freshbytes

Alternative title: “Hypocritical”.

Over the last couple of months, I’ve discovered that I’m the kinda person to go against the grain, against the flow.

The most basic example of this I can think of is the fact that if you say no, I’ll be more inclined to say yes. And conversely, if you say yes I’ll be inclined to say no – not because I like having a conflicting opinion, but because most of the time, what you’re saying doesn’t match my own thoughts and actions.

Uni results were released last Friday, and one of my friends remarked that he thought he worked harder than all of us – which was probably true, and his results certainly reflected that, after my reply of “well, I cant say that wasn’t expected, after all, you did put in the hard yards”. You might be able to tell I’m a firm believer of the “reap what you sow” philsophy, but that’s for another time.

Anyway, he made the remark in such a way that prompted me to think – and I could be reading too much into it, after all, it was sent in an email – that he’s the kind of guy who has “always look on the bright side of life” attitude. Which is weird, because he doesn’t apply it to other parts of his life, but in any case, he said it in such a way that implied that he thought if you do everything right, there’s no way you can go wrong.

Now it could just be me, but even my meagre experience in the IT industry says that that’s almost never the case, all because of the one element that’s prone to errors – humans. Yeah. I came to realize that no matter how many precautions you make to ensure stuff doesn’t stuff up, it invariably will, one way or another.

Which, in itself, is kinda weird because usually I’m a “look on the bright side” person. If someone says the situation looks bleak, I’ll usually manage to find a silver lining.

I’m not actually sure what I’m trying to say this time around, because it’s all still a huge jumble in my head. Maybe I’m a hypocrit because sometimes I’ll swing both ways – but rarely am I a fence-sitter (unless I really don’t care).

Hmm.

I guess we’ll leave it at that, then. Hopefully I’m not the only person to note this, the fact that I’m constantly at loggerheads, even with people I call friends. =/

written by Benny Ling \\ tags: hypocrit, hypocritical

There’s a Stargate Atlantis episode titled Sanctuary. In it, Major Sheppard and the gang are being pursued  by the wraith (for the umpteenth time), and the just happen to come across a planet which, among other things, offers them a safehaven from the wraith.

When describing a sanctuary (as opposed to a safehaven), I would usually err on the side of “spiritual/meditation/place to center yourself”, but really, anywhere can be a sanctuary, so long as it takes you away from the daily grind – whether that be work, school, or whatever you do for a living.

One of my friends also has their own sanctuary – every once in a while (okay, a couple of times a year), he’ll go away (often at the drop of a hat) and come back a little while later, refreshed and ready for whatever the next couple of days/weeks/months will bring him. Where he goes isn’t exactly public knowledge, but those that have been agree it’s an excellent place to shoot zombies, among other things.

In my mind, a sanctuary can exist in the most innocuous of locations – a shack at the beach, a good friend’s house, even something as simple as your car. As long as it’s a place where you can get away from it all, escape from whatever’s on  your mind and just *enjoy* and *relax* – that’s a sanctuary, and having one is just unbelievable.

I don’t doubt that there are a whole heap of psychological benefits to having such a sanctuary – it’s awesome to be able to take a break once in a while, and hopefully it means that you’ll be able to sort some things out, re-center yourself, and come back refreshed, renewed. I know it sounds a little corny, perhaps even a little zen-like, but realistically – isn’t that what a sanctuary is? Someplace where you can feel safe, untouchable, a place where everything has it’s own time and it’s own place?

The holidays have started, and it’s time to get down to business. Yeah, I’ve got a hell of a lot of things to do (and so many things to buy!), but this time, it looks like I’ll actually have time to do them (although it’s debatable about how much money I’ll have to buy them).

So many things, so little time…

Time to find my own sanctuary.

Have you found yours?

written by Benny Ling \\ tags: atlantis, sanctuary, stargate