I'm Sorely Disappointed

Not with the government's decision - was there ever any doubt? - but with our politicians' defensive arguments.

Was this the best way? The only way? They say yes.

I disagree.

Enough said.

Watch For It

Just read an excellent article due for publication in April's issue of the SMA News.

And I really mean EXCELLENT.

Will update this blog the minute it's available online.

Ugh

There are days when I truly detest being female.

18th April was one of them.

Hormone surges, pain score 10/10, with 3 more hours left in a busy 8-hour shift.

My 2nd day off in 3 weeks. I couldn't have asked for better timing. :)


Melancholy

Thanks to all that oestrogen, perhaps. :/

I was hit with a tsunami of negative emotions yesterday.

Something about the human condition, and all its flaws. How, as one quote goes, "We're born without anger." yet inevitably develop great propensity for cruelty, malice, greed, vice and sometimes, perversions of the most horrific nature.

Two World Wars and a slew of other equally devastating battles. Genocide in Africa, the Holocaust, Nanking, Tiananmen. 9/11, Oklahoma City, Tokyo, Madrid.

Columbine. James Bulger. Child killers on rampages across Japan and China.

Paedophiles masquerading as Catholic priests. Children in America kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered by convicted child sex offenders living down the street. Others in France willingly sold by their parents to similar monsters in their neighbourhood - in return for a carton of cigarettes.

Civil suits in local courts revolving around soapy water trickling from one driveway to another. A grown man mocking an autistic boy.

Nuclear arms proliferation in Korea. China-Taiwan and China-Japan tussles.

And yes, more casinos will come - Thailand, Japan, Korea. Time magazine reported this months ago, and it's never wrong.

Never mind about the state of the world, where homeless children sleep on the floors of dirty train stations in Indonesia, or become drug-addicted sex slaves in Cambodia. Where Indians scrounge for scraps alongside well-fed vultures, and haul human excrement for a mere few cents a day.

The rich would rather pour their billions onto card tables, roulettes and horse races. The not-so-rich do the same in the hopes of hitting the big-time, no matter how remote their chances.

It's never going to stop. It will only get worse. And nothing can be done.

A Touch Of Heaven

Cable's Hallmark Channel 17 is screening the TV version of Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet In Heaven.

I didn't like the book, but the small-screen offering is actually very good.

Repeats will be telecast later in the month, so check your catalogue.

Reading the novel may help a bit as well, as certain elements aren't fully explained in the televised version, yet are vital to proper understanding of the story.

Which brings me to the last part of this rather depressing entry.

Eddie, the protagonist in this tale, experiences 5 different heavens in his journey, each created according to the 5 key people's personal liking.

If I ever have the choice, my idea of heaven would be one ( or all, haha ) of the following:

1) My 3-week holiday in the UK back in 1994.

It wasn't anything about the place really. Rather, it was about the people, the time, and the experience. I was young and eager to see the world. Filled with innocence and enthusiasm, the trip opened my eyes to the endless possibilities available. Even now, I can still feel the wind in my hair as I cruised down the River Thames. I can hear the majestic chiming of Big Ben, smell the musty scent within the Royal Albert Hall, hear the falling rain as I stood shivering in Edinburgh.

I remember Laura, the sweet 18-year-old bespectacled American who bonded with me like a long-lost sister, and who is now married with a beautiful infant daughter. To this day, the fact that we still correspond after last seeing each other more than a decade ago never fails to amaze me.

And how can I ever forget Chris, the quiet 21-year-old Australian from Melbourne who sponsored his grandparents' vacation to England? We lost touch a long time ago, but he always lingers on in my memory. The long black coat, short brown hair, sky-blue eyes framed by the longest lashes I have ever seen, and rare yet winsome smile. The nights we sat at the same table for dinner, when he would launch into his beat-box routine or hum dance tunes as I cluelessly nodded in appreciation. The day he trailed me to a bench outside a post office in the Snowdonia National Park, finally settling down just inches away and introducing himself. Or the afternoon on Loch Lomond, when he lounged on the top deck of the ferry, oblivious to the freezing wind, yet fully aware of my presence close by.

An eternity spent here would definitely work for me. :)

2) My other 3-week holiday - in New Zealand

I'm torn between the two, but love them both equally.

You guessed it: faithful readers may remember a glorious afternoon spent by the shores of Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown. Have already made plans to return to that very spot sometime in the future. Alone or with a loved one is totally beside the point. :D

Another choice moment: Lake Matheson near the Fox Glacier town area - a tranquil, absolutely gorgeous nook which few tourists know about. Return trip also definite. :)

3) Something a little simpler

Barring the usual spend-your-entire-afterlife-with-family-and-friends scenario, if I can't have any human companions, then the cat will do.

He turns eight this year and gets more affectionate with each passing day.

My friends are all so wrong. There IS a guy in my life. :)