A New Hello! (after two years of silence) And a new president.

Hi to all out there who wondered if I have killed my blog.

Or worse, I didn't kill it. I just consigned her to languish in life-long imprisonment without further improvement. Still. Stopped growing. Gosh what could be worse than that?

Meanwhile the world beyond changed...now looking back at my old self from two years ago, I don't think I would have imagined where I would be now, after switching cities and countries thrice :p Since I assume that only friends would be reading this, I guess this is self-explanatory. Right, that was a pithy but adequate attempt at a preamble to bridge the space of two years, now to the main.

America woke up with a new president on 20. January 2009. It is almost scary how much of a rock-star personality the new one has, he is almost viewed as a kind of messiah to come save the country from the doldrums, where, as widely perceived, the previous president landed the country into. The preparations for the festival were astonishing enough, even with the millions of people being herded very docilely like sheep. What surprised me even more was the morning after, when everything about the pres. was analysed, from his wife's impeccable yet adventurous sense of style to his groove during the presidential ball that very night. Not wanting to miss the spectacle, I must admit that I joined the millions of 'pilgrims' (mark my word) who made their way to the Mall in the first light of dawn to stand in the subzero temperatures (celsius, not fahrenheit) in order to try to catch a glimpse of his star, a hint of his husky tones, a touch of his exhortative accent. It was, in every sense of the word, an amazing demonstration of American mobilisation.

Perhaps, coming from a very conservative background, with an arguably benevolent but definitely authoritative state has conditioned me to be very sceptical of press pictures of the new pres. signing off the bill to close Guatanamo, surrounded by an entourage of staff and reporters, all beaming at the good work that was being done at that very moment. The moment when America shall be freed from the conflict of security and upholding their Wilsonian ideals of personal liberty and rights. I applaud the action, despite its pomp and circumstance. However, there remains at the very back of my mind a niggling thought: would it have been very different if America was under the stewardship of another president than W., in facing down America's biggest safety threat after 9/11?

It's definitely a time of excitement, a time of change, a time for America to prove its mettle. I am keeping my eyes peeled.

*Another anecdote from W. Upon hearing Vietnamese consent to build churches in its central highlands due to possibility of a Chinese threat, W. responded, "Do you mean that the Vietnamese are more afraid of the Chinese than of...God?"

Have a great weekend... LT.

P.S. Sometimes I do wonder at the verity of these stories though!