FW: Send This or Be a Moron

Since I have been a tad less than busy lately, I can finally waste my time in laying my eyes upon tons of forwarded emails unchecked for months and I have just discovered some interesting aspects about this phenomenon.

Some people are really ADDICTED to recieving, reading and resending these accursed series of emails. Beyond the point of enjoying the activity, they are horribly obsessed with what's in it and take it seriously. I mean they truly believe it! The promised miracles or good luck and that sort of things. I try not to be judgemental but sometimes I just can't help feeling irritated. Well, let's say...what's the point? You have passed on these messages for thousandth time and have you ever found any 4-leaf clover in your garden? No is the answer and you keep forwarding them in tiny hope of finding one someday. I'd rather investing in additional land and fertilizer to grow more clovers....well, that gives better chance than keeping your duty as an email forwarder.

More tragically, some good-hearted cybersurfers are misled by the so called one-address-per-one-cent donation. Honey, it's the second millennium, who on this capitalist earth is going to make a donation based on the untraceable, if not unprovable, text-only message like that? If you really want to be an amateur do-gooder, please spend few minutes to check the source's website whether such project really exists.

Another classic hoax similar to the case above is, for example, that a ginormous email provider of all time will start charging their users, either on per month or per year basis, very soon unless the notice is fowarded to more than XXXXXX users. Darling, they don't even have your credit card number. And even if it was true, though the biggest provider they may be, there would always be the rivals who are ready to take advantage on the situation by offering the similar or even better service for free!

This article isn't intended as an aggression to anyone in particular. I just need some space to holler my anxiety. On the other hand, a few potentially interesting emails have made their way into my inbox and, in this case, I consider myself lucky to be one of the readers. To all my friends, I still encourage you guys to keep sending constructive chain emails but perhaps less for me. I'm just full.

¿Qué Será de Nosotros?

Hoy cumplo un mes en Bangkok y, viendo atrás, todo es notablemente diferente que el día de mi llegada. Como todos los repatriados, intento de adaptarme de nuevo a la realidad, a la que, en mi caso, nunca he estado acostumbrado. Los esfuerzos han sido empeñados. Voy tejiendo poco a poco mis redes que me permitirán el aceso a la gente del círculo de mi especialidad. Me conformo con este éxito, salvo una cosa; lo que será de mi y mi novio.

Ha pasado un mes y sólo nos hemos visto 4 veces sin mucha oportunidad de hablar tanto. Estar ocupado siempre ha sido la razón que me ofrece. Obviamente, se ve que está realmente ocupado, pues, por su beca de Ph.D., que obtuvo hace casi un año. Le espera una serie de examenes, entrevistas y ensayos en el futuro muy cercano y, para poder salir con todo lo que siempre desea, tiene que esforzar más que nunca, poniendo todo en juego, incluso la estabilidad de nuestra relación.

No pienso en dejarlo ni cortar el rollo ni enfrentarme con él, y esto es mi problema. Seguiremos así sin mencionar el amenazante futuro de nuestra relación, quiza por el miedo de perder lo que tanto tiempo he intentado preservar.

Siempre nos dicen que 3 años a distancia no es un reto cualquiera y, pasado esta prueba, ya deberemos esforzarnos más que nunca por el bien de esta preciosa relación. Bueno, ¿qué opción tengo yo? Hay que seguir adelante, fuese como fuese, exactamente como dice un refrán tailandés "Una vez montado a tigre, hay que seguir allí hasta el final".

Hasta que no llegue el dicho final de nuestro drama, mucho ánimo de parte de todos de mis amigos necesitaré.