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Sharpening a Pencil
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Categories: Experiences and daily life

Word count/read time: 424 words; 2 minutes

At my middle school, students either took a foreign language or did industrial/vocational classes. Since my last school taught conversational French - I never saw a French word that entire year - it was the latter. The classes were totally cool! One of the first things we were taught was how to sharpen a pencil to use in drafting. A special sharpener left a long, stubby tip that had to be manually filed to a point.

For English class, we were asked to write a paper that described how to do a simple task. Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, fold a paper into a simple origami shape, etc. I knew exactly what venture my pen was seeking.

I managed to get the minimum number of words, really milked it, and got an A+. It felt so wrong but being a small-ish school, I'm sure every teacher basically knew what every other teacher was doing. She had no issues as she shouldn't since several students took her cue and wrote the ultimate PBJ guide.

 
Not all soaps are created equal.
 
Washing hands can take a toll when it comes to removing grease and oils. The better soaps are expensive but work more gently. No matter how gentle the cleaner it will inevitably strip all the good (body) oils. Dry skin is not healthy. It splits and cracks and can be painful.

So there is a certain urgency to determining the best way to wash my hands for maximum effectiveness and economy with minimal damage to my skin. That paper I wrote nearly four decades ago in Mrs. Carter's English class found its successor.

Dispense one teaspoon of soap to dry hands. Rub entirely over hands to spread evenly. Scrub dirty spots until all grease that can be removed, is removed, or the soap is used up. Spritz hands under warm running water for about 1/10 second and continue rubbing. Spritz again five seconds later, rub again, and repeat two more times with the spritzing becoming longer each additional time, ending in a full-out rinse. Should any grease or dirt remain, pat hands mostly dry and do it all over (this soap doesn't play well with wet hands).

Not all soaps are created equal or work the same and I have an arsenal of brands to prove it. There are old school tricks for getting grease off without modern hand cleaners, aka rub a little cooking oil and follow with a normal soap wash. About once every five or seven years they're called upon but only as a last resort.


Posted by M: October 13, 2021


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