Chip on my shoulder

And I'm not talking about the salted and packaged variety.

Whoever said that there's something new to be learnt everyday either had a really lousy day, or was under some divine grip. But divine grips have resulted in a few sudden floods and swallowed cities whole, so let's not go there.

It's more of the unacceptability of the fact that you're 21 going on 13.7 billion. That's the age of the Universe. But then given the fact that we reside in YOUniverses (I niverse maybe), it might as well be 21 years. And today is friendship day, so that's another universe of business and flooded inboxes. (I can hear my neighbours' phones beeping as this is typed)

No, right right now the thought is more towards the younguns who know more than we did. An ex colleague's daughter would be a good case study. ( A five minute break was taken at this point in which MY mobile started dinging. The sms beep is set to ding)

So, the case study:

Take one colleague who worked in JWT. Take same colleague and put her in a different organization. Take colleague's daughter who is 5 years old. Take daughter and put her in LMG from her old school.
Take an instance when colleague was contemplating leaving current organization and rejoin JWT. Incidentally, JWT has a crazy pay package and crazier work hours.
Colleague asked daughter if she would mind if she returned to her old job. Daughter looked thoughtful for a couple of minutes and asked, "Do you want me to return to my old school?"
Colleague was sent into a startled silence.
"No, I don't."
"Then why are you asking me this?"

So there you go.

This girl has more siglets of thought to her credit. Like in one of those social dos where old ladies make it a priority to squeeze every cheek in sight. If the lady in question is a spinster, other cheeks are at risque. That's a different story too. So you have an old lady with jingly jangly ornaments that sound like three out of tune tambourines sitting the kid on her lap. And cooing. About her jewellery.
"I've got two shiny earrings, one biiiiig shiny locket, fifteen bangles, toe rings and a hundred other squigglies. What do you have?"
I'd have been tempted to say "mere paas Ma hai", and it would be true too. But since I wasn't there, and this is not my story...

The kid looked contemplative.
"I've got lice", she said.