Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:54:29 -0800
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: The Price We Pay For Being "Cool"
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re "dash is a daunting job...."
all what you're used to I suppose.
it's just ordinary nut and bolt and wire work.
as dashes in cars go ..
it is the NICEST and the Easiest one there is just about.
I am surprised at how often I am reminded of rock climbing.
in sport rock climbing you climb on nubs of 'near nothing' ..
an edge of a dime would be a significant foot hold ..
I mean the bare edge of a dime too.
consequently ..you are forced to create something out of nothing ..
to find a way to hang on, and to advance upward.
so ......you 'dig deep' ...your concentration narrows..
everything else slips away .....you get totally in your body, as opposed to
being in your head.
And actually .
feeling 'confused' or thinking 'I can't do this' ..or "I don't know how to
do this '.....that's all being in ones head.
which is not a powerful place to be ..it's like 'freaked out' ..like not
centered.
rock climbing forces people to concentrate.. ...you can't do difficult stuff
and not be totally 'one' with the rock etc.
Repairing vanagons can be exactly like that.
you focus...
to find the tiniest way to advance ..
like when I have a big weirdly shaped transmission ...and it's all a
balancing act..
and it's just 'one more' eighth inch ..
it's like rock climbing ..it's one eight inch at a time ...then the next
one.
each tiny step is won , then the next one taken on ...eventually you finish
the task or the climb.
in established climbing routes there's a part of the climb called the crux..
that's the hardest spot on the climb.....past which things are not as
hard...
in some of my vanagon jobs ...
I'll be fighting that last weird bolt ...or some 'really tricky' part..
one recent on was getting valve spring keepers into place with the wbxr head
on the engine, in the van, on one valve . Had to get out all kinds of
special and trick tools, and tricks...
but I also knew the second keeper was 'the crux' ..I get that one thing
done..the rest is easy cruising ..just get it buttoned up.
Bring that level of concentration to vanagon work ..and it's fun and
rewarding.
and detail...
really get into the details ...
and enjoy the focus and concentration ..it's meditative ...relaxing even.
what fun,
happy everything.
Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Zimmerman" <philzimm1@SHAW.CA>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2011 1:13 PM
Subject: Re: The Price We Pay For Being "Cool"
> On Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:57:18 -0800, Steven Johnson <sjohnso2000@GMAIL.COM>
> wrote:
>
>>This thread has sounded more and more like a plea for help on a
>>psychological level...
>>
>>> ________**_________________
>>>
> ----------------------
> Eeh-em.... someone call for a shrink.. :)
>
> Re/Re the dash is a daunting job....
> But like Vanagon ownership in general and life in particular:
> If it don't kill ya, it makes yah stronger.
>
> Pz
> On a rock off the West Coast
