Manual Labor

I am guessing that my ancestors in Russia or Italy must have surely included many blue collar workers. There is something so satisfying about manual labor that I almost wish I hadn't gone to college. Okay, I would not take it that far, but there is a part of me that longs to work at the Chinese dry cleaner's, to sort and clean and bag all of that clothes.. another part of me wishes I could paint the lane stripes on the street (I once did in Milano with a perplexed worker's permission), make pizzas all day (I also did this on one of my birthdays to F's horror- he is easily embarrassed) or just sort and pack stuff. Part of my psychosis ties in with my love for recycling no doubt. There is just so much stuff everywhere, surplus, it is anxiety- provoking. I love having drives at my school where families bring in old books, clothes, eyeglasses etc. The satisfaction I get packing mountains of dregs for the donors and treasures for the recipients is just huge. I just spent an hour packing school supplies for Operation International Children and I can assure it will be the highlight of my day. I found a trucking company that is coming to pick up these heavy boxes for free and take them to the warehouse in Missouri, from which they will be shipped to Iraq and Afghanistan. THANK YOU Old Dominion Freight for being so damn generous and efficient! So, I leave you with this question. Do you like to do mindless tasks? Use your hands? Maybe this is part of what makes us, historically and biologically distinct as humans? How we use tools and our digits. My mother gets her relief by ironing 100 shirts a week, I do everyone and their mother's laundry (except for my own mother's), F fixes anything and everytihing that is broken (jewelry, toys, plumbing, electronics). Please do tell me how you use your hands...