Today did not go as planned.

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher) 11/03/2020 at 18:23 • Filed to: I love where I live, but I hate where I live so much.

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The plan was to vote , go grocery shopping, then change the rusty rear bumper on my truck and make a video of that for class.

Voting went fine. As anticipated, so many people voted early, that there was very little line. A byproduct I noticed at the polling place of Illinois making election day a holiday, was the average age of the polling place workers was down about 60% from elections past.

Then it was time for grocery shopping. We shop at Aldi, which recently rearranged the whole damn store, do that makes things take a lot longer. Then I get out to the truck to nag it all, and I realize that I forgot the bags. So that was a huge pain to unload and bring the groceries in loose.

Then the real party started. I got all set up, all the tools in place, the camera ready, I climb under and find this.

If you’re not sure what you’re looking at, that’s understandable. It’s the right side of my trailer hitch, with a nice big rust hole in it.

The left side actually looked a lot better. Until I poked it ever so gently with a screwdriver. That big chunk of David Tracy bait in my top pic fell off, and revealed a much bigger hole.

So, yeah. I’m going to have to order a new trailer hitch, and rip apart the whole back end. Definitely no towing untill this is replaced.

On the bright side, the weather was beautiful today, and I got a ton of yardwork done.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > shop-teacher 11/03/2020 at 18:41

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Rust holes are weight reduction.

Notice an uptick in fuel economy?

jminer > shop-teacher 11/03/2020 at 18:44

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This is maybe the thing I’ll miss the least about the Midwest.

Everything out here in California is rust free and my jaw still drops at the most random thing on the street that survived! So many things that rusted into oblivion decades ago in the Midwest.

Good luck with the repair though, that won't be fun.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 11/03/2020 at 18:51

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Rust is heavier than not rust, until big enough bits fall off that is, then it evens out. 

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > shop-teacher 11/03/2020 at 18:52

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At least you caught it before the laws of physics did.  

MM54 > jminer 11/03/2020 at 18:52

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This is my reaction when I’ve visited out west (or down south for that matter) - every 10 minutes “wow, a clean [nothing special]!!”

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 11/03/2020 at 18:53

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big if true

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > shop-teacher 11/03/2020 at 18:53

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Well, it's that beefy Murican rust so, at least it's patriotic.

MM54 > shop-teacher 11/03/2020 at 18:54

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I can’t find it right now, but somewhere I have a picture of a 16" section of pinch weld that fell off my old crown vic one day while working under it.

MrDakka > shop-teacher 11/03/2020 at 19:09

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So you're saying that rust was a structural component?

Urambo Tauro > shop-teacher 11/03/2020 at 19:15

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The tin worm is relentless!

Speaking of GM trucks and rust, I saw a new Silverado on the road the other day wearing a badge I wasn’t familiar with: “RST”. Had to do a double-take to make sure it didn’t say what I thought it said.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > jminer 11/03/2020 at 19:34

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Datsun 310 GX 4 door. Unicorn even when it was a newer car.

shop-teacher > Urambo Tauro 11/03/2020 at 19:47

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It is a real MFer!

We'll see how the new ones hold up, but that could be an ironical badge someday!

shop-teacher > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 11/03/2020 at 19:47

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Lol, no. 

shop-teacher > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 11/03/2020 at 19:48

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Well they're speed holes now.

shop-teacher > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 11/03/2020 at 19:48

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True! With my family in the truck to boot.

jminer > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 11/03/2020 at 19:49

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It made me do a double take - I’d seen them in 2  door before but not 4

jminer > MM54 11/03/2020 at 19:50

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That’s it exactly, beetles and other economy cars from decades past still on the road.  It’s like a miracle.

shop-teacher > jminer 11/03/2020 at 19:50

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It is always shocking what things I see when I visit out west. As much as I hate the rust and the cold , I can afford a home and support a family solely on the salary of a middle school shop teacher here. Rust is the cost of doing business, unfortunately.

shop-teacher > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 11/03/2020 at 19:51

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True. It did land on my “I Voted” sticker. Surely as a show of pride.

jminer > shop-teacher 11/03/2020 at 19:52

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There are definitely cheap places like Arizona but I get exactly what you’re saying.  I’m lucky enough to be in IT so I already made a decent living in the Midwest and got like a 40% raise coming out here so it pays for the increased cost.

shop-teacher > MM54 11/03/2020 at 19:54

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I’v e seen that picture before. It was a hell of a thing.

shop-teacher > MrDakka 11/03/2020 at 19:54

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Pretty much, yeah. 

shop-teacher > jminer 11/03/2020 at 20:02

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Right, but here I have both a relative ly low cost of living, and a relatively high (for a teacher) salary. There aren’t a lot of places in the US where I could pull off what I’m doing here.

XJDano > shop-teacher 11/03/2020 at 20:24

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When we shopped at Aldi’s we used one of the life hacks of packing a few laundry baskets n the van, then we were taking less strips in & out the house and didn’t have to keep track of bags. Even if you need to buy 3 laundry baskets for this task I’d bet it’d be worth it.

I need to go back to aldis. Probably save a bunch over the fancy store. 

shop-teacher > XJDano 11/03/2020 at 21:32

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I’ve thought about bringing some plastic tubs. We have some empty ones of those laying around. Wouldn’t of helped today though. No matter what receptacle I had planned to bring, I done forgotted it!

We save tons of money at Aldi. Every time I go to a normal grocery store for this or that, the prices are shocking.

jminer > shop-teacher 11/03/2020 at 21:36

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Chicago is a nice place. My wife and I lov e it and have almost ended up there a few times. It just never quite lined up for us.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > shop-teacher 11/03/2020 at 22:16

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Pretty sure the rust had a truck fall off it.

shop-teacher > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 11/03/2020 at 22:17

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Awe come on now! It's not that bad!

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > shop-teacher 11/03/2020 at 22:22

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Fine, your rust had a tow hitch fall off it, which is incidentally attached to the truck.

shop-teacher > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 11/03/2020 at 22:47

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Harumpf!

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > shop-teacher 11/03/2020 at 23:10

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Just shore it up with some “I voted” stickers and add some thoughts and prayers and it’ll  be fine...

shop-teacher > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 11/03/2020 at 23:15

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Democracy will hold it together!

pip bip - choose Corrour > shop-teacher 11/04/2020 at 01:51

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fencing wire will hold it and duct tape.

i86hotdogs > shop-teacher 11/04/2020 at 06:15

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Little Aldi hack my dad taught me: one of the first products you see in an Aldi are the countless bags of chips sitting in those wide mouthed boxes. Grab a few of those boxes to put your stuff in to. Bonus, those boxes can double as a garage for your kids to play  hot wheels with.

shop-teacher > pip bip - choose Corrour 11/04/2020 at 07:04

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Totally. Job done.

shop-teacher > i86hotdogs 11/04/2020 at 07:06

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I’ve done that, and if I had realized I forgot the bags while I was still in the store, I would have done it again.

As it was, I was at my truck with my cart full of already paid for groceries, before I realized I didn't have the bags.

i86hotdogs > shop-teacher 11/04/2020 at 07:14

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Just load the actual cart in to the trunk. It may cost you 25 cents, but well worth it.

shop-teacher > i86hotdogs 11/04/2020 at 07:29

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I'm not gonna lie, the thought crossed my mind. I would have brought the cart back. I figured it would cause a scene though.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > shop-teacher 11/04/2020 at 08:47

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LOL

cg-guy > shop-teacher 11/05/2020 at 07:35

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The reset is a PIA

shop-teacher > cg-guy 11/05/2020 at 09:05

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For sure.