Neat handwriting is SO overrated

Incorrigible.

That pretty much describes my handwriting. And the worst part is, I can't blame it on my genes. Both my mom and dad's handwriting is great, and Dalia's is the closest thing to a work of art. For years, I had consoled myself with the belief that Abood's handwriting isn't that impressive either. So at least, I wasn't the ugly duckling!

But that, I fear, is no longer true. I came to that sad realisation the other day when I ventured a peek into his notebook as he sat scribbling what to me at least are incomprehensible notes on his robot design (man, I really do feel like DeeDee:P).

I was dumbfounded. "WHAT THE??? Since when is your handwriting SO neat?" I demanded. Nonchalantly and with an air of someone who has been practising the art of calligraphy all his life said: "Dunno. Wasn't it always that way?".

Great. So now I'm the ONLY one in the family with handwriting that could easily be mistaken for a four-year-old's. Just awesome. Not that it bothers me personally to tell you the truth. I mean, as long as I can read it, I'm not complaining. (Admittedly, there are documented incidents back in school when I would carry my copybook and ask my mom to help me decipher my very own handwriting. But lets ignore that, shall we?)

For the most part though, I wasn't too worried about the sorry state of my handwriting. But every now and then, something would happen that would make me think that maybe, just maybe, I needed to do something about it.

Like the time when my Arabic teacher announced at the top of her lungs, with the whole class as her audience, her intention to hire a specialized "translator" to help her figure out what the heck I write on my papers. I found her joke hilarious and joined the class in the laughter, until we realised she wasn't kidding.

Then there was that conversation between me and my Lebanese friend who sat on the desk next to me all through our last 5 years at school.

Fatima: Hey can I borrow you're copybook?
Mariam: Sure, which one?
Fatima: doesn't really matter, whichever.
Mariam: how can it not matter?? don't you want to copy stuff??
Fatima: well if you must know, it's for my sis.
Mariam: Huh?
Fatima: Well, last time I borrowed your copybook my sis happened to see it and, well, she took one look at your handwriting and kept laughing all afternoon. She says it makes her laugh; it's so weird and cute. She says she loves it.
Mariam: *Jaw dropped*

I think the root of the problem is that, unlike most people with horrid handwriting, I don't have consistency. I do not write the letter in the same ugly way each and every time. The shapes of my letters are forever changing, even when they occur twice in the very same word.
So when I one day happened upon a personality test based on your handwriting, it didn't go so well. I was asked to copy a specific sentence then based on how I wrote each letter, a part of my personality would supposedly be unveiled. Of course, since each letter was written in at least 3 different shapes, you can imagine my dilemma. The only logical conclusion would've been that I was schizophrenic.

But really, we are so not!
:)