A Full Set of Eyelashes

I recently purchased a new computer; however, it seems my fingers are having a hard time accepting the new change. Sure they slide across the keyboard with effortless glee but the words that they create, I got to say, that ain’t that grand. This is indeed a shame. It’s as if there has been a death in the family and the replacement lacks the history that once bound my fingers to the keyboard.

My previous laptop, bless its little soul, had a good run but by the fifth year its little lungs were out of breathe. I was in denial. Due to my financial situation at the time of its demise, I opted for the more affordable option – getting the hard-drive rebooted at a computer swap meet. For the $50 I spent, the result was surprisingly good. Unfortunately, like clockwork, those tell tale signs crept their way back onto my computer screen.

Pages would take a good 20 minutes to load –I’d entertain myself by pulling out eyelashes- while the cursor seemed to have a mind of its own. I was seasoned in eyelashes with little to no control.

Today I sit with my full set of eyelashes but the cursor blinks despondently.

Dimly Lit Rooms

In dimly lit rooms everything looks softer. Dimly lit rooms eradicate -minor- problems. Bars are usually dimly lit and for good reason. Guys are more likely to be attracted to girls in dimly lit rooms, ergo guys are more likely to approach said girls and insist on buying said girls (alcoholic) beverages. This (may) increase said girls self-esteem and will definitely increase bar sales. Everybody wins, right?

But what happens when the flickering wicks are no longer your only source of light. When the sun rises everything is much clearer, the picture is much sharper and you wish you were back in that dimly lit room. The dimly lit room, in which, not everything but enough is said. Two thirds omission and one third of 'enough'. In dimly lit rooms certain things are overlooked, all for the good of the 'cause'.

Then you go home and are blinded by the light. That artificial light that burns through your retinas and exposes everything for what it really is. All the tiny cracks appear and you are faced with the errors of your ways. That constant humming drone returns and plays like a drill on your mind.

Dimly lit rooms.

Mar 09

Loss of Sensation

When you continually trace the tip of your finger over a tactile surface, eventually that tip becomes numb. The sensation of feeling is lost and that indulgent activity loses all meaning.

This analogy can be likened to that of human emotion.

No one, not even oneself, can ever predict the next move, especially when feelings are involved.

When you find a texture that you want to reach out and touch, feelings surface. You enjoy the sensation of feeling, so much so that you persist. You overdose and then eventually the feeling disappears and you yearn for more.

The feeling is fickle and it's time to move on.

A mere 10 mins ago, you couldn't think of anything worse.

Such is life.

Heat Wave

Yesterday, thousands of people fled to Chadstone shopping centre.

60,000 to be exact.

Unfortunately it wasn't to score a bargain but to escape the hottest day on record, 46.4C at 3pm. It trumped the previous benchmark of 45.6C recorded on Black Friday, 13 Jan 1939.

It was Black Saturday and as the automatic doors of the shopping centre tiresomely welcomed patrons the hot wind stuck like glue. The usually arctic temperature of the cooling system was no match for what Black Saturday had in store for Victoria.

This morning's headline read; "At least 14 dead in horror flames" and tonight the number has escalated to 65. The raging inferno, that is officially Victoria's worst ever bushfires, has swept through Victoria's bushland circling Melbourne. Rural properties in Bunyip and Maiden Gully and those suburban ones in Fentree Gully and Narre Warren perish.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced a $10 million emergency relief fund for the victims of Victoria's bushfires.

Black Saturday occured 9 days before the tragic Ash Wednesday fires, a natural disaster that happened in South eastern Australia on 16 Feb 1983 . 65 people are dead and 640 homes have been lost. Sadly these numbers will only increase.

Up North, Queensland is experiencing flash floods and king tides. Go figure.