Part Of Being Sane Is Being A Little Crazy

Life can feel very restrictive to a kid. You face a constant barrage of  "can't, don't, shouldn't" that feels like it would never end. The world is a pretty small place, if the farthest you can go is limited to how far your feet can carry you. When what you can (almost nothing) and cannot do (practically everything) is dictated by parents and teachers. And you tell yourself  "I will do whatever I want when I grow up." The adults around me promised that it would happen too. Whenever I wanted to do something fun or learn something new, it was always 'You can do that when you grow up' and 'You'll understand when you grow up'. Well here I am, all grown up and somehow the world seemed to have changed in between. What I imagined adulthood to be like and what it actually is, appear to be worlds apart. Let's take an inventory shall we? They said that all I have to do is study well in school and get into a good college. College is a

A very special birthday The iconic Calvin and Hobbes is one of my favorite comic strips. I love the humor, perspective and philosophy that Bill Watterson infuses into the daily life of a six year old and his tiger best friend. The strip has also directly affected my life on at least one occasion: a shared love of Calvin & Hobbes brought  +Abhilash Bingi  and I together for the first time. The one that started it all! So it should come as no surprise to anyone (except me, I was surprised when we got there!) that my husband planned a visit to the  Billy Ireland Museum of Cartoons  at OSU for my birthday. I'm a big fan of comics and cartoons so I'd have been thrilled at going anyway. But what made it more special was the fact that the museum  just happened   to be running a special exhibition of Bill Watterson and Richard Thompson. To top that off, I actually found a strip dated 24-3-1987 on display! That's right folks, the Calvin & Hobbes strip that r

This is the third in a series of stories, set in the game world of Banished . Read Part I . Five years have passed since we came here, to Earth. We have only survived through sheer hard luck and determination. The first  winter was bad, none of us expected the snow to be so cold or to come so early. But we managed to build houses for everyone before anyone died. There is so much to learn... After the houses were ready, the first public building to go up was the woodcutter. Some of us gathered fallen branches and cut down trees while Castin chopped them into firewood. Castin volunteered for the job, although I would have selected him even if he hadn't. He was the strongest of us all and can actually wield the axe without hurting himself. Still, it is better that all of us take turns to do everything. If something should happen to Castin, there should be someone to replace him. We have enough food to last us through this winter and even next year. But for a while there, we

This is the second in a series of stories, set in the game world of Banished . Read Part I . It is a lot of fun being 8 years old. Acelyn says I'm old enough to help around the house but I have more fun playing outside with my friends. So many interesting things to see here! When I wake up in the morning, I can't wait to run outside and greet everyone. But first, I have to eat and bathe myself in the stream nearby. Brrr! Why is the water so cold always? I ask Acelyn everyday and she gives me the same reply. Wait and see. Well I don't have time to think about this, my friends are calling me already. We are five of us, 3 girls and 2 boys. I am their leader, just like Acelyn is for the grownups. I make sure we don't forget the rules and run away into the forests. The trees are so tall and big, sometimes no light falls on the forest floor and it is very dark there. I wish I could explore on my own but I am the leader, everyone depends on me. They're always callin

This is the first in a series of stories, set in the game world of Banished . The planets are going to war. The talks on Jupiter had broken down less than 24 hours ago and already war efforts were in full swing, not just on Mars but on Venus, Ganymede and even peaceful Europa.  And all for what? Everyone said it would be over quickly - they always say it but nobody believes it - and in the end the world will have an answer to the age old question: dogs vs cats. Hah! As if wars have ever solved anything . Mankind loves war, if history is any indication and there is little I can do to stop it.  But I tried, oh how I tried! I debated, cajoled, argued and tried to reason with so many committees I've lost count...to no avail. Why do we have to choose one or the other I asked. Because, they said. Just because. When my grandmother once told me that Earthmen used to fight over who had the better imaginary friend, I had laughed. Who would risk their lives for such a silly rea