A Good Day

 Over the last month I have been dinging on my dolly, daunted by the metal bumping and priming anything that doesn’t move. I have been waiting for a good day to give the next update. Today was the day – most excellent, if you know what I mean. I completed the whole front bumper assembly. That is I sanded it smooth and sprayed on the final coat of paint on the front bumper, bumper brackets, and bolts – semi-gloss black.  I am so proud of the front bumper that I am going to wrap it up in holiday gift paper and put it under the Christmas tree. I know if I am a good boy Santa might leave me a few other parts that I need.

One part down, nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine to go.

The next step of this never ending project is putting body filler on the panels – colloquially known as Bondo. Basically you really can’t ding out 100% of the dents on the body panels. To solve this problem, an Italian named Giuseppe Bondo figured out you could spread two day old Alfredo sauce on the metal panels to level everything out. When your Mom says “sticks to your ribs”, she means it. Once you get the body filler over the dents you just sand everything smooth and Voila all your body parts look like Murano glass.

Sounds easy enough, but I am here to tell you it is not as easy as it looks on the videos. Suffice to say I had some misfires and spent this Saturday crying in despair.  But as Scarlet says “After all... tomorrow is another day”. And after a miserable start working with the body filler, I finally got my groove going and I am sanding Bondo in a rapturous trance. Yes, yes, I know it is temporary; a false summit in hiking terms, but it is these little victories that keep us all going, Nine Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-eight steps to go.

Many of my colleagues have worked nights and weekends to get an MBA. This is an extraordinary individual accomplishment and gives them extra credentials to advance in their occupation. My truck restoration project is driving me in the same direction.  I find that I am working hard at nights and on weekends to get an MBA, too. However instead of going to Vanderbilt or Northwestern, I have taken the VoTech route to get the degree. If I work hard, in two years I will have my MBA – Master in Bondo Administration.

Stay tuned for more good news.