Survival of the Hippest

I overslept this morning, causing me to get to work at 9:30am. Being South African, the working hours are still very bizarre. By the time I get down to working, it feels like I’ve lost half my day. Call me crazy, but I prefer starting work at 8:00am and going to 5:00pm. It gives you that extra hour in the evenings to get home or go to the pub and it doesn’t feel as late as it does when you work til after 6:00pm.
Then again, since the sun sets at 3:30pm already, it feels late by 2:00pm. Or maybe that’s just the sleep deprivation talking.

Anyway, while on the train this morning, I had a thought. Are people these days more concerned with their purpose/role in life than previous generations? If so, is it because we have more options than ever? Think about it. A few hundred yeas ago, your destiny was set. You’d marry young. Either be rich or poor, not travel very far or anywhere other thanthe village square and spend your life raising children and crops.
Now, we have so many options. Shall we work or study? Where should we do the above choice? Should we travel first? What career suits me? The list goes on and on. It doesn’t help when you end up having a pointless job that doesn’t really contribute to the overall well being of the population.
Like people who work for the tax man. I’m sure they end up hating themselves at the end of the day when they have to write letters to themselves reminding them that they owe their employers money.
And what about marketing people? (myself included). Whose life did we affect in a good way today with our irritating marketing emails and advertisements? Did we push a girl over the edge into an eating disorder with the latest Dior advert? Did we cause that five car pile up on the freeway because of the Victoria Secret billboard we put up next to it, distracting (naturally) male drivers? Did people really buy the lies we sell to them?

I watched The Day After Tomorrow the other day, and was struck by the same realisation as the Emmy Rossum character. In a natural disaster, I’d probably be the first person to die or be eaten or something. I don’t have natural disaster skills. Hell, I can’t even think of hunting an animal, nevermind the skinning and preparing etc. So I’ll have to survive on plants, but I can’t tell the difference between poison ivy and normal ivy.
My Brownie leader must be hanging her head in shame as I write this. I’m sure a natural disaster would be a great way to clear the world of unwanted elements and people, but I’d like to think that I’ll be likely to survive and have a skill to offer.

Maybe I should join the girl guides instead of an amateur theatre society. I can hardly see how knowing the full score to South Pacific will be beneficial when you’re hunting for food.
Essentially it boils down to this question – What kind of survivor are you? The ‘I’m barely surviving’ or the ‘I’m thriving’.

If any accountants say they’d be thriving, they’re lying.

Oh! And I’m going to tag everyone who come to visit to list their island soundtrack in the comments. I’m curious as to whose iPod I’d have to smash, I mean, borrow should we be stranded together.