The height of optimism

January has undoubtedly been a very memorable month; firstly, Israel pulling out of Gaza after mercilessly killing thousands of Palestinians, and secondly, swearing in of the first black president of the USA. In my opinion, the change is much welcomed, but it begs the question as to how much ‘change’ we can actually expect. Let’s face it, its not like the new administration is going to create a whirlwind of policy changes.

It’s quite disheartening to know that Gaza will require a staggering sum close to USD 1.9 billion to reconstruct destroyed buildings and other infrastructure. While the ‘Gaza’ atrocity was at its height, I saw a video of Jews protesting to stop the war. It got me thinking a lot. Maybe there is still hope for an amicable settlement? There are moderates willing to listen and come to a compromise, but it all depends on the power of their lobbying. Only time will tell as to how events unfold in the future.

Mr. Obama has a lot on his plate for the time being. Waves of the recession are hitting the US hard, and there seems to be no silver lining in this dark cloud. Well, not for now anyway. Major US corporations are reporting losses for this quarter, and the word ‘retrenchment’ is sending shivers down everyone’s spine. Retrenchment can be translated into job losses all across USA, but it doesn’t stop there. US owned companies situated in other economies should also be taken into consideration. Many US multinationals are in the process of shutting down foreign operations, meaning manufacturing plants, subsidiaries etc. This obviously spells unemployment for people in companies of US multinationals intending to severe foreign operations. Higher unemployment is a burden for any government because it hampers productivity of an economy, and in turn growth. On a macro level, a situation of these proportions means disaster.

Even the Chinese are becoming a thorn in the US’s side by refusing to invest in a fragile economy. China –the world’s 3^rd largest economy- has been the largest investor to the US for a considerable period of time. At the World Economic Forum being conducted in Davos, Switzerland, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao blamed the current financial debacle as a fault of the US financial system. Mr. Wen Jiabao described the US financial system as an “excessive expansion of financial institutions in blind pursuit of profit.” In my opinion the analysis is spot on. As they say too much of anything is not good!! This is China’s time to do a bit of muscle flexing and make the US squirm and stew in their broth of misery. With USD 2 trillion in foreign reserves, China can play a very influential role in this time of crisis.

I could go on and on since what I’ve mentioned so far is only tip of the iceberg. Domestic issues itself are sufficient to keep our ‘advocate of change’ inside the oval office consulting with his advisors. At this moment in time all other issues would take a backseat- the Middle East problem included. In his first formal interview with Dubai-based Al-Arabiya Network, Mr. Obama spoke of Israel as “a strong ally of the United States. They will not stop being a strong ally of the United States. And I will continue to believe that Israel's security is paramount.” If there are still people who are under the impression that Muslims will have a better time in the future, think again. But it will never kill you to be a tad optimistic, and let’s leave it there for now.

As the saying goes, ‘better the known devil than the unknown angel.’ One really had no idea the tricks that are up the ‘unknown’ angel’s sleeve. Let's not fails to take note of the expectations resting on Mr. Obama's shoulders from people from all quarters. He is being hailed in the form of a modern day saviour. The all important question is, how this saviour is going to go about rescuing all the people from their misery??

If we focus the lens on my motherland, the war is almost coming to an end. In the final phase of decimating the rebel’s civilians have been caught up in the crossfire; as always women and children are the most affected. I feel poignant for the abuse of innocence both by the army and the rebels. In a war, the people who die don’t always belong to the good side, or the bad. There have been instances in which certain operations have been at the cost of civilian lives. Civilians trapped in rebel territory are being used as shields by the rebel’s to postpone the army’s advancement. The rebel’s are trapped in a small area of land that is surrounded by the army on three sides, and the other side is being guarded by the navy. The air force is carrying out daily bombings targeting rebel locations in trying to bring them to their knees. With their backs against the wall, there seems to be nowhere to run. Army will eventually secure the remaining rebel territory, although it’s a matter of time. I hope they put everyone of the rebel’s to the sword. No mercy!!

Don’t take me wrong, I do value human life. It’s just that I don’t feel any remorse for the rebels. The people have lost too much in the past 25 years to just ignore all the hurt and pain caused by them. I accept the fact that there are two sides to a story, but somewhere along the way, one part lost its essence. I can see a faint light at the end of a tunnel, a tunnel that is 25 years long; more I look towards the tunnel’s end, brighter the light shines. But I must be frank about one significant element associated with this quarter-century old dilemma.

And that is, we have only managed to defeat the war, and not its root cause. The root cause of the problem –providing equal rights for ethnic Tamil’s- has not been solved yet, and God knows how long it will take. About discrimination, don't get me started on that one!!!

Summer Breeze

Where art thou my friend?? I'm in such a need of you
Whisk me away to another place new
You go to many places nearby and afar
I'd like to hitch a ride with you; don't care where

I'm covered with a layer of sooty worries
As time goes on the darker my skin will get
Can I count on you to blow it off of me??
Because there is only so much I can take

I need you to be my carrier of words
Words that cannot be told to the ones intended
I'll seal it tight in a box lest it can be discovered
Send your strongest wind, then bury it in a desert

You are mostly cool and calm; love your style!
Trying to imitate you works most of the time
It is not easy keeping my flawed act together
When expectations of me are mounting as ever

I can be gentle like you, and destructive too
Searching for a means to balance both elements
Do come around my place again soon
I value your company.......... always do

This stuff is dope

Dope is an adjective used to describe something as "cool." eg- dude, that is a dope car. In a recent browsing endeavour I came across a few videos that are just awesome. And I thought of sharing it.

Another song........"My president is black"; to the change coming soon to USA. I would at this point in time like to be optimistic.

Two and a half men. I love this show.

Fight the pain and let it not overtake you

All of us have felt pain at a certain point in our lives. Cause of the pain can be attributed to many reasons reaching infinity. There is the physical pain, mental, and I would also like to add metaphysical to describe all those not associated with the other two categories. Have you at anytime experienced ‘good’ pain?? I’m sure this would come off as ironic, but I have felt it. Many days after rugger practice, I would come home battered and bruised moving on my reserve store of energy. After the many fitness and stamina drills, rehearsing many tactical moves; later playing full contact sucks out every ounce of energy. Sometimes the next day I wouldn’t be able to take a deep breath for my abs would hurt; muscles on my leg would quiver as I started to take my steps, but all that pain made me realise an important thing- I gave it my all and left nothing behind. I experienced the same phenomena once again.....yesterday.

My mates decided to go ice skating and all the plans were made. We arrived at the rink –after having lunch at Wendy’s- and got our skates along with the gloves. There is only one word I can sum up for the gloves, which were pink and purple- gay!! Imagine six guys wearing gay gloves and skating?!!? Definitely not a sight to behold (shiver, shiver). For a spectator the entire activity may be amusing due to many newbies falling countless times, not to mention laughing like mad. We were ready to get it on.

My first steps on the ice made me realise that skating would take a lot of finesse. It would require grace of mammoth proportions, and my rugby skills were redundant. The first five minutes I held on to dear life thanks to the boundaries of the rink. One of my mates entered in a marvellous manner by falling on his bottom after two steps. We all erupted into fits of laughter- totally classic. Like I’ve said before, he dropped it like its HOT!! He still holds the records for the most amount of falls on his bottom......... and overall. As I was not ready to let my feet –that suddenly started having a mind of its own- move any further, there was a meek “excuse me.” It was a girl about 5 or 6 years wanting to pass. She was eager to go ahead, not scared at all. Then I told my self ‘screw it’, like I always do and went forth.

I learnt how to stand and move a little bit by moving my legs. Secret is to make sure that your weight is distributed equally and maintain your centre of gravity. If any one of the two is out of place you will hit the floor- and hit it hard. In my first fall, I went face first along with my entire torso; the icy water gets soaked into your clothes making it even chillier. There onwards I saw continuous progress on my footwork, which is the key for skating. An uncle who looked a pro was doing the moonwalk on ice leaving me flabbergasted. He was the MAN!!! If that was not enough he started jumping up and down on the ice and doing all sorts of whacky moves.

After a couple of hours everyone was bruised and tired. We decided to do a final few laps in order to finish on a high. After all, there is only so much falling on your ass one can take. In the end, one guy sprained his ankle. As for me, all was well after the adventure. We ended the night by going to an Indian restaurant and wolfing down masala thosai, naan and downing everything with fresh milk. It couldn’t have got any better than that; oh, but it did!!

After coming back to the room, I realised my right knee was not in good shape. I’m finding it painful to outstretch it to its full proportions, but it’s nothing new. I have to pray sitting on a chair. Needless to say, tiger balm will be a close companion for a few days. But the memory of gliding on ice eclipses the pain. There are some things you can’t get back; that moment is everything and nothing can compare or equal it.

The tally stands with 6 falls, countless ‘almost’ falls, 4 assists, zero collisions and about 3 lapse of pure novice gliding. I’m happy to state that I gave it my all, and didn’t miss out on a single thing.

Wading in quicksand

I hope many of you are familiar with group dynamics; the characteristics, behaviours, and roles people discharge within a group. It exists in all social groups whether you like it not, ergo deal with it. Everyone in a group plays a role that in turn shapes its identity. Given this continuum of roles, there are ones who influence, some merely follow, a few have strong personalities etc.

Cardinal rule when being in a group is to adhere to the majority decision. Never ever over-step the mark because that would spell disaster; that would occur by doing many unethical or questionable actions and going against laid down rules. The rules are not written per se, but merely understood.

In recent developments past friction has over-spilled and burst the dam of patience. A phrase to describe this is ‘the shit hitting the fan.’ A situation has arisen and it’s turning quite ugly- very fast. Obviously, details cannot be mentioned taking into account matters of sensitivity.

When your living on foreign soil country mates are the nearest of family one can have. Getting them on your wrong side would mean a mild form of suicide, not to mention being sidelined in the time to come. As events unfold battle lines are marked, trenches dug; everyone awaits the first shot. Loyalties are put to the test, giving rise to segregated camps. The ‘trust’ factor comes into play, and what you tell to others makes a hell of a difference.

Once war erupts, being neutral is not a very good stance; everyone wants to know whose side you’re on. I happen to be smack dead in the middle of a feud, but can’t do a damn thing to resolve it. My sole effort to broker a settlement ended when it backfired on me. So much for trying to be a nice guy. Never again am I going to involve myself in this shit!!

The wheels have already been set in motion; there is no turning back! Things are not going to be the same again......

Snippets

To the woman in my life- Happy B'day!! Words cannot sum up my appreciation for you and all that you've done for me. I pray that God will grant you the best of places by His side.

Reading 3 chapters for a test wouldn’t sound very daunting because it feels doable. Well, that’s wrong. When one chapter has a minimum of 50 pages, then it starts to get a bit hot under the collar. And there is nothing you can do, but warm the chair for hours on end. By the time I was about to begin the third chapter there was an excess of 60 odd pages more. I thought screw it!! Let’s look at the slides, and take my chances. The point of information overload came about somewhere in the middle of chapter two. Despite a haphazard preparation the exam did turn out well. I know what you’re thinking right now- ‘the same old nerd story.’ Actually, the lecturer made the test quite easy, and it could have been much harder.

Do your feet hurt? That’s because your doing a lot of tawaf inside my mind. The previous just happens to be an ‘Islamic’ pickup line. I had no idea that people were in the process of Islamising pickup lines. I still have to deliver a pickup line to a lady. In all honesty a pickup line is just not my style. It’s too corny I’m quite sure of not using it at all. I’m the kind who is straight forward and tell my intention at the onset. Hats off to Miss. Model for imparting this piece of knowledge.

In an entrepreneurial effort a fellow Sri Lankan has opened a stall in Faruq, but it’s open only for dinner. At present, only one type of dish is being offered in order to see the greater reception. This dude just had to wait until my final semester to open his stall, damn it. Anyway, it’s comforting to know that I can get a taste of home.

Arabic II is going to be a challenge of enormous proportions, and coming colour is definitely not good. I feel like a child who has a learning impairment- seriously; MB shares the same sentiments. The best part is the lecturer uses a lot of Arabic to instruct in class and throws in a few jokes on and off. Apparently, all the women in class seem to understand his joke; at that point both MB and I look at each other totally puzzled. One time he asked me the meaning of an Arabic term to which I replied in the negative. Then he asked me why I don’t know the meaning. WTF!!!!! I mean have people deliberately starting acting dumb or what?? It’s like asking a child in primary to solve a quadratic equation, and making him shit his pants for not knowing it. Fear not lest I will not be scared so easily.

I love how a course this semester –international management- makes me sweat and think in class. The lecturer is a lady who demands conformity to all her rules and always reminding us of her high expectations. She said after the first class –in which she delivers a strongly worded and spine tingling speech- about 19 people dropped the section. I knew about her scare tactic and skipped the first class for no specific reason. In the second class she reminded the remaining few of her expectations. I only said one thing inside my head- bring it on!!! She told my group to do a short presentation about Buddhism. That was like asking Bolt if he really ran the fastest 100m race in history. Coming from a Buddhist country, I can safely say I smoked the entire endeavour, and even gave info on Hinduism. The next three presentations will be graded, but we’re not worried. Hey, if you’re having a forte might as well put it to good use.

When I tell inquisitive people that this is my last semester most break into a gleeful smile about to jump for joy. I have not taken the time to make them see the reality ahead; can’t allocate the time really. It’s like I’m going to win a freakin lottery or something in 4 months. To me it’s an ending of one phase and the start of another more challenging one. Being a student can insulate one from many problems the most important being unemployment. Timing of the financial crisis could not be any better- more on that in a later post.

While typing this post I listened to the following songs, which is in my favourite list: Nothings gona change my love for you by George Benson, I can’t help falling in love by Elvis Presley (he still rocks la), Ya Rasulallah by Sami Yusuf, Worlds greatest by R. Kelly, The long way home by Norah Jones, Stand by me by The Temptations, My Ummah by Sami Yusuf, Drops of Jupiter by Train, No air by Jordan Sparks, Torn by Natalie Imbruglia, Fee by Sami Yusuf, Something about the way you look tonight by Elton John, Kiss from a rose by Seal, I can see clearly now by Marvin Gaye, Water music by Handel & Words by Beegees.