20 December 2009

They say 2000 zero zero party over, oops out of time.

At the stroke of midnight, the evening of 31st December 1999, aside from partying like it was 1999 (which, as i've mentioned, it was), I was stood amongst a group of close friends within a bigger group of people i'd never met before. Gathered as we had in the Millenium Stadium Cardiff for a big gig headlined by the Manic Street Preachers, we were waiting to sing Auld Lang Sine one with another. What happened instead was we sang Let It Be.

Just yesterday i heard that song played for only perhaps the fifth or sixth time this decade, and it took me back almost ten years to the day. 'What exactly did i let be?' i began to wonder to myself...

What does this past decade mean? I aged from 20 to 30 years old; got married, stayed married; bought a house (then sold it and bought another); got a job (though not a 'proper job'); revolved around church; watched a lot of telly, and some films; didn't travel so much; learnt to drive; cheered at some sporting events, wept at others, even competed in a few; had more experience of death than in the twenty years previous (i wonder if that's related to the seismic shift that's taken place in my faith perspective?); vomitted more than i'd like; danced less than i imagined i would; laughed some too; and talked a lot of crap. Is any of that 'meaning'?

What did you let be?

17 December 2009

Memo to all Gregorian calendar users

Head office has asked me to pass on the following memo to you all. It's just a minor point of administration, and there are no sanctions for those who don't go along with this, but H.O feel it will lead to better functionality all round if you do. Thanks.

As of January 1st, two weeks from now, we will be entering a new year and a new decade. H.O ask that we all refer to this year as 20-10 (twenty ten) rather than 2010 (two thousand and ten).

This for two simple reasons. First is because of the difference in the number of syllables - 3 to 5. The second reason is because if we don't do it now we never will; we'll go all the way through this century, right up until two thousand and ninety nine, sounding (and breathing) like idiots every time we refer to the year.

The only reason 'two thousand and...' was adopted was to avoid confusion between the years 2009 and 29 for instance. We never spoke of 'the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety seven' and we now have an opportunity to move back to normal speech. The need to speak this way has passed, it no longer serves a function except to make you sound like you're referring to some distant Kubrickian future-scape.

Many thanks,
your servant, A. Amoss.

PS. This new decade is NOT 'the Teenies' regardless of what the red-tops say.