금요일, 2월 20, 2004
oh my Lord the side of my mouth hurts because the pimple that was (i repeat, was) there has now been blasted into oblivion. yay! on the other hand, don't make me have any sort of extreme reaction: i can't really smile at this moment in time.

the weather has gotten a tad frosty ever since the advent of the new week. come to think of it, it's already friday, so that's something to rejoice about right? well, not really. the teachers are going on strike on those hallowed days tuesday and wednesday, so no lectures (hurrah) on those days. this does not mean that the tutorials held by the ever-affable cks are going to be shelved, oh no. managed to muster up the gung-ho and go-for-it attitude that heaven seems to have blessed me with, as i found out today, and asked him about it. it wasn't much of a scary incident, but i have to admit that talking to cks was more-o-more than i had bargained for. not to mention that very conversation being one of the brighter spots in my day. one fact to note: the hair seems to have burgeoned in its moments of absence. long live hair wax (as guessed correctly by moi) and it doesn't make him look the worse for wear, so if it ain't broke...

anyway, back to the strike. what really interested me was not the fact that the uni teachers are actually going on strike, but the fact that they're actually allowed to do so. such behaviour would be uncalled for and unheard of back home, although i can think of much better reasons for why there are such barriers put up to prevent such strikes from happening. so-called 'pay-gulf' aside, (which is extremely out of line on the part of the unis, methinks) proving that the reasons for striking are meritorious, the fact that the union is given such autonomy over the whole issue is a pretty foriegn concept. the first consti tutorial i had saw me making the huge mistake of revealing my ignorance of not knowing that people in this world, indeed, could apply to organise strikes and peaceful demonstrations without incurring the wrath of the local militia, cs gas and all. the usual stigma attached to 'striking', as it has been affectionately known to the more inquisitive peers, has been thrown out with the bathwater, thereby allowing the interests of the people the union represents to take centre stage. this, silly me, was something that i thought had gone out of fashion like the hock lee bus riots we all learnt about in primary school. apprently not though, since things are going strong over here where i am, despite the strange looks given by the natives who questioned the feasability of the reality that does go on back home.

"you must have a low standard of living then..."

"no. we have a high standard of living."

"then... there must be a great disparity between the rich and the poor."

"no. most of the country is middle income or higher."

*long pause*

"wait. let me get this straight. you have a high standard of living, you have equal distribution of income, and you can't have strikes... but you have no problems?"

"err... yup."

which brings to mind the question: democracy, or benign tyranny?