You have heard it from your family, friends, on social media, and from your favorite vlogger. You may even have said it yourself. Now, you are reading it again. Tang**** 2020! Pardon my French.

Last New Year’s Eve, we were celebrating, hoping, and praying for a prosperous 2020. We were excited to get this year going. Master Hanz Cua’s bright forecast for the Year of the Metal Rat got our adrenaline pumping! Hello 2020!

But then 2020 decided, naaaah! It has become a nightmare that we cannot wake up from. You cannot blame anybody who just wants to release all the feels against 2020. As such, quicker than a political turncoat, our “Hello 2020!” was replaced by an emphatic “Tang*** mo, 2020!”

We want to go back to normal.

We want to go outside.

We want to go back to school.

We want to meet our friends in person – our internet connection sucks.

We don’t want to wear face mask all the freaking time; we hate smelling our breath while wearing it.

We want to eat samgyeopsal, dine-in, with unlimited rice. Who eats samgyeopsal, to-go, without unlimited rice anyway?!

We want workers to get their jobs back.

We do not want anybody else to get infected with or die because of COVID19.

We are tired but we want to live. And we want to live with a fair fight.

I can add a litany of things that went wrong this 2020 but I digress.

I just want to exclaim, hopefully for the last time, Tang*** mo naman 2020!

I know, I know…saying Tang**** is bad. I do not promote foul language. In social norms, it is only acceptable to express anger and displeasure with the use of non-foul or neutral words/phrases like SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! And that may be the right way to express it.

However, for now, can we all have a pass and just let out a collective catharsis?

Can we be excused and not be judged when we simultaneously refrain: TANG*** 2020!

There.

Okay, 2020. We cannot wait for you to end.