My Pins

There are five pins on my desk. I keep them in this little black plastic tray underneath my monitor array. They are white, yellow, green, blue, and red. For about three months I only had the red, yellow, and blue ones. One day I turned around and realized that there was a green pin in the wall behind me. I took it out of the wall but something about the even number of pins upset me. I stood up and noticed a white pin in the synthetic cubicle cloth behind my monitor array. I took it out. That’s how I acquired the fifth pin and restored harmony.

Sometimes I pick them all up and turn the yellow and blue ones on their heads and then stick the green one in the space between them, resting its shoulders on the upside down shoulders of the two upside down pins. I like this configuration because of the color combination it implies. The bottom of the pin resting on the shoulders of the upside down pins does not touch the desk.

Sometimes I line up the blue, yellow, and red pins on their heads, and stick the green and white pins on top of them. This configuration is not as perfect, because yellow and red don’t make white, they make orange. I wish I had an orange pin.

Still, I’m happy now that I have five pins, you know? They’re my little buddies. They hang out in the little tray right in front of me, next to the book of stamps that only has two stamps left on it. If someone ever took my pins I’d be pretty upset, because some days, the only emotional interaction I engage in is between me and my pins.

I also have this little black clip thing. It came with my IP phone headset. It’s serial number is LR66181, but to be honest I didn’t even know it had a serial number until I started writing this. It has moderate-to-aggressive spring action and is about an inch long with the spring in the middle. There are three circular grooves in the clip part of the little black clip thing.

Sometimes I put the pins inside the little grooves on both sides and spin it around, holding one pin steady and rotating with the other. One day I put a pin into the top groove on one side of the clip and another pin on the other side of the same groove. You have to press a little harder but they actually both fit in the groove tunnel. The clip thing opens up a little in this case and you can’t really spin it.

I’m not really attached to the little black clip thing as much as I am to my five pins. They are my dudes, the little black clip thing is like an acquaintance. If someone walked by and said, “Hey do you have one of those little black clip things?” I’d probably get really excited and say, “Yeah, actually I do, here you go,” and hand them the little black clip thing. Then they’d probably just walk away with my the clip.

I’d turn around and wipe the fake smile off my face and grab my five pins and line up the yellow and blue ones upside down. I’d clear a little space for the green one and stick it between, “I can’t believe I gave that asshole my little black clip. I miss it.” I bet the person will never stick pins on both sides and spin it around. They’ll probably just use it to hold the wire of their headset and talk about servers and helping traders with their stupid spreadsheets.