Or is it a small country?

As my regulars would know, I hail from Byblos, Lebanon. I was recently there for a short vacation. I was at the barbershop, getting a haircut. This story recounts the events of that fateful day.

My barber is also a good friend of mine. We were catching up, and I was telling him about some of the things I do online, I mentioned flickr and my weblog. The discussion turned to nicknames, for some reason. What they mean, how people chose them, etc… I was just ticking off some nicknames which I knew the story behind, or the reason why their owners chose them… Which brings us to the fun part…

I should note that short while after I unmasked my online self, a fellow lebanese blogger, rampurple, also introduced herself to everyone. She mentioned the meaning behind her nickname.

Back to the story.

Me: “So, it’s a screen-name from gaming, some real-life nickname they have, bla bla, yada yada, for example, this one lebanese blogger calls herself RAMPurple, which stands for…”

Barber: “R. A. M. (her initials) and her favorite color is purple.”

Me: “What the fuck? How did you know that?”

Now, barbers naturally know lots of people, this guy even more so. He knows everybody. But a Lebanese blogger living in kuwait?! WTF?

So, he whips out his cellphone, and sends her a mysterious SMS, telling her ‘Tempest’ says hello. An amuzed, and confused reply is quickly sent. She asked me a couple of times after that to explain how this whole thing happened…

Small moments like that really brighten up my day. They make a huge, anonymous, indifferent world a little warmer.

Again, I have been thinking of the concept of democracy. We’ve got it all wrong.

Democracy shouldn’t mean rule of the majority. The majority is stupid. The majority doesn’t know what it wants. The majority can easily be swayed by propaganda, looks, and oratorical skills. The majority is the reason why most politicians are crooked, slimy creatures. They’re the reason why politicians have toothy grins, and walk around kissing babies and shaking hands with everyone, pretending to be average Joes… And the majority complains later on.

Democracy means rule of the people. It means that the ruling body should be aware of the people’s needs, and should work towards providing them with better living circumstances. It means that the ruling body is not authoritarian. How do you get that? By not letting just anyone vote.

People have proven, over and over, that they are, in general, extremely stupid. Occasionally, an Einstein would come up with a theory of relativity, but apart from that occasional glimmer, nothing…

So, why, I ask, is it that anyone is allowed to vote? Why is it that people are equal? Some people ARE more equal than others. Some people deserve to vote, they know their choices, they’ve studied the candidates’ policies, and have made an educated judgment. Others just vote like their leader tells them, or their minister, or their sheikh. They vote against this person, and for that person depending on who looks better, who pays more, who impresses them.

Can anyone become a university professor? Does every university student earn a degree? Do you just get in a car and drive away? No. No. No.

You apply to become a professor, you sit for exams and write papers to earn a university degree, you take a test to earn your driver’s license.

Same shit.

You want to vote? You’re interested in having a say? Welcome to ramz’s world. It’s not enough to be a citizen. If you’re interested enough, you wouldn’t mind taking a test. Just to make sure, you know. We wouldn’t want to allow IDIOTS to make such a crucial decision on our behalf. You’re not our equals. That’s what I’m trying to say. Equality is a privilege, not a right. To earn your equal standing, take the friggin test.

Ever heard of social security? No? Buzzzzz. You’re out.
Value Added Tax…. is that like a McD’s value meal? Yes? Buzzzz. You’re out.
Where’s the USA? Where’s Israel? Where’s Iraq? Where’s Europe? You don’t know? Hit the road, Ali.

I’m not saying that everyone needs to be a political scientist. However, everyone who wants to be part of the decision-making process must profess some knowledge.

We must build an elitist society, of sorts. I’m not talking about persecuting people, I’m not talking about racism, segregation, or anything like that. We LIVE in an elitist society, let’s go the whole nine yards. Smarter people are in decision making positions already. They’re there because they’re more qualified. Why not have the same thing in elections? Money would no longer play a role. Looks wouldn’t matter. Charm wouldn’t make any difference. It would be all about the politics.

We (or a part of ‘we’) would chose our representatives based on the qualities they profess. We would have people in power that want to serve. Tadaaa. Democracy.

I’ve never been in a serious relationship. I’ve never been in a semi-serious relationship. I have, for a while now, thought that I absolutely need a long-term relationship, none of the 2-4 week things that I’m always having…

You see, it’s not like I start dating someone with a plan on my mind, it’s just that I get bored with the person (not the fooling around, not the intimacy, not the sex, just the person), and as soon as I’m bored, I have to move on. I’m not one to work things through, I don’t believe that everything is worth fighting for… so I move on.

That has always left me feeling empty somehow. I’ve dated a lot of women over the past few years, but none have lasted more than a few weeks. And I’m usually the one that ends things. It’s better that way, I believe. Honesty is the least that I owe them. The reasons never make sense… the vague “it’s not working out” is the plat-du-jour… you can’t exactly come out and tell someone that they bore the hell out of you now, can you?

Anyway, this led me to believe that what I need is a serious relationship, with someone that I can share a lot with, and stay interested in after sleeping together, or sometimes even after the first kiss. Someone that stimulates me, as a whole, and not just some parts of me,

I’ve been reconsidering that lately. I think that deep down inside I really want the short-term thing. I just want to absorb one girl and move on to the next. That’s why I get bored easily. I want out. I realise this makes me seem asshole-ish, or maybe, a pig, but honesty should count for something, right? I won’t pretend to be interested, it’s just not worth it. As long as I’m intersted, i’m in, when I stop being interested, eject.

So, I think I will end my search for a serious relationship. Actually, I will end my search, fullstop. Come what may.

I think too much.

Let me tell you a little story. It’s a true story, that happened to a real person in the not-so-distant past.

So, this guy was feeling down, and decided, late at night, that he needed something. Sweets. A drink. Anything. He wasn’t in the mood for going to a pub, so he decided to take a short trip to the gas station right by his apartment, and buy something.

Once there, he was torn between buying a couple of chocolate bars or some alcohol. He decided on a couple of beers, and a small bottle of Jack Daniel’s. Here’s where the fun starts. Carrying the bottles in a bag, our young friend starts to walk back home, and passes an aggressive looking stranger, walking in the opposite direction. The stranger glances at him, but he ignores the glance and keeps walking. A few steps later, he hears the stranger say gruffly “Hey! Hey you!” That didn’t warrant a response, and our guy kept walking home. Suddenly, the stranger turns around, shouts something incomprehensible but distinctly aggressive, and starts running towards our friend. They were at most two meters apart when that happened, and our friend didn’t have time to think. He sensed the impending danger, and reacted immediately. He turned around, swinging the bag simultaneously. The bag connected with the stranger’s hip. Our friend followed that with a punch to the face of the stranger as he fell. Then, he turned and ran home. He heard the stranger scrambling up, in the darkness, but didn’t look back. A couple of minutes later, back in his apartment, adrenalin levels almost back to normal, he considered what had just happened. He felt guilty, somehow. On the other hand, he was in danger, and had to react. If it were a well-lit street or during the day, or had there been people around, he would have acted differently. But he wasn’t going to wait around in the darkness for a stranger, obviously up to no good, to pull a knife or worse.

Regret, relief, reflexes, remorse.

Those emotions came and went. This one persisted even throughout the following day:

I am so fucking glad I didn’t have to find out how much damage a bag full of chocolate bars would do to a mugger’s hip.

It made sense, when I was 16 or so, to look up to ‘Superstars’. Be it rockstars, popstars, or athletes… But, with time, I’m noticing that I am doing this less and less. And for good reason. I’m growing older.

This means that, first of all, it’s upsetting when someone aged 16 bursts out on the music scene, earning, by signing a contract, more than I’ll probably earn in a lifetime. Secondly, it’s upsetting to idolize someone younger than you (usually). So, there go all the new sportstars, and all the popstars (not that I like those in the first place).

Basically, the only sort left for me to idolize is the old “Rock/Metal stars!” Hey! That works out perfectly.

That said, Joss Stone is stunningly beautiful.