January 25th, 2008

Slip Slidin’ Away

Somewhere in the past couple of months I’ve picked up a new quirk. When you hold a drink from Starbucks or McDonald’s, your hand forms a letter C, right? I have developed this notion that I’m going to drop things because I can’t hold them tightly enough, so to combat this surety, I curl my pinkie finger in underneath the cup, forming a little ledge for the cup to sit on.

It struck me recently that this might be a little strange. I’ve been holding glasses and cups for most of my life, so why am I just now figuring I’m going to start dropping them?

One thing some of you might not understand is that this sort of thing seems completely normal and logical to me when I institute it:

  • Problem: cup might fall out of my hand because I can’t grip it tightly enough.
  • Solution: form ledge with pinkie for cup to sit on.

It isn’t until much later that it hits me that this might not be the most sane thing, coming up with solutions to imagined problems.

This new oddity seems to go right along with my belief that the hanging lights and ceiling fans in the auditorium at church are going to fall on my head – no where else, mind you, do I have that thought. It’s only the ones at church.

I’m reading a book right now where the author has just talked about how he had conversations with Emily Dickinson when he was spending a lot of time not around other people. I kind of shook my head at that one, thinking it was silly for him to talk to imaginary or long-dead people, and it was right in the middle of me telling the cats that I thought it was silly that I realized I didn’t have much place to think it was silly.

His point ended up being – and I think he’s on to something – that we need to be around people so we don’t lose sight of “normal” behavior and how it is we’re supposed to be around people. Of course, it’s still pretty easy for me to think that forming a pinkie ledge for my drink is a good idea, because I’m pretty sure even Emily Dickinson would say that it’s not good to drop your drinks around other people.

15 Comments on “Slip Slidin’ Away”

  1. daniel says:

    I actually put my pinky underneath my purchased coffee cups as a shelf because I try not to hold onto the cups too hard. I don't like those cardboard holders, so I "man up" and just hold the hot drink, burn my fingers, then go about with my little solution.

    I'm actually more worried about water bottles slipping out of my hand because of the condensation making the whole affair… slippery. That's why I never drink water. Ever. ;P

  2. Meags says:

    I too often grab my Starbucks drink from the top, which is a miracle the lid hasn't popped off and resulted in a hot, sticky mess.

  3. M. Kate says:

    Glad SooAnn had a hit, maybe you do like Jazz.

  4. The Rock Star says:

    Ah yes, the pinky ledge. I, too, started doing this some time ago due to a wondering of "what if my cup falls out of my hand".

    I think you should be concerned if the cats start talking back to you.

  5. Eric says:

    One can only read that post with the sounds of the Oak Ridge Boys "oohing" in their mind.

    Optional title to blog post. "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her"

    I would be most interested in your opinion on the book when you are finished with it. I have read mixed reviews of it.

  6. Wahooty says:

    Some of us have always done this, because if one has teeny-tiny hands, the only way to have a secure grip on a cup is to hold it near the bottom. The pinky is just instinct at that point.

  7. Petey says:

    I too have been doing this for YEARS! Pop cans, Pop bottles, coffee cups (without handles), etc. I can't explain it, I just do it.

    No worries mate!

  8. Lorelei says:

    I hold my cup the same way. So does Kathleen. Could it be genetic? Just a thought.

  9. Daizie Girl says:

    Now you have me thinking???…

  10. mrross says:

    I do the whole pinkie-shelf thing, but not all of the time. It's very random and infrequent, and I've no idea what causes me to do it or not do it at any given time.

    strange…

  11. Sizzledowski says:

    I always think about lights and speakers falling on people in church!

    I'm glad I'm not the only one. :)

  12. ZiggyTQuirk says:

    I am much like Scott. Some things require a pinky ledge, other things do not. perhaps we could all apply for a whopping big study grant to look at the issue.

  13. brent-ley says:

    I think you're afraid of the lights in church because THEY MOVE constantly. One does not typically equate "swaying in the breeze" with "structurally sound".

    Also could be this: You go into a concert hall, see a huge speaker hanging there and think…Probably was hung by a licensed professional, probably has a union card and everything. You go into church, see a huge speaker and think…was probably hung by some church member who had a free hour on a Tuesday afternoon because he was fired from his construction job.

    Is any of this helping?

  14. Kenthe2 says:

    At least not you're not concerned about always having your back to a wall…oh, wait.

  15. M. Kate says:

    Brent, that is hilarious!

    I noticed Mark was precariously perched just exactly beneath one such member hung swaying light on Sunday, so he can't be too worried about it.

    Also, I went to Starbucks yesterday morning to help me wake up to travel the rest of my way to Madison, AND noticed I was doing the finger thing, who knows how long I've done it and never realized…

Leave a Reply to Wahooty