Shocked!

Whenever it is dry and cold, I am the victim of a stinging electrical shock every single time I get out of my car. I've gotten so used to it that I usually brace myself for the first contact with my door, and then first touch my fingernails against the window, which will sometimes cause a less shocking shock. Once the shock has happened, I feel relieved and relaxed as I get out of my car, knowing that a second shock won't happen. For some reason, my car seems to be worse about this than James's car; we have both noticed this.

I am also frequently shocked in our apartment, especially when touching James, the cat, or a doorknob. I won't include the Scat Mat in that list since those shocks happen on purpose and the purpose of the Scat Mat is to shock. It seems that I feel the need to frequently verify that the mat is still working even though 1) there has been no evidence of it not working and 2) there has been no evidence that the cat has been on the table. No, I don't think that's weird. James does it, too.

Yesterday was a particularly shocking day, and I had the great idea of scurrying around the apartment, rubbing my feet on the carpet to build up a good charge, and then touching my fingertip on James's nose/ear/chin. This was pretty amusing for a while, but then I decided I wanted to really see the sparks. We turned out all the lights (the shock from the kitchen light switch was unexpectedly strong--I must have been really charged before I got the idea!) and then I continued shocking James in the dark. Very cool to see the little spark between my finger and James's. Highly amusing if you're really bored.

I tried to pet (shock) Sugar, but she apparently has a great aversion to being shocked, because she was avoiding me at all costs after the first time, and I didn't even have her great enemy (the spray bottle) in hand!