I am woman, hear me whine in frustration.
I was raised to be a strong woman, to believe that I could do anything I wanted to do and that I was destined for great things. I still firmly believe all of that. . .except perhaps when it comes to “home improvement” projects.
Recently, I have undertaken some small projects around the apartment, and 2/3 of them have not come out well. When I put together a cheapy cabinet I bought at Target (I’ll admit—I had to transport part of it to my parents’ house so my Dad could fix something that I couldn’t), I put one of the shelves in the wrong way, apparently. A cabinet that was supposed to be all white turned out to have one brown shelf. So did I take it apart and put it together all over again? You bet your sweet cheeks I didn't! (Besides, I faked it by using brute force to put most of it together the first time, anyway. I probably wouldn’t have been able to get it together again.) No, I painted the rogue shelf white and went on about my busy life.
Last weekend I borrowed a drill from my Dad and brought it home to install a (admittedly very cheap) curtain rod in my bedroom. It took me a while and a whole bunch of different drill bits, but I finally got a hole drilled. One. I got the little plastic stud-protector thing into the one hole, and then proceeded to put in the screw that came with the set. No problem. Then, however, I attempted to screw on the end of the curtain rod in exactly the same way as the little picture on the instructions dictated. No luck. The curtain rod end promptly fell off onto the floor. I investigated, and discovered that the screw is very small and the curtain rod-end is very big, so it makes sense to me that it wouldn’t stay on, but they all came in the same set. So what am I to do?
I don’t think they make screws big enough to hold up this curtain rod end-thingy. (That’s the technical term, in case you were wondering.) This means I am left with two curtains, one curtain rod, two stud protectors and three screws just sitting around on the floor in front of my bedroom window, taunting me. I wonder where I can rent someone who’s really good at this stuff. I have trouble even hanging pictures.
Still, I HATE the fact that I can’t do these things! I happen to be an intelligent woman--surely I can figure out a curtain rod or a cabinet. I can set the clock on my VCR, so this should stuff shouldn't be impossible, right?
Apparently not--the proof is scattered all over my bedroom floor.
posted by A. Lo @ 4:33 PM
8 Comments:
Just more proof that I need to move to Dallas. If you know of any jobs up there for Economics/Business majors, let me know!
And without getting too technical, the four screws and drywall anchors (yes, that's what they're actually called) will hold the curtain rod fine.
"Oh, I'm a guy. . .I know what those little plastic wall-things are called, bluh, bluh, bluh."
I totally think you should move to Dallas. Especially if it makes my apartment look better. And as an added bonus, you'd be able to hear the voice I'm doing when I'm making fun of your plastic wall-thing knowledge.
OK, so I just went to check out Kyle Warner’s blog, and it turns has hasn't written any posts at all, which means he apparently only signed up for it so he could post on a.lo's blog.
Why does this bug me? Because wanting to comment on a.lo's blog is the exact same reason I signed up for one . . . except that then I got addicted to blogging, and now I have two of them.
Something's gotta give, a. Why do you have to make people be something they're not (or, in my case, just didn't realize they were) just so they can comment?
Well, Scoots, I personally make people be something they’re not because I don’t believe in anonymous comments, and don’t allow them on my blog. I suppose if Kyle could have posted anonymously, then we could’ve avoided this whole problem.
However, I require a “commenter” to identify him- or herself because I think anonymity too often gives people permission to post stupid things that they wouldn’t otherwise let anyone hear them say or even admit to thinking. When you have to attach your name to something, you’re a lot less likely to post dumb and unnecessarily hurtful things. I consider this just another one of my contributions to the world.
Sorry you’re so disappointed about Kyle’s blog. He actually used to have one (not on blogspot), but I don’t think it’s live anymore. Right, Kyle? Whatever happened to your blog?
Don't feel bad. I'm having the same experience trying to fix some plumbing stuff. Right now I have a big pile of siding on my porch, and a dryer that doesn't work, and blah blah blah.
You really do just need somebody to show you how it works, and then you'll know. In general, handyman (or, um, handywoman) knowledge isn't very well documented. Anywhere.
Actually, I think I have a pretty clear understanding of how it is supposed to work. It's just that it doesn't quite work that way, somehow. Shoot, I even have little pictures that came in the curtain rod set, and they're not doing me any good!
Yeah, I used to have a real blog, but I didn't like the domain name I had, so I'm in the process of finding a new one.
And yeah, I only signed up to comment on here. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
Ohh, and I can totally hear the voice you make when you're making fun of me. It's definitely not the first time you've made fun of me, and pretty sure it won't be the last.
Don't worry. I, too, am supposed to be a strong independent woman, but cannot get my curtains to stay up. In my last apartment, all of my curtains were hung on string attached to nails, and my Ikea dresser collapsed on the floor. It is only now, as I have a boy roommate with an affinity for tools, that anything is done properly and without glue or string.
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