Up-Cycling

Sometime ago, I showed a close friend of our family some pictures of a bicycle I painted for my sister and later that night he sent me this mail...

"please share the photos of your effort-

want to send to ... (his daughters)-

send also the pics of the details of the handle bar etc- if you explain the art it would add more value- like the guide at Belur temple!!"

...which led to a rather detailed email that inspired this post.

Initially, my sister just wanted me to paint the cycle because my father, who passed away 17 yrs ago, had bought it for her. This was her first and only adult sized bike. It is one of the few things she is attached to and took with her after she got married. But due to disuse, the cycle was beginning to rust. In fact, if we want to make the cycle usable now, we will have to change the rims as parts of it has rusted. So she came up with the bright idea to have it repainted so she can keep it as a piece of art, maybe with the plants she has upstairs.

The project started some months ago when I took the cycle to their terrace, got the wheels removed and sanded out most of the rust. But because of bad weather (scorching sun and a little rain) not much work got done there and we put the project on the back burner. Finally, we brought the cycle back to my house, gave it a base coat and kept it in a room in the back yard.

I started off with painting it, but ran out of paints in the middle, misplaced my paint brushes, then mildly injured my hand. The project took a nose dive. There was no hurry to get it done. Suddenly, one day, I was bursting with the mood to paint and in the last few weeks, the momentum just picked up - just in time for my sister's wedding anniversary.

The front mudguard was the first to be done as it was easy to dismantle. I tried removing the back wheel, but realised it needed a lot more re-assembly and decide to leave it assembled while painting. Instead of painting each part separately, I just wrapped some parts in paper while I sprayed the others. The back mudguard was the last part to be done as there were so many things that had to be covered to paint it. 

The designs were chosen to be simple and subtle since the colours contrast quite vividly. Therefore, I used green on green, blue on blue/blue-green and a darker orange that looks subtle under a yellow bulb, but contrasts well in sunlight or tube light/white light.

The seat was made to look completely different, even in terms of the design style, as if the cycle wasn't kitschy enough. 

The handlebar with the bell lent itself well to look like a snail in a garden and the grips already had a skeletal look built into it, so fish bones worked themselves in easily.

I tried to keep as many of the original fittings intact, including all the reflectors. The only new addition was the seat cover, as my sister misplaced the old one (after the project started and it was given into her keeping). She however thinks her husband may be the culprit :-D. I don't think the poor bloke knows he's the fall guy.

There is a whole other story about what happened the night we wanted to surprise them with the gift, but we'll keep that for another day.

It the end, it turned out much better than we imagined and my sister and brother-in-law were thrilled to have it. Yay!

Just smile and wave, boys

There comes a time in your life when you understand and adopt the wisdom of Skipper's (the Penguin from Madagascar) "Just smile and wave, boys".

When you are younger, in college, in your 20s, you fight for your ideals. You argue logically to defend your decisions. You get flustered that no one listens to you. AND NO ONE EVER LISTENS TO YOU. And your arguments get more fervent. Then you go home and vent to you mom, who is the only one, who by this time, has accepted that trying to convince you otherwise is futile. And nobody listens to her either. You are pronounced guilty of being a burden to your parents, whether they worry or not; and they are blamed of not brainwashing you enough.

No matter how logical your arguments may seem or how many facts you use to support it, the same stupid issues of how you choose to live your life will always be brought up by someone. Not just one someone - Everyone who thinks they are looking out for you will bring it up.

Slowly, as you near 30, it will peter out, but there will still be those one or two people who will insist on advising you, though you may have told them in no uncertain terms, that you are not interested in listening to them. That's when you adopt the "Just smile and wave, boys" attitude. You smile and nod and mumble something noncommittal until they think you agree with them and go away.

I recently was told, for the millionth time, by someone I know (who was earnestly being well meaning), that she wanted me "married and with children" soon. Then you hear the stories. "Give up these romantic ideas about marrying for love. I wasn't in love with my husband when we got married. I didn't even particularly like him. Even now I sometimes wish I wasn't married to him. But my sister, who was in love with a boy since she was in 11th std ( 11th grade), said she wouldn't marry unless I did. So I married the first guy that was introduced to me, as both our families didn't have any objections. Can you imagine how much I should have been worried about change and adjustment? I had a PhD and the Govt was willing to fund a documentary based on my research. I left all that, got married and moved to a new country!"

And all I'm thinking is, "So, basically, your sister is a bitch who forced you to spend the rest of your life with some random dude so that she could happily marry the man she loved? And you think she cared for your happiness like you "care" for mine? Seriously?!"

What these people don't realise is that when they were my age they made their own decisions, about their own lives. Sure, they may regret some of it now, but when they made these decisions, they believed they were mature enough to do so. Why do they not believe the same of me? Why should someone else's idea of "settled" bind me? Have I given any reason for anyone to believe that I am immature, don't know what I'm doing or cannot take care of myself?

It is impossible to get this category of people off your back if you try to fight them. They believe they are your well-wishers and will shove their opinions down your throat. Nothing you say will be acceptable to them and given half a chance, they will try to run your life. "I've ordered food for you. Eat!" "Do you really think you want to take that job? I mean, do you think you can do it?" (Why the **** would I apply to that job, in the first place, if thought I couldn't do it)? "I know this boy in London (or Singapore) who you can marry instead of working."

By this point, all you want to do is get away as quickly as you possibly can. Your best escape is to "just smile and wave", while you make your own plans.