But... I Can Do It Myself...
So, the car is in need of an oil change, and since I'm the one who isn't terribly busy with like, work, during the day, it has fallen to me to find someplace to get it done. Now, I'm not really looking forward to this because 1) it will involve talking to strangers about a service needed, 2) which quite possibly could lead to me looking ignorant and vulnerable, and most irksome, 3) changing the oil is something I am capable of doing myself. For the most part, I try to avoid situations which involve 1 & 2 as much as I can - email works wonders for that, most of the time. I just love the impersonalness of it; sure, I might still look the fool, but at least I can't prove it. When email fails, the next best thing is to get as personal as we can, and actually talk in person. Quite a jump, I know, and I totally forgot the phone, right? Not really - it has been my experience that talking on the phone is less reliable than both email and meeting in person, for the chances of misunderstanding seem to multiply by 100 when conversing over the phone. Hence I try to use it as little as possible, and why I haven't scheduled an appointment for an ultrasound yet.
As for 3, I can change the oil myself! Why pay someone else to do what you can do? Besides, I enjoy playing car. And it's cheaper! Though it does leave one with the sticky problem of what to do with the used oil... We already have about 2 gallons of used oil kinda just sitting around somewhere... But alas, having someone else do it is a necessary evil. We do not have the means to change the oil as efficiently and cleanly as Joe Mechanic can. Our jack is too small, and to do it ourselves it is a two person job, which has come with its own set of frustrations each time we have done it by ourselves. Then there is the problem of having to dispose of waste oil. *sigh* I dream of the day when we will have the means to do such easy car maintenance ourselves!
Why is it so important to me, you ask? Because that is what I grew up with. Dad was pretty great at tinkering on cars, which was good because the ones we seemed to be able to afford quite often needed some tinkering every so often. Sure, there were many times where it would have been more convenient and less time consuming to just take the car to the shop, but you can imagine the money we saved from only having to pay for parts, and not labor! At $80 an hour, and your brakes need replaced, that is quite the savings - replacing brakes is not like changing the oil. Our vehicles were taken care of on our time; we didn't have to make appointments; had no need to figure out rides to and from the shop because the one car not in use had to be fixed... It was nice. God willing, our growing family will have a chance to be more self-sufficient as well, someday. But now I suppose I should gear myself up, and actually go find someone to change the oil for us. Yuck.
As for 3, I can change the oil myself! Why pay someone else to do what you can do? Besides, I enjoy playing car. And it's cheaper! Though it does leave one with the sticky problem of what to do with the used oil... We already have about 2 gallons of used oil kinda just sitting around somewhere... But alas, having someone else do it is a necessary evil. We do not have the means to change the oil as efficiently and cleanly as Joe Mechanic can. Our jack is too small, and to do it ourselves it is a two person job, which has come with its own set of frustrations each time we have done it by ourselves. Then there is the problem of having to dispose of waste oil. *sigh* I dream of the day when we will have the means to do such easy car maintenance ourselves!
Why is it so important to me, you ask? Because that is what I grew up with. Dad was pretty great at tinkering on cars, which was good because the ones we seemed to be able to afford quite often needed some tinkering every so often. Sure, there were many times where it would have been more convenient and less time consuming to just take the car to the shop, but you can imagine the money we saved from only having to pay for parts, and not labor! At $80 an hour, and your brakes need replaced, that is quite the savings - replacing brakes is not like changing the oil. Our vehicles were taken care of on our time; we didn't have to make appointments; had no need to figure out rides to and from the shop because the one car not in use had to be fixed... It was nice. God willing, our growing family will have a chance to be more self-sufficient as well, someday. But now I suppose I should gear myself up, and actually go find someone to change the oil for us. Yuck.
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