Last night, Stacey's car battery died and I took her to Walmart to buy a new one. As we were standing there, looking at a wall of EverStarts and Duralasts, Stacey asked me which one I would buy. Without much thought, I honestly replied, "Oh...I'd have sold the car when it didn't start yesterday." (I've actually done this before....Dad got a real deal 4 years ago on a car he still drives. But I'd like to point out that it was making a funny noise which he finally heard and got fixed after owning it for a few weeks...no one would believe me!)
This is the thing, I'm not not unhandy or unresourceful. I've done all kinds of DIY projects around the house...I've installed shelving, replaced a light switch, fixed the toilet, and installed my new showerhead. I've repaired a couple small appliances all by myself and I even fixed my treadmill once when it wasn't working right. I love to assemble furniture and basically take a lot of pride in the fact that I am somewhat self sufficient! But when it comes to cars and computers...I just think they should work and if they don't, I just refuse to deal with it.
Last week I was having some issues with my computer. (I have a mac, which I love....I've had it for 4 years and this is the first time I've had problems.) I took it into the store and the tech guy said I needed to update my operating system and install some additional memory. I asked him how I went about doing that and he started explaining what I'd need to do to make the updates. I cut him off midsentence and said, "Oh, no....how do I go about paying you to do all that?" He told me and I gladly paid.
I'm sure this is just an unconscious choice I have made...to not learn to understand these two tools I use daily. I want to believe it's not because I'm lazy or stupid or something....maybe I know I rely on cars and computers so heavily in my life that the thought of them not working makes me panic and my brain freeze up.
Sometimes, I can be such a mystery to myself. All I know is that my car and my computer better keep working or they are gone! Newer, shinier models will always be available...
7 comments:
You're not lazy or stupid. That's for sure. Maybe just a little high maintenance in the area of cars and computers. No shame in that. :)
Amen! When big things don't work I have major meltdowns...mostly because I think I should have a guy around to deal with those kinds of things and I hate that I don't. So after I finish crying, I usually call my mommy and she fixes whatever is broken. I have Super Mommy (but she doesn't fix computers...or even turn them on). :)
You should have seen my emotional breakdown the day my mac refused to recognize that there was a dvd in the drive. 10 minutes later everything was back to normal, but I fear for the life of my roommates, apartment and the furniture in it the day something is actually wrong.
It is ok. I have Jeff for the computer thing, but we have Lenny for our cars. If anything happens we just call Lenny and he takes care of it. I don't like to deal with cars either. I am paranoid about ending up stuck on the side of the road somewhere.
I can fix things on my computer. I've built enough computers and dealt with enough windows problems that I can pretty much handle anything there.
When it comes to cars though, they should just work. I pay Lenny (my car guy) to take care of every little thing and I am happy to do so.
I'm glad our experience could prompt a blog entry. I always do like that. I'd actually like to be like you, especially if it involves replacing my non-starting car with a nice new outback.
I'm glad our experience could prompt a blog entry. I always do like that. I'd actually like to be like you, especially if it involves replacing my non-starting car with a nice new outback.
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