I almost missed my weekly post. This week I got busy and had less reflection time, so this is very off-the-cuff.
I’m not really a traditional “car guy.” My dad was mechanically inclined and while he was good at fixing and maintaining his cars, he never really fetishized a brand or model the way some people do. Cars were something you needed, so he made it his business to know how to keep them running.
Growing up like that, without yet being old enough to actually own a car, gave me a slightly more romantic idea of working on cars. Sure, when I was old enough I would repair and maintain my cars, because — well, where I live you need a car to get to work, shopping, etc. It was pure pragmatism. The car needed to be operational. Liking the car was barely even a consideration.
However, I always had a streak of romanticism about certain cars. There were a lot of cars that I loved (and not necessarily the muscle cars or exotics). I often thought of buying some old classic to fix up. Even buying something very old but tricking it out with modern engine and electronics. That’s an expensive pursuit, though.
Recently, my wind-down time has been watching car restorations. Not just making something that will get you from point A to point B with the least amount of drama, but something that you pour yourself into. It’s more than just bringing a non-working car back to life, but perfecting and tuning it. One can obsess about paint colors and insignificant interior details. Should you use genuine manufacturer parts or aftermarket parts? Should you keep it original, or add modifications to overcome the original’s shortcomings? Should you keep the patina of years or make it look like it just rolled off the assembly line?
Pragmatism is one of my great creative blocks. I make enough progress for functionality, but sputter out on the details. I think some of that is discipline, because the details can be tedious. I also get distracted by shiny objects (something that’s only recently come into the fore of my consciousness). That is, a new project distracts me after my current project is at an acceptable pause point.
I’m a work in progress. Unfortunately, self-improvement is also tedious detail-work.
