We did something different this Jan the first. Fans of gregariousness would no doubt look fondly upon the fact that I have as of now lost my virginity for New Year's mass celebrations. We attended the gathering at KLCC this time, as paying guests of Mom's friend's restaurant Chinoz. The restaurant provided good views of the fireworks come midnight, and the pre-match entertainment was satisfactory, the sketch The Idiocy of The Average Malaysian well played out by Those Blokes Who Fired Firecrackers Into The Crowd At 11:43 and the Fat Rela Man Who Chased Said Blokes being well-received by the likes of myself who had a privileged seat. What with the added drama of the rain clouds gathering and teasing the crowd, it was easy to sit back and enjoy watching the chaos unfold. The crescendo of the comedy duly came as the resultant smoke from the fireworks drifted over the penthouse viewing deck of the Trader's Hotel at the other side of the park, casting a choking pall over the people gathered at what was supposed to have been the hottest spot in town to view the pyrotechnics and thoroughly obscuring their view within a minute of the show starting. One couldn't help but grin.

Watching as the fireworks shot into the sky and looking at the assembled masses however, a deep sense of melodrama enveloped me as I couldn't help but develop a feeling of deep cynicism at humanity. As if I haven't yet received enough affirmation that mankind's every move leaves a black mark upon the Earth, we have the audacity to utilise pyrotechnic celebrations and preach about environmental protection in the same breath. The facts are laid bare: in one 24-hour period millions of tons of toxic gasses, carbon and other aerosol pollutants are pumped into the Earth's atmosphere. The resulting pall which covers the whole Earth surely cannot be good portents for the current climate shift. The amount of garbage generated by New Year's gatherings worldwide must be astronomical, and then there is the immediate malice of light and sound pollution. It seems that even our greatest expression of celebration can't be done without perpetuating an ill upon the world, and I ask then, what next for the world? Definitely not salvation, on current record.