
Well, i had learned to be a roofer when the roof began to leak. I had learned to be a plumber when the sink began to leak. When the replacement electric fence control panel arrived in the mail I figured, why couldn’t i also learn to be an electrician?

First i flipped the switch to turn off the electricity to the area of the house i was going to be working on. Then i took the cover off the old fried control panel and memorized the placement of all the screws and wires. I got my screw driver and removed all the screws, taking the control panel off the wall and separating it from the wires. Then i places the new control panel on the wall where i screwed it into place and then trapped the wires between a metal piece and each screw, just as they had been sandwiched on the first control panel. I plugged the wire leading to the outlet and the wire leading into the wall into the bottom of the new control panel. then i flipped the switch and turned the electricity back on. The control panel lit up. I went out and tested the fence. It was working.

I had done it. I now knew a little bit about roofing, a little bit about plumbing, and a little bit about electrical wiring. Knowing how much money i had saved myself in not having to pay someone to come out and rig it up for me, i paid myself four dollars for the deed. I promptly took those four dollars to the health foods store in town where i bought myself a bar of rich dark chocolate with black currants and almonds on the inside. It was so heavenly. I was having the time of my life sitting in the car eating that magic, savoring every melting sweet morsel. I secretly wished i’d have to hire myself for something again as an excuse to pay myself in chocolate.