How do u say “Get a life” in friend-ish?

What drives a friend who seems keen on knowing where you spend your leisure time, do you know? I have a friend exhibiting this keenness and it’s bothering me, somewhat.

This friend is much older than the sister, but sexier, with a glamerous past and an exotic present that should have made the undersigned pee-green with envy instead of make the friend try to play Pink-Panther on her.

But such is the case. In an attempt to know who I spent the previous evening with and why I came to the office late, she suggests places, possible friends, etcetra.

Her need to know my whereabouts is only equalled by her need to know if I were having any “worries”. Let’s say I started a conversation with “Last night..” and she finishes my statements for me, with “I know! You didn’t get any sleep!”.

“Yesterday evening..” and it’s “I know! You felt lonely!”.

“Life…”, ofcourse, is followed by the clicking of the tongue, an “I know what you are going through” and the comforting back rub. If i told her something actually worthy, like God-forbid a family member getting sick, she comes around wearing the longest face in history that clearly says “…you poor thing” plus a sigh. So i gotta tell her to take it easy, hold her hands, instead of the other way around.

If it weren’t for what happened a few months ago, I wouldn’t have taken the time to notice how far my friend would go to prove me down, out and dangerous (awesome movie, wasn’t that?!). I was complaining of excessive body heat that day when she admits she and another friend were suffering from it too, and asked, spyingly, “are we worrying over what’s to become of us too much, do you think?”.

Instead of the correct diagnosis and actual response: “You wish!” I simply asked how can all the three of us have the same worries, when we have nothing in common, and suggested that weather-change may have something to do with it. She let that one go. But the probes seem to continue, inspite of the sister repeatedly showing disinterest to confide.

Don’t get me wrong now. There is nothing more I’d enjoy than giving a friend something to worry about if it’s what the friend needs to get her through the day. That is the kind of friend i am 🙂 . Unfortunately, I don’t have it. Haven’t been married for two years when I went back to living the single gals’ life, true, but it has its ups as well as the occasional down. Sundays maybe lonlier than usual, you gotta do without being kissed when you feel like it, etcetera, but it can be a God send too, for one who enjoys her freedom more than anybody. I wear what I want, stay out as long as I want, cook what I want and eat it too without a care in the world. Which maybe why I’m gaining weight by the hour these days :). I especially enjoy the fact that there is nobody I have to answer to as to my whereabouts which, I’ve always seen, as “my own damn business”. So I’m confused as to what to do with this friend who probes.

Suggestions, anyone?

Head of State–the real life

A lazy Saturday, a black Sunday, a Mon-day-off (for Saturday’s holiday) and an Id-Al Fatir that never seems to fall on the day you wanted it to (even for my Muslim friends), and what have you got? An extended weekend darker than “yer boot”.

So me and my best bud, Al Jazeera English, had plenty of time to bond. There was, lemme see, “101 East”, “Witness”, “In Depth” and a cranky old man whose words you need to strain the ear to hear named Snow or Frost “on the World”. The biggest coverage, however, was of the presidential debate between democratic norminee Barack Obama and Republican Jhon McCain, whose uncanny resemblance to Mays Gilliam and Brian Lewis’ debate strikes one as more than accidental. I’m talking about Chris Rocks’ movie Head of State in which the older, uglier, vice-president nominee Lewis did nothing but shake the head and smile superiorly every time his younger opponent spoke, while counting his years of experience (being a war hero and “Sharon Stone’s Cousin”) as a big pro.

Chewatan chewata yanesawaal endilu, is there any relation between the uglier a presidential nominee, the bad his regime seems to be? I’m not trying to be a meany here. Abesheet isn’t exactly the Mona Lisa herself. But both you and I know we can give many an example that would show the wisdom in that amharic expression “Seeyayut yaLamaare sibelut yaQiral”. Take the last American presidential election, for example. There they were: Al Gore and Bush Dagmawi. Open & shut, you might say, and you’d have been right. But naaaawww. Nothing is ever as simple as it looks with them Yankees. Instead of picking the handsome Democrat, they went for the homely Republican. Now, they are paying dearly for it! JFK, Che Guvera, Bill Clinton and Benazir Buto, on the other hand, went down in history with a record neater than they appeared. Margaret Tatcher & the Queen mother are exceptions to this golden rule, by virtue of them being British. Which is an entirely different cup of tea. Anywho, thought i might touch upon that. You must admit, it’s a matter worth probing into.

So.. anywho .. when I came to the office this morning the first thing I did was check out details on Head of State to help me write the post. But, ofcourse, somebody has gotten there first. The only point they haven’t got to seems how bad the real life America is in need of a man such as Bernie Mac’s character in the movie. Mitch Gilliam, a bail bondsman by trade, says this when explaining why he is the right man for the job of running mate his younger bro picked him to be.

“In my job” says he, “When people are in trouble, we bail them out. Now America is in trouble, we bail [it] out”.

Chris Rock: a stand-up comedian/writer/director/actor and prophet?! You decide 🙂 . Here is what others said on the subject:

– From Rock to Obama: Will electoral life imitate Hollywood art?
– Head of State Movie (2003) Has Eerie Similarities to 2008 Elections
– Has Hollywood Helped Pave Way for Obama?
– Etcetera