Pencil

I have to preface this post with a comment about my writing utensils. I usually find pens and pencils around the house, under the seats of the car, abandoned on desks at school, and places like that. So the quality of my writing utensil is always a little questionable.

A few weeks ago, I was taking Hydrogeology test. I was a little nervous, because that's the class that I seem to have left by the wayside this semester. But I was confident in the quality of my mechanical pencil which had served me without fail for at least a week. Since the quality of your writing utensil can spell the success or doom of your testing endeavors, I felt pretty good about things.

As I pulled my pencil out of my pocket my eyes widened because I noticed that the plastic tip had bent over to one side. I bent it back foolishly thinking it would right itself, but the entire tip broke off in my hand. D'oh! I quickly assured myself there was nothing to worry about, I would just write with the lead sticking out of the pencil, it still pumped and worked otherwise, no worries.

Well, I don't know if you've ever tried to write with a mechanical pencil with an inch and a half of the lead sticking out the end. It tends to break with the slightest bit of pressure. After four or five times of this, I almost panicked. The test had already started and all I could hear was the scratching of pencils on dry paper and labored breathing (probably mine). I didn't want to disturb anyone to borrow a pencil, and I knew I couldn't use a pen because of the math involved and I knew I'd make a mistake that I'd need to correct.

I took a few deep breaths to calm my nerves. With bitter resolve I told myself that no blasted writing utensil would get in the way of my success. So with my options severely limited, I bravely pinched a short piece of mechanical pencil lead between my index finger and thumb and rocked that test.

For good or for awesome,

Dan