LOOKING BEYOND WHAT MY EYES SEE

I am currently reading Eyes of A Tailless Animals, the memoirs of a North Korean woman who was wrongly imprisoned, and this is her recount of the horrors and atrocities that she experienced and saw. The main thing that kept her surviving was her need to tell people of the truth about what was happening behind the prison walls. It is surreal for me to believe that such a level of inhumanity (to the point where the prisoners consider themselves lower than animals, hence the term “tailless animals”) can exist. It also makes me have second thoughts about buying “cheap things”. I think most savvy consumers know that products made in China or Korea are generally cheaper in price despite being lower in quality (yet we are price-sensitive creatures so price usually trumps). I’ve learned a bit about the Asian sweat shops and certainly this corporate practice should be abolished. Yet, I believe that the examination of the “source” of the consumed good should not stop there, because it can certainly be a lot worse. If I didn’t know better, an item that I am purchasing could be an output from one of these prisons where they force the prisoners (many of whom are not even supposed to be there in the first place) to meet unrealistic production quotas in subhuman working conditions. It’s not really “work” because there’s no remuneration; instead, if they fail to meet their quota, they reduce their already measly food ration (I can’t imagine only eating one spoonful of rice as my day’s intake or getting excited about seeing a rat because that represents the most protein you would ever get in this hellhole). It’s a pretty heavy read and I’m finding it difficult to sit for more than half with hour with it. Yet, it’s a story that should be told, for the sake of the nameless prisoners who have died needlessly. The book was passed on to my by a friend in Calgary, and once I’m done reading it, I’ll pass it on (so it should be making its way eastward).

Some days are just good days. These are days when everything seems to just go right, you’re not late for anything, you haven’t forgotten anything. I got up after what felt like a very good sleep, did some household chores and made my way to the swimming pool. After having the whole lane to myself, I plopped myself down on the very last stationary bike that had a TV. I was then able to catch a rather entertaining 4th quarter of the Steelers/Colts game, which was a nail biter right down to the last minute. I had a really good cup of coffee in a really comfortable chair at Second Cup while reading my book. Then, the steak I cooked for dinner turned out really good – just the perfect tenderness level with the right amount of spices (sometimes when you just eyeball it, you end up sprinking too much or too little!) I had plenty of time to pack “lunch” for work and caught the bus with plenty of time. Yeah, today was good!

Congratulations to my good friend J who survived his first snowboarding trip! Welcome to the cult (I mean club).