My Top 10 wishes for 2008

My Top 10 wishes for 2008

1. Up in smoke

I know I am beginning to sound like a broken record, when in all honesty, I have done absolutely nothing about it. People who know me long enough would probably snigger and go “yeah right”. I realize I have as much credibility on this matter as Bush has on the Iraq war yet I also realize that I have now been smoking for the good part of a decade. With that dubious distinction follows a small fortune and probably a few years of my life as well. So there you are. My first wish for 2008 is to quit smoking.

Here’s a sobering thought. Have you ever realized that those damn cigarette producers are actually conducting genocide on the world? And guess what? By paying for their cigarettes, we are actually funding the entire heinous process. Therefore, technically, that makes you and I a murderer. So, how many people do you want to kill in 2008?

2. What money can’t buy
Health. I would gladly accept the gift of good health bestowed to me in 2008, if I so deserve. If not, may good health be forthcoming for my family, especially my parents. They have led hard enough lives and I have failed in my duties as a son. Allow me to make amends; let the cycle of obligation fall upon me. Do what you would to me, fate would decree my path. Let my parents enjoy a blissful 2008.

3. You’ll Never Walk Along…….
Come May 2008, Liverpool would be crowned champions of England for a record 19th time.

It probably would not happen. Cut me open and Liverpool red flows through my veins but let’s be realistic here. I said when the season started that Liverpool are probably not going to win the title this season, despite the introduction of a clutch of exciting new arrivals over the summer, noticeably the phenomenon known as Fernando Torres. What I did say was that Liverpool would be closer to challenging for the title. And they are.

Talks of a crisis are ludicrous. Entering the New Year, Liverpool are 9 points behind leaders Manchester United, 8 points behind Arsenal and 2 points behind Chelsea, with a game in hand on all three teams.

Frankly, I am sick and tired of the “Benitez-bashing” that perpetually dominates the press, both local and abroad. Yet, the most disappointing aspect of the entire saga is hearing so-called “Liverpool fans” joining the clamour for Rafael to be sacked. These “Liverpool fans” are disgraceful and have no place in the traditions of this very, very special club.

It took Alex Ferguson 6 years to win his first league title as United manager before United dislodged Liverpool at the pinnacle of English football. Likewise, Benitez needs time to drag a Liverpool side that was in decline back to its former glory. Open your eyes. This is the best Liverpool side since the days when Kenny “The King” Dalglish, John Barnes, Ian Rush, Alan Hansen and co swept all before them in the all-conquering teams of the 80s.

I could go on forever to argue for Benitez’s case but this column is not all about Liverpool. Still, for those with short memories, Liverpool reached two European Champions League finals in three seasons under Benitez, winning their 5th European Cup in that monumental night in Istanbul. Ferguson led United to their 1st Champions League semi-final in eight years last season. Arsene Wenger led Arsenal to their one and only final in 2006 after almost a decade at the helm. Mourinho and Chelsea? Beaten by Liverpool in the semi-finals in 2005 and 2007.
I rest my case. For now.


4. ….And may they rot alone in hell
While Liverpool win the league title, United, Chelsea and Everton get relegated. Ok. Now I am getting ahead of myself.

5. Singapore qualifying for the World Cup in 2010
Can Singapore’s football team defy insurmountable odds and conquer the impossible? Well, could United, Chelsea and Everton really be relegated from the Premier League? Eeeerrmmm….emphatically, NO.

Still, if Greece enacted mission impossible in winning the European Championships in 2004, I dare to dream. And if anyone is reading this, take me up on it. If Singapore qualifies for the World Cup in 2010, yours truly would stand in the middle of Orchard Road and offer my very passionate rendition of “Majullah Singapura”.

6. Up, up and away
Transportation fees go up. Utilities bills go up. Oil prices go up. Food prices go up. GST goes up. CPF withdrawal dates go up. Your blood pressure goes up. Your salaries go up. Right, in your dreams. With inflation expected to hit the roof in 2008, expect everything from staple food to your guilty indulgences to cost more than they ever did. Time to beg your boss for a pay rise or be part of a grand bank heist. Either way, it beats waiting for the government to hand out cash for you to spend. As the Hokkien famously say, “dan ku ku la.”

7. Time waits for no man
If procrastination were a crime, most of us would be charged guilty with no hope of parole. Therefore, the New Year always offers us an opportunity to look at our lives from a fresh perspective and re-evaluate our goals and priorities for the year ahead.

Therefore, after much thoughtful consideration, (actually it took as much time as slapping my doggie for jumping up on me but hell, at least I thought about it) I surmise that these are important issues for me in 2008:
My studies. Although I can’t control having to work with imbeciles at times, it is high time I re-discover my motivation and drive. I am doing this for myself, not for anybody else.
My family. Looking back at 2007 one of the most satisfying aspects of the year flown by is the improving relationship with my parents, especially my dad. I intend to build on it.
My writing. No, it is not ok to hold it back to another day. If I habour any serious dreams of becoming a writer, I have got to be writing regularly.
My friends. Time to catch up with those I hold dear to my heart. For those who do not really care two hoots about me, guess what? I don’t really care too. Go to hell. I would still say how I feel; I would still adhere to my beliefs and principles. Do not expect me to be a puppet; do not expect me to agree to everything you say, even if you make absolutely no sense. Instead, expect me to be even more frank and open this year. I want to be true to others and myself. Hypocrisy is anathema to Shawn in 2008.
Seriously start scouting for a new job. Go ahead. Squeal on me. As if I care.
Facebook, porn and anything on public broadcast TV are a waste of my time. Period.

8. Two makes a pair
Let me state categorically that none of my wishes are in any particular order of importance. Significantly, this is the least important of the lot. Even if more and more of my friends are getting married. Even if sometimes you do need somebody besides you. Even if it means regular sex.

Ok, ok, fine. At the expense of sounding like a sex-depraved pervert, I do secretly (so much for that being a secret now) hope to find that special somebody in 2008. Or maybe I really just want the sex. Shut up, shawn. Shut up.

9. World Peace
The assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, really hit a sore chord with me. It is an abhorable and dastardly act of cowardice that revolts and nauseates me. This is no longer about religions, beliefs, nationalities or political agendas. Anytime anyone takes it into their own hands to take the innocent lives of ordinary citizens, the boundary of acceptance has been crossed. Besides the death of Mrs Bhutto, the suicide bomber took the lives of at least twenty innocent Pakistanis.

What depths have the world sunk to, if violence is the order of the day; when we turn Mother Earth’s green fields into killing fields of crimson red? From the Islamic extremism that personifies the Al-Qaeda and other Muslim organizations who preach for all Muslims to perform the “jihad”, or holy war against America and its allies, to the Middle East Crisis that threatens to plunge Israel and Palestine into renewed war should US-brokered peace talks break down, to the dictators of Myanmar’s junta’s bloody crack down on peaceful demonstrators, the bottom line is this. Innocent lives were lost and continue to be lost on a daily basis just so a bunch of murderers, psychopaths, tyrants and inadequate leaders achieve their agendas and political aims.

I reiterate that once innocent lives are lost, it is a situation that simply cannot be accepted or tolerated, even if some might lead you to believe otherwise. When George W. Bush ordered American troops to invade Iraq in 2003, he claimed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. Today, Saddam Hussein has been hanged and as yet, the US has found no evidence of such weapons of mass destruction. Instead, scores of innocent Iraqi civilians have been killed as the country slips into civil war. If Bush genuinely still believes that the war in Iraq can be won, he should be hanged like Saddam Hussein. How do you proclaim a victory when the blood of thousands rests on your very own hands?

There is just no reason whatsoever, to legislate for the indiscriminate taking of lives. Some may call it collateral damage; some may call it a holy duty, yet others may claim that it is for national security. Bollocks. I call them goddamn murderers.

“A little girl was asked by her father if she had gotten everything she wanted for Christmas. Shaking her head sadly, she pointed towards the newspaper spread on the table with the headline screaming ‘Dozens killed in suicide bombing’”

10. This is for you
If you are reading this, you know whom you are. There is not a shadow of doubt that life is hard and we all face our own difficulties, trying to exorcise our inner demons and overcome the challenges that life throws down at us.

Sometimes, we get tired and weary and we feel we simply do not have the strength to go on anymore. Yet, have we truly realized how precious life is; how life has been deprived from others who are not quite ready to give it up?

When we give ourselves up, all hope is lost. For those whose lives have been nothing but a bed of roses, good for them. Somebody who has never failed can never truly savour the sweetness of success. There is no comparison to be made. You live your life for yourself, not for anybody else. You decide how your life pans out; you decide what meaning life holds for you.

You are a fighter, as I know you. I do not know you as somebody who gives up without a fight and taking your life does not bring you redemption. It brings you condemnation and forgiveness that I would refuse to grant you for eternity.

Be strong. You are not alone. You are never alone.