Gizmos and Gadgets

This is a shout out to all the women out there that have a clue about following directions, putting things together or that just know about gadgets. Very broad shout out. (No pun intended!) But let me tell you a little story about putting together equipment for an office gym. We bought this rack to keep medicine balls from rolling all over the gym, tripping the health nuts or anyone else that chooses to use the gym as a short cut from one side of the office to the other. But I digress…

So this rack is a great concept. I take everything out of the box and search for directions. The “directions” consist of a sheet of paper. How was I to figure out that all those little numbers on the diagram correspond to the list of parts? Totally not helpful. So I figure I'll take the assembly piece by piece.

As I’m struggling with the awkward structure, trying to balance it on one of the said medicine balls, Sophia helps to hold the bar in place. Then Nick comes in and helps organize all the little pieces. He points out that the numbers on the diagram correspond to bolts, nuts and washers. Aha! And we proceed to break the pieces into piles of like-objects. And I think to myself (and probably say out loud) how great it is that Nick understands these do-it-yourself assembly projects. And then we get 3 whole bolts in before we are foiled again. Did I mention the stand is totally awkward and you have to hold it on its side and hold various pieces in place in order to assemble? And that we had to use five washers for ever bolt because they weren’t the right length?

We decide we need more washers and pack everything up, fully ready to turn the whole thing over to professionals. I’m thinking our infrastructure team should take a stab at it. And with that in mind I head to lunch lamenting to Molly about this contraption that requires a PhD. And she says, I’ll take a stab at it. And I’m skeptical, but not too skeptical because Molly is smart. And as it turns out she did a very simple but wonderfully helpful thing that should be the first step in any do-it-yourself project: Inventory the pieces. And that is how she learned that we are missing 4 bolts, 5 nuts and 10 washers of the M10 variety.

And so I come back to my sexist celebration of all women that can do things. Constructive things. Things that some men (and women) might give up on. Things that don’t necessarily require brawn, but a whole lot of brain. Now if only I can get the company to ship out the missing pieces maybe I can convince Molly to help me finish the job.