do it your-shelf

It was a cold Winter morning when I decided I wanted to build a bookcase. I was hungover and it seemed like a good idea at the time. I figured it couldn't be too difficult. A couple of pieces of wood, some nails and a bit of paint - sorted. When I told my boyfriend and his father of my idea to try my hand at carpentry, they laughed at me. They said it wasn't easy. They didn't believe me when I said I could do it. Their friends laughed at me. Oh how they roared. How could no one think I could do this? I decided to move forward with my dream of building a bookcase/shelf and document it for all those who believed I couldn't do it.

Well they were right. I realised very quickly that building a bookcase was not as easy as I thought it would be. How could I have been so delusional? I didn't think about things like making sure it was lined up at 90 degrees, sanding, filling up gaps, measuring shit etc. When the woodcutter guy started sawing the wood I felt like I was giving birth to an unwanted child, but it was too late. The wood was cut, the R750 bill was paid and I had no choice but to go through with it...

The shelf turned out alright in the end. In fact, I think it's rather quite fabulous. Thanks to Dennis (my carpentry adviser) and Chewy for all the moral support.