The library talk that changed how I ask for help

Last month I went to a local history night at the library in my town, just expecting to hear about old buildings. But this one older lady got up and talked about how she spent 6 months trying to fix her grandmother's sewing machine, and then finally just went to the repair shop and asked the guy if she could watch him work. He let her, and she said that one afternoon taught her more than any YouTube video ever did. It hit me how much I avoid asking people face to face, I always try to figure things out alone first. After that I started asking my neighbor about his woodworking setup, and he showed me a trick for squaring boards that I'd never seen in any forum post. Now I'm wondering, has anyone else had a random local person teach them something that totally changed their routine, and were you embarrassed to ask?

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the_seth18d ago

one afternoon taught her more than any YouTube video ever did" is the most accurate sentence I've read all year. My grandma's old drill press has been sitting in my garage for 3 years because I watched a million videos and still couldn't figure out the belt tension thing. I finally asked my retired mechanic buddy down the street and he fixed it in 10 minutes while complaining about his sciatica. I wasn't even embarrassed, I was just mad at myself for not asking him way sooner. People who know stuff love showing off their stuff, it's like free entertainment for them.