Qussa

Stories from Afar & Up Close

I just think life is meaningless altogether, most of the time. Yes, there is beauty in the moment, but beyond that? People come and go and you can never count on anyone, and life is just life; a mystery, and ultimately meaningless. The meaning is in the creation, and the creation is a human construct; and people just make up stuff in order to get through life.

— René Vernor (via hellanne)

 

Life

Yesterday my bike-key broke in the lock and i took the bus in the wrong direction. Didn't have the phone number of my school to tell them i was going to be late. Today my train was delayed and my other bike had a flat tire. Walking back to the station i passed an old lady who almost started crying when i asked her what was wrong. "I locked myself out of my car and the engine is still running. I can try to walk home but then i have to ask someone to break into my house to find the other keys and i don't know if anyone will be around." I tried to find a way to open the doors of the little car but couldn't, so i called the police for her.

She thanked me a million times, hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. "I'm just not very good at life these days," she said.

Do I ever know what you mean, dear lady.

Voor de kat z'n eh...

In de trein van Amersfoort naar Weest komen er drie jonge jongens naast me zitten. Echte pubers; hun gedrag is een mengeling van 'kijk eens hoe stoer ik ben!' en 'zie je me wel, erken je mijn bestaan?' De conversatie (net iets te luid, uiteraard) schiet van stomme docenten naar medicijnengebruik en van cocaïne naar het avondeten. Omdat ze doorhebben dat ik mee zit te luisteren, gaat naast het volume ook het taalgebruik steeds een stapje verder. Ik laat het gaan, tot het me te gortig wordt. Eén van de jongens roept dat hij wel wil dat de conductrice komt controleren. "Anders heb ik dat kaartje voor de kat z'n kut gekocht!" Ik werp hem een blik toe om hem te laten merken dat ik niet van zijn woordkeus gecharmeerd ben. "Ja man!" gooien zijn vrienden er nog een schepje bovenop, "zo praat je toch niet!" Waarop de jongen zich naar me toe draait en met een uitgestreken gezicht zegt: "Sorry mevrouw, ik bedoelde voor de poes d'r poes."

Sexism fatigue

‎"I am tired of being called a shrieking harridan for pointing out inequalities so tangible and blatant that they are regularly codified into law. [...] I am tired of being asked to "cite sources" proving that sexism is real (that RAPE is real, even!), because there is no way to concisely cite decades and decades of rigorous academia. Allow me to point at the fucking library. We can't cite "everything," and our challengers know that. [...] But. I couldn't quit doing this any more than my cells could "quit" processing oxygen (or whatever cells do! Us girls aren't so good in the sciences!). I'm not a feminist by choice, I'm a feminist because this is the world."

Hell yeah. Read more over at Jezebel.