Pen spinning

In addition to having to relay on English, when I first arrived to Auckland, I found out about the art of pen flipping - Asian style. I already could do a simple flip that I picked up as a kid watching Top Gun, but that was nothing in comparison what Gorge, the Taiwanese guy at the high school, was able to do. And so from that point on, all the long lectures and study sessions turned into pen-spinning practices. And if I'd see someone do a new trick, I'd ask for instructions, and 'practice', and so on... That now, pen spinning is something like the second nature - as though the hand reaches for the pen and starts flipping it almost on its own will.

Today, as I was mindlessly spinning the pen while reading F1 news, the colleague whom I share the office with told me I should join the pen-spinning competition that will be happening here on the campus. After laughing it off, we talked bout these sort of useless skills people have... He told me that his wife can tie a not of a cherry stem in her mouth - apparently people good at french-kissing can do it. That was impressive, but it pails in comparison to the pen spinning - Ninja style - that puts my 10 years of 'practice' to shame:
looooooongWayToGo...!

Ps: The flipping pen. As always the tool that you use is very important; and in this case, once you find a good one, and you get used to it - that's it, no other can be of substitute. The type of pen I use, I first picked up in the office where I was a chief cleaner. When I would lose it, I'd just pick up another one form one of the office desks. But after I moved to Melbourne, I had to take care of the few that I had as I didn't know where and when would I be able to get a new supply from - the pen obsession. Later, when I'd see someone else using 'the pen' I'd have to have it. First, it happened when a retailer gave me 'the pen' to sign the bill for my vodafone prepaid. It was, 'waaooo you have the pen...' I think there was three of them that were working over there at that time, and all three were laughing at me. But as this was no laughing matter for me, I grabbed four other pens that I found in my bag and traded them for 'the pen'. Later, a fellow student dropped her one - the same one - on the floor, and I played 'finders keepers'. She told me she got it in the K-Mart. I went over there and bought three packs. Though, now in Singapore, I'm left with the last one... few times this semester, I had to go back to the class room to look for my f... lipping pen.

P.p.s.: The pen needs a change of ink often, as spinning somehow distorts it. I 'll need to get me some of this 'space ink' eventually.