Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And days o’ lang syne!

Chorus:

For auld lang syne, my dear

For auld lang syne,

We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet

For auld lang syne!

We twa hae run about the braes,

And pu’d the gowans fine,

But we’ve wander’d mony a weary foot

Sin’ auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl’t in the burn

Frae morning sun till dine,

But seas between us braid hae roar’d

Sin’ auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere,

And gie’s a hand o’ thine,

And we’ll tak a right guid willie-waught

For auld lang syne!

And surely ye’ll be your pint’ stoup,

And surely I’ll be mine!

And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet

For auld lang syne!

--By Robert Burns, ‘Auld Lang Syne’.

2003 has come and gone, seemingly in the blink of an eye. It’s odd how, just when you can’t take it anymore, you look up and you see that you’re at the top of the mountain, so to speak, and suddenly you don’t want to leave anymore. And of course, all of my friends are complaining about how short the holidays are, because, naturally, they want more days of freedom, and no one can really blame them.

In newspapers now, editors will be doing specials on sports or maybe Hollywood, or perhaps the greats of the entertaining world who have passed away. Some are breaking away from the norm and doing plain old columns with no changes except for a simple ‘Happy New Year’ at the end of the page. And all over Singapore now, at this very moment, thousands of youths are out partying the night away, with music blaring in their ears, hitting on girls or taking up the courage to flirt with their secret crush. Either that, or they’re having a private New Year party or maybe a barbecue with their closest friends and family. Or maybe a new flamboyant friend is buying them dinner at a fancy restaurant….or, (like in my house) the mother is brushing her teeth and the father is watching television, or, more specifically, the Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring, on Channel Five, as he did not understand the three movies when he watched them separately, and the daughter is at the end of her tether, having to explain it all to three nearly completely clueless family members. Or maybe not. But anyway, that’s the scene at my house at this moment. I can hear a battle scene; perhaps they are at the entrance of Moria, or perhaps they are battling the Cave Troll in the room where Balin’s tomb is. Oh yes, it is definitely that scene; Aragorn just called Frodo’s name, and Frodo was just ‘speared’ a few seconds ago.

Whatever my friends are doing now, I doubt I would join them. I don’t know, I’ve never liked gatherings where there is a huge concentration of people, as you’ve probably gathered from my writing (no pun intended). I’ve always preferred quiet celebrations as opposed to loud, huge and ostentatious parties with lots of blasting music and alcohol, though I don’t know why. I almost wish I was in a cooler country now, or perhaps a few years older, maybe nineteen or twenty. My perfect way to end 2003 and start 2004 would be strolling through nearly silent streets in my suburb, enjoying the quiet and cool night, drinking in air like wine. Perhaps in a comfortable sweater and trousers; there’s something appealing somehow, about going out and about in comfortable and old clothes, while everyone else is wearing glitzy and glamourous skimpy skirts and tops. Maybe it’s just me feeling rebellious. Hah. And maybe hearing distant fireworks go off, and telling a cat that it’s officially 2004. Maybe. Or perhaps having someone’s house to run into would be more fun. I think I always feel nostalgic when the year closes, although really, it’s just the passing of time, so I like to catch the last few moments in solitude.

I remember when I was very much younger, staying up until midnight used to be such a big thing. It was almost a privilege, but now we’re all clocking in hours until even past midnight with no problem at all. It’s interesting how the human body changes, and the mind too, so that we can all last until an unholy hour before we hit the sack. Last time, it used to be almost an adventure, because staying up until midnight was something all the adults did; I had to go to bed by nine. Somehow, because staying up until midnight is not even considered staying up anymore, the magic is lost. Midnight was such a mysterious hour until I was able to stay up past that hour, though I suppose all things are like that. Once you find out what it is, it’s never as magical as it used to be.

And after all, the passing of another year is simply the passing of a certain number of days, is it not? As well as writing down a different set of numbers for the last six digits, of course.

Thinking about it, if you put a name or number to everything, then everything has value, and it becomes harder to let go.

But Happy New Year all the same.

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