the lover is losing

It is time again for a cliché. Like Christmas advertisements in September, the yearly ritual of graduating from high school is well underway. My life is ruled by triple-lettered acronyms. I eat, sleep and shower all in order to keep myself awake. People tell me they have been through this before, and that I too will emerge mostly intact if not mostly unscathed. Yes I am grateful. Yet however well-meaning they intend to be, these kind remarks are lost on me. For I very much doubt that the burning pang of trousers set alight, nor the searing pinch of a papercut between the webs of fingers, can be alleviated by others telling us that they too have suffered this. That is all very well, I say. But I am only concerned with the present, and I would much rather have a shot of caffeine than any sympathy. If I could physically inject knowledge into my brain, I would. I’d line up for it the way people lined up for Michael Jackson. You would too. A dose of the Haber process please. 20ml of the paradox of Hamlet. 5 grams daily of simple harmonic motion.

I went outside the other weekend. That is, to some other place non-related to study. A place other than school, other than tutoring. It was a shopping centre, to be exact. There was a wondrous buzz of activity, of nonchalance, of un-burden. I could have broken down and wept at the continuance of life without me. How miraculous and at the same time, how heart-rending it was! Alas, if it were not for the HSC, the universe would turn into an almighty stranger.

{d.read}

philosophic ramble of the day

From the grand master that is Dr. Seuss:

"Be who you are and say what you feel. Because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

Everyone together now: AWWWWWW.

Today was quite a day for women in politics, with Carmel Tebbutt now Deputy Premier for NSW and Quentin Bryce (rather odd name for a woman if I may say so but anyway...) Australia's first female governor, and yet should these things really be such a milestone in our political history? Is it still so rare and unexpected to see women in power, or should am I just taking this the wrong way and should simply celebrate the fact that they have deservedly 'made it'?

Not finished with the topic: French war photographer Francoise Demulder died aged 61 today, being the first woman to receive the coveted World Press Photo award, which you can see here

And something that I read about and struck me the other day:

Imagine two years. Does that seem long to you? It may be, if you're going to sit in jail all by your lonesome for two years.

Or maybe it's not long enough. Two years isn't much time if the apocalypse came in 2010. Think of the things you wanted to do, and never could.

Einstein once said that everything is relative. Which it is. So have some perspective people.

And now...what about that chemistry exam?

[disco.read]