well. I'm quick to anger when someone cuts me off or tailgates or anything that is shows a basic civility, insofar as I'm the judge and jury. I get "it" when it happens in the city, lots of people struggling, pressure cooker but it is more infuriating when it's "out in nature".

I know it's those "city folks" that are going out there and leaving trash, parking inconsiderately, driving fast & creating clouds of dust, passing in narrow areas much too quickly, glaring back instead of returning a nod of acknowledgement.

Is it the same people that won't wear a fucking mask? or pitch a fit when kicked out (Kevin/Karen)? It's so bizarre how commonplace it is for people to drive like their in a Formula One car except it's a Subaru or F250 pickup. 10, 15 miles over the speed limit. Just begging for a head-on collision with a lazy motorist or unfortunately motorcycle rider. FFS. I need a sign on the rear "this lifted Jeep is made for off-road hugging the corners like a race car. Back .. the fuck .. off!" Isn't the point of going out to the forest to chill and enjoy the scenery. For the shells and clear cut, it's just a dirt road you go to bring trash to your favorite watering hole, shoot guns, and make fire rings. Getting from start to destination as quickly as possible.

See??, it makes me mental thinking about it my drive home 2 hrs ago. Definitely some deep anger issues that has been turned up to "11" because of this new wave of douchebaggery and authoritarianism. The sad part is that on these recent ventures I'm tense half the time. It renders me unable to enjoy my surroundings or at least takes significant effort to calm back down.

How do you get people to care about others? Less selfish? this virus would be bearable and over much more quickly if we could all get on the same page. It's so frustrating when the solution is simple and clear but you know none of it's ever going to happen because of where we are with politics and divisions. We are all doomed to the same sentence because of a small but infectious few.

But back to my original rant about being out in nature....

I knew last weekend when decided to bail on my campsite because some asshats brought a Uhaul full of stuff and were blasting music like they were at the Gorge. So much for a post-hike tranquil chill in the forest.

I thought, I need to go much further away than a short trip from a major metropolitan area. I hope my trip to Chelan next week isn't a bust with Seattle-ites. The boat is only suggesting masks. If I cancel 48 hrs before, I'll never know if it would have been an issue. If I wait until I get to the boat and bail cuz it seems like a passengers is being a selfish dick, then I forfeit a cool day trip and the cost of the boat ride. Ugh.

Time to research some places to go before and after Chelan. Too bad Americans are banned from entering Canada.

Small compliment, big effect

In a time of social distancing, limited time with friends, family, and people you haven't met yet, positive interactions carry extra special meaning.

The Fred Meyer parking lot was beginning to fill up on a Tuesday morning. The pharmacy drive-through was open and I picked up my prescriptions quickly. I drove carefully towards the parking lot exit.

While waiting for another car to ease into a tight spot, a woman walking towards the store said "I like your Jeep, baby."

I managed to mumble "Thanks, I appreciate it". The woman continued to the store and looked at her in my side mirror. I noticed my throat getting tight and I felt a tinge of emotion. A few minutes down the road, I shed a tear.

I was kind of in my own head and wasn't prepared. In the last few weeks my conversations have been limited to store clerks, delivery drivers, a few friends, social media, and, of course, my mom.

I know she was commenting on a car and not me personally but it doesn't matter. I still felt good to hear. I often think my small comments don't mean anything and usually hold my tongue. This is a reminder that I can positively impact someone with a word or phrase.

I know I might be reading more into an otherwise innocuous comment that is warranted. (Or maybe not.)

Kindness makes a difference, even if we don't see its benefits right away.

A couple of years ago while stopped at a convenience store I was approached by someone asking for help with bus fare. I fumbled in my pocket and produced some coins and a $1 bill. I offered what I had. The person was so appreciative which led to a quick embrace. I still remember that brief hug with a stranger.

I came out of a coffee shop in SE Portland and saw that someone had stalled in the road. Without thinking a couple passersby and I ran to this motorist's aid. He steered while we went to push from the back and we pushed the van to safety. The driver thanked us and we mentally high-fived and dispersed.

Premeditated kindness is good but instinctual kindness is best.

It shows you would to the right thing even when no one was looking.

The Giant

From Wikipedia:

"The main goal of this book is to develop a complete metaphysical system based on the idea of Quality introduced in his first book. As in his previous book, the narrative is embedded between rounds of philosophical discussion. Unlike his previous book, in which he creates a dichotomy between Classical and Romantic Quality, this book centers on the division of Quality into the Static and the Dynamic. According to the novel, the known universe can be divided into four Static values: inorganic, biological, social, and intellectual. Everything in the known universe can be categorized into one of these four categories, except Dynamic Quality. Because Dynamic Quality is indefinable, the novel discusses the interactions between the four Static values and the Static values themselves.
[...]
Another theme analyzed using the Metaphysics of Quality is the interaction between intellectual and social patterns. Pirsig states that until the end of the Victorian era, social patterns dominated the conduct of members of the American culture. In the aftermath of World War I, intellectual patterns and the scientific method acceded to that position, becoming responsible for directing the nation's goals and actions. The later occurrences of fascism are seen as an anti-intellectual struggle to return social patterns to the dominant position. The hippie movement, having perceived the flaws inherent in both social and intellectual patterns, sought to transcend them, but failed to provide a stable replacement, degenerating instead into lower level biological patterns as noted in its calls for free love."

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lila:_An_Inquiry_into_Morals

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lila:_An_Inquiry_into_Morals

My commentary:

My take on this passage is that Dynamic Quality, that fifth, indefinable category, is the creative force behind the Giant. Certainly, there are strong actors pulling the strings in local government as we've seen in Portland, Ore. (Update: July 25, 2020: wow@ understatement.. Since writing this, Trump has sent military-like goons to snatch up protesters far away from the Federal building across from Chapman Square. 1984!)

I think there is a notion that somewhere someone or some group is pulling the strings in the background and has a master plan for the development of society and its growth and expansion. If the Giant is a benevolent force that comes from the wellspring of Dynamic Quality. I could also be a malevolent force that destroys.

From "Lila: An Inquiry into Morals":

"Biological man doesn’t invent cities or societies any more than pigs and chickens invent the farmer that feeds them. The force of evolutionary creation isn’t contained by substance. Substance is just one kind of static pattern left behind by the creative force.

This city (NYC) is another static pattern left behind by the creative force. It’s composed of substance but substance didn’t create it all by itself. Neither did a biological organism called “man” create it all by himself. The city is a higher pattern than either a substance or a biological pattern called man. Just as biology exploits substance for its own purposes, so does this social pattern called a city exploit biology for its own purposes. Just as a farmer raises cows for the sole purpose of devouring them, this pattern grows living human bodies for the sole purpose of devouring them. That is what the Giant really does. It converts accumulated biological energy into forms that serve itself.

When societies and cultures and cities are seen not as inventions of “man” but as higher organisms than biological man, the phenomena of war and genocide and all the other forms of human exploitation become more intelligible. “Mankind” has never been interested in getting itself killed. But the superorganism, the Giant, who is a pattern of values superimposed on top of biological human bodies, doesn’t mind losing a few bodies to protect his greater interests.

The Giant began to materialize out of Phaedrus’s Dynamic dreams when he was in college. A professor of chemistry had mentioned at his fraternity that a large chemical firm was offering excellent jobs for graduates of the school and almost every member of the fraternity thought it was wonderful news. World War II had just ended and good jobs were all that anyone seemed to think of. The revolution of the sixties was still twenty years off. No one had thought of making the film, The Graduate, back then.

Phaedrus had always believed science is a search for truth. A real scientist is not supposed to sell out that goal to corporations who are searching for mere profit. Or, if he had to sell out in order to live that was nothing to be happy about. These fraternity brothers of his acted like they never heard of science as truth. Phaedrus had suddenly seen a tentacle of the Giant reaching out and he was the only one who could see it.

So here was this Giant, this nameless, faceless system reaching for him, ready to devour him and digest him. It would use his energy to grow stronger and stronger throughout his life while he grew older and weaker until, when he was no longer of much use, it would excrete him and find another younger person full of energy to take his place and do the same thing all over again."

Pirsig, Robert. Lɪʟᴀ. Bantam, 1991. pp 250-251.

Strange Dayz

I made three masks today. I went back to the first design. My hand stitching is getting better with fewer finger pricks. I'm out of raw materials unless I sacrifice another t-shirt and two more dress shirts. I could get away with just one but it's recommended to use a different fabric on the inside so you know which side is which and don't put your face on the contaminated side.

It's really just busywork. I'm worried about my liver test. Back in Dec when I had that weird pulmonary illness, I had a CT scan. A small growth was found on my liver. To make sure it was benign the doctor scheduled a 3-month follow-up which happens to fall during this pandemic.

Unrelated to the CT scan, I get quarterly blood tests in conjunction with my methotrexate. Since January there are signs of decreased function and increased AST & ALT levels. I can help but think there is a correlation to the growths but I know, ... I'm no doctor.

Reasons for elevated AST/ALT are alcohol abuse, being obese, overusing NSAIDs. None of those reasons apply. Actually, they have been increasing since I started monitoring last year. I  can see that the stress from the pandemic and lack of physical exercise could be a contributing factor. I've doubled down on the daily water and eating less sugar and dairy, more vegetables. I look forward to biking when it's ready for pickup from the shop. I certainly didn't get any exercise today. Sigh.