A Day In The Life: - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Doktor Bert · #1 10-20-2012, 11:08 AM

I was just thinking this morning about how we all spend our days and I wanted to post this in hopes it might get a smile or a chuckle out of you all.

First of all, we should all be grateful for another day, a bed upon which to sleep and a proper toilet for pooping in. I am even grateful for the occasional M&M I find in the cushions of the couch when I am cleaning.

Funny how bills and even divorce can cloud our ability to see all the good things we have been blessed with. No matter what you face, it can always be worse!

So, having said all this rubbish and poppycock, I thought I would describe to you all what I do in an average day, since it involves my trusty W116.

When not staying in Palm Springs, I am often home in the High Desert with my family, and since this commute expends the greatest amount of my time, I thought I would share a day with you.

I get up about 4:00am PST and brew up a pot of Godiva French Vanilla Coffee. I will drink a few cups quietly while wife and baby are still asleep and think about car stuff, or family things and, in general, just chill and enjoy the coffee. Tell wife goodbye who does NOT like to be bothered while sleeping. Tempt not the she-devil.

By 4:30am, I fire the W116 and drive out onto the Interstate. By 5:15, I am in Loma Linda. Sometimes the stretch between Beaumont and Cabazon is totally dead at this time of the morning. Wind the W116 up to 110mph for this section of the trip.

By 6:10am, I am hitting the McDonald's on SR 111 for a sweet tea. I don't say anything, just walk in and they make it. I tease Vince the manager about the tea shortage I am helping to create. He tells me about how expensive gas is these days. Say hello to Mark the Homeless Guy and he tells me about the headlines he saw in the day's paper, since I don't watch the news.

By 6:30-6:45am, I am rolling up to the shop in Palm Springs. I immediately start greeting all of our 22 employees and telling jokes to be certain everyone's day is off to a cheerful start.

I speak to them in Spanish, German and Romanian, as we have quite the melting pot of fellows at the shop.

Then, the list of daily projects begins and changes from minute to minute with amazing unpredictibility.

Job one was pulling the wheels of a Porsche Cayman S and Audi TT and deliver them to the paint shop. The Audi is aluminum and must be jacked squarely to avoid damage. Next was finding the misfire in a 2003 lamborghini Gallardo. The detail shop didn't cover the motor when they washed it for deliverey and the coils got wet. easy fix.

Remove luggage compartment lid form 1986 Ferrari 328 GTS and send to paint shop. Install (4) lower control arms in BMW 740il.

Next, I fashioned a ball from masking tape and hit the owener's brother in the back of the head from across the shop, then quickly ducked behind one of the painters so he was the recipent of return fire.

Velveeta Shells & Cheese!!!!

They have them in little microwave cups now and they are less than a dollar a piece at Big Lots. I think we bought 75 of them last week. I make one of these about 9:30am.

The boss brings me a Homelite chainsaw that won't start. I deduce low compression. Rather than replace it, he wants it rebuilt, so I spend about 2 hours on E-bay finding obsolete, NOS parts to complete the work. Everything gets ported and polished, of course.

Next, hop into the W116 and drive to la Quinta to start a Rolls-Royce for a customer. Naturally, we spend about 30 minutes chatting about the car.

Return to shop and show the painters how to deactivate the alarm in a Ferrari 360 Modena so it can be started.

Pull M-22 Muncie from a 1972 Corvette and order parts for a rebuild.

Take Oscar the partsman to a nearby McDonalds for a sweet tea at lunchtime.

Return from lunch, start testing the power seat circuit in a 1975 Rolls-Royce to see why the relays are closing, but the power seats don't function.

Show detail guys how to deactivate the alarm in a new Maserati Executive GT so it can be moved out of the shop. Put wheels back on Porsche Cayman after painting. Send car to detail.

A 6 passenger golf cart comes in on a trailer at 2:30pm and the guy says it doesn't run and he needs it for a 4:30pm tee time. Pull the vacuum fuel pump and clean it, drain the tank, refill with fresh fuel, change spark plug and air filter, then load gold cart onto trailer by 3:30pm.

Ride floorjack like a surfboard all the way across the shop while taking heavy tapeball fire from paint department. Boss walks in with a nother yard sale chainsaw that won't start. Set it on the steel bench next to his other yard sale plunder for service.

Change main EFI relay in a no-start (towed in) 2003 Harley-Davidson Road King and test ride. Quick fix.

Start cleaning up tools and locking toolboxes. My day is done by 4:00-4:15pm.

Fire up the W116 and head out onto the I-10 west. Pop in The best of Albert King CD and set cruise on 75mph. Stop 20 miles later in Morongo for a cup of coffee. 24 hour joint with cheap diesel too.

With a burst of black smoke, get back on the I-10 and take it through to the 215 North at Colton, then merge onto the I-15 in San Bernardino and then the long haul up Cajon Pass to the summit (4190 ft/asl) and then across the High Desert plains towards our nest.

Pick up our son by 6:15-6:30pm and drive across town to the house. We walk in the door about 7:00pm if the traffic holds out.

Get baby in the shower. Throw in a couple loads of clothes and dishes of they are stacking up. Fix him something to eat, tuck him in, say prayers with him and read him "The Cat in The Hat." Tuck baby in and get the shower all to myself.

It's now about 8:30pm.

Wifey, who is working lots of overtime of late, rolls in about 9:00pm and one of us is walking out of the bathroom as the other is walking in. Squeeze wife's butt and take eavasive action to avoid being hit by shoe.

We chat a bit about the day's events, I feed cat and dog, then put on relaxing music on the PC and put it on loop, so it plays all night.

Lay in bed and try to remember all the things I forgot to accomplish today....Don't remember falling asleep. Seems like I am laying in bed one minute and the alarm goes off the next.

I don't often dream, but when I do, it's usually about Dos Equis.

And that's a day in the life!!!!

PhantomCadillac · #2 10-20-2012, 11:43 AM

My day started at 5:30am
got up took a shower and packed my clothes packed Jeep and went down for breakfast. Picked up a yogurt, banana , and apple for my lunch.
Left for Office. Arrive 6:30 am work on reports. 7:00am workers arrive, there are 52 that I surpervise! 7:30 meeting with all workers. 8:00am meet with Core Team Leaders go over expectations and results and listen to compliants.
9:00am work on travel report
10:00am meet with vehicle mananger to go over reports.
11:00 am back to more reports.
12:00 eat lunch look at Peach Parts for funny stories
12:30 more meetings and reports.
2:30pm meet with returning workers.
3:30 pm leave work
8:30 pm arrive home if some idiot doesn't wreck on the turnpike!
Monday Start all over

Man mine isn't near as fun as yours!

Doktor Bert · #3 10-20-2012, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhantomCadillac

12:00 eat lunch look at Peach Parts for funny stories. Man mine isn't near as fun as yours!

Some Internet use edited to preserve continued employment....

Doktor Bert · #4 10-20-2012, 11:53 AM

I don't often dream, but once in a while, my mind plays tricks on me.

One morning, I woke up, fixed coffee and was sitting on the couch watching the clock and woke up still in bed!!!!!

panZZer · #5 10-20-2012, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doktor Bert

I was just thinking this morning about how we all spend our days and I wanted to post this in hopes it might get a smile or a chuckle out of you all.

First of all, we should all be grateful for another day, a bed upon which to sleep and a proper toilet for pooping in. I am even grateful for the occasional M&M I find in the cushions of the couch when I am cleaning.

Funny how bills and even divorce can cloud our ability to see all the good things we have been blessed with. No matter what you face, it can always be worse!

So, having said all this rubbish and poppycock, I thought I would describe to you all what I do in an average day, since it involves my trusty W116.

When not staying in Palm Springs, I am often home in the High Desert with my family, and since this commute expends the greatest amount of my time, I thought I would share a day with you.

I get up about 4:00am PST and brew up a pot of Godiva French Vanilla Coffee. I will drink a few cups quietly while wife and baby are still asleep and think about car stuff, or family things and, in general, just chill and enjoy the coffee. Tell wife goodbye who does NOT like to be bothered while sleeping. Tempt not the she-devil.

By 4:30am, I fire the W116 and drive out onto the Interstate. By 5:15, I am in Loma Linda. Sometimes the stretch between Beaumont and Cabazon is totally dead at this time of the morning. Wind the W116 up to 110mph for this section of the trip.

By 6:10am, I am hitting the McDonald's on SR 111 for a sweet tea. I don't say anything, just walk in and they make it. I tease Vince the manager about the tea shortage I am helping to create. He tells me about how expensive gas is these days. Say hello to Mark the Homeless Guy and he tells me about the headlines he saw in the day's paper, since I don't watch the news.

By 6:30-6:45am, I am rolling up to the shop in Palm Springs. I immediately start greeting all of our 22 employees and telling jokes to be certain everyone's day is off to a cheerful start.

I speak to them in Spanish, German and Romanian, as we have quite the melting pot of fellows at the shop.

Then, the list of daily projects begins and changes from minute to minute with amazing unpredictibility.

Job one was pulling the wheels of a Porsche Cayman S and Audi TT and deliver them to the paint shop. The Audi is aluminum and must be jacked squarely to avoid damage. Next was finding the misfire in a 2003 lamborghini Gallardo. The detail shop didn't cover the motor when they washed it for deliverey and the coils got wet. easy fix.

Remove luggage compartment lid form 1986 Ferrari 328 GTS and send to paint shop. Install (4) lower control arms in BMW 740il.

Next, I fashioned a ball from masking tape and hit the owener's brother in the back of the head from across the shop, then quickly ducked behind one of the painters so he was the recipent of return fire.

Velveeta Shells & Cheese!!!!

They have them in little microwave cups now and they are less than a dollar a piece at Big Lots. I think we bought 75 of them last week. I make one of these about 9:30am.

The boss brings me a Homelite chainsaw that won't start. I deduce low compression. Rather than replace it, he wants it rebuilt, so I spend about 2 hours on E-bay finding obsolete, NOS parts to complete the work. Everything gets ported and polished, of course.

Next, hop into the W116 and drive to la Quinta to start a Rolls-Royce for a customer. Naturally, we spend about 30 minutes chatting about the car.

Return to shop and show the painters how to deactivate the alarm in a Ferrari 360 Modena so it can be started.

Pull M-22 Muncie from a 1972 Corvette and order parts for a rebuild.

Take Oscar the partsman to a nearby McDonalds for a sweet tea at lunchtime.

Return from lunch, start testing the power seat circuit in a 1975 Rolls-Royce to see why the relays are closing, but the power seats don't function.

Show detail guys how to deactivate the alarm in a new Maserati Executive GT so it can be moved out of the shop. Put wheels back on Porsche Cayman after painting. Send car to detail.

A 6 passenger golf cart comes in on a trailer at 2:30pm and the guy says it doesn't run and he needs it for a 4:30pm tee time. Pull the vacuum fuel pump and clean it, drain the tank, refill with fresh fuel, change spark plug and air filter, then load gold cart onto trailer by 3:30pm.

Ride floorjack like a surfboard all the way across the shop while taking heavy tapeball fire from paint department. Boss walks in with a nother yard sale chainsaw that won't start. Set it on the steel bench next to his other yard sale plunder for service.

Change main EFI relay in a no-start (towed in) 2003 Harley-Davidson Road King and test ride. Quick fix.

Start cleaning up tools and locking toolboxes. My day is done by 4:00-4:15pm.

Fire up the W116 and head out onto the I-10 west. Pop in The best of Albert King CD and set cruise on 75mph. Stop 20 miles later in Morongo for a cup of coffee. 24 hour joint with cheap diesel too.

With a burst of black smoke, get back on the I-10 and take it through to the 215 North at Colton, then merge onto the I-15 in San Bernardino and then the long haul up Cajon Pass to the summit (4190 ft/asl) and then across the High Desert plains towards our nest.

Pick up our son by 6:15-6:30pm and drive across town to the house. We walk in the door about 7:00pm if the traffic holds out.

Get baby in the shower. Throw in a couple loads of clothes and dishes of they are stacking up. Fix him something to eat, tuck him in, say prayers with him and read him "The Cat in The Hat." Tuck baby in and get the shower all to myself.

It's now about 8:30pm.

Wifey, who is working lots of overtime of late, rolls in about 9:00pm and one of us is walking out of the bathroom as the other is walking in. Squeeze wife's butt and take eavasive action to avoid being hit by shoe.

We chat a bit about the day's events, I feed cat and dog, then put on relaxing music on the PC and put it on loop, so it plays all night.

Lay in bed and try to remember all the things I forgot to accomplish today....Don't remember falling asleep. Seems like I am laying in bed one minute and the alarm goes off the next.

I don't often dream, but when I do, it's usually about Dos Equis.

And that's a day in the life!!!!

Bert ,, really--- take the Hisperia to Yucca vally -down to Morongo pass route sometimes instead. Im disconcerted by the Mitsubishi concrete plant on the north side of Big Bear.

suginami · #6 10-20-2012, 07:09 PM

Bert, that is a loooooong day.

ZRatedDog · #7 10-21-2012, 11:31 AM

+1. Long but satisfying. If you ever work crappy job, or a good job with crappy people around you, you can appreciate his story.

Doktor Bert · #8 10-23-2012, 12:06 AM

Everyday is a gift!

geoffraynak · #9 10-23-2012, 10:10 AM

Bert ...
Just wanted to say that I loved your post!
I was all jazzed to put mine together ...as an ode / reply ... but the day got away ...

keep them coming.
i'll try to put one up soon, too.

cheers,
geoff

dcotejr · #10 10-23-2012, 10:41 AM

I am constantly reminded about that, and cherish each one more as I get older... (Not old, just older

)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doktor Bert

Everyday is a gift!

Doktor Bert · #11 10-23-2012, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcotejr

I am constantly reminded about that, and cherish each one more as I get older... (Not old, just older

)

That's the way to look at things!!!!

@geoff:

Post it!!!!

PackerEdgerton · #12 10-23-2012, 03:24 PM

Thanks Dr. Bert for the funny and encouraging post. It was a great read.

Sincerely,

Packman

geoffraynak · #13 10-23-2012, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doktor Bert

@geoff: Post it!!!!

okay ... here it goes ...
turns our that typing this up looks like work ... so it was pretty easy ... and fun to recount.

enjoy
g

Sunday
woke up at about 6AM
still dark outside
there was talk of an early mountain bike ride
looked at the weather up at the mountain: 5 inches of new snow
pass on the early ride ... knowing it would be nicer later in the day
grabbed my computer and a cup of cold brew coffee and hunkered down by the fireplace
surfed for about an hour until Quinn (my amazing 5 year old daughter) silently came out of her room
she cozy-ed in next to me on her beanbag ...still not awake enough to say anything
i put my computer down and just enjoy the silence and the warmth
minutes pass until she grabs an activity book from the nearby bookshelf and asks me to help
we end up spending over two hours drawing shapes, doing math, making rings, learning
my wonderful wife relishes emerges from the bedroom at about 9. a serious 'sleeping in' for her.
she, too, is happy that i didn't go with the 'dawn patrol' group for the 5 hour ride.
i make a fresh pot of coffee for her and we all relax into the laziness of a Sunday.
after some more workbook and reading (for all of us), the ladies make plans with some friends to get out and enjoy the brisk fall weather.
they do this, knowing it grants me time to go out for some garage time
they put on winter coats
i put on my grease monkey suit

i go open the 300SD's hood to full-vertical and inspect the efforts of yesterday
Saturday i started on my 'order of operations' list, but adjusting the valves.
took about 2 hours because of the trial and error
also took a while because so many springs were spinning, and i need to get a set of channel locks in there to keep that hex plate from spinning
the initial readings i got from all 10 valves were:
E1 / I1 =.28 / 0.0!
E2 / I2 =.15 / .08
E3 / I3 =.13 / .08
E4 / I4 =.28 / .03
E5 / I5 =.28 / .03
every one had too little clearance.
i adjusted them all to .35 / .1 (to the best of my ability)
that was Saturday.
so today (Sunday), i triple confirmed the clearances, put the cover and new gasket on, and started 'er up.
it was cold-ish (45°F), but everything seemed to come to life well.
satisfied with with accomplishment, i changed focus to doing a diesel purge
went to 7-11 and got a big ol' bottle gatorade and poured that into a water bottle
i crafted my little purge tank and began the process
the clear liquid quickly turned hazy and then darker and then black
25 minutes of revving ... i added the second bottle of purge fluid and continued the process until the end
the rule of thumb here is to also change the pre- and spin-on filters.
i also have a new bosch primer pump
i go whole-hog here ... but needed to finesse a few things.
i didn't have a jerry can of diesel, so i let the fuel dribble from the tank hard-line (unattached for the purge) into the spin-on filter ... smart me!
while that was happening, i also removed the metal fitting on the injector pump that runs the rubber line to the pre-filter
this gave me room to elegantly remove the older plastic-topped primer pump with a standard box wrench
and gave me room to install the new pump nice and snug
re-plumbed all the lines and spun on the new filter.
the new filter was held to housing with a new copper washer and new o-ring on the holding bolt
a few pumps of the primer and i finally heard a nice hiss ... i snugged the filter bolt, triple checked everything and cranked 'er over.
awesome
no leaks, no blow-outs, no problems
here is a before/during/after set of videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC9zZGPFyE4&feature=g-upl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDbcQ-O14wA&feature=g-upl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z9vyrbtQI4&feature=g-upl

yes, i have no cigar hose ... i have one ... but did not install it yet ... maybe after some more work (see below!)

decided to give 'er a drive around town
my dog jumped in the passenger seat and we went to surprise the ladies
about a 1 mile drive, and we popped in at our friends house
i think the girls were playing dress-up or something, and Gretch was making them quesadillas ... i got one too.
perfect
i had left the car running (to let her stay warm), so Samson (dog) and I got back in and drove around the hills of Bend to give the car a bit of an Italian Tune Up.
got back home after about 30 minutes of zig-zagging around town
popped the hood ... no leaks anywhere.
perfect

decided that was enough for the day and headed inside
i love to bake and cook ... especially from scratch Turned on some football and put on my apron
Didn’t really care who was playing ... Just like the background excitement
I think it reminds me of listening to the Expos on Montreal radio growing up.
I lived in Vermont (right on the Canadian border) and we’d listen to game when fielding grounders or working on the BMW 2002.
We’d switch to the Canadiens in the winter time.

I made 6 pounds of pasta from scratch ...enough for 2-3 meals (see attached)
As easy as it can get ... Especially with the roller/cutter attachment for some kitchen appliance we got for our wedding 9 years ago
Quite satisfying to turn flour / water / egg / oil into something so tasty
I usually recruit Quinn to help, but also enjoy the method and process without worrying about her fingers getting caught in the mechanism.
That took about an hour, and my ladies were due back in an hour
I knew that Gretch and I were going to ride when she got back, so I went into the garage and spent about 10 minutes prepping the bikes for our ride.
I had 45 minutes left ... And was in the garage ... I couldn’t resist looking at my List and trying to check something off

I figured the ‘check your glow plugs’ procedure from diesel giant would take about that amount of time ... So off I went
whipping out the multimeter, I proceeded to check each one bases on the procedure
Everything checked out great
12V? Check
5 lines of continuity? Check
Resistance to ground? Check
Plugged all connectors back into the glow plug relay and decided for real to completely call it a day ...
A weekend of successful wrenching (or so I though!)

Got inside and cleaned up just in time for Gretch to get back
Q was staying with her friend ...and that gave us time for a ride
Riding in Bend in October is amazing
Terms like ‘Brown Pow’ and ‘Hero Dirt’ are the norm.
A bit of rain makes the trails have amazing traction, and make anyone look like a hero out there.
We had a great 2 hour ride.
Talking quickly in between huffing and puffing up hills ...
The air is fresh and the lungs remind us why we live where we live
On our way back into town, we invite the friends watching Quinn over for pasta dinner
They ask if they should bring beer or wine ...we say ‘yes’
I hopped the fence and snipped 20 or so sage leaves from our neighbor’s herb garden and make a sage-garlic-butter sauce for the pasta
Our friends ride bikes over, Quinn borrowing a bike, and we reunite for the 3rd or 4th time that day
Had an amazing conversation about everything from the geological formations of Central Oregon to the latest bike forks to school education to F250s on Craigslist

Once dessert is done (I can’t even remember what it was), our friends head home
Quinn jumps into bed and we read ‘If I ran the circus’.
She is out 10 minutes later

My wife and I cozy back in by the fire, watch something mindless on netflix for 20 minutes
And call it a day

Phew ... That is a day in my life
reading by the fire
time with my daughter
time with the 300SD
time to cook
time to ride with my wife
time to eat good food
time with friends
time with my wife
A great day

...now to solve that glow plug issue ...another day

mccauleybil · #14 10-23-2012, 05:31 PM

Bangkok to Singapore, kill 6 hours. Singapore to Narita, enough time for a shower in the sky club. Narita to Minneapolis, with a 4 hour delay because the rear cabin lights worked sporadically (obviously these guys are not entrusted with an old MB). MSP to BUF and finally home. Anxious to check my cooling system tomorrow has come. ~already put in new glow plugs, new hoses, coolant flush. Awaiting the winter when my problematic ccu's cease to be an issue!

Doktor Bert · #15 10-23-2012, 06:10 PM

We all have the MBZ disease....