Manliness

As someone who does not consider himself to be a particularly manly person, I have enjoyed a surprisingly manly weekend. And when I say I’m not particularly manly, I mean I do not enjoy manual labour and I am not a particularly practical person. When using electrical devices, I follow the advice that if you don’t change any of the main settings, there is less chance of something going wrong. It’s a philosophy which seems to work in terms of ensuring a decent lifespan, though I’m sure people could get my devices working faster.

When it comes to DIY, it’s a phrase I try to avoid. I prefer the phrase ‘Let someone else do it for you whilst you play sport.’ If it’s a major job, I will pay someone to do it properly rather than spending hours trying to do it myself. I’ll do small jobs like putting together a chest of drawers myself and do a competent job, though you never want to test the load limit of something I have put together.

A couple of weeks ago at work, I was asked to go out and buy a power drill. Not something the guy who does the social media is usually asked, and it did take up time I needed to spend on my own projects, but I did feel a strange sense of pride at the till.  And even though it wasn’t for my use, I still had a quick go with it.

So to this weekend, and when I got back from the cinema yesterday I found my housemate trying to defrost our freezer. It’s a job which was long overdue, so I thought I should help out. She was melting the ice with steam, which though effective was a very long process. I decided to speed things up by using a screwdriver as a chisel to remove as much of the ice as possible. It was strangely satisfying, and helped complete the job quicker.

Onto today, and after a run and lunch, it was time for some bike maintenance work. Specifically, I was replacing the front wheel. Again, it felt good to be doing something practical. However, some people enjoy these jobs for the process itself. They love to get their hands dirty and get stuck into a task. I don’t, but I enjoy the end result. I enjoy the fact that there is now enough space in our freezer for a couple of packs of Soleros. I enjoy the fact that I can go for a bike ride tomorrow (ahead of a session at the Olympic Velodrome next month). But I’d prefer it if things didn’t need fixing in the first place…