Mary and I are taking a Handyman/Handywoman course through Milpitas Adult Education. She wanted me to take the class because I've been so afraid to put the new floor in. Build up my self-confidence or something. And learn how to do it herself just in case she tired of twisting my arm.

Hank the handyman is a licensed California contractor, number blah blah blah blah blah, etc. You can look it up. He is a funny guy. Gives us a ten-minute project to do in class, then takes a cigarette break while we struggle with it. So far, we put together an 18-inch box from 2x4's and drywall to simulate a real interior wall, punched holes in it for an outlet, a switch, and a light fixture, wired them up in a couple different ways and actually plugged them into the wall. Last week we started a module on drywall repair, but since the stuff had to dry, that module had to be put on hold until this week while we started the plumbing module, which started with a quick exposure to black pipe (used for gas plumbing) but then went into the more routine water plumbing with a description of copper pipe, etc.

We've had to buy about $100 worth of various hand tools like pliers, wire strippers, and putty knives, all of which will be worthwhile in the future, if not at the moment. Well, except for the cheap-a** wire strippers; the kind used by electricians are junk compared to the springy electronical kind they sell at Frys.

When we visited Mary's dad in Portland last week, we found the plumbing under his kitchen sink a leaky mess. I volunteered to fix it while he and Mary were running other errands. I impressed both him and Mary with my skill at doing exactly what the hardware store guy told me needed to be done. There were just some gasket thingies missing from the garbage disposal drain; I didn't know what they were called, and I still don't, because I bought half a dozen of them in plastic bags unmarked except for the price of 59 cents. So I got to be a hero for a day. I was just hoping it would stop leaking until Mary and I got on the plane and out of there!

Current Mood: accomplished