Death of a Sharpener

My sharpener just died on me today. Can you believe that?! Coz I can't! I was just, as usual, trying so very hard to sharpen my pencil this morning and then suddenly - a crack! The sharpener broke. What a sad, sad day. It's Halloween, too.

It's now time to face the truth that I really do need to buy a new one. I've been putting up with my defective sharpener for four months already because...well, I don't know! I guess I was just hoping that I'd find a way to make it work better, or better yet, that it would miraculously fix itself!

Ok, here's the story. I bought my Staedtler sharpener around July, along with the other materials I needed for design school. When I started using it, it was ok, if a little bit hard to turn. But the more I used it, the more it got harder for me to sharpen my pencil. It felt like the lead on my pencil would break every time I tried to sharpen it. And the lead did break quite a few times, frustratingly. It got so difficult to sharpen my pencil that my hands hurt from gripping the thing so hard and at the same time trying not to break the lead.

Ignorant me, I thought this was all normal. It was my first time to use that sort of contraption, so how would I know, right? Also, I didn't want to believe that such a small thing that I paid so much for would be defective. But I soon got a wake-up call when I left my sharpener at home and so had to borrow from a classmate while doing a seatwork in class. Lo and behold! It was sooo much more easier to sharpen my pencil on my classmate's sharpener which was the same brand and model as mine.

I got kind of depressed when I realized this. That meant I had to buy a new one, or have it fixed or whatever. But I had another idea! Risking high blood pressure, I went to the Staedtler office just near my house to talk to the people there and try to have them replace my sharpener. In the back of my mind though, I was already expecting that they wouldn't since I didn't have the receipt anymore and since this is the Philippines! There is no customer service to speak of in this country!!! What kind of manager would say 'Ay, sorry Miss, hindi ko kasi alam kung paano gamitin 'yan eh'? Apparently, she was that kind of manager. It was so ironic that right at the front of their office was a huge sign that said: Let's talk about quality. Duh! I don't have to tell you that they didn't replace it.

So now we come to today. Today, today, today! I broke my sharpener!!! Haha! Fine, I'm buying a new one. I'm giving up and letting go. Goodbye old sharpener!!! Rest in peace!