some kind of bliss

I am disturbed.

Standing in the tea-room, I watched one of my work-mates as he absorbed the front page of today's Herald Sun: a fun-run for Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital. My work-mate was making appropriately respectful noises, which prompted me to snort snobbishly, "Yeh, but it's hardly front-page news." His response, I shit you not:
"Oh I quite like it when you see something like that on the front page because it means there's nothing else bad happening in the world."
Ignorance is bliss, they say. This, lovers and dreamers, is why John Howard has been in power for 10 years, and why Bush will get away with bombing Iran if he decides he wants to.

~~~~~~~

In news less likely to make one throw up one's hands crying "for the love of God, what is wrong with people?!", I had a lovely weekend.

Yipyipyipyip Li-Li's Birth-Day! Yipyipyiyip Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Dear readers, the inspirational Lady Lilikens has reached the quarter of a century... AND is on the brink of launching her very first published novel! Definitely cause for mucho celebracionne, so on Friday night, the whole brigade set off for Zum Zum on Rathdowne St and partook of a magnificent banquet with much wine.

On Saturday night my beloved Snazzles came a'visiting. She spoiled me by bringing over home-made soup and banana cake, and together we wiled away the evening playing movie-trivia, watching Futurama, trying to get our Sims' love-lives in order, and generally enjoying the together-time. It might seem like a slightly lame Saturday night, given that most folk our age would be out painting the town red (or ultramarine, as Mr Byron would have it), but frankly this is my very favourite kind of weekend-night: sharing quality time with people you love. (Also it's not quite as lame as what we did last Saturday, but that's a story for elsewhere.)

Sunday was spent traipsing into the hills avec Lili, Snaz, and Jelly to meet Canoe and Shorty at the wonderful realm of Canoe's parental units. Nestled among the gums and frequented by rosellas, this has been the locale of many wonderful relaxed days and evenings. As the first-time visitors soon realised, it is a place where you find your motivation to ever leave dwindling the longer you stay there. On the way home, we sang along loudly to Rent and Avenue Q, and munkey felt an indescribable glow of fundamental contentedness.

I can't put my finger on exactly why... or rather, I could point at a few things that are wrapping my world in a cozy-comfy jacket - however I could also point to some things that should be like icy water dripping down my spine, but for some reason those things just aren't getting through right now. Maybe it's the smell of my childhood that I always sense on the air as the descent into Winter begins, but I feel very at home in the world right now.

World events increasingly scare the shit out of me. The seeming impossibility of adult-life constantly makes me feel like an inadequate human being. Katie Holmes is about to give birth to some kind of AntiChrist...
But for today, I am finding my way by the light I can see, following the beat of the music in my head, and dancing a solo tango by the midnight river-side.
Who would care to join me?