So How Did I Get Here?

So How Did I Get Here?

by Janine Evans

My quest to learn to be a backyard mechanic has not been in vain; in the meantime saving me possibly thousands of dollars and the security of knowing the job has been done properly.  My first encounter with the Kombi Club came about when my regular mechanic decided to relocate overseas and I was unable to maintain the vehicle myself.  The first thing I needed to learn was how to adjust the valves.  I began to read workshop manuals and watch You Tube videos to increase my knowledge base, however nothing really made sense until I turned to my virtual network and began to ask questions.  I had a mental map or 'guide' of where I should begin (Wood, Kaiser & Abramms, 2006. p. 3).  By asking direct questions to the forum, I was able to gain instructions specifically tailored to my needs.  Other forum users' narratives or stories of their own experiences helped me understand the 'causal relationship' to 'make sense' of the procedure (Van Luyn, 2013).  Van Luyn (2013) also states, 'Self narratives, like maps, are constructs for a particular purpose and context'.

Without the proper understanding of the names of parts I could never be able to complete the task of valve adjustment.  The concept of communication is paramount in this context. For example, if I was unable to identify the correct parts of the engine then I wouldn't be able to communicate my needs and receive the help required.  As Van Luyn (2013) points out the narrative would be lost by 'slippery' language.

Now I have been able to master this procedure after a few attempts, I can move on to the next maintenance schedule.

Valve Adjustment

REFERENCE LIST

Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 4: Networked Narratives [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http:learnjcu.edu.au

Wood, D., Kaiser, W. L., & Abramms, B. (2006). The multiple truths of the mappable world, in Seeing through maps: Many ways to see the world  (pp. 1-12). Oxford, UK: New Internationalist.

IMAGE SOURCE

Adjusting Valves. Retrieved from: http://www.aircooledvwlove.com/how-to-adjust-valves-air-cooled-vw-engine/