Monday, 28 March 2011

It's like a rite of passage or something

    Every now and then in this game you have a 'first', a new experience in the crazy world of living with a foot in both genders. I had one yesterday, and a rather silly one at that. Well, you have to laugh.
    Yesterday was a beautiful if a little hazy day in Southern England. I spent most of it outside fettling the Rusty Old Wreck. If you have ever reassembled the interior of a car you will understand just how many parts need to be fitted, and if you've ever done it to a car that's had its interior our for a few years you'll know that all the parts will have mysteriously changed size so they no longer fit, and that all the screws and fastenings will have departed.
    So now I have a Wreck that is visibly closer to the road. It needs a bit of metalwork, some brake adjustment and a small amount of cosmetic tidying and then it can be sent for an MOT test. This is exciting stuff, given that the car's sorry state has weighed heavily on me for several years now.
    The 'first' made me laugh. I broke a fingernail. And cared about it. I must be turning into a girl or something! I didn't have a handy nail file to repair it and the angle grinder looked a little harsh, but I did have a metalwork file with which to remove the annoying spiky bit at the end of the nail. Never a dull moment in stealth t-girl car nut land!

10 comments:

  1. A grinder indeed! You should have been wearing thin gloves to protect your nails, barrier cream just doesn't cut it!

    Shirley Anne xxx

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  2. Ah, but the angle grinder would have done the job so much faster! :-D

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  3. I replaced an engine mount and didn't break any nails, ha-ha!

    Hugs, Elly

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  4. Hehehe... Cute story! I hate when my nails break but since I usually have acrylic nails when they do break it hurts like a !$@%*

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  5. When I was still working at the chemical plant, there were quite a few times when I used a metal file and some emery paper to smooth down a ragged nail. Not my preferred method, but then a girl's got to do, what a girl's got to do!

    Melissa XX

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  6. Morning all,
    I thought you'd appreciate the tale of my misfortune :)
    You've got to use the materials at your disposal I guess. There was just something incongruous about me in very scruffy bloke mode fettling an old car - and caring about a fingernail.

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  7. Having a nail file handy is a must! I keep one in my bag and there is ALWAYS two or three lying around the house.

    I do have one question for you though.

    Why would anyone, willingly, want to work on a truck? Ewwww! lol

    Oh, and yes! That is definately your inner girl scratching at the surface!

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  8. That's simple, it's not a truck but a car! :)

    Funny really, I'm an instinctive engineer. The way things work fascinates me. And it's natural therefore that growing up as a scruffy bloke I would have become something of a motor enthusiast.

    But I recognise that my interest differs from my peers. I enjoy tinkering and bimbling, they enjoy speed and power. A summer afternoon rebuilding something from a weedy little car like the Wreck or gently exploring country lanes on my little Honda wouldn't interest them, they'd be too busy on a trackday. I never 'got' those blokes who queue of hours at the motor show to drool over Ferraris they'll never aspire to owning. Don't get me wrong, Italian designers craft some staggeringly beautiful cars, they just don't make me come over all Jeremy Clarkson.

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  9. Yeah, I relate to this one. I am absolutely anal about wearing gloves and using hand lotion. I don't like to break or chip a nail and I hate it if my hands get that rough feeling. Just little ways to express myself, I guess. I've also been using moisturizer on my face for years.

    Hope that old wreck transports you at some point, Jenny.

    Calie xxx

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  10. It's getting closer to the road, I've just been fettling it now.

    Hands covered in splashes of grey primer. I never learn.

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