Trying to be Handy

So, today I went back to the tile store to pick up the tile I ordered, along with the necessary bag of grout and tile adhesive. I got my tile from an independently owned tile store and the owner was a little shady. The price of the tile was clearly marked, and I don't think I got a bad price on it. However, when I went to pay for all the stuff, this guy was going to try to sell me a $40 3.5 gallon bucket of adhesive. (He told me the day before that he would get me a small gallon bucket of it, but today he was unable to get that for me). This bucket has enough adhesive for me to tile my whole freaking house, not to mention that I'm not paying $40 for it. I told him no thanks, I'll just get a small bucket myself from Home Depot so just tell me what I owe for the small bag of grout. (I asked him yesterday how much it was and he never told me - he said he'd have to look it up). Well, when I asked again today he still didn't have an answer. He started looking through papers for what seemed like 5 minutes and then came to the conclusion that the bag will cost $24. WHAT???? I straight up told him that was a little excessive for a small bag of grout and that I could just pick that up at Home Depot, too. He told me that since I was a good customer that he would give me the bag for $12. That seemed a little more reasonable to me. I wondered what it would have cost me if I wasn't a single girl ordering tile all by myself? I felt like he was taking advantage of me and under the impression that I was born yesterday. I went to Home Depot after I left the store to get my adhesive. They had a small bucket of adhesive for $9.97. They also had the same large bucket as the tile store for only $27.97. Interesting. The exact same bag of grout that I got - $12.97. I saved 97 cents on my bag of grout. I guess I can't expect independent businesses to compete with Home Depot prices, but a 100% mark up is excessive when Home Depot is a half mile down the road.
Yesterday, the contractor was telling me to get some longer screws for my electrical outlets and I wanted to write down the correct size. He told me what it was and then told me (in a condescending tone that had a hint of pity for me, the single girl trying to get some handy work done) that I should ask for help when I got to Home Depot. Why? Because I'm too stupid to find the bag of screws that says #8 1 1/2 inches on it? I have a master's degree, I think I can find a bag of screws by myself. I don't know as much about being handy as I do about baking a cake, but I can learn. I'm smart and have a desire to learn new things. I can learn how to be handy, I just need to be taught how to do all of these new things. I don't appreciate these men assuming I am incapable of doing these jobs. Acting helpless is not a quality that I find endearing in other women, and I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I am able to do things on my own. Not that I needed to feel any less inept today, I tried to start caulking my crown molding. I did it just how I'd read in three different sources, but gravity was working against me. I'm definitely going to need some hands on training to get this project finished.
One project that I was able to complete was to put up my new welcome sign that I ordered from Natasha's Uppercase Living party. It looks so cute! I have some other stuff for my office that I'm going to hang up next week.