I grew up with a grandpa who could fix anything relating to cars and large machinery, and a dad who could fix anything else you could possibly think of. So no, I don't know how to change my own tire if it goes flat (that's what AAA is for!) or how to unclog the dryer vent that's hidden in a small closet somewhere in the wall behind the stairs. But that's okay, a lot of people can't do that.
But it's the really small things that I can't do that piss me off. Like when the smoke alarm goes off for no reason and I spend 20 minutes trying to pry the damn thing off the wall only to find out the wires INSIDE the alarm are smoking and burnt. I had no idea what to do...turns out I needed to cut off the burnt part and wrap the whole thing in electrical tape so that it doesn't burn down the house, and then just ignore it until I can have someone professional redo the wiring. But I didn't know that, and it took an hour on the phone with my dad walking me through it...mostly so that I didn't electrocute myself.
Or when the dryer knob broke off in my hand, with all of my sopping wet clothes just out of the washing machine, at 12:23 am this morning. I tried shoving it back on and twisting--it didn't work. I tried turning the little spoke thing that the knob fits on--it didn't budge. I resigned myself to having wet clothes for a week until they dried out on their own. Then I called my dad again. Turns out a pair of pliers will turn that spoke with no problem, and the dryer will work fine. Now I just need to buy a new knob for it, which will be fun all on its own because this is like a 10-year-old machine.
But the point is that I'd never think of this stuff myself. I do not have the practical fix-it gene that the rest of my family seems to have. Give me a computer that can't get online, and I can probably make it do so. Give me a car with a slashed tire and all I can do is call for help.
Just about the only useful thing I AM able to do around the house is unplug the toilet. Which, fortunately or unfortunately (I haven't decided which yet) , seems to happen quite often.
But it's the really small things that I can't do that piss me off. Like when the smoke alarm goes off for no reason and I spend 20 minutes trying to pry the damn thing off the wall only to find out the wires INSIDE the alarm are smoking and burnt. I had no idea what to do...turns out I needed to cut off the burnt part and wrap the whole thing in electrical tape so that it doesn't burn down the house, and then just ignore it until I can have someone professional redo the wiring. But I didn't know that, and it took an hour on the phone with my dad walking me through it...mostly so that I didn't electrocute myself.
Or when the dryer knob broke off in my hand, with all of my sopping wet clothes just out of the washing machine, at 12:23 am this morning. I tried shoving it back on and twisting--it didn't work. I tried turning the little spoke thing that the knob fits on--it didn't budge. I resigned myself to having wet clothes for a week until they dried out on their own. Then I called my dad again. Turns out a pair of pliers will turn that spoke with no problem, and the dryer will work fine. Now I just need to buy a new knob for it, which will be fun all on its own because this is like a 10-year-old machine.
But the point is that I'd never think of this stuff myself. I do not have the practical fix-it gene that the rest of my family seems to have. Give me a computer that can't get online, and I can probably make it do so. Give me a car with a slashed tire and all I can do is call for help.
Just about the only useful thing I AM able to do around the house is unplug the toilet. Which, fortunately or unfortunately (I haven't decided which yet) , seems to happen quite often.
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