Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Mundane discoveries

It is a gloomy day today. It seems that the sun is undecided about its role and position, appearing every five seconds. Perhaps it is fighting with the clouds for air space. I have been thus kept inside my room for most of the day wondering if the grumpy old woman Weather will stop pouring rain every half an hour and let up on me.

Ah. Melbourne, Melbourne, Melbourne. Why is its weather so fickle? Perhaps it is because there are so many races and nationalities that have come from many foreign lands with different weathers. Maybe we all carry some form of cosmic power and unconsciously release our innate energies to control the skies. Or could it be that we each have our own ideas about the perfect weather and pray to our own gods they might be fulfilled? If so, the tumult in the heavens would be the clash of the gods.

Alternatively, it could just be that it is because Melbourne is near the sea. Hmmm.

I love to reflect back on my childhood and reminisce about the simplicity of it all. Simple things are lovely. Sure, I may be in university, possibly the most prestigious one in Australia as some would like to argue. Yet, sometimes, I still think I’m a child at heart. I like to create my own theories of the world which might not be true, but it is fun all the same.

Did you know that you can confuse ants? I spotted a trail of ants once and imagined that there must be some sort of scent to mark their ‘pathway’. How else could they always keep the trail? So I rubbed off a section of their invisible highway with my fingers. True enough, the ants were confused once they reached that point, many turning back towards where they came from. It would not last long though. There was always a smarty pants that would persevere till the other end of the disconnected highway was found.

Or try shining a torch light on an ant. It would stop in a daze for a few seconds and then start running in random directions, usually away from the light. Flash the light in various positions and it would run around in circles. Conclusion? It is not advisable for ants to go clubbing.

When I was seven, I discovered that ants were perfectly edible. My friend and I had a competition, in which my four year old brother was included. Whoever ate the most ants off the floor would be the winner. I can assure you, it’s much safer than eating cow testicles and a bowl of maggots on Fear Factor.

And do you know that bath liquid kill cockroaches in less than five seconds? It is even more effective than spraying insecticide on them.
I can almost picture you frowning. Perhaps I should have stuck to ants. I shall just be satisfied to wonder about Melbourne’s fickle weather for now.