Hallo ihr alle da draussen...have you heard? The earthquake off the shores of Sumatra, known as the worst quake since Anchorage, Alaska in the '60s...a quake which generated tsunamis and tidal waves which struck Phuket, Sumatra, wiped out part of the Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka, India, and even reaching the shores of Africa. The current death toll stands at 80 000 and is expected to rise. Suffering is everywhere to see, really. Just pick up a copy of your local newspaper. Husbands looking for lost wives. A man squats over the ruins of what was once his shelter and home. Photographs searching for missing people put up on notice boards in hospitals - people who are unlikely to come back alive again. People queueing for freshwater. Bodies rotting in the open because there simply aren't enough resources to do anything. A woman cries, 'Mein Mann ist tod. Ich weiss nicht, was ich jetzt tun soll.' Mass graves. Women mourning over lost children. A man who saw his 6-month-old daughter torn from his arms by a tidal wave.
But we've also seen how fast the world reacted. How in the militarily-contested area of Aceh, where government forces and rebels put aside their differences and focussed on the issue at hand. A C-130 full of medical supplies, food and doctors and relief crew waiting on the tarmacs. In this moment of extreme suffering, it really forces us to put aside our petty differences and look. Does humanity need constant reminders from Nature to band together? Why are we so individualistic?
And Mother Earth couldn't have found a better time to strike. On Boxing Day. At Phuket, a world-renowned holiday getaway. Sumatra, Sri Lanka, India, East Africa - areas suffering from poverty, military strife, and what more have you. Not that i could imagine it striking Los Angeles, that is. But that is the unpredictability of it - it strikes anywhere, anytime and there isn't anything you can do about it.
Me? I'm fine. We're all unscathed here in Singapore...carrying on with our mundane lives, worrying over trivialities. I myself worried so much about my marksmanship because i got it on the first day of practice, but i lost it at the test. Blame stoppages. They were my ultimate downfall. But did we even look in horror at what was happening around the world? Today Forest commented how unbelievable it sounded that 80 000 were estimated dead. I wasn't, but i found it shocking. How much has passed in just 4 days!
So my No.1 will not have that many adornments, i'm not that bothered too....commission can already. It's the end of a year - but what a way to end it! I got tons of old clothes. Think i'll just give them away lah...there are others could have used it. Every little helps, i hope...
Have you ever drank Southern Comfort? Take it mixed with grapefruit and raspberry juice...it tastes really like the juice...so there's a risk like Cointreau...you don't really taste the alcohol, you only feel the impact...which isn't really so good...it's kinda dangerous especially if people are mixing your drinks for you.
For the new year...i just want to be a good officer, travel a lot, and enjoy my NS liability. Time really flies. It's already been one bloody year. One more to go...then...ORD loh! hahaha. I really have to start saving up too. So i can afford a digital camera and yet live quite okay. And since the new year is coming around...happy birthday taryn!! =)
Do you listen to Nightwish? Think Within Temptation, or like Evanescence squared. Here's The Phantom of the Opera from their album, Century Child.
Nightwish - The Phantom of the Opera
In sleep he sang to me
in dreams he came
that voice which calls to me
and speaks my name
And do I dream again?
For now I find
the Phantom of the Opera is there
inside my mind
Sing once again with me
our strange duet
My power over you
grows stronger yet
And though you turn from me,
to glance behind,
the Phantom of the Opera is there
inside your mind
Those who have seen your face
draw back in fear
I am the mask you wear
It's me they hear
Your/my spirit and your/my voice,
in one combined:
the Phantom of the Opera is there
inside your/my mind
He's there, the Phantom of the Opera
Beware the Phantom of the Opera
In all your fantasies,
you always knew
that man and mystery
were both in you
And in this labyrinth,
where night is blind,
the Phantom of the Opera is there/here
inside your/my mind
Sing, my Angel of Music!
He's there, the Phantom of the Opera
posted by quatscherei @ 01:48
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