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2004-12-28 - 3:18 p.m.

I guess there�s nothing like huge apocalyptic global destruction to put those little Christmas niggles into perspective. Hey, I may be vaguely peeved that I have to spend an hour stood up in a freezing church for the sake of family unity, but at least I�m not having to retrieve any of my limbs or elderly relatives from the unforgiving sea or having to put my village back together after a gazillion cubic metres of water decided to pay a visit at 300 miles an hour. And if you need a distraction from overhearing your parents enjoying intimate relations, I find that trying to envisage what 40,000 dead people actually looks like is really a quite effective strategy.

It�s weird seeing islands on TV that you�d spent a fair amount of time fannying around on this year looking like�well, looking like one of worst natural disasters in history had just struck them, and Thailand got off relatively lightly, so god only knows how people who live in or know Sri Lanka feel.

The other weird thing was how, in the West, Christmas has been going on all around it. You get to the holidays, and think, well, that�s just about all THAT year has to offer. And then 2004 suddenly comes along with, �Oh, by the way everyone, I almost forgot THIS.� And a couple of generations of Asian coastal communities are wiped out at the last minute, almost like an afterthought.

I�ve never felt more like just an irritating twat with an internet diary. The thing about being given an award called �Friend of Th@il@nd� is that you should probably prove it when the time comes.

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