PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

Remember the days u had to pay extra for that other mirror?

 

Having Asperger's means I am very OCD about how my truck is cared for. A perfect example is that I almost always use Windex to clean the windows and I rarely if EVER use the complimentary wipers at gas stations. Exceptions would be when I stop during a long trip, like when I drove my Tacoma to the Carlisle Truck Nationals and back last August. 4 hour round trip, refueling was inevitable...

Anyway, this is the same Shell station on 611 in Doylestown Township I now avoid like the plague because they seem to have entered an agreement with the FW1 salespeople.

One day in about fall 2016, I stopped at this Shell station to fuel up on my way to work like I've been doing for years... This is a self-serve station, by the way...

I was just leaning against my truck waiting for the gas to pump when this black guy wearing a Shell jacket walks up. He startled me, and he said "I'm just gonna clean your windows." This translated to "I want your money." I just let him go about his business, but then he looked down through the windshield while cleaning it and saw my Nikon D5300 sitting on the front seat. He then started saying what a nice camera it was and asking about it. People ask me about my camera and my truck all the time, but something about this guy did not seem right. Nothing happened, but as soon as my tank was full, I got in my truck and got the hell out of there.

More recently this past January, I was at the same Shell station. This was the same day when I peeled out after fueling up to avoid dealing with a guy selling some glass cleaner. First of all, I was barely awake. It was like 9 in the morning, freezing cold outside, and I was driving to work. This is NOT an Asperger's thing. It's a human thing. When I stop at a gas station that early in the morning when it's that cold, all I care about is getting gas, getting back in my nice warm truck, and going on my way. This overweight guy with a beard NOT wearing a Shell uniform shows up and starts attempting to converse with me while wiping my windshield. He asked either how I was doing or what I was doing, and I told him "I just woke up thirty minutes ago and I'm driving to work" in a tone so obvious that he knew immediately to just wash my windows and leave me alone. Of course I didn't pay him.

Has anybody else been to this Shell station and had this problem?

 

My aunt's neighbor has a 1987 Tercel like that! Also has a dealer-installed Toyota tape deck and dealer-installed A/C.

 

Haha yup, the passenger side mirror used to be an option. I actually had a BMW e21 that only had one mirror.

 

Unfortunately, you cant rely on dealerships when it comes to info like this. There's definitely the rare few that do, but for the most part, every time I've gone into a toyota dealership to buy a car I end up educating the sales team about the features of the vehicles they're selling.

 

Yup, had an 87 celica here.

 

I have Toyos on my truck now, and 16-inch aftermarket Platinum Apex rims. My dad bought them for me as a gift on Tire Rack along with BFGs back in 2013. One of my BFGs got a chunk taken out the sidewall and had to be replaced (Toyo #1). In two freak mishaps within a week of each other, two more were destroyed and I just put three more Toyos on my truck.

I like the Toyos but I've been putting more miles on my truck lately, before I know it they'll need to be replaced, and I want my next set to be OWL. Any suggestions?

 

I wash and vacuum my truck twice a month, and pay my friend Joe to detail it twice a year...

These FW1 sales guys at gas stations are really starting to annoy me. Has anyone else been bothered by them? I actually go out of my way to avoid a particular gas station because of them...

 

My day at work today (technically yesterday; February 16) was quite boring...

Working at bar in Pennsylvania sucks in the winter because there is not much traffic, and in the case of my bar which has an outdoor patio bar, the outdoor bar is closed until St. Patrick's.

Today I showed up at 11am and helped my boss stock beer in the downstairs venue bar, filled up the ice sinks, cleaned the bathrooms, did my monthly "burned out lightbulb" inspection, and just made my usual rounds. It is BORING, but I still love it. My boss (the general manager) is an Asian-American woman just 4 months older than me, and she is the best person ever. We were friends for a few years before she reached out and gave me a chance, and now I couldn't be happier.

Anyway, work is boring in the winter, but it's easy work, and I still get paid the same hourly wage as I do in the summer, and my boss and fellow employees treat me the type of respect that is hard to find these days. We all help each other out. Yes, my boss and do get into arguments, but that is a healthy part of any relationship. Believe it or not, my boss actually respects me MORE because when I have a problem and/or don't like something she's doing, I confront her face-to-face. There's a different between questioning your boss's authority and voicing your displeasure with something. My boss hates it when people don't have the guts to confront someone but still talk shit about them behind their back.

So yeah, working at bar is boring in the winter, but it's a much warmer environment than a department store and the pay is a hell of a lot better. Plus having a pickup means I make more money than someone with a sedan or SUV!

 

I honestly think they are generally junk, and the only exception would be any Windstar equipped with the 3.0L V6.

A perfect example is my former teacher's van, a 2001 Windstar LX which did have the 3.0L, and which I called the "Ford Windbag." It's most notable quirk was with the dual A/C system...

Front/dash A/C blew warm while rear A/C blew ICE COLD.

On the day she traded it for a used 2010 Chrysler Town and Country, she attempted to apply the handbrake and yanked it right out of the floor!

 

I've got a few but even though I work at a bar I know people can top my stories anyway...

 

I have Asperger's Syndrome, and I work at a bar. In my opinion, I was ripped off by the Special Ed system because I was treated like a diagnosis instead of a human being. The general manager of the bar where I work is an Asian-American woman who moved out here from Nebraska right after graduating from college. That woman is not only my boss, but also my mentor, and quite possibly the best friend I've ever had. She's only 4 months older than me, by way. She graduated from college with a degree in special education, but she has no formal training in that field. In less than 3 years, the mostly unlikely person on earth who works at the most unlikely place on earth has taught me more about life and the real world than so-called "trained professionals" from the flawed special ed system taught me in 18 years of public education. I earned her respect by simply being myself, something that failed miserably in school. She earned my respect by treating me like a normal person, something most teachers and "specialists" I worked with seemed incapable of doing. What does that tell you?

 

Wait......when did I become subscribed to this thread?

 

Ah, I think I see now. Are the admins just combining all the threads he creates into one massive thread?

 

I think that's what is going on here lol

 

good read, just wanted to add my experience.
I've been AD AF for 15 years, stationed in Alaska, California, Mississippi, and Colorado. MOST police and DMV people I've dealt with do not know of the military exemption. it is kind of understandable, we're 1% of the population, so the chances they'll run into that scenario is pretty limited. The hardest time I had was riding a motorcycle through lower Illinois when I wrecked my bike. cops showed up and wanted to arrest me because my license was expired. well I was on my mid tour leave from Korea and hadn't made it back to Oregon to get a new one, however military exemption means as long as i have a valid DOD ID, then my DL wouldn't expire... they took a good two hrs sorting that out, but once they found out I was telling the truth, they helped me load my bike up (had to rent a uhaul because I cracked the side of the motor) and even gave me an escort out of their county.

 

I don't let the gas stations do my windows. They don't realize it when the are reaching and leaning against your vehicle with buttons, zippers or keys scratching your fenders. Sure they are usually light scratches most of the time but they add up over time. It's not their vehicle so most of them don't care. I will say there are some out there who will really take care of it as if it was their own but I'm not taking that chance. I'll just do it myself

 

Just be careful not to "paint" with such broad strokes, Charlie. Some teachers out there have to do what they are told to do, which can make it very difficult to have the connection they would like to have with students. Especially in the special education arena, there are so many guidelines, rules, regulations and mandates a teacher needs to follow. They are held accountable for every one of them.
Teaching for sure hasn't gotten any easier through the years.
Just sayin'.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow0lr63y4Mw