Forestry and Machinery

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THE GOOD
Yesterday, I was the anti-sloth. After working half the day (bah!), I grabbed a sandwich from the deli across the street, grabbed some (I later found out, somewhat mediocre) H.G. Wells short stories from iTunes for the iPod, and went to Tryon. Hiked around a bit, listened to the audiobook, ate lunch in the forest. Later, I came home and got more work done on the clock. The main drive gear was tedious to build, and the escapement mechanism is kicking my ass, but I am about half-way finished. The clock is actually starting to look like a clock now.

THE BAD
My car does not have a keyhole on the driver's side. It has a hole, but no keyhole. It turns out that when someone broke into my car and I thought they did no damage, they actually did break something in the door mechanism. Something looked a little funky with the keyhole the other day, so I stooped down to look at it, then touched it with my finger. The keyhole slid back a little then fell into the door cavity. Technically, it is no big deal because I always lock and unlock the car with the remote and the passenger side still has a keyhole. Still, it is a major annoyance. I would rip open the door panel and fix it myself if I thought it was within my abilities, but it looks like some metal bits are damaged that might require a bit more than two-part epoxy. Right now, I am playing phone tag with an insurance person, trying to figure out if insurance covers it, if it is cheaper/better/easier to get it fixed myself without involving insurance, and whether I need to go back and try to file a police report (which I did not do originally because nothing seemed to be damaged or stolen).

THE UGLY
Even though the process for registering your out-of-state care in Oregon is online, even though the other online DMV processes work perfectly, my hint to you is this: actually go into your local DMV office if you want to register your out-of-state car in Oregon. My paperwork was an absolute mess. They cached my check, but were waiting on various forms that various people had (or did not have, as the case may be). I am not even sure I can describe what sort of bureaucratic limbo I was in, other than this: the DMV up here is quite efficient (at least my local branch, as compared to various DMV offices in California) and it still took an hour. There was more paperwork to fill out (that was not listed online). The lady behind the counter had to call various people at the central DMV office. There were fees still remaining to be paid (again, not listed online). It was a mess. Now, at least, everything seems to be straightened out. I have a printout stuck to the back window (obscuring a quarter of that tiny window) and should have new plates in the mail.

Posted in: Books Dear Diary

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