The great futon

I've accomplished a number of things this past week - stood up and addressed the class which I'm grading (all 70 students in it), read out a piece of old prose to my workshop mates, finished all the reading required for my creative non-fiction class, cooked the first dinner for my cooking group, applied for a customized plate for my white Golf, washed and waxed the Golf - but the one task that really defines my week is the two-and-a-half-hour piecing together of my futon frame.

Yes, Miss Small-And-Not-The-Most-Tool-Savvy here decided at 10.30 pm last night to fix up her own futon, instead of running to a guy friend and pleading for help. After reading Thoreau's Walden while camping four summers ago, I have ever since been inclined to be self-sufficient and self-reliant (I try, of course, but fail at times). When I looked at the long, flat rectangular box leaning against the wall of my living room, I instinctively knew I shouldn't deprive myself of a learning opportunity.

Well, I nearly tore my hair out trying to figure out all the parts and tools. Three different kinds of bolts, washer, spring washer, special washer, bars, hook, leg etc. Then I had problems lifting the parts in mid-air while trying to attach them to parts of the frame. This job needed just another person to help lift and balance the parts while I screwed in the bolts and nuts. I would've finished a lot faster. But I managed somehow and completed the job with no errors. The heavy beige mattress went on and was the most comfortable thing after the hardware session.

Now I have a place to sit while watching TV. Unfortunately, my cable connection (a free, previously undetected, one) got disconnected. Life has interesting odds.