Just Call Me Mrs. Fix It

There are a ton of things in the world I haven't done. I've never jumped out of a plane, never been camping, and I've never been mountain climbing. I've never even been to Las Vegas, or even really anywhere off the East Coast.

Recently, though, my eyes were opened to some other things I've never done that are right here in my hometown. Things I might not consider doing, but with a push, and a little bit of naivety, I did it...

This weekend, I went on a mystery outing. Here are some clues...can you guess where I went?

It costs money.
It's manual labor.
It does not involve animals, water, or safety equipment.
It does involve other equipment.
It is not a sport.
There are several places located in the surrounding Baltimore area.
You do not dress nicely, and you will get dirty.
Ooh, and, here's a kicker...its a sin in some countries.

Well, I was baffled too. But early Saturday afternoon, when it was finally time to reveal the mystery, we pulled up to a little place called Crazy Ray's.

Whoever he was, Crazy Ray was one smart man. I never would have imagined that this was as popular of an activity as it was. Crazy Ray's was a crowded, full of people ready to do what I was about to do. And no...Crazy Ray's is not a strip club.

People line up at the cashier to go in ($1 a person to look) and even longer at the cashier to leave (you pick it, you pay it.) It's a mechanics dream, a giant area neatly piled with other peoples vehicular trash. Crazy Ray's is a junk yard.

So, with hands full of tools, we ventured into the sea of transportation. The cars are semi-sorted by make, but you work your way through the maze careful not to have the tow truck unload its new addition directly onto your head.

I followed quickly behind until reaching the 1995 Buick Le Sabre. Goal: driver side rear passenger small window, and passenger side rear regular window. How on earth were we going to get a window out of a door? Yeah, not sure.

Luckily (for me) the mini window had already been removed and placed carefully in the back seat, as if a gift was left there just for us. The other window, not so simple. Please allow for uneducated terms as I explain the process of removing a window from a door.

First, we (he) took off the door panel. You pull it off and reveal enough of the nuts/bolts/screw/wired area to disconnect further. Now I was having fun! I got to literally tear apart a car! And, as you may know, I have a tendency to be semi-destructive at times.

Then it was kind of trial and error. The trick was to figure out how the window connected to the door, which was tricky since there was no power to the car. Once we (he) found that, we'd be set...or so we thought. The window wouldn't go down far enough to remove by the door, and wouldn't come up far enough because of the size of the opening and the shape of the window. Ohhh noo.

Then, I actually made my first real contribution to the outing...I had an idea. What if we removed the side window to clear up extra space in the window frame? From there, we should technically be able to pull it straight out. And guess what, we were! Must be my amazing ability to calculate dimension in my head. I suppose I'm a math person after all! Too bad this didn't kick in back in Mrs. Roth's Geometry class...you know, the one I almost didn't make it out of, even with a tutor.

Forget I said that. Let's remember how I'm now a mathematical whiz. So, after the window was removed and all the tools were put away, we headed towards the hefty little line at the cashier. Two windows came to $40 dollars (ish) which, as priced by Safelite online later that day, would have come to over $1000 brand new. Talk about a deal! Bargain shopping at its best. Who knew you could bargain shop for things other than clothes and fashion jewelry!

I felt accomplished at the sight of my dirty hands and 5 year old tennis shoes that I dug out of my closet for the experience. What's next?! Bring it on! The day of handiness had only just begun! That's right people...it doesn't stop here. Later that afternoon, I assisted in the assembly of a propane gas grill. Which, by the way, worked upon completion, and so far, has not blown up.

I never would have guessed that my talents continued past makeup artistry and blogging. Now, suddenly, I'm practically a natural mechanic! They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, so it must be in the genes...thanks Dad!