...The Tough Get Going It’s been four gruelling weeks at the office; my brand new job. Everything there feels fast paced, chaotic – akin to being inside a pressure cooker; calls from the left, right and centre. On a positive note, being bombarded with calls actually breaks the monotony down, that boredom of stillness, which was somewhat the case in the past. It equally feels like eternity however, getting to the end of a day is tough work. I suppose you can only succumb and appreciate the old saying that no one is ever too happy with their life. Ultimately, this all translates into me whining about finishing work late on weekdays and having very little time to write. Alas, there hasn’t been much time for reading either. And believe you me, I do amazingly well at making vows to myself early in the morning, just before departing to work, that I’ll either do some reading or writing later in the evening. But seldom does that actually happen, not to my astonishing surprise. Weekends come to a degree of rescue in the subconscious level that there’s ample time to write and read. But for anyone who works in an office, they too know that what one really feels like doing is resting, both mentally and physically. Needless to say, writing and reading is something that takes up a lot of energy and putting it into practise will probably do more harm than good. Harm because it will wear me down, exacerbating the lethargy for the week. So what am I bemoaning about? Am I quitting? Is that it? I’ve done some writing and reading this weekend and it felt pretty good. This is perhaps a way of expressing my breakthrough in the writing arena, a way of marking the point of no return. A way of saying that struggling and feeling dog tired is part of it. The authenticity of feeling like a struggling writer, like umpteen writers out there, is stronger than ever. Fame is certainly the impetuous for anyone to write, and so is the money, but nothing beats the pleasure, the joy, the kick, the feel-good sensation running down your veins. To infinity and beyond, baby!
That is the question. Whilst many still sympathise with the current state of affairs in Zimbabwe, a large contingency of us repeatedly dismiss the following monstrosity as being hackneyed politics. The tiresome and ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe that we’ve grown accustomed to watch on TV over the years, has become somewhat blasé. We respond by giving a quick and decisive swing of the hand, mercilessly ignoring the problem. But this blog entry is not seeking for sympathy, it’s merely asking the obvious question. For twenty odd years, President Mugabe and its party (Zanu PF) have ruled Zimbabwe. The adjective ‘governing’ couldn’t possibly be used here. That is not what tyrants do. Monsters like Mugabe attempt to rule land, just like Julius Ceaser and Adolf Hitler. As a matter of fact, if reincarnation transpires to be true, Adolf Hitler must’ve been reincarnated as President Mugabe. Paranoid? Not when Mugabe tortures, murders and threatens his own people for absolute power. Either that or Mugabe must idolise Hitler. Deep inside the bunkers of his castle, there might be a room fully adorned with swastikas and pictures of Nazi Germany. If the latter isn't convincing enough to you, look no further than the strikingly similar strips of moustache between the two men. Granted, Mugabe’s is vertically narrower than Hitler’s but the juxtaposition is tangibly surreal. This week, a partial recount is believed to being held in Zimbabwe. However illegal this is internationally known to be, the electoral commission is overriding legal laws and ordering a recount to happen nonetheless. The opposition (MDC) have voiced concerns that this action can only culminate in rigged results. In other words, it’s the perfect opportunity for Mugabe to seize his moment and steal votes. How else could he win at this late stage? And if the hopes and dreams of millions of Zimbabweans come crumbling down again by witnessing successful rigged results and the ensuing victory of Robert Mugabe, how should the world react? Should we swing our hands at the air again? Or isn’t it about time that superpowers like the United States and the United Kingdom send in troops into the country and hunt down Mugabe? This is the question that has long hung in the air for many years and appears to accentuate even more today.
You might not care much for the disaster being unravelled at London Heathrow this week. I wouldn’t blame you either. The noun ‘airport’ has long lost its glamorous image of handsome pilots strolling abreast a dozen stewardesses, just like in the movies; puffy crimson lips, sexy damn looks. Instead, it's been replaced by darker connotations of boredom and frustration, ‘I’ll sue you guys! Oh, you just wait!’ or the tiresome ‘I’ll never fly with your company again!’. But this is different, way different. The humiliating fiasco leading to dozens of flight cancellations concerns the opening of a new, shiny terminal; T5. Indeed, more like Terminator 5; search and destroy luggage. The number of bags reported missing and lost at the new terminal is overwhelming, simply beyond abnormal. But doesn’t the governing body responsible for this ‘Grand’ design deserve what they’re reaping? BAA, the owner of London Heathrow should long ago have tested the system. Believe it or not, they actually expected normal passengers like you and me to stroll into the premises and physically check-in luggage using super duper machines. Never mind the technology, that’s why you’d find the instructions on the opening screen but Lord Almighty! Machines that are actually too fast for humans to handle? And only leave 2 out of 27 desks open in case anything went wrong?! That’s some contingency plan. But there’s a more satisfying perspective to this freak circus, this zoo. It involves the British government and the Monarchy. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II pompously addressed the nation about the opening of the new terminal. Correct me if I’m wrong but why would the Queen formally present a new terminal that will inevitably lead to more global warming? Send in Gordon Brown, no harm done there, but the Queen? Someone who called on the commonwealth to help the most vulnerable nations deal with the impact of climate change?