WAY TO GO BANGLADESH!

Quick post right now, but I shall expand later. Just couldn't go to sleep without saying...

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY BANGLADESH

LBGT Rights?

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm one of the strongest advocates for LBGT rights. I have fought with a heck load of ignorant, idiotic and bigoted people, including some of my own family (I'm ashamed to admit) in order for people to realise the fact that all people regardless of what they are and believe are entitled to every type of human rights. It's very easy to ostracise gay people, a lot of the time it's done out of pure ignorance. Humans hate what they don't understand, but given that it's now 2011 this argument really shouldn't be an excuse to be homophobic. Homophobia is a dirty and disgusting disease and should be seen on equal levelling as all other forms of discrimination.

However, this is not what I want to talk about. Lately I've been feeling increasingly annoyed at other supporters of LGBT rights. It seems to me that these people, who are mainly straight, have taken on the personal mission of becoming the LGBT Power Ranger. Now that's all well and fine, what's not well and fine though, is when these people put homosexuals and transgenders onto pedestals, like they can do no wrong. Look anywhere on the internet and you will see image upon image where people have made out gays to be innocent, little angels in need of protection. They are not. What LGBTs are, are NORMAL people, controversial, I know...

It's stupid for LGBT Power Rangers to talk about LGBT rights when they themselves do not treat gays, bisexuals and transgenders as normal people. Now I know some LGBTs like to be treated like small, cute, little victims but most just want to be recognised as normal people with normal rights. LGBTs are NOT victims who can do no wrong and they are NOT in need of protection. What LGBTs need is recognition of the fact that they are just the same as you or me. They are not dirty or disgusting and they are not wonderful, amazing human beings who only see the good in people, they are simply just humans. The sooner we realise that, the sooner the rights of these people will be internationally recognised.

Red Nose Day 2011

So, following on from my last post, I've just finished watching Red Nose Day 2011. It was a mammoth watch because, though I always donate to Comic Relief and Children in Need, the last time I watched a full telethon was probably when I was in Year 8 or something. I was so proud of the generosity of the British public which saw MORE than 72 million pounds beeing raised by the end of the show.

This money will, in no doubt, save lives and make people's existence that much more bareable. In 2011, malnutrition, abject poverty and squalid lifestyles should NOT be killing people. We've come such a long way yet millions and millions of children are dying every year because they do not have the most basic resources - food, clean drinking water, health care. It's wrong, and we as human beings should think it our duty to help our fellow man out of these situations. Exploitation of the West have adverse effects on the third-world and so us consumers should really take it upon ourselves to make sure people we are unwittingly and wittingly exploiting, have at least quality of life.

These videos were the most hard hitting for me:

Nine year old children should NEVER be subjected to such a life. HIV may not be curable but the effects of aids can definitely be reversed.

If you guys haven't already donated you still can. Please do it  =D Click here to donate!

Help!

So it's almost Red Nose Day here in the UK. In Britain we have two major annual charity days one is called Children in Need which helps disadvantaged children around the UK and the other is an event for Comic Relief, Red Nose Day.

Red Nose Day is dedicated to providing relief for people all around the UK and Africa. I’m sure that some of this money will go to helping people in Japan too. The money donated helps provide people with the financial backing to help them survive another day but perhaps what’s more important is that it gives families back their hope. I’ve been donating to these charities since I was at least 13 and this year is no different. It’s just amazing how, even your spare change can make such a huge difference to the lives of people a lot worse of.

Red Nose Day is on Friday, so please donate, don’t just assume someone else will do it. After all doesn’t every person have the right to live? Please donate whatever you can to Comic Relief

Oh I've Missed This...

O.k so this is WAY, WAY overdue but hey, didn’t I already say procrastination is my husband? I was meant to post this ages ago but I was too lazy to write anything and laziness = not being able to articulate anything meaningful. So I didn’t, I’m sure you’d rather not be put through that pain anyway, right?

So anyways, a couple of weeks back I had THE MOST AMAZING day out. I post this at the risk of sounding like a middle-aged, settled, woman but I had such an amazing day just simply having dinner, or rather a very late lunch, with one of my very good friends. Now I know most young people my age would probably rather talk about a "night out" than a "day out" but I honestly did have an amazing time just hanging out with my friend, window-shopping and eating. Like most things in my life, it seems, (seriously ask my library) this meet-up was WAY OVERDUE, and yes, it was mainly my fault. I’m beginning to think I’ve contracted a serious case of Can’tbearsedtomovemyfatarseitis. So yes, after many cancelled meetings, I FINALLY got off my arse to meet her and I’m so glad I did. I hadn’t seen my friend since I transferred unis and let me tell you what a breath of fresh air it was to be around her.

That day I had a 5am start at work but it was o.k, I really did owe her (I was also afraid that she’d eat my eyeballs if I cancelled on her for like the 5^th time that week!) So anyways, we agreed to meet up after I finished, and since everyone knows that I run on Asian Mean Time (take any given time and add two hours, for those that are wondering) my friend told me she’d meet me at Westfield Shopping Centre, which is like an hour away from her and only about 20 minutes away from me, what can I say, I’m worth the journey! HAHA! She also told me to text her when I was leaving so she could leave at the same time, now I know what you’re thinking, that would mean I would arrive at least 40 minutes before she did but again as most of my friends know, “I’m just leaving now,” for me means “I’m still searching for my jeans!” So we would arrive at the same time BUT I was still late….WHOOPS!

After this initial hiccup and angry texts about how I don’t love her and give her abandonment issues, (all jokes, she’s not really THAT unstable…not yet anyways) we sat down to eat. We decided on Wagamamas and let me tell you, that restaurant is massively busy during the weekend! We were sat next to a white/oriental couple, who must have found the two of us extremely interesting because they wouldn’t stop staring and listening in on our conversation, or at least the male half of the couple couldn’t. We just found it funny but for revenge, since it was beyond obvious that this was the couple’s first date, my friend who is also East Asian started talking about how absolutely crazy East Asian parents are towards white people (an obvious lie). I couldn’t stop giggling at the guy’s intense concentration on our conversation, he didn’t even make an attempt to hide the fact that he was eavesdropping!

The great thing about Wagamama, aside from the eavesdropping customers, is the fact that they give free green tea. I personally find green tea DISGUSTING; any liquid claiming to be tea but having no milk is just a fraud! My friend LOVES green tea though, do I hear stereotype anyone? She kept ordering more and more, in the end the waiter must have gotten seriously angry because he brought her, her 4^th cup of green tea but it was filled with MAHOOSIVE green leaves and he slammed it down on the table. I couldn’t help but laugh, serves her right for being a glutton right? She laughed too but being the East Londoner that she is also complained and got another cup and then said something along the lines of..

“If they didn’t get me another one I would have punched him man! KMT!” Yeah, she actually says KMT… =_=

After we’d finished or rather we’d been kicked out by the waiters, we stayed so long we saw three couples come, eat and go before us, haha! We decided to go window-shopping, when that got too tempting boring,  we started trawling around the place looking for ice cream places. We found two, but they were wayyyyy too expensive for the poor, trampy, students that we are AND THEN, my friend remembered something amazing. Westfield give out free samples!

Basically the rest of the day was spent chasing around the free samples of pretzels, doughnuts and yummy flavoured tea that were going around. I realised that day how much of a loser I actually am, but it was great and we got so high from the Whittard tea called Dreamtime or something, that we couldn’t stop ourselves from running around the precinct, scouting for male talent haha!

When at last we decided to sit down again, which we did outside of the toilets in the Chanel section, don’t judge us, they have nice seats! When we finally sat down, we started talking about our weddings, as if any of us were close to getting married ^_^; She told me how Vietnamese weddings work, that she’d buy me a designer bridesmaid dress and pair me up with one of her boyfriend’s hot cousins, oh to dream *sigh*. I told her how Bengali weddings work, how she’d have to be there for ALL three days and how I’d buy her three cute saris, lenghas or suits and then we both got broody and started talking about kids.

Gosh this post really does make me sound middle-aged… Oh well! I loved my day out with one of my best friends and I’m so glad I did it.