I’ve always liked building, which I think is why people automatically assume I can do pretty much anything. I can’t, obviously…if you want me to build a shelf, or a shed, or maybe an igloo if times are really hard, but my skills stop at building. I don’t do electrical work, I can’t fix your broken hard drive and I especially hate plumbing. Had a few plumbing friends back when I was an apprentice, and I can tell you that it’s definitely not the life for me. Picked up a few skills from them, but nothing that would qualify my for doing any of their work, despite everyone thinking that I can do it.
I guess that’s a general curse of people who are good with their hands. If you can do one thing, you can do it all, right? Everything is just that intuitive. Nope. I didn’t become a plumber because I know what lies beneath the blocked drains in Melbourne and I’d rather do my work outdoors where you know the materials you’re working with. Plumbers also get called in for jobs at all hours. My mate Darren is an emergency plumbers, exclusively. He works the night shift and has for the last three years, because…I don’t know. He’s mad and doesn’t really need much sleep. Plus he doesn’t have that many friends, but I’m not sure if that’s a chicken or egg thing. If I worked night shifts unblocking drains and slept through the entire day, I’m not sure how many friends I’d have at the end of it all.
See, building work is reliable in terms of hours. No one wants building work to be done after hours when you’re at home, trying to sleep or get on with your life. Building work might start early, but it finishes on time or people start complaining. I guess Darren has to sleep through that, come to think of it.
So yeah. Could’ve been a plumber in Melbourne, maybe. Chose against it because I like to sleep. I don’t have the stern stuff to do plumbing 24 hours…
-Darryl