We’ve all had that moment: you head to the home improvement store to buy that one thing you need and forgot to buy for your latest project. You stride down the aisles, calm and collected. You’re working on something you’re excited about. And you’re an old hand at this type of thing; you’ve been working with tools ever since your Dad let you pound a few nails during one of his projects. You know what you’re doing….
But then it hits you. You’re standing in the aisle and you realize that before you is the biggest collection of odd bits and pieces you’ve ever seen. You see one that looks like the piece that you need, but it comes in at least ten different sizes and materials. You realize that you didn’t read the directions, or take note of the right type of part you needed…
You have a few options of course: you can call your spouse and listen to them try to work out what you need, most likely to fruitless ends. You can try to look up the right details on your phone, but if you’ve forgotten this detail, you’ve probably forgotten a few specifications as well. You can shamefully ask one of the teenage employees for advice, but who knows if they will even know what you’re talking about. Or you can head home, get the information, and leave for the door as said spouse asks irritably if you didn’t just get home from the store a minute ago. There is no glory and no victory in any of these options.
This happened to me recently when I went to go buy small hose clamps. I find this particularly shameful because I come from a long line of contractors, construction workers, and general do-it-yourselfers. As you might have guessed, I opted for the final choice: after finding myself staring blankly at a selection of heavy duty hose clamps, trying to remember if I needed heavy duty hose clamps or high pressure hose clamps, and wondering why I hadn’t remembered anything more specific than “small hose clamps”, I turned around. Shamefully, I drove home, where I faced a barrage of questions from my wife, and my ten year old daughter informed me that wasting gas is bad for the environment. Kids, right?
I quickly worked out the ideal hose clamps for my project (turns out I was looking for quick release hose clamps, too) and headed back to the store. But I hope I learned my lesson: check your specifications before you head to the store, lest you end up mentally debating hose clamps seizes and hose clamps types for hours, unable to remember any details other than that you came for small hose clamps.
