Dibs

Dibs: A claim expressing priority over an object. Similar to the equally definite process of calling something. For example, If you kill yourself, I have dibs on your iPod. -Urbandictionary.com

It's a pretty simple concept: You see something you want, you call dibs, and everyone knows it's yours. No brainer, right?

Unfortunately, I've had a few friends who either a) don't understand the concept of dibs, or b) understand it, but are intent on going after the dude anyway to prove that they can get a dude I want. Since I like to believe that humans are generally good, kind animals by nature, I'm gonna go with "a".

Case in point: a friend of mine is now married to an ex-boyfriend of mine. Granted, I dated him years ago when we were teenagers, but she never asked if it was ok (which is actually infringing on The Golden Rule of Friendship - you don't make a play for your friend's S.O.). Oh, did I mention that her boyfriend before that was a dude I'd had a puppy love fling with? Yeah...

But I digress...back to dibs. So it may seem a little childish, but I call dibs on dudes. When I go out, I usually pick the one dude that catches my eye, and make sure to inform my girls that he's off limits. Sure, there've been a few times when my Dibs Dude is actually into one of my girls, but since my girls aren't into the guys I am, it's not usually a problem. And I'm not a cockblocker, so if I notice dude is feeling one of my friends, I'll de-dibs him so she can have full access. But my friends never really take it, cos it's a little like underwear: once someone has worn it, you don't really wanna go there.

So I recently ran into a Dibs Dude from a while back. Tragic story: I'd called dibs, friend had started to chat him up, he asked her out and she accepted. They dated, and I didn't see him for a while.

When I ran into Dibs Dude, I was with a friend who turned out to be a mutual friend. After we exchanged pleasantries and Dibs Dude left, the friend informed me that he was wack because he only dates chicks who, erm, possess a certain physical attribute. Well, whaddya know? My friend who ignored my dibs had that characteristic. And here she thought that he'd dated her because of her personality. LOL.

I didn't bother telling her...what's the point anyway, they're not dating any more.

But the moral of the story is: respect the dibs and don't date your friends' significant others - unless they're ok with it.