I saw it again today and stood quietly in the background and noticed the differences between a man fixing something and a woman doing the same job. Granted, please do not send me hate mail; there are some things that are rather left to the strong physique and mechanical geniuses in our lives! I’m suggesting merely that there is definitely a great deal of difference between men and woman fixing stuff.
Let’s sketch two examples and see what we come up with, shall we?
Two weeks ago John’s wife asked him to look at the U-pipe under the sink. He has been a little distracted by the Common Wealth Games and is still upset that his team lost in the hockey. He was sure that they would wipe the floor with the opposition this year. On top of that some silly woman came to a sudden halt in traffic yesterday morning while he was having a conference call with his project team, and he ended up rear-ending a BMW!
Today, alas, would be the day. He has managed to take out the three most commonly used instruments from the tool cabinet. Impatiently he had to stand and wait while his teenage daughter was unpacking the cluster of cleaning chemicals and paraphernalia from underneath the sink. Half of them he believes, have not been used at all, but they seem to accumulate over time.
Nevertheless, U-pipe was cleared after several calls for other tools to be retrieved from his tool case. Granted, it has taken him hours to do but you have to take into consideration that his office rang three times. A man surely is entitled to have people check up on the wheres and whats, when the boss is suddenly not at work, otherwise all chaos breaks out. And it was of utmost importance that John finds out about the tickets for Saturday’s game. Smoking leaves your one hand occupied while the other hand is holding a beer. Surely a man needs to also take a break to rest from time to time.
Of course, while John was busy underneath the sink, he had the forethought to also check on the state of the plug to the dishwasher. This was indeed in dire need of repair and called on his daughter to pass him a flat knife, steak knife and insulation tape. All’s well that ends well, and after the teenager cleared the debris from underneath the sink, painstakingly picking up all the morsels of copper thread from the floor, the chemicals and cleaning bottles were placed back where they belong.
Feeling quite accomplished, John settle in front of his computer. Job well done!
One can’t help but entertain the disparity had Jill done it. Again I ask, no hate mail please. This is only to take the Mickey out of all of us humans!
Jill would’ve taken the opportunity within a day or two after suspecting a possible block in the drainage, to track down the problem. Chances are that the blockage would’ve been prevented completely when she realised that food particles are preventing the water to run out as rapidly as usual.
In any event, Jill would have taken the neatly packed and organized toolbox over to the sink and would have, while packing out the chemicals, ensured that the amount of bottles lessened to prevent clutter. After now taking out the four bottles that were left, Jill secured a bucket close by, and a rag, for possible spills. Using the vice grip, she loosened the upper and lower nuts connecting the elbow to the other pipes, towards the left with her large pliers, seeing that the pipe is PVC, the white plastic type. The direction of turn has always made her smile. She used to have a hard time getting the children to distinguish between open and close, left and right. John was not much help, as “turning it to where it moves” wasn’t quite describing or prescribing anything. “Lefty Lucy” and “Righty Tighty” have always worked for her and even though it is quite silly, she found it very helpful when there was a quagmire of stuff to turn which all angled differently.
She quickly slipped on her rubber gloves just to be sure she does not pick up any bacteria on her hands from the impending liquid from the old drain once it is disconnected. She placed her old dishpan under the pipe, removed the old elbow from the pipes and wipes the area dry where she would be connecting the new elbow.
To help assure it would not seep out, she then wrapped the threads of the pipes where the fresh elbow were to join with the plumbers tape. Placing the new elbow in and hand tightening the nuts on both ends was small fry, but she did make sure that the threads started out evenly and were not at an angle. The nuts should hand tighten easily, which it did. If it hadn’t, she would’ve made sure they were aligned correctly rather than putting the force of a wrench on it and take the chance of starting out the threading haphazardly. Once hand tightened, she then tightened it back with her pipe wrench.
She tested the newly fitted elbow for leaks by running water into the sink above while watching the elbow, occasionally dabbing it with tissue paper around the new connection. She even filled the sink up half way with water and then let it drain out all at once. This force would have found a leak if one had not tightened the nuts tightly enough or if they were started unevenly. She sighed…and smiled.
Jill needn’t look at the plug of the dishwasher as she would have already caught that long before wear-and-tear had an impact. What she did do while lying there, looking into the cupboard, was to replace the piece of coal she had placed there, to combat smells underneath the sink. Replacing it regularly left that cupboard smelling fresh.
She stood back and looked at her job well done, and as she returned each of the tools to their individual storage places, she finished the conference call she had on speakerphone the entire time.
Now, was the right time for her to relax with a cigarette and a nice glass of ice-cold water… maybe then just a little dash of something in it, just as a token of appreciation and gratitude that she was quite capable yet again. She turned the television on in the background, fetched her grade four son to come do his colouring work at the table, and she commenced making dinner. Today was a good day.
In South Africa today security plays a vital part in any business or private home. This book and the volumes to follow, will guide you step by step through the essential precautionary measures to be taken in protecting your family and valuables. From employing security guards, evacuation of your site and security measures to burglar bars and alarms in your private home.
a Book compiled by me from experience gained after 10 years in the security industry as Industrial relations officer with Nosa qualifications, 1st Aid, fire protection and also S.O.B. grade A.
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