Antarctic Week 6: This is the last day of 2009

it's that time of year again - where we reflect on our past deeds and try to come up with new resolutions to help us convince ourselves that we will be better people in the near future. this time around, however, we're not just entering a new year; we're bidding farewell to a whole decade and putting our best foot forward into a new one.

it's not that i've had many decades chalked up to my name (2 and a little bit more, to be pedantic) but many things have happened over the past 10 years that still remain fresh in my mind.

i remember ushering in the new millennium amidst the grandeur of fireworks and drunk revelers at Darling Harbour, Sydney. everyone was talking about the Y2K bug and how all technology as we knew it would come to a grinding halt the moment time registered 0:00:00 but for all that hue and cry, nothing happened.

the latter part of the following year was dominated by the threat of terrorism and the fall of the north and south towers of the World Trade Centre in New York. i remember getting into my dad's car after Mr Mathi's tuition and him telling me that something incredible was happening on tv - the moment i stepped into the house, i saw a replay of the first plane slamming its way into the tower. it felt surreal, like watching a hollywood action blockbuster except that this was real life and those were real people, not stuntmen, leaping from the building.

in 2003, i joined hundreds and thousands of other 17-year-olds (and the occasional 16-year-old; i have not forgotten about you guys, dear PTS students) and sat for the SPM exam. and just in case we weren't strung-out and stressed enough, the world exploded with the onset of the avian flu/SARS. suddenly, every little sneeze, cough and sniffle became a valid source for paranoia.

the next year, i was offered a taste of the urban way of life and exposed to whole new environments which were not available in the backwater parts of Kajang (HAHA NO LA I'M ONLY KIDDING!) after i enrolled into Taylor's College. amazingly, a handful of people i met there are still some of my closest friends to date, and for that i am very thankful. just as we thought that the curtains would come down on semi-uneventful year, our world was literally rocked by waves of change. a tsunami triggered by the second strongest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph left nothing but devastation in its wake. even natural-disaster-free Malaysia was not spared.

in 2005, i finally left the nest and started a new life in sydney. the one decision in my life that i'm still unsure of: was it a good thing? was it a mistake? should i have stayed at home? did my coming to sydney turn me into a cynical foul-mouthed bitch? sigh...one will never know. later on in the year, before the scab left over by the boxing day tsunami had dried on our consciousness, hurricane katrina pounded the US Gulf Coast into near oblivion. in a weird twist of irony, it was more shocking to witness than the boxing day tsunami of the previous year, because this was the great US of A, oft times seen as invincible and impenetrable, being subjected to the furies of nature just like any other country. then, to witness the slow social deterioration that followed the hurricane, it was almost unbelievable, because this first world country was just like everyone else.

after entering into Sydney University, the following years after that seemed to have melted into one big blur. everyday was just a succession of lectures and assignments punctuated by semester breaks and holidays. during the summer break of 2006, Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging by a hastily assembled court. ironically, this great man responsible for so much tragedy and suffering was found cowering unkempt in a farmhouse, which goes to show, the higher you climb, the harder you fall. as 2007 rolled in, days held even less significance for me. all i cared about was getting through each semester and returning home to the motherland at the end of the year. however, towards the end of 2007, there was a change of plans - and herein began my itch for travel and adventure. for 10 days, i traveled up the east coast of australia, making it possibly one of the best trips of my life.

in 2008, i made a conscious decision to sell my soul to the institution and embarked on my honours year. perhaps this may come off as rather harsh, but 2008 was not, and i mean NOT, my best year. it was perhaps my worst year. i was sleeping about 4-5 hours each day, working till 3-4 in the morning most days and had a lot of personal issues and mindfuckery going about. i was very glad to see the year out - very VERY glad. also in the latter part of the year, the world decided to take a tumble together with my declining psyche and the global financial crisis saw to it that millions of people lost their jobs, homes and the very life that they had led. however, not all was dark and gloomy. the world all round celebrated the 29th summer olympics in Beijing and later in November, the great US of A elected the first black man into presidency.

and now, the end of 2009 is approaching. it is probably not as tumultous as how 2008 was for me, but i still had my fair share of ups and downs. i shall now end this here and elaborate on it further some other time. but if i don't see/talk to you before the year is out, well, i hope you have a fantastic NYE's celebration tonight and a very happy and productive new year to come.