It’s the little things that make me happy, like making lists, and lists of my lists.
Should I be more specific?
OK.
I recently made an assessment that we have been woefully underprepared on our past journeys. We have traveled thousands of miles on trips with little more than a spare tire, jack and tire iron. I’m not 100% sure what sparked that realization, but it definitely conjured my inner nerd.
I dove headfirst into a rabbit hole of YouTube videos and LifeHacker articles about the right tools to carry with us on long road trips, which evolved into looking for what I should be carrying on an every day basis anyway (Every Day Carry, or EDC), and that occupied my YouTube time for three days straight.
I made a spreadsheet on Google Sheets and as I watched these videos and read these articles, I assembled lists of EDC and road-trip-specific assemblages, then made a schedule, of sorts, on what should be packed and assembled and when, on top of inspections and maintenance I should do on the car before we head out onto the open road.
All of this, of course, necessitated a bit of a shopping spree. Brandy has been on me lately about how much money I spend (not to mention how much she spends on jewelry and candles, but I suppose that’s different, ya know?) so I’ve been surreptitiously slipping in relatively inexpensive items when I do “Brandy-approved” shopping.
For example, I went to Walmart over the weekend for a few groceries we needed. While I was there, I picked up a tire pressure gauge (of which I have to have hundreds, but couldn’t tell you where a single one is), a tire tread depth gauge, a small flashlight, shop towels, a bundle of varied sizes of bungee cords, and a handful of other small things.
Later in the weekend, I went to Menards for a couple things and picked up a pair of Mechanix-style gloves, a Tide pen and paracord, on top of what I was already there to buy.
I have a few more things to pick up, among them is a fire extinguisher, which I don’t think she will protest too terribly much over.
Being the absolute nerd that I am, making these lists and schedules is a great way to occupy my brain, keep me busy. I look forward to being able to mark the entire list done and seeing how successful the whole process made me.
Kind of a weird post, I know, but meh, what are you gonna do?
-Phil