Imagine participating in a political landscape where you run a blood drive so that you can use the blood to douse the offices of the ministers you oppose, as part of your effort to drive them out of office. No, really. And better: The next day, they will collect 1,000 more liters and target the prime minister’s residence, the demonstrators said. You know, I just don’t really know what to say about that except that sometimes the real world really does make the job of the speculative fiction writer a little more demanding.
Month: March 2010
One Up, One Down, Part 1
I have resolved not to whine and bitch without mentioning something positive. Sometimes this means telling two stories, but I think today’s example fits both. Man, delivery guys… I know their jobs are not so fun or easy, but sometimes, they just drive me crazy. The guy dropping off my box of Emart groceries called me so many times during class that although my phone was on silent mode, I finally had to pull out the battery. When I called him after my class ended, to confirm that he’d delivered the box where it was supposed to go, he yelled …
On Being Human
Note: I wrote this about a week ago, but I got too busy to copy the final version from my netbook to this site. I finally have a free minute, during a class preparation break, so here you go. Posting will be slow for a while, till I’ve built up that momentum so crucial to propelling myself through the semester. I figure it’ll be about a week till things are back to normal, in terms of my free time. Having torn through both of the extant seasons of the British TV series Being Human, I can say I really like …
Had a “Expat Bad Day”
One of those days, you know. Probably the kind everyone who’s lived abroad can remember having felt, when everything one dislikes about the place one is staying decides to up and slap one in the face. Everything. We’ll just say that the bus driver didn’t break my foot, that the name of the building I live in is finally going to be changed — finally, after I asked twice, so that ordering groceries online won’t involve a dozen phone calls explaining that, yes, some morons decided to give no formal Korean name to the new building and it ended up …
Sychophany and Other Bewildering Behaviours
Some behaviours I find baffling, but I can understand (or at least I can rationalize) after a moment’s reflection. For example, the other day I was taking a bus home, and noticed that all the women getting off the bus were immediately running off into the dark. I am not exaggerating. Four women got off the bus, each at a different stop. Each one ran away from the bus, presumably toward home. They ran in sneakers and in high heels alike; they ran not only when the bus stop was poorly-lit, but also when it was very well-lit. I momentarily …