A lowly Stapler kept me company!

A STAPLER KEPT ME COMPANY: CONFESSIONS OF A HAPPILY BORED, BUSY GIRL

“There's nothing to do!" This is really as ironic as true. CalSci students have not had a full 8-hour sleep since school started yet there were times when we still experience ennui, languor, tedium, or in simpler terms, boredom. It may seem strange as I have many things I need to do yet I still have the luxury to feel and get bored. I would describe boredom as not having a bit to keep me up on my toes and busy.

In one of the school programs I watched, I had a great realization that a lowly stapler – yes, the device used to bind material together by means of thin wire driven through papers and clinched over as a binding, would keep me company and let my creative juices flow. Thanks to King Louis XV of France who had the first stapler made.

The school program I was referring to took about three hours, made us Indian sit on school grounds (such an uncomfortable position to sustain for three hours) under the sun. Rather than feel grumpy about my very uncomfortable fate that day, I opted just to feel bored. And I made the right choice – one of the best choices I made in long whileJ.

I had a pocketful of candies which kept me afloat for the first hour. As I tried to reach into my pocket for one more, I discovered I had none. What was left in my pocket was a stapler I used to fasten my report before the program started. At first, I was just playing with it until I found myself punching the first staple wire in my skirt hem. It looked good – - silver on green and white plaid cloth.

Straight, diagonal, zigzag, up, down - - I punched them in all possible directions on my skirt hem. I never appreciated how beautiful the plaid skirt I am wearing since June until the thin wires brought sparkles on it. It wouldn’t be as beautiful if I wore another school skirt.

This lowly stapler made me appreciate so many things – that I can do things one doesn’t ordinarily do – that I love the CalSci skirt – that I can be artistic – that once in a while I can be happily bored. What a fulfilling day!