Well, my tape dispenser at work is finally empty, so I’m ready to refill it. I was so excited about how many replacement rolls of tape that were in the supply closet. I’ve been requesting a few boxes of small paper clips to join the other supplies in there, but no go yet on that. Back to my sticky situation. Initially, I was going to reach out to our administrative assistant and ask her to show me how to do this. Then, I decided I would challenge myself and figure it out. I didn’t want to pull the mechanism too hard and break it, as the most basic of office supplies are difficult to come by- a tape dispenser would be like gold- probably why there are so many rolls of replacement tape in there. When I couldn’t figure it out, I googled how to change a tape dispenser. The first video I found showed how to put a brand new tape roll into an open and awaiting dispenser. This looked promising. I was tricked by the length of the video. At 45 seconds, of course it would be showing specifically how to get the old empty roll out and put the new full one in. No, it was a Vanna White imposter showing the dispenser as though it was something way more fabulous than it is. Don’t get me wrong, I do love office supplies – but really? Then, the disembodied hands (black sleeves against a black velvet backdrop) kept ripping pieces of tape off and stretching them around in front of the camera before sticking them into one pile. Enter stage left- A piece of paper with a rip on top. The instructional video proceeded to demonstrate how the tape could mend the rip. What the hell. Are you serious? I kept waiting and waiting, believing that the video would show how to pop the core of the empty roll out to allow me to pop a new full one back in. The model roll of tape in this video is very full. I am not willing to watch the several sequels to get to the ending that might or might not show me what I was looking for.

In frustration, I pull hard at the empty tape core in the dispenser. And look at that, it snapped right open. I happily put the new roll of tape in and viola. That was way less than 45 seconds. Maybe I should make a how to video of actually how to replace tape in a tape dispenser.