Even though I sell tools for a living, I don't consider myself do be much of a handy person. Sure, I know how to use a soldering iron, but I don't really know how to use them for some greater electrical purpose. I can paint and tighten screws, but I'm not about to rip out a wall, re-wire my living room, or replace my own toilet.So this afternoon, when the condo association had a contractor over to do some work on the garage door, I took advantage of this to get an expert to look over some small stuff around my place that I've been needing to get done for months. One of which was a little power outlet on the exterior of my unit, out on the deck. It hadn't been working for a while, at least a month and possibly for years.
Needless to say, I had already tried everything I know to fix it, including pushing the GFCI reset button, staring at the circuit breaker for three minutes, and offering sacrifices of cookies and Hagen Daaz to the electrical gods on a small altar in the backyard. Of course, it took the professional about 10 minutes to repair it, going through a light switch in my living room. Whomever designed the wiring for an external outlet to go through a light switch indoors obviously had mental issues. Now I wonder if the wiring for my whole unit goes through that outlet. I had no idea it was so important - I'll have to protect it with my life.
The best part about it though was the look I got from the contractor when I cracked open my toolbox to reveal that not only did I own a standard screwdriver* but I also posess needle-nose pliers and more of all - a wire stripper. When I pulled that out of the tool box, there was a faint aroma wafting through the room - a smell that I can only classify as...respect.
And it felt GOOD!
* And phillips, and torx, and hex keys...
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