Insert power tool sounds here

Everyone, a round of applause please. I didn't completely screw up.

Allow me to explain (not that you could stop me as I'm the one typing). Last week my mother picked out some hardware for her curtains - just a little something from Target. But Mom isn't the handiest person in the world, and I know my way around a driver drill. So it fell to me to install the curtain rod brackets.

I needed a 3/16" drill bit. I didn't have a 3/16" drill bit. I went to Home Depot (motto: "You can do it; we can't help) and found a set of drill bits for cheap. I figure I'm going to be doing more drilling around the house so it was worth getting.

I climbed on top of the desk. Level and tape measure in hand (and pencil in the other hand), I carefully marked where to drill pilot holes. I loosened the drill chuck and inserted the drill bit. I tightened the chuck. I moved to start drilling. The drill bit fell out.

This happened twice.

I tightened the hell out of the chuck and the bit stayed put. The drill wasn't making much progress at first but for once I was patient. It went in. I double-checked with my level before drilling the other two holes on either side of the first one. I held up a bracket and marked where to drill the second set of holes. I drilled said holes.

I moved to screw the brackets in. Apparently, in my clumsy attempts to drill a decent pilot hole, I drilled too deep. There was nothing for the screws to grab on to. Two of the three brackets came halfway out when I touched them.

I spent a moment fuming and cursing. Then I found the plastic wall anchors. I tried to slide one in. It would not fit. I took a hammer and made it fit. I'm sure the neighbors suspected at this point that our home had been invaded by a number of particularly vindictive woodpeckers, but given the auto-repair sounds that emanate from their garage at 3am, I wasn't particularly concerned about that.

I screwed in a bracket. The screw was tight but that was good - I didn't want the bloody thing falling out of the wall once the curtains were up. One wall anchor ended up in there a little wonky so the screw wouldn't go in properly. It's mostly in now - I think I stripped it in my attempts to get it in.

I inhaled a large quantity of sawdust and very nearly messed up the bloody wall.

But I didn't. I didn't completely screw up after all. Yay, me!