Okay, so yesterday, I decided to mess around with some seemingly random stuff I had lying around: a rubber volleyball and some pieces of pine timber. I had no grand plan, just pure, unadulterated “let’s see what happens” energy.

The Great Inflation

First things first, I grabbed the volleyball. It was pretty deflated, so I dug out my trusty old pump. You know, the kind you have to, like, really work at? After a good five minutes of huffing and puffing, and nearly passing out, I finally got that ball nice and firm.

Woodwork Wonders (Or Not)

Next up, the timber. I had these two decent-sized chunks of pine, leftover from… well, I can’t even remember. I figured I could maybe make… something. I envisioned some kind of stand, maybe? My woodworking skills are, shall we say, basic. I’m talking “barely knows which end of a hammer to hold” basic.

• I found a handsaw in the shed. It was a bit rusty, but hey, it’s a saw.
• I started sawing one of the pieces of timber in half, with No clear direction.
• About halfway through, after several crooked cuts and a near-miss with my thumb, I realized I had absolutely no clue what I was doing.

The “Aha!” Moment (Sort Of)

So, there I was, with a half-inflated volleyball, two uneven pieces of wood, and a growing sense of “why am I even doing this?”. Then, it hit me. Not a brilliant idea, mind you, but an idea.

I took the smaller, more mangled piece of wood and wedged it under the volleyball. Boom. Instant, albeit wobbly, display stand. I placed the other, slightly-less-mangled piece behind it, like some kind of rustic backdrop.

I have to admit,the “finished product” I’ve achieved wasn’t going to win any design awards. It looked… interesting. Like a piece of modern art that accidentally happened in my backyard. But hey, I made something! And that’s gotta count for something, right?