I don't understand what's going on

[Killer Bees]

Maybe it's me, but it seems like the world has gone completely insane lately.

The riots in Egypt.  Even after a week nothing's been resolved and it seems to be getting worse.  The country looks like a nuclear bomb went off.

Here in Australia there have been floods all around the country, cyclones in my own state have devastated a large portion of the place and fires out of control in Western Australia.  And record temperatures in Sydney, they've had the longest run of 30C-plus degree (86F) days.  Last night at midnight they had 33C (91F).  How is that even possible?

And my own craziness with Sean breaking up our relationship.

I went through the floods here in Brisbane last month.  And then a category 5 cyclone (the strongest category) went through the state.  Whole towns have just been wiped off the map.  Brisbane wasn't affected but how can 350km (217 mi) per hour winds even happen?  The cyclone was like Hurricane Katrina in its intensity and it was way bigger in size as well.

The devastation with people not having power or fresh water is amazing.  They're saying it could be months before some places get power back because all the lines were damaged in the high winds and the electricity companies are struggling to get everything fixed.  Townsville (pop 130,000) were a few days off running out of clean drinking water.

And I see that Europe and parts of the US are having record snows and cold weather.

Plus at work, there have been so many changes I can't keep up.  Every day we are having meetings that tell us about how the work process is changing.  It seems like change for its own sake and I'm having trouble keeping my staff positive and motivated when all they see is change and more change and no time to implement each change to see if they actually work.

I just can't get my head around it.  I read in the paper that this is the Chinese Year of the Rabbit which is supposed to be easy going and gentle and prosperous.  All I can see is the complete opposite.

Maybe I'm overreacting (I do that sometimes) but it seems to me the world has gone crazy.

Has anyone else noticed this?  I would be happy for it to be just my perspective that's skewed because at least then I could do something about it.

[Couchtr26]

I get what you mean.  I couldn't explain or think on it much further but wonder if it a sign saying that things are just changing from what we are accustomed to doing or knowing.  Almost like a cycle is ending and a new one beginning. 

[dean]

Well to a fashion the weather bureau predicts that we'll get more wild weather and all our rain in short periods as part of the La Nina cycle we're in currently, compared with the La Nino we've been in for the better part of 15 years.  Still doesn't help with the huge downpours: we got lashed by the tail end of Yasi on friday night which caused some damage and quite a bit of minor flooding and I'm two states away from you in Vic, so I can't imagine how crazy it would have been up north.

RAGNAROK IS HERE!

Well not quite, but the current weather cycle is that more wild weather will be the norm.

[Mr. DS]

As Billy Joel said, "we didn't start the fire, its always burning since the worlds been turning..." 

[Killer Bees]

You guys are right.  I guess I'm just reacting because things have been stagnant for such a long time with everything.

Change is always a good thing even though I have trouble with it.  But once things settle down, they usually work out for the best.

It's really hot here today (32C) and massively humid and although that's typical of Brisbane summers, it still gets to me and I suffer quite a bit.  I'm off grocery shopping now.  Hopefully the aircon in the shopping centre will put me in a  better frame of mind.

Maybe a few hundred crackers with Cheesymite will make me feel better   

[Raffine]

 

I read in the paper that this is the Chinese Year of the Rabbit which is supposed to be easy going and gentle and prosperous.

It's not the Year of the Rabbit, it's The Night of The Lepus!!!!

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

You guys are right.  I guess I'm just reacting because things have been stagnant for such a long time with everything.

Change is always a good thing even though I have trouble with it.  But once things settle down, they usually work out for the best.

It's really hot here today (32C) and massively humid and although that's typical of Brisbane summers, it still gets to me and I suffer quite a bit.  I'm off grocery shopping now.  Hopefully the aircon in the shopping centre will put me in a  better frame of mind.

My dear lady, there are plenty of us Northeast United States folk that would gladly trade for the weather you're having now. If you could send it to us at around 85 degrees Farenheit with no humidity, we'll love you for life. We've HAD it with winter here in the Northeast US!

Maybe a few hundred crackers with Cheesymite will make me feel better   

Hey, how can ya' beat that? Crackers with peanut butter or cheese always hits the spot. And the last time I looked, there's just as much Jiffy and Peter Pan peanut butter to go around as there is Cheesysmite. So no matter how bad the world gets, we should all take comfort knowing that Peter Pan and Cheesysmite will be there for us! 

Cheers! 

[HappyGilmore]

Wasn't there some stories in the news about a month ago about thousands of birds up and dying in Kansas or something, and then in Maryland, 10,000 fish died and washed up on the beach.  The hell is that about?

 

[Couchtr26]

Wasn't there some stories in the news about a month ago about thousands of birds up and dying in Kansas or something, and then in Maryland, 10,000 fish died and washed up on the beach.  The hell is that about?

 

Yes, that was a bizarre moment.  I couldn't guess on it.  Usually such situations have a mundane explanation that is simple but requires everything to be exactly right to occur not often are they understood at the moment they occur. 

[Trevor]

Things do seem to be changing a lot. Hopefully this year I will get some new undies and our useless national cricket team will win the ICC Cricket World Cup after years of trying and choking.*

* If they win, then I will know that things have changed. 

[akiratubo]

The world is like this all the time and always has been.  The advent of the 24-hour, purely commercialized, and highly mercenary news cycles just make it seem worse than it really is.

[Mofo Rising]

"This whole world is wild at heart and weird on top!"

I remember, vividly, one day walking down the street. It was one of the few times of the year in Phoenix where it is actually pleasant just to walk down the street, and I was feeling rather good, almost upbeat. On my walk I happened to pass by a newspaper dispenser where the headlines screamed "War! Murder! Despair!" I remember thinking how far removed the negativity of that single front page was from my immediate experience, and if I was in a bit of a more neurotic state than I usually am (and I'm plenty neurotic), I would have been immediately been brought right back into a state of tension and worriedness.

"I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that."

My point here, if I have a point, is that the world is relentlessly churning along and all things are happening at once. For every quiet afternoon spent unwinding in front a ridiculous movie, there is another scene where a part of the world is exploding in violence and despair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHVqxD8PNq8
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Well, that's a bit harsh.

So here's my second point, if I have a second point, I think it's important to recognize these moments of quiet and peace and even boredom. In between the moments of chaos and unpleasantness there are moments of calm and peace. Maybe it's something as stupid as watching a VH1 special, maybe it's something as important as spending time with a person you have a connection with, talking about nothing or baring your soul.

I wouldn't characterize change as a good thing or a bad thing, more of an unremorseful fact of life. The thing that keeps me going is trying to recognize both of these aspects. Can I enjoy the carefree afternoons of laziness and at the same time cope with the horrible days where painful decisions have to come quick and hard?

Probably not, but I try to be there for both of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtrEN-YKLBM
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[Ed, Ego and Superego]

Bees,
I think you have ad a lot of life happening of late and it gets to you.  You are hyper-sensitive to bad news I think.  Things will settle down and  you'll feel better about life.  If you don't we're all here to help out, and if you need a doctor of whatever stripe, by all means go. 
-Ed

[Killer Bees]

Wow, Mofo.  Way to wax lyrically philosophical. I love it!   

That's what I like about this site.  Full of free and deep thinkers.  It certainly makes a change from the vacuous dribble I usually experience from the people around me.

Ed, you are so right.  I am hyper sensitive to things lately.  I really have to stop watching 24 hour news on telly.  Nothing but all bad news all the time!

I always prided myself on being really tough and able to deal with anything. And I am actually like that. Feelings used to just slide off me like teflon.  But since I met Sean and allowed my girly loving romantic side to rear its head, I feel overwhelmed by everything.  I went from The Terminator to a light fluffy bunny of a girl and I'm still going "WTF happened?"   Talk about being sucker punched by in the heart by a handsome man       

My sister thinks it's wonderful that I've rediscovered my softer side.  So until I balance things out a little, you'll recognise me as the person standing stock still in the middle of the street scratching my head and saying "huh?" with a glazed look on my face.

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

Good plan: unplug the telly or just steer clear of the news chnnels for a week or so...you won't miss much.
It'll all even out.