Victory! But At What Cost?

Indeed, this year 07 has been a rather topsy tervy one, a year filled with ups and downs, a year of completed goals and misses. But despite all the misses this year, it has been a victorious one, amidst the high price that was paid to achieve it. So on this penultimate day of the year 07, let's count the cost to victory...

On 31/12/06, I wrote about the 10 objectives for this year. As the dust settles for this year, the score is 80%. 8 out of 10 objectives completed. Here are the summary details of what happened, including the dates (if I remember correctly)...

1) Driving License (280207)
2) IPPT Silver (070207)
3) Earned More Money (Still Ongoing...)
4) Pink IC (05/11/07)
5) Didn't See The World
6) Went for Carolling (10/12/07-25/12/07)
7) Performed in Chorale's In Song (260807)
8) Performed 3 Songs in SOV (080407?)
9) Got A New Microsoft Vista Com ( 280307)
10) Didn't Get A PS3

In a chronological nutshell, the first battle was fought on GB 800m track. The victory was assured once broad jump was cleared. This event was so significant to me that I felt as if I ORDed at that point, which was quite near the truth. There was nothing "military "left to clear. Just civilian things left. Like? Continue reading... A few days later, another battle was fought along the roads in Ubi. A lucky break for me despite crossing double white lines confirmed victory. Then in the next month, my old com finally died and had to be replaced with a new one. I got a Microsoft Vista com because of DirectX 10 and the 8800 GTS 320MB graphics card. At that time it was a big deal. Imagine playing Tiberium Wars at the max settings! Beautiful is the word. Then, there was the 3 songs for VJ choir's SOV a few days later. All Creatures Now, Miao Jia and a medley of Indonesian songs. Fast forward to In Heav'n... I mean In Song. In line with VC's 20th anniversary. Bound as one. At least at that point of time... A few months later, the Great Escape. Pink ruled the day the IC was returned to its rightful owner. And after slacking all the way through, it ended with a meaningful Christmas well spent with the fortunate (carolling with VJ Choir) and the less fortunate (old folks)... Not to forget simultaneously earning more money, though not much, but still more. Even adding a cent is still an increase right? [Oh and notice the difference in formats of the dates. Even this symbol is a powerful one by its own right! ;) ]

So what went wrong for the 2 objectives? The easier explanation first. I don't need a PS3. It was never my intention to get one. Cos my trusty 360 will suffice, with Halo 3, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Fifa 08, Forza Motorsport 2, PGR4, GOW etc etc, thought it's plagued by the red ring of death now. I guess that's what the 3 years warranty is for. As for seeing the world... The only reasons I can give is probably difference in plans, timings, budgets, and locations of my friends. (I'm supposed to go with 3 different groups of ppl!!!) So we had no choice but to postpone it to next year.

But all wars have casualties. An apt quote from Starcraft Brood War Ending Cinematic for the Terran Campaign. So what are these costs? These costs are the processes that led to the achievement of these victories or even the conflicts that arose in the midst of achieving these victories. The ever present danger of extras, the audacity and hypocrisy of the xin jiaos and not forgetting the unnecessary, needless, pointless, redundant, superfluous, gratuitous, unwarranted, uncalled-for and excessive daily drills. Hell, I think if someone makes me super angry, I'm going to shout all the previously drilled drill commands at the perpetrators, never mind that Koala Bears are endangered. If I invent a memory erasing device, this and all my memories of the tree hugging days will be the first to go. But thankfully all these ended on the Pink Day.

However, there were other problems to come after that. Like alien surroundings, foreign places and unfamiliar people. Although there are good amenities around (e.g Botak Jones, Com game shops, swimming pool, NTUC Xtra, cinemas etc), space was compromised. Houses shrank because of both land scarcity and soaring housing prices. Then there is the other issue of leaving all your friends behind. It's so difficult to meet up sometimes. Especially if you're the minority... Cramming in a sardine packed MRT doesn't improve the situation. To worsen matters, traffic jams and long waiting time for buses just strenthens that reluctance to travel that far. So in a nutshell, it all boils down to economics. Opportunity cost. And sometimes the rationale for meeting is so... childish or lame.

And it only gets worse. Another conflict was bound to brew during the carolling days. The question of allegiance... It happened to a close friend and was hinted a few times to me too. Now when allegiance gets into the picture, something is not right. And I will not elaborate further for the fear of saying something politically incorrect or factually incorrect. Either way would not benefit my current position. So perhaps the best way is to retire. Another way to look at it is to recharge the batteries, from a different point of view. Whether or not The Last Hurrah was on Christmas 07, we shall see, as only time will tell. But one thing's for certain. My beloved section is in great hands, 'nuff said. Which paves the way for a great blending into the distance. How ironic that last year I was talking about a revival. Even more ironic is the path that I'm headed. The day the music died, again... Only now it's not because it's compulsory but elective instead...

In conclusion, although the score card read 8/10, I would say it was more of luck that influenced the scores. There is no doubt that the results speak for themselves on the marked improvement compared to last year (thanks to a hungrier drive to redeem myself after last year's farce and of course one less distraction). However, the gloss of the score conceal some hidden underlying problems that may come back to haunt me in the new year. However, with no easy or effective solutions in sight, the only way out is to bask in the successes of this year and hope that the problems will not mar the successes of next year.