Mixalot Or Fixalot

Well, failure has, once again, stymied my efforts to get the counters done and installed. Yesterday, I got up, ate my Count Chocula and Strawberry Quik and headed for the shop, to pour the third piece of the puzzle. I had already built the form and bent up and tied the rebar, so everything was a go. I mixed up two bags of concrete with the correct amount of pigment and flipped the mixer over to pour the mud into a bucket. The yoke, that I had broken and brazed together, wasn't up to the task and another load ended up in the dirt. This was distressing, to say the least. I went upstairs and got on Craigslist, and punched in "Cement Mixer". I got about six or seven good hits. What is it about the people that use Craigslist? Several of the ads had phone numbers and the rest were reply by email. So I dutifully emailed each one and called the rest. Two calls went to voice mail where the voice mail had not been set up. I don't text, so no sale. By this morning, none of the emails had been answered. I was able to contact and speak, finally, with two people. Both had mixers that would work for me. I chose the one that was the farthest away and cost the most, since it was only a fifty dollar difference and the better one was twice the machine. So, two hundred bucks and a 130 mile round trip later, I have a real, honest to goodness, heavy duty towable mixer that Godzilla couldn't bust. I had to order more of the special counter top mix, since I don't have enough to finish the job, due to the two mishaps with the mixer and the one piece that was twisted. Even with all of the drama, the counters will still end up costing about four hundred bucks, exclusive of the mixer and the polisher. Not so bad and I am learning through my screwups. I've always tried to observe others and learn from their failures, but self education is capricious and even cruel at times. So, I fully expect to keep smacking my thumb with the metaphorical hammer until I decide that it smarts a little