New Year Slur

I am kind of tipsy, which, in my opinion, is the best way to usher in the work week. In the same manner that we hastily tear-off bandages, and swiftly plunge syringe needles into our defenseless skin, a little fuzziness in the brain helps to muddle the concept of time. That is, before you know it, you're already manacled again to your computer desk and, by then, what's else is there to do but reply to the thousand nagging emails, and worry about the thousand things each of those emails were asking about.

But, it's not like I'll be drunk until tomorrow. No, no. I'll be on this fizzy trip for but a few hours before bed. I'll wonder what 2013 really means to me, wonder if I'd have noticed the year change if I'd have been locked up in a dark-dark cell for the past month or so.

Was there a difference? Have I grown? Have things changed? Will they ever change? And if they don't, why are we celebrating? What are all the fireworks for, aside from the vendors turning a profit on those 3 for 100peso roman candles that perform just as well as erectile dysfunction?

I believe everyone craves a fresh start. I do, too. There's nothing wrong with wanting a clean slate; a new year is equivalent to that. You buy a new calendar so you get to throw away that other one filled with stuff you managed to finish, promised to finish, forgot to finish, and a large amount of exclamation points in red-red ink for times that really mattered. You get a bonus with which you erase(and forgive) all/some/a portion/a smidgen of that credit card balance you've been racking up the whole year past. You get to greet old flames a happy new year, and get a curtly phrased reply back that tells you the cycle continues anew.

A new year is symbolic for people looking to do better, or to continue to do better. A new year is meaningful for people who haven't given up. A new year is a new cycle in the endless array of challenges life crams down our throats.

And for those of us who are brave enough to step into it with nary a drink in hand, my highest commendations to you. As for me, well, looking at the upheavals to come in 2013, I am of the impression that the days ahead may pass smoother with a bit of fire in my blood. Fire to stoke the passion, the courage, the embers of the once raging heart that made 2012 such a momentous year.

Cheers.

Photo credit: Cheers invites by YesterdayCafe