My World
The world according to me!Archive for July, 2008
…To Forgive, divine.
“To err is human; to forgive, divine.”
I understand why Alexander Pope said that because sometimes, it’s hard to forgive, to turn the other cheek. Sometimes it’s so hard to rise above the nonsense, but you have to try.
I wonder sometimes how to process history and not become upset. How to ingest what happened during the Transatlantic Slave Trade and not feel hatred. To learn that a lot of what you were taught in primary school and high school were lies, and that even at the university level there are lies.
I had to do a history course for my degree; it was Caribbean Civilization, a foundation course. The lecturer was a distinguished history professor, who I quickly discovered was racist. Or was he? Professor C spent a lot of time in the class trying to show us how the African influence in many cultures were hidden.
Of the Seven Deadly Sins: Avarice
Avarice is one of the 7 Deadly Sins! It’s one I’m especially guilty of; I am a confirmed Want Monster! I see something that tickles my fancy, and I want it more than anything. I’ll search for it online, dream about it and contrive to get it. Yet when I get it, very often it loses its appeal and I have no idea why.
OK maybe saying I’m guilty of avarice is an exaggeration, but I am a slave to material things. I kind of buy into the: I need it, I want it now, kind of BS. I could blame magazines and TV, but plenty people use media and don’t have a problem with wanting and spending. But then again, plenty do.
Web Round-Up
OK it’s an old post, but it’s new to me; Shahrzad has a post about the most beautiful mosques in the World and the images are breathtaking. I don’t even know if I could pick a favourite from the list but the Jamia Mosque in Kenya and the Al Fateh Grand Mosque in Qatar are right up there. But my emotional favourite is the mosque in Trinidad and Tobago, it’s in La Joya right by the main road and I see it all the time. It’s nice to have someone to remind me of its beauty.
And because it’s Thursday, Afrobella did a Throwback Thursday’s post about Trini music (the best kind). I loved it, I was humming “Mi Lover” for the rest of the day. Actually I have Lord Nelson’s finest as my ringtone; makes me smile anytime I hear it.
On Easter Sunday, the Trinidad Guardian wrote about the dwindling membership in the local Catholic Church. That they printed the article on Easter Sunday I have a bit of an issue with, but the article makes for good discussion.
But before you get all depressed about the faith read Melissa Patterson’s conversion story and feel a little better about the future of the Church.
Happy Reading!
Music to Make your Day!
This is one of my new favourite songs. Its by a Tobagonian youth going by the sobriquet: Positive. I just love his “tinny” vocals and how he switches key for emphasis in the chorus. It’s one of those songs that makes the sun shine brighter when it plays (I swear it does)! Happy Thursday.
I really like “Only in the Ghetto” as well; its listed on his Myspace profile. Another one of his tunes that’s popular on local radio.
Jah Jah See Dem Ah Come
I love Conqueror by Joseph “Culture” Hill. I fell in love with this song on a Sunday evening in bed. I’d spent the day on a hike or on an outting to Dunn’s River Falls; I was attending the Mona campus of The UWI at the time. The lyrics grabbed me and I loved it instantly. Listen for yourself, especially when babylon playing up in dey tail.
Tupac Syndrome?
A few days ago I wrote about the way we react to a famous person’s death. Over on The Root Jimi Izreal talks about the “Tupac Syndrome—the idea that, once an artist is wacked or meets an untimely death—like Tupac Shakur, for example– his or her body of work, and especially their last completed work, is now the greatest example of the genre in the history of mankind.” Read the rest of this entry »
Faith, Hope and Charity.
I believe in volunteering. I believe it’s the right thing to do. I also believe it is a difficult thing to do. Often it requires working hard for no pay, for people who won’t appreciate your efforts, but I still believe in volunteering. Read the rest of this entry »
What Kind of Catholic Are You?
Ha, it seems I can’t resist the Beliefnet quizzes. I just took another one; “What Kind of Catholic Are You?”. I scored a 76 out of 100 so I’m a, “daily Rosary (traditional) Catholic’. I guess therre’s some truth to the assessment, considering I’m very irregular with my Church-going, taking-communion, going-to-confession activities. But I am an idealist, and I love traditions grounded in history, so at the core, that’s the kind of religion I’m drawn to. Anyhoo, you can take the test here. Have fun.
To err is human…
How are you with forgiveness? Me, not so good it seems. If I’ve learned anything from working at my current job, is that I can hold a grunge. If you hurt me, I want you punished. Now don’t get all excited. It’s not so much a public- whipping -while- I -laugh- manically sort of thing. My feelings are a result of seeing what a lack of censure can cause. Read the rest of this entry »
RBTT is the Worst!
Sigh, I am one of those lucky people whose mother, not only co-signed the student loan for my Bachelor’s degree, she helped me make the monthly payments on it, after I graduated. My parents had promised to fund our first degrees.
So she organised a standing order from her account to mine, to the sum of $1000.00 TTD a month to re-pay the loan. We paid off the loan last October, and she stopped the standing order the previous August. So both of us foolishly assumed the bank had conducted the transaction. Well, RBTT had other plans. The bank didn’t stop the standing order . And when, you ask, did my mother and I find this out? Well that answer, my dear friends, is today.
I’m so flipping mad, I can barely see straight. So after spending some time for them to track down their mess, now it seems I have to re-pay my mother, money I:
- didn’t notice was going to my account ( yes, I know I shouldn’t do that, I need to closely monitor my bank statements).
- didn’t cater for. I’m saving for school, WTF am I to do now?
- emotionally don’t have, but is realistically going to have to hand over to maintain my self-respect and personal ethics.
How is this effing fair!?!
My World 