August 25, 2012

Can You Do This?

When I was at uni studying Arts (and YES you can call it 'studying', as Arts is an Extremely Useful degree to have, especially if you want to be like me and not have a real job) I had one aim in mind. Okay, two aims. The first was to get my degree so that I could be qualified to teach Arts to other people (even though I didn't as that was a bit too 'real job' for me). The second was to learn to twirl my pen around my finger like the Asian guy in my Symbolic Logic class.

I can't remember much about Symbolic Logic (except that it involved a lot of symbols, I was very good at it, and at the end-of-year exam a mature-aged male student took one look at the paper and walked out of the room). What I remember very clearly, though, was the incredible Pen Twirling.
This Dream SHALL Become A Reality
 
Imagine yourself holding a pen as if you were about to write, then lifting up your index finger and giving the pen a quick nudge with your middle finger so that the pen goes flying around your thumb and back into the writing position again. That, my friends, is the Pen Twirl. And I knew I had to master it.

I asked the Asian guy for a lesson, and he patiently agreed to teach me. And then I practiced the manouver over and over again, until, after a year of Symbolic Logic and dozens and dozens of lost pens, I was a Pen Twirler myself. Not only could I twirl it forwards around my thumb, I could twirl it backwards, too. I still consider it to be one of my finest achievements.

But now I've become obsessed by another skill that is beyond me. Both my daughters are able to lift one eyebrow at a time, and I have no idea how they do it. And I need to know. I need to be able to lift one eyebrow. I don't know why, but I just DO. It is killing me.

I have started practicing the Single Eyebrow Lift every day, holding down one side of my face with a finger whilst I raise the other. So far all I've done is to increase the burden of wrinkles on my forehead, but I know my persistence will pay off sometime.

At least, I think it will. It bloody better. Or I will have to learn to juggle tennis balls or something, and that won't do anyone any good.

Can you raise one eyebrow? Or wiggle one ear? If so, can you tell me HOW???

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