The day the white-out exploded

Once, I was at work, minding my own business, when I saw the white-out on my desk. "I should use that in my planner & make it a little cleaner," I thought, "rather than having all of these ugly squiggly lines I've created." So I pulled out the white-out. I should explain that I do indeed have white-out tape, but I have never been fully satisfied using it - it always seems to bunch up at the end & not cover to my satisfaction. Therefore, I prefer the old, liquid kind.

I proceeded to thoroughly apply said white-out, when, all of a sudden, my right hand got what I affectionately term "the dropsies." (I have these dropsies often - I have broken glasses, bowls, a phone & other numerous objects when my right hand suddenly shakes & dumps out any and all occupants on the floor.) Today, when I got the dropsies, my hand dumped the ENTIRE OPEN BOTTLE of white-out onto my desk, keyboard, lap & chair. Yes. I now have white-out covering my desk, keyboard, hand, black leather chair & khaki pants. (What if I had been wearing black pants???? I shudder to think.)

Instead of quickly snatching up the flowing liquid, I had a moment of - "I cannot believe this is happening to me - again."  (It happened yesterday morning, actually, only that time it was my Brita pitcher filled with water and not white out, so now my kitchen floor is essentially mopped for the week. Happy accident, I suppose.) I proceeded, like an idiot, to stare at the white-out gushing into my lap. (Nay, crotch. Crotch!) I finally had the presence of mind to jump up & scoop the white-out into my hands. I must have made some horrified noise, because two of the engineers I work with came running.

Now I didn't know this previously, but engineers sure like to fix things. They have, before I arrived on the job, fixed the toaster, the coffee maker, & the shredder- not once, but twice. (Part of me wishes Jared were an engineer, but I digress.) Two of said engineers came over to me & quickly assessed the situation. "Paper towels," shouted one. "Acetone!" shouted another. They came back with those products & a paintbrush and now, I am happy to say, I am spending my afternoon stipling the black leather chair & scraping off the keyboard, all while getting high off nail-polish remover. On a positive note, I managed to get it all off the desk (mostly), keyboard, & 50% off the chair (although this is being done in shifts - who knew leather had so much grain to it?).

Sadly, I cannot say the same for my hand & pants. My pants may be lost forever, & who knows if & when the white-out will come off my hands.

However, on the bright side, I have been wanting a new pair of khaki pants for awhile...hmm.

And you might ask - "Katie, why not just NOT use white-out/sharp objects/dishes/paint/etc. when you have the dropsies?" Well, unfortunately for me, the dropsies often strike without warning. But maybe I'll revisit & recorrect my aversion to the white-out correction tape...