Goodbye, little goo

Fiction can either be a mirror reflecting you back to yourself or it can be a clean pane of glass looking on the outside. Neel Mukherjee
(www.brainyquote.com)

When I put something on my car, particularly when it has adhesive,  I want it to adhere.  But there is a “But” which tends to cause competing expectations. (I want something to stay where I put it.  But, if I want it moved, it should be easy to remove and relocate.)   I spent a week deciding the best place to mount a dashcam, reading the California statutes governing such things and then mounting it.  But after a spate of cooler mornings, I was annoyed that the corner where it was mounted did not “defrost” – I think the dash air vent  was blocked by the camera -and wipers do not reach that corner on the outside.  Nothing worse than a camera looking through “whiteout” conditions for the most perilous part (starting out) of a commute.

So I decided to move it.  I planned what I would need.  I ordered replacement 2-sided sticky pads.  I was able to pry the camera mount from the lower left corner of the windshield but the sticky residue and part of the pad remained.   What do I use to get THAT off?   Before I rearranged the garage I had a cabinet full of lubricants, adhesives, glass cleaners and car stuff.  I couldn’t remember where I moved them.  But I reasoned I can always go to a Lowes -they have all that stuff.

So I moved it.  A new position top center right of the mirror.   In less than a day, the mount ceased sticking just as I was pulling out.  Camera (and mount) fell.  I have a nice recording of my dash, my lap, and a ticked off startled  driver.

And now I have two gooey black squares on the windshield to clean.   For three days commuting, my eyes are drawn to irritating blotches on the glass.   This is a life lesson.   I started with the end in mind – put a dashcam in my car.  However, I did not engineer.  Observe, Weigh options.  Test.  Read the directions.

I have “goo” remover now.  And more adhesive sticky tape.  Calm will return to the center of my universe.