Ready, Jetset, Go!

Yesterday a friend asked to borrow some books of mine. Not only was it a request to borrow it, but to deliver it as well. Of course I acceded to it. Why? Because it was a request from a FEMALE friend. Not only did I deliver it to her doorstep, I even stopped by along the way to buy hot chocolate for her (on my own accord). I won’t even mention to you what time of the day it was that all of these happened. But the truth is, looking back I feel like an idiot doing it. I tell myself that next time I won’t do it again. But yet, this weakness within me fails me. And the next time the phone rings, I am off on my feet in a jiffy! So lemme analyse this - what drives me? Ahh…even the idiot on the street will be able to tell you. I do it for - you-know-what-a-guy-wants-from-a-girl from here on referred to as SEX. Truly the downfall of the male species, if you took a step back to look at the BIG picture, you’d realise how much it drives us. We study hard, to earn good money, to buy nice clothes, to drive a nice car, to get that beautiful condo, to have all that cash, to look good, to be the envy of the other guys and ultimately to get in between of the legs of the beautiful girl(s) - SEX. Point proven, I don’t think there is a cure for me, for us, for any one male - not even the males who prefer males. So I take comfort in knowing I’m not the only one, even as I prepare to impress the girls (yet again) with my voice and sing along to the lyrics of Bryan Adams’ song -  ‘Everything I do, I do it for you’, I know what I’m singing it for…

About a month ago I was driving back to my hometown on an expressway when as usual, there was a police roadblock somewhere along the way. Expectedly, I was pulled over not because I knew I was speeding, but for the fact that I was a driving a foreign-registered vehicle. Sparing you the details, in no time, I was asked by the policeman to pay him a bribe in place of a summon. Now, if you were familiar with my country, this would seem like an everyday story to you. Corruption is high on the agenda of the police force and without it, most of them would not find a purpose to go out to the middle of the highway to set up a roadblock. What makes the difference this time is their BLATANT ignorence to the badge that they are wearing. All over this police roadblock were car stickers on the police cars and badges on their uniform (like the one above) stating ‘I am Anti-Bribery’ in the local language. Maybe it didn’t occur to them that I understood what it meant  - thinking I was a foreigner. Then again, even if I did, what difference does it make? Corruption will still take place in the heart of their operations. The sad thing is that the Prime Minister of my beloved country is trying to rid the country of corruption at all levels in order for us to progress. Ironically, instead of having the police force on his side to enforce this campaign, he is having the mammoth task to rid them FIRST of corruption. Funnily, I thought to myself - "Isn’t it strange that the police are the only ones who have to wear this badge and not everyone in the country?". But of course the explanation is simple - they are the corrupted ones. Well, I sincerely wish my PM the best in his ambitious pursuit, but just a piece of advise Mr PM - It takes more than a badge…