counting blessings – The Boring Old Man

Yet Another “New” Start.

Last week I started a new job. Not that I didn’t enjoy my last one – I very much did – but I simply couldn’t live on what I was making. No shade directed at the former boss/company, I was paid well for what I was doing, it was just that what I was doing didn’t have the same value as my old job(s). The 16 months, give or take, of working a low pressure job was considerably more valuable than the paycheck, but the reality of the situation is that I had no other choice than to get back doing what I do and pull in some additional coin to keep the head above water. My savings is gone, my precious metals sold off, I’m trying desperately to sell off as much musical gear as possible and the wolves are at the door, so to speak. And so here we are…

I’m back in a Director position, running a very large, and very high end property. Thankfully though, I’m no longer in a “Healthcare adjacent” position with mountains of regulations and regulators, and no longer catering to the whims of obscenely wealthy senior citizens. A welcome change, to be sure. Not that this new gig is gonna be easy. I’ve got several months of heavy lifting ahead of me to get this place back in shape.

I’m still in no position to pick up and prioritize the blog here, just dropping this in to keep track of my life as time flies and memories get cloudy…

I am extremely grateful for the new opportunity this job provides, but the personal side of things is very much in shambles still. The struggle is real, as the kids say. The last 5 years had me ground down to a nub. Mentally I have not been “right” for some time, which caused a severe withdrawal from living life. I’ve tried covering it up, the old “fake it til you make it” routine. Throwing band-aids on the situation, like concerts and trips and playing in a band… all those things I thought would “fix” the situation. They did not. All I did was distract myself from the real issues, which were left to fester and infect every other aspect of my life. I buried my head in the sand and soothed myself with “this too, shall pass”, but it didn’t pass. I was doing nothing more than kicking the can down the road. I let things go from bad to worse, to even worse than that. I saw rock bottom fast approaching and just kept throwing band-aids on rather than pulling the ‘chute until I crashed head first into rock bottom.

Don’t get me wrong, I know things *could* be worse. I’m still on the right side of the dirt, I still have all my limbs and I’m not relying on machines or pills to keep me alive. I know there are a lot of people out there worse off than me that didn’t just land a great new job. I’m trying (struggling, honestly) to be grateful for what I do have, to keep my chin up, to climb out of the pit of despair I dug for myself, to keep putting one foot in front of the other ’til I get to where I need to be. It is exhausting and it is bringing every weakness I possess to the forefront.

This is what happens to a man with no direction in life. I chose the path of least resistance, tried to not make waves, to go along to get along and be satisfied with whatever life sent my way. This has proven to be absolute folly on my part. Turns out the path of least resistance is in no way the path of NO resistance, I just let life choose my path rather than forging the path I wanted for myself. I didn’t design my life, I took what was handed to me and tried to make the best of it. Well, that was a lousy plan and I’m currently paying a hefty price for it.

I find myself at an age where I should be secure, where I should feel good about my accomplishments in life, where I should be a pillar of strength for my family, my friends, my community. I’m none of those things at the moment.

In a way I feel like I’m starting over. Which at 57 is NOT where I wanted to be. In a lot of ways it’s worse than when you’re just starting out as there is so much baggage to be carried and sorted out along the way. So many bad habits to correct, so many things to make up for. And so little time left…

There was a quote I read some 3 decades ago, that became my mantra: “It’s never too late to become what you might have been.” I FIRMLY believed that. I had it hung up on my office wall for years. It kept me going through years of ups and downs, it was my shining beacon of hope. But the reality of it is, it IS too late to accomplish many of the things I wanted to do in life. It has been extremely difficult to accept that I “peaked” in my mid-20’s and I’ve just been (barely) treading water for the last 30 years. That when faced with struggle and hardship, I resigned myself to just accept what was and not try harder. Things will work out, I constantly told myself.

Once upon a time I knew – didn’t think, KNEW – that I’d be a renowned drummer one day. I wasn’t after fame, but I wanted to be respected for my abilities in that world. I wanted kids to hear my playing and be inspired in the same way I was hearing all those heavy hitters from my early days. I put in untold hours practicing, over decades, I studied the greats, I developed a style completely unto myself, I put everything I had into it. I was good. Really good. I wanted to discover unknown bands and produce their records, have my own recording studio, maybe even open my own nightclub to help bring new music to world. I once had a dear friend tell a new acquaintance “If you could invest in bands like they were a startup, this guy (me) would make you rich!” I have an “ear” for the next-big-thing… What I got was a failed record deal, a series of boring cover bands that provided ZERO artistic satisfaction, a handful of students I taught and a whole lot of heartbreak and bitterness. And while I still play, my skill level is maybe 60% of what it was when I was truly dedicated to the craft. Now instead of really good, I’m just OK. And considering drumming is the thing I’ve absolutely been best at in my life, what my entire identity was formed around, I’m not OK with that!

I wanted to build my own house from my own designs (which I spent countless hours drafting and refining). My very own homestead where I could raise food, be close to nature and live in peace. Instead I’ve been in a crappy 4-plex for the last 20 years as inflation has far outpaced income and kept me hanging on for dear life.

I wanted to build custom cars that had every detail perfectly aligned with my vision… I had numerous ideas for inventions -nothing earth shattering or life changing necessarily, but what I thought were great ideas that certainly had a marketable value… I’ve started two screenplays and two novels I never finished… This blog here is my 3rd attempt at making something that might speak to someone, and yet I’m floundering here too.

In short, I’ve not really accomplished anything of note.

I spent a lot of time, a large portion of my life, feeling like a victim. Feeling like I was surrounded by bad luck. Like I was misunderstood. Like I “deserved better”. Why? I couldn’t tell you. It wasn’t until a few years ago I finally got to a place where I could accept my own faults. Where I realized that, for the most part, my place in the world had more to do with my bad decisions and either lack of initiative or lack of determination, than with the world being “unfair”. That, my friends, is a BITTER pill to swallow. And I’ve been choking on that bitter pill for a couple years now. I spent a lot of years convincing myself I was special, but when it comes down to it, I’m not. Not really. I’m a dreamer. Maybe in some regards even a visionary, but I let fear of the unknown stop me from giving it my all. I chose “safety” over doing something extraordinary. In the big game of Life it turns out I’m just another cog in the machine. This is NOT how I saw myself and I’m trying to reconcile who I thought I was with who I actually am.

Maybe I had too many interests. Maybe if I had just set my sights on one single thing and pursued it relentlessly things would be different. Maybe I just wanted too much. I didn’t grow up impoverished but we didn’t have much, and it seemed I was surrounded by folks that had so much more. And I wanted some of that life! To have a nice house, cool cars, to take vacations, to provide all the things to my kids that I never had. And sure, lots of people end up with better than they deserve, but it’s my own fault for holding myself up as a victim when that didn’t happen for me. I had no business thinking something great was coming my way, considering where I’d come from. The old saying is you’ve got to play the cards you’re dealt, and unfortunately when life dealt a crappy hand I folded. No one to blame but myself for not drawing more cards until I had a winning hand.

So here I am, rapidly approaching “retirement age”(Ha!!!), not only broke but deeply in debt, savings is gone, no assets but a 25 year old truck and some musical gear that I can’t seem to sell, a crumbling marriage, a strained relationship with my only child due to the marriage problems, and a deep sense of dread that I’ve squandered this life and my gifts. How does one turn that around?

Literally the only bright spot is the new job, which is in a career that chose me rather than vice versa and I only took out of sheer desperation and necessity. Yeah, a 57 year old whore. Let’s just call it what it is.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this. All I’d planned to do was drop a paragraph or two about getting a new job… The rest of it just shot out, stream of consciousness style. Way more personal than I am comfortable with or care to admit, much less “put out there” but maybe the fact that I wrote it means something. I don’t know what, but something. Maybe the reason none of my writing has impacted anyone is because I’ve been so guarded and reluctant to show the “real” me, warts and all. Maybe I need to let go of all that – the pride, the ego, the fear of being found out, and just let my flippin’ guard down for once in my life.

There is a dude on YouTube that got lodged in my algorithm, who is a real smart ass and likes to rip on people a lot for their complaints (deservedly so, more often than not) but one thing he says often is “You’re not allowed to quit”. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve needed to hear that these last few months. Not that I’m considering pushing my own delete button or anything that severe, but sometimes just getting out of bed to face the day ahead has seemed like an insurmountable task.

I realize this is coming off as poor me, self pity crap, though honestly that is not my intent. I’m trying to make sense of my circumstances and find a new path forward. The obstacle I’m facing is the destination. How do I forge a path if I don’t know where I’m going? Clearly, my lifelong goal of being a musician is out of the question, yet I don’t want to stop playing music. My job is too demanding and my personal life in too much upheaval to pursue a “serious” band or project in my spare time and my ego (as deflated as it currently is) won’t allow me to get into schlocky, amateur hour stuff. Good music, like any art, takes time and dedication in addition to skill and talent. And besides, the music business is going (has gone?!?) down the tubes, so even the idea of discovering or producing new bands appears to be a fruitless endeavor. There is simply no money in music anymore. I can pour myself into this new job, bust my hump and be the best I can possibly be, but in the end, it’s just a job. I have no love for the work, I just happen to be pretty good at it. Even if I were to become the greatest facilities director they’ve ever seen, if I got hit by a bus I’d be replaced within a couple weeks and life would go on as if I’d never been there. At this stage of my life, between my age and my financial situation I’ll never own a home, much less build one like I always dreamed of. And at the rate of marital decline, I may end up “living in a van down by the river” rather than even being under the thumb of a landlord.

I’m just gonna say it, my future looks bleak. If I ever needed a miracle or cosmic intervention, it’s now. Right. Now. I’ve seen the error of my ways, I accept responsibility for my many failings, and I’m willing to put in the work, but I NEED a direction. A purpose. I want a life worth living and I hope to leave something worthwhile behind.

I’ve taken a long fall and I have a long way to climb. As the old song goes, “I’ve got a long way to go, and a short time to get there”. It’s not easy reversing a life of bad habits and worse decisions. Reinventing oneself in the twilight years. All I know for certain, is I’m not allowed to quit.

Thanks for stopping by.

Note To Self…

I’m not really “back”, just putting these in an easily accessible location so I can find them quickly.

For motivation and whatnot…

But hey, if it helps someone else out there, all the better.

Be good to yourselves out there!

Thank You, Goodnight…

I’ll cut right to the chase, I’m taking a powder from the Blog. Not that I’ve exactly been a fount of entertainment or information these last several months…

The truth of the matter is that I had really high hopes for this outlet, and for a while was sincerely enjoying it, but my life has taken a series of unexpected downhill turns over the last two years and as I’m quickly approaching rock bottom I recognize that I need to put all my focus, my energy into rebuilding my life into something I can be proud of and excited about. Currently it’s neither of those things.

When it comes to writing, lately I’ve had nothing… I’ve got several drafts of things that I’ve been working on, meatier subjects and an attempt to go in depth, so to speak, and right now I cannot seem to finish anything. Nor can I seem to find motivation to put out any of the simple, fun stuff like the meme posts or the oddball music stuff that I love so much. It feels like I’m trying to force something that doesn’t belong.

One of my main “rules” for this blog when I started it was that I would not let it become saturated with bitterness and/or hostility. It was to be a break from the doom and gloom, a little beacon of light, some fun and positivity for me to share with whoever should happen to run across my little world here. If I were to write about my daily experiences at this point in life I would be breaking that rule and in a sense tainting what I have tried to accomplish here. Likewise, posting memes and such feels like trying to put on a mask. Anything ‘light’ I attempt to write feels insincere and phony. So after a lot of consideration, I’m putting the whole thing on an indefinite hiatus. Given the fact that today is my birthday, it somehow seems fitting that I make the cut today. It’s always bothered me when I frequent a blog and then is just stops with no explanation. Not that I have that many followers, but I didn’t want to be one of those guys that leaves their audience hanging and just disappears back into the ether.

Part of the motivation for this blog was to have a place for myself to go for jogging my memories, and it’s been great to be able to revisit past concerts or trips and such, but honestly when I come out the other side of this – and I will – I don’t WANT to be able to look back on this time in my life with clarity. I hope and pray it all becomes a blur. But with that said, I’ll post a few last updates for things that have happened over the last few months, so I’ll have a few highlights to look back on while I’m out slaying dragons and putting myself back together…

*The fitness regime is going well. I’m getting to the point of actually seeing a physical change as opposed to just feeling stronger. And I am absolutely feeling stronger these days.

*My “new to me” truck has been holding steady for me for a year now, without too much intervention. I haven’t got nearly as much done on it as I’d hoped to within a year – for reasons – but I have been tinkering here and there when I can. Most recently I rebuilt the rear brake system (first time doing drum brakes solo! It sucked, but now I know I can do it) and replacing sway bar links and bushings (something else I’d never done before). I’ve still got a stack of parts to install, but I’m grateful that she’s been a dependable ol’ girl. I’ve put about 13k miles on her in the last year, bringing the total up to roughly 317k – on the original motor. I’m telling you, they just don’t make ’em like they used to!

*I joined a new band about a month ago. Questionable timing for sure, given my current circumstances. I wasn’t looking, but when these fellas reached out to me, I figured I’d take a swing and here we are. It’s a cover band, which frankly I was not even remotely intersted doing again – been there, done that – but I was also EXTREMELY desperate for an outlet, any outlet that could get me outta my own head every now and again. Drumming is the only thing in the world that shuts out EVERYTHING for me. I need that right now, maybe more than ever. Even if just for a few hours at a time. And for a cover band, their musical selection is WAY more in line with my own musical tastes. No Motown, no Beatles, no lame Top 40 music from the last 5 decades… I’m having fun with it and I’m hoping we’ll be ready for some Summer time gigs soon.

*We adopted a new house rabbit a short while back. He’s a handsome devil – emphasis on Devil – but he’s still very young and as he acclimates to his new home and matures a bit, he should be a good guy to have around. I don’t recall if I’ve mentioned it in these pages here before, but the Mrs. and I have been rabbit people for over 30 years. This new varmint is our 5th House Rabbit, and as a teen I used to raise/breed rabbits at home in outdoor hutches. I guess you could say that I’ve got a soft spot for those long eared galoots.

*I usually do a trip to the record store on my birthday and dig through the racks looking for cool old used CDs, and this year was no exception. It was a great haul this year! 5 CDs and a DVD documentary/concert film of The CLASH, thst I have been wanting to see for a very, VERY long time. And all for just under 24 bucks!

*And lastly, though certainly most importantly, as of about two months ago we now officially have a Son-in-Law. That’s right, our “baby” and her Beau tied the knot back in April! It was an absolutely beautiful affair, held up in Sonoma, CA. If I’m being honest, it was the happiest day of the last decade for me in addition to being the happiest day of my daughter’s life. Just really epic vibes throughout the entire weekend. I sincerely couldn’t be happier for the two of them.

And thus concludes my personal highlights from the first half of 2025…

I want to thank my readers for coming around. True, the engagement wasn’t as I’d hoped it would be, but I blame myself for a total lack of consistency. The story of my life… I have a habit of trying to do too many things simultaneously, and that leads to half-assed results. Instead of focusing and giving my all to a couple of things at a time.

I won’t completely count out the idea of popping in here if something significant pops up along the way, I’m just taking “keeping up with the blog” off my radar to focus in other, considerably more important, areas of my life.

So long, farewell,
Auf Wiedersehen, goodbye. For now at least.

Until we meet again, thanks for stopping by!

Spring!

Hi again, it’s been a while…

Not gonna lie, been in a rut. Got too many things to do and not enough time to get ’em done. And yet, nothing that I felt was worth writing about.

Not that it’s been all bad, just not noteworthy.

I’ve only been to one show since my last post – Magic City Hippies at the Fillmore in SF. However, considering I’ve done something like 5 or 6 concert reviews about them on this blog and this was maybe the 10th(?) time we’ve seen them, I don’t really have much else to say. They are STILL gre,at, one of the best live acts out there. Seriously. If you like live music and you get the opportunity, go see them. You won’t regret it.

I also was surprisingly reunited with a dear old friend – one of my groomsmen as a matter of fact – that “fell off the radar” some 30 years ago and I haven’t seen or heard from since! We had a nice talk on the phone and he was coming to town from out of state, so we met up for lunch a few days later and it was fantastic. It really gave me a sense of joy that my feeble vocabulary can’t articulate. I’ve really come to appreciate old friends as I’ve grown old but it’s rare that I see mine, as we’re now scattered clear across the country. In different directions. I’m the only dumb sap that still lives in the area where we all grew up. Unfortunately it no longer even closely resembles the place of our youth and there isn’t much to draw them back here for a visit.

Such is life.

Still have a pile of parts to replace on my truck, but between the full to-do list and the absolutely crap weather we’ve been having these last couple months, I’ve not been terribly excited about doing the work.

But now SPRING is officially here, and today I felt pretty invigorated. Had a productive day at work, then came home and put in a couple hours of chorin’ , now throwing this little note out there just to pet you all know I’m still alive and kicking!

Hopefully the change in seasons will bring a change in output here on the old Blogstead.

Happy Spring. See you soonish.

Go call an old friend.

Thanks for stopping by.

Out of Sight, Out of (my) Mind!

This weekend the Mrs. was on a girls’ trip with our daughter, so I was left to my own devices and for some reason I decided to be productive. What was I thinking???

I started out simple enough, just a little organization stuff that was long overdue, then Sunday morning I decided to take a whack at our ‘extras’ closet that was LONG overdue… And the next thing you know, 6 HOURS had gone by!

This closet – really an alcove, but I threw a curtain over it and thus dubbed it a closet – is where I’ve been storing a lot of my “prepping” stuff since about 2012 and during “the Plague” years, especially early on when nobody really knew what was going on or what was coming, I STUFFED that closet with everything I figured was important should things go completely sideways.

On the surface, not a bad idea. BUT! I didn’t have anything organized and I didn’t inventory anything. If something I thought I might need became available, I bought it and stuffed it in the closet.

Fast forward a few years and Holy cow! I had stuffed every square inch of that space, had no idea what I had and couldn’t find anything without an ordeal.

On Sunday, I put an end to the madness!

On the bright side, I discovered I have more #10 cans of freeze dried goods than I realized. And I have a TON of first aid stuff, a lot more than I thought I had. On the downside, I have way too many bottles of hydrogen peroxide, and waaaaay too many kitchen sponges. These latter things primarily because everything was so disorganized I bought multiples not realizing I already had those things.

And happily I found some things I COMPLETELY forgot about!

It wasn’t fun, but it was time well spent. Time I SHOULD’VE spent two years ago! Better late than never I suppose.

Last but not least, it inspired me to get off my keister and keep the cleanup and organization going.

It’s great to have “stuff” in emergency situations, but its way better if you know what you have and where it is!

Anyhow, that’s about it for today. This year got off to a rough start with illness in the family, a rather unpleasant injury and the loss of a beloved pet, but this little project felt like my shell cracking and letting me get back to life.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Thanksgiving

I wish you all a wonderful day, hope each and every one of you have something to be grateful for.

I know I do. It’s been a heck of year for me and mine, but I’m feeling a tinge of optimism for the first time in a long time and I’m truly grateful for everything I have that is left standing.

Thanks for stopping by. I’ll be back soon.

A little catching up…

My apologies to any readers that have been wondering where I’ve gone… I know it’s been quite some time since I posted here, but quite frankly I’ve been having ‘one of those days’ for a couple/few months now. I really try to not let this blog be a place for bitterness or despair, so I’ve had my head down just trying to ride the storm out.

I’ve got to say, 2024 will go down in my personal history as the worst year on record, and I’ll be glad to see it in the rear view mirror in a couple months.

And while the last few months have been pretty disastrous for me, it hasn’t been ALL bad…

Back in early September I had a reunion of sorts with some old friends, brothers from other mothers so to speak, that was LONG overdue. While I’ve been in touch with them both fairly regularly, the 3 of us hadn’t been in the same room together for over 30 YEARS! Yeah, seriously overdue! So that was certainly a bright spot for me.

And we saw a few great shows along the way – Dogstar at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz, Nikka Costa in Berkeley, Abhi the Nomad in San Francisco and Still Woozy at the Greek Theater in Berkeley as well. All were great shows and there were some awesome opening acts as well – PawPaw Rod for one, was exemplary!

The Mrs. and I also had our 33rd wedding anniversary in October.

We had a couple nice outings with the family as well… A few day trips to Henry Cowells to bask amongst the Redwoods, we did the annual ‘Wine Walk’ in our little town which was nice. And just last week a 3 day camping trip down in Big Sur (more Redwoods!!) These are things that I hold dear. The things that kept me from losing my mind altogether. Much needed and welcome distractions from ‘the real world’.

And today is VOATING day. Yippee… Ordinarily I consider myself a very patriotic American and take my civic responsibility very seriously, but I’m struggling this year. BIG TIME. I’m sick of it all. Sick of the two wings of the same, diseased bird. Sick of the lies. Sick of the hyperbole and the projection. Sick of getting the short end of the stick, regardless of which way the wind blows.

Alrighty then, that is enough doom and gloom. Tomorrow is a new day and hopefully a better one.

Thanks to all who have supported me here, I do appreciate it. It’ll probably be a little quiet in the near future, but eventually I’ll dig myself outta this hole and get back to it on the regular.

Thanks for stopping by.

This is no way to start the day…

Last night when I was nearly home, I noticed my “new” truck was running a little hot. Nothing crazy, but about 20 degrees (F) higher than what I’ve noticed as regular operating temps. Well, it was 90 degrees and I’d driven 25 miles in stop-and-go traffic, with the A/C blasting, so I didn’t give it too much concern.

This morning, I figured I’d play it safe and take my former SUV, that I haven’t gotten rid of yet, to work. BUT, since I haven’t driven it in the last month, the ol’ girl wouldn’t even THINK about starting, even with my jump-pack attached (which until now has had a 100% success rate!). So back to the pickup I go…

Again, playing it safe, I took the back-route, to avoid the highways and it’s a darn good thing I did!

About 7 miles in to the commute, I notice the temp gauge is nearly pegged at 250 degrees! Yikes! I cranked the heater on high, flipped a U-turn to limp her back home and a mile later lost all visibility due to the massive plume of steam pouring out from under the hood! D’oh!!

I pulled into the nearest parking lot, shut ‘er down and popped the hood. EVERYTHING under the hood was bathed in antifreeze.

Hello, AAA?

Long story short, had to get a tow home. I grabbed the Mrs.’ car for a run to the parts store, swapped out the upper radiator hose, and dropped in another 2 gallons of antifreeze. I also replaced the battery while I was under the hood. Supposedly it was “newish” when I bought the truck and it was dated 2/22 so I had no reason to think otherwise, but it’s been weak and I don’t need anymore “on the way to work” issues.

Then I cleaned up my greasy paws, took her on a quick test run, and made it to the “office” at 12:30 – enough to grab a half day’s hours.

So not exactly a banner day for the Boring Old Man! But it could have been a lot worse. I’m grateful that the Mrs. persuaded me to get AAA some time ago. I’m grateful that the parts store near home had the required part for a 25 year old truck ON THE SHELF. I’m grateful that it was just the radiator hose and not the radiator or waterpump! And I’m grateful that I have the tools and knowhow to fix stuff and not need a mechanic all the time! (Even if it had been the radiator or waterpump, that’s all well within my wheelhouse) And most of all, I’m exceptionally grateful this breakdown didn’t happen on the highway in morning rush hour traffic! That would have increased the stress levels ten-fold!

It was also a strong reminder to get my shizz together, vis-a-vis preparedness! I was so excited to start driving this new-old truck, that I just started daily-driving it without setting it up for emergencies. Dumb. Had I been properly prepared, I could’ve “McGuyver’d” it and not had to wait for the tow truck… Anyhow, lesson learned!

And now I’m back on the road with the first (albeit minor) repair to my new truck under my belt! All’s well that ends well, as they say.

Thanks for stopping by!

A New Ride, A New Project, A New Adventure…

Today I’m writing about my “new” truck, just purchased a few weeks ago, finally “officially legal” per California SMOG requirements (a bit of an ordeal!) with a transferred title and insurance coverage!

Fair warning, I’m gonna nerd-out a bit here… If you’re not a “car guy/gal” or a gearhead, you might wanna pass on this one…lest you be bored to tears.

OK, where to start… For the last few years I’ve been driving a pretty nice SUV, but it’s a little long in the tooth (model year 2000), expensive to maintain (if you’ve ever owned a European car, you know of what I speak!) and parts are becoming obsolete, making it even more expensive and difficult to maintain. But it fit the bill at the time, it was a steal actually, it drives great and still actually looks pretty darn good for being 24 years old with 142k on the odometer. However, it needs brakes, it needs tires, there is a weird electrical gremlin causing an intermittent tail light malfunction… and frankly it doesn’t fill my needs in my new job, not to mention I was looking for rooftop baskets to hold camping gear and such because it is lacking storage space. The bottom line is I don’t want to sink any more money into this old rig, knowing I wanted to replace it with something more suited to my current needs. The hunt began in earnest a few months ago.

I got a little methodical (and obsessive) after determining the criteria:

1. Pickup truck, minimum 6′ bed, 4×4

2. Capable of towing

3. Something common enough to have parts readily available and strong after-market support.

4. Cheap enough that I could pay cash, but could be driven away.

5. Something “simple” that I can work on myself.

After much searching on Craigslist, researching forums and YouTube, I decided to find myself a GM GMT400 model – Chevy and GMC trucks produced from 1988 – 1998. Currently known as an “OSB” (Old Body Style) amongst the rabble.

Now, I have some experience with these trucks… My father owned a couple over the years, a company I once worked at as their fleet manager (amongst other titles!) had a several of them and I had a ’97 GMC Yukon for a while that was built on the same platform, just in an SUV format, rather than a pickup. So I knew these trucks pretty well and had a good idea of what I was getting myself into. I’d driven half a dozen of them, at least, and wrenched on as many, if not more. This was it, a decision was made. Now to find one!!

There are still a bunch of these trucks on the road, but surprisingly few for sale (make of that what you will). Of the ones for sale, they were either clapped out, beat up old work trucks OR exorbitantly expensive (I found a few asking between $17k – $25k!)

Then it happened, a UNICORN appeared! I found a 1999 Chevrolet K1500, Z71 package, extended cab with a short bed, in BLACK no less!

Now you might be saying, “you said from 1988-1998”, and you are correct. What I didn’t know going into this search, was that ’99 had “carryover” models. So it is essentially a 1998, but initially registered as a 1999.

I may have overpaid at $4k, but considering what was in the marketplace, I honestly don’t think I could have found a better base to build my “forever truck” from. My research tells me these “OSB” models are skyrocketing in value these days, so the same truck might have cost me another grand or two had I waited another year to pull the trigger. And it is loaded – all the creature comforts you could want in a truck, but it’s still an actual truck.

As an aside, my all-time favorite truck is the GM 1967-1972 model, and ten years ago you could pick them up for a few grand… Now I’ve seen guys asking $6k for one with NO motor, NO transmission and rusted out rocker panels and cab corners… A nicely restored one runs $25k-$40k. A fully customized rig could run you close to 6 figures… So not only can I not afford one of those, they are way more of a commitment than I can make for a full on restoration at this time of my life.

So the OSB it is! Honestly, after the ’67-’72s, the “OSB” models have been my second most favored truck since they were released. I do like the Ford F-series trucks from the early 2000’s too, but I think in the long run, I’ll be happier in the GM, it just suits me. I did have a 2001 F150 once upon a time, and I liked it, but even 6-7 years ago it was getting hard to find parts for it because there were so many changes made to the Fords every couple years.

My new truck has SUPER high mileage on it (301k!), BUT it had the transmission rebuilt about 100k back, the positraction rear-end was recently rebuilt, it’s got a new AC compressor, a new AGM battery and a newish high output alternator. It’s got an aftermarket stereo with Bluetooth, a lumber rack and a tow hitch with electric brake controller. There is even a hardwired DC/AC inverter installed in the cab, so I can charge my laptop or tool batteries from the comfort of the driver’s seat! And most importantly, it starts right up with no nonsense and runs like a top.

Now, it’s far from perfect… The steering is REALLY sloppy. Maybe it just needs a new steering shaft, maybe a new steering gear box… It has nearly new AT tires on the front, but the rears need replacement. The new tires are an odd size and not what I would have picked, but I’m going to throw on a pair of matching tires in the back and when they wear out in a year or two, replace the full set with the proper size. The brakes are a little “soft”… not horrible or dangerous, but they could be better. The body has a few dings and scratches, nothing major, but it’s clearly lived it’s life as a truck!

Other then that, it’s more or less good to go. Not that I’m gonna stop there. No-sir-ee!! I’ve got BIG plans for this rig!

A quick walk-around

I priced out a 2024 Silverado, similarly equipped and it was about $55k. I decided my budget for this build would be 50% of that cost. Minus the initial purchase price, that leaves me with a build budget of $23.5k. FWIW, the sales tax ALONE would have been more on the new truck than what I purchased th ’99 for. And my annual registration will be a tiny fraction of what a new one would be. I know several guys with new, expensive trucks that have to shell out over $1k annually for registration here in CA, mine should be between $200-$300 per year.

The puzzle is how to make this an “all-in-one”, does everything I need rig? I need this truck to be ready for:

Daily driving, construction materials hauling, off the beaten path surf destinations, camping trips and hauling musical gear around. Oh, and it must function as a mobile office. Off grid and self-contained. AND, I want it to look good while doing it! No small feat.

I’m a fair-to-middlin’ mechanic and pretty well equipped with tools and whatnot, but I live in an apartment with no garage (and a picky landlord!) so this is going to be a SLOW process. My B.I.L, Captain Karel, has been cool in the past letting me take over his driveway on weekends for mechanic work and I may be able to sneak in to my Pop’s shop on weekends for some of the necessary cleanup/cosmetic work, but there isn’t a whole lot I can do at home, unfortunately.

Now that the smog check thing is done (it was an ordeal, but thankfully now complete for only $120) and it is registered and insured I’ve started shaking it down to see what’s what and what the priority of needs is. Then the FUN starts!

After some initial preventative maintenance and a good scrubbing inside and out, the first big project I want to tackle is removing the rear seat and building in a custom storage box that matches the interior (part of the mobile office setup), and then some cosmetic stuff. The truck is lousy with chrome plating and I’m not a fan… A new black grill is in order, removing the wheel arch trim, etc. The chrome bumpers will go when I’m a little more flush with cash.

But yeah, I’m really excited about this new adventure. I hope to build the truck of my dreams and drive it ’til I can’t drive anymore! Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by!

Field Tripping: Portola Redwoods State Park.

Yesterday was a new kind of adventure for me, the Mrs. and I went on a “field trip” with our daughter and her 5th grade class to Portola Redwoods State Park in La Honda, CA.

The school the wife and daughter teach at is big on what they call “Outdoor Ed.” and they do lots of camping trips and such for all the classes but all that got derailed during the Plague Years (our daughter’s first year of teaching was the year /they/ shut everything down), so this was her first overnight camping trip with a classroom of kids.

We (the Mrs. and I) didn’t go for the overnight – both of us are working today – but more as logistics support. The Mrs. volunteered us to cook dinner for the troops, so we headed up the mountain with a ton of food, firewood and all the accouterments to throw down a nice dinner. And of course S’mores! What camping trip with kids would be complete without those?!?

As you might imagine, this wasn’t exactly a quiet, peaceful trip to the woods – not with roughly 20 5th grade kids running amok, some for the first time in the woods.

You can hear the wild 5th grade varmints in the background, swimming in the creek and having a blast!

Nonetheless, the park is beautiful, and the drive in was spectacular. The kids were happy and our kid managed to make the trip a success for her kids, so mission accomplished!

Some babies sprouting up…Our great-grandchildren’s great-grandchildren will still be watching these beasts grow!

I’ve spent more time in the woods in 2024 than in the past decade and it is doing me a WORLD of good. I highly recommend it, ESPECIALLY if, like me, you spend most of your time glued to a desk and/or computer screen!

Thankfully my new job gets me a ton of outside time now, and that’s been great. But making a conscious effort to embrace the outdoor world as well as making it part of our fitness routine, has been life changing.

Spring is in the air, summer is right around the corner, get out there and hug a tree! Watch some birds. Laugh at squirrels gettin’ squirrely! Your body and soul will thank you!!

Thanks for stopping by!