Thursday, January 1, 2009

C'est la Vie

Well, well, well. Another year has ended and a new one's just begun. More than any other year, I bid goodbye to 2008 with mixed feelings. It has not been an easy year for me personally. There were health problems, myriad deadlines to meet, difficulties at the workplace and in personal relationships, and towards the end, the loss of a beloved aunt who was a widow, and childless, and therefore, quite close to us.On the upside, I finally completed my doctoral dissertation, something that had begun to take on the proportions of a nightmare; I had friends and family to help me make it through the difficult times, I met and formed bonds with people who were special in their own ways, and I finally came to terms with some harsh realities, which, though hard to swallow at first, at least served to dispel any illusions I may have nurtured. All in all, the positives and the negatives balanced each other out, as they tend to do. C'est la vie.

I received this text message at New Year's, and despite the silly rhyming, I quite like it,so I'm reproducing it here as a wish to all my online friends:
The year has gone, but made us strong,
The path was long but we walked with a song,
There were fears and tears,
But we also had reasons for cheers,
Wishing you happy memories of the last year,
And a great beginning of the next year - 2009!



As far back as I can remember, my sister would welcome the New Year every year with Abba's song, "Happy New Year". In more recent times, the now disbanded A*Teens did a cover of it. Here are the lyrics, courtesy www.azlyrics.com
Happy New Year
No more champagne
And the fireworks are through
Here we are, me and you
Feeling lost and feeling blue
It's the end of the party
And the morning seems so grey
So unlike yesterday
Now's the time for us to say...

Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as well lay down and die
You and I

Sometimes I see
How the brave new world arrives
And I see how it thrives
In the ashes of our lives
Oh yes, man is a fool
And he thinks he'll be okay
Dragging on, feet of clay
Never knowing he's astray
Keeps on going anyway...


Seems to me now
That the dreams we had before
Are all dead, nothing more
Than confetti on the floor
It's the end of a decade
In another ten years time
Who can say what we'll find
What lies waiting down the line
In the end of eighty-nine
... [2009]

And here is the video. Hope you enjoy the song as much as I always do.



Once again, here are my best wishes for you for the New Year. May you be richly blessed, and may you be a blessing to others too.

19 comments:

  1. Happy New Year u Cher. May this new year change things for the better.

    There were health problems, myriad deadlines to meet, difficulties at the workplace and in personal relationships, and towards the end, the loss of a beloved aunt

    I felt as if I was right by your side as you went through each of those phases you mentioned above. Blogging is another sure way of being in touch with someone far away. Don't worry u Cher, whatever the future may bring, we will always be here to share it with you.

    Happy New Year to you once again.

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  2. Sorry to hear about your aunt.. her her soul rest in peace!

    @illusionaire aka Sandman, nula han "u" deuh kher a tul don em ni te ka tih mai2 a...

    Belated Feliz Navidad!

    and

    A very Happy New Year!

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  3. *correction - May her Soul RIP!

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  4. Happy New Year...and you have my best wishes ahead

    as for songs, I think Boney M's Feliz Nvidaz is a must and Happy New Year by Abba is a must..lol

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  5. lolz, samaw.

    Nah, its a force of habit for me. I call all my elders that I know personally as "U". I feel weird NOT calling them "U". :-(

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  6. Kumthar chibai and congrats on getting done with your dissertation. So do we have a book release in the offing?

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  7. @Illusionaire: Thanks, I do feel you guys have been with me every step of the way. That's why you're so precious **hugs** Happy New Year too.

    @Sam: Hi... thanks for the wishes. I hope this year is reaaly a good one for you too. As for that "U" thing going on with Illusionaire, just let him be...it makes him feel young :p

    @Hey Almost Unreal: Best Wishes for 2009! I saw your bonfires and you smokes pork, so am assuming you've been having good hols.

    @Hi Philo: Kumthar chibai. Thanks, and same to you. I know, I know, this must be a very special year for you... next year you'll be entitled to sing "Krismas Nang Nen" :P Take care.

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  9. I thu ziah atanga ka rilru a lo lang lian em em chu, hun leh kum te chu lo in her liam thin mahse Kum lo thar leh zel hian hun thar alo herchhuah pui a. Keini van hnuai a leng mihringte erawh ni telin chuai lam kan pan thung a ni.

    Nimin a i thiltih kha i vawiin hun atan hman tangkai tum la, chu chuan i naktuk hun lo awm tur atan a chhawk zangkhai ang che.

    While you are in this world be a part of something good and leave something good behind.

    Happy 2009

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  10. Hey you've been a busy blogger I see. I only just got down to an update last night. The last year's certainly been a mixed bag but then c'est la vie - the good, the bad and the ugly. Hope the new year's a happy one for you.

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  11. Hope you have a great new year...

    I grew up listening to ABBA but had never seen their faces... so, whenever I see their video it is a totally different experience... suddenly those beautiful voices have faces...

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  12. Happy new year! I like that Abba song, even though I think it's a bit morbid :) 'man is a fool, he thinks he'll be okay..' And I think 'Oh god, all I've been thinking is that I'll be okay, and does this mean I'm not going to be?" lol

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  13. HAPPY NEW YEARR!!

    Post dang tam tak, ngaihnawm deuh de tun kum chhungin kan hmuh leh ngei kan beisei.

    :D

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  14. @claytonia: Happy New Year! Thanks for dropping by. I grew up listening to Abba too, and when we were kids we always fought over who would be "sam vari" (blondie) and "sam dumi" (the brunette, with the scales always tipped in blondie's favor. It was just so romantic, two girls and two guys, great voices, all neatly paired up.... I guess fairytales do come to an end, becoz even they couldn't last forever.

    @Jerusha: I never did realise how morbid the song was until I googled the lyrics either. It was just a song I grew up with, part of the New Year ritual. Anyhow, as kids, we could sing along to everyone of their songs, but it's only years later that none of the lyrics as we know them are recognizable as English!

    @Buannel: I lo leng lut a, welcome. It's a change to have a taste of some of that existential angst of yours, but remember, I told you to be careful!

    @Calliopia: Thanks. Yeah, with a little more free time, I've been able to update a little more frequently. Yeah, life is a colorful thing, from rainbows to rain and all of the hues in between - c'est la vie. Have a great 2009 too!

    @Joseph: Happy New Year to you too. I beiseina tih hlawhtlin theih ngei ka chak hle mai, kan thu ziah fahrah te te te min lo chhiar sak thin a, ka lawm e.

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  15. @amuana: thanks...hmui a la rep em? :P

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  16. Happy New Year! Hope this year will be better than the last.

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  17. @mesjay: happy New Year to you and your loved ones. Yeah, let's hope so; after all, it's hope that keeps us going on, right? Have a great 2009!

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  18. seems like u r busy,dis days,huh.i just luv ur thoughts,but u r a bit optimistic!isnt it.hehe.hope u hve a gd life.c ya

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