CNY report

The first morning, we spent most of time in the living room entertaining our relatives and guest comprising of mostly employees. We had about 40-50 people in which everyone found their own little corner to gamble. We had tables of mahjong, blackjack, bigone(also known as daidi), dice and more. Some would assume the role of the banker at any point in time. I never want to be banker coz I don’t really how to be. Haha… It seems really lucrative though. Later, we knelt in front of our grandmother, parents, uncles and aunties in a sequential manner, giving them our blessings in our own unique way possible. My cousins, siblings and I would compete on the best and most number of Chinese proverbs that we can muster in front of our elders.

I finally spoke to my niece, Chloe, whom I think is very rude because she always fail to call me “Auntie Laurene” ; She is in primary 3 in RGPS and does a multitude of extra curriculum activities like ballet, tennis, drama, piano etc. She doesn’t say hi to most of us because she forgot all our names; can’t blame her as there is just so many of us. I made her remember all of our names then and played some little games with her thereafter. Little kids ah…

The second morning we brought Mocca to the botanic gardens. As usual, he would stand up the second we reached the car park as though he could smell the trees. As usual, he went around, marking his territory. The previous SMU sign was replaced with NUS on the building next to food haven; I recalled the days back yonder.

It was a funny sight watching my uncle, Peter learning to blade… I think I dad would be more of a clown. When we came back, we had to entertain some more guests but I was lazy… I just took my lunch, drank 2 glasses of red wine. The next thing I know, I was lying in bed half-drunk. After I awoke, I had dinner and watched few good hours of TV. After writing this, I probably would do a few rounds of cards before I prepare for work again tomorrow…

It wasn’t exactly an eventful CNY but was fun as usual.

CNY 2009

Chinese New Year, also known as the spring festival is one of the most celebrated events in Asia. To many, it’s about collecting as much Ang Paos as they can; showing off their new clothes, beautifully manicured fingers; winning pot lots of money.

What does this festival mean to me? It means celebrating our Chinese roots, family bonding and catching up with old friends. Relatives, close friends would come by to exchange blessings. We would spend lots of time eating and drinking merry. This year, I have filled half my wardrobe with long sleeve work shirts; I might look like I am going to work on my visitation. Heehe... but I don’t really care coz I don’t buy my clothes just to impress and I really do have enough of non-work clothes.

This year, I pray that everything will turn out well for my love ones. For me, I hope I will survive the hardship for the next 5-8 mths; working for the global team and lending half my arm to the local team and then having to struggle CFA amidst the fund raising project due in September. I know I am going to be damn stressed but I’ll find the time to go the gym, meet up with my friends and bring my dog out for a walk. For Daniel, I hope time flies so that he’ll be back in my arms sooner and that he’ll find a good job before he graduate; difficult in this current crisis but I have faith in him. For my dad, I hope his business prosper and that he’ll spend more time on books and less on fortune telling. For my mom, I hope she’ll be less irritating ha. Aside from that, I hope she’ll start enjoying the fine things in life then worrying whether we’ve eaten. For Addison, I hope he gets into a good university so that he gets a good chance to start over; he is a bright boy. For Andrew, I hope he is on his way to the road of success; he seems to know what he wants in life. For Anthony, I hope he learns discipline and achieve the great things he said he would in life; all his talk is usually empty.

I’ll update again on CNY happenings…

Money or Love?

Which is more important? I thought love… but life has taught me otherwise. It’s not about being materialistic. It’s about true happiness. To me, happiness is about having a complete family. A happy family isn’t complete without money. The family I have always wanted is a warm and comfortable – one that stays in a private apartment if not a bungalow; one that can take the kids out for a fun outing, splurging on food and activities and not having to worry about whether there’s going to be food on the table; one that has money to sustain the good relationships in life. No matter how much I love a person, I wish I would never have to compromise on these things that mean the whole world to me. Because I know that if I do, I could be smiling on the outside but I would never be truly happy on the inside.