"Definition of a Gearhead" aka "The Day I Was Bitten"

This was written several years ago, on a day spent with some very influential gearheads in my life at that time. I just came across this and laughed, because its true:

“So I have discovered a new addiction:
Cars.
I have become bitten by the bug.
Now, don’t get me wrong I have always loved cars, I work on them, I read about them, and until this very moment considered myself to be a “gearhead”.
But today I hung out with kids my own age or younger who are actually living, eating, breathing, dreaming it.
Working in garages on their Corollas and Hatches. Spending their time scraping money together for parts and track time and tires. Yeah, they party, but that is not their primary goal from day to day.
I have spent the last 10 years chasing one rave, one party, to the next....
And I could have been spending my time running canyons and building motors instead.
People bitch about living in this shithole Antelope valley, and yes it is not the most exciting place to live.
But if you are a lover of car control, then “Canyon country” is the perfect place to be!
I mean, we have so many roads back here to play on. One could spend endless hours running and tuning and running and building and tearing down and doing it all over again.
I never really realized.
Until now.
And now that it has hit me, now that the haze has cleared from my mind and I see things for how they really are for the very first time, I realize how much time I have wasted. What I have been searching for, chasing down relentlessly this whole time was right in front of me.
And now that I have had a taste, I want to jump in head first and never look back.
I enjoy hanging out with other mechanics and watching them fabricate and work on their cars, but its time for mine now. I am fully capable of taking on my own project, saving money and working at it a little bit every day.
And the thought of that exhilarates me to the point that I feel high. I want to start tearing the garage up right now so I can make it into a user friendly work space. I am filled with energy and desire that I have never really experienced before. For some reason I had never really thought of myself as capable of doing this on my own, but now I see that I am more than able to.
Its so refreshing to be surrounded by people who are my own age who are living this lifestyle. Prior to this my experiences had been with my mentors and influences, most of which are at least twice my age. Not that there is anything wrong with that, “old guys rule” etc, but to have found that within my own age bracket is something new to me. Its inspiring and engaging.”


Since I have written this I have developed massively as a person and a mechanic. Its become a more potent part of my personality. I do work independently on my own projects now, and have the confidence and experience to manage others’ projects. I allowed the sickness to inundate my very being down to the core, and now I eat, sleep, breathe, dream it on a daily basis.
Most laugh when I tell them that “cars keep me out of trouble”. I guess there is plenty of trouble to be had via cars with the law and the land….But for me its true! If I’m not in the garage or at an event on a weekend night, you can almost guarantee that I’m out and about running amok in the Los Angeles underground. (Tho sometimes the two elements mix and it’s the most beautiful union on the planet.)
A perfect example is just this last Saturday. I had plans to attend a car meet with someone very special to me, and at the last minute things on his end fell through. So I end up with my buddies and some bottles of Blue Moon instead. Next thing I know its 3am and I’m at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood taking shooters at the bar with Judge Jules spinning house in the background. And the night lasted til about 7am, which means I slept all Sunday and got nothing done.
Now let me be clear I am not blaming others for my actions, I am a big girl, I am responsible for all my decisions. Also there is nothing wrong with partying every once in a while and I will never apologize for my chosen lifestyle, nor should anyone unless that lifestyle compromises others.

What I am trying to say in this rambling message is that daily contact with cars helps keep me grounded, sane, balanced, collected.
Keeping my hands dirty keeps me clean.
And that my friends, is the definition of a Gearhead.