OMG... I'm more manly than I look?

[Karren H]

The new guy at work was in my office this morning and we were BS'ing and I told him that I tore into the V6 in the wifeys van last night and changed out the timing belt, water pump.. A coil.. And a few other things and he looked at me all surprised and said "I would have never guessed that you were a closet grease monkey... Never!".

Well now that you mention. closets... Lol.

So was it the manicured nails or the bottles of hand lotions on my desk.. The In-style magazine on my cradenza.... The fem jacket hanging on my door.. The vase and dried flowers? Lol.

I am amazed that appearently someone who doesn't know me well, I appear pretty un-manley and that's not how I see myself.. I know a lot of us think were all girly, in their minds, but inversley do you see yourself more manley than others do?

[cindym5_04]

I'm impressed with the car repairs. It does sound like you have a pretty femme office, though. Closet grease monkey is priceless.

[Brandiwvr]

check this out. I won the stockcar race on king of the hill night, if they only new my gender of choice and alot of them already do now me as Brandi. Queen of the hill 2008.
http://www.junctionmotorspeedway.com/pics_aug_2_a.htm
but long after my racing and all other activitys end I will still be me. BRANDI

[Brandiwvr]

just a hobby, stockcars, but every now and then we get a priceless spot in time. but I will always be me. I am in no way trying to brag as this win was one of a few in a lifetime of racing, but I do take great pride in building the cars, motors and chassis.

[Brandiwvr]

go steelers

[TommiTN]

check this out. I won the stockcar race on king of the hill night, if they only new my gender of choice and alot of them already do now me as Brandi. Queen of the hill 2008.
http://www.junctionmotorspeedway.com/pics_aug_2_a.htm
but long after my racing and all other activitys end I will still be me. BRANDI


Way cool, Brandi! That wouldn't be you standing by the gate with the NASCAR sign, would it?

[Sally2005]

Karen, maybe it was the skirt, high heels, and blouse your were wearing!

One thing that I really hate is breaking my nails because I am expected to do all the dirty jobs around my house. I'm not out to my wife, but darn it, why can't my wife break her nails or do some masonary work once in a while. :-)

[Karren H]

Karen, maybe it was the skirt, high heels, and blouse your were wearing!

One thing that I really hate is breaking my nails because I am expected to do all the dirty jobs around my house. I'm not out to my wife, but darn it, why can't my wife break her nails or do some masonary work once in a while. :-)


I didn't even chip a nail though I took a couple divits out of my hand!! Not since I started using Wet N Wild #201 clear matte polish and strengthner!! No broken nails!!

[cindym5_04]

I didn't even chip a nail though I took a couple divits out of my hand!! Not since I started using Wet N Wild #201 clear matte polish and strengthner!! No broken nails!!

...and not that they're giving Karren any money for her endorsements. :heehee:

(Karren: I'm sure your check will be in the mail shortly for that)

[Lorileah]

Yay Karren!

I would not know a timing belt from a muffler bearing (which I just had replaced last week...does a 100$ sound right for that?)

[Lisa_M]

Yay Karren!

I would not know a timing belt from a muffler bearing (which I just had replaced last week...does a 100$ sound right for that?)
That really all depends on the color of the bearing? if it what just the old fashioned black one, then yeah bout that, but some of these new cars are using anodized pink or red thats 1000s to replace! :D

as for karrens OP, I guess so, most people are shocked when they find out I manager a auto parts store. U? Well I never would have guessed! I guess others are just seeing what I already know.

[Sarah...]

What on earth is a cradenza?

Sarah...

[Kate Simmons]

With apologies to Rocky and Bullwinkle:

"Now there's something you don't see every day Chauncey"

"What's that Edgar?"

"A crossdresser coming out of a closet and working on a V6"


"Oh, I don't know Edgar, if a crossdresser comes out of one closet, they usually can come out of them all."

Once you leave one, they all become easier to leave.:raisedeyebrow::battingeyelashes::)

[Sam-antha]

What on earth is a cradenza?
Sarah...

Its Karen's spelling of an antique legless thingy
~S~

[Kelly DeWinter]

Karen,

I so need you help changing oil. I know may car has some theres this red blinking light on the dash .......

[Sarah...]

Its Karen's spelling of an antique legless thingy
~S~

Oh! Well what do you know? I've got one too!

I'm gonna tell people I've got a Cradenza. Cool.

Sarah...

[SherriePall]

Karren -- Getting back to the question at hand, I think most see me as more manly than I do. There are times I feel like yelling that I don't want to fix this or that and to just leave me alone so I can put on a new pair of nylons and my favorite pumps.
Karren -- You could have told him that if he makes any more statements like that you'll hit him with your hockey stick. (Is that a two- or five-minute penalty?) Or your purse -- whichever is closer.

[MarcieM]

So was it the manicured nails or the bottles of hand lotions on my desk.. The In-style magazine on my cradenza.... The fem jacket hanging on my door.. The vase and dried flowers? Lol.
Do your co-workers all think you're gay or what?

[JoAnne Wheeler]

Hey - I'm impressed that you can do automotive repair - just proves that CDers are multi-talented
JoAnne Wheeler

[Lorileah]

But can she bake a pie? Billy boy

Sorry that song just sprung into my head and since I am blond today I got REVERBBB

[Alice Torn]

Having been working poor all my life, I have had to learn fixing my car, mostly by the seat of my pants, use a Haynes manual, learned some from my older brothers decades ago. I do all the work, by myself, except the block work, tranny. Have spent thousands of hours, under cars, in miserable conditions, drenched, cold, overheated, hands torn up, bruised, and battered, covered with grease, and dirt,,, cussing up a storm so loud, that neighbors checked on me. Now, i live in apartments, and not allowed to do much-bummer. I can't imagine doing major repairs with long nails. My van won't run, and I could not find the problem-guessing timing chain, had it towed to a shop.

[Kelsy]

What!! Girls can't fix cars??:)

Kelsy

[Sherlyn]

I must be more manly than I think ..imagine that ..Lol ..I'm the one on our crew thats alway asked to climb the scaffold and hang the steel strapping on the vaulted ceilings...its much easier to strap on strappy shoes tho ..and I'm sure if they seen me in that guise they might still ask me to climb :p..not knowing its me of course ...Lol !!!!

[Margot]

I hate manly things. (sexist view) that I have to do. I was just now thinking as my wife works out on the treadmill that I really, really, hate sweating and prefer to devote my time to styles, hair and makeup, and housework.
By the way Karren, I cleared a large rink on the lake in front of my house a couple of days ago. I sweated, pushed and pulled and by the time I was finished my weak knee was so sore I couldn't skate anyhow.:doh: My wife enjoyed the skating though. I also had to wear flats around the house for a couple of days rather than my normal 3 inch wedges.
Such is life.
Hus to all
Margot

[PamelaTX]

I taught my wife how to fix the car so I could have more time in the kitchen. :D

(She loves it!)

[Tomara]

Hi Karren

Maybe the new guy is a member of the forum here !

I know a couple of GGs that are mechanics , they make there living working on vehicles , one on heavy trucks and they are better at there jobs than a lot of guys that I know !

Unfortunately the scraped knuckles , cuts and broken nails are part of the job , every time I get my hand looking good I some how end up with another cut or scrape , I keep my nails fairly short but still manage to break them too.

You didn`t tell us if it ran when you got it back together ! LOL ! ..... I am sure it did .... ?

Tomara

[jazmine]

LOL!......yeah, I can relate on this one. Never judge a book by it's cover eh?

[joann426]

way to go kerren you can help my change the transmisions in my challengerlolol!!!!!!

[Maxi]

Yay Karren!

I would not know a timing belt from a muffler bearing (which I just had replaced last week...does a 100$ sound right for that?)

You should have asked him, if he would trade a 5 gallon bucket of prop wash for it.

[Karren H]

Ohh yeah... It started and ran better than it has in years!! :). I had a few issues with the crnk shaft pulley bold.. But nothing a new impact socket, extwnsion and a 3 foot pipe wouldn't fix!! No friggin way that was torqued to 158 foot-pounds. It too 500 to break it loose!

[beenherelongtime]

if car repairs make you more manly, then i must be the most feminine person on earth.

[Anna_kissed]

Could have called me a cradenza last Saturday night--antique and legless:heehee:

[PretzelGirl]

Ohh yeah... It started and ran better than it has in years!! :). I had a few issues with the crnk shaft pulley bold.. But nothing a new impact socket, extwnsion and a 3 foot pipe wouldn't fix!! No friggin way that was torqued to 158 foot-pounds. It too 500 to break it loose!

Yep. Sounds like an engineer to know all the torques. :heehee:

[Patty]

The first time a crank pulley bolt is removed you need a very good impact wrench or like you said extra force tools.
I love to work on cars-use to be how a made a living.

[Karren H]

I have a good impact wrench... but my air compresser will only make 80psi... sigh.... Wish Victoria Secret has a tool isle!! :D

[waspookie6]

What!! Girls can't fix cars??:)

Kelsy
Sorry. I have to giggle a bit at this one and post, I've been wrenching and racing for 34 years. The last thing I need to do is drop the tank and install a new Walbro 225 pump, still haven't decided to put in new 60# injectors or not because then I'd need to upgrade the fuel lines to braided 10- which are a tad expensive ;)

And Karren - a 6 banger?! Waste your time on nothing less than an 8 cyl or have a shop do it :heehee:

I don't make my husband do all the 'guy' work round here, I ask him to mess with the computers now while I get the trees cut, haul & split wood, do the renovations, and keep the landscaping up on a full acre of land. There are times when he gets antsy and wants to help me out, just the need to be outside I think but I always buy him extra heavy duty leather gloves so his hands and nails don't get wrecked in the process.

He's that guy everyone goes to for personal reasons - they tend to see him as a chameleon of sorts which is a good thing as he says. :)

[CherylAnne]

Way to go Karen. I used to mechanic a lot, but the new crossways engines and I do not agree.
However, the day after Christmas I replaced the defrost heater, defrost thermostat and defrost timer in our refrigerator. And this past week have been under the floor replumbing the hot and cold water supply lines to the front bathroom. Talk about getting dirty. Then, without thinking, I threw all of the dirty jeans, sweatshirts, underwear,etc into the washer. Wouldn't you know it, my pair of pink Hanes boyshorts are not so pink after washing with jeans.

[Paula T]

Hmmmm I don't know if this counts but I was out today with the bobcat removing snow around my shop and my driveway for about 2 hrs. And it was 14 degrees below zero here. I got lotsa cars and I race too.:) Oh well.

[marny]

Queen Elizabeth was a mechanic during WW2. With the new cars today I pop the lid and look for the big ON/OFF switch. :doh:

[Brandiwvr]

34 is my car number, hmm. been racing for ten years of and on, sometimes relationships get in the way of whats really important, "RACING AND BEING ME". geuss its time to start a thread on racing.
Paula T, hope you had a good pair of hose under a great parka under a snowsuit under a pink scarf. thats cold even with a good heater system on the bobcat.

[linnea]

This is an interesting question, Karren. I think that people see me a very manly though I don't think of myself as a "super-macho" type. Sometimes people are surprised at some of my behavior and traits but not because they think of them as necessarily feminine.
I'm going to pay more attention to this (but I've always been pretty curious about it).

[docrobbysherry]

I didn't even chip a nail though I took a couple divits out of my hand!! Not since I started using Wet N Wild #201 clear matte polish and strengthner!! No broken nails!!

How many hours did u have to soak your hands in gasoline, to get the grease entirely out of your hands?:eek:

[susie evans]

karren

he just dosen't realize ALL the talents that you posess(if he only new the hole story)LOL

:hugs:susie

PS ha the smell of nitro is not far away

[Niya W]

Um Karen I want you stop and think. Look at the past three years and think about the conversations you have had with your co workers ]. Judge by your post you have said about prior conversations you have had with co workers are you shocked ??

[Karren H]

How many hours did u have to soak your hands in gasoline, to get the grease entirely out of your hands?:eek:

Well there's still grease imbeded in my nails and on my fingers...


Um Karen I want you stop and think. Look at the past three years and think about the conversations you have had with your co workers ]. Judge by your post you have said about prior conversations you have had with co workers are you shocked ??

Most of my coworkers habe know me for 20 years... And they have seen me go from your typical macho guy to my current state gradually.. But I'm amazed that someone I've only known for a month... Jumps to the conclusion (using Arnold terms) I'm a girly man... Lol. Guess I still see myself as me.. And I don't even realize how fem I've made myself?

[Sheila]

What!! Girls can't fix cars??:)

Kelsy

I can, & wagons, & diggers, & forklifts lllll owwwwwwwww and I also replace fuses in electric plugs :D:D

[Debutante]

Don't let this happen again, Karen! If we see grease under the finger nails, what will the girls REALLY think? :)

[Sheila]

Don't let this happen again, Karen! If we see grease under the finger nails, what will the girls REALLY think? :)

Now there's a girl who, not only looks good, but is useful as well :heehee::heehee:

[cindym5_04]

And I don't even realize how fem I've made myself?

but we like your fem self!

[Debutante]

Now there's a girl who, not only looks good, but is useful as well :heehee::heehee:
Ha ha! Yes... and GG women love that most of all, I think...!

[Hali]

Am not that huge/big as a guy, but people see me as possessing all the qualities of a man, most young men want to copy how i do things, but deep....deep ....deep down am a softy......phew! is so hard beign a man.

[Sheila]

Ha ha! Yes... and GG women love that most of all, I think...!

I am a GG hun :rofl:

[Debutante]

I am a GG hun :rofl:

I thought you were, Sheila...! Nice to see such a loving relationship!

[aliceeliot]

Isn't a Cradenza a good looking archaeologist from 'Time Team'?

[Tomara]

I have a good impact wrench... but my air compressor will only make 80psi... sigh.... Wish Victoria Secret has a tool isle!! :D

Lets see , clothes .... compressor ? looks like the clothes won out over the high power compressor . lol

If you have that situation again a little blue Loctite and your air wrench would be fine. I have seen crank pulley bolts so loose that you could probably take them out with you hand , so they don`t have to be that tight.

Tomara

[Leanne2]

I used to own a 1960 Cradenza. It was a great car. Leanne

[danacd96]

I always am relating to my gurly mind however untill I 'm able to dress put on my make-up and do my hair I'm sure I see myself as more manly even though I have always been kind of a preety boy lol! :)

lv dana

[SANDRA MICHELLE]

I only look fem when I am dressed. I do all the things that i need to do in order to be the man around our house and business. I did a roofing job on my mother in laws house, all new decking and shingles just this past september. I also did a complete rebuild on one of my truck engines last summer. I am in the process of doing a complete kitchen remodel with a tear down of a bearing wall and reroute of all the electric in the house which just so happened to run through that wall. i am almost finished, just need to do a little more dry wall sanding to get the right look. I also custom made an all oak island with a wine rack and granite countertop. All of this was accomplished while still wearing a bra and panties under my work clothes. A girl must have priorities.

[Lorileah]

I changed a light bulb once. Oh yeah and nailed a picture to he wall. Not on a hook the actual picture cuz te hanger kept falling out of the drywall

[Niya W]

Well there's still grease imbeded in my nails and on my fingers...



Most of my coworkers habe know me for 20 years... And they have seen me go from your typical macho guy to my current state gradually.. But I'm amazed that someone I've only known for a month... Jumps to the conclusion (using Arnold terms) I'm a girly man... Lol. Guess I still see myself as me.. And I don't even realize how fem I've made myself?

Sorry you fail to pass. as a guy :)

[JennyII23]

Well I am a Guy and happy as a guy with a senceative female side no one has seen ,but my GF ,so I will start way back in 1975 ,out of high school I almost joined the Navy ,went to college for 2 yrs got my AA Deg. then got hired by the same Company I still work for 32 yrs later ,I haved always been into things that go fast ,so I started Drag Racing in 1980 til 1992 and on and off til 1997 then put the car away (still got it) ,got to expensive for a single pocket book,so in 1993 I met an ol friend (we were raised on Boat Racing Hydroplanes ),so I went to a race and got hooked ,not hydros but there close cousin Tunnel Hulls Go fast turn left HARD,we got a world record in 1995 on a 1 and 2/3 mile oval @ 93.014 MPH ,that record still holds today ,went to our 1 st Professional race on Lake Mead in Nevada, destroyed the boat in practice ,leased a backup hull from another team we were friends with and rigged all our heardware and made the race ,finished 17th out of a 27 boat field . Jumping to 1999 (cause of back surgury ) we bought a nother boat carbon fiber fast hull so we were ready for the 2001 season stepping up and racing APBA CHAMP Boat ,and going into the 3rd to last race of the season ,I was pushing her a little harder that normal,a 1st pl finish would of put me in the top 3 points in the Nation ,well I messed up or a combo of water conditions and me I hit a hole low spot next to a swell, put me in lane 2 from 1 and hit another boat up and over I go ,I was gone ,when the diver came down after me he knew he had plenty time I was gone ,he still rushed me out got me on the Rescue boat EMP started CPR and they all couldn't believe I woke up ,but I don't remember a thing from just prior to the heat and hours later in the Hospital..
So I repaired the boat carbonfiber wan't hurt bad ,( wood hull would of been total loss ) and we got a new young driver ,tested tuned during the last part of 02 all 03and 04 ,as a new class was being introduced for 05 and we got our US1 National high points :) ,In 06 we went for a KILO Record but missed by 2 tenth's of a MPH the World Record ,the last 3 yrs she been static in the Garage ,We are thinking of a couple race's this summer. Now back to the ol Drag car ,she was paked for almost 9 yrs in the garage so I transformed her back to a street car 68 Camaro took 3 yrs and 20,000 $$$ finished last May08
so hands greasey ,dirty all the time here ....I hope you all like the run down of my life I am at peace with myself with my CDing or Underdressing only..Thank you all. Much Health and Happiness to all :)