So I've got this habit of keeping pencils in my pocket. And so as not to get lead all over the inside of my pocket (since I don't like using pocket protectors- yes, I do own one... it was complimentary, I swear! hahaha), I tend to keep the pencils with the tip facing upwards. But yea, it just so happens that I also keep my keys and cellphone in that same pocket. Well today, I had a freshly sharpened pencil in my pocket when I was reaching for my keys, and the pencil just absolutely impales my finger. Ok, well, maybe "impales" is a bit too strong a word, but I got a hefty bit of lead under the skin. I managed to wash a lot of it out, but there's still a bit stuck in there. I hear that stuff stays in forever, so I'm debating whether I should do some more amateur surgery and cut it out.
But yea, I was thinking about why I keep the pencil there in the first place. I guess it's like the schoolboy equivalent of the Boy Scouts' motto: "Be prepared." I think it's probably some deep repressed fantasy of every nerdy kid to save the day with his wits. Some damsel in distress would be like, "Oh brave engineer, save me- I've forgotten how to differentiate this function!" And pencil in hand, I'd have to slay the "beast." The pen(cil) is mightier than the sword, right? Haha, ok, so maybe it's just me, but hey, "It could happen!" (a la the old school McDonald's commercials)
Also, I was thinking about that callus that I like to refer to as the "writer's bump." You know, that knot on the lowermost joint of the middle finger on the writing hand. Well, I was thinking how in stories about the old days, they could look at your hands and be like, "You've never worked a day in your life, have you, boy?" (presumably by the calluses on your palms) Anyways, isn't the writer's bump kinda like that for modern society? (Well, maybe not so much since the advent of typewriters/computers, but) Couldn't you judge how much hard intellectual "labor" a person has done by how calloused their writer's bump is? Thought that was rather interesting parallel.
Anyways, while on the subject of all things nerdy, check this article on Why Nerds are Unpopular. (link via my roommate, Victor)
But yea, I was thinking about why I keep the pencil there in the first place. I guess it's like the schoolboy equivalent of the Boy Scouts' motto: "Be prepared." I think it's probably some deep repressed fantasy of every nerdy kid to save the day with his wits. Some damsel in distress would be like, "Oh brave engineer, save me- I've forgotten how to differentiate this function!" And pencil in hand, I'd have to slay the "beast." The pen(cil) is mightier than the sword, right? Haha, ok, so maybe it's just me, but hey, "It could happen!" (a la the old school McDonald's commercials)
Also, I was thinking about that callus that I like to refer to as the "writer's bump." You know, that knot on the lowermost joint of the middle finger on the writing hand. Well, I was thinking how in stories about the old days, they could look at your hands and be like, "You've never worked a day in your life, have you, boy?" (presumably by the calluses on your palms) Anyways, isn't the writer's bump kinda like that for modern society? (Well, maybe not so much since the advent of typewriters/computers, but) Couldn't you judge how much hard intellectual "labor" a person has done by how calloused their writer's bump is? Thought that was rather interesting parallel.
Anyways, while on the subject of all things nerdy, check this article on Why Nerds are Unpopular. (link via my roommate, Victor)
posted by Dear Daniel at 7:48 PM
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