"The biggest enemy of the 21st century is INDIFFERENCE." -Anna Deavere Smith
I like it when I sit through a performance/seminar and feel that my beliefs, lifestyles and thinkings are challenged.
Its been awhile since an enjoyable play. Tonight, "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (performed by WA's number one theatre company, Black Swan Theatre) had blown me away.
I was initially wary of the neon lights, the goofy-looking crowd at the door. Nothing prepared me for the brilliance of the performance.
I look out for transgressions, even in life. Who can transgress boundaries? Who get caught? Who don't? Who dares to blur those boundaries? What are the boundaries? Who decides on the boundaries? How far can one cross the boundaries?
The stage provided a platform to represent slight glimpses of reality and its issues. I like it when it is so starkingly in-people's-faces that they are caught unaware, speechless and stunned. That, to me, is the purpose of theatre.
I love theatre. The hours of hard work before performance; the decisions of everyone on the crew - from script-writer, director, producer, costume designer, prop director, lighting designer, make-up artiste, actors... The many many decisions constitute to the final performance you see on stage.
I walk into theatre performances waiting to be provoked. To feel disturbed by the end of the performance. (Of course, echoing Samuel Beckett, sometimes its good to go for its entertainment value.)
I think too many of the audience nowadays are impassive. They walk into theatre blindly, wanting to see if its any good. At the end of the play, they leave, feeling mildly entertained and disturbed, never give the play a second thought.
They have simply become indifferent.
People have become indifferent to Life's treatment. Indifferent to other people. Indifferent to their beliefs and culture. Indifferent to reality. Indifferent to how other people view them. Indifferent to anything, and everything.
The slogan for these lives should read, "Anything goes."
I hate indifference with a passion. C'mon, you either go all the way, or don't start at it.
How can indifference be a way of life?
That's why He says, we are either for Him or against Him. How can there be middle-ground?
So, NO! Not everything goes. I will never settle for skimmed milk when I like full cream.
Just The Girl @
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
I sometimes stand fascinated at beautiful sights.
Amazed at how some things are just so beautiful.
Tonight, I saw a shooting star.
I wonder what you wished for.
I closed my eyes, clasped my hands together, meant it with all my heart.
After that magical moment, I wonder why I made that wish.
Why not other things?
Will it really come true?
I love shooting stars. They are one of the marvels of Perth.
Amidst the dark streets and sky, every illuminated streak across the sky can be seen, and found.
Only if you are patient enough. Also, maybe with a stroke of Lady Fate.
Beautiful things stay beautiful because they are a distance away.
Beautiful things are better held from afar, appreciated from a distance.
Keep this beautiful. Beyond reach, touch. Distant.
Just The Girl @
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
You asked me why there isn't a post on you.
So here it is. :) A post dedicated to you.
Just The Girl @
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
According to Wikipedia, Magnolia is described as:
"Magnolia is an ancient genus. Having evolved before bees appeared, the flowers developed to encourage pollination by beetles. As a result, the carpels of Magnolia flowers are tough, to avoid damage by eating and crawling beetles. Fossilised specimens of M. acuminata have been found dating to 20 million years ago, and of plants identifiably belonging to the Magnoliaceae dating back to 95 million years ago. Another primitive aspect of Magnolias is their lack of distinct sepals or petals. The term tepal has been coined to refer to the intermediate element that Magnolia has instead."
Magnolia is a strong flower.
It is beautiful, yet embodies quiet tenacity. It is not dainty, delicate or frail. It has a fierce fighting spirit brewing on the inside.
Somehow, of all the mothers I know intimately, including my own, that is the spirit I see in all of them.
Circumstances can occur - husbands leaving the families, rebellious and difficult children, disaster in the family, daily woes and worries - but there's this spirit in all of them that stand out in the midst of crisis.
I'd like to think that because Mothers universally like to say the same things, they must have went through the same Mother-Training-College. Could it be because of that course that they all possess this calm tenacity?
Maybe its precisely their roles as mothers that they have to be constantly strong - for us.
Of all her sacrifices, that's the most noble thing I see in my mum.
As much as we have our differences and arguments, her underlying strength that stretches beyond all else is what I really really respect in her.
All that she's working hard for, is to provide for me and my siblings the chances that she never had.
In a conversation with a friend this week, he marveled at the way I handled my situation and exclaimed, "Wow! You are so strong!"
Actually, unfortunately, (I'd like to say,) I'm not strong at all. I just made up my mind to stick to the things I need to do. "Don't grumble, just do it" is my philosophy, "cos grumbling won't get you anywhere."
So, thank you Ma, for sticking to us. That spirit is strength. It's love.
Since my rebellious adolescent years, I've been rebelling against becoming like you. But likened to peas of the same pod, I just can't run away from mirroring you. What to do, you my mother! :P
Thank you, and Happy Mother's Day!
Just The Girl @
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Friday, May 09, 2008
Sometimes, its easy for something to die before its time; serving unjust time; suffer, because of time.
The profound theory of relativity sets every second apart from each other, every minute passed is history, every day gone is forever lost.
This semester marks my personal battle against time and will. Thus far, this has been the most challenging undergrad semester.
While it is easy to focus on the present, slogging out the present, it sometimes becomes meaningless. Meaning can only be derived from the bigger picture, by looking beyond the present into the future.
Time therefore, becomes a fluid, yet lucid term.
Although it has been a tough period, it is manageable because You always remember me. You never fail to amaze me. Thank you for always going before me. :)
Just The Girl @
Friday, May 09, 2008
Sunday, May 04, 2008
The first-things in life are always so exciting!
Our first step on our two feet. Our first teeth. First doll. First day at school. First friend. First competition. First flight. First prize. First love. First...
As I went on in life, there are lesser and lesser "first-s."
So while I washed and gave it a clean finality, I felt a sense of dread... cos from tomorrow, you will be someone else's 'first.'
But to me, nothing can replace your title.
You will always be my first car.
This has been a special weekend... I've closed many important chapters, moving onto fresh pages.
Goodbye Civic, welcome on board Vienta.
Just The Girl @
Sunday, May 04, 2008
