Bored Games

I accidentally started playing a game with myself in the office yesterday. I've been doing it inadvertently since I saw the movie Alive or maybe since I read Lord of the Flies. Regardless, since Lost came out, I've been doing it everytime I get on a plane.

Side note: Why have I never called a fat guy "Lord of the Fries?"

Here is how you play the office version:
1. Perform a mental inventory of your co-workers or just go walk around the office for a bit.

2. Go back to your desk and try to determine who is the most feeble and weakest person that you work with.

3. Now, maybe add a couple other people to that list of one that you just mentally created. Do not write this list down ever. Seriously.

4. Finally, imagine that some type of horrific/catastrophic event occurs and try to determine how long that person would last before you or the other survivors attacked them because you finally had a pretty decent opportunity to and can base it on some Darwinian principle if you had to. Might be the guy who goes around turning the lights off to flex his power. Might be the woman who just really doesn't add value. Or, could just be someone that would make things unpleasant in a situation when you are rationing supplies and cut off from the outside world because aliens just happened to show up during your dentists convention.

The travel version:
1. It's best on planes, but can be done in cars or boats, as well. It's the same as the office version, but usually involves strangers or family members.

2. Do the same thing as the office version and assess your range of candidates in the same vehicle or space as you. It's much more superficial than the office version.

3. Get your list together whether it be the hot flight attendant, the guy who looks like a doctor or the guy who won't make eye contact with anyone, but looks just crazy enough to get you out of a jam.

4. The travel version gets different when you have your list together. This time it's not who you would attack, but who you would prefer to be stuck with in order to increase your chances of survival. The part that is a little disturbing, I'll admit, is sitting on a plane and imagining it crashing into the ocean or imagining a car flip off the side of a road. A lite version would be to play it with a conflict of running out of gas, maybe.

5. Regardless, try the office version and perhaps move on to the travel version when you are ready. You never know. It could come in handy some day.