A grand open-ing

My sabbatical from blogging still continues ... I think until I get the lap top from my manager, there's a very slim chance that I will be able to blog in the office. Anyways, thought I would pen this incident and get back to work.

~o~

You don't quite expect surprises when you buy yourself a bottle of mineral water and land in an internet cafe. You start writing a blog and gently turn the lid to open it. Ahem! Doesn't open. You blame it on the sweat, take out your kerchief, rub your hands and try again. What the ..... doesn't open again! This time you clench your teeth, put in all the effort you could muster and what happens ... the skin peels off from your palm but the bottle doesn't budge. You have three alternatives

1. Ask the guy in the internet cafe to open it for you. But, the last time a boy/guy asked a stranger for such a favor was probably when he was 12 or 13. Since then, our complan nourished egos have grown multifold that we can't imagine doing something like that.
2. Use your teeth - are you kidding me! before so many people! what would they think given that I was all suave and sophisticated when I came and sat. Moreover, IT DOESN'T FIT into my mouth!
3. Don't drink water or buy another bottle. Keep it away, you and the bottles are strangers again. Doesn't work either -- exactly 42 seconds later, you pick the bottle again and start clenching your teeth trying to open it.

Time up. You land yourself in the coach and incidentally and fortunately meet some acquaintance. You start talking and after sometime you remember the bottle! Ahaa! here's a golden opportunity. You excuse yourself and go inside the coach, get your biscuits and water bottle, offer him some biscuits (grudgingly) and when you think the timing is perfect, "remember" how you had to make a call and try juggling the biscuits, the bottle and your mobile. After much thought, you give the bottle to your acq. and ask him to open it while you are making the call, "if it's not too much of a concern". As you talk to some guy over the phone, you notice whether he's actually able to open it and are so happy with yourself when he goes through the same phenomenon - gentle effort, the kerchief, the sweat, the gnawing teeth and finally, blood! You rush out of "concern" and complain how bottles these days have become thoroughly unusable.

Finally, the girl you are supposed to travel with arrives there and you joke with him, before she arrives how funny it will be if she could open it. You are actually feeling thirsty now and you casually ask her to open the bottle. Same phenomenon - a gentle effort and what!!!!!!! it opens. She quizzically looks at you, half expecting a prank, a joke or some justification as to why I so unchivalrously asked HER to open it. A guy that I am, I am wondering if my acquaintance opened it but didn't realise or even that, I opened it and all those two had to do was to just turn the knob. The water tastes good and I am hoping she doesn't ask me how I wounded my palm.