So where were you when the Y2K bug proved to be Y2K bluff? Me, it was just another day sitting in front of the TV. If the end of the world struck, I would be caught dead as a couch potato.
I am a worrier so where did this absence of fear come from? I didn't even stock up a single can of sardines or corned beef. My contingency plan was this: if pandemonium breaks out in the city streets, I will walk like a ramp model to the nearest bus station for my parents' home so that we may face the end as a family.
If the much-anticipated three days of darkness fell, I'd bring out my stack of blessed candles which I had purchased and brought to a priest for blessing at Don Bosco on Feb. 22, Feast of the Candelaria. That was a couple of years back, take note, that the candles have practically gelled into one stout solid wax.
Thank God the apocalypse did not materialize, thus I was left with no choice but to celebrate with the whole world. Thanks largely to BBC and company's US$60M global production on TV, it was possible to do that without leaving one's seat in the living room. I knew I'd never experience anything like this for the rest of my life, so I stood my ground, so to speak.
There were supposedly 57 countries hooked in on the broadcast. Leading the international jamboree was Kiribati Is. (pronounced /ki-ri-bash /, I found out) where natives waited by the sea for the first sunrise of the new millennium.
(New Zealand) was beamed next, where an unheard-of tribe called Morioris also conducted a native ceremony. I couldn t chronologically recall the ensuing telecasts as I changed my seating and lying positions and switched channels. (Another channel showed CNN s equivalent coverage.
) At Sydney, Australia, dancers rappelled on the roof of the Opera House, taking away the collective breath of the audience in attendance, who were sure to get stiff necks later. The dancers reportedly belong to a well-known group, Legs on the Wall, who had toured foreign cities. Aborigines at Uluru also rendered traditional songs and dances.
At Macchu Picchu in Peru, a mystical Inca rite was performed. In the Holy Land, doves fluttered o er the little town of Bethlehem. East Timorese, victims of the most recent carnage, gave a message of peace.
In Spain, I saw the gorgeous church of Santiago de Compostela, the church where the bones of St. James the apostle is interred (?).
The pyramids of Giza in Egypt, I would learn later, had been used as film projector screens. Of course, there were fireworks and fireworks bursting at the end of every final countdown, but France was the hands-down winner. The most beautiful fireworks display anyone ever saw was shot at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Meanwhile, a concert by the three tenors Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras, and Placido Domingo was just held there moments before. In Norway, a young woman vocalized a classical piece (I guess Bach s Morning) atop what appeared to be an oil drilling platform. In Sweden, there was a lovely ice wedding that is, a wedding held inside a chapel carved out from ice.
In Iceland, the was a surreal presentation featuring lighted spheres that floated on water. In Japan, the traditional and state-of-the-art collided head-on: fire lanterns were released to the sky carrying individual wishes and a giant bell in an ancient Buddhist temple was struck a certain number of times while a rock concert spewed ballistic tunes on another side of town. I ve also seen the grandeur of Indonesia that is the Borobudur.
At Ipanema or was it Copacabana Beach, I head what was touted to be one of Brazil s greatest singers. In Jordan, I was a participant in an ancient dance and a baptism I almost saw John the Baptist. At around 12:00 PM in London, the world saw the Millennium Dome inaugural, which came with traditional, fantastic, and futuristic presentations.
I communed with Queen Elizabeth, and ___ the Big Ben, Prime Minister Tony Blair, The Corrs, the London Bridge, and the Stonehenge. Meanwhile, Antarctica s scientific community joined in via a short message. China, whose traditional Kung Hei Fat Choi was yet to be heard on Frebraury, conceded with the world calendar by giving her costume-y traditionals on the Great Wall.
In the Philippines, it s fiesta time in Intramuros, while it s That s Entertainment in Ayala, with the pop diva Regine Velasquez singing nervously atop the fountains of Manila Peninsula Hotel, together with a multitude of children. We all feared for their safety. It was a well-coordinated TV noontime show in Luneta, Quezon Memorial Circle, The Fort, Quirino Grandstand, Greenhills and other cities around the archipelago.
I instantly liked Regine s song It s Written in the sand even if I never liked her singing. The world also saw South Africa s Nelson Mandela visiting Robben Is., where he had been a political prisoner.
In Panama, which was a former province of Costa Rica, it was the Panama Canal handover. South Korea showed woman dancing in their traditional hanbok. In Uruguay, there was a Mardi Gras at Teatro Solis in Montevideo, the capital.
Argentina presented a most passionate tango at Tierra del Fuego s capital. Greeks greeted the new millennium by returning to their ancients at Parthenon in Athens, but there was a laser show among the ruins. US and Canada occupy four time zones so different locations were shown at a time.
For starters, I attended a concert at Newfoundland. Then as time went by fast, I found myself popping champagne bottles with the crowd at Times square in new York. Later, I was watching excerpts of the Broadway musical, Fosse, where I was happy to see tall black men and woman dancing to Sing, Sing, Sing.
I also watched stick-wielding dancers perform in Hawaii. In Rome, the Pope blessed the world from a balcony in St. It was here where he would be heard to say What cruel sufferings, but what incredible achievements as well!
later, he would deliver his traditional Urbi et Urbi ( To the city (of Rome) and to the world. I couldn t remember where I saw fountains spurt water to the tune of Handel s messiah. It must be a city in the US.
I also remember seeing Enrique Iglesias dancing wild onstage, virtually doing a reprise of Ricky Martin: wild dancing + Tight-fitting, long-sleeved shirt + exotic lyrics. It must be Spain. Furthermore, I woke up to legendary diva Kiri te Kanawa s singing, so it must New Zealand once again.
Lastly, I saw Gloria Estefan issue a statement. It must be Cuba, if not Miami, this time around. Germany welcomed the new age via a laser show at the Brandenburg Gate.
For the first time after so many years, the world saw Berlin without the wall of infamy. There was waltz music by was it Schubert? in Vienna, a giant hourglass in Geneva, a rowdy play in Madrid.
Europe almost had it at the same time. There was a wedding in war-torn Dagestan, affirming life amidst death. Ukraine s beautiful Byzantine churches were on view, too.
I also toured around the lovely ice sculptures (as they were being carved?) carved in Siberia. I head the following places mentioned but I failed to note what was being shown: Budapest, Oslo, Thailand, Chile, Taiwan, Venezuela (where about ten thousand recently died from mudslides), Mexico, Caribbean, Haiti, Fiji Is.
Either I fell asleep, ran to the bathroom, or attacked the fridge. Samoa was reportedly the last to experience the dawn of the new millennium. A troop of sober-faced policemen pierced thee air with bullets, while I couldn t restrain myself from laughing at their white skirts.
Lest I forget, there was noted science fiction writer Arthur Clarke reminding all of us that it s not quite the new millennium yet, citing how teabags are weighted in a weighing scale, by way of comparison. Id didn t get it exactly, but he must be right. That's it.
It's just me and my TV at the end of the millennium. Indeed, thank God everything was online. So where were you when the Y2K bug proved to be Y2K bluff?
Me, it was just another day sitting in front of the TV.
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