Lately, a lot of things have happened that made me feel...well, disturbed. Things which have gradually come to seem normal, commonplace... things which used to be unheard of or kept under wraps, are now all coming into the open. They have become 'nothing to be ashamed of', 'there's nothing wrong with that', 'I couldn't help it' or even 'God made me this way'.

Till death us do part vs Till divorce us do part?
Met a childhood friend lately. Haven't been in touch with her but bits and pieces of her story still come to me because the world is only so big. She's a year younger but she's been married about a year and a half now. Her love story? Well, some might say it was romantic.

I mean, they did meet by chance.........over the internet...
And they did kinda hit it off.... ......can't say the same now...
They seldom quarrelled while courting...then again they barely saw much of each other since they lived in different countries...
Sparks did fly i suppose................which explains why they married within a year
Had a romantic outdoor wedding abroad...nevermind their relatives are across the continent and money wasn't exactly plentiful and one was a student while the other had only worked a year...

Perhaps i'm being skeptical. But it really didn't seem the wisest thing to do. It wasn't like they were old and pressured by family...I really don't understand it. Is marriage really so casual and 'cheap' now? May be years later I'll be forced to eat my words when i see how loving they are. Perhaps the length of time you know each other before marriage isn't important. Perhaps marriage can be void of practicality, almost. Perhaps. But right now, all I see is a marriage where expectations are there but not met, and where both are too tired to work things out. Is this what marriage is all about?

Love knows no bounds...
More and more, I find this to be true. The boundaries just get wider and wider. In fact, sometimes i doubt there are even any boundaries at all!

Just two days ago, I heard on air the love story of a 22-year-old guy. Could have sounded pretty normal you know. I mean, it was kind of typical. Fell in love at 18. Met at the workplace. And oh-the-freedom-and-wonder-of-being-in-love... And like a soap opera, the story ends with the other person dying of we-don't-know-what. The tragedy of it all. The tears. And sorrow. "I'll never fall in love again." he says. But you know what the punchline is? He was in love with a HIM. A real life story with sympathies from all around. Aired on national radio, on a channel which feeds many young minds. "What's the big deal?" you say... that question in itself is the big deal.

Don't want? Throw away la...
As society here gets affluent and westernised, the mindset is such. When faced with a tough decision when shopping? BUY. Don't want later then throw away la... BGR. To get together or not? Just do it! Cannot get along then break up la. To get married or not? Marry first. Cannot then break la.

What happened to the idea of "thinking of the consequences" and therefore "weighing your actions"? Are we so confident that we'll be able to handle things, no matter what the consequences are? Hence, no need to think anymore? Prevention is better than cure is passe, man. Now it is most definitely Let us eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die... Just today, we read about the newborn being flung down 8 storeys. Just this year alone, there have been many, many cases of babies being abandoned cruelly by the same person who brought them into this world. Just do it. Got baby? Throw away la...

I'm being pessimistic, you say.... (with one hand behind my ear) har? what's that you say? I'm too idealistic? Naive? Innocent even? I've got to be more liberal and open-minded? Should I? Ought I?