"When twilight drops her curtain down
And pins it with a star,
Remember that you have a friend
Though she may wander far."

-L.M.Montgomery, in Anne of Green Gables

3 things on my mind.

1. I wonder if sometimes, it's ok to stop talking because language is limited in it's ability to express what we really feel. And it's insincere to say what I feel in an inadequate way.

2. Whenever I see you, I wonder why you think I can't be your friend.

3. It's nice to talk to an old friend after a long time. =] It refreshes your mind. And later, we'll give each other knowing smiles around school and in lecture theatres, like we share a nice secret.

Help.

A friend of mine forwarded a link to a video to me. It's about how cruelly animals are treated at fur farms- their skin is ripped off when they're alive. It's a very very strong video, i cried while watching it and i hardly ever cry. The message is simple- Please don't buy products made from real animal fur. Sure, maybe not all fur farms are this cruel, but you never know where the fur came from and how it was taken off the animal. I'm copying the text from the website, but i'm not gonna put the link here. Tell me if you think you can handle it, i'll send you the link. Otherwise, just help to raise awareness.

From the website:

(The following text is very strong as well.)

"When undercover investigators made their way onto Chinese fur farms recently, they found that many animals are still alive and struggling desperately when workers flip them onto their backs or hang them up by their legs or tails to skin them. When workers on these farms begin to cut the skin and fur from an animal's leg, the free limbs kick and writhe. Workers stomp on the necks and heads of animals who struggle too hard to allow a clean cut. When the fur is finally peeled off over the animals' heads, their naked, bloody bodies are thrown onto a pile of those who have gone before them. Some are still alive, breathing in ragged gasps and blinking slowly. Some of the animals' hearts are still beating five to 10 minutes after they are skinned. One investigator recorded a skinned raccoon dog on the heap of carcasses who had enough strength to lift his bloodied head and stare into the camera.

Before they are skinned alive, animals are pulled from their cages and thrown to the ground; workers bludgeon them with metal rods or slam them on hard surfaces, causing broken bones and convulsions but not always immediate death. Animals watch helplessly as workers make their way down the row.

Undercover investigators from Swiss Animal Protection/EAST International recently toured fur farms in China's Hebei Province, and it quickly became clear why outsiders are banned from visiting. There are no regulations governing fur farms in China—farmers can house and slaughter animals however they see fit—meaning miserable lives and excruciating deaths. The investigators found horrors beyond their worst imaginings and concluded, "Conditions on Chinese fur farms make a mockery of the most elementary animal welfare standards. In their lives and their unspeakable deaths, these animals have been denied even the simplest acts of kindness."

On these farms, foxes, minks, rabbits, and other animals pace and shiver in outdoor wire cages, exposed to driving rain, freezing nights, and, at other times, scorching sun. Mother animals, who are driven crazy from rough handling and intense confinement and have nowhere to hide while giving birth, often kill their babies after delivering litters. Disease and injuries are widespread, and animals suffering from anxiety-induced psychosis chew on their own limbs and throw themselves repeatedly against the cage bars.

The globalization of the fur trade has made it impossible to know where fur products come from. Skins move through international auction houses and are purchased and distributed to manufacturers around the world, and finished goods are often exported. China supplies more than half of the finished fur garments imported for sale in the United States. Even if a fur garment's label says it was made in a European country, the animals were likely raised and slaughtered elsewhere—possibly on an unregulated Chinese fur farm. Because a fur's origin can't be traced, anyone who wears any fur at all shares the blame for the horrific conditions on Chinese fur farms. The only way to prevent such unimaginable cruelty is never to wear any fur."


Note: This is only posted here to raise awareness and to hope that maybe this will stop someday, this is not an act of discrimination. I'm only pushing for the cruelty to stop.

=)

Dearest

Mia, Mum&Dad, Dhevy, Karthick, Sneha, Subra, Raghav, Shalini, Amoudtha, Shanti, Simran, Michelle, Vaishali, Saranya, Pushpa, Thiru, Jia Xin, May, Anushiya, Lincon, Sakthish, Jagraj, Abhishek, Gautam, Shakura, Diane, Ser En, Pearlyn, Beatrice, Olivia, Aditya, Akanksha, Eirene, Jia Yi, Aruna, Eugene, Margaret, Michelle Zhuang, Nazri, Wan Sing, Yee Ling, Reema, Laura, Jared, Anthony, Zong He, Hian Huat, Daniel, Pin Rui, Cleaven, Sharadha Aunty, Fresh-juice-stall-Uncle, Auntie Daphne and 07S43 again for today at the beach,

Thank you so much! Your wishes and everything else mean the world to me! =]

Quality.

Wilbur says it's impossible for someone not to have hated a person, and that everyone's guilty of it.

That sounds like an over-generalisation.

I think it's impossible to completely hate a person, if you think rationally and aren't biased or prejudiced. Even if you hate something [like a particular quality] in someone, I think it's impossible to hate that person completely, by which I mean that there always is something to like in any given person. Also, I believe it is possible not to hate anyone at all, not even a certain quality. It may be possible not to be affected by others at all, in which case, it is possible not to have hated at all. Don't scoff, just think about it.

In fact, I think that it is impossible for a person not to have a likeable or admirable quality. I'm undecided as to whether everyone has a quality that others dislike, though.

These of course, are personal opinions. =]

Friend for life.

(This is about an entirely fictitious character.)

There you go, dancing into the distance,
You've fenced yourself away from me.
Your badge of honour puts me down,
Your eyes, they do not see.

Don't the ropes of friendship that bind me to you
Bind you to me as well?
Why is it that I struggle behind,
Though you didn't look around when I fell?

You might be dancing into the distance now,
But I would not now know.
I'm turning my back, walking away,
You're still as cold as snow.

Maybe someday, you'll turn around
And find that no one's there.
Maybe someday you'll call to me,
And assume that I will care.

I'm still your friend, a true friend,
So don't you ever fret.
I'll forgive, if that power rests with me,
But I'll never ever forget.

First week back.

Okay, first half-week back, if you're particular. =)



It was great seeing you people again after so long.. And it's gonna be tough getting back into school mode, what with people shoving deadlines in your face and all already, but being with this bunch of people just makes up for it all. And while we miss our seniors terribly, the juniors seem pretty interesting. It feels strange being a senior for the first time in six years. It's a bit daunting, having people told to look up at you, and not having seniors to back you up. I guess we'll get used to it soon enough.



I finally got the high-definition video for my all-time favourite song! No, not just because it's one of our mass dance songs. I loved it the moment i first heard it, before joining VJ. A big thank you to Bern, for giving it to me!

I can't wait for school. Really.

This is my fourth attempt at finishing this post. The previous three [each was about something different] didn't appeal to me after a while.

I'm stuck. I don't know what to write about. Why am i even here.

I've got a couple of poems to finish [some long overdue], lots of revision to complete and violin to practise; unfortunately, i'm in the mood of doing things only when i'm in the mood for that particular thing. And i'm losing the mood for writing. =(



NS is actually pretty fun, a senior of mine tells me.