Old habits

After a rocky start burning through a few of my parents cars, I ended up with a 1971 Volkswagen square back. The catch (like a disease) was the maintenance. The valves had to be adjusted regularly to keep the engine from blowing up. The motor also needed to be driven at less than 90mph for extended distances, but I learned and observed that rule pretty early on.

My dad regularly said that not maintaining my car was like not changing my underwear. Funny because bike racers, not just 19-year-old bike racers, are generally very aware of their crotch and go to great extremes to keep them clean and free of saddle sores. Why waste time working on a car when I could be applying oily concoctions to the chamois I spent so much time in?

Change of subject.

I've had the same coffee cup for 15 years. It has my name on it. In 12 different languages. It was a gift after someone at a job stole my previous coffee cup. At various employers, I've rinsed it out and washed it on Fridays. Now I work from home. Occasionally I rinse it out with left over boiling water meant for the French Press. It's a system, my system works, no one gets hurt.

Recently A made an issue of my system. Using words like. "disgusting, nasty, gross", you get the idea. We've been married 12 years; she knows me better than I do at this point. Why now? Why at all? It's my mug...with my name on it. In a dozen languages no less.

The conversation escalated when she said, "It's like not changing your underwear!"

"No," I said, "not maintaining a car is like not changing one's underwear."