lend me your ears

of all the strange things that people manage to do, bursting one's tympannum will probably not occur to you. never really thought that this can actually happen. i somehow accomplished this yesterday. so here's a list of lessons i learnt from this weird experience.

no. 1: NEVER close your nose and blow into your ears to pop them when you have a cold. the pop can be deafening, in more ways than one!
no. 2: follow no.1 especially if you have a flight to catch in the next week. or your holiday is over even before it began.
no. 3: if you really want a blocked ear, go for a long swim - at least it'll be less painful.
no. 4: an ear-ache is more fun than one that spreads to the head.

if your hearing remains unimpaired despite it, it actually isn't all that bad. here's why:
no. 5: it provides a unique excuse for not making the calls you were obliged to but didn't want to. no. 6: unlike an acute toothache where your jaw can swell up, your face does not distort itself into a potato. so you are spared those sympathising looks.
no. 7: a bleeding ear is better than a bleeding tooth...you neither see it nor taste it.