To usher in the New Year this year, I had planned to have a quiet evening alone with a good book and my new bottle of single malt whiskey which I bought in KLIA upon my return from South America. I had recently read in a book, a story of detectives working in Ireland during winter time, that there was such a thing as a 'hot whiskey'. I have no idea what a hot whiskey is nor have I tried it, so I was planning to experiment, and perhaps imagine that the cold bout of rainy weather we've been experiencing here is winter time in Ireland.
Until very recently, I thought that it was pathetic to spend New Year's Eve alone. Now, for the first time in my life, I was looking forward to spending New Year's Eve by myself. "To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance," said Oscar Wilde. I am 36 years late. But better late than never.
Unfortunately it was not to be. I was, and still am, stuck in Kuantan due to the closure of the East Coast Highway as a result of massive floods in the East Coast. I never knew highways could be flooded (I thought they were named HIGHways for a reason); the only way back to Kuala Lumpur are convoluted, pot holes-ridden trunk roads that requires a 7 to 9 hour drive. How dreadful. And yes, I don't mind 26 hour journeys, as long as I'm not the one driving. If I'm driving, 3 to 4 hours is the limit of my patience. Anything more, I become restless.
But it was a pleasant New Year's Eve anyway, eating ikan bakar petai with my family (of course, it could've been better if my younger brother was there too, but I'll take what I can get). It just goes to show, that sometimes the best laid plans can come undone by forces beyond your power. And sometimes, that may be a blessing in disguise.
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