My solar panel deal kind of went sideways on me yesterday. Talk about unorganized and unprepared. I was supposed to deposit 3,840 euros into Deniz Bank so they can send the panels from Istanbul. I get to the bank and they want to see my passport. Passport? I didn't bring no steenking passport!! Now I am faced with taking the dolmuž (bus) back to the marina, get my passport, and back to town. I am looking at the afternoon going bye-bye. I go to where the dolmuž leaves and I see Deniz Bank. I say to myself "What the hell. What have I got to lose?" and I walk into the bank to try to deposit again. (This company has multiple accounts with multiple banks.) When the teller asks for my passport, I tell her I don't have one and she goes "No problem." Yeah!!! Cha-ching!!

So I start with my deposit. Well, I haven't counted the money in advance -- only individually when it was given to me. There was this deal involving bottom paint with one of the boats where I had to give them a credit cuz they bought some of my paint. You get the picture? The thing is going sideways fast. I've got 100 euro, 50 euro, and 20 euro bills splayed out all over this teller's counter. I count about 3,000 euro. I am somewhere around 800 euro short. I'm thinking "These panels are gonna cost me about $1,000 each by the time I am done here!!" Then I pull out another 500 euro that I hadn't seen. The teller informs me I am 200 euro short. I go outside to the ATM, withdraw 200 euro, and I am good. But the whole thing was just a cluster fuck. I felt so bad that I hadn't prepared myself better for it.

In the end, I think I will be OK. I put it all on Excel when I came back, and while I hope I am not audited, I think I got it all to within about 5 euro/boat. So that'll be OK. But,geez, what a stresser there for awhile.

Panels should arrive I am hoping on Friday. Saturday I have to go into town to pick up shelves for the closets, standoffs for the panels, team gear, and maybe score some cheap fuel filters. The guys here found a shop that sells Turkish filters for real cheap. I am loading up on the fuel filters. But unlike them, I am staying away from the oil filters. I don't need my engine seizing up on me cuz I put in some cheap Turkish oil filter to save me 15 TL. I don't care how much money I save. I call it an insurance policy. I put in Yanmar filters. If they screw up, then maybe I go back to Yanmar. But they won't screw up, and I know it. Oil filters are pretty simple to manufacture and the failure rate on them is less than 1% probably. The fuel filters is another story. I'll use the cheapies all day long. Hey, if my fuel filters crap out on me all that happens is the engine stops and maybe I have to bleed the system. A hassle, no doubt, but my engine isn't blown. I can't believe the way these guys are going for those oil filters, though. Like rabid dogs!