Step 1: Figure out the name of whatever piece of metal fell off my bike.
It was... complicated. It had springs and hinges and wheels. It looked really... important. I had this funny feeling that a Google search for "complicated springs hinges wheels important" wouldn't be terribly helpful, so instead I went to Google images to look at bike diagrams until I finally found out the name.
Step 2: Figure out what a "rear derailleur" does.
Easy as Wikipedia. I skimmed the article (understanding about 10%) and verified that the picture looked something like what I had. Score. Apparently, it... actually, I'm still not quite sure what it does. Except that it keeps tension on the chain. So... that's important, I guess.
Step 3: Find out how it attaches to the rest of the bike.
Bikes have holes all over them, so after work the next day I stopped by the pawn shop a block away to look at some bicycles. What do you know, they all had those thingamajigs too! It seemed to fit between the thing that held the gears on and the other screwy thing with the... thing. Thankfully, it was a visual errand, so the fact that my vocabulary is grossly ineffective when it comes to bicycle repair wasn't too much of an inconvenience.
Step 4: Try to attach it without getting bicycle grease all over.
I don't have socks anymore. I lost most of them in various places, so now I have a few black pairs for work and a single white sock. The single white sock wasn't much use, so I decided to use it as a glove. It is now a black sock too, though not one I would wear in public. I worked on reattaching it for about half an hour until I finally gave up because I couldn't get the chain to move anymore even though I thought it was on correctly. Irritated, I pulled hard. The back wheel moved. It suddenly occurred to me that the bike might be properly in gear.
Step 5: Test the bike.
Sure, the logical thing to do would have been to lift up the back tire and push a pedal. I was inside, after all. Instead, I picked up the whole bike and carried it outside wearing nothing but my pajama pants. Then I hopped on and rode it around for a minute or two. Strangely, the gear shifting is actually more responsive now than it was before. One of the brakes is slightly misaligned, but that won't be difficult to adjust. As long as I never have to touch another rear derailleur.
P.S. My neighbor must have thought I was drunk when I wobbled around half-naked on my bicycle and then stumbled back into my apartment. Oh well. Doesn't hurt to keep things interesting.
----------------------------
Dear Friends,
I fixed my bike. I'd tell the story, but it's long and boring and I wouldn't want to waste your time. It was exciting, though, because I don't have money to get it fixed and I know nothing about bikes, so instead I just prayed that God would help me fix it and got to work. And now my bike works again.
I still have a job. The cuts happened as scheduled, and I'm still there. That's a relief. I celebrated by getting all my blue microfiber shirts dry cleaned. I imagine that dry cleaning could be addictive much like self-medicating. I mean, you know the clothes don't really need to be dry cleaned again, but there's a little wrinkle in the back and they're so nice and pretty when they get back... and after all, it's supposed to be good, right? Cleaning is good. Maybe I'll dry clean my entire closet...
The financial news is looking optimistic for the first time in a while. It looks like I'll be able to afford rent come September 1st. I plan on spending September getting rid of some debt I've accumulated. It shouldn't take long. After that... well, maybe a car is in my future. Who can say?
And that's the news for now. Hope everyone is well.
-------------------------------------
See pictures of my new apartment and of work. (Look for the album labeled "Apt #1614" and "Poker Room," respectively.)
View the FUN Archives.You can contact me by replying to this e-mail. To send letters or packages, use the following address:
Dan Kaschel
4747 W Waters Ave., Apt #1614
Tampa, FL 33614
My phone number is 231-631-3016.
Peace,
Dan
Friday, August 24, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
FUN Update, August 12, 2007 - My Life Gets Interesting Again
Dear Friends,
Finally, something has happened to me that merits the telling! So here I am.
The Greyhound Track where I work has stopped live racing because it is "hemorrhaging money." They'll keep satellite betting (betting on off-site dog and horse races), but the upshot is that the whole facility is drastically downsizing. That goes for the overstaffed poker room, of course. A week from Monday, 25 out of 55 dealers will be dropped based on performance over the next week. If I don't make it, I'll be jobless. The bright side is that if I make it, I'll get more shifts and hence make more money.
My urge is to focus single-mindedly on being the best poker dealer that I can be, ignoring everything until the decision has been made. I realize, however, that doing things in my own strength really isn't the way to go--especially having the connections that I do. So I'm going to pray, and I'm going to do everything in Godly excellence as I have always done. When Jesus was about to be crucified under Pilate, Pilate said to Jesus, "Do you not know that I have authority to release you, and I have authority to crucify you?" Jesus' reply was, "You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given you from above." In the same way, I trust that my authorities are subject to God's will.
I guess it's about time to mention my awful timing and how God's strength is evident in my weakness.
I lost my dealing license and badge over the last week. I have no idea where it went. I searched my apartment in a panic, but there aren't that many places that it could be. I'm pretty sure it's gone for good. I went to work expecting to be sent home and, furthermore, not to be able to work for the weekend (it's illegal to deal without a license). And then... God came through for me. I went to the break room at about 11:30AM after calling around to find out where the State Rep was--that's the person who can print me a new license. They were at Derby Lane, another greyhound track in St. Petersburg, which is about 35 minutes away. Unfortunately, buses don't cross towns, so I'd have to take a taxi. Which would mean about $100 for the round trip. At this point, I was thinking maybe I could just borrow somebody's car and offer to fill up their gas tank, but I hate asking favors like that.
Jodi--the manager--just happened to be in the break room while I was explaining the situation to the other dealers. This was unusual in itself, since the supervisors and managers usually don't hang out in the staff break room. Anyways, he heard the story, and told me to wait around while he went upstairs. I agreed, because... well, because I'd agree to anything legal to keep my job. He then proceeded to offer to drive me to Derby Lane himself so I could get my license.
Just to clarify: the second-in-charge of our poker room drove over an hour so I could get a license and deal the second half of the day. That's like getting Gabriel to do your laundry. I was floored. As an added bonus: I remember a book I read about social engineering that said most people don't want to ask or accept favors because they don't want to "use up" whatever theoretical store of favors they have with that person. But statistically, a person is more likely to grant a favor if they've granted that same person a favor in the past. I think it's because granting a favor means investing something of yourself in a person, which means increasing that person's value to you, which in turn makes you more likely to protect that investment. It's a cycle that can be either good or bad; in this particular case, it may benefit me.
So I lost my license. I can hardly explain how bad that is. It's reallybad. And instead of totally screwing me over, it might have just played in my favor. "If God is for me, who can be against me?" In conclusion, pray that I have the strength to model Christ-like behavior despite the stress of the coming week. I hope you're all doing wonderfully. Don't forget to keep me updated! Take care,
-------------------------------------
See pictures of my new apartment and of work. (Look for the album labeled "Apt #1614" and "Poker Room," respectively.)
View the FUN Archives.You can contact me by replying to this e-mail. To send letters or packages, use the following address:
Dan Kaschel
4747 W Waters Ave., Apt #1614
Tampa, FL 33614
My phone number is 231-631-3016.
Peace,
Dan
Finally, something has happened to me that merits the telling! So here I am.
The Greyhound Track where I work has stopped live racing because it is "hemorrhaging money." They'll keep satellite betting (betting on off-site dog and horse races), but the upshot is that the whole facility is drastically downsizing. That goes for the overstaffed poker room, of course. A week from Monday, 25 out of 55 dealers will be dropped based on performance over the next week. If I don't make it, I'll be jobless. The bright side is that if I make it, I'll get more shifts and hence make more money.
My urge is to focus single-mindedly on being the best poker dealer that I can be, ignoring everything until the decision has been made. I realize, however, that doing things in my own strength really isn't the way to go--especially having the connections that I do. So I'm going to pray, and I'm going to do everything in Godly excellence as I have always done. When Jesus was about to be crucified under Pilate, Pilate said to Jesus, "Do you not know that I have authority to release you, and I have authority to crucify you?" Jesus' reply was, "You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given you from above." In the same way, I trust that my authorities are subject to God's will.
I guess it's about time to mention my awful timing and how God's strength is evident in my weakness.
I lost my dealing license and badge over the last week. I have no idea where it went. I searched my apartment in a panic, but there aren't that many places that it could be. I'm pretty sure it's gone for good. I went to work expecting to be sent home and, furthermore, not to be able to work for the weekend (it's illegal to deal without a license). And then... God came through for me. I went to the break room at about 11:30AM after calling around to find out where the State Rep was--that's the person who can print me a new license. They were at Derby Lane, another greyhound track in St. Petersburg, which is about 35 minutes away. Unfortunately, buses don't cross towns, so I'd have to take a taxi. Which would mean about $100 for the round trip. At this point, I was thinking maybe I could just borrow somebody's car and offer to fill up their gas tank, but I hate asking favors like that.
Jodi--the manager--just happened to be in the break room while I was explaining the situation to the other dealers. This was unusual in itself, since the supervisors and managers usually don't hang out in the staff break room. Anyways, he heard the story, and told me to wait around while he went upstairs. I agreed, because... well, because I'd agree to anything legal to keep my job. He then proceeded to offer to drive me to Derby Lane himself so I could get my license.
Just to clarify: the second-in-charge of our poker room drove over an hour so I could get a license and deal the second half of the day. That's like getting Gabriel to do your laundry. I was floored. As an added bonus: I remember a book I read about social engineering that said most people don't want to ask or accept favors because they don't want to "use up" whatever theoretical store of favors they have with that person. But statistically, a person is more likely to grant a favor if they've granted that same person a favor in the past. I think it's because granting a favor means investing something of yourself in a person, which means increasing that person's value to you, which in turn makes you more likely to protect that investment. It's a cycle that can be either good or bad; in this particular case, it may benefit me.
So I lost my license. I can hardly explain how bad that is. It's reallybad. And instead of totally screwing me over, it might have just played in my favor. "If God is for me, who can be against me?" In conclusion, pray that I have the strength to model Christ-like behavior despite the stress of the coming week. I hope you're all doing wonderfully. Don't forget to keep me updated! Take care,
-------------------------------------
See pictures of my new apartment and of work. (Look for the album labeled "Apt #1614" and "Poker Room," respectively.)
View the FUN Archives.You can contact me by replying to this e-mail. To send letters or packages, use the following address:
Dan Kaschel
4747 W Waters Ave., Apt #1614
Tampa, FL 33614
My phone number is 231-631-3016.
Peace,
Dan
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