The War
Well, the inevitable did finally happen and for the first time in my life I find myself living in a country that is at war. Although I am still a foreigner here, it is still a very different feeling to see and read the news from the perspective of a country whose citizens ("Our Boys") are out there fighting, rather than sitting at the edge of Europe and following the war from a completely outsider's point of view. I find myself glued to the television for hours just watching news about the war. I wonder how long that will last. How long will they continue to broadcast news for almost 24 hours a day? How long is this war going to take?

Btw, heard something very interesting today on the radio. Unfortunately I can no longer remember who said it, but it was an interview of some military official or other discussing the possibility that they may end up in a siege in Basra. He said along the lines of "The siege may go on for a long time, because food will not be a problem for these people. Saddam has provided these people with 30-60 days worth of supplies just for cases such as this. Clean water will be the major problem." I just thought a comment like that was very interesting considering how Saddam was supposed to be, all this time, starving his own people. I know Saddam isn't a nice man even if, all this time, he was baking cakes for his citizens, but still made me wonder just how much of the atrocities that Saddam is made responsible for are really propaganda and always have been. Nothing new there I guess.
Posted 20:12

For My Readers
This blog is almost a year old now, on March 27th to be exact, but if I left this reminiscing until then, I'd surely forget all about it. One year ago I certainly had no idea where I would be now. In some ways my life has really changed, but deep down everything is still just the same. Locations may change, but I remain the same person still. Rather unfortunate in some ways. My birthday is coming up and I still, as always, find myself single, careerless and generally with no idea what to do about my life. I thought London might change all of that, but no big revelations so far. It's just my usual birthday-approaches-melancholy, nothing to worry about.

Thanks to every single person who has visited these pages. I realize that in the past months there really has been nothing worth visiting for as I get so little time on-line. I haven't read other people's blogs much at all, let alone e-mail anybody really. Lately I have noticed a couple of new people who have dropped by and even left comments, something which has been really great. I actually wish I had more time to devote to this internet thing, but... The person next to me talks to himself, waves his arms around and smells funny. I truly hate internet cafes. A quick e-mail to my mother and I am out of this place...
Posted 18:41

Same old news
I'm still definately against a war (which does not equate to pro-Saddam as some others have also pointed out), but some days I can't help but groan in agony at the "news" of the day. Yet another speech by Bush or Blair about how Saddam must be disarmed and about how he is running out of time. Yet more news about UN resolutions and dead-lines. Same old over and over again. Everybody knows there is going to be a war in the end, no matter what. All those troops and resources weren't moved over for nothing. Regardless of resolutions or disarmaments, they'll always make up some excuse. They'll have to now. Bush's ego demands it, especially after having failed to capture Osama. So, I really don't want a war, but a lot of time it feels like they should just stop repeating the same old stuff about the whole thing and just get on with the inevitable.
Posted 15:22

Cosmic Karma in action
While at work a man walked towards me carrying a plate of food with him. He leaned closer to me and said "I'm just gonna walk on by, cause I'm one of those travelling men". I raised an eyebrow and figured he was making some kind of a joke. I told him with a chuckle that I needed money for the food. Again he repeated that he wanted to just walk by without paying. I repeated that I wanted money. Things got much worse from there on. I was told that I should be ashamed of myself and that I wasn't fit to be called a human being. From there on he started yelling how this was his country and that ragheads (pointing at my co-worker who actually happens to be Iraqi of all things) and foreigners (pointing at me) were all going to be blown up by the yanks. "They're going to come and blow all of your kind away!"

Thing is, if he had walked up to me and simply explained that he was starving and could I please let him have the food for free, I wouldn't have been able to deny him. But the more he yelled, the more my stubborn streak settled in and the less I was going to let him have anything at all. He ended up leaving empty handed and I threw away the perfectly good food. I felt guilty, but I felt even more irritated still. I kept telling myself that if the man had only acted nicer, I would have been nicer towards him. How conceited. The one with all the luxuries in life dictating rules on how famished people should beg? Doesn't mean that the man's insults were right either though or that he was a particularly nice man, but I should have tried to see them more against his background and desperation. I have absolutely no inclination about what he is going through.

The universe decided to teach me a lesson. The very next day as I was driving to work I got into an accident. There was a man crossing the street suddenly behind a corner. A motorcycle stopped abruptly to avoid hitting the pedestrian. A car ran into the motorcycle and I ran into the back of that car. None of us were going fast and luckily nobody got hurt. Still, my car's facing repairs, much of which will have to be paid by me. The owners of the car I ran into might decide to make me pay for whatever damage I did to the back of their car. All kinds of mess trying to figure out how my finnish insurance will work here.

I got the point, thank you.
Posted 15:22