I really need to expand my general knowledge. On Iraq. Afghanistan. The middle east. South America. Zimbabwe. How can I ever be a journo? How can I write headlines when I don’t understand major world events? I dread loading up stories about wars / Middle East conflict / Congo suffering / Sri Lanka which require headlines, because I just don’t know what is really going on.

There’s so much happening round the globe, it’s overwhelming. And tragic. Aids. Female genital mutilation. Women getting stoned to death for being raped, for chrissake. Hunger. And closer to home, how about simple, everyday cancer? Downs syndrome? Animal cruelty? The floods, the fires? This week on Queen St there’s a girl challenging people to a game of chess; she’s raising money to fly back home to her dying mother in Madagascar. (It’s pretty neat. A good chess game is great to watch – I’d even go as far as to call it sexy. Quickfire rapid moves, pieces captured every other move, backing someone into a corner. Yeah, I’m a geek).

You know what else makes me sad – the people who pick up rubbish on the roads and the people who clean food courts. I hate when people clean around me while I eat. It makes me feel really bad. Yeah, it’s their job, but I don’t feel someone should be cleaning up after me. I feel bad enough getting waited on at a restaurant. I feel uncomfortable as they refill my water and clear my plate. I’ve got to get over it. Just trying not to think about it all right now, it makes me really sad. I can’t handle it. If I keep thinking about it, I’ll probably nut out.