The Law of The Little

I happened to be around a couple of kids recently which brought back many lost memories of childhood. As I have grown older I have forgotten so many rules & regulations I once followed religiously, and I am sure you have too. I must say that I have learned more about laws and rules from these kids in the past few days than I have learned in years. Let me share some observations.
Once I got a chance to observe a heated conversation between a five-year old, Anne, and her five year old cousin Sandy. They were playing together. Things were going fine. Sandy happened to have a pocket full of candy. Anne didnt.
Anne asked Sandy for a piece.
Sandy said no.
Anne tried again, and was again refused. It was on the third try that Anne made her threat.
"If you don't give me some candy, you are not my cousin anymore"
And there it was. I had forgotten one of the greatest aspects of childhood. It was pure, it was simple, and it was being enacted right before me.
The laws that govern the little.
As silly as 'you are not my cousin anymore' sounds to adults, to a five-year-old, its serious business.
At five years old, you can have your cousinhood annulled verbally!

It was a valid threat, and it worked! Sandy coughed up some candy, real quick.

You can't help but admire the simplicity of the kiddie legal system. No Lawyers, no paperwork. Just words. Yet so many legal areas are covered.

Insurance. Insurance was big back then, I remember.

You're playing stickball and you've got a new ball that cost you a dollar twenty-five.
Before the game starts you make an announcement.
"Chips on the ball everybody."
Bingo! You just bought insurance. Now, if someone loses that ball, hits it on the roof, throws it down a sewer, you're covered. That person is responsible for reimbursing you.
You called chips. That was insurance.

"Dibs" on the other hand, was how you staked your claim to something that wasnt your's yet.
Dad's driving to the hardware store. He asks if you and your brother want to come along. WIthout wasting a precious second, you shout!
"Dibs on the front seat!"
Now you can take your sweet time getting to the car. You wanted a certain piece of real estate, and "dibs" was your down payment.
"dibs" could be tricky, though, Like with any legal contract, you had to be guard against the loopholes. At any moment, your brother could shout:
"Dibs on the front seat... on the way back."

It was a simple system. But you had to know all the ins and outs, otherwise you could end up in the backseat, sitting on the hump until you had your own car.

Let's not forget "no backsies." No Backsies was the verbal binding of a deal.
You want you'r friend's tuna sandwich and talk him into trading it for your banana. You make the exchange. As he hands it to you, you say it to his face:
"No Backsies."

Seconds later, he realizes that the banana is bruised and he's made a horrible mistake. He wants his tuna sandwich back.
TOO LATE!
You have a binding contract: no backsies.
The boy cries.
Oh, if only we have the same system among the adults. Simple, pure and cheap.
Of course, once you become and adult, you realize the necessity of our complicated legal system. Yes, it'd be nice to get rid of all the red tape, but think of how high the divorce rate would be if at all it took was:

Husband: "You're not my wife anymore."
Wife: "Dibs on all your money."

;-)
Inspired by Ray Romano

Big Girls Don't Cry

I want to cry about the little things sometimes. I want to watch a movie and cry at a sad ending for the sole purpose that it is sad. I do not relate to it in any way but its sad. It is making me emotional, hence I cry. But I don't. I want to cry because I got into a fight with my best friend or maybe because I lost a pet, or perhaps because I am homesick. You know... cry like normal people of my age would.

Sometimes we know too much too early in life and then it is never the same. Its a blessing and a curse. My life is easier in a way because things don't shake me that easily. There are seldom issues that stress me out, because there is always a worse case scenario. Believe me, I have been to the worse case scenario. I believe that I am equipped to deal with the harsh realities of life. I sometimes find myself thanking God for keeping it at the "bad" level and not the "worse" level. That mindset is definitely a blessing.

There are times in life when you just have to get over it. You cant whine about it, you just gotta deal with it. Your survival depends on it. Sometimes you are in the fast lane and no matter how much you want to make a stop or slow down, you just cant. Someone else is the driver in your car. There aren't very many options available.

Sometimes I want to stop. Just stop. And cry. Sometimes it is such a blessing to be able to do that. I look at people who can and I know that they know nothing about the world. Because if they did, they wouldn't be crying like that over everyday arguments or too much schoolwork or at being separated from their loved ones. Then they would only have nightmare for the rest of their lives. But they would cry no more.

Forgive me, if this doesn't make any sense at all.

Cell Phone: A Gift & a Curse

Let me start by saying that I do not hate cell phones. I have nothing against them. In fact somehow I usually end up getting the newest, nicest touchscreen phone myself. But those who know me must know that I am not the biggest fan of talking on the phone. Yes I am perfectly normal 21-yr-old WOMAN who does not like talking on the phone. I only call someone to "talk" after I have exhausted all my other options. Otherwise my calls are limited to making doctor's appointment, ordering pizza, calling a friend with "hey, meet me in 10 min out front?" or calling in sick to work-- you know all the essential stuff, in fact the phone calls about which you know that this conversation will not last for more than 10 minutes. My friends have their own opinions of why I would not talk on the phone. Some believe that I am worried about money. Others think that I don't care about anyone so I don't talk to them. While still others believe that I talk to other friends but just not with them. All of them are wrong.

I don't know if it is that I get more tired talking on the phone than I would when I am physically with someone or is it that I start getting a migraine after sometime that I get agitated with long phone calls. I think it is more about the length of the conversation than the conversation itself.

Don't worry, I still talk on the phone a couple of times a week. But let me say this about using the telephone to keep in touch with friends.

America? Can you please find a better system?

You know what I am talking about. If your friend has nothing better to do or too many stories to tell, there's something about the phone that makes them forget that time exists at all.

Don't get my wrong. I'm a good friend. I don't mind talking to my friends, even though my half of the conversation is a half hour of 'uh-huh' and the occasional "no kidding!"

But how do you politely end it? That's the problem.

Again I love talking to them, I am not trying to ignore them, I love them, but what the world needs is some kind of nice way to let someone know that its time to end a phone call.

And I may have figured something out. The other day I was watching the Oscars, and I noticed (as many of you may have as well) that all the award recipients had an allotment of forty-five seconds to make an acceptance speech. Now, I am sure you've seen what I am about to describe on an awards show at one time or another.

If a person went over their time, the band would start playing a little something in the background. Nothing loud, usually just some tinkling on the piano to let them know it was time to wrap things up. The speaker would hastily finish his speech and leave the stage.

Bingooooooo!!!
There it is! AT&T*, wake up and smell the redial! *(At & T is a phone company)
How great would that be? Right there, next to the "mute" and "flash"
The 'wrap-it-up' button.

You're talking to friends. It is getting late.

Wouldn't the world be a happier place? :-)

A Bundle of Joy Wrapped in Fur

These days my goal is to be as awesome as the dogs think I am. I am living with two yellow Labradors, who think that I am the awesome-est person in the world.

Cats could care less about what people do, but dogs are nosy. They literally frisk you every time you come in or leave the house. In the beginning, when I used to come back from work, I would have to stop at the front door for at least 10 min for Kaya (the mischievous one!) to inspect me. She would give me that look: "You are back? Again?", "When do you really go?" "Ok, let me see if it is safe for us to let you actually come in" *sniffs, circles around*.
Even after two months, I still have to let myself be inspected everyday but the reasons for the activity has changed. Now Kaya would give me the look that says: "Oh you are back! Did you bring me treats?", "Com on, com on, where are they?" *circles around*.

The other one, Maggie, is the quieter one. She likes the outdoors and nothing makes her more excited than the word "walk". You tell her that you will take her out for a walk and she will do anything you'd ask. Unlike cats, dogs are just cute: a cat will never fall for the same trap again, the dog however will never know that it was a trap even when you do it over and over and over again. You can say any fool thing to a dog, and the dog will give you this look that says, `My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'

A tip: Do not scratch a Dog. If you scratch a dog, you have found yourself a permanent job. The dog will find ways to make sure you keep on scratching-- for eternity.

For those of you who have never had a pet, you would be surprised at how capable these creatures are in communicating themselves.
A dog can express more with his tail in minutes than his owner can express with his tongue in hours.It's funny how dogs and cats know the inside of folks better than other folks do. Maggie has an absolutely uncanny knack of knowing what I am thinking, even of what I am feeling.

A cat will only give you the privilege of 'talking' to her when she wants something, a dog, however, just talks too much. I am glad they don't have human language skills. If dogs could talk it would take a lot of the fun out of owning one.

Dogs feel very strongly that they should always ride with you in the car - in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear. (Don't Ask!)

From my experiences with 'pets', I have learned that in order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him.

:-)