Is it just me or has the world suddenly turned hostile?

Been wondering what's been happening to the country lately. Grandfathers are raping their granddaughters, sons are murdering their own families, women are setting live dogs on fire not to mention the blatant atrocities of politicians who either think that the people are too stupid to notice or they no longer care whether anyone notices or not, because they are so sure of the absolute power they possess. And then they go and gloat about it on media too at which you gasp and say "The nerve!." But that is about ALL that we ever do!

In other countries, such people are put in straight jackets and locked up in asylums or branded as psychopaths, sociopaths, lunatics or just plain delusional. Here in our island haven, they end up in comfy seats across the Diyawanna or sailing upwards, murdering a helpless few along the corporate ladder while perching comfortably on the top and crapping on whoever that has the misfortune to land underneath. While success is all very well and much commended on, why become such obvious A holes in the process is my problem. 

The country seems to me of late, a gnawing ball of tight and painful blackness of which the intensity grows each day. I am beginning to wonder whether it is the fact that our country is too small that we feel it more or if indeed the people have become so unspeakably evil over the years. Just a couple of years ago, lending a helping hand to a total stranger or getting help from a complete stranger while out in public is a completely normal thing while now, you feel extremely grateful just because someone held the door open for you. The normal thing now would be that someone slams a door shut in your face while your arms are full of goods with no way of opening the door. A visit to a public place would affirm the fact that the people are always angry or are always in a bad mood and is in constant competition with one another, whether it is in the supermarket queue or casually browsing through books in a bookstore. Walking down the streets alone has become a chore what with vehicles trying to run over the pedestrians and other smaller vehicles on the way. Or you see a driver or two poking their heads out and dispensing quite generous amounts of explicit words all around.  

Is it because our tropical climate heats up the blood too much that everybody is constantly in a perpetual sweltering flurry? Is it because that the prevailing economic and social conditions have forced the people to become so selfish and hard-hearted that the nuances of humanity has long since been washed off them? Is it that people have finally stopped fighting the inherent selfishness and savagery of the human being (as stated by  Thomas Hobbes the negative dude) and decide to be their true selves? Is the end near, can the Mayans be right when they predicted the end of the world or is a zombie apocalypse on the rise except the zombies will be human beings themselves when they end up eating their own? Or is it simply because I think wayyyyyy too much than I should? 

SCATTERED- Available at stores now :)

So the launch happened and it went quite well too. Just as I expected: perfectly serene ambiance, good music, good company and mellow lighting. Perfect.

Now people keep on asking, why Barefoot? Why go endorse in the typical 'Colombian', sarong-wearing, mantra-chanting, wanna-be artsy hippie culture? Yes I'm aware of the many labels and tags that the place comes with but I have never been one to care for such labels or tags. As long as it falls within my budget range and is convenient for me, I'm cool with that. I don't have big ideologies, I'm flexible and I make do with whatever I have whenever I have it. I've discovered that it is much easier to survive when that is the case.

And Barefoot was MORE than just convenient for me. The staff was very friendly and cooperative and the ambiance was just what I wanted. The pricing fell well within my budget range too. So I had no complaints. I'm a simple kid :)

Anyways, the response to the books have been quite tremendous. Those who have read the book have commented copiously on the content and I am very, very happy about the fact that the collection has managed to reach out to many in a very personal way and that is exactly what I had wanted too. Absolutely touched with what people have to say about the collection. To place the cherry on top of the cake, just today I was informed that all the books that I had left at the Barefoot bookshop, the only place where the books had been available at the very beginning had been sold out and that they need a new stock. Needless to say I was astonished. Must give them a refill tomorrow.

Writing a book is easy, publishing is quite hard, a launch is harder and when all is said, written, designed and done it seems that selling the books is the hardest of all. Bookshops are avoiding poetry collections like the plague and I can't understand why. However, the Barefoot bookshop turned out to be the only ones who embraced the books without a fuss while the rest had to be convinced and cajoled into it. As a result of my sheer perseverance, Scattered will be available in all leading bookshop within the coming week.

Dropped off some copies at Vijitha Yapa as well and it should be available within a few days at their outlets. Copies are already available at the Sadeepa Bookshop, Wisdom bookshop and at Sooriya Bookshop, Maradana. Have to make a personal appearance at Sarasavi to get some books in there as well. The only thing lacking is the time :(

However, Scattered will definitely be available at the International Book Fair starting on the 18th, so you can get it there as well, of course at the Sooriya Bookshop, Vijitha Yapa and Sarasavi outlets. Hopefully, you'l find it there :)

So yes, read my humble collection and please let me know what you think. Your comments would mean the world to me. If you cannot reach any of these shops, please mail me at jayani.senanayake@hotmail.com and I will only be happy to get a copy across to you!

Murphy's Law phenomena

Murphy's law is such that when you are late, even something as innocent and unsuspecting as a measly piece of curried chicken can charge at you, ruining your entire day. Happened this morning when a very unassuming and a very dead looking piece of chicken that was on my breakfast plate suddenly flew at me in a vengeful fury (obviously not very pleased at the mishandling it was getting as I hurriedly fumbled through the plate) and attacked me, making me bleed curry all over my crisp white shirt. Funny how much damage such a tiny piece of chicken can do. This incident forced me to change into another piece of garb and this time, I made sure I stayed WELL away from chicken or other such dangerous things.

When you know you are late and rush out of the house half-dressed, almost out of your wits that your transport has arrived (the driver is quite short in patience. If you're not there, he's gone), it takes its own sweet time, not giving a rat's tick's a** to the fact that you have rushed out in a demonic flurry, not even bothering to take a second look at yourself in the mirror just to make sure that you don't petrify little children and scar their young and tender minds for life on your way to work. While you stand waiting, total strangers pass by stare at a flustered, disheveled looking you with hair that beats the angry wig of Rumpelstiltskin single handedly (or should I say, single hair-dly) and you really start wondering whether the planets have plotted together and lined up for the sole noble cause of embarrassing you. How lovely....

And finally when you get home to collapse on the bed in the comfort of your own cosy room after a loooooooong day at work, there is a pile of fine dust waiting for you in there, stuff that the person who had been polishing the windows for the last two days had left behind. Perfect... What is more perfect is that you are allergic to dust! (and that's also about the only thing in this whole wide world that you are allergic to too) So you run out of the room sneezing up a lurid storm while your skin breaks out in nasty hives, only to return later on dressed like an astronaut at war with acid-spitting Martians to clean things up. By this time you are boiling at the highest point that a human being can possibly boil at because everyone knows very well of your near-fatal allergy to fine dust but no one had bothered to clean things up before you got home. Sigh......perfect ending to a perfect day wouldn't you say!

But these I suppose, are the everyday woes of the ordinary working woman. And me being an ordinary working woman with an extraordinary talent for getting into embarrassing situations, have more than the usual share of everyday woes I suppose. But overall, life is good. Feeling more than the usual amount of tired what with the book launch coming up and what not, but after this Sunday, everything is going to go back to normal. 

The launch is on the 09th, the coming Sunday at 5.30 PM at the Barefoot Garden Cafe if anyone's interested. Me never having been very fond of speaking, particularly about myself out in the public have always preferred to listen rather than speak is wondering whether this is the right time to freak out. Well, like I said, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! And I am off to do justice to this long awaited collection that finally saw the light. Wish me luck!