That old familiar feeling

I created this.

Its not everyday that you can say something like that. This is Project Sunstream. I had to make an outdoor space and turn it into a pleasant, comfortable oasis tucked into a corner. The drawing had been done almost a year ago and the construction would've taken about a month, but this had to be done in a week, so after a night of drinking (mostly beers), I changed a couple of things so that it could be done in 3 days.

And in 3 days it was done. Now of course we are talking about expansion, tables, chairs. The table, Project Crawler was supposed to be done last week but then at the last minute the table top was not acceptable, so I'm looking for a replacement, but the frame made mostly out of joints, an engineering-perfected beauty is complete. You may ask, how do I come up with these interesting project names? Beers, lots of beers. The chairs are made out of tree logs (not shown) that arrived a couple of days ago, so I have to build a kiln dry plant to process them. That's what happens when I don't have a workshop, I just have to build makeshift stuff as I go along. It should all be completed in time for Chinese New Year.

So yesterday, after a simple, early dinner I decided to take a break. No working in the office, no slogging out in the yard. I just wanted to take a walk, do some shopping.

It was a strange, familiar feeling, the air was different. I felt liberated somehow. I looked at interesting things. Interesting things that I want. I talked to people who were selling interesting things that I wanted.

Interesting things like this Baume & Mercier watch.

I've only been quite recently intrigued by the whole horology business, how these little mechanically miniaturized pieces of art can keep time and keep going without batteries. Its the search for perfection. They say that a watch reflects the person you are. I found that a bit odd in a nonsensical sense years ago when I only had, and needed one watch to tell time. That was way before I did carpentry, way before when details mattered little to me. Now, I am compelled to observe.

There is still much to learn, the art of perfecting something is a long and tiresome task requiring time, sacrifice and dedication. Observation, education, and acknowledgement of these sacrifices will help you stay on course in search of your own perfection.