Beauty is Almost Always Painful

Beauty is almost always painful...and it always gets uglier before it gets better. A woman looks rough when she first wakes up, but looks worse during the make-up application process with foundation dotting her face, irritated blemishes flaring up, and stray hairs standing on end. This is the phase in which Lucy is stuck.

Oliver suggested to me that we utilize the talents of Build Night regulars, Tyler and Jared, in tearing down my Supra for mud and paint. Tyler is a body-guy (for lack of title) working under the close mentorship of our trusted friend and All Star Body Tech, Ivan. And Jared, is a painter's apprentice at Lexus of Bellevue.

Tyler went right to work highlighting the "problem areas" much like a plastic surgeon before performing a face lift. For Lucy's sake, I kept the mirror away.

They say, "Hindsight is 20/20," and looking back I see that I romanticized the task. I thought "tear down" meant sanding and bondo. Not tedious dismantling of inconspicuous microscopic interior parts and hardware that either break before you finagle them out or get lost when they pop out of place and tinkle and roll across the shop until they finally vanish into a puff of smoke and glitter. So when I requested that the boys not "do it for me" but rather "show me what needs to be done," it was not long before I was pissed off and begging for mercy. I get why Techs and Painters hire these people to do this part for them. Kill. Me. Now. 

Determined to make this build "mine" and no one elses, I trudged forward, completing tear-down of the driver's door. We left the glass in for now, knowing that the vehicle will have to be pushed outside into northwest autumn drizzle to free the lift during production hours.

But the torture didn't stop there. Jared asked me to remove what? I cannot even remember. But in order to get to it I must remove something else. But in order to get to the bolt that removes that something else- I must remove the seat belts and the entire rear interior. And in order to remove the seat belts and the rear interior, I must remove... (you name it). My eyes saw red, and steam burst out my ears whistling like a tea pot. I cursed the 1988 team of Toyota engineers and promised vengeance. Jared's lip started to quiver as he slowly took a step back, then another. Oliver dared to kneel before me whispering what I could only assume was words of affirmation, as I could only see his lips moving. When my hearing returned, I could hear Jared accepting all blame, "It's my fault! I'm a poor teacher! It's all my fault!"

Oliver put words to my thoughts, "You're not a poor teacher- its a crappy (we'll go with "crappy") job."

Turning to me, he carefully said, "This is why I thought you should take advantage of Tyler and Jared. It doesn't make this project any less yours. It just makes the fun part yours and the crappy part theirs." He explained this is what they offer in exchange for the use of our facility, and a screaming deal on their girlfriend's grenaded Scion tC head job. This is why we own and operate an automotive repair facility, because the suicide rate is too high in body work. When he was sure he had talked me off the ledge, he cautiously reached for the flat head screwdriver that I was holding like a dagger, and helped me to my feet.