I am fixing to sleep over your house for a few months..Is that cool? Sure. But I have been sober for the past few months, so no alcohol allowed. Congrats on the sobriety brother! J Thanks. I go though spells of hard drinking and sobriety. I have since I was about 14 years old. I have a massive addictive personality, and I try to stick with legal substances for the most part, I did a lot of hard drugs when I was younger, and had issues with freebasing, crack, powder cocaine, heroin, and speedballing. I have been free of that for about 18 years now I guess. Honestly for me alcohol is a good thing. I don't really suffer DTs (withdraw) in the absolute sense. Being dope sick (withdraw from drugs like coke and heroin) is a really physical thing, and you don't just put them down. When the mood strikes, I just stop drinking all at once. Usually a period of awakening, what a lot of users call resetting leads me to drop the booze. For me it was a string of DMT sessions. Tripping, when I go to it with the mindset of spirituality rather then just partying, really rearranges my priorities, and helps me become more introspective. I tend to get back to that part of me that I run from with alcohol or drugs. DMT really reopened my mind in a huge way. I have been working on starting my own small business. The task has proven daunting, and is taking a ton of my time. I am really not certain that I will wind up getting it going at this point. I am struggling to find THE location. I found a property that would have been perfect, but it went under contract the day I found it, and it closed yesterday. The realtor told me the guy wanted to change the zoning from automotive to shopping and it wasn't looking like the city was going to let it happen... but sadly they did at the last second and I lost the property. This may have been a good thing, though, as it was honestly considerably larger than what I really wanted. I have one "employee" right now waiting for the go. He really wants to work for me and has offered to work as an independent contractor until I really get rolling to keep costs down for me from an employment tax/unemployment insurance pool standpoint. So ideally I want 4-6 bays, and the building I found had 10 lifts and 2 flat bays. Anyways, send good vibes out my way for this venture. I dreamed of this since I was in my mid 20s, and have always found a reason not to take this step, but now it feels right... for the first time in my life I know I am capable of being an owner instead of an employee. I just hope that things work out. Rough way to have gone through the drugs aspect man. I seriously respect your lines and viewpoints on the subject though. It's not an easy thing to see your own addictions and know how to confront them. As for the venture, it sounds like you have everythin pinned down specifically. How broad is your search area? Any chance of buying the land and building what you want? Down here garages are like gyms, a good amount to choose from but not many worth the coin. J J Addiction is an issue I have dealt with for a long fucking time. Honestly, I feel really lucky that I am strong enough to deal with it. It is seriously a sickness, but it is one that users have chosen to partake in. It is really no different then running a pint of an aids victim's blood into your system, you know the consequences and you make that choice... I am going to kill myself with this substance. We all know the risks we take when we slam, snort, smoke, drink, chew, or swallow that first time. That is our loaded pistol. I hate all the pussies that sit in a room and whine about how their dad molested them and it's his fault they shoved that needle in their arm. Sorry, nobody forced that tar in your vein, or that drink down your throat, or that rail up your nostril... you were just weak and made that choice on your own. If you are strong enough you can put it down, but the first step is admitting it is your fault. You will always fall down again, that is a given, the character of the addict lies in how you choose to pick yourself back up again, and how you live your life in that bad time. Do you live productively? Do you take people down with you? Do you put your family and friends at risk? I know a lot of addicts that are damn good people. My search area is fairly wide. Ideally I want to open close to home. I live in a very rural upscale community. There is a lot of money here, and growth is heading my way. 2 new freeways/bypasses are coming out here now, and we are ripe. But I am focusing a bit more in towards "the city" here. I live 20 minutes outside NC's third largest city, part of a tri-city area that houses ~600,000 people. I'm not looking to deal with the city zoning committee, so I really want a shop that is set up. I know what you mean about so many shops. Setting myself apart is going to be a challenge. I know that the talent and quality of work is strong between my employee and I. He is younger, but a brilliant tech. He has some rough edges, but we work very well together. He is eager to learn, and spends a lot of time over my shoulder putting in the effort to better himself, and has impressed me. I can honestly say that he is the next generation of top techs, and he'll be a good employee for years to come. I am also one of the only real hybrid techs in my area, and outside of the dealerships I am the only one who does advanced diagnosis on them. So I think my emphasis is going to be on that market, with a bit of a push towards GM (I am a master trained GM tech), Toyota (my biggest hybrid component, so I have grown to understand them very well), Honda, Nissan and BMW (My employee is very good at these brands as well). This covers a lot of our local motoring public around here. You know I will ride with you bro...I am here for you You know I get down and dirty
