Mugs Illustrated

I was sitting here just now, staring blankly at a "Create Post" screen and wondering what to fill it with, and absently finishing the dregs of my mid-morning coffee out of a new "I ♥ Spreadsheets" mug I had for Christmas, when the mug supplied a spark of inspiration.

I'm afraid you're about to read a summary of my mug collection.  But don't worry, there'll be pretty pictures to distract you and ease your suffering.

Mug #1: the one on the front of my skull

(Wait, did I say "pretty pictures to ease your suffering"?  My apologies; I might have worded that one a bit wrong.)

I've had this one for 24 years (albeit with some alterations, e.g. shaving the stubble, picking zits, etc), and it's still doing good service.  At least, it is from my point of view.  Whether you lot think it's any good is another question.

Okay, that one was a bit facetious.  (Did you spot that terrible pun?  Face... Face-tious?  Never mind...)  The rest of the mugs listed here will be the usual, ceramic, liquid-holding variety.  Honest.

Mug #2: the one with the cartoon ark on it

This was the oldest ceramic mug that actually belongs (or rather, belonged) to me.  I won it as the prize in a Sunday School competition when I was living in Cardiff, probably in 1994 ish.  It faded over the years to the point where the picture was practically indistinguishable, and the surface started getting that funny texture some old mugs have which makes you doubt their ongoing ability to hold liquids properly.  I don't have a photo, as it got put in the bin over Christmas to make room for new acquisitions.

Also, I'd been gradually developing misgivings over the engineering (and theological) implications of the cartoon ark.  This article here summarises the school of thought on Ark design which I subscribe to.

Mug #3: the Romanian one

I had a mug once which I acquired at one of those missionary craft sale whatsits, for about £1.  Apparently it was made in Romania.  I have no idea what happened to it, but I haven't seen it in years.

Mug #4: the one with Tigger on it

There are two things you need to know, in order for this one to make any sense:

1. I am not a morning person.  I don't exist before 9 am, unless persecuted by an alarm clock.
2. some people don't subscribe to the concept of breakfast, but I am not one of those people.  Eats are usually my first priority after leaving the duvet, and the ritual usually features a large mug of cowjuice.

Apparently the parents didn't realise this mug had Tigger on the back; they bought it for me as a joke because it says 'bounce' on the front, which is a suitably ironic slogan for me to stare at during brekky.  I don't mind Tigger though.

Mug #5: the one that drops unsubtle hints about my taste in films

Not sure when or where we acquired this one, and it technically isn't mine, but Cat left it behind when she moved out and now I'm usually the one that uses it, so it gets an honourary mention on my list.  And I do like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, so that's worked out well.

Mug #6: the one with the phantom koala

I sent my parents and siblings all the way to Australia just to get me a Taronga Zoo Sydney mug.  True story.  Sorta.  Sadly it hasn't stood up well to the test of time (or more to the point, it hasn't stood up well to repeated trips through the dishwasher) and the koala photo has turned into a wraith, but the mug still works as a mug in spite of its ghostly markings.

Mug #7: the one that asserts my authority as the IT expert

 

I have a soft spot for this one.  Partly because of the size and shape, and partly because little sister has been known to take the instruction on the back at face value, and actually bow down to my superior knowledge.

Mug #8: the big blue one

Does what it says on the tin, really.  It's big.  It's also blue.  TARDIS blue, more or less.  It alternates on an irregular basis with Tigger (because they're the two largest mugs I've got) as my vessel of choice for taking the morning cowjuice.

Mug #9: the stripey one

Again, does what it says on the tin.  Has stripes.  Nice, big, obvious ones, just to emphasise that yes, this is a really, genuinely stripey mug.  Might have been a Christmas present last year.

Mug #10: the handmade one

I acquired this one as a Christmas present, having chosen it at a craft fair the family and I went along to back in November.  Since they're handmade, no two are quite the same, so I spent a fair while picking different ones up and trying to simulate how the various handles would feel while I clutched a coffee.  Don't worry, I stopped short of actually putting them in my mouth.  I don't think that would have made the potter very happy.

I then forgot about the mug, and was pleasantly surprised to rediscover it inside one of my presents last week.

Mug #11: the one that admits I'm an Excel junkie

Another Christmas present.  It says "I ♥ Spreadsheets" (as you probably noticed in the photo), and that's absolutely true.  I love collecting useless information and putting it into big, colour-coded Excel files - you should see the sheet I've made to calculate arcane statistics re: Fort Paradox...


Stats:

• First 12 for '12 status: 2 down, 10 to go - reduced to third place 8p
• Latest book read: A Brit Different: A Guide to the Eccentric Events and Curious Contests of Britain
• Latest film/TV watched: Sherlock 2.1: A Scandal in Belgravia
• Latest music listened to: Assorted things by Karl Jenkins (I think Requiem, In These Stones Horizons Sing, Diamond Music, and Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot in that order)
• Latest edible item eaten: Doritos, and coffee
• Predominant colour of clothes: same stuff as yesterday
• Programs and web pages currently running: Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, Firefox (tabs: Blogspot Dashboard; my previous post; Blogspot Create Post; MatNav 6.1; Tim's latest post; Sam's blog)
• Webcomics posted today: n/a

- The Colclough