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The kitchen tap has been dripping for a week.
The replacement cartridge valves we ordered arrived quickly but the 14mm socket needed to remove the existing cartridge was delayed by a week.
Impatient and sick of the constant drip-drip-drip of the tap, my mum and E separately went in search of the missing part, returning home with various bits and pieces from local hardware shops.
We have ended up with:
- A 14mm ½ inch drive socket.
- A 14mm ¼ inch drive socket.
- A set of hexagonal things I do not recognise but now think might be Allen keys for a socket set.
- A whole new socket set that goes up to 14mm but has sockets too shallow to remove a cartridge valve.
- A ½ inch drive ratchet handle.
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The tap is now fixed.
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for each desired change, make the change easy (warning: this may be hard), then make the easy change
I would add the corollary:
for each desired DIY job, find the tools to make the job easy (warning: this may be hard), then do the easy job.
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While hoarding the aforementioned tools, I was also attempting to complete multiple lengthy client questionnaires from our conveyancer, finish applying for probate, mend C’s bedroom door (which doesn’t fully close) and retrieve two table football balls from my dad’s home cinema subwoofer.
While completing the probate application with my mum, I realised I had fallen into a familiar trap: trying to be useful to those around by busying myself with odd jobs (both DIY and administrative).
In reality:
- I was stressing myself out.
- I was absent from the people I was trying (and failing) to help.
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I’ve given up on the table football balls in the subwoofer.
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Euan’s latest creation is absolutely wonderful.
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Having taken responsibility for some projects written using Gatsby at work, you will now find me using the term “jamstack” in emails.
Weeknotes 68
By Paul Mucur,
on