I may work inside an office building, but you wouldn't know it from my hands. My knuckles are often bruised from wrenching, it's not uncommon for there to be dirt or grease beneath my nails, random wounds are a constant, and the coarse skin matches the years of abuse I put them through in both physical labor and fun. I have taught them how to play the bass guitar, skip a stone, tie a fishing knot, write in cursive, swing an axe, and rebuild a carburetor; among countless other abilities. Now, I'm proud to say these hands have learned something else new: how to weld! 

This past Christmas, I was thrilled to find a welder beneath the tree. It's such an awesome gift, and I had been waiting for the opportunity to test it out. Well, I've been working on this big go-kart buggy thing for a while now and it was time to reattach the front end, so my friend and I went to town on it. We cut up some scrap metal, threw on a mask, and got to laying down some sticks. We fixed the shocks, got the steering together, and connected it all to the main frame. Although some things aren't quite fitting or looking exactly like I want, it's a start, and I'm just happy that my sloppy welds actually held. I've got a lot of learning to do when it comes to properly using that machine, but for my purposes over the weekend, I think I did alright! 

It was honestly a lot of fun and I'm excited to continue learning about how to use the welder properly. More knowledge and practice will open up my options on what I can accomplish through the use of it, and that goes the same for these hands of mine in general. Just because I'm not in school anymore doesn't mean I care to stop learning. It's just that now the garage is my classroom and I've traded-in my pencil for an angle grinder. 

With this, add welding to the list of things I sort-of know how to do! I'm hyped. 

Thanks for giving this a read, and if you get the opportunity to do so, try something new! Maybe you've been curious about knitting or you want to play the harmonica. Go for it!