Don't push too hard

What do a mechanical pencil and an iPod have in common. Both of mine broke down this week. Or, at least, I thought they did.

In the case of the mechanical pencil, it turned out that I was pushing too hard (not being able to read the warning written in Japanese on the side). The lead comes out by pushing GENTLY on the cap. Whenever I use mechanical pencils, I also tend to push so hard that the lead breaks, so I need to practice writing using a lighter hand.

As for the iPod, nothing was showing up on the screen, even after pushing on all the possible menus, turning the wheel numbers of times, and making sure the batteries were recharged.

During my lunch break, I rushed to the Apple store (10-15 minutes away by subway) and ran in more or less shouting that my iPod had died. I was stumbling my way through a long explanation in Japanese when the English-speaking "genius" at the genius bar calmly handed it back. It was working!

"How did you do that?" I exclaimed.

"You push on the center button for 5 seconds," he explained (not adding GENTLY, but I knew that a soft touch was all that was required.)

I muttered a quick thanks, adding "5 seconds" in Japanese, and ran out of the store, explaining that I had a class that started at 1:00.

I think the message is that I may be pushing too hard in my life!