Art of the Odd

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday. Never pull off an acrylic cardigan while wearing headphones plugged into your computer.

First, I heard the static.

“Why are my headphones all staticky?”

Then I felt something. Something odd. Something uncomfortable and crackly and blue. Traveling up the cord from the computer to my headphones and into my ears.

“Oh, shit. I’m going to be electrocuted by my headphones!”

I pulled them off and threw them onto the keyboard. The static crackle intensified as my hands touched the headband and my hair. I finished pulling of the sweater, and felt the fibers stick to my fingers and heard the tiny lightning caught in the cloth. Hung it carefully over the back of a chair, gingerly put the headphones back on.

Next time, I take the headphones off first.