Doing My Thing

I had a Starbucks coffee cup ritual (and not the same kind of ritual that Ally McBeal has with her cappuccino). When I received my hot beverage from the Starbucks barista, I placed a lid atop it. I aligned the seam of the cup directly under the sipping hole of the lid. And then I slipped the cup into one of the heat/cold protector sleeves, again carefully aligning the seam of the cup with the (center of) the sleeve seam. (My ex used to pass the cup to me and go, "Okay, do your thing with it.")

Strange? But I had a reason.

The sipping hole on the lid dictates how we hold the cup to drink: my thumb lands on the part of the cup directly under that hole. When one holds a cup, four fingers support the far side, and only the thumb holds the opposing side; naturally, the thumb imparts the most force on the held object. The seam of the cup is structurally the strongest (around its sides) because of the double layer (trusting their glue), so logically, I want that part of the cup to hold against my thumb's force. The sleeve, of course, adopts the same reinforcing purpose.

How ingenious, you must be exclaiming. But I discovered a recurring problem that I hadn't noticed until recently: drip.

Because the seam is slightly thicker, the lid doesn't seal completely over the seam portion, leaving an ever-so-small gap. And when I bring the cup up to drink (tilting it), this gap allows a slight drip to come out. At best, this means a drip down the cup to threaten the dry comfort of my beloved thumb; at worst, my shirt/lap gets decorated with my caffeinated drink.

But I found a simple solution.

I now align the sleeve seam with the lid hole, but reposition the cup seam to be on the opposite (far) side of the cup. I would never in normal use tilt the cup away from me, so that gap becomes inconsequential. And I still get to enjoy the reinforced thumb pressure area while holding my coffee.

Don't fall into the trap: learn from my mistakes and avoid the drip.