Wishing well from a well-wisher

During a recent conversation with a good friend, I realized there was this one thing she wished to have....badly. "I'd kill to own one of those" she said. But being as thrifty as she is, she winces at the high cost of the ones found at county fairs and countryside flea markets.

I believe I am a moderately materialistic person. While I dont splurge(too often!), if there is something that catches my fancy, I do try to indulge them. Agreed, I am still trying to cut corners and save for the macro lens(which I had posted about asking for contributions and as is evident, was fruitless) for my more-sacred-than-life camera. But I believe no one should pine for something that strongly for too long. So I decided to help her out, especially since her birthday was just around the corner.

Ebay was my first stop and within a few minutes I'd found the right one for her and placed a bid. In two days my bid was accepted, paid the pal(Ecommerce zindabad)and the seller was well on his way to ship the item out.

Some ten days later(since I was travelling) my neighbor brought a 4'x2'x1/2' package that she had picked up from my doorstep in my absence(God bless her). Erm! Gulp! went I. Cos you see, I had ordered a.........................wishing well planter and the package seemd nothing that could fit one!

A few minutes later the realization thunderbolt struck me....it was a do-it-yourself kit. While I unpacked the contents, I was reminded of my past experiences with woodworking and self-assembled furniture. My first attempt was a computer table....I assembled it with my signature style...it swayed from side to side . Finally I had to discard it in our apartment trash yard, cos no one would buy it at the yard sale. The study table I have now was NOT assembled by yours truly. I asked for help and stayed away from deriving any pride for putting together a work of art.

The bookshelf was no different....swayed and sashayed as well. But for that, I had an easy fix. Its been propped against a wall for many years now. It has survived, thus far.

All these thoughts came gushing out of my memory, as I unpacked the myriad different pieces and nuts and bolts. BYOS, the package declared in bold print.(Bring your own screwdriver). Aha, time to bring out the new drill, I rejoiced. See, I am now the proud owner of a new drill- one that will make any tool-obsessed, home-improvement-addicted, home depot/lowes-loving male proud!

After a few days of heavy duty carpentry, I have come to one conclusion. The instruction booklet which makes the assembly look simple and obvious is very clearly intended for professionals. I remember at least 10 times when I've had to screw/unscrew to get it right. Some rounds have been "DOH" moments, when I've realised the right technique AFTER having tightened about 10 screws!

Long story short, last night(this has been my daily evening routine, in place of quiet reading time, post-dinner) I have a final product....Voila!

This goes to C, for her birthday and Altoid gets to have two scoops of Haagen Dazs pistachio icecream for a job well done. This end-product has been quality tested and no swaying and sashaying have been found so far. No pieces are falling apart, I dont have any pieces left unused, all screws have been set and for now, all seems well with the assembly world.
After the grand reveal I will be sending special prayers to the woodwork Gods to not let me down by making the planter fall apart when a plant gets placed. On second thoughts, perhaps I need to test that as well.

"The object of most prayers is to wangle an advance on good intentions" ~ Marley Bob