It's Heeere...

My beloved new pet is home.

Tabley? Tableau? Tabby? Tipsy?

I have to think of a name for my new pet Drafting-Table. Fido? Fluffy?

The good thing about this pet is that I don't have to feed it anything other than paper and creativity. I will, however, need to work out a system to clean up after it. I don't think it will ever be trained... I can only imagine the piles of powdered pigments and graphite bits that will accumulate underneath it. Perhaps I'll need to be more diligent with my sweeping habits.

It took me over an hour to set this thing up... complete with the requisite injuries to my ego, shins, and fingers. Not bad injuries: a bruised shin from whacking a beam into it, sore and "used" and possibly pre-arthritic fingers from tightening and untightening all types of screws and bolts, and as for the ego...

I had THOUGHT I had the table-top installed the correct way, but then went to put some other little arms onto it and my God they wouldn't fit. So I unscrewed everything, and carefully balanced the table-top on my back and re-screwed it all together the opposite way.

(As an aside, I managed to get a foot-cramp while I was sweating and twisted underneath the table-top, balancing it on my back.)

Um, it was even MORE wrong than the first time. So I hung my head for a minute, then lifted it again, and inspected every little tiny drawing that was included in the instructions. Looked like I had it right the first time. Hee... hee. Hee. Right. OK. I turned it around yet again, and finally figured out that what had appeared to be a rigid arm actually had a very very tight hinge on it... so then it was only a matter of time and determination to finish this all off.

I ended up with one too few screws, two weird washers that don't seem to belong anywhere, and a wrench that I never used. I don't know why a drafting-table-kit should have such terrible instructional drawings. Irony! It still exists! That's somewhat comforting.

Well, I look forward to months and hopefully years (unless it does indeed fall apart so I need to find a better one) of drawing and creating cartoons and illustration on this li'l puppy. Names... what to name it... something will occur...