Member-only story
HOME KITCHEN INSTALLATION
Formidable Force
A day of unity
We were the dynamic duo — a modern-day Batman and Robin, the Peter Pan and Tinkerbell of Frankfurt, the Captain America and Bucky of our domain. Herr Handyman and Frau Handywoman were our names and IKEA kitchen and bathroom furniture installation was our game.
We graduated to the top of the class, although it wasn’t so long ago that our inexperience and fear plagued our very existence. We couldn’t hold a drill without the shakes or screw without stripping, in an apartment furnishing/repair context, that is. Humble beginnings, indeed.
If I had had a red cape, I would have strapped on a tool belt, with drill in hand, and gone around to the neighboring homes to volunteer my handiwork. That’s how confident I became. It wasn’t always that way, though. I was a Mr. Fix-it misfit during my first six months in Germany. Nobody informed me you had to do everything yourself there.
Coming from America, I was used to shoe-shine service with a shit-eatin’ grin. So when my better half broke the news that we would be on our own with respect to lifting the apartment to a proper living standard, I was somewhat depressed, as my handyman experience was pretty limited. Sure, I’d fixed a flat tire before, changed the oil in my car, hammered a few nails, and cut some…
