Category Archives: Engineer Chic!

Home Improvements

06 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by in Engineer Chic!

≈ 1 Comment

I know its been forever since I’ve blogged, but I think you’ll forgive me – I have been busy moving into and setting up my new place. My mum’s also moved up with much of her furniture (I didn’t have much) and we’ve been planning on how to integrate our furniture with the style of the new house.  Since its an open-plan living roon, dining room and kitchen, and the kitchen is done in gorgeous greys and silvers.  The problem is, most of our furniture is hardwood with richly-coloured upholstery!  We have beautiful vintage frames and mirrors, in gold not silver – these will have to be repainted.

So as you can imagine, we’ve been busy planning on how to give our things a complete make over and have come up with some exciting ideas!

  • Painting a feature wall in a rich, suede silver-grey with loads of texture;
  • Re-upholster chez-lounge from red and gold, to a rich velvety silver;
  • Redo the mirrors, frames and some small pieces of furniture in silver leaf using rub and buff;
  • Sanding down the oak dining room table and giving the legs a dark grey stain and the top a darker one to lift the grain;
  • Staining the bar stools by giving them a stoney grey wash with a slightly weathered finish;
  • Re-upholstering all of the armchairs and getting some matching curtains to go;

I’ve decided that as we will be doing much of the work ourselves, it would make for a great series of blogs! I’ll do before-and-after pictures and step-by-step guides on how we went about revolutionising our existing furniture to make our new house look highly chic and livable!

And not to forget the garden! Its a nightmarish mess of ill thought-out arrangements of plants and flowers that will also need a complete make-over.

This is so exciting! I cant wait!

I actually bought a drill last week – a really good Black and Decker one. I discovered that the cordless ones are much nicer, but a whole lot more expensive (more than double the price). I went to work hanging picture frames and mirrors today – drilling is a lot easier than I thought it was. I can’t believe I never thought I could drill a hole before.  Even with my newly done manicure (a beautiful set of bright red nails with just a splash of nail-art) I managed just fine.  Now I feel silly about all those times I waited around for my male friends/ colleagues to drill things for me when all this time I could have just as well done it myself!

Ooh, I feel so empowered! I also bought a set of screwdrivers and a hammer and some other stufff. I found all these at my local hardware store. I got one of the sales-guys to show me where everything was and what I needed for the things I needed to do. He was just so helpful. I will definitely go back because that hardware warehouse was a dream. Loads of useful things!

 I can’t wait until I get my sander and start sanding stuff! 

Talking to Students

29 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in Development, Engineer Chic!

≈ 2 Comments

Yesterday, I had the amazing opportunity to talk to incoming students to the University of Witwatersrang in  Johannesburg about mechanical engineering.  The academic development staff at Wits noticed that first year students had a poor understanding of which discipline within engineering is best for them, so hopefully this weekend of talks gave them some clarity!

It was a strage and exciting experience to be on the other side of the lecture room – staring up at the venue filled with bright-eyes young people, ready to take a dive into their degrees. I was struck at the sincerity and commitment I saw in that room, the eagerness to perform and the honesty of their questions. I loved it.  I know one day I will go into lecturing and first-year engineering students are just about the most enjoyable and rewarding group to teach.

I couldn’t help thinking how young they were. I don’t see myself as ‘old’, and sometimes forget that first-year for me was actually 6 years ago. This was a scary thought, but it really crystallized a feeling of accomplishment- of how far I’d come since then. It really took me back to my days as a ‘fresher’ at UCT. I was in awe of the place, set against the gorgeous Cape Town mountains and warm in the late-summer. I was such a nervous, slightly geeky and socially awkward girl – in my all-stars and golf shirts, tripping along the cobblestones of University Plaza and trying to get to my lectures in time. It makes me smile to think of my eighteen-year-old self now and that group of people who I became so inevitably close to over the years.

Sharing notes, copying homework, signing them in for missed tuts (or pleading that did the same for you), deciphering lecturer accents, sitting at the back of class and trying not to giggle, doodling characatures of my least favourite lecturers and secret crushes. Spending all night in the computer labs before a major CAD assignment, stressing about a test and someone explaining a key concept to you seconds before going into the test-venue (and passing). Pleading DP and study groups, relaxing in one of the many hidden gardens during a ‘free period’, “Sooper Sandwich” and chinese noodle (which I never ate) and being at that cafe in Lesie Social Science at 10:00am sharp to get fresh cheese criossants hot out the oven before they all get eaten! Menzies building and Snape’s drawing office that always smelled of dusty old men. Tentatively venturing into the forbidden staff room to find lecturers and becoming so nervous around cute tutors that you end up making a complete fool out of yourself!

Ah! These kids don’t know what they’re in for. All I know is its going to be a wonderful, crazy and difficult road, but worth every hour, every tear, every night in when my BusSci friends went out partying…Its rewarding, its something to be proud of, its an accomplishment many cant have. I looked out at that classroom of high-acheivers, and knew that some sitting among them were going to be the future leaders of this country, people with the responsibility and influence one day, to shape our society and incite change, and I was inspired. I was proud to be asked to speak to them, to inspire them, to give them a glimpse of the future that was entirely up to them.

Winter Business Wear

02 Wednesday Nov 2011

Posted by in Engineer Chic!, Marketing Yourself!

≈ 1 Comment

Since IMECE is around the corner, this year being held in the Mile High City of Denver, Colorado, I tought I’d give you a couple of ideas on how to dress for success in Winter.  If you’re new to Engineer Chic, you might want to have a look at previous posts on What Does Business Casual Mean Anyway? and Ten Wardrobe Must-Haves for Any Engineer Chic .

I personally love dressing up in the Winter. There are so many great looks, but for business, the following tips will help you make your mark!

Winter Look 1: Go Classic

As we’re well into Spring down here in Sunny South Africa, I’ll be pulling out coats and boots from our Winter which has just passed. Our fashion follows the US by 6 months, but luckily for me, this year I wont be horribly out-of-date. The trends for this season are Classic, Classy, Sexy!   My favorite Winter items in my closet are classy and timeless which means I wont need to go running to the mall just yet.  Its a really great idea to invest in some good, classic Winter clothes: genuine leather boots and a well-fitted coat are a must! They will cost you a bit, but will be worth it in the long run!

Winter Look 2: The Coat

I am a huge fan of a cute fitted coat – and this year, the waist is back! Get yourself a coat that suits your body shape.  Remember that very long coats only look good on very tall, slim girls (you don’t want to turn up looking like a vampire). For shorter ladies like me, go for something above the knee that flares in a gentle A-line cut. This also flatters curvy hips, especially with a wide belt arouns the smallest part of your waist. Paired with straight-cut trousers (or dark skinny-jeans for business casual) this is a really hot look! For business, stay with clean lines and neutral colours.

Winter Look 3:  The Skirt

The high-waisted skirt is very much alive and kicking this winter – yay!  Wear over stockings for the cold and with boots for a really cosy feel- which brings us to the next great Winter business look… 

 

Winter Look 4: Boots

 

Again, classic high-quality leather boots will be money well-spent!
I love ankle-boots, as long as they’re not too bulky, or a simple, fitted brown/ black pair just below the knee. Beware of boots that stop mid-shin as they are the least flaterring to shorter/ curvier shapes!
 
 

I love these!

Winter look 5: Accessories

The best part about Winter clothes is that there are just so many of them! Layering is a gorgeous way to stay warm and scarves or hats in the latest styles are always a great way to spice up an outfit. This year, to add some colour, go for a long scarf in a rich, solid colour (no knits).  A deep turquoise, purple or eggshell would be the perfect glamorous finish to a classic ensemble!

Hats are also in this Winter, so keep those ears nice and toasty with these!

Transforming the Image of Engineering: Part 1

27 Saturday Aug 2011

Posted by in Engineer Chic!, Engineers Without Borders, women in engineering

≈ 7 Comments

 

Last week, I had the honour of being a speaker at the WESTC (Women in Engineering, Science and Technology Conference) in  Johannesburg, hosted by Melrose Training! This exciting initiative sought to bring women from around Africa together to discuss pertinent issues surrounding being a woman in engineering. It was an all-round great experience and I had the chance to network with some incredible young women who are doing amazing things in South Africa.  I will definitely blog about these soon.

 

My talk titled “Transformation in Engineering, Women and Changing the Face of Engineering”, took at look at attracting and retaining women in engineering in a slightly different light than the typical, ‘the numbers are just too low’ approach. Women stay away from engineering because of two main reasons. 1. they are actively discouraged from the field by society and 2. they don’t see any part of engineering that appeals to them. The number of high-calibre, successful and happy women who I met at the conference made it clear that this perception of society (and that of the young women being turned away from this highly rewarding field), is seriously warped.

 

Basically, engineering has an image problem:

 

 

 

 or

 

 

 and worst of all ???

 

 

Small wonder why you don’t just see women falling over themselves to be a part of this action?

 

What I’ve come to realize however is that the problem is not that engineering is a “man’s field” or that its “difficult and dirty”. These are generalizations, but they are true. In most engineering environments, there are still more men than women, and engineering can be very difficult and very dirty. But this is not the full picture. Engineers work in areas that the majority of society doesn’t even know about – that engineering students and graduates don’t even know about (shock, horror!) – and some of these are increasingly attractive and accommodating to women. If only the career-counselors, parents and mentors of young girls had a more realistic picture of what engineering was about, they would be able to help them make informed choices about their careers.

 

I suppose that is really what the Engineer-Chic blog tries to accomplish: transforming the image of engineering. Let me just say though that I’m not here to razzmatazz girls with pink icing or to make engineering look like a cupcake. Engineering is no more a cupcake than medicine or a competitive business-career is acupcake. What I want to do is give women the right information – the full picture of the opportunities available to them as engineers – to help them make an informed choice.

 

A study in perception was done by the National Academy of Engineering in the US which was reported in the publication Changing the Conversation, (2008). What they did was come up with messages aimed at improving public understanding of engineering. These were markedly different to “old-school” attempts at this which sought to emphasize strong links between engineering and maths and science, whilst ignoring other more attractive characteristics including creativity, teamwork and communication. This was tested and broadly disseminated to school children and teachers.

The survey found that girls saw the following two messages the most appealing:

“Engineering makes a world of difference”

(Boys also rated this highly)

 

 “Engineering is essential to our health, happiness and safety”

 

(Boys did not rate this highly)

 

Not considered appealing by any of the survey populations was,

 

“Engineering connects science to the real world”

 

So girls find messages linked to ‘helping others’ appealing. Wow, what a shocking revelation (considering that women have traditionally been (with exceptions) nurturers: nurses, teachers, mothers!)  

 

So then maybe if more engineers worked in fields related to helping others; maybe if the field of engineering was more about effectively communicating with people and building relationships with them to fully understand their needs; maybe if engineering was about working closely with human beings and empowering them to have the most basic forms of dignity: a house, a car, a flushing toilet; maybe then more women would be interested in the field?

 

 

Hang on just a second…

 

 

 

and how about this? 

 

 

 and lets not forget frugal engineering:

 

 

 

More on this topic in my next post…

How Engineering is like a Cupcake

26 Tuesday Jul 2011

Posted by in Career, Engineer Chic!

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Some may criticize me for making engineering look like cupcakes and daisies. I happen to love cupcakes…(just saying). But thats not really the point, is it? The thing is, I started blogging to show what my life as an engineer was really about. So I thought a lot about this the last few days and decided that my critics are right. Dressing engineering up in pink icing isn’t really going to help anyone, right?  I do love my job, but sometimes it can be really, really tough! On the other hand, I can only comment on my experience so far, so how about we take a break from all the cupcakes (what, no more cupcakes!?!) and take a reality check?

How Engineering is NOT Like a Cupcake

You are Back to the Bottom of the Food-Chain

Unless you did a masters, most young engineers will graduate and head straight into their first job. While this is exciting, its also a departure from the lifestyle you enjoyed as a final-year student. By the time graduation comes along, students are pretty comfortable within their faculties. Most of the lecturers know you by name, and due to spending an obscene amount of time on campus, the engineering building is your home, and your classmates your family through tears and sleep-deprived delirium.  Its also likely that you will be involved in some sort of society or organisation and would have worked your way up to a leadership position.

When you start work, you enter a brand new organisation right at the bottom. You have no idea how anything works, there are a ton of new rules you need to become familiar with, and have a structured hierarchy of which you barely scratch the bottom. Its a scary and humbling position to be in that doesn’t afford much of the freedom you grew comfortable with at Uni.

You are Likely to be Sent Out to the Sticks
Well, there is no use denying this one. The majority of engineering firms (mines, utilities, factories etc.) are either on the outskirts of the city or deep into the far regions of nowhere. Whether its the Northern-most territories of Australia, an oil rig off the coast of freezing-cold Norway, or a diamond-mine in the darkest reaches of the Congo, to get real, down-and-dirty field-experience, you will have to leave the city. There are exceptions to this rule of course, and if you go into a consultancy or design firm, you may very well end up in a Sandton office. Regardless, you will have to at least sometimes go out to site to see the environment you’re designing for.

What nobody tells you (or they do but you think you’re so tough that it doesn’t matter to you), this is really difficult. After having lived in beautiful, vibrant cities most of my life, living alone out here does get VERY lonely. On the plus side is that engineers sent to far-out areas mostly earn more, and get great experience that can catapult your career to great heights. Nevertheless, being a woman alone out here day in and day out gets very draining. You really have to learn to be super strong and independent (which isn’t a bad thing).
In the Working World, Everything is Different…and Serious
At University, there is always some way of weaseling out of a sticky situation. If for some reason you really couldn’t get around to finishing that homework assignment, there was a friend to bail you out. Lecturers expected you to be tardy at least some of the time, to fall asleep during class and to distract the room with a loud peal of laughter in the middle of advanced heat transfer (I did none of these things of course! 😉 The environment is relaxed enough for you to know that its unlikely that you would do anything that would get you into real troub;e (apart from failing).

In the working world, you’re afforded a very short ‘grace-period’ before you’re given responsibilities of increasing importance. The work you do will not simply be ‘graded’, but will be directly linked to the pace of your progression through your organization. Its a scary feeling knowing that the things you do will affect real, tangible things and other people. In the beginning there are always going to be people to help you, and the toughest lesson I’ve found is learning to ask for help when you need it!
You are Likely to be Thrown in the Deep End…Alone
Instead of structured design problems with clearly-defined parameters, real-world engineering problems are vague and open ended. You may be given a problem to solve and a hint as to where to find the cause of the problem. Sometimes, the REAL cause has nothing to do with that initial assumption. It can be a little like walking around in the dark. Because you’re new, there is still so much you need to learn to be able to navigate. In the beginning, you basically just feel your way around until you bump into something solid.

You may be given fragmented bits of information to direct you, but its really up to you how you go about getting the rest of the information you need. Knowing what information you need is probably the hardest part of all!  In my (very short) experience so far, information was always there. Stored on somebody’s hard drive, office, or heads…you just needed to figure out who the right person was to talk to.
Ok, so at first engineering isn’t as scrumptious as we all might want it to be, but it is a highly rewarding career. Once you’ve finished running the rat-race and have settled in, life gets a lot easier (or so I’m told). No really, engineering is a field where the hard work you put in are proportional to the benefits you enjoy later on.  It may not be for everyone, but there is so much scope out there to find an aspect of engineering that you will love. I guess you’ll never know unless you take that first bite.

 Ok, I admit. I just wanted an excuse to blog about cupcakes. What?

Engineer Your Life

19 Tuesday Jul 2011

Posted by in Diversity, Engineer Chic!, women in engineering

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Engineer Your Life is an amazing organisation that looks to inspire girls, into careers in Science and Engineering by changing the way they think about the field. If this is sounding familiar to you, you’ve probably read someone else ranting about this goal…like me perhaps?

They have actually been dealing in depth with the issue of image, and trying to find the best ways of -wait for it- marketing the profession to girls! Basically, you wouldn’t buy a house if the estate agent only told you all the bad bits about the profession and left out the fact that its actually a really great investement and it will give you the freedom to follow your dreams. Would you? So why would you want to go into engineering if the only engineer you knew told you all about how awfully difficult the degree was and that you needed to get straight A’s in maths and science, but left out how amazingly broad the field was and that it opened so many doors?

So the Engineer Your Life task force came up with four great messages that are perfectly truthful and positive ways to look at what the field of engineering can be! For anyone who criticizes the messages below, I have added comments from my own experiences (remember I graduated 7 months ago).

•Live your life, love what you do. Engineering will challenge you to turn dreams into realities while giving you the chance to travel, work with inspiring people, and give back to your community.
(I have travelled to the USA 4 times and will go to Mozambique next month for engineering conferences, I’ve met inspiring and incredible people along the way and through EWB and my thesis-project, have given back to my community. Above all, I LOVE what I do!)

•Creativity has its rewards. Women engineers are respected, recognized, and financially rewarded for their innovative thinking and creative solutions.

(In my work, I get the opportunity to be creative. In uni all of my design-projects were female-orientated-for a torch-design project I designed a lantern that was easier to hold on long walks; for a multi-tool, I designed one that was suited to women’s needs and could be carried around safely in a handbag-no sharp edges.  I didn’t do this to be a feminist-its just what made the most sense to me as a female. I love tinkering around at home and wish someone would actually get me a cute, pink multitool for my next b-day! Hint hint! There is definitely scope to bring creatively new feminine ideas to even mechanical design)

•Make a world of difference. From small villages to big cities, organic farms to mountaintops, deep-sea labs to outer space, women engineers are going where there is the greatest need and making a lasting contribution.
(I have worked with bringing clean-energy and sustainabile technologies to some of the poorest people in South Africa through Engineers Without Borders-SA. Compassion is a must for this line of work-and this is something not limited to women. I am really proud of the other young engineers-male and female-that are carrying my project forward successfully now that I’ve graduated!)

•Explore possibilities. Women engineers often use their skills to go into business, medicine, law, or government. An engineering education will prepare you for many different careers.


(This is true. A great number of women do go into other fields. Many engineers I know now work for banks and marketing companies (FMCG). My thesis was in the medical field-it turns out a lot of hospitals world-round are learning from the engineering world. Engineers are sought after for their problem-solving abilities. They can apply these critical skills to practically any field.)



Too young to be mechanically minded?



I personally think these messages are a great way to promote the field by showing how positive and necessary engineering is/ can be. Sure, candy-coating it has its pitfalls. It is still a difficult degree to get through. But my aim is to attract the top female students to engineering as their FIRST CHOICE. (And not just because they couldn’t get into medicine). For this, we need engineering to be as attractive as possible-attract a higher caliber of female student-and look forward to a diverse and innovative future.



I will be talking about engineering at Durban Girls’ College this Thursday (my old high school), so thanks EYL for the inspirational messages to share with the girls!

Engineer-Chic is a Sexist? GASP!

19 Tuesday Jul 2011

Posted by in Career, Engineer Chic!, women in engineering

≈ Leave a comment

It seems I’ve been quite naughty of late-warranting some criticism on Twitter for my overly sexist remarks, sweeping generalisations (and poor spelling on my blog), so I have to apologise profusely for the spelling. About the sweeping, sexist remarks-I’m not all that sorry-in fact, I quite enjoy rubbing you boys up the wrong way. It got a reaction, which is half the point anyhoo…(and that’s not a typo, I actually wanted to say anyhoo).

The comment that got me in trouble was an assertion I made that women are better communicators than men. I did back this up by a solid spot of research, Do women make better marketers than men?, but was speaking more from my own (admittedly limited) personal experience. The scenario I tweeted about was an observation I made in a meeting that I sat in on yesterday. A specialist consultant was brought in to optimize the design of our grate for the Phase II plant. The grate had given a number of problems over the years on Phase I and subsequent changes were made.

Four chemical and mechanical engineers spent about an hour trying to explain what the exact problem was to the specialist, but again and again, the specialist kept saying, “I don’t quite understand your key objective in what you want from me.” I must admit, with the amount of information that was presented, I had trouble keeping up, so I understand the poor man’s frustration. So another hour followed of hand-sketches, (engineering scribbles we all are very fond of), CAD models and drawings before our technical manager, a female chemical engineer came into the room. She clearly and concisely explained the relevant history, pinpointed the problem area, and explained-importantly-what the specific goal was to bring the specialist in in the first place.

I tweeted the story and the statement “Female engineers are better communicators than males.”

From there it was all smooth sailing and soon we were all off to the plant for a site-visit. I love site visits. Apart from being an excuse to wear my shocking pink hard-hat, I get to chat with the foremen and artisans and get all the gossip on what machine has broken down and what they had done to solve the latest problems on the operation.

So back to my sweeping statement that women are better communicators than men. I’m afraid I can’t prove that one with just one example. My first year of vac-work though, my mentor engineer said that since the evolution of the profession to being more collaborative-with team-work and multi-level contribution becoming more recognised, the influx of women-who bring charisma and a natural tendency towards relationship building-was a highly positive and even necessary dynamic.

One last thing I’d like to point out in response to what a friend JW tweeted, “its still a broad generalisation based on gender. I couldn’t say something similar even with research without angering women”. Whilst this may be the case in some specialisations, countries or companies, in my specific company, country and field, as a woman one simply can not be overly sensitive to sweeping generalisations made on women. If I got upset every time someone did this, I wouldn’t survive in my job. Instead of complaining and burning my bra, I choose instead to do my job the best I can (and then blog about it so that everybody knows that I did all that tough stuff without a sweat).

First-Day-of-Work Wardrobe Tips

15 Wednesday Jun 2011

Posted by in Career, Engineer Chic!

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Last week I got an email from a young engineer in need of wardrobe help. I was more than happy to offer some advice: 

 I came across your blog awhile ago, and was wondering if you could help me with a little problem. I’m about to start work at my first engineering internship in a major shipping company (and I’ll probably be working with the offshore division on design and building of rigs) and I’m not sure how to dress? While studying here in Cambridge, I tend to avoid heels for workshop, etc., but the dress code from the human resource manager sounds rather formal (shirt and pants at least I think). Would it be ok if I wore heels, or would it be more sensible to wear flats?

Would love any advice you have to give. I really like reading your blog – it is not easy to find female engineers here who care about things others would deem superficial. >.<

Jenny W
 

 
Here was my reply:
 
 
 

 

Hi Jenny W

Your concerns may seem frivolous to some, but this can be really daunting when starting a career. Or at least it was for me when I first started work a few months back! Your job sounds really exciting and it seems as though you’ll be getting experience in both a design office and on the site. These are two very different environments and require very different clothes.

Generally, on site there will be a set dress-code to ensure you’re protected. They may issue you with PPE (personal protective equipment) including overalls, a hard-hat, safety boots as well as goggles and gloves. If not, its advisable to wear closed, comfortable shoes, jeans and a shirt. Don’t take any chances in a dangerous environment- here you will unfortunately have to be practical! Some women on the plant however spice up their overalls with a brightly coloured head-scarf to protect their hair. I like pretty, tailored shirts, so at least when I take my jacket off indoors, I can still look and feel good.

On the other hand, when you are in the design offices or in meetings, don’t feel you need to keep up the drab appearance. Just because you sometimes wear overalls, don’t let go of your femininity altogether! When I’m at our Johannesburg design offices or visiting suppliers, I always dress in stylish, sophisticated, professional clothes and heels. A lot of women prefer to wear flats for comfort and in the engineering world, that’s acceptable, but I like dressing up. Heels make me feel tall and confident and it comes across as more professional too.
 In the end, you need to use your judgement to assess what is appropriate for the situation. In our project offices at the site, I wear comfortable pants and shoes that may sometimes have a slight heel, but my safety boots and hard-hat (yes – the pink one) are always close by in case I need to run to the plant to check something out.

My advice is to just trust yourself and have confidence. I a few short weeks you will ease in to a style that works for you and fits into your company, so don;t stress about it too much. Also don’t be afraid of being slightly daring and bringing some feminine flair to your workplace.Stay fabulous and update me on how it turns out in a few weeks.
Best,
Engineer-Chic
If you have any questions, send them along to engineer-chic1 at gmail dot com

What every girl should know about a flat tyre

20 Friday May 2011

Posted by in Cars and Tech, Engineer Chic!

≈ 2 Comments

I really drive a lot! Lets put it into perspective. I live 45km (about 40 minutes) from work. I work about 360km (3.5 hours) from the Johannesburg, a city I travel to frequently for work, Engineers Without Borders meetings and to see friends. I got my car in January, and in less than 5 months I have reached my first service (15 000 km)

This means that I spend quite some time in the car, and most of this time is spent by myself on rural roads, traversing the countryside, meandering along mountain passes and singing along to 5fm (which wafts in and out of signal depending on which mountain I’m behind). This can get quite lonely, and the roads are sometimes very bad, strewn with potholes and basically falling away at the edges. I accept this is part of my job, and even enjoy the peacefulness of it, but the reality is that it can also be quite dangerous.
Why you shouldn’t drive around alone at night:
Two Sundays ago, I was driving back from dinner with friends quite late at night and I somehow hit a crater with my left, front tyre. The tyre burst in two places. Luckily for me, my friends were not comfortable letting me drive home alone and insisted on seeing be back safe, so were in the car behind me when this happened. We managed to change the tyre, but the spare was a mini “mari biscuit” tyre and I was very eager to replace it. Typically, the tyre guys couldn’t find me the right size of tyre (for some reason I had very a very unique size of tyre) in this town or the neighbouring ones (or so he said) and had to order me one. 
Note: a full-sized tyre is preferable, but if you ever plan to change a tyre by yourself, a biscuit might be a better idea. If you’ve ever tried lifting a full-sized tyre out of a car, you will know why I say that. Its simply huge! Also, its a good idea to know how to use a jack and where to place it under your car so that the load is balanced. You wont know how to do this until you’ve actually tried, so when you have a free half and hour, I suggest you go outside and practice jacking up your car!
Why you should have standard-sized tyres fitted on your car:

So this meant that I had to drive around for a week with a mari biscuit and no spare up and down the very dodgy, long roads between my house and work until the day I finally went in to get my new tyre fitted. This meant I had to drive extra carefully and was incredibly anxious about picking up yet another flat! I was leaving for Johannesburg that Friday morning, so I made extra sure that the tyre guy knew he had till Thursday to get me the tyre I needed.
Note: the size of your tyre can be found on your actual tyre. It goes something like this: 185 65 R15. The tyre people will ask for this number when you call in to ask if they have a spare. Make a note of this somewhere for your records.

Why you should ALWAYS do your own research and NEVER trust a salesman!
Lo and behold, I pitch up Thursday afternoon at the workshop and I can instantly tell from the terrified look on his face that something was wrong. It turns out that the fool of a salesman had ordered me THE WRONG TYRE! I couldn’t believe it. It was almost 5pm and as far as I knew no town in the surrounding areas had the tyre I needed. After letting the salesman know exactly what I thought of him, I get into my car and take off home, (have a good cry) and call someone I knew who may be able to help. 
Note: not everyone is always looking out for your best interests. Even though I may be a mechanical engineer, women are often taken for a ride by mechanics who think they can swindle you because you don’t know any better. It can never hurt to get a second opinion!
We know you’re a strong, independent woman, but sometimes its okay to ask for help…

“Uncle R” first chides me for not calling him first, then tells me to sit tight. 5 minutes later he calls back and tells me to go to a shop in the next town, where a brand new, rightly-sized tyre was waiting for me when I got there. 
Note: Often when you have a blow-out or hit something, your car’s alignment will go off. This means that all four wheels wont be positioned right. This can cause worse problems if left unchecked, so get the alignment done as soon as you change the tyre. This costs around R225- R350 and takes about 30 minutes.

So in the end, somehow everything worked out. I do think I should be a bit more careful on the road though. As tough and independent as I’d like to think I am, I have to admit that certain situations are best avoided at all costs, and for others I will need my friends’ help. I don’t need to prove to anyone that I’m Super Woman – getting a flat tyre really put that into perspective for me, so I guess it was a good learning experience. And now I can safely say that I know how to change a tyre! 

Chic-Toolbox

29 Tuesday Mar 2011

Posted by in Engineer Chic!

≈ 1 Comment

This is just something silly and random (but still super-cute) and I just have to share!
EcoHawk is one on my close friends who is also a mechanical engineer. Let me start by explaining the name… Smart grid technology is arguably the future of energy in the USA (already used in Canada) and perhaps the world at large. The EcoHawks are a group of ugrad and grad students at the University of Kansas who have been involved for a few years in projects concerning cleaner technologies. This year’s group built a mini smart-grid and ran a popcorn machine off it. (The choice of a popcorn maker wasn’t random either: they wanted to reduce waste and make the system as sustainable as possible. So popcorn means that the hungry EcoHawks are able to eat the output of their test-runs!  (Yes, this was in their report!) Cute!!!)
So EcoHawk was commissioned by his parents to install some cupboards in their house. And just look what he found: his mum’s toolbox!
Isn’t the little hammer just adorable?
How awesome is this? I say, why not?! If anyone else have any feminine tools and wants to share, send them along and I’ll post them! Also, does anyone know where I can buy a high-quality, pretty multi-tool to fix things around the house? 
Thanks so much EcoHawk for sharing!