Unstoppable
Feb. 21st, 2026 03:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greenstormMy truck brakes failed the other day: when I went to push the brake pedal my foot went right through the spot it usually stops at, and the truck did not slow down. At the very bottom of the pedal there was a little stopping power, and I slow down way before corners normally because it's slippery here, so I managed to get myself through the couple corners home, and the truck did stop in park when I turned it off.
Luckily the neighbour, who is a mechanic, came over after work and we got it into the shop (a caliper had failed and leaked the brake fluid out, so he clamped it off and added a bit more fluid for long enough for me to drive into town, and he gave me a ride home). The supplier sent the wrong caliper replacement, so I'm without a truck from Thursday through this weekend till probably Monday night.
It's the first time I've had no vehicle access out here. Before I could have walked or biked, but.
I've learned some things.
1) It makes me super nervous not to have transportation even when there's a defined period after which I'll be able to get in and out. It's not like I really had medical access before, it's not like I'm in any way short on food, but I'm still nervous about it.
2) I had over-planned stuff for this weekend: running a kiln, packing seeds with the garden group for seedy saturday, and hanging out at the studio helping folks glaze. It's way more stuff than I should have committed to in one weekend.
3) One of my two worst-case equipment failures in the truck, though scary, didn't kill me.
4) I had been letting "I need to do X" creep into my life, which when coupled with a defiant "I'm going to do X that I enjoy" meant I wasn't getting enough rest.
5) I probably should get a backup ebike type thing that can get me to town and back, and maybe that can load on the truck.
6) Keeping several days' supply of animal feed around is useful.
7) I do have friends out here who will help me with things. Mary at the studio picked me up, helped me load the kiln, and will give me a ride in Sunday to unload.
8) OMG what if this had happened the day before or on my shot and I had to miss it? Luckily it was the day after.
Luckily the neighbour, who is a mechanic, came over after work and we got it into the shop (a caliper had failed and leaked the brake fluid out, so he clamped it off and added a bit more fluid for long enough for me to drive into town, and he gave me a ride home). The supplier sent the wrong caliper replacement, so I'm without a truck from Thursday through this weekend till probably Monday night.
It's the first time I've had no vehicle access out here. Before I could have walked or biked, but.
I've learned some things.
1) It makes me super nervous not to have transportation even when there's a defined period after which I'll be able to get in and out. It's not like I really had medical access before, it's not like I'm in any way short on food, but I'm still nervous about it.
2) I had over-planned stuff for this weekend: running a kiln, packing seeds with the garden group for seedy saturday, and hanging out at the studio helping folks glaze. It's way more stuff than I should have committed to in one weekend.
3) One of my two worst-case equipment failures in the truck, though scary, didn't kill me.
4) I had been letting "I need to do X" creep into my life, which when coupled with a defiant "I'm going to do X that I enjoy" meant I wasn't getting enough rest.
5) I probably should get a backup ebike type thing that can get me to town and back, and maybe that can load on the truck.
6) Keeping several days' supply of animal feed around is useful.
7) I do have friends out here who will help me with things. Mary at the studio picked me up, helped me load the kiln, and will give me a ride in Sunday to unload.
8) OMG what if this had happened the day before or on my shot and I had to miss it? Luckily it was the day after.
