Fast forward.

Every now and again life seems to speed up like an old VCR stuck on fast forward. Every so often the undercurrent of life grabs hold of your ankles and drags you along for a frightening, unstoppable ride. Turmoil in your private life, friends in need, relatives falling ill, financial woes, you name it. Matters like these appear to hunt in packs.

And when you find yourself in one of those rapids with reality coldly staring you in he face it's only natural to feel scared and overwhelmed but at the same time it's wholly envigorating. It's at times like these that you get to test your mettle and find out what you're made off; it's at times like these that you come to realise who are, and who aren't, your friends.

That said, life could do with a pause button.