Girl vs Nature

It's like something out of Jurassic Park, innit?

This morning I had some time to kill, so I decided to attack the mold growing on the brim and bottom of the clay pot on my kumquat. I figured it probably wasn't healthy for my cat, whose food bowl is right beside the plant. Aren't I the kindest mommy? ("Maybe you should put the food bowl somewhere else," you say, reasonably. "Shut up," I reply.)

The Google led me to various forums where helpless ordinary folk like myself submitted themselves to their more knowledgeable peers. Now, the point of reading these forums is to find something that resonates with your soul. So when my eyes found the word, "vinegar," I knew this was it. Vinegar is like nature's elixir--you can cook with it, dip food in it, and clean stuff with it! One day I shall invent a recipe for vinegar and banana cake. Don't lie; I know the idea intrigues you.

I poured my tiny remaining amount of Datu Puti* vinegar (note to self: buy new bottle in Chinatown) into a spray bottle, diluted it a bit with water, armed myself with a tiny used toothbrush and a roll of paper towels, put on my pink rubber gloves, and got to work. First I tipped the 40-lb plant to get rid of all the water at its base. Then I went to town on the pot. Spray, scrub scrub scrub, wipe wipe wipe. All this took about 15 minutes, and yes I was late for work as usual, who cares? IT'S MY LAST DAY.

Sheba watched me sleepily from the bed as I saved her life from mold. That's gratitude for you.

*Datu Puti: a tribal leader from Borneo who came before the Spanish colonization. Now a brand of vinegar. Lucky man.