The Early Bird...

This is very early in the year... so let's talk about being early (thanks, G., for the inspiration)...

"The early bird gets the worm."

Why do people believe this? In Jakarta, maybe you would be able to avoid hellish traffic if you leave home early (like 5 AM). Maybe this comes from the time of our ancestors, where people's occupation was mainly working the rice paddy and farming. Their whole business would be in complete chaos if they, say, start working only at 9 AM.

"The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

Because the first mouse gets killed by the trap and is now resting in peace. This holds true in the mice community. I don't know what the analogy is in humankind. You watch your colleague fail miserably in a project, then you take over, and now you know what she did wrong, you avoid the mistakes, and you eventually succeed, you make a big fuss out of it and get promoted? I don't know. Maybe.

"The early worm gets eaten by the early bird, so don't come out early."

This is posted on the wall in the worm community. They're not stupid.

"Where the hell are all the worms?!!"

This is eventually posted on the wall, in the bird community.