I hope 12 beers & Tylenol didn’t leave you with a nasty ecstasy hangover by the time past New Year’s Eve rave parties ended. It’s because its time to start thinking on how to start another year from the scratch & leave bad memories behind. Last year was a bust. Only government officials become richer these days & more egos are ravaged by the high-priced markets & low wages (kaya nga may American dream din ako…). Talk about ironic proportions. Of course some things still remain the same. Your dog remains lousy. The president maintains she’s still a genius (with a Messiahnic archetype… maka-Jung ba?), when her cabinet’s recent performances make her look as smart as a dumb & boring monologue (with that winsome smile na ala-Michael V.). And there’s grandma with her bag full of Metamucil & Imdur for her maintenance. But look on the bright side, in a year when geezer flicks were big at the box office, at least we were able to hold on to something to start another year from.

This New Year means a new you. I for myself will stick a “No bitchin’ around” sign on my forehead. Not if that I wanted to, but I just can’t think of a more appropriate resolution for this year that would make me more tamed & patient than a rodent in distress. If last year has taught us anything, it’s that having the power of money on your side allows you to rampage foreign lands, subjugate their people & impose your own code of morality with impunity… Alas to Nicole. The VFA. & Viva to a corporal who have eaten women’s flesh raw, yet got nothing to lose but gain the comforts of an embassy. And the Philippine government, only without the Constitution to hold you back. That’s why I said last year was a bad year because we shouldn’t put all the blame on a country where Britney fans (excluding the panties & Paris Hilton…) is bigger than the Moslems. Well, if you were too busy with your 3G cellphones or too busy holding your pompoms cheering for a Manny Pacquiao who gained all the wealth but denounced his son, you should now look yourself infront of the mirror so you could see the phrase “My fault!” written all over your face.

So Santa never showed up & even took your rainbow socks to the local glue factory… I mean to the tiangge. Wonder if he knew all along that Mother Theresa is the saint of giving & that you just realized that he is a fraud? Anyway, New Years bring new hope. Everything will be shiny & brand new (that includes your moccasins worth a fortune & your rebonded hair…). Improve yourself & learn some history for you to make some of your own. Inspire & surprise people. I don’t know how, maybe learn a new language or go figure out your guitar. Accept challenges. Better yet, challenge the world. Be anything but average.

Enough already of looking back memory lane ‘coz you’ll just gonna get some bad stiff neck. Let’s move on & prepare for another nostalgic melodrama to happen in 2007 (erase that of Jang Geum…). From the scandals & intrigues (lalo’t di naman ikaw si La Greta!), let’s hope that last year will constantly remind us that life is one big joke. Just when you think your life is over, the problem goes away & dies. And here you are, aching for more drama. Now we look at a full year ahead & try to make every moment count & as significant as possible – from reading your daily papers or munching on your Go donuts. Go crazy! Make your life happen. Dress up in horribly fancy put-together outfits, join unforgettable catfights over a love affair gone sour, whatever it is, just turn every moment into a big event.

What’s nice about new year is that you see it as resolution to your old self, you know, you discover yourself & have more knowledge about yourself without the distractions of alcohol & rock music. You must not put a room for regret in your heart. Stop living from the past & instead put your mind to the present. After all, joy will not exist without sadness & there would not be a concept of reward without sacrifice. This year will be filled with bittersweet moments to savor. You surely wouldn’t just grow up physically, but you’ll be more mature perhaps. You’ve learned things that caused your innocence to ebb away little by little. You should feel sad that there’s something very comforting about a kid. You can get away with anything. Now, you have to be accountable with your own actions (except that when you’re a damned schizo…) & you can’t blame it on a Martini or something. That sucks!

But don’t get carried away. You’re probably excited about 2007 that you colored your calendar with so much optimism. Just hope that the turn of event won’t be anti-climactic. Looking back is always great though. It reminds you of lessons learned. But it’s imperative to be constantly moving & not get stuck in the past. Life has lots of ways to make you stronger while augmenting your sense of humor. Just like when life hits you hard on the face. Remember what I told you about life being one big joke?

Then you start laughing….