You light up my life. Now my wallet too 

When the clock strikes 12.01 am, marking the advent of January 1, 2014, I will be switching off the air-conditioning units in my house – together with the safety lights we have put up around the perimeter.

The fan would once again play a major role in our home, and we'll also stop stocking up on food that needs to be frozen, so that our fridge can take a bit of a rest (despite the fact that it's an inverter fridge).

We'll probably do away with the satellite television receiver as well, so that we'll not be tempted to watch copious amounts of TV. The TV will remain however, but will be used so sparingly, it'll help me gauge how dusty my home is so that I can rearrange our cleaning schedule, bearing in mind that the vacuum cleaner will probably spend more time in the store, so that we get more exercise using the broom and dustpan.

My son will embrace bathing with normal room temperature water, as I'll be switching off that power-hungry contraption we all call a water heater. Hey son, your father bathed all 37 years of his life in room temperature water, even in winter way back when. Boleh je hidup. Sihat gedebab je.

My mother would be laughing with glee as we start packing the microwave oven away, since she thinks it's such a waste of energy to use. Oh yes, now we'll be saving more as well as the automatic gates power mechanisms have finally broken down after 25 years. More muscles will come back into our arms then. Oh what joy!

With 8 of us at home, we'll probably start changing clothes less as well, so that we don't have to be so very reliant on the washing machine. Heck, what I'd do to have a home next to a waterfall, and then I can definitely wash clothes on the rocks.

This would also pose the best situation for us to stop relying so much on our devices, gadgets, laptops and notebooks, which all require charging. Let's do away with them all!

And dinners now will be far cosier with the family, since we'll have the luxury of candle-lit meals more often than not. It'll be romantic for the wife and me, but probably awkward for my parents and siblings. "Probably" is the definitive word. We all will learn to adapt anyhow.

So, on that very day, in case I forget, wishing all a Happy New Year, and for the fireworks to light up our skies so bright that night, so that all of us can switch off all our lights in embracement of what's to come.