Starting the new year with a bang

For the Chinese around the world, 6th of February 2008 represents the first day of the Lunar calendar. In other words, for the Chinese, this is the NEW year where each of us adds one to our age, where we have resolutions to start afresh, to have a new beginning, to work harder for our goals, basically to just start it off with a bang, full speed ahead. For me, my Chinese new year really did start off with a bang, literally so.

I was in the car with my parents and brothers, happily chatting away while on our way to the temple to pay our respects. As usual, the roads during Chinese new year are always jammed and messy. We reached a particular traffic light where the car in front of us stopped. so my dad, who was driving, gradually braked in time to stop. In just a split of a second, something hit us from the back, with an impact so great that our car surged forward and hit the car in front of us.

All of a sudden, reality hit us. We were hit! And badly so. The boot of the car was squashed, not unlike how an aluminum can looks like after we empty it and squeeze it with our bare hands. It was terrible and it was a terrifying experience for all of us. We were in shock just looking at the boot of the poor poor car. Alas, what has happened, has happened.







Nothing can really be done to reverse time. Nothing can be done to undo the damages to the car. Nothing can be done to take away the bang. In this context, I would very much have preferred NOT starting the new year with a bang...