i've been writing with pen and paper, in a book that a friend got me (no, i'm not writing in a diary, but i feels good to write in the most traditional sense of the word again, and to pause wondering what the correct spelling of a word is again.) and hence, the state of inertia here.
thursday brought about the new year, and along with it, new hopes, and new fears.
as with most things new, excitement comes hand in hand with it, a chance for a fresh start, for something better than before.
i've said this to some already, but there 2 things that i really want to do in this new year: set my priorities right - doing the truly important things first, not the things that seem urgent, and yet are of little, or no importance in time to come - and also to read; i realised that i've really stagnated with my reading since enrolling into poly, and it's high time to buck up and start reading the books that i've long wanted to.
top of the list will probably be george orwell's 1984, one book that i said that i would read long ago, but forgot all about it, till i watched eagle eye recently. and of course, finish up the lord of the rings trilogy, and re-read them.
pardon my aside, but if anyone is looking for a good read, i'd highly recommend the lord of the rings. for it not only is incredibly gratifying to immerse oneself in the alternate history (i like this term, but it isn't coined by me: i read it somewhere) that tolkien brings to life, and numerous race, their own tongues, cultures, and even their songs and poetry.
apart from that, the lord of the rings is more than just a novel, but a fascinating and discerning portrayal and exploration of human nature, yet intentionally and stubbornly free of allegory (again i didn't write this, i read it).
yet, as with all things unknown, the new year brings apprehension. for most, 2009 is regarded with much dread and gloom for it's been fore-casted that the real blow of the worst financial crisis since world war 2 would be felt in singapore in 2009. jobs will be culled and wages cut. a tough year ahead, even pm lee warns.
on a more personal note, i'm willing myself to step out of my comfort zone on a few fronts, and already, i'm experiencing much disquiet.
but if there's one lesson that i've learnt many times, it's that things that will come to pass, will come to pass, and worry isn't going to a thing, bar one's own happiness.
and so, i choose to look at this new with with hope (speaking of which, i just remembered that i too want to read obama's the audicity of hope, campaign literature, perhaps, yet it should make a engaging and charismatic read at the very least, if obama's oratory skills are anything to go by.), and optimism and excitement.
i want to end with something i thought rather wise: the excitement generated by the new year, let it not be because of novelty, for it will wear off very quickly, and we then slip into the mundane and the routine of the previous year. for newness is not novelty, but newness is perhaps liberty, a chance to disentangle and free ourselves from the past.