Oh, life!

ive opened and shut this page a number of times over the past week. just dont know what to write. much has happened, but the significance of everything pales when i turn on the tv. then i spend my entire nights watching news of the earthquake. nuff has been said and done, and i dont think i can add to any of that. but once again, i find myself totally lost, being unable to explain what's going on around me. once again, i find my emotions too much, too conflicting, too unreasonable to hande. once again i wonder why what happened to someone else didnt happen to me, when it just as well could have. and then i wonder about my place in all of this. so much help and aid has been pouring in, from all over the world, and not enough can be said about how the pakistanis have come together... and yet, i have been living in fear of what's going to happen tomorrow. ive always been afraid of tomorrow. of not knowing what will come. because one fine day, you are jolted out of your bed, to find 50,000 people have died, and 2.5 million have been left homeless. in your own backyard. anyways, for those of you who still are collecting stuff, here are a few updates from the north. my college has set up a big time fund (as im sure have most institutions, but these guys are silghtly more organized): For those that would like to still keep collecting things, the info that we have received is that all supplies are getting through to Bagh itself without looting and in good time. They are having issues with effective distribution but said that food can keep coming in so that they don't run out by next week. But this has to be organised as family packs. Each pack should contain: 1) Packed, ready-to-eat roties that are available from the Dawn and other labels in super markets. 2) cooked, desi food, packed in tins (if possible) 3) candles and matches 4) Packets of milk 5) Tea leaves 6) Sugar 7) Salt 8) If cooked food is not possible, then rice, daal, chanas and some masala as well. It would be great if some families can prepare these packets and then donate them. For others, our students can volunteer some more time to make packets if you contribute the stuff only. in case of medicine, the following are required urgently: Emergency Medical Kit First Aid Equipment * Bandage 4" Size* Crepe Bandage* Slings* Sunny Plaster* Sterilized gauze* Nitchiban* Adhesive Plaster* Cotton Roll* Dettol* Pyodine* Methylated Spirit Medicines* Paracetamol Tab/Syp* Brufen Tab/Syp* Septran DS Tab/Suspension* Tixlyx Cough Syp* Corex Cough Syp* Benadryne Syp* Intestopan Tab/Suspension* Negram Tab/Suspension* Chloremphenical Eye Drops/Ear Drops* Flagyl Tab 200mg/Suspension* Gention violet Lotion* Polyfax Skin Ointment* Incidol Tab* Avomine Tab* Methergen Tab* Resochin Tab* Chloroquin Syp* Cicatrin Powder * Chlorine Powder* Cap. Amoxil 500 mg* Tab. Erthrocyn 250 mg* Cap. Transamin 500 mg * Tab. Lexatonil 3mg * Cap. Vibramycin * ORS Injections: * ATS * Methergen* Buscopan Co.* Dicloran* Anstitine* Velosef* Glucose Saline* Xylocaine * Flagyl * Decadron * Solucortef * Transamin * Adrenaline * Clafaron 1g i guess, for those of you who are collecting stuff, you have a fair idea of where to send it. if anyone is interested in donating any of the above listed materials, and dont know where to go with it, contact me, ill put you in touch with the relevent ppl. there are a number of agencies working out there, this stuff is just to help you better focus your efforts. for those of us who can turn to our beds and sleep in comfort, i want to know how we can look ourselves in the eye. May we be able to figure where our priorities lie. Amen