The Eye of a Needle
Thought I'd try and find the time to write a proper email, though it is a little out of date. Been soo busy lately, or rather, going out for lunch (to the pub or a nice little church-yard by the office) instead of sitting at my desk...
My White Band finally came (well, a few weeks ago now actually!). Over three weeks since I texted "BAND" to 87099 on 28th June, I came home from work to find a letter from Oxfam with a circular shape protruding from the front. It was my Make Poverty History 2005 arm band and I put it on immediately with glee.
By the afternoon of the following day, Saturday, I still hadn't filled out the petition card to send to the Prime Minister let alone posted it. I went shopping in Croydon, my mission (a guy has to have a mission to go shopping, something specific to buy and usually the shop to purchase it from already in mind): some toiletries and to buy Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for the cheapest price possible from a non-supermarket.
Why not from a supermarket? Perhaps because they're oppressive, stifling, bullies of organisations? No, because they were probably selling it as a loss-leader for marketing purposes anyway. It's just neither of the two cheap-Potter-selling supermarkets are within walking distance.
I found my toiletries in Superdrug and my book in Woolworths for "only" £9.99. Mission accomplished, I crossed over for Vrgn Megastores. It was then that, in the middle of the pedestrianised street, I was accosted by an Australian chugger in a Care International t-shirt. "Do you want to help make poverty history?" she asked after her initial ice-breaking compliment. Had she seen my wrist band? She didn't mention it though, so neither did I. As she gave me her brief spiel I thought of a conversation I'd had with G. in the pub after work on Thursday. I'd talked of how I often felt guilty that I never stopped (to busy rushing to somewhere) to give money to people collecting in the train station in the mornings, even if I thought I believed strongly in their cause, but I had happily waited to be given a free "stress pig" from some website marketing campaign. I thought of how I'd still not filled in the petition form that came with my White Band. I remembered another encounter with a chugger in Nottingham.
I'd been on my pay to P.'s flat and a girl stopped me to tell me about her charity and what they did. She was much more enthusiastic than this one I was listening to now, she told me about her boss and what he was doing in Afghanistan, but I was still a student and couldn't make any regular financial commitment to anything except the local pub at the time. I asked her for some information to take away with me, but she said she couldn't give me anything as I'd just throw it away when I got home and they couldn't afford that.
With these thoughts in my mind I decided to resist the pattern of walking on by and and sign up, hoping that it was the same charity that as the girl who had made such an impression me (more so than the agency-paid chugger standing before me now) many month's earlier. I now (well, from September) donate the minimum per month to Care International - perhaps not quite enough to get into heaven (Remember: "it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven"?) but it's a start.
To reward my kind heart I proceeded to Vrgn and bought In Utero for cheap in the sale and the new NIN album - I'd been curious about the NIN from seeing their loyal teenaged fans with their logo inked into their school bags.
And then the other day, i was stopped by another chugger from Amnesty International to make me feel guilty (he wasn't impressed when I told him about Care) for not giving any money to them every month too. I really cannot win! At least not while still having enough money to by new CDs.
My White Band finally came (well, a few weeks ago now actually!). Over three weeks since I texted "BAND" to 87099 on 28th June, I came home from work to find a letter from Oxfam with a circular shape protruding from the front. It was my Make Poverty History 2005 arm band and I put it on immediately with glee.
By the afternoon of the following day, Saturday, I still hadn't filled out the petition card to send to the Prime Minister let alone posted it. I went shopping in Croydon, my mission (a guy has to have a mission to go shopping, something specific to buy and usually the shop to purchase it from already in mind): some toiletries and to buy Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for the cheapest price possible from a non-supermarket.
Why not from a supermarket? Perhaps because they're oppressive, stifling, bullies of organisations? No, because they were probably selling it as a loss-leader for marketing purposes anyway. It's just neither of the two cheap-Potter-selling supermarkets are within walking distance.
I found my toiletries in Superdrug and my book in Woolworths for "only" £9.99. Mission accomplished, I crossed over for Vrgn Megastores. It was then that, in the middle of the pedestrianised street, I was accosted by an Australian chugger in a Care International t-shirt. "Do you want to help make poverty history?" she asked after her initial ice-breaking compliment. Had she seen my wrist band? She didn't mention it though, so neither did I. As she gave me her brief spiel I thought of a conversation I'd had with G. in the pub after work on Thursday. I'd talked of how I often felt guilty that I never stopped (to busy rushing to somewhere) to give money to people collecting in the train station in the mornings, even if I thought I believed strongly in their cause, but I had happily waited to be given a free "stress pig" from some website marketing campaign. I thought of how I'd still not filled in the petition form that came with my White Band. I remembered another encounter with a chugger in Nottingham.
I'd been on my pay to P.'s flat and a girl stopped me to tell me about her charity and what they did. She was much more enthusiastic than this one I was listening to now, she told me about her boss and what he was doing in Afghanistan, but I was still a student and couldn't make any regular financial commitment to anything except the local pub at the time. I asked her for some information to take away with me, but she said she couldn't give me anything as I'd just throw it away when I got home and they couldn't afford that.
With these thoughts in my mind I decided to resist the pattern of walking on by and and sign up, hoping that it was the same charity that as the girl who had made such an impression me (more so than the agency-paid chugger standing before me now) many month's earlier. I now (well, from September) donate the minimum per month to Care International - perhaps not quite enough to get into heaven (Remember: "it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven"?) but it's a start.
To reward my kind heart I proceeded to Vrgn and bought In Utero for cheap in the sale and the new NIN album - I'd been curious about the NIN from seeing their loyal teenaged fans with their logo inked into their school bags.
And then the other day, i was stopped by another chugger from Amnesty International to make me feel guilty (he wasn't impressed when I told him about Care) for not giving any money to them every month too. I really cannot win! At least not while still having enough money to by new CDs.
2 replies:
Interesting blog as always. I am interested to hear what someof your political opinions are. Your life seems so different than mine but at the same time I notice several commonalities. Take care - Sandy "proud Texan" SLF121@yahoo.com
interesting request, would no doubt be a boring response though. Maybe some day I will write about Politics, though I tend to try an avoid the subject in all but the closest of company. I've just realised you have the same initials as an eX of mine, who I was thinking about recently for one reason or another. But that is neither here nor their. Glad you enjoyed England, hope you saw more than just the Disney land-esq Stratford!
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