The Road

For years, friends have been critisizing me for having 'unclassy' inclination towards today's popular literatures. Meaning, I only read those tie-in books with soon-to be released Hollywood adaptation of them.

While there maybe a certain truth to that, I have to admit, I gravitate towards neat packages and great marketing. I believe great cover usually translates a great story - always judge a book by its cover (no matter how incredulous it sounds). So yeah, I guess maybe I am not that classy, so deal with it.

Anyhow, by being a little ahead of the movie premier, I got to complain, whine and point snoobishly to my friends, if and when, the movie version isn't as good or not up to my "expectations". Now, that feels good, isn't it?

So having said that, my current "squeeze"- in the most literature and Hollywood sense is - The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

The story is pretty simple. It follows a man and his son who are trying to get to the coast (where the 'good people' are) when the world has been burnt to the ground and the bad guys are trying to find and kill them.

And when I said 'simple', by golly, it really means simple. All the characters have no names or at least purposely never mentioned for the duration of the book. The book also never discussed what happened or caused the apocalyse and why. In this world, things are bleak. Really, really bleak, with the land bereft of nearly all plant and animal life. The only thing that get our hero going, is the love he has for his son, who by the way is too young to understand the calamity around him.

I think The Road is the book that has affected me more strongly than any other. In the most brutally bleak post-apocalypse scenario that could ever be envisioned, a father and son trying to stay alive, plodding on, weighed down by constant misery and fear because it's all they can do. Cormac McCarthy has broken pretty much all issues in life to their bare, terrible bones. Father and son, removed from all context of family or home, are like two dogs watching out for one another. Memories are everywhere and yet so distant.

There’s no why: whatever catastrophe took place is essentially unexplained, and it doesn’t matter anyway because the ruin of the world is so complete that they often seem out of recognizable time and space altogether.

And O yes, I got misty eyes, cough, cried once or twice not because seeing the death of humanity but rather foreseeing how Hollywood is gonna make out of this terribly fantastic take on life and yet managed to be so profound.

Why Don't You Like Me?

Sometimes I wonder how important is it for everyone to like me. I know it's incredible shallow and stupid to expect everbody to like and approve everything I do, but knowing you do get attention, once in a while, makes a lot of different, don't you think? Shamelessly, I want to feel included.

While trying not to be the egomaniacal, universe-revolves-around-me kinda friend, I aware enough to know I want to be the centre of this 'little' circle.

That is why, lately, it bothers me a lot when friends kept on 'forgetting' to include me in their get-together or social events. I should expect excuses to my quiries would range from "We thought you were busy", "You wouldn't enjoy it anyway" to "It's raining, we don't want to bother you", but when the excuses went a little too far-feched to be believe in like "We forgot", I am beginning to wonder whether it's all about me.

Maybe I am paranoid, or maybe I am not, but the fact is I haven't even seen some of them in months! (name that rhyme with schearman)

OK, I really should stop whining now, it probably wasn't as bad as I make it up to be. Maybe I am really an overacting paranoid. But for whatever it is, from now on, I have come out with my own 'policy' when it comes to friends. It's called DON'T CALL, DON'T ASK, UNLESS INVITED. People, well, as it says, it simply means that I won't call or ask to join anything anymore, well, unless I was clearly invited. Otherwise I take it my presence isn't needed.

A tad too emotional eh? I know it's bound to be controversial, but I hope everyone understand that I was merely protecting my interest, if you know what I mean.

Come on, it's not like you don't see this coming miles away already.

And admit it, it's a little catchy, isn't it?