the uber xmas gift

i'm working on a project when i realized, my socket wrench set has been with me for 22 years. it was an xmas gift from my tito gerald during my first xmas in america. i was blown away with the gift because i grew up in the philippines and cycling and bmx racing was one of my passions, and i fixed my bikes myself and i did not have the very important and valuable adjustable wrench i always had to borrow from my neighbor and sometimes my neighbor was not around i had to use pliers where i had to grip so hard i remember my hands will get all bruised up and swollen and sometimes i had to stop because of the pain. so of course when i got the socket wrench gift i was just blown away. i also did not know at that time tools in the america are so cheap it’s like buying candy.

i remember tito gerald shouting with his hoarse voice after i opened the gift “THAT’S SEARS !!! THAT MEANS IT’S LIFETIME WARRANTY !!!”. which is funny because my socket wrench is still alive and well while sears is now dying.

this xmas gift did undergo a few add-ons and fixes. i’ve added a few adaptors, an extender and a swivel. the snap lock broke so i mcgyvered it with something used for cabinets.

for 15 years in america i drove a second hand car which i always fixed myself. i remember all those countless adventures and the jubilation of victories after fixing a very challenging problem in my car that sometimes master mechanics cannot even tackle.

i even invented a technique that master mechanics don’t know.  in old cars, nuts and bolts would be very difficult to loosen because of the rust, not to mention they are usually located in awkward to reach places.  this really sucks because when it finally loosens the sudden and unexpected release of force will cause your knuckles to hit something thus the term “knuckle buster” . my technique is to find a way to use the extender and swivel adaptors so my hands will be outside safe from any kuckle busting accident. and i can even use a hammer to slowly tap the wrench arm so i never even have to exert much force.

in 2007 i bought a brand new car so this xmas gift went into retirement. but in 2010 i bought fixer upper houses in hayward and in vegas so this xmas gift came out of retirement

i see in facebook cycling has become such a big fad. i wonder if it is the norm to fix your own bike. with today’s technologies i wonder if bikes even need fixing. everything is probably snap on. i see the wheels on the fancy expensive ones don’t even have spokes. i remember wheel alignment was the most difficult. it drove me crazy sometimes. that would be interesting to know. i never touched a bike ever since i got out of college where biking was my means of transportation. i had this top of the line shimano alloy bike so it was light enough to carry many flight of stairs to my classrooms where my bike parks beside me in class. i was the only one doing this so it was ok.

(for more of my knowledge bombs, click the "ian's knowledge bombs" banner at the top of this article and choose any article in the table of contents that piques your interest)