This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #oilchange #CollectiveBias
Scott lives 3 doors down from me. On weekends he’ll often be in his driveway wearing overalls with a bright neon X on the back working on something.
It could be his boat, his car, his trailer, his house. It doesn’t matter what it is, Scott is a DIY guy. And he’s good at it.
In the summer, when I was building a backyard garden box (the most intensely DIY thing I’ve done in nearly a decade), it was Scott I saw to have a few extra inches chopped off my wood.
Just as I outsource my parenting (having summer camps teach my kids how to ride their bikes), I outsource my Man Card. (I dont buy into traditional gender roles and stereotypes, but there are some things you ‘learn from your dad’ or ‘do cause you’re a dad’ and that’s what I’m talking about here).
I don’t fish like my dad. I don’t work with wood like my dad. I don’t putter like my dad. When he visited over Christmas, I had a list of ‘honey do’ chores I needed help with. Caulking a tub, reattaching a railing, etc. He breezed through the things I had struggled with.
So back to Scott, and his perpetual weekend fiddling. Through November his vehicles were up on risers, old tires tossed around the yard, and oil pans on the driveway. It was a reminder for me to get it done too – by someone else.
As you can guess, I don’t do oil changes. I can’t. The first time I ever needed to drop a few extra litres in my very first car, I pulled in to a gas station to ask where the dipstick was lest I drop it in the windshield fluid chamber.
I still ‘try’ to do some things around the house, but I get upset when I fail. I often make the problem worse (see railing my dad had to fix and toilet flappers I have often mis-installed) So I outsource the complicated stuff. Scott can changes his oil and tires, but I’m outsourcing my Man Card on that one, gang.
My car is important for the family. It shuttles my kids to swimming, art, dance, soccer, and camping. I change the tires when the winter weather sets in (which could be August in Alberta), I stick to the recommended maintenance schedule for my car and, every 6 months or so, I’m getting things checked.
I got my new winter tires installed just before the dark cold and ice of the new year set in and had my oil change and tune up done at WalMart at the same time.
If you’re the kind of guy that does it on your own – like Scott, or my dad – using Quaker State from WalMart is the way to go.
Or you could be like me, and outsource your Man Card.
Oh, and if you need a Man Card, that lovely one at the top is actually one of the many gift card designs they have at WalMart. It’s how I got mine 😉
Once the ice thaws, the snow melts, and the neighbours come out from their hibernation, I’ll have to go and ask Scott how it’s done. Maybe.
Disclosure: This branded content was supported by Collective Bias, Quaker State and WalMart. All opinions and content is my own.