Miscellany posts appear around here every now and then when I have a bunch of small things to share with you…things too short for individual posts, but too much fun not to share at all. You can poke through the miscellany archives, if you’d like to read more of this kind of thing.
I mentioned on Facebook the other day that when I went grocery shopping, the handle for the back gate/door/whateveryouwantotocallit on my Toyota Sienna van snapped, leaving me unable to open it.
Whoever decided to make door handles out of plastic should really be fired. Plastic just does not hold up to repeated use, especially when it has to sit out in the elements (oh, for a garage!).
(you may recall that one of our sliding door handles broke a year and a half ago and we fixed it very cheaply. I’m just waiting for the other handles to snap now!)
Anyhow, I did some research when I got home from shopping, and found that a metal (not plastic. Yay!) replacement part could be had for $50. That made me feel a lot better, especially considering that a new plastic replacement part from Toyota would cost $70, and if we hired them to fix the problem, our bill would be $300.
<Kristen faints>
Yesterday was Mr. FG’s day off, and so we tackled the job. It was freezing cold, but we managed to get it done.
Well, actually Mr. FG did most of it…I held tools and a flashlight and functioned as an extra hand when necessary. 😉
See all that metal? It makes me happy.
And my back gate now opens and shuts, which will be most handy for future grocery shopping trips. Oh yes.
______________________________________________
Mr. FG also managed another super-cheap fix yesterday. Joshua’s ceiling fan pull has had a problem for a while now…when you pull the chain, it gets stuck and has to be shoved back up into the fan before you can pull it again.
We thought this might be covered by warranty, but were unable to come up with the paperwork (How is it that I have files and files of this stuff but can never find the appropriate paperwork when I need it? SO frustrating!).
So, Mr. FG took the light kit off of the fan, took the pull mechanism out, found a new one at Home Depot, and installed it. And I am pleased to report that it works fabulously now.
Total cost? $3.
______________________________________________
This is quite off-topic, but I’ve been wanting to rant about this for a while now.
Actually, considering that I’ve just shared two instances where Mr. FG fixed something, I suppose this is sort of on-topic. I didn’t even plan that!
A number of months ago, I received a direct-mail advertisement for a laundry product (I think it was the Bounce brand).
Actually, yes it was! I just looked it up, and the ad was for the Bounce Dryer Bar, which you stick onto the side of your dryer, and somehow it dispenses fabric softener.
Anyhow, the product itself is sort of irrelevant. What caught my eye was the main marketing phrase in the ad…it read, “So easy, even a man could do it.”.
I’m sure that was supposed to be funny, but I didn’t think it was.
If Mr. FG received an ad for a product and it said, “So easy, even a woman could do it.”, I would be quite offended. I actually don’t think an ad agency would even think of sending out such a thing, and there would be quite an uproar if they did.
Of course, I’ve had moments where I think Mr. FG has had a stupid idea, and there have been times where I’ve been able to figure out something that he hasn’t.
And there ARE some very stupid men out there.
But I would be remiss if I didn’t point out there there are some very stupid women out there too, and that there have been plenty of times when I’ve had stupid ideas or when Mr. FG has figured out something that has stumped me (I certainly wouldn’t have thought to fix Joshua’s fan pull like that!).
So, I think that to broad-brush and paint men as stupid and women as brilliant is just not right. There are stupid men and stupid women and smart men and smart women, and people need to be taken on a case-by-case basis.
And now I will step down from my soapbox.
__________________________________________
What do YOU think about the ad? I’m dying to know!
Laura
Tuesday 15th of February 2011
I stopped reading Cosmopolitan when my sons were around 2 and 4 (now 23 and 25) as I became so aware how it seemed ok to belittle men in their pages, whilst being a magazine for strong, independant women. Now many years later I am still appalled how 'okay' it is , to be sexist towards men in the media, but if it was towards a woman, the whole country would be up in arms (I am In the UK). Yes men are Stupid sometimes, but so are us women....we are all Human. Also seeing the pressure young boys have growing up and the high instances of Mental health problems in young males, you would think something would be done to stop this public rend of derogatory remarks about men. arghhh........
Just Gai
Wednesday 2nd of February 2011
Not having seen the ad it would be foolish of me to comment on its appropriateness. I don't pay very much attention to ads. I listen to BBC radio programmes and watch BBC channels, none of which carry any. I don't regularly read magazines and I pretty much ignore hoardings etc. The purpose of advertising is to grab the attention of the consumer and sell a product and it seems to me that advertising agents will do almost anything to do so. They play with public perceptions - sometimes to reinforce, sometimes to challenge and sometimes to ridicule. I suspect that the Bounce ad was trying to do the latter. I'm not aware of any campaign to denigrate men (but will pay more attention in the future). My pet hates are ads that encourage people to buy cars, or overpackaged goods, or unhealthy food. The best defense against these is to refrain from buying the products.
Kalee
Wednesday 2nd of February 2011
As it is my husband who does the majority of the laundry in our home I am positive he would be slightly offended by the idea that "even a man could do it." Not only does he pre-treat stains, wash them, check them, hang things up to air dry, but he also makes sure we have the washer cleaner to keep our washer right as rain.
I think we've lost a bit of general respect in this country. It used to be that men respected women and vice versa, children respected adults, everyone respected elders. Now I see all of these rules broken over and over. I understand no one is perfect, we each have moments where we say something disrespectful. But it concerns me that this is becoming more and more common. (and I'm in my 20's!......I have a lot of time left to deal with this craziness!)
Cortney
Wednesday 2nd of February 2011
I truly dislike the "men are buffoons who cannot do household tasks" or "men are bumbling idiots" themes that run through ads and sitcoms. As another commenter pointed out, this is often linked to implying that women are somehow inherently, naturally "better" at domestic tasks- which is also insulting! So the two sides of this coin are offensive to me all the way around. My father was a hands on, awesome dad, who was as adept at cooking and cleaning and braiding my hair as he was at pouring concrete and building houses. These kind of silly, lazy jokes based on gender differences are *so tired* and I don't find them amusing at all.
Elaine
Wednesday 2nd of February 2011
The commercials that offend and anger me the most are the ones that end with "Have a Happy Period!". I had (let's see now, 40 years x 12 [no pregnancies] = )480 periods and not one of them was happy! I cannot believe a woman had anything to do with that ad campaign. I'm just glad I don't need their products any more. If I did, I would change to another brand.
Gender bashing really has no place in our society. We need to support each other and treat each other with respect.