The Subaru Forester is a type of SUV that is good for families and people who like outdoor activities because it can drive well on rough roads.
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Okay, I don't know about you, but Saturday went by really fast.
No, I got that wrong.
Hold on.
I messed that all up.
Sunday went by really fast.
Saturday went by really slow.
I mean like Saturday, I don't remember what time it was.
I think it was like six o'clock, and it seemed like the day had been going on forever, and
I was like, I can't believe it's only six o'clock.
And then last night, it was like, I was talking to Luke and he said something like, yeah,
or it's almost eight o'clock, and I was like, oh my gosh, I can't believe it's almost eight
o'clock.
And then I decided to relax for a little bit after he left, and then I'm like, oh crap,
I gotta do the subi scoop.
And so I'm actually recording this at 11.13 is when I'm starting right now, but that's
okay because I don't really have to get up in the morning, and I'm okay with that.
I hope you all had a good weekend, and I hope everybody is doing well out there.
We had a busy Sunday.
We were working on Luke's car.
We drove out to my cousin's house, and we ended up changing his oil, and the skid plate
that he has, he has a primitive skid plate, but he doesn't have the one with the hole,
so we have to take a skid plate off, but he does have a Fumoto valve, so that's really
nice.
That made the oil change so much easier this time.
No more pulling the plug out and having oil get all over you, and it's just, if you don't
have a Fumoto valve, go get one.
It's so convenient.
Even if you don't have a hole in your skid plate, of course, make sure that your skid
plate will go on with the Fumoto valve, that there's enough space for it, but it makes
it so much easier.
I know people have said some things about the crush washer that comes with it, or something
having to do with maybe it not working out so well over time, but I think maybe that
was people that are in climates where you have salt and rust and stuff.
But for us down here, it's been working out fine for me.
I have one.
My daughter has one.
Now Luke has one.
I know a lot of other people have them too.
We bought all of, we bought the skid plates from Primitive, and then we bought the Fumoto
valve with it.
And again, even having to take Luke's skid plate off is definitely worth being able to
change the oil so much easier.
So go get one.
Not only did we do that, but I was cleaning up my engine compartment because I was taking
some photos of all of my melee design firm products that I have.
I have engine bay caps.
I have the Group 35 battery mount.
I have the front strut tower brace.
I also have a pitch stop, but you can't really see it.
But yeah, the melee products, they are so great.
They're like really, really nice for cleaning up your engine compartment, making it look
nicer, especially if you have a car where you might be showing off the engine compartment
at some point.
If anything, at minimum, get some engine bay caps.
Not only do they look good, but they're billeted aluminum, so they feel good too, and they're
just really cool.
But you can go to meleedesignfirm.com, get some engine bay caps, or many other products
site-wide, and save 10% by using the code SUBINU.
Thank you, melee design firm, for sponsoring the SUBINU podcast.
I appreciate that.
Mitch is a really, really great guy, and if you haven't listened to his episode, go check
out his episode.
His episode 40, we had a lot of fun.
He talked about the beginnings of melee design firm and how he started doing it.
So it's a great episode.
Go get a listen.
Go give it a listen.
Okay, so I haven't really done a deep dive into what I've been doing since I got laid
off October 13th, but of course I'm still doing stuff with the podcast.
There are some things that I need to do more of, but I've been doing multiple things.
So I'm doing stuff for the podcast.
Of course I'm still doing Monday guest episodes.
I'm doing the SUBI scoop, the alternate Mondays.
Of course I'm still doing stuff with Subarugear.com, and speaking of Subarugear.com, go to Subarugear.com
and use the code SUBINU2026 to get 20% off your purchase.
If your total is over $50 after the 20% discount, you automatically get free shipping.
So go check that out.
Be sure to check out Subarugear.com.
But I am still doing things with them.
I've put together some reels and I'm going to be working on putting together more reels
for Subarugear.
And I just, I really enjoy working with them.
So many great people up there that I've had the opportunity and I have been blessed to
work with.
So I very, very much appreciate Subarugear and Subaru of America getting involved with
the podcast.
It's been really, really wonderful, but so I've been working on that.
And then I've also been, I got into the Amazon influencer program.
I don't know if I said that before on one of my previous SUBI scoops, but I'm saying
it now.
So I started doing that at the end of October and it's going pretty well.
So I'm still continuing to do that.
But I also, now I fought and fought and fought against myself.
I said I would never, ever have a TikTok account.
And now I have three.
So I have one that's at SUBI and you, where I've been posting some content there and I'm
planning on posting more content.
And then I have a, the first one that I, well, that was the first one that I started.
Then I started another one called plant-based raft.
Cause as many of you know, I'm vegan.
So that is the focus of that account.
And I, I was being intentional with the account and I had a main purpose.
But then I started connecting with a bunch of people and I started like learning things
that I didn't know before about like just different foods and recipes and stuff.
So it's become something that I actually genuinely really enjoy.
And I post every day on it.
But my original intention was to be able to open up a TikTok shop and I got to a
thousand followers and now I have a TikTok shop on there.
Of course I'm limited with what I can post because when you reach a thousand
followers, you can only post five shoppable videos per week.
And that's where I'm at.
And I've posted four, I believe this past week, but you know, I, I don't know how
it's going to go, but I'm just going to keep pursuing that.
But everything that I'm going to post with TikTok shop is going to be relevant
with the content that I've been putting out.
So I'm not going to be like just posting random stuff just to sell it.
And then I started another TikTok account a few nights ago and it's, um, my,
so my handle is Raf's UGC trip.
So I was thinking like journey, but I think trip sounds cooler and it's a
UGC and it's shorter, but it's Raf's UGC basically.
So I'm delving into user generated content and, uh, you know, I'm trying to
find different ways to earn money.
So because I have been applying for jobs, I've been applying for mostly drafting jobs.
I've applied for some that are hybrid, some that are remote and ones that I feel
like I'm genuinely qualified for and I haven't gotten any responses.
Also my two jobs ago, I thought that I was going to be able to go back there,
but I haven't been able to, like they're not hiring.
And so I have to do something.
I can't just like depend on like, Oh, maybe I'll get a job here or there.
I'm carving my own path.
And that's, that's my goal is to make my own way.
And it's, I've got a lot of different things going on.
So it's, you know, sometimes things get lacking here and there.
So, but I'm trying to keep up with content for all of those things.
But I'm also, also trying to enjoy my quote unquote time off.
You know, I worked a full time job from the time I was like 25.
Like I haven't, I haven't not had a full time job since I was like 24 or 25.
I can't remember exactly how old I was when I first started my career.
And so it's kind of nice to just have my own time and not have to like clock in
every morning and I mean, so, you know, I'm, I'm trying to figure it out,
but I'm also enjoying my time off in a way as well.
And I am still getting unemployment right now.
And, you know, part of the, like the part of the way that you are eligible
for getting unemployment is to apply for jobs, which I have been doing.
And so, and then reporting, you have to report like what you were working for.
And like one of the options on there is are you self employed?
And I put yes.
So I put in my earnings from the podcast sponsorships.
I put in my earnings from Amazon influencer program.
And right now those are my only two sources of income outside of the outside
of unemployment, but I, you know, as I start making money, doing other things,
I'll have to include that.
But my goal is to not have to rely on unemployment either rely on myself.
So that is where I'm at.
That is what I am doing.
And it is both scary and exciting because it's scary because I'm having
to rely on myself to put in the time to, you know, and I'm not really good
at time management.
Like I end up kind of just doing some stuff throughout the day.
Not really a whole lot, but it's always late at night is when I'm most productive.
I don't know why, but late at night I start thinking the wheels start
turning in my head and I start doing stuff and I end up staying up pretty late.
But I'm getting stuff done.
And so, but I want to flip it because I really need to be getting to bed earlier
and being more productive during the day.
So I'm working on that too.
That's been a struggle, but, you know, I'm making things happen.
I'm getting things done and I want to do more.
But just a reminder before I wrap this up, this weekend coming up is the
first weekend of Overland Expo and SoCal.
So if you're thinking about going and you're able to go, I highly recommend it.
It's going to be a great event and you'll get to see Subaru's booth there.
You'll see some booth or a booth cars.
I know that Chris, WeRomeWorld, he's going to be there with his awesome,
awesome Forester and there will be other people there as well.
I don't know who else is going to be in the booth, but I know he's going to be
there and I met him at Flagstaff, super, super cool guy.
He is just like, he's traveling all over the world.
He's documenting his journey and just a great guy.
So be sure to say hi to him.
But again, if you are able to go, then go.
If you're already going, you know what it's all about.
And then I will be at the remaining Overland Expo events for the year.
And I'm excited about that.
So that's it for this one.
Hope you all have a wonderful week.
We'll see you next Monday for a regular episode, a guest episode.
And that's it.
So much to be love.
Raph.
About this episode
The host shares a personal update about a busy weekend working on Subaru maintenance, highlighting the convenience of Fumoto valves for oil changes and promoting Melee Design Firm’s engine bay products. She discusses her transition since being laid off, including her work with Subarugear, joining the Amazon influencer program, and creating multiple TikTok accounts focused on Subaru content, veganism, and user-generated content. She reflects on the challenges and excitement of self-employment and encourages listeners to attend the upcoming Overland Expo SoCal event featuring Subaru enthusiasts.
