“He who covets is a poor man, because he wants what he cannot get; but he who has nothing and covets nothing is rich, though you may think him no more than a peasant.” – Geoffrey ChaucerApple’s had quite a year; from the January unveiling of its iPhone to the brouhaha surrounding the June launch to the recent talk of production cutbacks. So, was it all just a case of overheated hype or was the iPhone actually worth the drama? Well, I’m not here to talk about merit of the product itself simply because it’s not available in South Africa and so I honestly can’t say. As far as I know, it might very well be the best thing ever. Then again, it might not.

What I do want to talk about is something a little more disturbing. It’s bad enough that so many people got so sucked into the frenzy that the thought of waiting a few months for the price to come down didn’t cross their minds. More troubling were the queues. It was quite a shock to see scores of wannabe customers lining the streets and camping outside stores for days on end just to make sure they got in on the action. All this for a phone(!)

Wasn’t that a little too much? I tried thinking of something I want so badly I’d be prepared to literally sleep outside just to have. It took a while and all I could come up with were tickets to see Red Hot Chilli Peppers or Josh Groban performing live. And even those don’t count because they’re more about the experience as opposed to owning whatever widget everyone’s dying to get their hands on.

I guess the lesson here is not to get caught up in hype because things come and go all the time. A few years ago everyone went nuts over Lost. A year later it was Prison Break. Now it’s Heroes. Even the Emmy Awards aren’t immune to following the trend. Everyone’s gone gaga over Ugly Better but who knows what’ll be next? How long before it loses its lustre the way Desperate Housewives did? And do you still remember who won the last season of Idols or Survivor SA? What about who came in second? Where are these people now? Does anyone even care?

Any weekend trip to the mall (something I avoid at all costs) offers even more proof. So many people get so obsessed with the latest fashion; a growing number of whom are too young to understand the concept of “vogue”, let alone how to spell it. First it was all things pink. Then it was the contradictory craze of Ugg Boots/mini skirts for girls and t-shirts/scarves for guys. Now it’s onto what can only be described as zebra chic. How long before all that is usurped by the next big thing?

Even more dangerous than buying into hype is choosing to let “things” define you. I can’t help but wonder whether the one million people who have bought the iPhone in the past few months did so because they really thought it was a great product or because they wanted to feel some sense of satisfaction. I also can’t help but wonder how many of them are actually still happy with their purchase (assuming they ever were) or if they’re now obsessing over something else.

The same goes for everyone who’s ever bought a house, a car, or even a new pair of designer jeans because they thought it would make them happy. I’m guessing that feeling didn’t last long. How could it? At the end of the day, you can accumulate as much stuff as your garage (or closet) can accommodate and it probably won’t change a thing. It really doesn’t matter. The colours will fade and the technology will change. All that will remain is you. Now that’s something worth buying into.

(Eugene Yiga is the editor of Varsity Blah and his latest book is available free, exclusively from www.varsityblah.com/about. Check this out too.)

“When you meet someone better than yourself, turn your thoughts to becoming his equal. When you meet someone not as good as you are, look within and examine your faults.” – Confucius

Waiting for luggage at the airport carousel is typically quite dull. So imagine my surprise when I (quite literally) bumped into South African rugby fullback, Percy Montgomery. Being a less than ardent follower of the sport, I didn’t know whether congratulations or condolences were in order. Besides, the last thing I wanted was to be the umpteenth fan desperate to finally know his brand of shampoo.

Obviously, not many others shared my sentiments. It wasn’t long before the entire terminal was abuzz with whispers and giggles about our golden boys. And it wasn’t long before the entire team was surrounded by supporters keen on getting autographs, cell phone pics, as well as an inside scoop ahead of the upcoming World Cup.

One woman in particular could barely contain her excitement. She frantically rushed over to her husband and son to recall her life-changing brush with the VIPs. And she’d managed to get some pictures too! Oh, what joy! The world was good and her life was complete. If this was her last day on earth, she could rest assured knowing her work was done. She was content, she was whole, and she was finally at peace.

Society’s obsession with celebrities is such a conundrum. One the one hand, I think it’s healthy. Meeting the people we admire from afar can be quite inspiring, especially for youngsters wishing to follow in their footsteps. It’s nice to know they’re not so different from the rest of us mere mortals (barring broader torsos and stratospheric bank balances). And it’s nice to know that we too can achieve what they have, should that be our goal.

Then there’s the sleazier side. Instead of focusing on lifting ourselves up to higher levels, it plots to bring celebrities down to ours. You know I’m talking about the tabloids! It baffles me that we live in a world where pseudo-journalists are allowed to peddle their garbage as newsworthy material; where trashy publications outsell all respectable ones (even with pictures of dead bodies on the front page); and where the likes of Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, and Britney Spears (that trio of all things trite) dominate conversations time and time again.

What concerns me most is that all this fretting over the frivolous is coming at the expense of things that really matter. Why can nobody stop talking about the latest reality show? What ever happened to talking about actual reality? Why do we live in a world where some people (who won’t be named) think Darfur is a rapper or have never even heard of the sub-prime crisis. (Hint: It has nothing to do with grades of steak!) Maybe that’s okay for prepubescent tweens, but definitely not for those of us who should be so over that by now.

My advice to anyone who actually buys this crap would be to stop right now! If that’s something you struggle to do, maybe it’s time you figured out why. While it might feel reassuring to see that even the hotshots have problems (and cellulite), does it make sense for you to spend your hard-earned money funding something that basically exploits your insecurities? No? I didn’t think so. Trying to make yourself feel better by tearing other people down is, like, so not hot.

(Eugene Yiga is the editor of Varsity Blah and his latest book is available free, exclusively from www.varsityblah.com/about)

“The greatest battles of life are fought out every day in the silent chambers of one’s own soul.” – David O. McKay

Man, the world has problems. In the year 2050, society will look back at our generation and forever shun us for three things: climate change, the war in Iraq, and reality TV. How could they let those things happen? How could they have actually stood by and let those things happen? Having grown up in post-apartheid South Africa, it’s a question I’ve always asked myself. How on earth was that allowed to happen for so long? Didn’t the rest of the world realise what we were going through? Didn’t they care?

That question became increasingly relevant in daily varsity life. I recall a general sense of despondency among my classmates. I guess we’d all grown a little tired of the dreary world of accounting and what look set to be rather dreary lives ahead of us. And being reminded of this fact five days a week by oft-annoying lecturers wasn’t helping.

Everyone dealt with that in different ways. Some convinced themselves (rightly or otherwise) that a career as a corporate automaton, working twelve-hour days plus weekends, was a prospect they were excited to pursue. Others simply decided that after almost four years, it was a little late for second thoughts. They might as well accept their fate.

And then there were those who did something else altogether. They decided that enough was enough. They wanted out and they wanted out now. They chose to bypass post-grad and either take a detour overseas or head straight into the wonderful world of work. They chosen to do the unthinkable by listening to that inner voice in the hope it would lead them to brighter days.

There’s a lesson in there I’m finally starting to understand. Yes, the world has problems, but all those can wait. The biggest problem we have is letting problems become problems in the first place. The biggest problem we have is allowing small concerns to slowly morph into crises; so much so that we’re constantly caught off-guard by what we thought would never happen.

All around us, the evidence is clear. We pretend the problems we have don’t exist. We sweep them under the rug to deal with another day or engage in just enough “quiet diplomacy” (um, oxymoron?) to assuage our guilt. We take part in flash mobs or water balloon fights on campus even though we’re barely passing our courses. We pretend to be happy in our jobs or in our relationships even though we’re secretly dying inside. But of course it’s okay because the last thing we want to do is change.

We do whatever we can to cover up the pain because feeling uncomfortable is something to be avoided at all costs. Sometimes it’s necessary to laugh at our problems, but sometimes it’s not. Sometimes we don’t want to see the fuzzy panda bears at the end of the every news bulletin or have the good guy win yet again. That’s just not the way life is and it’s time we came to terms with that reality.

This world can be quite a dark place and believing otherwise is the most dangerous thing we can do. We all have problems and we all have pain. But instead of ignoring what makes us uncomfortable, we need to embrace it. Instead of reaching for the medicine cabinet or putting Band-Aids over flesh wounds, we need to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty. The pain is telling us that things need to change. It’s telling us that ignoring the issue will only make it worse. That’s just the way it is. Deal with it.