Learn creative solutions

We are all in agreement that apart from academics, university is an important teacher of life lessons Take the boys I lived with, for instance. They learned to manage their time so well that they could play NHL2000 for days on end. Not only that, but they also learned to maximize small spaces, such that our kitchen had enough room for a miniature basketball court. And they honed their snow-shovelling skills so meticulously that if one looks closely, the only shovelled part of the driveway are the two grooved lines for the tires of a car. But of course, there is my personal favorite -- their ingenius solution to any and every problem: Duct Tape.

I came home from school one evening and noticed an oddly-placed piece of duct tape on the wall. Being one for aesthetics, I pointed to the wall, "Uh...guys? What's this for?" They shrugged and replied matter-of-factly, "Spider".

Throughout the year, I noticed other pieces of duct tape sporadically placed on the walls and ceiling. I didn't bother asking.

Another night, I waltzed into my housemate's room, only to find something oddly different about the way he looked. "Hey, got new glasses, Lawlaw?", to which he proudly replied, "They're as good as new -- now that I've duct taped them!". I looked at his glasses, fastened together at the arms with duct tape. Right.

*****

Quite recently, I found myself walking in Yorkville -- a ritzy part of town -- in a light drizzle of rain, when my high heel suddenly became wedged in the sidewalk crack. Slinky, sexy shoes do not go well in sidewalk cracks, and so, my strap tore. Immediately, I snapped my finger with a brilliant idea. "Duct tape!"

(Yes, I duct taped my shoe strap quite aggressively. The trip to the blacksmith to replace my strap was embarrassing, needless to say.)