Race against time

When I say approximate, I mean approximate (referring to the end of my Jan 5 post). It is hard to predict the future here. Not having appropriate tin-smithing tools or rivet gun the oven took a great deal more time than expected. Compounding the problem was the fact that I had to spend 2 half days and 1 full day at the customs office to get the package that was sent to me from Canada.

Considering the demonstration has taken on political dimensions that were not anticipated (other than in my dreams), I asked my dad to send a couple of ceramic glass windows, some thermometers and more glue, which will dramatically improve the performance of the oven and enable us to do more in the future. I had been planning on going slow and doing some experimentation on a new way to heat the oven, but with several ministers and the presidents of a number of NGOs coming to the demonstration I decided it was best to not take any chances on experimentation.

I have no desire relive the endless hours chasing down various officials and signatures and documents etc. All I’ll say is that due to the nature of the project and the sympathetic ear of some officials we got 2 weeks of paperwork done in 2 days. No small miracle.

You probably can’t imagine my horror when I finally got the package in my hands and heard the last sound I could ever want to hear: broken glass grinding together.

I pulled out the first piece of glass, cracked neatly in three. An anguished moan escaped me. Frantic now I grabbed the next piece of glass, it was even more broken than the first. At this point I was in tunnel vision mode… there were a dozen people who had gathered around, as we had been discussing the project with everyone we saw, trying to get a helping hand here and there so most were current on how important this package was to the project. I didn't even notice. I dove in for the third piece of glass and pulled it out in its entirety. Ecstatic, I kiss the glass, thinking that our every problem has been solved and that a successful demonstration is all but assured.

However, during the time that I spent away from the workshop, work did not advance at the anticipated pace. As such, we only finished the oven today. That leaves us 3 days to move everything to Kid City, clean, paint, configure and test. We basically have zero room for error (something I really REALLY wanted to avoid (but seems to be my modus operandi)).