Modessitt and the Three Frat Guys

modessitt

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No, this is not a Phet Phantasy (I don't think).

So, I get off work about 4pm, and as I'm driving home I get a call from another KLOVer (frytex) about a $50 Pole Position cockpit on CL here in Austin. He's down near San Antonio (about 50 minute drive south on the interstate) and has already e-mailed the guy. He wants to know if I can go grab it if he gets a response. I say, "Uh, sure."

So, I get home, grab a soda from the fridge, kick off my shoes, and settle down to check the ol' KLOV, when I get the call, "It's mine!" Sigh. So, I get the address and phone number, call the guy (young), pull the shoes back on, grab my keys and head out. It's only about 15 minutes from where I live, so it's not that bad. The guy tells me it's sitting on their back patio/porch (has a roof over it) and that there are about 5 steps to get it down to the sidewalk, but that he's the only one there to help me. Okay.

So, I get there, see the game on the patio/porch, notice there are only 4 steps (whew), and knock on the door. The guy looks like a typical frat-boy type - low-20's, beer t-shirt, etc. We go around to the game, and it looks like shit. Has some chunks taken out of a couple corners, and has some graffiti scratched into the art (somebody loves Marcia, btw), and the bottom coin door is barely hanging onto the hinge. The guy tells me it might work, but that they moved it outside because it was taking up too much space inside. He plugs it in and flips the switch, but it does nothing. Against my better judgement (hey, I wasn't buying it), I reach down and plug the power cord connector back into the power brick - and the game comes up working 100%! Has a very clean K7203 inside, too. The parts alone are worth $50, so I pay the guy and we start figuring out how we're going to get it off the patio/porch.

About that time, two other roommates/frat-boy-types show up - baseball hats on backwards, sleeveless Adidas/Nike workout shirts, bulging biceps, etc. They look like they just came from the gym. 'Cool,' I think, 'these guys will be more than enough muscle to help get this down to the sidewalk." :)

So, have I set the scene? We have three 6-ft-tall, muscular, young frat-boys and one 40-yr-old overweight guy - and we're going to move a Pole Position cockpit down 4 wooden steps. Piece of cake, right?

Well, we maneuver the cockpit to the top of the steps (it has wheels), and I position myself on the steps. The end with the monitor and everything is on my end and the seat and window is on their end. I tell the guys that I'll pick my end up and walk down the steps, and then they (all three!) can pick up that end and come down the steps and set it on the sidewalk.

Remember, I do this shit for a living, so I'm used to moving this heavy stuff.

So, I pick up my end (the heavy end) and walk down the steps, holding it up at waist level, until I get to the point where the other end is right at the edge of the steps. I can't see them, but this is what I hear:

"grab it...what are you doing?...I can't get a grip...do you have that side?...where are you grabbing it from?...scoot over..." and various other inanities.

I'm standing there for like 15 minutes (45 seconds) wondering what the hell THREE guys are doing on the other end, while I'm stuck holding the heavy end! :confused: Finally, they get it about a half-inch off the ground and are able to keep it up long enough to get it to the bottom. Of course, they set their end down first, and I had to get my end down by myself.

I throw it on my truck (lift gate) by myself, tell them "Thanks!" :rolleyes: and get out of there....
 
So many young guys are like this these days. All talk. All show. When its time to work a man's sweat, they buckle and get owned. Props to you Mod.

Don't even want to know how much bodily fluids have been excreted onto that seat though.
 
I think picking up a Pole Position cockpit from three frat guys for $50 is a fantasy of Phet's....

Cool of you to help a brother out picking up that monstrosity by yourself. ;)
 
When you said you got it working and it came up 100%, I thought for sure you were going to say that the price instantly went up! :D So how long do you have to store it for frytex? When he picks it up, make sure you take the light end...;)
 
When you said you got it working and it came up 100%, I thought for sure you were going to say that the price instantly went up! :D So how long do you have to store it for frytex? When he picks it up, make sure you take the light end...;)

See, this is how great of a guy I am.

After picking up the game, I go pick up my wife to get something to eat. We're pulling into the restaurant parking lot (with the PP cockpit in the back) when I see a thunderstorm moving in. DAMN! It hasn't rained in Austin in 3 months, and it's going to rain now!

So, I tell my wife to go on inside, and I run across the street to the Auto Zone and buy a cheap 8x10 tarp. The wind is picking up like a hurricane is coming ashore, and I'm in the back of the truck trying to wrap this damn thing up so it won't get wet. And you know what, all we got were a couple sprinkles. :mad:

So, after we eat, I drive the damn thing down to his house - 50 minutes away. I had no place to put it, and my storage unit was already full....
 
Haha ! Those punks ! When I pick up a game I usually make them do all the work , or at least pretend like I'm doing something but really they're moving it . I would have been like , ok the two strongest guys over on that end , you over here and I'll make sure no one trips on the power cord . Hell , I gotta unload it at home might as well save some energy . Mod if only you lived near me and I had your cell phone number ............
 
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