On bad advice

My good friend Adelaine has recently written an entry about bad advice people give on relationships and I thought I might chip in my two cents to enlarge the circle of awareness toward the cancerous disease.

I totally agree with her that there are people out there who like to think that they are doing the world a favour by sharing their "wisdom", until some serious damage is done as a result of someone putting their advice into practice. They gain practically nothing out of giving the advice (perhaps other than the delusion that they've changed the world for the better), but it is the one who mistakes their folly for wisdom and applies it to real life who has to pay for it. How irresponsible.

Don't get me wrong if you think I'm against giving advice. I do it myself all the time. I'm only against giving stupid advice that are the variations of "if you're bored with your relationship, get married" or "if you're not satisfied with your marriage, have children." That's the kind of thing that pisses a sane man off. And for obvious reasons that apparently aren't obvious enough for some. If getting married could solve almost all relationship problems, the lawyers better start reconsidering their career options. And if having children is the answer to a failing marriage, why do the kids always end up in the psychologist's couch 20 years later?

Count your blessings if you've never come across people who freely offer such advice. But the next time you see them, do yourself a favour and run for your life the other way.

"The Plaintiff's Remark"

Dear poet, pray pardon the lawlessness of my estate,
But since the last riot no one was to mend the gate;
Though the stars stood guard their kinds have been shifty—
Thanks to them I had to issue an increase in bounty!
When you visit next don't forget your magnifying glass,
For in my exhibits there are items of undefined class
Retrieved last summer near one of Guantánamo's piers,
Among them a pristine necklace from your lady's tears...

"A Case of Night"

Sweet night, wake me when the day is done for
So I could plunge into your arms and soar;
The clouds are swagging across your murky dress—
Their myriad crimes they wouldn't confess!
Least of them on rainbow and her embezzled gold,
Now en route to some island with treasures untold...
Your domain is one where dreams roam free
But do wake me, or yield to this ransacking spree!

Resolutions 2008

In 2007, I maintained 2005's productivity with an average of a poem in a month. Mid-year saw a surge in creativity, with July and August being the most prolific months, yielding three poems each.

As far as traveling goes, both my trips sent me on an R.S.V.P. to Sydney in September for Arthur and Stephanie's engagement and Toowoomba in December for Valen and Ruth's wedding.

There hadn't been many cultural events in 2007, with Cirque du Soleil's Varekai in June being the highlight of the year.

In March I suffered from a yearly getaway syndrome and went only as far as pre-launching a new travel blog. The year ended with a new job and prospect of better pay on the horizon.

As for 2007's resolutions, I've had 33% success rate by achieving only one of three resolutions.

All in all, a good year. Now on to 2008's resolutions:

1. Continue to sponsor my boys throughout 2008.
   
2. Sign up with The Writers' Studio.
3. Go to Paris for a writing stint.