Addendum to 2007 Backpacker Bylaws

Subsection 734b to Law 3, Laptops

Cell Phones: I can understand in these days backpackers bringing their cell phones abroad. Especially if they're from Europe and the phones are compatible with local networks. However, there should be a limit on how many social calls you can make in one day. And there should definitely be an SMS limit. People's phones are chirping all day long in my rooms. It doesn't wake me up or anything- although it has a couple times- but it's saddening how people from industrialized countries are more or less worthless if they don't have internet connection, Blackberries(tm), Blueteeth(tm), or portable friggin GPS. The following example will demonstrate my annoyance.

I'm playing Scrabble with this girl in our room last night and spanking her (in the game, you sickos) by unfairly using my English teacher skills to dominate with 20 point 3-letter words. I accidentally left my dictionary at the hostel in Riga, so I asked if "hew" was a word. I'm pretty sure it is but didn't know the meaning. Then I put down "pro" and she tried to nege it as an abbreviation. I counterattacked by pointing out the use as in "pro vs. con". Sorry, but "pro" is a totally acceptable Scrabble word and I think she was being a baby cause it was like 240-95. I finished up with "id". You know, "id and ego" (it's a Freudian thing, if you're in the dark as well). I mentioned how it's more fun with a dictionary so you can learn words. My idea of fun is a little twisted, I guess. She, this friggin' girl, has the audacity to ask me whether my phone had a dictionary in it. This just scraped my soul and made me twitch in the same way when the dentist's brush goes over that sensitive part of your gums. Two reasons:

1. She assumed that every backpacker has/is/should be carrying a cell phone. Before this trip, I assumed the opposite. I guess my last major backpacking trip was in 1997 when pagers were all the rage- can I get a "word" from the cheeba smokers?

2. Said assumed cell phone has a dictionary. Is that possible?

So I borrowed her phone to SMS her mom...Her mom sent me a message back...

i miss u. wen u cum bak?