Man Plans

Last weekend I assembled a BBQ. Like most of our middle class possessions it arrived at our house in a flat-pack with only the briefest assembly instructions. They were, essentially: One, use twelve bolts to attach the rear legs to the front base; Two, do the inverse in parallel to the aft side burner; Three, BBQ! Great...
Assembling the BBQ took about four hours, and even then it's not truly complete, it just reached a state where I could cook a steak on it. Every beer I drink while it stands incomplete makes me feel guilty. Although cooking steaks helped ease that emasculation somewhat.

Following these events I mowed the grass with our new lawnmower. I am slightly fond of this chore, which is an attitude that I accept will probably change over time. For now mowing is a rather simple operation that, when compared to the technical challenges I face from the integrated components that make up my primary work environment, relaxes me with its simplicity. I still feel this way even after the mower died on me twice the last time I used it, mainly because of the satisfaction that came from diagnosing and fixing the issues myself (the more complicated of the two was "not enough petrol".)

I'm a little surprised at how rapidly I've become enamoured with doing these traditionally manly things in life. I never saw myself as a "hands on" man, particularly after I nearly burnt my Commodore to the ground when trying to change my coolant a few years back. The success of shorter grass and succulent meat is obviously a greater motivator than smoke marks on the inside of the carport roof. I like the way these new skills make me feel. Bunnings is also pleased about my DIY (once, but own the tools forever) approach to life. Who knows what I may do in 2012, I may even learn how to fish.