• AJ Sadauskas@aus.social
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    4 months ago

    @TinyBreak @Seagoon_ This probably isn’t quite what you’re looking for, but it does involve a phobia.

    I’m a little scared of heights, and a lot scared of falling off ladders.

    The last place I lived was an old cream-brick 1960s-ish flat. It had really high ceilings, with that “popcorn” (possibly asbestos?) texture.

    I was living there by myself.

    One day, the light bulb in the living room blew.

    This ceiling was high — I could just barely reach it from the second- or third-top rung (and I wasn’t game to go any higher).

    The light had one of those glass covers that had a screw in the middle, and then a couple of hooks on either side. After about 50-odd years, it was well and truly rusted and didn’t want to budge.

    Well.

    After two goes, taking around half an hour each time, I finally managed to get the bloody cover off.

    Then another 30 minutes to get the old bulb out.

    Then another 30 minutes to get the new globe in.

    After spending around two hours — basically the best part of a Saturday afternoon — trying to change one light globe, I was done. The cover can wait for another day.

    Unfortunately, a few weeks later, I got a notice that the real estate agents wanted to do an inspection. The joys of renting!

    That weekend, I asked wifey to come over (we hadn’t moved in together yet) and help put the cover on.

    Ladder out. Clip. Clip. Clip. Screw.

    She had the cover back on in, like, two minutes, tops.

    I think I might have actually said something along the lines of: “Shit — it’s that easy?”

    The moral of the story?

    Find a handywoman, move in with her, and get wifey to do it 😁