Where was I??

Gee, I did not expect it would be so hard to get back into the groove of things here.

For sure, it took one SO-LO* to get this SO-PO off her cozy chair long enough to write an apology for the brief episodic attack of an unannounced break. (*You know who you are!)

Apologies all round to my blog-friends & regular visitors who took offence because they had been indignantly subjected to horrendous rumours spread by a particular gang of misfitiers that I had been detained by mutant mullah aliens or some Insensitive Silly Apes bent to flush out unemployed, female bloggers who were deemed to be some desperate sex-deprived housewives or unmarried old hacks.

Boy, was that a stupendous sweeping generalization by yet another donkey, or in this case, APE.

Let me state categorically here that I am most certainly NOT desperate, NOT sex-deprived and for those who are unfamiliar, NOT an old, unmarried hack.

And then again, why do people like to demonise housewives? How many of their own mothers were housewives too?

There has been so much silly news in our silly papers of late, and the silliest of them all is probably those that hurt the most.

You know, the ones where we know for sure that we taxpayers have been ripped off (again!) and yet the rippers are laughing themselves silly all the way to the bank (again!).

IF you don't get what I mean, check out my favourite guy in that free newspaper who continues to update us on the latest scam involving some RM17 million and a ball.

Now, where was I again?

Oh yeah ... my disappearing act.

I was like, uh, busy busy busy. And then, I needed to sit back and catch my breath and pay some attention to my kids. And I find that I'm missing out on some of the stuff that I ought to do with the kids on a daily basis which really feeds my soul and makes me feel real good inside out. As a woman, a mother, a wife and a responsible human being.

I'm making some major changes to my routine this year. So far, I'm convinced that it is the right direction to take because I feel good about it, and God willing, I hope to reap the rewards of my efforts in the long term.

I'd still like to continue with this blog but the strange thing is, I'm beginning to look at my life from a different perspective.

This has profoundly affected the way I respond to local happenings and all those silly and annoying stuff that get us all so worked up when we read yet another headline of corruption and wastage of public funds in the morning papers.

Just yesterday night, I was stopped by a traffic officer for a minor offence of making a wrong turn and as the guy waved me over, I was well prepared for a summons. It was my fault for not seeing the double-line so I didn't argue with him on that point, other than expressing the fact that it wasn't an exercise of wilful disregard for traffic regulations.

Now, to cut a long story short (you can fill in the standard scenario that is usually played out in cases like this, if you ever find yourself being stopped by a traffic police), the officer was very kind to offer to help me to settle the issue minus all the hassle of having to deal with the summons myself.

I won't tell you how it went but given the choice of forking out a mere 25% of the actual fine and be done with the sorry episode, what would you have done?

When I got home, I felt sorry for this country. I felt sorry for the multitude of honest police officers out there who are fighting an uphill battle to recover their dignity and pride in being a member of this honourable profession.

And then, having had personal experience dealing with local councils and various agencies for more than a decade, I know that this "comfort-zone" that our civil servants are in is part of the root of the problem plaguing our country.

Our system has bred a whole generation of shameless wrong-doers and it seems like no real effort is being done to emphasize the disgrace of it all. In fact, the opposite seems to be true, inaction is deemed to be a silent act of approval. What's a little shame when you have a big fat bank account, eh?

I cringe when I read of yet another minister blaring out yet another slogan against corruption (in all probability for the sake of publicity). I become increasingly disenchanted with the current regime. By 2020, will there still be enough left to plunder to keep them happy?

So you see, another blog entry, another depressing take on what's happening in my country.

My apologies. I didn't mean to start griping after weeks of absence. How rude of me.

Excuse me guys while I go get a large pizza and sit in front of the TV for this season's American Idol. I think I deserve some sinfully high calorie comfort food and junk entertainment to recharge my spirits and face tomorrow's battles.

Yey to Jordin Sparks!