I got given a second hand bike the other day, thought it just needed some air in the tyres but turns out the back inner tube was fucked, by the end of the day I’d basically completely disassembled the thing and put it back together (including fucking Kmart selling me a tube that had a fucking hole in it). My hands were covered in grease, and the bike was back in excellent order, rode so much better.
I basically only changed a tyre, but I was out in the yard in the afternoon sun, some music playing, and at the end of the day I had something to show for what I did. Can’t recommend it enough.
Oh yeah. I've been building a little microshelter out of scrap parts since lockdown. A follow up project for my two story cubby house for the kids.
I hadn't done wood work since high school.
There's just something super nice about making a physical thing with your hands, or bringing something broken back to life.
I started a construction job this year, and just having the tools and scrap material to build has done wonders for me. I have a lot of nervous energy and being able to expend it on small, low stakes projects is awesome. Plus I GET TO SEE THE FRUITS OF MY LABOR!!!
The best feeling, isn't it? All of that energy producing something for yourself, not being taken away.
It really has helped my adhd starting a trade before that I wanted to die coming into work.
This is what I don't understand about young people shunning building trades as a career choice. It's immensely satisfying work compared to some bullshit desk job and every plumber and electrician I know makes great money and is either in a union that provides great health care or they're on their own on track to retire in their 50s.
There are a couple of theories for that.
The u.s greatly looks down on blue collar workers even though both parties like to give lip service and virtue signal to them. Because of that the education system doesn't offer it as an alternative to traditional 4 year colleges or the military (which gets my tin foil hat tingling).
The vast majority of people live in urban areas therefore don't have exposure to them because everyone in their family and social circle either works an office job or service industry. Which had the negative effect of leaving this type of work to anti union rural chuds who do have exposure to this work. Because of said chuds being overwhelming in the trades they are gatekeepers who poorly advertise the work and use nepotism to keep people out of it and give it to their friends or in low paying laborer positions.
The trades can be rough on the body but that's because boomers love breaking their backs to prove how tough they are instead of taking care of their bodies with yoga, eating healthy, find better solutions to do a job and not doing meth in the porta potties.
We need some lefty hammer swingers to break up the reactionary strangle hold on it. Anyone want to help me?
Insightful post. Especially wrt the nepotism and gatekeeping by chud subcontractors and doing things the hard way. I'm in northern VT and every company is some french canadian last name and every male in that family works for the business.
I've been in my attic and basement for weeks replumbing and rewiring our 1940s house and it's honestly pretty brutal on the lower body and back. Taking breaks and stretching really helps. I'm on SSDI for life now but I'd take that work over my past life's choices in a second if I could. Plumbing and hvac is pretty objectively interesting work.
Yea I'll tell anyone who will listen that a union trade job is very satisfying & fruitful.
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