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

Why do you have two threads for the same story?

 

Agreed. He writes good but this ain't the platform for an opus.

 

You are the bigger man.

 

More like gloating if you have to talk about it to everyone.

 

I thought I could handle writing what I thought would be a lighthearted thread about two great guys who prove that brothers will always be brothers, even when they are cops in the same department. But, I started crying part of the way into it and realized that not only do I still miss my late "Pop-pop" almost a decade after losing him, but I just realized how much respect I have for a man I don't really know, who happens to be the older brother of a cop I was unfairly annoyed at for a while because he was simply doing his job.

This story is about two brothers, Sergeant Lance Carlen and his older brother Officer David Carlen. If I remember correctly, Lance joined the force first, and David joined after serving in the Navy for a few years. They really are great people, but sadly David was diagnosed with two types of cancer last year and is currently battling something far scarier than anything the police academy could have prepared him for...

In November 2007, I lost my grandfather, a 30-year veteran of the Edison NJ police department, to lung cancer which spread to his liver. He was 71. This really hits home..

http://www.theintell.com/news/local/cure-carlen/image_4708931c-6978-11e6-8c56-a3fb6dae0867.html

Back in March 2013, I was stopped by Sergeant Carlen when a suspicious homeowner called 911 when she saw a suspicious guy taking pictures. I am not going to lie, I was pissed for a long time for what I saw as being harassed by police for an innocent hobby, but then I got to really know both Carlen brothers by simply going about my daily life in Doylestown. I am law-abiding citizen with no criminal record who has not only never been arrested, but has had held a Pennsylvania driver's license for 6 years and never been pulled over. I have Asperger's Syndrome, I have a very one-sided view of things, and I believed that since I was taking pictures of houses and trucks from a public sidewalk, I wasn't breaking the law. Even Sergeant Carlen told me I hadn't broken the law.

I met Officer Carlen in 2014 when I was out for a drive Doylestown one day and saw the name "Carlen" on his shirt pocket and said "Hey Sergeant Carlen!" He assured me that it was "just Officer Carlen." I had my boss's dog, Tully, in my truck with me.

I only know the Carlen brothers casually because I go to the same barber as Lance, but I just wanted to share something. Cars and trucks have been my passion since I was in diapers, including emergency vehicles. I went to Basically Burgers for lunch once in November 2016 and David was there having lunch with colleagues. We started talking cars, specifically cop cars, and said something funny that only an older brother could say about his younger brother. I was asking David about his patrol car, and he poked fun at Lance by saying that he drove a Crown Vic, a "real police car," while his older brother only had a Ford Expedition.

I do not know the Carlen brothers or their family very well, but my heart seriously goes out to them and I really hope the treatment is successful. With all the negative stuff that's been shown on the news lately, the last thing this country needs is to lose another genuinely good cop...

 

Story was sooo damn long it was easier...

 

I know a lot of bouncers. There are like 4 regular bouncers at Puck, including de facto head of security. There also like 4 or 5 more part-time ones who only come on really busy nights. This is only the security detail at Puck, where I work. I know most of the bouncers at another bar called Chambers as well. I don't get carded anymore LOL.

 

Someone I know once said I looked like Jared Fogel and that I should get on the Subway diet to lose weight. This was before people knew the truth about Jared Fogel. If anyone ever said that to me today, let's just say they would not be eating subs, or any other solid foods for that matter, for a very long time.

 

That is funny/not funny...which makes it kind of funnier. There are a lot of asshole people out there that are too stupid/ignorant to have an opinion...especially about matters of weight and looks. I've met alot of these people in the course of my various jobs I've had. They are the ones that will turn a workplace into a toxic environment if there is a lack of proper management. Sometimes people say stuff to make themselves feel better...which makes them miserable people. If someone gives you crap about weight or how you look, just tell them "oh I didn't know I was surrounded by supermodels!"

I am convinced that karma exists and that these types of people ALWAYS get their "just desserts". I've seen it first hand over and over again. However karma, like justice, can take what seems like forever.

I learned over time how to ignore annoying people. It's a skill that can be developed and one to become an expert at. It's a good life skill that can keep the blood pressure low.

Don't ever let anyone make you feel less than you are. I consider myself a happy and content person and somewhat good natured. This has made me a target of others at times but I just let things roll off my back.

Also, pick your battles wisely in life. Some things matter more than others. The test for this is to ask yourself "am I willing to charge the hill because of this" or "am I willing to fall on my sword on this or that issue?" These simple questions can help you figure out what matters and what doesn't.

Also, know your worth. By this I mean if you ever have a job where you feel your not valued or doesn't meet your basic needs, find something else that does. My dad always told me never quit...however if I took that literally I'd still be working at Taco Bueno making $3.35 an hour (they did give 5-10 cent raises occasionally so I'd be at $5.00 an hour by now maybe). That's how it was when I was younger.

When you're young, the world seems big and expensive but as you get older it gets smaller and more affordable as you figure things out in life.

 

My mom asked a very good question after I had the intermittent wipers installed in my truck last month. "If it was that easy, why doesn't Toyota install intermittent wipers in all their vehicles to begin with?" I paid like $160 total for parts and install. How much money could Toyota possibly be losing if it put intermittent wipers in the base model Tacoma?

 

Although it is minimal cost for one thing, they are looking at all combined pricing of extras. To get the base model to its lowest cost, they strip it down to the minimum.

 

And why does the Toyota dealer want you to think it can't be done easily? That's the attitude I got before I found TW.

 

Probably to try and get you to pay them to do it.

 

This is something that really gets on my nerves, and my boss's boyfriend has had similar experiences...

First of all, has anybody in the Central Bucks area (Doylestown, Warrington, Buckingham, Furlong, etc) ever fueled up at the Shell station at the corner of Route 611/Easton Road and Edison-Furlong Road? Specifically, the gas station is located at 1807 South Easton Road in Doylestown, Pennsylvania (zip code 18901). I've been going there for years. Here's my problem...

I consider this gas station a sellout...

For the last 1 to 2 years, almost every time I drive past this place I see people set up at a table out front selling some detailing stuff called FW1. I was pressured into buying it in either 2015 or 2016 after some guy came up and just started demonstrating it on my Tacoma without my permission.

On numerous occasions, I've pulled into this gas station to get gas on my way to work, seen these guys forcibly demonstrating their product on customers' vehicles, and left because I just wasn't in the mood to deal with them.

Most recently, some guys were demonstrating some glass cleaners on a woman's Honda Fit at the pump next to me. I made eye contact with this guy while I was filling up my Tacoma, and I just gave him a "Don't even THINK about touching my truck" look. I was so desperate to not make contact with this guy that as soon as my tank was full, I jumped in my truck, started the engine, and floored it so hard I squealed the tires.

Another time at the Sunoco station across from Thompson BMW, I was topping off the Corolla I got as a complimentary loaner while my Tacoma was getting an oil change at Thompson Toyota right down the street. My Tacoma was ready, and I had to bring the loaner back with a full tank of gas. These FW1 guys were there too, and one approached me. I told him that it was a rental, I'd tried the product on my own truck, and I didn't have time.

But seriously, these guys are an epidemic... I've gone out of my way to avoid two conveniently located gas stations because they just will not take no for an answer. I can be nice once or twice, but I am smart enough to know that I will blow my stack with these guys if pushed too hard and it is easier to just find another place to get gas...

 

Surprisingly no, they would not take money... They went by VIN number and basically, for lack of a better term, putting intermittent wipers in my specific truck "did not compute."

 

Yeah, they sell 1000s of trucks so it will make a difference.
I watched a documentary a while ago but don't recall the name. They were talking about when the japanese cars start hitting the USA market and also when they start manufacturing them over here. They used to even paint the interior side of the bumpers and the Americans managers told them why you are doing that? No body can see it. And actually they saved tons of money by not doing so.
Another example of cheapness that I always note on the American cars. They use the whole tail light and possibly with one bulb light for: on when head lights on, for braking, and turn signal. Somehow it really bother me and I won't buy a car that would do that.

 

Must be because of the VIN. They are quite specific to the exact model of each truck. So when they punched in your VIN it wouldn't have come up with an option for intermittent wipers. The person that was looking it up probably didn't know enough about Tacomas to realize they could just order and install regular Tacoma intermittent wipers.

 

The part I ordered was "technically" for a 2010 access cab SR5.

 

Same reason they stopped putting tpms sensors in spares around.....2009?

A dollar here, a dollar there, times........ well, i dont know but theres a ton of tacomas on the road.