I have always held a strong affinity for the letter “K.” Obviously, this is due to my first name, Katherine, and the many, many nicknames I have which also begin with “K.”
“K” is a tricky letter. I remember playing name games at camp which consist of rhymes, songs, or chants that include one’s name and a favorite item with the same first initial.
I was generally left to kaleidoscopes and kangaroos, and then--thanks to the rise in availability of international produce throughout the 90’s—kiwi.
Because not that many words begin with the hard “k” sound, it is easy to believe that the letter “k” doesn’t show up that much in daily conversation or writing. That is what I thought, until I lost the use of my “k”
Not long after getting my dog, Lincoln, he jumped onto my keyboard and took my “k”, “0” and “-“ keys. He later took my “u” as well. Because I used “k” so often—far more so than I ever realized—the little rubber stem that remained did not function for long.
So there I was, a girl without a “k.”
In addition to my name, I also used “k” at least 50 other times a day while typing the any or all of following words:
-thank (thanks, thankfully)
-work, working
-know
-like
-keep, kept
-task
-link
-pick
-think, thinking
& several other proper names that begin with or include “k”
I went without a “k” for several months. What was at first another endearing example of my absentmindedness and general dishevelry, became an annoyance to me and my coworkers.
“I’ll take notes, but try not to use too many ‘k’s’” doesn’t play month after month, and the sympathy did not last as long as my negligence.
FINALLY I remembered to put a call into Dell to get a new keyboard. With the old keyboard, I made due by keeping a “k” on the clipboard of my computer, and pressing Ctrl-V every time I needed a k. While typing this post I have hit Ctrl-V as often as I have used the shiny new ‘k.” Muscle memory is a powerful thing.
I am looking for some deeper meaning here. Perhaps...
-thank (thanks, thankfully)
-work, working
-know
-like
-keep, kept
-task
-link
-pick
-think, thinking
& several other proper names that begin with or include “k”
I went without a “k” for several months. What was at first another endearing example of my absentmindedness and general dishevelry, became an annoyance to me and my coworkers.
“I’ll take notes, but try not to use too many ‘k’s’” doesn’t play month after month, and the sympathy did not last as long as my negligence.
FINALLY I remembered to put a call into Dell to get a new keyboard. With the old keyboard, I made due by keeping a “k” on the clipboard of my computer, and pressing Ctrl-V every time I needed a k. While typing this post I have hit Ctrl-V as often as I have used the shiny new ‘k.” Muscle memory is a powerful thing.
I am looking for some deeper meaning here. Perhaps...
You don’t know what you have until it is gone, OR
When you allow something unhealthy to go on for too long your habits will adapt and the unhealthy will seem normal. OR
Allowing the urgent to crowd out the important keeps progress at bay
Really, it came down to the fact that last week the “0” / “)” key also stopped working, and I could not longer effectively make smiley face emoticons. Even I have my limits ;)
