Little known customs and beliefs around the world:

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A day in the life of a poopstepper...

I stepped in dog poo with my pretty new shoes...the same time when a crow was taking a dump at me from skies up above...that was my day today.

Somehow, it was a day of such a roller coaster of emotions for me. After the shit-filled incident, I walk into my class, only to see a lecherous bugger still staring at me, as usual. On any other day, I would've done what I normally do, walk past filled with disgust and pretend ignorance. But today, thanks to the nature's gift to me...I stepped on the pervert's feet, clad in floaters, leaving a dump of shit on his ghastly feet and left with a "oops, I am so sorry...he he".

Mean, you'd say, well I agree. But, so what, he had it coming. Giggling quietly in my little corner, I just caught a glimpse of the perv giving me a disgusting look...well, I guess its safe to say that the gaping mouth and eyes about a few inches south of where it should be, is a thing of past.

Then, after class, i put on my dancing shoes and I was Ms Twinkle Toes again, happily jigging to glory; a surprise call put an end to the happiness. I wish some people just...well disappear. But then, they are here and so am I, so dealing with reality is the right thing to do, right? I wish the right thing didn't feel so wrong sometimes

Sigh!!!!!!!!!!

Sleep

Everyday is a lesson in disguise, I never quite understood the value of this adage until today. My insomnia has now reached legendary proportions. So, to avoid having a brain hemorrhage while cramming all of Freud and friends, I routinely use the world wide web to communicate with friends and acquaintances.

Last night (or should I say today morning) while chit-chatting with a person I know a little, on listening to his own issues with lack of sleep and peace, I reflected on my own life and realised that while sometimes I do tend to dwell in self pity, My life's alright. It's not the best, but it isn't the worst either and after everything, It's been good.

After that realisation, sleep was just a wink away. It is true that talking to an unconnected person gives a brand new perspective to old issues. I couldn't agree more. :)

Day 1 - Part 2 - Irreversible

So, I saw this French movie today, Irreversible and the impact of that movie on me is pretty much as it's name is. After watching this utterly disturbing movie, I realised that somethings in life should just be left as they are. I had read about the film's dark sense of helpless sudden mishappenings leaving people disturbed and upset, but I chose to go ahead and watch it still thinking, "What the heck, I am sure whatever it has, I have seen worse in real life." While, I may have seen much worse in real life, it still breaks my heart to witness something so simple and ordinary go so horribly wrong in a matter of few hours.

The film is made in an ex post facto format - a reverse chronological sequence of events. An ominous 13 scenes comprise the entire movie and it begins with an arresting of two men, one of whom is being carried out on a stretcher while a third person - actually a badly bludgeoned dead body is carried out behind them. The next scene (sequentially, the previous event), is about the two arrested men looking for a "le tenia" in a French gay pub. They find a person who they believe is "le tenia", only to be attacked by him. While one guy is still struggling with him, the other guy (who was on the stretcher), bludgeons him to death with a fire extinguisher while by-standers look on.

The next scene is that these two men are in a shady area, accompanied by a mafia kingpin, trying to find the whereabouts of "le tenia" from street-side prostitutes. One of them tells them that he, a pimp, would be found at the gay pub (mentioned above). The next scene is about the two men getting out of the pub only to see a huge police presence who tell them that there has been a rape in the subway. When they see the badly bludgeoned body of the victim being carried away, they realise that the woman is none other than the girlfriend of one of the men and a close friend of the other. While they decide to wait for police to do justice, a gangster tells them that the cops are no good and they should get their own revenge by killing the rapist. The men, though unsure at first, agree. Next, there is a scene of a party where the two men, accompanied by the victim, are at a party and she, disgusted by her boyfriend's drug abuse and loose behaviour with other women at the party, walks out to hail a cab back home despite her friend telling her it is late and unsafe. As the traffic on the street is heavy and she needs to cross the road, she takes the pedestrian subway only to be faced with a man (le tenia) beating up a woman mercilessly. As she tries to walk on by, the man notices her and rapes her brutally before beating her up badly, leaving only when he thinks she is dead. She ends up in a coma. In this scene, it is evident that this guy is not the guy who was killed in the first scene (chronologically the last event), although he was standing right next to the murdered man.

The next scene is about the three of them in a subway, just casually talking. The last scene (the first in sequence) is about the girl telling her boyfriend that she is pregnant and both of them, elated, decide to celebrate it by going to a party with their friend. The film ends with the woman's visual holding her belly and sleeping peacefully in a garden with a slight smile on her face. The final text on the screen read in French, "Time Destroys Everything."

I have seen a lot of dark movies, but this has to be one of the worst as it left me with a very disgusting feeling, a feeling of helplessness and thinking that while, we, as human beings believe that we are invincible and strongest among all species, it takes minimum effort to destroy that belief convincingly. I am left with a horrid feeling in the pit of my stomach today, wondering, if humans are not safe in this world, who is?

Day 1 - Part 1 - Back to Basics

Today was a good day, not great, but good nevertheless. I revisited the roots of what I used to be. Digging dirt has always been my thing, since I was child. So, when I left the refined version of snooping around, it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do and I kept telling myself, "You won't miss it, You're better than that." But guess what, I do miss it, well some days I do - like today. So, when an unexpected opportunity to dig into the lives of others came my way, I grabbed it with both hands.

Some almost famous, offspring of a mighty famous was being blackmailed and the blackmailer, who may or may not be this "victim's" former "close personal friend", was arrested. So, what? Well, so it's news and a former boss sought my assistance in gathering whatever dirt I could on it. Now, normally, when I was still a "snooper", something like this would've, made me not get too much involved due to the nature of this "scoop" as they say because honestly, what the almost famous do is their business, something that never excited me much. But today, since I was missing being nosey, I was happy to help. From calling old friends to reconnecting with near acquaintances, the whole exercise was surprisingly, well, refreshing. Better still was the fact that those people haven't forgotten me and were still as unwilling (some eager) to share information. So, at the end of the day, I ended up doing what I used to do till a few months ago - extracting what I could by hook or by crook. What's even more reassuring is the fact that shoddy work was still reprimanded, though I hold no accountability any more. It was all a day's work.

I'd be lying if I said that I don't care at all, because I do, somewhere within me, I really really do. So, I thank the D-factor for taking me back to basics today for basics is where it all begins and basics is where it must lead to eventually.