Mechanics are my favorite genre of people. Particularly mechanics who teach me things about my car. Probably this is due to the fact that we (my family and I) get/have cars that often require mechanics. Also, my uncle is a mechanic, so I've watched him and my father do lots of work in my grandparents' garage over the years. I had a strong attachment to my mechanic in Waco, TX, even though I'm pretty certain that he was overcharging me. He used to show me lots of things about the car--the time that a random clamp that shouldn't have been there came loose and started bumping, making a strange noise under the car; also, the phantom problem that my car has and no one can diagnose, which occasionally causes the power to cut out for no apparent reason. Additionally, my Waco, TX mechanic had a gold plated ten commandments on a wood plaque. This was the original thing that made me love him.

If I had even a semblance of hand/eye coordination, I would be a mechanic. I take an inordinate amount of pleasure in solving problems that crop up with the car. For instance, changing the parking light and headlight were huge accomplishments for me, after which I proclaimed proudly to my roommates: "I am the coolest person you know." Also, I used my mechanic skills to diagnose the propensity of the air conditioning (which doesn't actually work) to blow the white, #25 fuse, which I know how to replace. Now I have a spirit-filled mechanic in Williamsport who is a family friend and who actually fixed the short and now I have defrost once again!