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Saturday, May 5, 2018

Tackling a chore outside of my area of experience


I am so proud of myself for attempting to fix something that is completely outside of my area of experience. I had to rely on myself this morning to take care of something necessary. One of my headlights has been out for a few weeks; I have been avoiding driving at night as a result.


Whelp, I couldn't avoid taking care of this any longer as I promised my daughter I would attend a theater thing, then give her a ride home late at night afterward. I changed the burnt out headlight bulb on my own. This may not sound like much of a feat for some folks, but for someone who lacks car-stuff experience, this was very good for me. According to RepairPal I saved between $26 and $56 in labor, and likely a significant up-charge on the part had I gone to an auto repair or the dealership to have this bulb changed. Who knows? Now that I have done this small task with my car, maybe I will tackle something even more intimidating next time.

14 comments:

  1. Youtube has wonderful short videos for all kinds of things. I have replaced car bulbs before just by viewing videos. I once had a repair place quite me $140 for a headlight replacement but then I brought it to a place close to my work and asked for an estimate. They called 30 minutes later and they had replaced it for FREE. My son had a blinker light out so I told him to buy the bulb making sure to get the correct one. The clerk told him he needed a different bulb which was the incorrect one so after returning it and getting the correct one, we viewed the youtube video and in 5 minutes made the fix.

    Alice

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  2. Way to go, Lili. As someone else with no experience in this area, I understand what an accomplishment this is!!!

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  3. Woo Hoo!!! I LOVE these sorts of stories. I think it's very interesting how our perceptions of what's easy and difficult are sooo dependent on our experience, and comfort zone - even when our ideas about what we're "good at" are not necessarily grounded in reality.

    When I'm trying something new, and I feel like I'm stumbling around in the dark, I literally feel like I'm gonna puke the whole way through. I have this sensation frequently when working on my bike - I just have this terrible fear that I'm going to ruin something because I don't know what I'm doing. I literally have to talk to myself throughout the whole thing... "What's the worst that could happen? If you mess it up you'll have to go buy a new part... which is what you'd have to do anyway if you didn't try to fix it...." Yadda, yadda, yadda. But once I conquer the task, it's sooo much easier to contemplate something similar because I've got at least a little bit of experience to draw upon.

    And if it doesn't go well the first time around, I recite this little mantra: "If at first you don't succeed, you shouldn't be terribly surprised. Experts are merely people who've done it enough times that they've already made all the possible mistakes and now know better."

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  4. Congrats, Lili. Your success is encouraging me to try more things like this.

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  5. This reminds me of my sister. Her husband was in Ca. working, she’s in Mich., and her car needed something done. She had to pull out the windshield, lay on the hood to access whatever it was she needed to do and put it all back together. She lined all the parts up the driveway in the order she took them out. It took her NINE hours. When she was done she had a beer! She’s since also retired a ceiling fixture. I say, you go girl! This gives us all courage for the things we wouldn’t give much thought to.

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  6. Good job on the fix! Whenever I do something like that, that is out of my comfort zone, it encourages me to try more things. So much money can be saved on DIY projects!

    Mary

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  7. That is so cool, Lili! Good for you!!

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  8. You rock! I also think car repairs are intimidating and some things are best left to the experts, but this is definitely a DIY win--you did the job correctly, you gained more confidence, and you saved some significant cash!

    In other news ... I finally got my Sephora freebie today and I thought of you! (OK, I also thought of you when I priced eggs this week and realized how high they jumped in price, but the Sephora is a happier thought!).

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    Replies
    1. Lili, Kris said pretty much exactly what I was thinking. I'm so happy and proud for you!

      Kris, you made me laugh outloud with the egg comment. :) I was just thinking about Lili when I was shopping today, and found that 10 out of the 30 items I bought (several pricier health-food items) were serendipitously on sale. :)

      Have a great day, everybody!
      Sara

      PS...Lili, I can't remember which island YHF is on. Have you heard anything from her?

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    2. Hi Sara,
      No, I don't know which island YHF is on. I've been keeping her and her family in my thoughts.

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    3. Hi Sara and Lili,
      Sorry I've been away, not using my computer in the usual way...not even to check emails or coupon deals like the good old days. My husband let's me know if there are important emails to read or reply. I am mentally stuck/just plain obsessed with crafting lately, going nowhere lol

      I am on the island of Oahu, but our neighbor has a second home (bought 3 acres several years ago) 10 miles north of the volcanic eruption. I think they are safe, but it is heartbreaking and fascinating to see the lava break out from fissures. Our biggest worry has been the slow slippage along that coast that could cause a mega quake and tsunami one day. We're holding our breath and hoping there will not be another Japan mega quake again like in 2011 when the same event happened at Kilauea. Prayers to keep everyone safe.

      YHF

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  9. Thank you so much for the kind words, all of you. My mom always relied on my dad or "experts" for repairs, so taking care of this by myself feels foreign. But I remind myself that I have 2 young adult daughters watching me, and they need to see a mom who can tackle things like car-stuff or home repairs, and maybe this won't feel so foreign to them. And I love that I saved some money!

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  10. Good for you! I have not tried a headlight change personally (hubby does that sort of thing) though I have done other small things during deployments and such as needed. I admire you for jumping in and doing what needed to be done!

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