Some day last week a cellphone of my colleague’s decided to die so I told her to wipe the battery contacts. But she didn’t know how to do so since it was her husband’s duty to take care of her phone. She didn’t even know how to open the battery compartment. Our male colleague offered to help but after couple unsuccessful attempts to open it, he gave up. Not to show off or anything, mainly because the dead appliance was annoying me, I googled how to open that certain phone and opened it. The male colleague looked startled and said to me “You don’t even need a man in your life, you can do everything by yourself.”
So now the question is: If I can do something by myself, should I ask the guy to do it just for the sake of him feeling the man in the house? Truth to be told I’d like someone to help me sometimes and I wouldn’t mind him doing things and making me feel worthy of that trouble (even though I have a huge problem when it comes to asking for help or troubling people for something). And if I asked him and he tried and failed at doing something and I know I can do it, should I do it or should I pretend I can’t either and probably spare him the embarrassment?
The thing is I can do a lot of stuff, that is considered a man’s work, myself (and there is a bunch I can’t). I can change a tire (and a fuse if needed), I can reinstall OS on my computer or clean cooling vent of the laptop (just did that, actually). I can reapply wallpaper in my room alone or hang a lamp when it fells down with a piece of ceiling (that happened), connect home cinema system and actually be able to watch something on it. I can tell slot screwdriver from phillips one and I actually own a little hammer (they were out of pink ones so I had to buy a usual one :// )… But you know what the problem is? In the end guys start to think of me as of their own. And I am certainly not. So where is the limit? Because I still want them to help me where needed and let’s say carry things that are too heavy for me or open the door for me and such. Because, let’s face it, I am old-fashioned.
P.S. dear diary, are you bored yet?
