Three wishes

Last night in my dreams
A fairy came to me
With her wand dazzling in the dark
She looked as pretty as could be.

“You’ve been asking for a long time”
The fairy said to me
“And since you’ve been quite good,
We grant you wishes three.”

So saying, she gave her wand a twirl
And disappeared into the night
To grant other people wishes
Up until the morning bright.

I woke up to the chirping of the birds
And remembered the fairy after a minute or two
“Was it just a dream?” I wondered aloud
Well, there was only one thing to do!

I tried to think of what to wish for
Success, money, or wisdom
Or better still, a meeting with my idol
Or travelling round the world?

I could wish for the power of invisibility
Or the ability to fly
What would be really cool, though
Would be to read others’ minds!

As I sat there pondering
About the million things I could really ask for
I dwelled into my life and its happenings
As the minutes ticked by into hours.

I finally made a decision
Regarding my three wishes
With the future goals in my vision
I finally knew what I needed to ask for.

With the first wish I had
I decided to do something for the world
Something that would make people glad
So this is what I did

I asked that poverty be eradicated
By everyone having jobs
And to the same they be dedicated
And thus contribute further to the world.

It was now time for wish number two
And here I hesitated a bit
Should I ask something for every one
Or be selfish instead and take it?

I asked that wars be ended
So everyone can remain happy
And there be no biases against race or religion
And no one there in the minority

Finally I was down to wish number three
The last one I could ever use
And this time it’s got to be something for me
Something smart that I have to choose

I had thought long and hard
And then it came to me
I said to the fairy with a smile
Here’s my wish number three

I could have gone for money
But instead, I thought “Oh, for sure!”
“And for my final wish
I would like a dozen more”

I thought she would refuse
I thought she would get mad
I thought she’d say something
Like that’s wish I could never have had

Instead the fairy pondered
And said with a decided wave
“I can give you a dozen wishes
But use them wisely and keep them safe”

Till this day I have
About six more to go
And I have been using the wishes wisely
And sensibly keeping score

The Black Cloud

A black cloud hovers
Over your head
And as its shadow
Covers your heart
All you can hear
Is how you’re no good
And worthless
And a failure
And don’t deserve to live
All you can think of
Is what a burden you are
And horrible
And a loser
And don’t deserve this world
This is what they call the black dog
This is what is known as being blue
And while there is a cure
All you want right away
Is to rid yourself
Of all the pain
Anyhow
Any way.

Change

It happens to you
It happens to me
It happens to all
And yet seems hard to believe
“Oh! you’ve changed!”
We say with disdain
With our faces screwed up
Searching in vain
For something else
That just might explain
Why in the world
Would someone we know
Change...

The Drama of Journalism

Once upon a time, many years ago, I wanted to become a journalist. I had made up my mind that I was going to write in the newspapers, hobnob with my favourite sportspersons (read: Aussie cricketers), watch cricket and get paid for it. Then reality hit me and I decided on psychology instead. So far, I have not regretted my choice. In fact, when I see the manner of journalism these days, I am glad I changed my mind. I would not have survived a single day on the job.

And why?

Well, these are my observations based on how the media presents on television and in the papers:

Scaremongering --- I am astounded by how much journalists dramatise things these days. It's one thing to inform people about calamities, but it's another to catatrophise on air or in public and spread mass panic! For instance, take the Big bang re-experiment. Thanks to the media, the world was going to come to an end. Thanks to them, some girl in India committed suicide. Thanks to them, I have anxious clients saying they were counting down and waiting nervously for the world to end...

Biased views --- I thought journalists were supposed to provide information as is. In other words, I was under the impression they would not take sides and let the masses come to a conclusion themselves. In fact, I thought taking sides was a form of "yellow journalism". Well, things have changed. I noticed in India journalists being blatantly biased when it came to cricket (considering I didn't read or watch much else). For instance, Indians swearing was no problem but Aussies doing the same was equivalent to the crime of the century. Anyway, it's not just Indian journalists guilty of this crime. Here in Australia, Karl Stefanovic showed his colours recently when he was outraged at Kevin Rudd's tax reforms...because he was losing out on some things himself.

Investigative journalism in my opinion has hit a new low with shows like 'A Current Affair' and 'Today Tonight'. For the uninformed, these are shows where they talk about 'real people' and 'investigate' claims where people are either taken for a ride or 'investigate' the new fashion and slimming products. One word to label these shows: bullshit. And why did it hit a new low? Well, some months ago, ACA conducted an 'in-depth interview' with a wife (or ex-wife...I forget) of an underworld don. And they had her strutting around in a bikini. I'm sorry, but that's NOT journalism.

These are just some of the issues that make me thank my stars I decided not to pursue this field. Of course, I will admit it was never on my mind when I decided against this field...I just didn't think I could do weird hours and speak in public to strangers! I'm too much of an introvert for the latter and love my sleep too damn much for the former!

Until next time,

Cheers!!!

My Sister's Keeper

This is a post I've been wanting to write for a long time now. Ever since I read the book a year ago. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult has got to be one of the most powerful books I've ever read.

No other book has made me sob like this one.

No other book has made me smile like this one.

No other book has felt so real (in spite of it being fiction)

No other book has made me experience the wide gamut of emtions that I did whilst reading the book.

So what is it about the book that makes it so special?

Well, for me personally, the style of the book was awesome to start of with. Alsmot every character is presented in first person. How does Picoult do that? She lets each character have a say and have their voice heard in each chapter. Then of course, the story itself is a heart-wrenching one.

The book is about a family...a family with 3 children and one of whom (the middle child) has cancer. The third child was conceived to be a donor for the girl with cancer. She doesn't have a say in the matter until 12 years on, she is frustrated. She has had to forego more things than just donate a bone marrow or blood. She has had to put her life on hold for her sister. And she has had enough. She goes to see a lawyer to get the rights to her own body. And all hell breaks loose when the family finds out. Is there a right answer? I don't know. The mother is livid; the father torn. The daughter that has cancer does not have an opinion in the book i.e. she is the only character whose point of view is not presented to us. The older brother could not care less. The book takes us through all of their thoughts, their feelings, their emotions. The reader manages to empathise with each and every character (which is saying something...) I don't want to give away the ending in case you haven't read the book...but it is possibly one of the most unexpected endings.

The book makes you ask the biggest question: Would I do this for someone I loved?

The answer: I don't know. I would donate if I had a choice. But would I like to if I wasn't given one? If I was forced to without being asked? If I were made to feel guilty for not wanting to?

Like I said, if I were in Annie's place, I don't know what I'd do.

What would you do?

Here's a thought

United States of America --- developed country --- has never had a female president

Australia --- developed country --- has never had a female prime minister (although they now have a female deputy PM)

India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka --- developing countries --- women tend to be the minority group --- suprisingly, all the three have had a woman governing the country.

Interesting, isn't it?

Until next time,

Cheers!!!

Pro-life...are you kidding me?

We have been hearing a lot about the upcoming US elections. I have never been one into politics but I can see how this one is going to be historic --- and hopefully, in terms of Obama being the first African-American to become president. Anyway, what has interested me is the recent nomination of Sarah Palin and her talk at the Republican convention.

Apparently Sarah Palin is pro-life and anti-abortion. She is against abortion even in cases where the woman has been raped or been a victim of incest. Fair enough Sarah, you are entitled to your opinion, but correct me if I'm wrong --- pro-war, pro-hunting, pro-death penalty, pro-arms....aren't they a bit of a contradiction to your pro-life stance??? And in that case, doesn't that make you a hypocrite? Generally people that are anti-abortion say that the foetus is a living being and does not have a say in it's life, which is why if you abort the foetus, you are taking away it's right to live.

Well, with war, aren't the Americans taking away the rights of so many Iraqis and Afghanis??? (I'm not condoning what the Taliban is doing, but war is not the answer).

With hunting, aren't human beings taking away the rights of the animals in the wild to live??

With the death penalty, aren't you taking away the rights of one human being to live, no matter how heinous a crime he or she may have committed???

With legalising the use of arms, haven't we seen innumerable shootings in the US that may have otherwise been prevented???

And what's with wanting to preach abstinence as a form of sex education? That would explain how her 17 year old is pregnant, of course. Now if they had been taught the right forms of contraception such as birth control pills or condoms, this may not have been the outcome. What's even more ridiculous in my opinion, is how some people (read: anti-abortionists) are viewing this as something heroic. Teenage pregnancy is NOT something to condone. I repeat, it is NOT something to condone.

It's a scary thought --- America, one of the most powerful countries in the world, regressing. It's bad enough they have a village idiot running the country now and it's scary to think it could get worse with a more moralistic and religious approach to governing a country. And if McCain and Palin do succeed (which unfortunately, is likely), and if they succeed in convincing the government with legalising pro-life issues, continuing with the war in the middle east, and doing nothing about the pro-arms situation, the rest of the world (and not America alone) is due for a bad time.

Here's hoping that day does not arrive.

Until next time,

Cheers!!!