I’m not much for sports. I can’t really throw, run, or kick (in the non-violent sense anyway). I’m not good at following rules. I think of them as more of guidelines but I’m lucky if I’m aware of them at all, really. I’m a sore loser and an even worse winner. So what does that leave for an un-athletic woman like me?

Calvinball!

Some of you may be familiar with Calvin and his tiger friend Hobbes. I tend to live my life by their espoused philosophy. No rules, just play. If it’s not fun, don’t do it. Now, I hold a straight job and pay my bills like everyone else but I have strict parameters (one may even say rules) for my free time – I try to avoid anything that I will later think of as a waste of time. That list tends to include: net surfing; listening to Devo repeatedly; organizing anything that will just be unorganized the next day; talking to people I don’t like; trying to explain my point of view to anyone (although I’ll make an exception this time); and, organized play. My free time is precious and I believe it should be well spent like the last few days of summer before Calvin returns to school.

The evenings after work and the weekends, even the long ones, are too short and fleeting. Every moment should be spent in the best way possible. What better way than a round of Calvinball! It’s a game for all ages and fitness levels. You need not know the rules because you make them up as you go! If I say that you lost 50 points because you forgot to spin three times in the Triangle of Polynesia marked by those spruce trees, then you lost 50 points simply because I was quick enough to think up an excuse. If you counter with the argument that those 50 points were mitigated by the Zone of Fluster that you sprinted through, earning you 100 bonus points than 100 bonus points you shall have!

Calvinball is a lot like life: the rules are made along the way. Lives changes and if we find that certain rules no longer play in our favour, then we throw them out the window and scratch out something that will work better. No matter how we have to dance and jive just to keep our days moving forward, we should remember that the game isn’t worth playing if you’re not having fun. Look at your day and find something to enjoy. If you don’t you’ll be docked 200 points.

Keri lives in Boyle Street. She gets 100 points for writing this article.