Ceramic From Now On

I have this travel coffee mug that I got from my sister as a gift last year. And I love the mug. It's got a handle, it's easy to clean, it keeps my coffee hot, and it holds twice as much coffee as a regular ceramic mug. But I always close the little slider lid without realizing I'm doing it. And then I attempt to take a drink of the coffee. So I keep expecting a sip to come out that I can slurp without burning my tongue. And as a preemptive measure, I start inhaling so as to cool the coffee as I drink it. But when the lid's closed, nothing comes out. And I end up taking a huge deep breath while trying to get a sip that's not coming. And I always get frustrated with myself because instead of a sip of coffee, I end up with no coffee and I end up slightly out of breath.

If I were to rank my frustration feelings for I-think-I-know-what's-going-on-but-I-really-don't moments (which I do daily), this would rank up there with trying to get the first sip of a thick milkshake through a thin straw. And it ranks right below taking the last step while going down the stairs when you don't know there's another step left.

Well the last time I accidentally closed the lid on my mug, I wasn't thinking very clearly (which is no surprise because I hadn't had my coffee yet). So instead of realizing the lid was closed, I just inhaled more sharply and tilted the mug farther back. The result was a windpipe full of hot coffee and a pain I can't begin to put into words. Because, as you would expect, the lid came off when the mug hit a certain angle. And I was taking a deep breath at the time.

So I haven't made that mistake since then. I ruined a good shirt, embarrassed myself, temporarily lost the ability to speak, and (worst of all) poured out at least a third of my coffee. That was not a good day.