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Working With Your Hands

Mark Arbour

Entry posted by Mark Arbour

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When I was younger, I really had no use for doing any sort of crafty type of work. Re-finish a chair? No way. Build a deck? There are people you hire to do that. Put in a marble floor? Too easy to f**k up.

 

Then somewhere along the way I decided to actually try doing some of this stuff, and I discovered that when I shed my pampered shell, I was actually pretty damn good at it. I just finished re-doing a bathroom entirely in tile (natural stone, I won't work with that fake ceramic shit). The floors and all the walls, everything. Well, except plumbing. That's something I'll learn later. And the electrical work. That's something I stay away from. It feels good to create something beautiful from something ordinary.

 

Anyway, I was thinking back to my youthful arrogance. That happens from time to time, especially after a conversation with Chase. :P I eschewed any of those manual, crafty tasks, asserting that my mind was too powerful and nimble to be wasted on such mundane projects, and subconsiously thinking that my hands were too uncoordinated to do anything right. Well, not anything, but this isn't a blog about beating off or hand jobs.

 

I had an uncle who was a self-taught carpenter. It wasn't his job, it was his hobby. He created some amazing things. I remember in particular a staircase banister he built. It was beautiful, so perfectly crafted. He was patient, a good teacher, yet I never took the time to learn from him. Now he is dead, and I think about him every time I turn on my power sander, wishing I'd put my pompous, arrogant attitude aside and spent a few days as his apprentice.

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12 Comments

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Arpeggio

Arpeggio 2,742

Posted

You gave me some serious insight: I have to learn how to cook. T_T

 

I might need to go talk to the closest fire station.

 

But.... now that you have shed that attitude, you will be more willing to learn new things, or so I hope. :)

Mark Arbour

Mark Arbour 98,513

Posted

You know, that has been an interesting side benefit..willingness to learn new things. I hadn't thought about that until you mentioned it.

MikeL

MikeL 2,841

Posted

Working with your hands is one of the most satisfying past times there is. Creating something beautiful that you can stand back from and admire is exhilarating. Even the most intellectual of people understand that once they've gotten their hands dirty.

JamesSavik

JamesSavik 24,768

Posted

As someone who does a lot of this sort of thing, my only advice is not too fall off of ladders or use power tools on yourself. It takes longer to heal at our age and scars are no longer sexy; just disfiguring. :unsure:

Mark Arbour

Mark Arbour 98,513

Posted

I wonder if he ever f**ked stuff up? "God damn it Jesus, those bookshelves are lopsided." I guess it would be "scroll shelves"

sat8997

sat8997 552

Posted

I'm very good with my hands... innocent.gif

 

...I cross-stitch and crochet.

Battleaxe

Battleaxe 6

Posted

James, don't you notice how you no longer zip up the ladder quite so fast and are a bit more cautious hanging over the edge of a roof when you get to 'our age' Or is that just me? :D. My mind still tells me I'm 20, body doesn't keep up quite so well anymore :lmao:

Geoff

  • Haha 1
Hoskins

Hoskins 43

Posted

Pictures of this remodeled bathroom OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.

 

I spent a lot of time doing this stuff in my thirties. Now I just want to call somebody and arrange to have my needs satisfied and my desires met. 0:)

Mark Arbour

Mark Arbour 98,513

Posted

Don't they call that an escort service? :D

Hoskins

Hoskins 43

Posted

Oh, so THAT'S why they keep taking off my clothes. I THOUGHT that was a little weird.

 

:pickaxe:

Mark Arbour

Mark Arbour 98,513

Posted

The plumber I hired was hot as hell. Dumb as a rock, but hot as hell. I should have hired him as an escort, f**ked him, then asked him to do the plumbing just as a favor. Probably would have been cheaper.

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