Hardware therapy

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There are a few places where I could stay forever without complaining. My bed, a bookstore or library and a hardware store would top the list.

Last week, after returning the defective speakers we bought for replacement, Brett and I visited Trinoma’s Ace Hardware in search of wiring material for our makeshift surround sound system.

I realized that we both get excited when inside do-it-yourself shops.

On our way to the lane where the wires could be found, we had quick stopovers

I chanced upon a small wooden stool that would make for an ideal platform for the subwoofer but stopped myself from buying once I saw how much it costs. Brett pointed to contraptions that let you mount speakers but we also moved along, seeing how those were designed for the huge speakers we could not afford and how those contraptions are more expensive than our speakers.

We did not find what we were looking for. There were no audio wires with male terminals on one end and female terminals on another end.

But we were not about to give up—not after having been disappointed twice due to CD-R King’s speakers, which we did not buy because of their ridiculously short warranty period, and the defective speakers we fell in love with at first.

We bought an AV jack—the type that is composed of two wires, one for audio and the other for video, with male terminals and connectors to append the wires to those in the speakers. We were thinking about separating the two wires of the jack.

But there being no such connectors, we ended up buying two sets of splitters. The splitters are designed to accommodate three male terminals—one input and two outputs. We only used one of the output sockets.

Having solved our wiring problem, we had to worry about how we were to hang our speakers. You see, the surround sound project was something we took seriously.

Half of our problem was solved when we came across braces usually used to make open shelves. We decided we also needed screws. With the screwdrivers at home, no wooden wall stands a chance.

But we also needed wooden planks if we were to make small shelves for our speakers and we almost gave up when we found none.

But Brett had his moment of epiphany and told me that we could just place two braces side by side, creating space enough to accommodate our small speakers, which, despite their size, shock for the quality of the sound they produce.

“The good thing about do-it-yourself shops is that you can be creative,” my wise friend quipped.

Perhaps that is why I enjoy hardware stores. Unlike other retail shops where everything that being sold is to be used as prescribed by manufacturers, do-it-yourself shops live up to the name: You can do everything by yourself.

Whenever you pay for a small screw to mount a frame on your wall you pay for more than just the screw. You are affording yourself a dignified amount of independence—enough for you to claim that you can do something on your own.

The braces have been screwed to walls and the makeshift surround sound system gets us through boring days. And each time I look at our mounted speakers, I smile.

Yes, we are enjoying this independence.