I very much enjoy living on my own which I've done for over a year and a half. I was thinking today about how I'd manage if I did not have to be so independent. I wonder if I'd like it?
There are some things of course which I cannot do at all. I am ABSOLUTELY HOPELESS at anything DIY. When my washing line came down last Summer and the hook screwed into the wall was completely useless, I attempted to fix it myself. This was a mistake. My first port of call was Homebase where I stood for a remarkable number of minutes browsing the quite astonishing selection of No More Nails products. Eventually I narrowed it down to two products, both of which said they were for outdoor use. On getting these things home, my first error became immediately obvious. I had puchased a bottle of the No More Nails, but no dispensing trigger. This left me with two options, return to Homebase to buy one, or settle on using the product I had now decided was slightly less suited to the job. I opted for the latter.
Several hours later when I had filled the hole with this putty, I read the back of the tube more carefully and discovered that the putty was designed not to set hard. The hook moved about quite freely and the putty showed absolutely no sign whatsoever of hardening. Remarkably, the washing line is still up and can hold a full line of my clothes. I do not wish to know how it achieves this apparently impossible feat.
Whilst we are on the subject of my poor decision making skills, I will tell you about the time, also last Summer, when I had been refused alcohol at one supermarket and had to get my mum to buy it for me in another...yes I'm in my 30's.
I had decided to drink Vodka Collins in the garden and enjoy the sun.
I did enjoy the Vodka Collins but soon attracted the attention of several wasps. This spoilt the ambiance and so I thought about diverting their attention. My solution was to put a jar of honey on the fence several feet away. The short term effect was fine.
However, the next morning when I had failed to bring it indoors, I opened the curtains to see that my garden, and entrance to my garage/car etc had become Wasp Central. I was horrified, especially as the fence separates my garden from my neighbour with a five year old child. I used a stealth like approach with a lid and chose my moment carefully to put it on the jar.
Unfortunately this drove the wasps quite mad and created an even bigger problem so I was forced to use a very long stick to dislodge the lid from a reasonable distance and wait the long hours it took for the wasps to finish the honey. I won't try this technique for wasp distraction again and I do not recommend it to you.
Other DIY incidents have resulted, fortunately not in my trying to deal with them, but ringing my mum in tears and then running round to my neighbour for help. Not terribly independent.
I have a bit of a tendency to 'big-up' my independence.
A few glasses of Pimms and some sparkling wine leave me a bit self righteous when it comes to my recent lifestyle changes. On the hen weekend, I proudly talked about my phone call from Channel 4, my signing up to be a volunteer, enrolling for BSL etc. I also mentioned my job interview in York, and that I'd spent two nights there in order to see the sights as it's such a long way to go. On my first night, I arrived in time for bed, the second evening I had breezed the interview and was left with not a lot to do. I told the girls that I'd impulsively joined a ghost tour, which was true but was more about my not wanting to be alone in York in my hotel room, and less about independence. They were impressed nontheless, so I added the weekend Buddhist retreat I did last year too. I did that alone. They think I am very brave now so I talked a lot of rubbish about taking opportunities and grabbing life.
I probably talk far too much, I am not shy in coming forward with my opinions and I do like my freedom and independence. I am never the easy option.
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