Feeling Constructive
I've an unexpected enthusiasm for minor DIY! I've installed blinds, raised the bed by 30cm to store the comics archive, and put fitted storage into an alcove. I like sawing, drilling, standing back from things and going 'yep', and laying hands on a structure I have created and giving it a good shake to demonstrate its solidity.
I particularly like the balance between precision and botching - that I have to do it properly or it won't work, and it's hard and tedious but gives me a sense of Pride in my conscientiousness. Then sometimes it still doesn't work, and I have to cover it with No More Nails*, hit it with a hammer and not tell anyone. Hammers! The ability to concentrate the force of muscle and momentum into a single spot! Awesome.
Today I will be getting even more low-tech than hammers. I've put up a set of the antique bookcases I bought on eBay. Without bracing, bookcases tend to go like this: /_/ or like this: \_\ Mine are so slightly, subtly out of true that it is invisible to the naked eye. However, when I try to stick on the doors (which are, predictably, like this: |_| ) they reveal the skew and don't fit. The top half of the bookcase is screwed to the wall already, to prevent toppling and crushing, so I need to shift the base of the bookcase over by about three centimetres.
How will I do it? I will put on my steelcapped boots, wait until everyone in the building is awake and hope they're not hung over, and I will stand to one side of the bookcase and kick it. The craft! The artistry!
*There are several generic brands of No More Nails called things like Forget Nails and Who Needs Nails and Don't Mention Nails In My Presence, They Are Dead To Me and What Did We Call Those Pointy Things We Used To Use To Secure Stuff? Oh, Who Gives A Toss, Pass The Lethally Powerful Glue.
I particularly like the balance between precision and botching - that I have to do it properly or it won't work, and it's hard and tedious but gives me a sense of Pride in my conscientiousness. Then sometimes it still doesn't work, and I have to cover it with No More Nails*, hit it with a hammer and not tell anyone. Hammers! The ability to concentrate the force of muscle and momentum into a single spot! Awesome.
Today I will be getting even more low-tech than hammers. I've put up a set of the antique bookcases I bought on eBay. Without bracing, bookcases tend to go like this: /_/ or like this: \_\ Mine are so slightly, subtly out of true that it is invisible to the naked eye. However, when I try to stick on the doors (which are, predictably, like this: |_| ) they reveal the skew and don't fit. The top half of the bookcase is screwed to the wall already, to prevent toppling and crushing, so I need to shift the base of the bookcase over by about three centimetres.
How will I do it? I will put on my steelcapped boots, wait until everyone in the building is awake and hope they're not hung over, and I will stand to one side of the bookcase and kick it. The craft! The artistry!
*There are several generic brands of No More Nails called things like Forget Nails and Who Needs Nails and Don't Mention Nails In My Presence, They Are Dead To Me and What Did We Call Those Pointy Things We Used To Use To Secure Stuff? Oh, Who Gives A Toss, Pass The Lethally Powerful Glue.