Karen DeLabar

My Keyboard Gained Five Pounds

I'm a snacker. I like to eat and I like to do it while I write.

I usually reach for the pretzel sticks, my current snack of choice, when I'm stuck and I've been stuck often. I guess I can be thankful that my snack is pretzels and not cheeseburgers.

For me, I think it stems the fact that I need something to do with my hands.  Ask my friends, I can be very fidgety. I'm either using my hands to help me make my point while talking, or tapping my fingers, biting my nails (a terrible habit, don't do it), playing with my hair…I could go on.

When I get stuck when writing I just can't sit there and think about what to do next. I need to literally chew it over, usually on a pretzel, but its been carrot sticks or almonds. Some sort of snack has to be within my reach or else I'm stopping altogether to hunt down a snack.

Even though the majority of eating while writing is just snack foods. Occasionally I'm situated in front of the computer over a meal, like now. Now I am eating a taco, not computer friendly food, but I'm managing 😉

Not only can eating while writing add more inches to your waistline than words to your manuscript but it gets your keyboard all icky. I often joke that I can turn my computer over and an entire meal would fall out of it.

However, I guess it's better to feed your computer than to have it steal food/drinks from you. If you want to know what I mean, venture into #pubwrite one night on twitter and ask @EMJenkinson about her evil drink thieving keyboard.

Karen DeLabar

14 responses to “My Keyboard Gained Five Pounds”

  1. Ha ha! I know exactly what you mean. My current snack of choice is my chocolate chip cookies. My God, they're soooo good! But the crumbs do get all in my keyboard. *thumbs down* I used to eat meals over my laptop as well but have stopped doing that, partly so I can devote more attention to my daughter when she's eating next to me and partly because I was collecting meals among the keys. 😉

  2. So, you know where I'm coming from. I don't know how it started, I used to be very careful about what I let around my computer. I think it started slowly and innocently enough, coffee and a bagel in the morning while I caught up with news/Facebook/Twitter. Now look where I am, tacos! It's insanity!

    Thanks for the comment and for visiting, Amy!

  3. Karen…this is getting too weird!!!!!!

    I also snack on pretzels and am fidgety and couldn't talk if my hands were ever tied behind my back!!!

    We have so got to meet in person someday! The two of us would chat the whole visit, and giggle like two college roommates!!! 😀

  4. A keyboard that steals drinks? First there were bugs in the software, and then websites that put cookies on my hard drive – now I have to deal with alcoholic keyboards.

    What is this world coming to?

  6. I'm looking at my keyboard now I realize that if I turned it upside down I could likely solve the worlds hunger problems. It's actually kind of gross. If you are very careful you can wash your keyboard. I've done it.
    First of all, if you have a laptop STOP!!! (and stop eating over your laptop)
    Step 1: Ensure that you have a spare keyboard for two reasons a)You may destroy your old one and b)you'll need a referance for step 2.
    Step 2: Very carefully pop off each key off. The spacebar is the trickiest.
    Step 3: Place the keyboard in the dishwashe, careful not to set the temperature too high and the dry cycle needs to be turned off
    Step 4: Allow the keyboard to airdray COMPLETELY before putting the keys back on (make sure you get them in order, you dom't wamt to nix up the m amd the n!)
    Step 6: test it out!

    If you missed where I said DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITH A LAPTOP there is a chance that after a couple of years you laptop may start working again! Mine did.

    I make to guarantees that this will work and will not send you a new keyboard if it doesn't. The only sure way to be sure you have a clean keyboard is to keep your workplace clean and food and drink free.

    😀

  7. LOL! It's the truth. Her keyboard is always stealing her drinks…its in cahoots with her shirt. At first I thought she was just spilling it on herself, but its been happening way too much 😉

  8. I'm the same – I'm a comfort eater, a productivity eater and an all-round self-indulgent git. Still, whatever keeps you going. I once got an RT on Twitter about how the official unit of brainpower is the biscuit (UK English 'biscuit' = US English cookie).

    I've discovered that my normal writing snacks (except Pepsi) are all unknown in America, but there's no harm in piling on the candy to get you through that difficult action scene!

  9. Very good, sound, sage advice, Dennis. I will take it under advisement. 😉 Want a pretzel?
    Awesome comment, it made my night! Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you in the pub!

  10. Ha! I do this, too. I swear my keyboard eats more than I do a lot of days. One day, I am going to flip it over and give it a shake–and feed Pookie whatever falls out as a meal! 🙂

  11. I believe in the power of the cookie. 🙂 I'm glad to know that I'm not alone in my need to feed my stomach and my manuscript at the same time.

  13. Yes, yes. My keyboard is greedy. It prefers Heineken and Midori Sunrises, coupled with Taco Bell and on some occasions, Tanqueray. Hehe.

    Thank you for the lovely little mention, Karen. =P