5 MARCH 2014


Bad news! I got fairly good marks for my create! I got a 4 out of 6 in my create! He asked me what I thought I deserved and I said I think I deserve a 4. But deep inside I felt I deserved a 5. Honestly Mr. Wafula is a very harsh assessor (no offense). I told him that i deserve a four because of two reasons. There were many people around me and I thought if I said a 5 and I got a 4, it would be very embarrassing. Another reason I told him that I deserve a four is because, another person, who had a better product got a four. I know the reasons why i got four as my final grade. It is because, the wood pieces were not well sanded and there were gaps in between. I agree that there were gaps in my box which could have been a minus point. But the reason why the pieces were not well sanded was because the disk sander was not working. If it had been working, then my wood piece wood have been much even and smooth. I had to sand them manually which was very very very difficult and challenging. I also worked on the modifications. This is how much I progressed:

                                                                     4 March 2014 

Nothing very exciting today... We went to the CT labs today so that we could work on our evaluate stage! I think all the exciting parts are over because now its just the most annoying part, which is the evaluate stage! I find this stage very annoying and frustrating because it is supposed to be very lengthy and detailed! So today we just went to the lab and were expected to work while most of us were shouting, playing games and doing err random stuff! I wanted to do my work but since many people were making noise, I got very distracted! And since it looked as if they were having a lot of fun, I felt like fooling around with them or just observing them and laughing! I get very easily influenced by my surroundings! I worked on the modifications document and this is what I did:  

                                                               2nd and 3rd March 2014

The final entry for create stage! I am almost done! I sanded the wood piece as much as time allowed me to! I started sticking the wood pieces at around 5:00. I had to leave each piece for around 20 minutes for drying. I stuck the four faces first, then stuck them to the base, then stuck the grove joints and then stuck the “cool” joints with the top/lid! Each step took around 30 minutes including drying time. It was a lengthy process but very fun. This was the first time I was using wood glue to stick such big wood pieces. The wood has to be handled delicately and one should be very neat while gluing. I was quite neat and was not very worries because the glue will be eventually be covered with paint. Sticking the “cool” joints was a challenge because the surface area of the heart was small not allowing it to completely stick on the faces! I was tensed and hoped it stick successfully. I had to stick this particular joints around 5-6 times because every time I stuck them, they came out very easily (even after leaving them for 15-20 minutes)! This annoyed me very much! I tried leaving it under the fan, supported with an elastic rubber band around it, tightly, for 20 more minutes during which I had a short nap! When I woke up, I realized that it was not stuck yet! I had to give up until my brother gave me another idea! Why fear when super glue is here! I used super glue to stick the joints and to my surprise, it was all perfect within 5 minutes! The joints were perfectly working and this left me wondering “why didn't I think of this before?” I left it for the whole night to be on the safer side. I did not want to take any chances after all that I went through! I woke up at 4:30 the next day and began painting! Painting is my favorite part and I have been looking forward to it since the beginning! But I never knew that I would end up doing the most awaited part in a rush, early in the morning. But I did enjoy painting my box. I had not specific specifications for the color, just that more than 5 colors should be used, which was obviously very easy to follow. I painted different color for each face/piece of the box which made it look very colorful and attractive in the end! To be honest, I had a lot of fun and enjoyed a lot! I also learnt something that it does not matter if the glue comes out when applying as it will be eventually covered with paint! I also learnt how to glue neatly, how to paint difficult parts like the storage area of the box, neatly, how to make joints accurately and neatly! Now I have to do evaluate and modifications! I am not sure if I am supposed to hand it the modifications with create stage or evaluate? I will confirm with sire tomorrow! Here are pictures which were taken during the lengthy, frustrating and the annoying process: 

This was when I was sanding the wood pieces 

before I started sticking them 

This was when the joints were drying . As you can see in picture 3 the rubber bands are around the joints to support them and keep them in place. 

These pictures were taken when I was painting the box early in

 the morning. The storage area inside the box (the four square shaped holes) were a little challenging! 

                                                  THURSDAY  27 FEBRUARY 2014

Today was also a very productive lesson. My main aim for today was to finish the grove joints and try to joint my box together to see if everything fits in place! Fortunately I was second on the scroll saw and when it was my turn I quickly cut what I was supposed to, using the scroll saw. The smaller part was to be removed using the wooden hammer and a chisel. This took only about 10-15 minutes. Then I put together all my pieces and realized that the grove joints does not fit in properly and needed to be cut a little. I did that as soon and as accurate as possible! Unfortunately, the grove joints were too small now! If I had concentrated a little more, then I am sure I could have done a much better job. This happened because I was a little too hyper and excited! I feel very bad now! But it is not very bad but not very good too! After fitting it at showing it to sir, I went and helped others for the rest of the time. I helped people like Maryam, Ramyz, Asma, Paul, Akil and Yavan! This was a completely different experience. I enjoyed it but some people who needed help using the scroll, annoyed me a lot  at the same time! They told me to show them how to cut the wood accurately and when i did it, they go away and start doing their own things. I was not there to do their work for them, I was there to show and help them! Around 10 minuted before the lesson ended, I went and sat outside with Saumya! She really liked my box and appreciated it a lot! I was happy about that and felt very proud of myself. She also explained the mistakes I made and how I can still improve on them! The comments and the suggestions were helpful and it was really nice of her to do so! For the weekend, I am going to sand the wood piece, collect the saw dust, stick the box, paint it and stuff sawdust in the empty spaces! 

                                                   WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2014

Today was the most productive lesson I have ever had! I had a lot of fun at the same time! I finished what I was supposed to, in 55 minutes! As soon as I entered the class I got out all the wood and booked for the scroll saw after 3 people! Then I used the coping saw to try and cut the grove joints. Unfortunately it was not looking neat, so I decided to wait and use the scroll saw. As usual, people were not following the queue for the scroll saw. But today, I waited for my turn which came very soon! I hate it when people skip the line and not follow the rules! I cut one part of the grove joint and left the other part as people behind me were fussing a lot! After that, I went to sir and talked to him a little about the "cool" joints! Okay! Now I need to explain what the "cool" joints are!  There are two parts. One has an extension and the other has a empty removed part. At the end, I have to make sure, the extension part goes into the empty, cut out part! It is something like a mortise and tenon joint! Then I drill a hole through it and piece and tooth pick so that I use it as a joint to open and close the lid of the box. In other words, the toothpick will allow the joint to rotate (flip). I had taken a toothpick to school as a sample and realized that they are a little too thick. So sir told me to use a sand paper and make it thinner. I was not the one who drilled the hole because I was too scared that I might break both the blade and my wood piece! After a lot of convincing, Waffles agreed the drill the hole.  I somehow felt magical today! I enjoyed the whole lesson and look forward to such productive lessons in the future! Here is a picture explaining the technique: 

It looks something like this except that it is made out of wood and the center part is  a tooth pick allowing to to flip! 

                                                  TUESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2014 


Yesterday night, I drew some cool joints and the partition (the grove joint) on a wood piece, so that today I can cut them out and be finally done with the box. But i had completely forgotten that the class consists of around 26 people, everyone will be using the equipment and careless people break the equipment! I entered the class as soon as possible and realized that the scroll saw already had a long queue. It had around 5 people before me. But fortunately, I got hold of a coping saw and started doing my work. I made another grip which will help hold the top/lid of the box. To my surprise, this took a long time! But after that I just cut the queue for the scroll saw because each person was taking fifteen minutes to cut their piece. I cut the cool joints and when I had just begun cutting the groove joints, it was time to leave. Today I learnt something new. When I was using the scroll saw, I saw smoke coming out of my wood piece. I just ignored it, thinking that it was just friction and nothing serious. But when my classmate came and saw it she looked peculiar. But it was not anything very serious. But  she said that my wood pieces were burning due to the friction. Then she said that the high speed of the blade is causing all this trouble. I realized that it was faster than normal! I had not idea about increasing or decreasing the speed so she showed me! This is what I learnt today and I am very happy. For tomorrow, I am going to cut the grove joint and try my best to use the drill and make the hole for the joint. I know I am not being clear about the cool joints that I keep talking about because it is a surprise! 

                                               THURSDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2014 

Today was a lot of fun! I was the only one in the room for 2 hours. I was working very fast and independently. I never knew I could finish making one box in just two hours! I was shocked! I did not take anyone's help! For today, I had decided to just cut the wood pieces as I thought it might take up the whole time. But to my surprise, it only took around half an hour! Then for the rest of the time, I was cutting the fingers for the finger joints. This was quite  big procedure. Firstly, I have to cut the wood piece using the scroll saw and then use a chisel and a hammer to neatly hammer the fingers out. This was a long and a tiring process. But the joints turned out to be neat and quite accurate even though it was the first time. I knew the way to do it as I had observes others do it during class time! The box came out very nicely and neatly and I am very proud of myself! After making the box, I started working on the base and the top/lid of the box. This also was very neat! While cutting the lid of the box, the scroll saw blade broke and I did not know where to get the spare from! So I started using the copping saw to cut the rest. Even though I did not use the scroll saw, the lid was still quite accurate! After that, I started making the grip which helps open the box. This grip was heart shaped, which made it difficult and a very long procedure! When I was cutting the last part, the blade of the copping saw broke too! I used another copping saw to finish the work and then went home. Tomorrow, I will sand the pieces using a sand paper and also fill the empty areas with saw dust! This is how my box looks like and I am very proud of it: 

                                                 WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014 

Today was the third time I am getting hurt because one of the scroll saws, the circular saw and the disk sander is not working. I got a deep cut on my right ring finger and was bleeding quite heavily. But I am learning a lot and having a lot of fun working and learning from different people! But today was a very confusing day because I only have around a week left to finish and I am not even done with one of my boxes! I am very tensed and confused as to what I should do! I am not moving very slow but nor am I moving very fast! During today's hour, I was still busy making my pieces smooth and straight! When I came home and discussed my worried with my family, they gave me a good suggestion. They told me to concentrate on making one box first so that at least I have a product to submit! Their suggestion actually made a lot of sense. My brother told me that modifications were allowed and it was okay if I did not exactly follow my plan and mt design! This encourage me to continue working hard and finish at least one box. I decided to make the box without the drawers as it will be suitable to make in a week. The drawers box is very challenging and might take even more than a week to finish! If I have time, I will try and make the other box. Tomorrow, I will be making the box without the drawers. I will be mainly concentrating on cutting the pieces. 
These are how my current wood pieces look. 

                                                   TUESDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2014 


I went to school at 9 O clock sharp and found the room locked. I went to the commons and asked an askari if she has seen Mr. Wafula. She said he has gone for breakfast. Then I went back and waited outside the room. For one hour, I was drawing the dimensions on the wood as this was a free time for me to prepare. At 10 a boy came with the keys for the room, I was relieved. Then I started cutting the wood using the scroll saw. The blade came out around 3 times. Mariam helped me fix it and I learnt that it was pretty easy. But the fourth the time, the blade broke. I was feeling helpless until mariam came to me with a new blade. I had not idea where she got it from. But thank god I would continue with my work! Today I just cut most of the wood pieces by taking mainly Abror's help! He helped me a lot and also gave many suggestions. I also made my wood pieces smooth! I had a lot of fun and hope to work at the same pace for the rest of the week. I had also drawn the joint but mariam told me that I was not supposed to draw it at first but cut it! I did not understand what she said so I left that for tomorrow! I will confirm everything with sir before taking any action. 

                                              MONDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2014 

I am now back to normal and am very enthusiastic about continuing my work! Since holidays have started, I am going to go tot the DT lab everyday and work on it so that it finishes on time and turns out successful! I have decided that I am going to work very hard over the holidays! Unfortunately, I could not work today! I went to the DT lab at exactly at the given time. I waited for half an hour but nobody came so I went back home very annoyed. I really wanted to work today for at least 45 minutes, but could not! A few hours after I came home, I got a mail from sir saying that he waited for me but I DID NOT ARRIVE! Whhattt???!!! I replied saying that I was there on time but he was the one who did not arrive on time! I also told him that I am coming tomorrow! I hope I can work tomorrow as much as I can! I hope I utilize my time well tomorrow! For tomorrow, I am planning to work on the drawers and cut them as accurate as possible. One of the scroll saws, the circular saw and the disk sander has not yet been repaired and I am sure it will not be repaired until the beginning of year 9! I have stopped expecting anything from anyone... that's it! Another thing I like is that I have an opportunity to help people! On Thursday I had helped Paul, Alykhan, Mariam and a few others and it feels great when one helps someone in need! :D

                                              WEDNESDAY 12 JANUARY 2014 

I feel much better today! Yesterday, for some reason, I was very depressed and did not feel like working. Today, I did the same, but later on, I drew some of the new dimensions on a new board. This was a little fun because I was doing something new after a very long period of time. Here are a few pictures of me drawing on the cardboard! This was a little fun. 

                                                    TUESDAY 11 JANUARY 2014

To be very honest, I have lost hopes! Seriously! I cannot find a good tool to sand my wood pieces and make them even! I got another cut on my finger when I was filing my wood piece with a file! It is a very slow and a very annoying process! I do not feel like continuing because I want to finish doing this first! Today, I continued working on my wood pieces with a sad face! Here is a picture of my wound and the tool called file: 

the tool (file)

 ouuchhh! my wound.... :(

                                                  THURSDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2014

Why do I have a strong feeling that I may not be able to finish making my product before the deadline? Why do I feel that I made a mistake by choosing to make such a complicated design? Why am I not optimistic about making my product? These are the questions that ask myself every time I see the uneven and the weird looking wood pieces! I always have this feeling at the corner of my mind 24/7! But I am hoping to finish most of it during the holidays and I am quite sure I will! Today, I came around 10 minutes late to the DT lesson because I had to finish some important business with Mr. Ochieng. As soon I came into the room, I grabbed a coat and went inside the dusty and the spooky store room to get a huge piece of plywood! For this lesson, I had planned to get some wood and cut it into small sizes so that it can be easier for me to carry it around. The wood was very big and had more 20 nails! So after choosing the wood, I removed all the nails using a hammer! My friend, Nikita also volunteered to help me which was very helpful and nice of her! Together, we worked and finished removed them very quickly. The wood piece had another small but long wood stuck to it. It was strongly stuck and had many nails which was very difficult to remove. So I just decided to cut that piece off as it would not make such a big difference. This was done by Mr. Wafula as it is quite a complicated process.  It looked very difficult too! After that I realized that such a humongous piece of wood will be very difficult to carry home. So I decided to cut into half, but not too small because the dimensions of my box are not very small and should be able to fit! Again, I did not do the cutting of the wood. My classmate (I think Jeff ) did it.  
they look something like this...

                                                  WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2014

Another machine not functioning! Initially, it was the disk sander, and now it is the circular saw! woow!! I worked so hard today, that my sand paper is torn from the middle! I did a lot today. Since my wood pieces were extremely crooked, I decided to use the scroll saw to trim it a little. It was much faster, neater and looked better! Once I had used the scroll saw, I went back to sanding! It was very difficult! Suddenly, a small pieces of wood piecerd inside my pointing finger! It was hurting a lot! I was immediately sent to the nurse and was removed! I came back as soon as possible so that I could finish my work, but the lesson had already finished! I am very unlucky! But I will work for extra hours tomorrow! I will try my best!
Have a look at the small piece which went inside my finger: 

                                                             Tuesday 4 February 2014

I am very disappointed with the school. I had been assured that the disk sander will be fixed during the weekend. But it is not functioning! I was very cross and explained to Mr- Wafula, how I feel. I did not know what to do because I did no want to move on before I finish one thing! When I was roaming around the room looking confused, I saw saumya was using a sand paper! I went and asked her where she got it from. Even though she had gotten them from home, fortunately she had an extra one which I could use! I sanded one wood piece and half of another. I realized that manually sanding the wood is not as easy as it looks! It took me a very long time and a lot of energy to sand one single piece of wood. It was also partly my fault because I cut the wood very crookedly and depended on the disk sander a lot. But it is also the schools responsibility to make sure all the equipment are working before our we start with our create! Hopefully, tomorrow I will be working on it more and finish at least one more wood piece. If i get time, I might try and do it at home too! But I am very cross and annoyed! 

                                                    THURSDAY 30 JANUARY.

The first moth of year is almost about to end! Today I am quite satisfied with the amount of work that I did. Yesterday, when I came come from school. I had carried with wood plank with me and realized that my drawings were not accurate and quite crooked. So today, I fixed that and made it clear and neat. This is what I did during the lesson. But I also worked after school from 4:00- 50:00. At that time, I cut all the designs that I had drawn on the wood plank. I also cut the halved joint for box number 2. I am really happy today. But I wish I could also work tomorrow. But unfortunately, the honors ceremony is taking place tomorrow after school! :(((( Anyway I will work on Monday again and hopefully almost finish box number 1 because time is clicking!!

                                               WEDNESDAY 29 JANUARY 2014

I am behind schedule and plan! I am worried and tensed! I feel disorganized and messy. This is all I can say now! But today I started with my final product. I took a huge piece of plywood and started drawing the box dimensions on it. At last I started! I was also about to cut the 6 faces of the box but did not get time as there was a queue for using the scroll saw! This is what I really dislike! The school should supply each student with a scroll saw. There should be 27 scroll saws in the DT lab so that people don't waste their time waiting in the queue. Tomorrow, I am working during class time and after school and hopefully nearly finish box #1! 

                                                       TUESDAY 28 JANUARY 2014

In my opinion, today was the worst DT lesson ever. I don't think I have ever felt as miserable and helpless as I did today!! Yesterday, I was supposed to start on with my create by cutting wood for box number one. Since I could not do that yesterday, I decided to cut wood for both box number 1 and box number 2, today! But when I reached the DT lab, I realized that I had to add something very important to my exploded drawing. I wanted to start with create today, so I explained my situation to sir. He told me that I could start with my create as long as I hand in my plan stage on time. I was very glad and relieved. But when he asked for the measurements of my box, so that he could cut some wood....... I was blank! I did not bring my design stage to school today and the dimensions of the box were in my design stage. I felt useless and very helpless! I wanted to start with my creattteee!!!!! So today I will calculate all the measurements and dimensions of both the boxes and then tomorrow I will cut out the wood and some extra woods in case and then start with my create! I reaalllyyyy hope I can  do it tomorrow! 

                                                    SUNDAY 26 JANUARY 2014

Today is India's Republic Day so I was busy almost the whole day. But I found some time during the night. So I stayed awake almost the whole night and finished  my Plan stage. I am soooo glad I am done with the plan stage.... but wait there is a problem....I have not yet done my exploded drawing which is as important as the production plan. I cannot do the exploded drawing because I do not have my design stage! It is not my fault.... But I wanted ot finish my plan stage and hand it in by Monday but I cannot because I cannot do my exploded drawing. So tomorrow I will go to sir and explain the situation, then I will take my design stage, come home, draw my exploded drawing and then submit it on Tuesday. This is how much I have done today! Have a look....

                                                     SATURDAY 25 JANUARY 2013

I worked on my plan stage today. I finished filling 1-2 more columns and I am almost done with the product plan. Plan stage is due on Monday for me. So I have one more day to finish my exploded drawing, evaluation of plan and the Gantt chart.... Yeah I have a pretty long way to go...... I blame all this on PROCRASTINATION- a disease which can never be cured....!!!!! I am very tensed and hope to finish it! 
Here is what I did today: 

                                                      THURSDAY 24 JANUARY 2014 


Today I just worked on my pan stage and I am almost done with my product plan. YEAAHHH!!! I am aiming to finish plan stage by Monday and hand it in so that I can start with create stage a day earlier that the actual day. I am finding plan stage quite easy and manageable unlike other stage where I often used to get very stressed and have sleepless nights. This is how much I have progressed and I am enjoying a lot!! Have a look: 

                                                  WEDNESDAY 22 JANUARY 2014

Today I did quite a lot of work. It was a very confusing lesson and I felt very disorganized! Basically, I continued with my plan stage and planned (decided) that I will have to finish Plan stage and hand it in by Monday so that I can start with CREATE!! During today's lesson, I just organized the dates that I am going to work on my create and i realized that I will be working everyday (except for the weekends). Monday and Friday will be consdered as extra days. In other words, Monday and Friday will not be considered as lesson since we do not have DT on those days. But I will be also working on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, during the lesson. So today I just sorted that out... so here is a screenshot of what I did today:

                                                    TUESDAY 21 JANUARY 2014

Today lesson was good and not good. It was good because I learnt how to do the plan stage and I kind of started. I made the table and wrote down one or two activities. It is very difficult to predict the amount of time that will be needed for each activity! So I have to think a lot before I write down the activity! I did not like this lesson because there were a group of boys who kept of disturbing me and not letting me do my work.... but almost towards the end of the lesson, they started working and stopped annoying me!  That is when I started working seriously. I want to finish plan stage so that I can start with create stage because I am really not sure if I can finish creating my box withing the time given by the teacher!! Anyway, this is what I did today:

                                                        SUNDAY 19 JANUARY 2014 


I AM PROUD OF MYSELF! I finished a design in 1 day! Design 3, the most complicated design compared to the other two! It took a really long time for me to finish it! Design 3 was two A3 papers and 1 A4 paper long.... this gives an idea of how design 3 looks like! tooo untidy!?? noo but its quite neat! I did not enjoy working on design 3 because it was a lot of work. The reason I feel this way is because I procrastinated! Next time I will start as soon as the assignment is given so that I finish on time and not stressed up! If I had started working on design stage during the holidays, I might have finished plan stage by now! I will surely do that next time! Together with the drawing, I finished the justification part too! 
To be honest, design stage is due on Tuesday! But I want to hand it in on Monday so that I can start with plan stage! I am planning to finish plan stage much before the due date so that I can start with create stage because I am worried I might not finish creating my product on time! :) :( 
Hope everything goes on well and I don't PROCRASTINATE! here is a screenshot of design 3 (not sure if it will fit in one picture!! :P)  

                                                        SATURDAY 18 JANUARY 2014 

YEAAHHH!!! Today, I started working on design 2 early in the morning and was done by afternoon! Not only the designing and the drawing part, but also the justification and the design specifications part! I seriously worked today I am very relieved! Finishing design 2 took lesser time compared to finishing deign 1! I found design 2 easier because I only could now copy the format of design 1 which minimized on the thinking time! I had a lot of fun working on design 2 ad am sure that I will have enjoy more while doing design 3! This is not work for me. This is like a resting and a relaxing time as I enjoy designing and drawing! I absolutely love this! In my opinion design 2 is looking much neater and organized compared to design 1!
Here is a screenshot of my successful design 2... yyeeaaah :) 

                                                  THURSDAY 16 JANUARY 2014 

As soon as I got into class, I seriously got down to work. I had an aim.... to finish Design stage by Sunday night! I had to do this! I had started drawing, when a great confusion blocked my way to success! I had no idea how to make drawers. So I went onto the internet and searched. But they were showing how to biuld a drawers with some complicated tool which I did not have access to! The only solution left was to go to Mr. Wafula and clear my confusion. He explained something which I did not understand because I was very tensed and panicky! Then afetr some time, I went back and asked him to explain the same thing again and thats when I understood! Finally! It was much much easier than I had expected! All I needed was a few pop sicle sticks and then use them as supports for the drawers! At last I was relieved. My mind was now clear and I could clearly see my goal! If i had not been that worried and panicky, I think I would have understood Mr. Wafula earlier and could have started working on design 2! 

                                                       WEDNESDAY 15 JANUARY

Today, during class, I did the final touches of design 1 which took a lot of time because once it had to be perfect after the final touches! I had to see if everything is well explained, had to check for any silly mistakes and many others. Then I went a showed it to Mr. Wafula and thank god I got a very good feedback. He said that my work shows that I have worked very hard. I felt really good by his comments. By the time all this was done, it was nearly time to leave. So i quickly got a fresh paper and had started drawing when suddenly, I got a shock! Design stage due monday and I have just started Design 2! Woooowwwwwwooo!! I am dead......

                                                           Tuesday, 14 January 2014

Today , I worked quite hard during the lesson. I felt very relieved when Mr. wafula liked my design and was satisfied. I liked the feeling of receiving deserving appreciation as I had worked very hard to finish my design 1. Today, I added a little more important information on the design. I feel like making the same design on a fresh piece of paper as this A4 papers was crumpled and looked quite messy. But the teacher said that it does not really matter. Once i was done adding the information, I checked the design specification to make sure most of them were followed. But to my surprise, only a few of them were properly followed. This depressed me a little as this was a sign design might not be my final product. I got a shock when my friend told me that the design stage was due on Thursday. I was only on the first design. This is when I realized that I am lagging behind a lot. Once I went home I finished with design 1 justification and packed them and kept them aside. Design 1 was done completely! I was happy but I knew I needed to hurry up and finish it as soon as possible! 

                                                    SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2013

DONE WITH DESIGN ONE! Design 1 basically includes the two sketches of the main box- each from a different angle, the drawing on the box (Chinese script), the different joints that I have used, the total volume of the box and the lid/top, two sketches of the top/lid of the box- each from a different angle and a lot of describing and reasoning. I am very proud of my design 1 because it has a very professional and a detailed look. I am a little confused if I should color my designs. Coloring the design is not going to add detail and might make it look messy. But coloring might be a good option too, since there are many ghost marks on my work which might make it look a little untidy. But I will ask sir for his opinion on Monday so that I can take the final decision. I had a lot of fun drawing design 1 and had not expected it to

turn out this nice in the beginning. I am expecting design 2 to be more difficult because design 2 will have drawers and is more complicated compared to design 1! :) :D

                                                         Thursday, 9th January

ALMOST DONE WITH DESIGN 1! Today I am very happy because I am almost done with design 1 (only drawing). I am planning to finish the drawing during the weekend and do the justification part during class time. Today, I did not draw much but did a lot of writing- describing and reasoning. It was something different. I had to write about the different joints that I have used, a short description of the joint and why I am using it! I looked up the net for the description of the joints, even thought I knew them. I did this to be on the safer side- I did not want to write the wrong definition of the joint and then repent for not confirming on the internet. I had a lot of fun writing and felt very happy when I was done with the writing about the joints part because it looked very professional and neat. Then I calculated the volume of the box and wrote it beside the box. I also drew the Arial view or the bird view of the storage box to give the reader a better picture/ idea of the inside. For the weekend, I am planning to calculate the volume of the lid/top of the box and write a little about the back part of the lid/top ( angle 2). Since I am very fond of Chinese writing, I am planning to write a Chinese word (pretty or beautiful) on the sides of the storage box. During the weekend, I will also draw the Chinese word on the design and then write what it means and why I chose to write it on my box. So this is the plan for the weekend and I want to finish design 1 by Monday! Here is a screenshot of the work I did today: 

                                                                 JANUARY 8th  2013

Today I seriously started working on Design 1. I already knew the three ideas that I had in mind for my three designs. I am not able to choose between the three designs that is the reason why I want to use them as my three designs and then see which on follows most of the design specs which will determine my final design! I was all excited to start. Today, I drew a simple box with 4 divided sections. I decided that four main faces of the boxes will be joined together using the finger joints. Then the four faces will be stuck to the bottom face with glue which will basically make it a butt joint. To divide the box's storage area into four sections, I will used halved joints. So this means I used three joints in the box which meant that I could tick one of my design specifications for design 1! Then I drew the lid/top of the box and explained everything about it! Today I did not only draw but I also had to explain many things! Here is a screenshot of design 1 until now!:

                                                                  JANUARY 7 2013

Today was the first day of school and First day of DT of the year 2014! Back to school at last! Today's lesson was a little weird for me as I had expected many people to be ahead of me or at least started with their design stage! But to my surprise everybody was a procrastinator like me or they did not know what to do like me!?!! But whatever the reason, it was very surprising. Today, I was in the mood of starting and took  A3 papers and seriously got down to work. I did not actually work much today but I looked at design stages done by different people. I learnt a lot from those designs. That is when I got a clear idea of what I was supposed to do and what I am going to do! By the time I was done planning and started drawing, it was almost time. But i was not disappointing that I did not do much work but I was content that now I knew what exactly is to be done! 

                                                      DURING THE HOLIDAYS

Sooo.... during the  holidays I did not work on my DT!?!! AGAAINN! There are two reasons why I did not start and I am being very honest!! Reason number 1: I did not know how to as this was the first DT design stage I have ever done... seriously! Last year was the first year in senior school and I was cluless and being blank was acceptable. I drew 3 simple designs and I handed them in. I did not justify or explain anything! This year is very different. Its more serious. I did not want to start during the holidays, then eventually realize that whatever I did during the holidays was wrong! 
Reason 2: I knew that we would get around 3 weeks after schools opens. Which made me think "why should I waste my time doing the design stage instead of enjoying my holidays when I was getting around 2-3 weeks after schools opens! 
To be honest, I still feel I did the right thing! But after schools opens I have to work hard and finish my design stage nicely!

                                                         TUESDAY DECEMBER 10 2013
                                                                      TENTH LESSON

Today was the last day of school and last day of DT of the year 2013! Today was basically a free lesson since all of us were done with our investigates. Mr. Wafula had told us that we were allowed to do anything that we wished. Some of were took the advantages of the free lesson and started working on their designs! Unfortunately, I was not one of them!?!! :P I wanted to start design stage but I could not because I was in the holiday mood. Another reason why I did not want to work on my design stage because I was not exactly sure how to get started. So I just drew random things on a piece of paper.... while some talked, some played around and some even went out of the classroom and had fun. Honestly, this lesson was kind of boring because I felt like procrastinator as I had a good opportunity to start with my design and clarify my doubts with Mr- wafula but I did not! After the lesson I felt guilty for not doing my design stage! But then I felt better when I realized we had a few weeks after school opened to finish our designs. Another reason why I stopped regretting that I should have started working on the last day was that I realized that I will get a better opportunity to start designing nicely as Mr-wafula was going to explain everything properly and clearly on the first day! So ya... the last day of school and the last day of DT was good! :)