Random knowledge

As negative as some of my experiences with online dating were, I learned tons of stuff from the men I dated.  These tid bits of information would prove to be very helpful in various aspects of my life.  I thrive on learning new things and pushing the limits on my abilities.  Tell me I can't do something and I'll prove you wrong!  In my opinion, knowledge is power and you can never learn too much.  Being able to do something I've never done before is a huge accomplishment.  I've even surprised and/or impressed my Dad, that's huge for me.

Being a single Mom, I don't have a man around to do the things we typically categorize as "male stuff" and with Dad living far away I'm impatient.  I also hate bothering other people so this usually means I have to do whatever it is by myself.  I'm actually pretty handy.  My parents did a great job of making sure me and my sister could do pretty much anything that needed to be done, but once in a while I'm faced with a new challenge I've never had to deal with before.  My biggest shortfall is not having the right tools.  Don't ask me to name them either.  Screw drivers, drills and hammers I have down pat, I'll even identify some of the different bits but that's about it.  Men laugh when I ask them if they have that "do hickie" or "thing a ma jigger" you use to loosen a nut or the tool that looks kind of like scissors, but it's long and pointy.  Hey, at least I'm describing it in such a way that they should somehow visualize what I'm talking about...or not!  Lol  Worst case I have to draw it or be more specific in terms of what it is exactly I'm trying to do.

Some of this stuff I learned by watching my dates perform minor repairs at their place and asking lots of questions.  Other times it was by listening to them explain things or trouble shoot with their friends over the phone or in person.  Amazing what you learn when you listen and pay attention!

What did I learn?

Construction related stuff:

1. Windows
Very handy when all of a sudden I had to change all the windows at home.  Who would have known there were that many different kinds and styles.  Double pane, single pane, crank, hinged, etc... my goodness.  When I heard "Double Hung" I thought yeah, very funny dude we're not taking about how well endowed you are!  Women are often made to feel stupid when it comes to construction, cars or guy stuff.  Low and behold double hung is a type of window.  Didn't I feel dumb!  By the way, they are the best ever and so easy to clean.  I'd make a great sales person, I tell everyone about them.

2. Plumbing
How to change a faucet, extremely handy.  Since then, I've successfully replaced shower heads and figured out all I had to do was replace the gasket or even easier - the Teflon tape!  Never knew what a gasket or Teflon tape were, I do now!

Changing a toilet!  I could totally do it, the only problem being that I can't lift the bowl and tank. They are way too heavy and not for lack of trying.  On a positive note, I did manage to buy everything I needed to get the job done all by myself!  Even turned off the water and completely drained the toilet.  I know my limits and once in a while we have to admit defeat!

3. Light fixtures
The different colours of wires and what a ground is.  It was so much easier than I thought.  Who says a woman can't learn these things?  One very important piece of advice...make sure the power is turned off!  Sadly I learned this the hard way.  Lol!

Electrical stuff can be tricky, make sure you know where the electrical panel is and how to turn off the breakers.  Equally important is to know what breaker controls what part of the house!  I labelled everything so should never run into trouble again.

4. Door bell
After successfully dealing with light fixtures, this one I taught myself.  It took three attempts, but I finally got it to work!  The instructions were all wrong.  Once I threw them out, played around and reconfigured the wires, I managed to get it to work!  I was so proud of this one.  There was no way I was going to call someone to trouble shoot.  Determination paid off.

There's so much more, but I'll save it for another post!  Happy reading and have a great night.

Dateless in Ottawa