so after a three week hiatus, i’m back in the sanding saddle and the paint is coming off.
my landlady’s kids and their friends have set up a computer in the other part of the garage, and it’s the hangout now. the noise would bug me if i weren’t making so much damn noise myself. between the sound of the sander and the earplugs i wear to protect myself from it, i can’t hear anything but myself swallowing.
i did stop the sander briefly last night to hear one of the kids yelling, “SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUTUP!!” he probably didn’t mean me. hope not. that’s the one thing i can’t do, much though i hate creating a racket.
i tried the wee small brush for the first time last night (having used the larger “cup” brush before). it’s easier to handle than the bigger brush, because less surface area is meeting the van’s surface, but wow is it a wicked little thing. it removes paint/rust/the racing strip very quickly but it also left some scratches in the metal.
-:|:-
a couple of days ago, MFM called me at work.
he likes to quiz me.
“do you know who this is?” (like i wouldn’t recognize that voice.) “yes!”
“do you know what this weekend is?” “BUGOUT!”
he and his wife invited me to come to bugout in Manassas, VA with them this weekend. he said i could even ride with them if i didn’t want to take the van or the bug. they go up every year on memorial day weekend, and her family has a reunion.
bugout, for those not in the know, is a large VW show that occurs on memorial day and labor day weekends. it’s probably the biggest vw show on the east coast barring waterfest, but as far as i’m concerned, waterfest doesn’t count since it’s presumably watercooled only. what the hell do i want to see a buncha riced out golfs for? it’s the _old_ ones that i want to see.
anyway, i knew i wasn’t going to go this year. besides the fact that i need to sit on my $$ and stay home and do useful stuff like sand my van, i feel like i’m taking a break from all vw stuff this year, and i’m liking it. obviously, i’ve met some dear friends through vw events, but there are some aspects of vw culture that bother me. watercooled drivers have a general tendency to want to spend money on their cars in a way that strikes me as being basically about bling. a lot of people are into “performance tuning”, which is basically a euphemism for “i’ll show you what a big man i am even though i feel small inside”. the 20-something guys who will spend an hour telling you in elaborate detail all of the grand things they’re going to do to their car are the most boring.
anyway. so i’m not going to bugout, but it was really, really nice of M & J to invite me. but i’m betting i’ll be going next year with a verrrry unique entry into the watercooled van & camper category.