Journal entry #1 - Life is like toothpaste

This is probably the most random thing you’ll read today... if not in your whole life.

My life is like a tube of toothpaste. (sitcom audience laughter plays for about 5 seconds). Yes I find it pretty stupid too. Anyway, returning to the analogy...

My life is like a tube of toothpaste. The length of the tube symbolises time while the toothpaste represents life’s endless and inevitable problems.

Take a brand new tube of paste and turn it upside down. Shake it if you want to. Not a single drop of paste oozes out. Why? Because at that point, life is stable. I have my set of problems but they have not escalated to a point where I'm losing control. The sensible thing at this stage would be to tackle each problem as they come; if not... atleast make arrangements to tackle them in the due course of time. Ofcourse, like I said.. that's the "sensible" thing to do. I'm far far far from it though.

Here's how I function. I pretend these problems don't exist. Ofcourse, pretending doesn't make them go away. It is simply procrastination. Using the analogy, all I'm doing is pushing the paste a few inches up leaving the bottom end completely flat... i.e .. virtually devoid of any problems. At that point of time, I'm content with life. No problems.. no worries.. Hakuna Matata.

Then, the 4th dimension of life comes into play - time. As I push up the tube... I reach a stage when the paste can no longer remain inside. It has to come out. (erotic pun) I have to confront my problems..... and voila... catastrophe.

At this point, I am left with 2 options... get a brush and scrub my teeth... basically grit my teeth and combat my problems head on... or.. or ... or.... let the paste fall aimlessly onto the floor, bit by bit ... throughout the length of the tube... until there is no more paste left inside and time reaches a standstill... death. Shh.. don't worry, I haven't reached that stage yet.


As I type this, somewhere at the back of my head I'm aware that I have an exam to ... nay.. I have 2 exams to write tomorrow.. courtesy a foiled attempt at passing a previous paper. I've decided to put all my eggs in 1 basket at go flat out on the paper I have to re-attempt. I'm aware that this simply means that I'll have to come back again with another empty basket and carry the next set of eggs... in other words write the other exam again next year. Using the analogy, I'm flatting the bottom end of the tube just a teeny weeny bit. Hopefully no paste oozes out.. and even if it does, pray I make good use of it by scrubbing my teeth instead of letting it crawl down the sink and getting lost in oblivion.

So why am I sharing such personal details on a public forum? Frankly I don't know. Rest assured it has nothing to do with the fact that I can appear to be a bit of an emo punk rebel at times with the whole "fuck the world" attitude. I guess it simply comes down to the fact that everybody wants to leave behind something when they're no longer here. Artists have their paintings, singers have their music, acheivers have their achievements.... I have this blog.