New Year 2019

I came home from Amsterdam just before New Year's Eve. I avoided any New Year celebrations last year because loud noises gave me stabbing headaches, and any celebration in China is going to be loud. I have been to the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade during previous New Years, where the crowds can be louder than the fireworks. It gets ridiculously crowded, but the great thing about Chinese crowds is that no one will pick your pocket or shoot you. But in China, someone is guaranteed to cough in your face. That is why surgical masks were invented.

They always start the fireworks at 23:00, but only in short bursts every 15 minutes. The real show does not begin until midnight. This year, the countdown started sooner than usual. It was like a space shuttle launch where you watch the clock for what feels like hours before it finally gets down to 10. The reason they did this was obvious. As soon as the clock hit 10, the full fireworks started. Naturally, everyone was waiting for 0. Counting down from 10 with fireworks is far more dramatic than counting down while waiting for fireworks. The countdown, after all, was for the clock to strike midnight and a new year to begin. It was not a countdown to fireworks. We are all simply conditioned to wait until midnight for the show to start.

People are usually impressed whenever there are fireworks over Victoria Harbour, but I have always found the Lunar New Year celebrations more elaborate than the Solar New Year. Sometimes they do intricate patterns and displays. This year, it was pretty basic, with mostly bursts shooting off skyscrapers and flares launched from boats. They usually have more boats in the harbour. They might be saving the best for next month. Everyone in Hong Kong recognizes January 1st as the beginning of the year, of course, but the Lunar New Year is a far more important holiday. The crowds get bigger, if that is possible, and the firework shows are more dramatic.

Best of all, 2019 is the year of the pig. According to the Chinese zodiac, this will be a great pig year for me, especially when it comes to career and romance. That is good news, since I took a few hits in the career and romance department in the last couple of years. It specifically says that even working part time will be busier than usual and that my hard work and dedication will get noticed. A hidden path to the future will open up. So that's something. The biggest risk I am supposed to watch out for is reckless driving. I don't like the sound of that.

I don't put any stock in any of it. 2017 was also supposed to be a great year for me, but it turned out to be one of the worst years of my entire life. I'm pretty sure we all get lucky and unlucky from time to time, but we mostly create our own future. If you work hard, you will probably get something out of it. If you sit on the sofa all day, nothing is going to magically change. Name someone you admire. Odds are, they did something with their life by going out and making it happen. Everyone can predict whatever they want. I choose to have a good year.

But I'm still going to be extra cautious on the road. Just in case.