Time waits for no one.

My eldest paternal uncle had recently just passed away after many years of poor health.

Two days ago, I got to know that my 3rd paternal uncle has 4th stage cancer and will be undergoing surgery.

These unfortunate events serve as reminders to me that life is really unpredictable and time waits for no one.

We always think we have lots of time with our loved ones. In fact, we don't.

Especially not with our parents.

As we grow older, they get older too.

My parents had my brother and I in their late twenties/early thirties. This means, as an adult, I have lesser time with them than most people whose parents are younger. Not taking into consideration on unexpected deaths.

I just wanna try my best to spend more time with them, making up for the lost time when I was in my teenage years.. rebellious, hateful and immature.

I'll never be able to make up for the heartaches that I had caused them.

But I just wanna make sure they don't have to worry and are happy now that I am older and is capable of taking care of them and providing for them as much as I can.

The current hoo-ha.

This post is with regards to the current controversy surrounding a MP's choice of a quote on his Facebook page.

In my opinion, the quote in itself is not right or wrong. It's subjective as everyone has his/her own thinking and belief. As shocking or offensive as the sentence may be to some people, it was meant to explain a point that was further elaborated on in the paragraph that came after. And the author's intended meaning was clearly not to "trivialise rape" as how most people are seeing it. It was to explain his point of view regarding the current state of "democracy" (for some people or places) as becoming the "tyranny of the majority". Thus, "a group of people forcing themselves onto an individual". Obviously not literally, but more in terms of their beliefs and mindset.

However, I think his (the "quoter") fault is that he overestimated people's ability to understand that quote fully, their level of reasoning skill to things they don't agree with, and chose a wrong timing. He also forgot that he's in a position where people are always looking for reasons to attack, regardless of whether the reasons are actually reasonable or not. Which is very ironic in that those people calling for blood (regarding him quoting "inappropriately"), are actually kinda proving that quote right.

Did he mean to offend? No. Did people care? No.

Also, what I don't understand is that when some so-called politicians that those people support can plagiarise or say whatever they want without any basis/truth, they can get away with it without explaining themselves or with a seemingly insincere apology. Yet when one quotes something to express his thoughts on the current state of democracy, people look past the intended meaning and are so eager to condemn him. Shouldn't the same standards we expect of our leaders be applied to all? I would expect the same for all of those who want to be our leaders. Regardless of their affiliation. Just saying.

Of early morning confusion.

It was at night and I was in a car with a few others.

Someone else was driving and we were looking for a parking spot up on a hill.

There was a big event going on and the spots were all taken.

I suddenly remembered that I was there the previous night and had seen empty spots at a car park behind a building that's up on the hill. The area was very quiet and not many people knew about that place. I recalled vividly that I had walked down the hill last night, all by myself.

So I told them about it and we were on a lookout for that place because I couldn't remember the exact location and how to get there.

Just as I saw the building, I found myself back in my bed, still grabbing onto my handphone with my right hand as I fell asleep while playing a game.

I opened my eyes, saw the clock on the wall... It was 7.45am.

It shocked me.

The husband was still soundly asleep next to me.

I thought to myself, "Oh my goodness! It's so late already and he's still in bed?!"

I shook him. He woke up and looked at me with a quizzical expression on his face.

I stared at the clock on the wall behind him.

He turned to look, looked back at me with puzzlement.

I asked, "Isn't it Monday today?"

He stared at me blankly.

I looked at my handphone, which was still in my hand...

The screen lit up and showed: Sunday, 5 May.

"Oh, it's Sunday... Not Monday."

Deep annoyance flashed across his face and he turned to face the other side.

I began to snigger... and tried very hard to stifle my laughter.

He turned around and told me to stop 'cause he wants to go back to sleep.

I laughed harder. I couldn't believe what I just did.

I put down my handphone and realised my right hand was aching due to the fact that I was holding onto it throughout the night (not the first time I held onto something for the entire night haha).

Both of us went back to sleep eventually.

When he woke, he told me he loves me a lot. Just not on this morning.

LOL.

Just some rantings after watching Schindler's List.

Got the Schindler's List DVD a few days ago.

[Image source: http://www.cheznorfolk.com/top-10-movies-of-all-the-time/]

We watched it this afternoon...

It made me so furious at the Nazis.

People got killed for no rhyme or reason. Millions of them. Old people, men, women, and even children. Shot dead as entertainment for the soldiers, gassed, starved, worked to death as slaves... etc.

[Image source: http://www.kosherdelight.com/GermanyJewishHistoryAndHolocaust.shtml]

It was only because someone decided that he hated the Jews for doing so well in his country (while he didn't do so well). He forgot the fact that he wasn't from that country too. He came from somewhere else, just like them! And then there were the race and religion issues as well. Any reason he could find to rally support from the people who were already very unhappy due to the economy... just so he could pursue his political agenda and fulfill his great plans for Germany. He gave them "a reason" for their suffering and their failure, something a lot of people like to do - point their fingers at something/someone else when they fail to do well. Shirking responsibility and enabling them to feel better about themselves.

The Jews became the scapegoat for some people's failure. They became the "reason" for their unhappiness and anger. In fact, did the Jews cause those people's unhappiness and anger? No. Those people did that to themselves. They allowed themselves to become like that, to feel that way.

And the Jews suffered for it. Not because they did anything wrong. Just because they did too well in life and because they had a different race and religion.

It reminded us of the current political atmosphere in this country.

People hating foreigners because they came to "snatch our jobs", or like what they say, to "snatch their places in this country, their country".

Then, some so-called "politicians" play this up, fanning the anger and unhappiness among the people to their own benefit. This is not a unique situation in this country. I know in many other places, the same thing is happening as well.

[Image source: http://maleysbhoys.com/]

Why have people become so intolerant? Is it really because there are more and more people around, and it's getting too crowded?

Or have societies become too self-centred, selfish and mean? What happened?

Did our advancement cause that? Did TV shows, songs and games cause that?

There isn't any straightforward answer to that, isn't it?

Are we slowly going down the path of destruction? Just like how civilisations in history rose and fell?

I shudder at the thought of a World War III. If the people in the past were that cruel and evil when they were in a war, imagine how the people NOW would be like during wartime?

Who is to say that wouldn't happen at all? Look at all the volatile relationships between nations. Look at the citizens around the world... protesting, demanding, destroying and complaining. Never contented, always unhappy, perpetually mad at this world.

There are more and more campaigns calling for people to be kinder to others, to see the good in people... and to spread the kindness. I really hope those campaigns would catch on eventually.

I would really hate to see the kind of atrocities from WW1/WW2 happening to us. Singapore wouldn't survive for long. By then, maybe we might even be annihilated. There are after all, only a few millions of us. Perhaps even lesser than the amount of lives lost in WW2?

If only more people can see through the so-called politicians' selfish agenda and be more accepting of reasoning...

If only we can all have bigger hearts.