Progress on the 240Z Custom Mini-Car

Well, it’s finals week. Sadly, that means I don’t have a lot of time to post on here or work on mini-cars, or really do anything I enjoy extensively. But it only consumes two weeks out of my year, which makes it hard to complain. I did manage to get to work on my Datsun 240Z mini-car and have sanded it down. Once I get done with school and summer kicks in, I’ll be able to prime it and paint it! (Paint suggestions, anyone?) I’ve also got about six other Mini-cars I’ll be working on, including a Toyota 2000GT (One of my favorite cars and castings ever), a Toyota Supra, and even a Toyota AE86 Corolla hatchback (Also one of my favorite cars and castings).

I’ve attached some pictures below, let me know what you guys think of the sanding process! It’s incomplete as I do not take my Hot Wheels apart (yet), but it doesn’t really matter when it comes to priming and painting. I’m thorough in those categories. Needless to say, I’m going to put a lot of time into this 240.

I’ve also scrounged up some old pictures to get my Fly Fishing section of the blog up and running as well, so keep checking back for updates on that as well! Come mid-May I’ll be posting about my trip to Damascus, VA on the front end of Trail Days, which is an awesome event that everyone should check out at least once in their lives.

Stay tuned for more, check out the pictures, and tell everyone you know to start reading my blog. The more readers the better! More to come!

Side shot of the sanded down Z

Front shot of the Z

Good angle to see the sanding of the Z

The Week So Far

So, this past Sunday, some friends and I decided to go to a local park to celebrate the spring weather. We played soccer, threw some frisbee, laid around in ENO hammocks (which everyone should get), and I also tried slacklining for the first time. If you don’t know what slacklining is, go check it out! A simple Google search will suffice.

I have to admit, I was really bad at it, I’m still really bad it. But I loved it, it was a great experience, and really opened my mind to new athletic possibilities. I enjoy challenging myself. Whether that be physically, mentally, or spiritually. If you don’t challenge yourself, how can you make yourself better? If you settle for what you can already do, you are settling for mediocrity. 

I don’t accept mediocrity. You shouldn’t either. Realize that stepping up to a challenge, no matter how big or small, is already a strong display of your character. I refuse to let myself stop growing, and stepping onto that slackline for the first time in front of a bunch of people was humiliating because I immediately fell off. Right onto my face. 

Learn to laugh at yourself. If you wait to do something until you’re perfect at it, you will never be perfect at it. 

I’ve been trying something since I got back from Brazil. Try this:

Challenge yourself to give in to pure insanity and reckless courage for 30 seconds to 1 minute a day. That’s it. It’s so simple. Give it a good “Who cares” and just do what it is you want to do, say what you want to say, be who you want to be.

In Brazil, I gave in to this “insanity” for about 15 seconds, and it ended up getting me a trip to Rio for 4 days with 4 incredible Colombians who are now great friends of mine. Stop caring about what other people think, stop thinking about what will happen if things don’t go as planned, screw the plan, just do it. (Not original, I know, deal with it).

The very worst that can happen is things don’t go according to plan, and you learn from it and learn to laugh at it. Am I telling you to drive your car off a bridge to see if it floats? No. Don’t go do anything irrational, just do something that you normally wouldn’t. It’s quite simple. And the payoff is an incredible feeling.

Go find your slackline. Today, tomorrow, the day after, and every day for the rest of your life. I promise you’re going to enjoy it.

Oh, and also take note here in the next few days– I will be heading out to the mountains to backpack and fly fish for a couple of days. So be looking for updates to the Fly Fishing section for photos, stories (Read: lies), and findings from our trip into the Smokies!