mykrocosm

Helped out on a little toolshed construction today, fairly straightforward stuff as the sides are all pre-manufactured, it’s just a matter of drilling and screwing and a bit of hammering. The hard part is holding two sides in place while drilling, three sets of hands would have made it much easier. It’s not a job for a perfectionist, you could waste all day trying to get things lined up perfectly! In the end it doesn’t make a lot of difference if the screws aren’t exactly located, the panels aren’t precision manufactured to start with hence the eventual hammering. You do need a strong drill though (forget the cordless), and even with HSS twist bits you’ll probably snap one or two. Protective glasses are a must!

I know it’s all terribly tame by some standards, but for a white collar worker it’s nice to reclaim a smidgen of that masculinity Duncan’s always going on about. I’m hoping it’s a stepping stone to other projects in the future.

Happy Birthday dear Flea!!

We went to the nearby Bombay Bicycle Club after work for drinks in the Rikki Tiki Tavi Bar. They did the whole thing up about four years ago in the British Raj style, with obviously, a huge Kiplingesque influence. The layout is clearly a compromise between the old hotel and the recent extension… the non-smoking area is sunken 2 metres below the smoking area (good) but you still have to go through it to reach the bar (bad). The decor is appealing and there’s plenty to look at and comment on. Not sure who did their research though - Flea noted that their historical timeline on the wall gave a date for the founding of Singapore that was wrong by about 200 years!

After drinks we had a nice dinner in Gungadins Restaurant, hidden away behind a heavy door in the hotel. They rate the hotness of their curries using chillis, both on the menu and in the presentation on the plate. I went for the 2 chilli Beef Vindaloo, while Flea boldly went for their 4 chilli special, the Rikki Tikki Tavi Tindaloo. We had to help each other out to finish that one! The service was a little abrupt at times though generally pleasant. We saw at least one kitchen worker with long hair that wasn’t tied back or netted, tsk! The restaurant is divided by three split levels and many walls and partitions, giving a nice ambience and some privacy. At around $30 a head plus drinks, it’s a fun place to mark that special occasion.

Here’s to many more

We gave some friends a hand yesterday moving into their new house - boy it turned into a marathon! Despite a bright and early start to the morning Flea and I got stuck in the Bunnings carpark for 20 minutes waiting for them to open. Then we found that Avis had misplaced the moving truck, and we ended up with a Renault Trafic van of half the capacity. We then had to pick up a disassembled toolshed, and it turned out to be bigger than we expected. We ended up with a good three feet hanging out the back doors! A few reef knots secured the whole thing nicely though.

Then when we picked up the gas heater, the credit card baulked and I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to get a bank on the phone on a Saturday morning… eventually it was all sorted out, and we managed to get the first load to its destination by lunchtime. After that it was all plain sailing, only a mere 70km round trip up and down Tapleys Hill Road during an Adelaide Crows home game (nod your head if you know what that’s like!). It was about then too it started pouring with rain.

I think there ended up being about 5 or 6 trips with the van, but by about 10pm I was getting pretty sore so I gave up my shotgun spot to someone else and we hobbled home.

It sounds dreadful, the way I described it, doesn’t it? But it wasn’t, that’s the funny thing. The spirit of everyone was fantastic. They all pitched in and were so positive the whole time, we had so much fun we never even noticed all the setbacks and just forged right on ahead - it really was an enjoyable day! It’s true what they say.. working with friends isn’t work at all.