Material Witness

A while ago a got myself a cloth ring from Illicit clothing in Auckland. It was basically black elastic with a skull embroidered on it. I got at the same time as I got a tattoo there so it was kind of cool. I then left it in a bathroom and lost it.

This is one of the setbacks of cloth rings compared to metal ones: you have to take them off when you wash your hands. (I know washing your hands doesn’t really go with the “skull ring attitude” but I’m a hygiene-first kind of person).

So I got a new cloth ring, this time with a lightning bolt on it. I have been diligent with this one and haven’t lost it yet. However, I have encountered the second main problem associated with cloth rings: they stretch. This means I now wear my ring on my thumb because it has started to fall off my middle finger.

Finally today I noticed something else about the ring. While I remember to remove it before washing my hands, there are other times when the ring doesn’t fair so well. Like when I eat Burger Fuel burgers or fruit or any other handheld food item. The ring soaks up any food, drink or anything that lands on it. This means that it now stinks.

From this analysis I would suggest to anyone thinking of getting a cloth ring (exactly 0.00001% of you) to not get one unless you are a very tidy eater or someone who doesn’t mind the smell.

Update: After writing this I spilt coffee grinds all of the damn thing! Oh, well I like the smell of coffee.