Frustration levels are at an all time high in the Godaya mindset. There are a couple of reasons, which I will now proceed to tell you about. These are observations of sorts, and are therefore numbered.
A balance of nature exists: the Ying-Yang factor
Two weeks ago, I was full of praise about a certain police officer who checked my bag at Fort. The balance that exists in nature meant his nemesis had to be somewhere out there. And he is, for I have met him, and incidentally, at a checkpoint.I was taking the 120 route to Fort (again), and the bus was stopped down D. R. Wijewardena Mw, the road towards SLECC.
And the checking began. The police officer who was checking my bags, took out one of my lenses (as if he knew what he was looking for/ at), and almost dropped it. There I was staring daggers at him, and all he manages to do is to give a stupid little smile. Just to put a price to the lens, it's something that would cost North of 60k on the market, and it's the lens that I use to shoot all my drama/ concert/ event/ stalker/ pictures.
So now I can lay it down as a one of life's laws: For every smart and nice police officer, there is a complete opposite somewhere in the force.
Colombo needs a good hang out spot
Well, by hang out I mean something completely different, but then I don't think my editor dearest would be too happy if I put it down in such, ahem, explicit terms. Hanging out at almost any place requires putting up with something. Either the place is too open, too closed, too dark, too isolated, too crowded, too expensive, or the food is, in the lack of a better word to describe it, horrid. And so is the crowd at most places. People go out to enjoy themselves, but that doesn't mean everybody else has to suffer or put up with you. One of my favourite haunts down Horton place (the old one, not the newer one), which is nothing short of brilliant in the morning, manages to become a hellhole full of screaming kids as noon approaches, and passes. So if there is someone out there who is willing, please put up a nice place where people can hang out. I'll provide consultancy services gratis.
The security is getting to me
And I know I'm speaking on behalf of a lot of my friends on this one, and probably on behalf of my dear readers. The Lawyer that I spoke of a few weeks back now needs something in the form of a visa to stay in Colombo. I'm eyed every time I get into a bus, and it's not because I look cute. There are a million things to photograph in the city, but I can't pull out the camera because I'd prefer not to spend nights in jail. Someone as cute as I wouldn't survive jail, the food is supposed to be horrid, and they don't have WiFi.
As much as I appreciate what the Joes and Janes of the armed forces are doing to keep Sri Lanka safe, and how they are willing to lay down their lives in front of the "enemy" to bring this war to an end, I'm sick of seeing uniforms everywhere I look. I'm sick of being pushed into the premises of a school close by (well, to be honest about it, what's ticking me off is the fact that I'm pushed in there AFTER school has closed for the day), when I'm standing for the bus, because someone or the other and his convoy have to do a low-altitude fly-by.
And since this is what's bothering me most, let me close today's (somewhat) long rant with a quote from Jon Stewart. He said this to ex-British Premier Tony Blair during an interview on the Global War on Terror. Jon was brilliant, and saw the greater issue when he said "Nineteen people flew into the [World Trade Center] Towers. It seems hard for me to imagine, that we could go to war enough, to make the world safe enough, that nineteen people wouldn't want to do harm to us. So it seems to me that we need to think of a strategy, which is less military based."
And it's the same I have to ask from our leaders. Is a mere military strategy enough, to make sure that one person would not contemplate, or be willing to, strap an explosive around their chest and jump in front of a car?
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