Grit in the Gears

I am the grit in the gears, the missing bolt, I am the poker of sticks into spokes. I like to know how things work, but sometimes when I take them apart and rebuild them, I have a few pieces left over. I am a man, so I tend to leave reading the instructions until after it goes wrong. And like all men I have a comprehensive mental map of the world and never need to ask directions. I never get lost, only sometimes I'm late, or end up in the wrong place entirely. It's what we do.

Saturday, 10 December 2011

It's a Good Thing I'm Not Claustrophobic

Did I volunteer for this? we refurbished this space a while back, and as there was a fair bit of unsightly pipework at one end, it was decided to build a false wall to screen it. Now there's a new tenant wanting the space, and he wants a heating system with radiators. So I have to stick a boiler and pipe runs and new waste pipes for the new kitchen and toilet in there too. But: nobody measured the width of my shoulders before the wall was built. It's tight.

Spelunking tight.

Not enough room to swing even a very short cat. That clipboard's paper is 11.72x8.3".

Had to put a new piece in here. But the other end? there's a lot to get into there. Update picture on monday, all being well.

And here? just behind me is the vertical pipe that I can only squeeze past whilst facing one way. I can't turn around at all. I can't crouch down. If I drop something that rolls under that black pipe, I can't reach it without being very inventive.
By the end of monday I'll either be finished with this space behind the real world, or entombed there forever.

5 comments:

The Nag10 December 2011 at 18:39
What if you heard a sound behind you? I'd be terrified.
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red dirt girl10 December 2011 at 23:29
And I think my job is tough ...! If entombment is a possibility, don't forget to bring food and a coin to pay the ferryman to cross the River Styx. Oh and some postcards and a pen as well, so you can write us and tell us all about the journey.

xxx
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Rosalind Adam11 December 2011 at 06:59
My admiration goes out to you. You're a braver person than me... and I trust that you ARE reading this today and not permanently stuck behind those pipes.
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soubriquet11 December 2011 at 10:40
It's like Narnia! I met a faun and it was snowing by the lamp-post, and that's about all I can remember of C.S.Lewis.

As for food, hm. and a coin. well, there's a hatch that gives access to the lethean depths, which I think I blogged about once... A subterranian world with, currently (see what I did there?) about 8 feet of water in it. Old Charon might have to be careful whilst rowing, because there are some steel beams and cast-iron pillars to watch out for.
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A.12 December 2011 at 13:01
I was hoping someone else would ask this first but ... How much does it cost to replace the plasterboard? More than a new soubriquet?
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