A Little Bit of Elbow Grease

I got the chance to clean the rust off of the 1972 Schwinn Suburban! With some really fine steel wool and Brasso (as a rust remover/polisher), it turned out very, very nice! It went from a 38 year old rust bucket to a 38 year old museum piece! Okay, maybe not that clean yet, but it is huge improvement.

So far, I've taken off the fenders (which were the cause of 90% of the noise), the chainguard, replaced the front and rear brake pads (stops on a dime now!), and just cleaned the bike up a bit. Very good improvement.

Things I still need to do:

-Replace tires
-Repack the wheel bearings
-Find a drop handlebar to replace the bars on now
-Ride it more

First Day of Many Days to Come

Today was my first day at Keyence. I barely got any sleep, but I lasted the 10.5 hours at the office today. Yes, the first day on the job and it went from 7:30am to 6pm. Overtime from the very beginning...sweet!

Keyence is a company based in Osaka, Japan, that primarily makes sensors, machine vision systems (the eyes of the production line), microscopes, and various other electronics. Keyence is #1 in Japan in the automation industry and has a firm grasp of the market. It's trying to gain the same kind of market share in the US...that is why they hired me and two other guys!

Oh yes, I forgot to mention, I am working full-time at Keyence as a Senior Vision Support Associate in the Machine Vision department (first Keyence employee with this title). One of the other guys is also in the same position as me and the other is going into Sales. We will all be training together as a group for the next 3 months, then we will split up to do our own specialized training.

I have a feeling this overtime business is going to last for a while. But hey, they bribed me with overtime pay and amazing benefits...I am truly lucky to find such a job in this economy.

So I have 3+ months of training ahead of me and a product launch to meet. The training looks extensive, but stimulating. My seniors at the company are all amazing people and you can tell they know how to work. I can't help but be happy about a company with a clear goal and a bright future!

1972 Schwinn Suburban

So this bicycle has been sitting in my garage since...I don't even know. It used to be our old neighbors and they gave this and a matching color Schwinn Breeze when they moved away. It really hasn't been touched since. Today, for some reason, I woke up to a beautiful morning at 6:30am and decided to take this bicycle down and clean it up.

Turned out to be an amazing ride! There's a lot of surface rust, but after some cleaning, lubing the chain, and filling the tire with air, it was road-worthy. Did about 15 miles with a few friends and it was a blast.

I'm new to the bicycle scene, but I really like how those road bikes look. I'm thinking about getting a drop bar to replace the handlebar that's on there now...but I'm not sure if it will be comfortable or work. More research needs to be done.

The tires and brake pads need to be replaced first...the tires are dry rotted and the brake pads have turned into hard plastic. Even though they are in that condition, they both survived, and functioned, over the 15 mile ride.

The quality of these old Schwinn bikes are amazing. Even after 38 years (yes, this bike is 38 years old), the bicycle still functions with minimal effort. More to come!

Gaps

Did you guys hear about that huge sinkhole in Guatemala? It's so deep, light does not reach the bottom. It's amazing how a gap is noticeable. Oh wait, what? I haven't blogged in nearly a year? That is very noticeable too.

The funny thing is, I started a HUGE blog post about my trip to Japan...the trip was in August, the blog post in October. It never published.

Something was happening then...a change in my priorities. Blogging left the top 10.

But now I'm back, furiously trying to get that feeling back. That feeling of leaving myself a footprint I can follow later; a message not only to myself, but one that can be shared with others.

Since July 15th, I've gone through a lot. I finished my internship. I went to Japan. I graduated from college. I've frantically looked for a job. I've been jobless. I bought a new bike. Jobless still.

This terrible economy has left quite a few of us stranded...the upside to a ridiculously low income is the time that comes with it. It's hard to say why the last 6 months have flown by, but it's easy to say that it is the 6th month of the year.

Why the picture of my bike, wheel-less and floating? Only because I took that picture today...and it was a job well done.

I'm hoping my future can be as steady as the work being done on my bike. I'm SURE that effort pays off. It is definitely paying off in all of my do-it-yourself projects...it's sure to pay off with the rest of my life. I have what it takes and I'm sticking to it.

Thunder is crashing down outside, breaking the hum of my computer and the keys clicking. So comforting.

I haven't written my thoughts almost directly translated from my brain to the computer in a while. How could I forget this satisfaction?

Well, there will be more to come, my friends. I have a feeling something big is about to happen.