Gay Guy's Closet: Tool not Tulle

Straight Guy,

Stayed home today to have my heating unit serviced. To make it so the service tech could do his magic, I cleaned out the closet that the heating unit is in. Not only did I cross an overdue chore off my list, I was reacquainted with my tool collection. I say collection since it spills out of the tool box.

I like having tools. Tools are cool. No one has as many as my dad or takes such loving care of them as he does -- my parents' basement is like a tool museum. But I have as many or more tools as the average condo-dweller.
A few hammers, a range of pliers, several sizes of screwdrivers, a drill and a kick-ass set of drill bits. A half dozen old jelly jars filled with left over screws, nuts, bolts, picture wire. Can I repeat that I love that drill bit set even though I've never needed to use them.

I don't understand why some people --male or female -- don't have any tools at all.
I don't expect people to own a circular saw, but for Pete's sake, how about a hammer? In truth, my ability to fix things is limited, but I do like having tools.

Tools are generally considered a straight guy thing, right. This might be among the few really straight things about this gay guy. It's an unfair stereotype. I think it might be more a house dweller/apartment dweller, owner/renter issue. I prefer old-timey hardware stores, but will go to Home Depot, etc., if I find myself near one. Depending on its location, I'll see a significant number of gay men in there.

Final confession: I am still proud of the straight A's that I got in 7th and 8th grade shop class, even decades later.
I have happy memories of shop class.

Gay guys, straight guys, men, women . . . How many tools do you have? Shop class: Nightmare or pleasure? Leave a comment and let us know.

--Gay Guy


15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a tool box filled with a few random tools. I even use them now and then. And I love that I know how.

I hated shop class. It was a horrible experience. The teacher was awful to me. He was a guy's guy. I dreaded that class every day.

Anonymous said...

Never went to shop class...so can't say anything on that account. But I do have a tool box with the basics that I'll use now and again. But truth be told...I'm awful with tools so I just let other people fix things if it's more complicated then fixing a nail or pounding something back into place. XD

Straight Guy said...

I have many tools, but they are often abused. I'm also very good at not finding the right tool but forcing another to somehow do the job.

Wow, that sounds dirty, somehow.

Also have to say that I HATE my basement, which keeps many projects from getting done.

Kiki said...

Hahah, at sixteen, I've already got a tool bag, hammer, screwdrivers, a few nails. The necessities. And a level. (Should be a necessity). (All of those are pink. blegh) Somewhere, I know I've got one of those emergency "car kit" type things with a mini ratchet screwdriver and flashlight... Maybe in the camping supplies.

As for shop class?
I've taken a few classes. I enjoyed them, though I did get a bit frustrated because of the whole "heavy lifting" aspect of a lot of them. I got A's (of course, the school systems here are... rather dumbed down) I was the only girl in the classes... so I did get... well, yeah. High School guys and an underclassmen female? You can imagine the difficulties. Or... something like that.


I can fix most problems. I've taken apart mp3 players, cd players, a music box. It's fun. *nerd* Hmm... reminds me I still have no clue how to fix that one LED or expand the memory.....

As for the basement... this house is ... old. and the basement is less than great. Ah well, it was a favorite location of mine when I was younger. And the attic. :D

Guess I'm kind of a handy sort of girl. Granted, I plan on going into architecture... so that might be an indicator of the way I think. LOL

Straight in Upstate said...

I feel like I don't even know you, GG. You got straight As in shop???? How did I miss this?

I don't know if anyone has tried appying Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences to sexual orientation or not. My guess is that one's interest in tools has no connection to....one's interest in tools.

kathryn said...

I LOVE my tools! (Ahem.)

I have EVERYTHING, after living in THE PIT (AKA The Money Pit) for 2 1/2 years.

I have EVERY power tool, every electrical/plumbing/sheet rock tool. I have drills, bits, sanders, jigsaws...I dice, I slice, I can test the amperage and replace the receptacle.

BUT. I can't cook. Go figure.

Oddyoddyo13 said...

Ugh tools! I can never tell what is what!

Straight in Upstate said...

Kathryn: it's mechanical vs. chemical. I'm chemical all the way.

K. Mun said...

Sadly we never had shop class... but I do love tools. I come from a family where my mother operated all the heavy machinery she could lift -- heavier than she could lift meant it was my father or one of us -- but it took me until high school to realize that most mothers call a contractor, where as my petite 5' 2", 125 pound mother painted, sanded, varnished, and did everything around the house except electrical work. And outside, my mother never called a landscaping company. My mother weeded, trimmed the hedges (we have 10-ft bushes edging half my lawn), and orchestrated spring cleaning.

It still amazes me.

KT said...

I love tools too. But as a girl I get stereotyped and I'm not allowed to use them. I used to sneak in my dad's home office and steal his hammer and nails and put stuff up on my wall. When my gardeners or chauffeurs would find out they'd tell me to stop and they'd do it. =(
Noe, as a married women, all on our own, I thought I could fix things up and make things with wood. You hear that sound? It's the sound of the air from my bubble being popped. After my hubby noticed some cuts and bruises on my fingers he forbade me to use tools. Yes, I am extremely clumsy and not very cautious, so yes I get hurt a lot. He barely lets me chop anything up in the kitchen because I ALWAYS get cut somehow.
I don't worry though, because I know ONE day I'll make something out of wood without any help from anyone. Can't wait to use a table saw!

Tinkerschnitzel said...

I haven't met a tool yet that I haven't liked. (I just cracked myself up.) I have my own set of tools, and often use some of my husbands. I LOVE power tools. The drill and dremel are my best friends. I took a semester of shop my freshman year of HS. First half was wood shop, but I'm so short that the tables were way too tall for me. I had one of the guys do all the routing. Second half was metal shop. Yes, I can weld with the best of them!

Betsy said...

Well, you know the old saying: "if they don't find you handsome, at least they'll find you handy...." ;)

Mixed Reflections said...

Can I just tell you that I hate tools? They are ALL over our house!! Husband continues to assert that if we only had a bigger shed.... Then what? We would have more freaking tools and STILL they'd be all over the place. Despite my frustrations, I must admit, placing my orders to fix things are made much easier by the unwelcome assortment...

Tea said...

"How many tools do you have?" Sadly... too many!!! I don't mind the ones we use a lot but why, why… why do we need to keep all the screws, nail and other clutter. Drives me crazy.

"Shop class: Nightmare or pleasure?" My husband cut his thumb (right up the nail) on a saw!!! Ewwww

I have a sincere question - "Home Depot, etc., if I find myself near one. Depending on its location, I'll see a significant number of gay men in there." -- Other than the obvious couple... how in the world can you really tell? Have you ever been wrong about this?

Molly Louise said...

I'm enrolled in a class next semester called "Intro to Stagecraft" where, from reading the course description, we get to put together sets for the theater productions campus. I'm really looking forward to shocking some of the men at my college (most come from money which I hope you all will forgive my stereotyping, but it is a trend, and lots of it, just look at our parking lots) at the fact that yes indeed, this chick can use power tools. And I'm pretty handy with duct tape, too. I was indeed that little girl who pushed around rocks in her Tonka dump truck instead of figuring out which outfit Barbie needed to go out on the town.

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