are you self-sufficient?

[garyg]

1/3 working, 1/3 sleeping? Can we switch lives please???? That sounds like heaven to me right now.

Well, things can change. As I kid I was close to the 8/8/8 model, after entering my career it was more like half work (80+ or so hour weeks), quarter or so sleep, quarter for the ironing ..

Now, retired, I just fold the hankerchiefs, the iron hasn't been out in a while .. but only once in my life did someone else shine my shoes, at the Camino Real,

[Doc4]

Okay guys, let's let cooler heads prevail here, shall we?

It's time to stop trying to "fix the internet" and just take a step back and relax.

[BigFoot]

Okay guys, let's let cooler heads prevail here, shall we?

It's time to stop trying to "fix the internet" and just take a step back and relax.

You could have at least shown one of the Probert, Domi bouts. Those were some classics.

[garyg]

Nah, nah, nah .. Ozzie v Roy .. best fight in the last 20 years

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl2xMXXOw4M

Or, maybe Mike Vernon v the same puke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7LZb...eature=related

[BigFoot]

Nah, nah, nah .. Ozzie v Roy .. best fight in the last 20 years

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl2xMXXOw4M

Or, maybe Mike Vernon v the same puke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7LZb...eature=related

How do you really feel about Patrick Roy?

I loved that game, in Roys defense, Claude Lemiuex needed the help, McCarty was killing him. But then I don't have a lot of lost love for Lemieux either. The best part was when Shanahan leveled Roy as he was coming to help. At that point Vernon was the only one not fighting, if I remember right he tried to break up Adam Foote and Brendan Shanahan and Roy sucker punched him. It was a classic.

[Straight Rasier User]

Interesting Topic.

Self-Sufficient and preferences - wardrobe.

Clothes - I prefer to pick and buy my own.

Washing - I would prefer for my wife to wash them all. However, I can sort by colors or fabric, put them in the washer, dry most of them in the dryer and know which ones should be hung up to dry. When they are done drying, I can then either fold them or put them on hangers and put them away.

Dry Cleaners - I drop off my Suits and Slacks at the Dry Cleaners. I know that there is a kit to do it at home but, I prefer to drop it off.

Suits and/or Slacks - has to be wool and has to be Dry Cleaned.

Belt - has to be black and made of leather. (and one brown one)

Dress Shirts - I prefer to drop them off at the laundry to have them starched. I could use an Iron and a can of starch but, I appreciate what the laundry does and at the moment I don't mind them doing it. Now I might look into starching shirts without a can but, that would not be for a while.

Cufflinks - I buy my own and most of my Dress Shirts need cufflinks.

Watch - I buy my own watches ... mostly wrist watchs but, I have a couple of pocket watches.

Rings - I wear a wedding ring and have two other rings that I wear.

Ties - I pick my own and can tie them with two different knots. I mostly use the Pratt-Shelby Knot too. (Most of my ties are silk as those are what a gentleman should wear.)

Bow Tie - Don't have one yet but, I will have to get one someday.

Shoes - Polish myself ... a minnie spit-shine.

Boots - Polish myself.

Shoes/Boots - I take them to a shoe repair shop to have them resoled.

Socks - Dress Socks Calf-Length or Regular Length - mostly basic black and some are Argyle style.

Socks - mostly regular white

I can sew a button, fix a tear, put on a patch and hem my own pants.

I pick out my own clothes and choose my own colors and match what I wear.

I know how to cook more than just an egg. I can pan fry, boil, steam, broil or bake and I can grill with the best of them. And unfortuantely, I cook better than my wife. So since I know how to cook, I can buy the real food at the grocery store ... fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, fresh meat and even spices.

I know how to change the oil in my car and how to change a flat tire.

I can do the dishes, dry them off and put them away.

I can clean the house, clean the floors and even clean the toilets.

I can make small home repairs ... take out a toilet, unstop a drain, fix holes in the walls and paint up a storm.

I can weed the yard, mow the grass and take out the trash.

I can pee while sitting down on the toilet, put on a new toilet paper roll, put down the toilet seat and even wipe my own bottom.

So I am like you "I'm old fashioned in the sense that I believe every man should know how to do things for for himself."

Now my head is so inflated I think it is going to explode.

All kidding aside ... I believe that every man should know how to do a lot of things.

And while they should know how to they don't always need to actually do it.

But, when someone else does it for them either because they wanted to or they were paid to do it then, that man should be gracious and really show appreciation for a job well done because a real man would know how hard the task can be.

[StillShaving]

Interesting thread, though a little more contentious that it ought to be. I think this is as much an economic (time) question as much as it is about self reliance. I am sure we all know people who are more or less self reliant but that does not really reflect on their character. There are many different planes of self-reliance to examine before deciding what makes one truly self reliant or not. For example, in parts of the rural south a man might be considered less than a full man if he wasn't able to grow his own food (vegetable garden), hunt and fish for game (dress a deer), do car repair up to and including a full engine rebuilt, home maintenance from basic plumbing repairs to replacing the roof to framing up an extension, etc, to the point of nearly being totally self reliant. That comes partly out of necessity but has a hidden cost to him and his community.

I believe its well established that Division of labor increases overall productivity, but it makes us all less self reliant.

[Stevew443]

I am pretty much self sufficient. I never did like the way my wife did laundry, so I do my own. I iron my own clothing and I make my own clothing purchases. I also do my own cooking, especially now that I am on a very strict ultra low fat diet. I was always one of those people who would not own anything unless I had a fairly good understanding of how it worked, so when computers came out my wife insisted that I learn how to operate one before we made our first purchase. I did her one better and went to tech school and learned how to fix them and started a new career.

[oakeshott]

Used to take all my dress clothes to the dry cleaners but after the second ruined shirt and the umpteenth destroyed MOP button I stopped and now wash and iron them myself.

Although I could give up my day job and make a living as a very old shine boy (sit down Joe Pesce), I prefer to get them shined by the guys at Penn Station. Like to watch pros work.

[razumny]

When in the navy, I actually brought an iron to boot camp, and ironed, not only my own stuff, but that of a number of the men in my platoon, making a pretty penny doing so. I spent a lot of time perfecting my technique for shining shoes, too, and can readily do so again.

These days, I drip-dry my shirts, and they are of a quality that means that if I leave them in the bathroom while showering, they look decent, so I only rarely have the need to break out the iron.

I have always taken pride in my ability to tie my own tie, quickly and correctly, and a few years back taught myself, using youtube videos, how to tie a bow tie.

It all comes down to taking care of ones appearance, and mine, at least when working or in a formal setting, is important to me.