Mildewy 2 x 4s

Joel writing here. Barbara mentioned the 2 x 4s story (April 30: "Kijiji addiction") and said I would fill in the details. There's not actually much more to fill in. But it is true that once I started down this Kijiji path, I was surprised to find out (a) how much I liked it, and (b) how incredibly easy it is to find anything used within more or less a 15 minute drive away.

Kijiji, for those who don't know, is a kind of local ebay. You look for stuff people have posted under various categories for sale or for free, but only in the city where you are located. So I use Kijiji Ottawa, but someone elsewhere would use their local Kijiji site. In big cities, it's broken down by areas. Kijiji purportedly means "village" in Swahili. The whole enterprise has a community-building aesthetic to it. It's really amazing how different this is than ebay -- which has never really appealed to me either for buying or selling or giving away. The local aspect means you end up meeting people in your 'hood.

Barbara already told the story of the radiator, but she neglected to say that we had several offers of $130 or more for the rad. The artist who came to pick it up had her check book (cheque book, for Canadian readers) in her hand and was ready to write a cheque for $130. Since, in the name of art, we couldn't think to take that kind of money, we ended up giving it to her for free and she, in return, thanked us profusely and gave us an invitation to the opening of the show. (She was using the rad, by the way, as a sound-making device -- her installation is concerned with acoustics and every-day objects). One other thing about this, in my rambling post here: these rads can weigh hundreds of pounds each - they are cast iron. Vince (our neighbour) and I had one hell of a time lifting it into her trunk - and the back of her car sank almost to the ground when we managed to drop it in. I wouldn't have been at all surprised to see her car do a wheely with the front end up in the air as she drove off into the artistic sunset.

Ok, about that wood. I figured, hey, I've found light fixtures and tools, and I've sold or given away almost anything on Kijiji. Why not wood? So I looked up wood and 2 x 4s. Sure enough, a hand full of ads popped up. So, I contacted a seller who had a pile of 2 x 4s. Unfortunately, after seeing his offering, I was worried it was damp and possibly moldy. That's when I headed straight to Home Depot. Capitalism and breezy exploitation of non-unionized workers means that I can get 2 x 4s for $2.19 each. But given all our recent home-made projects, the whole thing felt entirely without any guilt to me. It all seemed within the spirit of the project.

One last thing: I, like Barbara, am absolutely stunned at how much the kids have gotten into the whole thing. Michal has made more arts and crafts things as gifts and for other reasons than one could possibly imagine. And the recipients of home-made birthday gifts seem reasonably impressed and grateful. These are 12-year old recipients! Sure, their parents go on and on about how special and nice these gifts are, but that's to be expected, but the kids themselves seem genuinely happy about the gifts.

Ben, too, has just taken the whole project at face-value, probably following Michal's lead. Now requests for things like ice-cream or a trip to the candy store have substituted for begging to go to the local toy store, Ms. Tiggy Winkles or to Toys R Us.

I don't think 3 months will be enough.

jw