Bright lights, big city, all yours!

I have been fortunate enough to travel to every capital city in Australia.  I have traveled extensively in N.S.W, S.A, VIC and of course my home state of Tasmania.  Recently my work took me to Sydney.  I had lived there previously (not by choice) and never once found that experience to my liking.  The return visit this last weekend allowed me to reflect on a few things about life in large urban centres and my overriding thought was simply this:  Why the hell would people choose to live here?  Now I realise that we all have different tastes in life but if you could choose between smogfilled air that sticks to your nostrils like crusty boogers or crisp, fresh air that enlivens your lungs and allows you to breathe without fear of internal pollution, what would you choose?  Or between the idyllic expanses of water and trees at your doorstep and the man-made blights of transport networks that twist and turn like wrestling snakes.  It's obvious isn't it?  Those who love the freshness of body and spirit are those who will understand what I'm saying here.  Sure, you make your justifications on the environmental lifestyle you lead and the ambitions you chase but why would you chase dreams that provide a materialistic reward only.  People, it's time to take stock and inhale the roses.   

Virtuo-city: If you build it people won't come

Virtuo-city is a place where the future is constantly evolving, a place to which people are becoming increasingly drawn as they shrink from the intrinsic benefits only those with an outdoor intimacy can truly appreciate.  They can lock themselves away in darkened rooms for days on end, shut away from any real opportunity to interact with any who may sport a welcoming, human face.  In fact, when they are forced to meet those annoying needs of the old world they do so grudgingly and with disdain.  Their electronic gods are jealous gods but will patiently await their imminent return and allow eternal forgiveness.

I often feel that I am living a Leunigian nightmare when I see friends, colleagues and family substituting a real life with a virtual one.  

Here are a few tips for those who have lost their way:

• Lose the Wii Tennis, pick up a racquet and find a court.  
• Get away from facebook for an hour (baby steps I know) and talk to your neighbour face to face. 
• Quit playing Call of Duty 4 and join the army. (Well only if you want to)
• Turn off So You Think You Can Dance and join a Salsa group. 
• Before ordering your vegies online, walk down to your local grocer and catch up on the neighbourhood goss before you buy the vegies you really want.

Trying this out will benefit those who still believe that Old World Charm has a place in our society.  I, for one, will continue to fight the fight until the fight is done.

(Let it be known that I am not a luddite nor do I subscribe to the ideas of those that  are anti-technology.  Far from it.  I do, however, see a need for many of those I know to live a life that is worth living and above all, real.)

The rationale of whinging.

Have you ever asked yourself the questions "Am I a whinger?" If indeed you have not then you are missing out on a life that is only truly made for the cynically minded. It is a life to be sought after. But why, I hear you ask? Well the answer to that question lies within.

Stress is a build up of tension that finds no escape route until the build up becomes so large that the only common responses are largely bad ones. Lashing out with a fist at the guy who has been pestering you for hours on end, driving your car into another after they pinched your parking space, pulling you hair out because you can't set the timer on the DVD recorder. These all too common responses have a familiar ring about them, don't they. Well this is exactly why this blog has been developed. We all need a time to vent. We need the opportunity to let fly with whatever we are feeling at the time despite the demands political correctness.

Don't hold me to trial on the subjects of my rants, just honour my opinion, make a comment and roll on in life stressfree.