She glared at me with big confused eyes and asked "How many frogs do I have to kiss before I find my handsome prince?" I issued a restraining order against one of my loudest laughs and just nodded encouraging her to proceed. "If he is nice, he is taken; if he is adorable, he is married; if he is serious, he likes one of my friends; if he is smart and well-off, he is from another religion; if he is sensitive, he is gay." she continued in total disbelief.
Poor girl went on all night about her bad luck and how it seems to follow her like her own shadow; "I was in my car with my mother admiring the furniture on a big moving truck a few cars ahead of me. I sat there as I saw each car switch lanes to pass the slow truck. When it was finally my turn to make the daring lane switch, a huge metal floor lamp landed on the hood of my car and left a distinguished mark on the trunk. You tell me, what kind of luck is that?" she snapped at me.
This time I was not curbing my laughter; I just realized that I fully identify with her. If I have an urgent appointment, there has to be an accident on the bridge. If I want to impress someone with a smart line, the stupidest statements fly out of my mouth. My boss only walks into my office the moment I get on MSN. I run out of sugar when I am having a tea-party. No matter how many lanes I switch, my lane has to be the slowest. It is like living in a world that conspires against my very own existence.
I went home, switched on my PC and decided to find out if this conspiracy theory has any explanation. After being directed and redirected in and out of many sites, I found it! Murphy's Laws.
Murphy's first law – If anything can go wrong, it will – was born at Edwards Air Force Base in 1949 at North Base. It was named after Capt. Edward A. Murphy, an engineer working on Air Force Project MX981; a project designed to see how much sudden deceleration a person can stand in a crash. One day, after finding that a transducer was wired wrong, he cursed the technician responsible and said, "If there is any way to do it wrong, he'll find it." and then the second law was born.
Today Murphy's laws cover literally everything from gravity, love, politics to golfing, teaching, and driving. Such laws explain not finding things when you really need them when, on any other day, they are usually just lying there; why the cat only throws up on my most expensive carpet; why the car only breaks down at the least convenient time and when I take it to a mechanic because it makes a funny sound, I am neither able to demonstrate it for the mechanic nor am I able to describe it; how falling objects always land where they can do the most damage; how the wind is always blowing against my hairdo; how I only meet the CEO in the hallway when I am late.
The situations are endless and universal. Murphy's laws do not know any geographic, demographic, or psychographic boundaries. Regions, countries, cities, age, gender, income, occupation, lifestyle, interests, activities, personalities, and social class melt into one big pot where Murphy has the final word.
In the love and relationships department, Murphy has a lot to say too! Thank you Murphy for telling us upfront that all the good ones are taken, that if a relationship seems perfect today, it will end tomorrow, and that if it is too good to be true then it probably is not good, or is not true. The rule is that if you want something bad enough, chances are you won't get it and that the minute you get interested is the minute they find someone else. Now I understand why my princes turn into frogs and why I am still by the pond waiting for a chance to rescue the poor cursed prince.
On that very informative site that I was browsing, I found a link for "How you can break Murphy's Law" and with one click, instead of being directed on the way out of the conspiracy laws, I was taken to a page that said "The page you requested could not be found"! Provoked by the idea of having to live with Murphy and his laws, I decided to challenge him. I will break his laws.
What was I thinking waiting for a prince by the pond? Of course only frogs come out of ponds. What was I doing on MSN at work? Why was I late to work the day(s) I met the CEO in the hallway? See, I am getting there. It turned out to be my fault all along. I do not plan well and I end up blaming Murphy for it. I put two wrongs together and I expect them to turn into a right. I have high unrealistic expectations then I fall prey to frustration when I am let down. I build castles on the sand and blame the tide for washing them away.
I turned 31 last month and I feel every bit of it, but when it comes to my expectations, hopes and dreams, I am still as uncompromising as I was when I was 13! Time and experience did not humble me down. The little girl is still alive within asking for the Barbie world. I still want my mother, grand mother, and Walt Disney himself to keep their promises. Yes .. I want the prince who saved Cinderella, Snow White, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Swan Princess from their respective curses.
In the shoes of a 31 year old woman, the little girl still expects people to live up to their words and keep their promises. Her untamed imagination still seeks the Utopia and this is why she cannot break Murphy's Laws. She is too much of a perfectionist in a very unperfect world. Her mother always said there is always light at the end of the tunnel, Murphy said that this light is nothing but a train, and I am telling you all to get out of your tunnels and enjoy the unlimited sunshine. Inhibitions, despair, obsessions, and expectations are all tunnels that we trap ourselves into, wait for the light, but get hit by reality and end up blaming it on Murphy. So look at it this way, if you are out of whatever tunnel you locked yourself into, how could a train ever hit you?
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