Every household of roommates comes with its coincidences, whether about phone numbers or birthdays or pets. While my current situation does have its share of birthday- and pet-related coincidences, the main one is that we are all left-handed -- something which one of my roommates noticed on the first day we were all in the same room together, as we sat in a circle on the floor signing our leases. It is probably not something I would have noticed on my own for weeks or even months, but she is an ever-alert southpaw-spotter, always pointing out lefties in supermarkets and on commercials as well as in her own home.

Convenient though this is in some ways (for instance, I can operate all the scissors in the apartment), it also has a way of breaking down the excuses I've developed for my own incompetence. When I was growing up, anytime I had trouble with some manual task that the rest of my family had no difficulty with, I blamed it on being left-handed. But now when I have trouble with the can opener or the saran wrap cutter, my excuses are silenced as my roommates do the same thing easily and without complaint. Now what will I do? Apparently I am and always have been just clumsy and fumbling at a whole variety of tasks, without anyone to set me straight about the reasons for these problems.

Come on. Saran wrap cutters are evil and you know it. If I had a battle of wits with a Saran wrap cutter, it would win.