11 days working under car, in the cold. No desire to dress.

[Alice Torn]

I am low income, spent 1700 dollars on my old Dodge, but have to replace the leaky oil pan. 11 days ago, i started the job, which requires raising the motor, and taking off steering parts, and more. The weather has been subzero most of the time, with only a few above freezing days. I have hit snag after snag, complication, after complication, and my hands are dry and full of sores, body strained and aching all over, and mind pretty demoralized. I wear tights at night, to help stay warm, in my cold place. But to tell the truth, i am too shot to want to dress up at all, and too beat. My guy side has had to take over , until this hellish job is done. If the car is ruined, i will just not have a car anymore. Push has come to shove, with this Siberian type bitter cold winter. I wear an insulatied mens coveralls. I grew up in this stuff, but at 59, and under the car 7 hours in subzero weather, for 11 days or more, even CDing takes cover.

[suzy1]

Oh how I do sympathize Alice!
When the car is finely done just get in that shower girl. Then rub some skin cream all over you, a squirt of perfume and you will back in Alice mode in no time.
I have spent too much time under a car myself and I know the misery of it all.

[Alice Torn]

Suzy, Thank you for the post, and empathy , and sharing. This is the last time i ever am doing MAJOR car repairs myself!!!! Next time, i will get rid of it, and just walk or use the bicycles.

[Anna H]

Alice, I think that could very well be my worst nightmare to
ever have to go through that type of thing again.

At least with dressing, there's something Special to look forward
to. Everyone else gets to watch TV after the Hellish job is done.

It's hard for me to find any positives with deep-freeze mechanic jobs,
but I do feel for you! Very Much!

[Finally Happy]

Been there, I feel for you! I think a lot of us have had to switch to full on guy mode a time or two. But that's one of things that I think is very cool about what we do. We can, if we want to, have the best of both worlds. There are things in either mode that I won't do. Combine the two, there's nothin I can't do. With all that said, in 'guy mode' I always wear panties (it's all I have) and usually wear bra, especially if it'll go unnoticed, like under a car wearing heavy jackets...

[suzy1]

I once worked under a car and as I lay in the gutter the rain flowed into my collar ran down my body and went out through the bottom of my trousers. The job took over an hour! I am now very lucky. I can afford to get the garage to do the work.

[Ilsa]

A most dreaded situation doing your own maintenance, but look at it this way. It sure beats the car breaking down when you're out for the night dressed to the hilt in the middle of nowhere.

[MonikaTirola]

Nothing wrong with being all guy. Somehow I don't fully believe it as you posted your story here.

In any case days will get longer and sunnier soon.

And that might just unfreeze your girly side too.

Also I'm impressed you could fix your car in the cold.

[Kate Simmons]

It's pretty similar to being in a hardship military tour in a foreign country in a combat situation. Can't get too much worse than that. I've done it all and survived my friend. This is when fortitude, determination and long suffering kick in. There is always a light at the end of that bleak looking tunnel.

[Beverley Sims]

Alice,
You will warm up, thaw out and the urge will return....
I assure you.

[Stephanie47]

Time to relocate to where the weather is not so extreme.

[Paulacder]

I agree, once the car is finished a hot bath, a total body shave, a wiff of your favorite perfume will put you back in the mode....This has always worked for me...

[thisgal16]

I have the same problem but during the summer where it is well over 100 all the time and couple that with working outside 12 plus hours a day and I don't feel like doing anything other than showering and sleeping. This is the time of year I like to dress and so things due to the mid 70s highs and high 40s for the lows

[bimini1]

Damn that's rougher than rough. I want to get out in the cold en femme but Jack Frost just laughs at the coat I have.

[julia marie]

Alice. Best of luck with the car. We can all sympathize, and I'm sure you will feel more fem once you have the wheels back and spring hits. BTW, one of the worst feelings besides the raw chill is touching any metal parts when it's sub-zero. Ouch!

[josrphine]

Hi Alice, Like u, been there done that, but my worst was as a power lineman ice storm in Connecticut. Cold had too climb the ice side of the pole, electricity running up an down the arms, but guess what we wore pantie hose to keep warm . JO

[DorothyElizabeth]

HI, Alice! Like you, I have been there, done that, and got the tee shirt. (In fact, I have several, if anyone wants one of my extras. - insert wry grin here) I spent the first four years after graduating rom college working as an automobile mechanic, but that was back in the seventies, when all you needed was common sense and the right tools. Today, the only things I do my self are things like brakes and wheel bearings. BUt I certainly know the frazzle of not having cash, and having a car that is really on its last legs, so to speak. My car is nineteen years old, and whenever I drive it, I wonder what is going to die next.

My friend, Teresa (a genetic female) says the worst part about working on cars is there is no way to clean up your fingernails afterward, and polish does not stick to the grease that gets ground in around the edges. She recommends nitrile gloves, and following up afterward with Bag Balm, which she buys from Vermont Country Store.

Best of luck to you, and stay warm, Girl!

[char GG]

I admire your ability to fix a car. As a GG, I wish I had more mechanical ability, however, the best I can do is memorize pictures of an engine and try to recite how it works. (I had to take a test on it once). No matter how hard I try, I still don't understand. My poor SO just shakes his head, it so easy to him. Sorry about you having to work in the cold, I also live in the midwest, it has been a wicked winter so far. The best advise I can offer after working in the cold on a miserable job is to take a hot bubble bath.

[Vanessa5]

Yes this winter has been rather on the cold/freezing side of the coin. I live in MN and last weekend I did sparkplugs in the car we just bought. I have a bullet heater and luckily is still works. I applaud you for doing your own repair work. I have a car that seems to like to be broken. Everytime it goes to the shop (I can't work on it-too many things I just want to smash) it is at least $400. That is on the cheap-just spark plugs! Had to replace entire front end (mechanically) and that was $5000.

[flatlander_48]

Yes, it has been cold, very cold. This morning I cleaned my car, my wife's car, drove to work (a 10 minute trip), parked and walked into the building. I sat at my desk for nearly 30 minutes before the numbness left my fingers and they quit hurting. However, the real problem is that I am not really acclimated to northern winters any more. Out of the last 10 years, 6 in Taiwan and 1 in Wilmington, NC have seen to that...

[Jilmac]

I fully sympathize with you Alice. I always try to do things as cheap as I can but I still haven't learned my lesson. That evil Murphy who's law states, "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" accompanies me on every job I tackle, and it seems that Murphy is at his worst in winter. As cold as it has been this winter, if anything goes wrong with my car, I'll just let the snow pile up on it and stay indoors until August.

[Adriana Moretti]

dont worry.....that urge will come back....especially when the flowers start to bloom...and the skirts go up a little higher !

[KristyE]

My truck is in the driveway with a rot hole in the frame, bad ball joint and an emmisions problem. Driving the SO"s car till spring, I won't spend another winter under it if I can help it. Hope your done with yours for now. A hot shower, a cup of tea, a soft nighty, and a good nights sleep can cure anything...
Love KristyE

[Donnagirl]

Just be thankful you can repair a car. I don't want to think how many thousands of dollars I have saved being able to fix just about everything. Rewired the AC / heater control, replaced two taps and replaced the lower control arms on the car this weekend. Money saved I would like to think will go towards wardrobe items, but no.... I must entertain the kids whilst the wife works. Did get some gladiator heels on sale. Maybe one day I'll post a pic.

[flatlander_48]

No matter how hard I try, I still don't understand. My poor SO just shakes his head, it so easy to him.

In part, this speaks to how society views the roles of men and women. We tend not to encourage (and even discourage) exposure of so-called masculine activities to young women and so-called feminine activities to young men. My first wife and I did do some of this with our son and daughter. Our son knows how to cook and clean and our daughter knows her way around a clutch and gearshift and a toolbox. It is to the point where her husband recognizes her skills are superior to his own in that regard. I hope that she will pass the thought process along to our granddaughter.

The complications of a machine such as a car are not learned overnight. However, the suggestion would be to start from the inside with what makes the BANG and work your way outwards.