On creativity

I have great respect for creative people. My attentions are wide-ranging, from the great and famous--you know, Beethoven and JK Rowling--to the people who invent the most minute, commonplace things. Toilet seat covers, for instance--those tissue paper things that they have in (some) public restrooms. I feel a wave of goodwill toward the management of an establishment when I enter a restroom and discover seat covers.

The inventor of the toilet seat cover, however, pales in my esteem next to the person who came up with this:














GENIUS. Let's take a closer look:

It plugs the hole in the lid so the drink doesn't spill in transport! So simple! And also good for my wardrobe, because I have a tendency to do this:

That's my "nice" black coat. Note the numerous spots. That spill happened sometime between November and March of last year. (Don't judge. I intended to take it to the dry cleaners after coat season was over, but I forgot. And now, I have to, you know, wear it.)

Anyway, as I strolled into the office this morning, holding my cup with its anti-spill hole plugger thingy (that's the technical term), I reflected on how nice it was not to be dripping peppermint hot chocolate all over myself. And I was thankful.

And speaking of thankful! Thanksgiving is two days away! I leave tomorrow night for Georgia (it is impossible for me to type that word with the nice drawl that it deserves), and I am excited. Though the first of the cousins has just gotten engaged, which means, as the oldest grandchild...passive aggressive "are you dating anyone?" questions all around! Luckily, I have answers prepared:

• Several guys, actually. I can't keep track of all of them!
• Yeah, we just moved in together last month. ...Oh, I thought you'd heard about it. My mistake!
• Yes, her name is ____.

Thoughts on which I should go with? My coworkers are voting for the third one, just for the shock value.