Think it's hardly news anymore that our country has taken a major beating financially with the market price of oil stumbling and sliding down that slippery slope to near oblivion. Hard to open the papers these days without some miserable little imp bringing up the issue of our once honourable ringgit teetering dangerously close to the likes of banana money.
All that however doesn't represent how badly the current near untenable situation has affected the people. Unhappily that's far more apparent in a city that lives and breathes oil - like the one I'm living in right now.
Unlike those heady days several years back when the spirits were buoyed by the unimaginably high oil prices, these days there's a general sense of sad desperation as the once mighty oil and gas conglomerates retreat into financial hibernation leaving the poor, tired, huddled masses in the proverbial cold. Leaves the rest of us all with breath bated wondering what audacious lengths they would go just to make ends meet in these troubling times.
Certainly a sobering thought.
Made considerably worse by the fact that quite a few of my friends are involved in the entire restructuring exercise instituted by the companies here - compelling several to uproot and shift to different bases of operations.
Hence the depressing spate of fare-thee-wells lately.
Though they fortunately didn't just disappear like how I said above. It was certainly a protracted goodbye for weeks - almost months - but it certainly made it even more painful if possible.
So there goes Sober Sam and Kitty Kat sailing off on their next adventure.
Just when we had a regular Scooby gang going on. Sigh.
With my job - and all of theirs - regularly necessitating movement, this has become quite an appalling routine. Don't think I'll ever find it any easier though. After all I'm an old curmudgeon who enjoys being in a deep-old rut for ages. Dull doldrums and regular routines are lovely in my eyes; never did see the joy in having constant change.
All that however doesn't represent how badly the current near untenable situation has affected the people. Unhappily that's far more apparent in a city that lives and breathes oil - like the one I'm living in right now.
Unlike those heady days several years back when the spirits were buoyed by the unimaginably high oil prices, these days there's a general sense of sad desperation as the once mighty oil and gas conglomerates retreat into financial hibernation leaving the poor, tired, huddled masses in the proverbial cold. Leaves the rest of us all with breath bated wondering what audacious lengths they would go just to make ends meet in these troubling times.
Certainly a sobering thought.
 |
| Paul : Time for dinner, no? Kat : Actually, no. We're heading to the airport. Madison : And leaving. Kat : For good. Paul : What?! Kat : I figured you didn't handle change well. |
Made considerably worse by the fact that quite a few of my friends are involved in the entire restructuring exercise instituted by the companies here - compelling several to uproot and shift to different bases of operations.
Hence the depressing spate of fare-thee-wells lately.
Though they fortunately didn't just disappear like how I said above. It was certainly a protracted goodbye for weeks - almost months - but it certainly made it even more painful if possible.
So there goes Sober Sam and Kitty Kat sailing off on their next adventure.
Just when we had a regular Scooby gang going on. Sigh.
With my job - and all of theirs - regularly necessitating movement, this has become quite an appalling routine. Don't think I'll ever find it any easier though. After all I'm an old curmudgeon who enjoys being in a deep-old rut for ages. Dull doldrums and regular routines are lovely in my eyes; never did see the joy in having constant change.
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