Nature

magnificently glorious, yet unpredictably chaotic.

First it was Christchurch, followed by Yunnan and most recently, Sendai. All within the span of a few months. Mother Nature's surely been throwing her weight around. Alright big shot, it's about time to cut the world some slack huh?

On the 11th, at slightly half past 1 in the afternoon as we all went about our normal routines, be it work, meetings, having lunch, taking a nap or playing with your kids; further up East, the grounds shook and trembled, splitting tarmac and unleashing a tsunami of waves 10 meters high on the unsuspecting Japanese, who received warnings merely 10 seconds before finding themselves in the eye of the quake and waves. The young could run, but for a nation that is also known for the longevity of its people, one can only imagine the struggles the elderly had in seeking help and shelter.

The live coverage of the disaster was gnarly and raised goosebumps every time I came across an update, and the horrors never ceased. Aftershocks (if you can even call magnitudes of 6 an aftershock) followed one after another, exacerbated by threats of radiation as nuclear plants crashed. As the Japanese huddled in solidarity, the nuclear crisis almost seemed like it would overwhelm the land of the rising sun. However, efforts seem to be making some headway as nuclear specialists and relief workers toll round the clock to stop the meltdown and international relief efforts were heartening to watch. Donations poured in and I hope everyone did their part, no matter how small. :)

In these trying times, it gives us pause to take a breather for a minute and be thankful for what we have. While we may bitch and moan about how tiny Singapore is, how boring it can get, how it only takes 90 minutes to get from one end of the country to the other, how we get the sun 365 days of the year and instead of snow, we get it's lame cousin - rain; but let's not forget that being small and being where we are on the equator also has its advantages. We never have to shovel our sidewalks for one (haha.) and while we might be an hour late to meetings, we'll never be a day too late. Most importantly, our risk of natural disasters are slim to none and the worst casualties of our recent flash floods were merely luxury items like cars, coffee and Hermes bags. Hah.

With a natural disaster already claiming over 10,000 lives in Japan on one side of the world, and military forces claiming another few thousands more in Libya, it makes you seriously wonder if the world's coming to implode on itself. Gaddafi, Allied forces, Tomahawk missiles, No-fly zone, Operation 'Odyssey Dawn', doesn't it just make you wish that military weapons never existed to begin with?

On a lighter note, took some time off on Wednesday to meet up with Alexandra and Tina again. They're both leaving Singapore in a couple of months!! Tina back to Sweden and Alexandra is moving to London! So glad to hear that :D I'm definitely gonna be visiting them once I'm in Leeds (: Headed over to Leedon after for dinner with Monica and Steve. Sallad med kyckling, potatis, pumpa, avokado, feta ost och tangerine. Vi hade grilled ost med panini bröd också! Mmmm, jättegott! Det var en jättebra, fantastisk och mycket kul onsdag (:

Söta Victor (: He gets cuter every time I see him. Sighs.

och söta Sebastian (: ♥

Gonna end off with something funny. I don't know what I'd do without Hanssen sometimes... He really finds me the best shit to make me laugh at the most unexpected moments. Lol. (:

Swedish phrase in line with the latest update from Japan:

Farmor och pojke räddades i Japan - Grandma and a boy was rescued in Japan.