The irony: we have an international student living with us for this Uni semester. He is 24. He had NEVER once changed a tyre. I watched what he thought was the way, to include putting the jack handle in backwards (he tried inserting the dogleg handle into the eye loop!), then did it for him, making sure he watched. He also had never checked water or oil in a car (despite owning 2 prior cars - he told me they don't run out of water or oil). Of course this was AFTER he cooked his engine and I had to replace the radiator and plumbing for him.
I think I changed my first tyre at 10. Then again, we learnt to drive from 8. This generation impresses me with it's impracticality. They expect everything to be done for them (which it is of course, at a price)
As a 28 year old. I'm happy to say I can at least do 7 of these things, but I've never had the chance to throw a dinner party. How hard can it be right?
I lived at home till I got married at 26. Mum did the washing and ironing, cooking, house cleaning etc (that's what mums did in those days).
However I paid for the car and the running of it. Paid board plus an extra 10/- per week so we could afford better cuts of meat!
However I had a full time job, and had done my National Service.
I had probably changed a few hundred tyres (my first three working years were in a garage as a general dogs body) and fixed as many punctures.
I did know all about cars having performed just about every mechanical job on a car in the back yard including a re-bore, gearbox and diff rebuilds. Everyone my age in those days could drive and was car mechanics savvy and had been since the days we "borrowed" the family car and went joy riding from about 15 onwards.
As a 28 year old. I'm happy to say I can at least do 7 of these things, but I've never had the chance to throw a dinner party. How hard can it be right?
Harder than it looks coordinating all the items to be ready at the right time, not burn the dessert, keep glasses filled AND be expected to entertain at the same time
Im a failure then, as i've never put anything from IKEA together.
Much prefer to make the real thing from scratch with real timber
Pity you cant buy real timber now unless you just won the lotto.
Andrew
A bit off topic
Isn't IKEA the big brother to Lego?
I went to an IKEA shop once to buy a specific item. I could not find anyone to show me where it was. I wandered around the store for 45 minutes before I realised it was totally self service and eventually found the item and took it to the check out. I won't go there again!
Amongst our ISSers I would expect the nearest we would be interested in a dinner party is a case of red with some cheese and crisps being consumed around the fire telling yarns of our exploits while our automated cameras are charting the night sky outside in sub zero weather.
Actually now that I think about it. I have thrown a dinner party of sorts. I just went out and bought Drinks, Chinese + Indian food and Pizza's and just told everyone to eat it. It was a resounding success
The setting up was easy. The clean up wasn't stellar though.
Since when is a BBQ not a dinner party ?
I left home at 17 to the Australian Army but my first paid job was at age of 8yrs driving a Massey Ferguson 155 tractor on a neighbour's farm.
Whilst there at their farm, I thought to myself, they're too old to drive that tractor anyway. Just moved house for the umpteenth time.
At the age of 13 ...I was a ' milk boy ' working for a dairy farmer...and was paid .60cents for 1 and 1/2 hrs work ( 1968 )....that was ' big ' money for a 13year old ..back then.
Left home at 17....joined the Airforce....learnt real quick how to iron a Uniform and wash clothes....' spit ' polish my Boots.....etc......
oh...!!! and forget IKEA..... give me a Meccano Set any day......
Flash.......
Last edited by FlashDrive; 23-10-2013 at 06:34 AM.
Not overly a challenging list for those of us in the older generation category....maybe more appropriate for Generation Y.
