Your imagination

Music: Robbie Williams- Eternity
Book: Why men don't listen and women can't read maps, Barbara and Allan Pease

Just watched bridget jones's diary off the tv. Very amusing to see how effective it was in creating an alternative life, an escape, from your present reality. Sheesh so cliched already, all this "escape from life" thing. But yea, it was nice seeing them having social parties, having dinners, drinking wine, going into relationships, falling out of relationships...What I think most would've found appealing would be the kind of charm and wit and carefree lives and all this kind of things that the characters seem to lead. I thought it was really tempting, both during and for a short time after the show, to believe there would be people of those kind i would meet in my own life. In fact I found myself -quite unconsciously- checklisting the differences and similarities I shared with certain characters, as well as thinking over the relationships they had on a more personal basis.

And it is very often such unnecessary checklisting and comparisons that makes one feel inadequate and henceforth leads one to indulge in the show more. If you want to escape from life at least do it properly, with some sense of awareness and some degree of control.

The show abit absurd too. Ok quite absurd. Mark was the total opposite of Bridget--yah your classical "no way they gonna fall in 'love' (but do in the end)" story. Out of nowhere Mark says he likes Bridget, Mark becomes the lawyer for a pair of lovebirds Bridget was supposed to interview, Mark appears as *the* capable guy to bring the messy and weak and confused (and jilted) Bridget out from her down life. Ok very absurd. If life had half the kind of coincidences we see on tv we would be extremely happy people. Or extremely sad. In either case, extremely ordinary.

And ordinary their lives are, because it's all so scripted. It's all so classical. Go watch the show for yourself. They even had the *one person leaves for airport but decides to come back for the other* thing, thought you could only find that in channel8 dramas.

I think what's important is we lead our own lives and not seek to model ourselves to the lives we see on-screen. And since most of us do it without knowing it, it's important we conduct introspections frequently, be it by writing in a diary or listening to music or anything of that sort, and treat our lives with individual pride and affection. Alternatively, as I would like to say, just enjoy.

Met up with the prinicipal. She's an incredibly busy person, had to wait more than 2 hours just so I could see her. Had always the impression principals do nothing much but walk around overseeing things but seeing how she had meetings of over an hour each consecutively, and during the school holidays (and during lunchtime), I've got to admire her for that.

Felt remarkably small in her prescence, partly because the people she had meetings with were all teachers and HODs, and they probably were discussing macro-important policies and stuff. I was just a student, and the issue I brought up to her was a comparatively minor one, so minor I felt really silly when I said it. To give a rudimentary analogy, it was probably like the police commissioner or a director of MAS attending a ministerial meeting. They might be influential, powerful people in their own right (and admittedly, I felt I had some imaginary power..Those in my school would probably know why), but are really small beings in the greater political mechanism, in the larger scheme of things.

All that changed when she spoke. Talking to her was a truly amazing experience, she makes you feel at ease and makes you feel that whatever you say is being genuinely absorbed. It's my second time talking to her btw. I suspect I'll want to talk to her a few more times next year. I think she's got an extremely good eye for detail too, think she cares alot for people. As a matter of fact she even remembered my name, got my number and made a promise to contact me for further developments. Asked what secondary school I was from and stuff too. If I hadnt felt guilty over taking up her time (she had a meeting with another HOD 15 mins later) I would probably have asked her what school was she from, and make small talk. Think if there is one person that would make me visit the school after I graduate it would be her.

The trade-off is, as a friend rightfully puts it, a lack of ambition. Her policies orientates us towards character development and community cohesion (a marked failure in the latter, might want to talk to her on that heh)--but I think the very sluggish, backward pace along academic roads is reflected not only in students but in teachers as well. Find it a pity, because no matter what, a school's foremost objective is to provide a good education--all other things cannot be accomplished, and should not even be attempted to a large extent, should this objective prove itself to be an achilles heel we have not attempted to protect.

But anyway, she's still a good person, and bridget jones diary is a good show (escaping from life is always good as long as you know it), and whisky black tastes good, and there's so much to read, and Im a baboon, and there's so much time to waste.

PS. Quite amused as to where and how people come across this blog. Dont know who links me but it probably would take quite a lot of hopping to get over here. Again, my contact is kc330@hotmail.com and I'll be very glad if we could have a good chat. I welcome good ways of wasting time.