Monday, March 26

The Perils of Penelope Pink-shiny-stuff

She sets the timer for 15 minutes. The gel has to be ready to pour in 5. She quickly, efficiently weighs out the agarose and adds it to the TBE. She swirls the solution around in the glass bottle twice and places it in the microwave. She sets the microwave energy level and timer and presses the Start button. The light flickers on glumly behind the dark glass, and the bottle begins revolving. She keeps a watchful eye on the hazy silhouette of the liquid in the bottle. Once it starts bubbling, she has to stop the microwave, remove the bottle and give it another shake before resuming the heating. Otherwise it will spill over and the insides of the microwave will be a gloppy mess of fast-solidifying gelatin. She has done this so many times that it's easier than breathing. As she stares through the grimy glass of the microwave door she notices a Bling. And another. Something sparkly. Silver. Faintly pink. The reflection of her freshly painted nails. She smiles, enchanted by the twinkle of the little glittery scintilla. The quicksilver change in the planes of shimmer as she moves her hand just that fraction of an inch. Her eyes move from the reflection to the reality. She normally doesn't paint her nails but yesterday boredom and the presence of a bottle of Blush on the living room rug had conspired. A background bubbling noise tries, but fails dismally to register through the glitter-haze. But even through her rapt contemplation of her nails she does hear the fatal thump. Without looking up she knows the plastic lid of the glass bottle has just hit the roof of the microwave. She confronts with firm resignation the sticky agarose coat that the microwave-inside is now gaily wearing .


Damn all sparkly things to hell!

11 comments:

Unknown said...

she didn't wear gloves i see.
;)

my firm belief is that the microwave does nothing for the agarose. It's all in the staring.

twip said...

But but sparkly things make ones existence more consequential, no?

Atleast for me.

After all, I am a faithful adherent of the tenets of shallowism.

Well.

Shutterbug said...

Awwwww!
Double blow! First the microwave and then the thought that the polish was actually an undoing!:p

P.S. - always knew sparkly thingys were no good! To hell indeed![-(

Shutterbug said...

Oh beware of the sparkly things, My Lord! For these quislings mock (and eventually conspires to hit) the microwave that personifies its spark! :p

Szerelem said...

LOl @ Punkster.
I totally agree with her btw :D
And agarose makes agar agar?

Revealed said...

@TGFI: Out of hiding? :O Or did the tale of my woes bring you out in empathy? :D

She didn't wear gloves. One of these days she's gonna be in big trouble! :-|

It *is* all in the staring. You've got it ker-splickety right :).

@punkster: Yesh yesh they do. Sometimes we damn them. But we *never* stop loving 'em :D.

@BM: Right. Double blow it was :D. Beware of sparkly things is right. I bought this really glittery mobile to hang in my car but the girl I was shopping with refused to let me hang it up cos she said it was asking for trouble :P. Esp in a car :P :P

@szerelem: Is that like a trick q? ;)

Shutterbug said...

And I agree with that girl (whoever that was)!
Say, who was that girl, again? :p

Renovatio said...

Yeah, I was thinking about the gloves too... well the lack thereof...

I have to say, I love the way you write...

Shreyasi Deb said...

So the shiny things held her and left behind their mark

Revealed said...

@BM: Whom dya think???!!! D-uh!

@renovatio: I am much grieved to report that the only time I glove my hands is when I have to handle radioactivity. I really am gonna get into trouble one of these days *sigh*

As for the second part of your comment, >:D< (you are *such* a sweetheart :P )

@SD: Zackly! Twas the revenge of the Shiny Things :)

Anurag said...

That's why I don't paint my nails.