Went by and applied for a job as a small engine mechanic at a hardware store in the nearby town of Victoria. They called last Wednesday and asked if I still wanted it and I ways yeah, I'll do it. They asked if I could be there the next morning, that was like 5:30 PM, LOL! Well, I've got some unfinished MC work here I'll have to spend off days doing and getting out. But, this job is FAR better than any MC shop wrench! Not only are the machines easy to work on and lift and diagnose, and everything else a MC ain't, but they're paying me $16 an hour. They say they're going to set up a big bench in the back shop and air condition the place before next spring, too! AND, the guy tells me today that he's going to increase the shop rate to 50 an hour. Now he pays us (me and one other mechanic) 40% of the shop rate. At $50, that gives me $20 an hour, more than any bike mechanic I know of working for a shp around here! And, they're backlogged two weeks with work. No sitting around on rainy days not making money. This is close to home, too, only a 30 minute ride from the house. I think I'm going to stick with this a while. Only grip I have with it is working on those PITA weed eaters, LOL! But, at least they're light, and when you finally do get all the danged plastic off it, it is a simple little two stroke. Neat thing about those, if it's something that is expensive, they just tell the customer it's not worth fixing. You can get a new one for the cost of a carburetor on the things.
No insurance with this, no benefits, just the money. When the wife finds something, I suppose we'll have insurance again. She quit the state, won't get her insurance and pension from retirement until ten years from now. But, she's a Licensed Vocational Nurse as well as a social worker with a BSW. She's taken a job here, a job there nursing. Went to a local supermarket yesterday to give flu shots, $15 an hour, but part time. She'll find something permanent soon, I'm sure. At least I have money to race with, now. My retirement is enough to pay what few bills I have, but I need a little to play on. Too bad, though, I have to actually work for it.
When I turn 62, if there's any such thing left as a Social Security program, I'll be able to just sleep in every day. LOL! It's been fun setting my own schedule for the last 10 months, but I guess it's time to make money again.
