I Almost Did Not Celebrate Earth Hour

I almost did not celebrate Earth Hour because of my mum. She dismissed Earth Hour as a stupid campaign and that our house will be the only house in the neighbourhood with lights switched off.

I was frustrated but luckily I had the support of my sister. I explained to mum that even if we were the only idiots in the neighbourhood, I'll be glad I'm an idiot who is trying to make a difference. I also explained the importance of making a stand against global warming, the importance of saving Planet Earth ... blah, blah, blah ...

She finally relented because it was two against one, but insisted that the fan and TV be kept on.

Two hours before Earth Hour, mum went to buy dinner. She's terrified of eating in the dark and urged everyone to quickly eat before the lights were switched off. So we had fried rice, kueh teow tah and Cantonese yin yong.

Being a true blue Malaysian, immediatly after dinner I was already planning what to eat for supper during Earth Hour. So I ordered pizza!

I also prepared one of my favourite alcoholic beverages - Bailey's Irish Cream with low fat milk.

When the hour approached, we watched the countdown on television and switched off the lights at 8.30pm sharp. I then took a walk around the neighbourhood to see how many houses were in darkness.

Mum tagged along, adamant to prove her point that we would be the only idiots in the neighbourhood.

Surprisingly there were a considerable number of houses that were in darkness. To this, mum scoffed and said that it must be the kids who were pestering their parents to take part. To houses that were lit, she said, "See, I told you not many would even care."

We then went home and continued watching television in the dark.

I ate my pizza and drank my Bailey's in the candlelight.

Soon the hour passed and it was all over. My sister pointed out that the hour seemed to whizz by and she didn't feel at all like it was one complete hour. I totally agreed.

At the end of the day I asked myself: Why did I persevere to fight off an unsupportive mum? Why did I bother to go through all that? Why did I even bother to switch off the lights?

I guess the answer lies in my belief that I'm doing my little part in making this world a better place. Rome was not built in a day, and so will instilling the impotance of saving Planet Earth, especially amongst the older generation because it involves lifestyle changes, and you know how old people can get when their routine is disturbed. It's going to be a long and arduous journey, but we must start somewhere and that somewhere begins now.