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12/25/2004
"18 day re-cap"

15 days come and gone, and the Tiffy Gambling Market Exchange took a major blow on the very last night, but it was worth every cent :) My cousins had a huge family gathering and even invited a lion dance troupe to perform on Chap Goh Meh, which is the 15th day of the lunar month, and the last official night of celebrations. Unfortunately, I missed the lion dance, but I did get to play catch with the kids, resulting in a very tired Aunty Tiffany at the end of the hour. Who needs the gym when you have 8 kids to play catch with?
Anyway, the cousins sat down for a game of blackjack which lasted till 3am, with the dealer taking home a total of over 5 grand, phew. All in all, I contributed but a drop in the proverbial bucket, but damn if it wasn't a crazy night.

Chinese New Year saw the disregard of many annual traditions and the execution of but a few in the name of practicality. I was disappointed, but enjoyed the family dinners and numerous rounds of mahjong which lasted till the early am. The house was packed for the first four nights, and it isn't any wonder that yee sang is merely an annual dish, because by the sixth night I was well and truly sick of it :P

As in any typical Chinese family, the eve of new year itself was busy, with everyone scuttling around on last minute errands and rushing home for the reunion dinner. For some, 'home' meant a four hour drive to a different state, depending on where the elder generation or majority of the family lived. For example, mom's hometown is actually Teluk Intan, Perak, which is about two hours away from the city. However, five of the seven sisters have migrated to KL, and after my grandfather passed away, it didn't make sense to join the mad rush back, so we took to celebrating in the city instead. Dad is a second generation KL-ite, so the whole family was around, with the exception of a few aunts and cousins who had to follow their husbands back. Prayers were held and cleaning was top priority because no one was to do any "work" on the first day of the New Year, seeing as it would be an inauspicious start. However, for some obscure reason, my parents took to cleaning anyway, but that's a different matter altogether. I drove my brother around for some super last minute shopping as he'd been so busy with work he hadn't the time to buy new clothes (which are a must in most families). Shops were closed by five or six, ours included, in preparation for the reunion dinner. There are 4 boys out of 13 kids in my dad's family, but for numerous reasons, none of my uncles could host the dinner this year, which meant that the onus was on my father to fulfill the obligation. The dinner was attended by my father's two older brothers and their families, my unmarried aunts and a few stray cousins. Mom had cooked up a storm, and by eight the kitchen was filled with the noisy clink of silverware and chatterings of a family catching up with one another. Out came a bottle of infused vodka, and the cousins drank and toasted to the coming of another new year. Mom's sisters and their families turned up after their respective dinners, and the house was packed till late.

The first day was one of prayers, new clothes and visiting. One was not allowed to wash their hair, for some reason or another (last I heard when I was a child was that if we did, our ancestors would have to drink the water?). Everyone was up by 9 and, having showered, decked out in their newest and reddest gear, hehe. After lighting joss sticks and a quick breakfast, it was off to my grandparents' to offer prayers to our grandparents and the deceased, as well as the gods that sat on the family altar. The funny thing about my immediate family is that we really don't do much visiting, as we tend to play host instead.We were home by noon, and the house saw a continuous stream of people coming and going, so much so that we couldn't leave the house again!

The rest of the new year was a blur of colours and smells, lots of mahjong and rest, laughs and good food. The 7th day of the New Year is known as Yan Yat, which, literally translated, means "(Humanity's) Person's Day", or everyone's birthday for that matter. We gathered at the Oriental Restaurant to celebrate, as well as to bid my godparents a safe journey, because they were leaving for Mongolia in a week. The 8th night saw us contributing to major air pollution as we arranged a 'mountain of gold' which consisted of 2,000 pieces of embossed paper folded to resemble traditional Chinese gold ingots. I had to pick up a whole roasted piglet from my aunt's, and a stream of silly puns ran through my mind as I drove the little piggy home :P After joss sticks were lit and prayers made after midnight, the 'mountain' was set on fire and the pig carved for consumption.

All in all, it was a good 15 days.

Yesterday saw me rushing like a crazed thing from one destination to another. 6.45am and I was up to drive my godparents to the airport. I got home at 9.30, and after a quick shower, it was to my cousin's and then to Bangi for the launch of a new project which her company was involved in. I had to play assistant and hand out name cards as I mustered the most convincing smile possible instead of running for the exit amidst business and financial talk, yuck. Not three hours later and I was in Sri Petaling to witness my cousin's marriage. He being half Malay meant a traditional Muslim wedding, and we were there to see the bersanding ceremony. What immediately struck me was the generous use of purple, which I was told was similar to the Chinese and their obsession with red, but I digress. It was odd going up to the platform and performing the blessing rituals, as this was the very same boy I played with when we were little tots, who was three months younger than me, and whom I haven't seen in years. He was, in so many ways, a stranger, one whom I wouldn't look at twice if we bumped into each other on the street. I honestly doubt he had a clue who I or my other cousins were, with the exception that we were related in some (not so) obscure way through his mother.

Now, with all that's been happening, it really is no wonder that fixing the 'puter and stuff was low on the priority list. However, my cousins are away and for the first time in over two weeks I have more than 6 hours sleep in my system and the house to myself, hence time to write a little :)

A thunderstorm is on its way, so I'm gonna end this post here before the 'puter gets fried.

I've got a pig in the car and I'm not afraid to use it!

Replies: 5 peanuts

sounds exciting!

my last 15 days

- get up
- go to sleep
- get up again
- find a way of justifying more sleep
- get up again
- work for 5 hours
- drink some beer
- get up again
- play some video games
- go back to bed

repeat!

When I get married, I'm going to invent all the traditions, rituals, etc and try and convince everybody that my strange wedding is actually a traditional [insert obscure culture here] wedding. The last event will be the 'cream-pie-ing of the groom'. You're invited, of course. Doubly so if you happen to be the bride.

Posted by garret @ 02/09/2024 05:03 PM GMT

hey happy belated CNY.

miss you little cha-bo, have fun and speak soon !

cell 902-569-9575

Posted by shaz @ 02/10/2024 05:49 AM GMT

you better be around enxt year around march or I will kill you. >.<

Posted by CHris @ 02/11/2023 03:56 PM GMT

thank God it's over. no money liao.

Posted by myuu @ 02/12/2023 08:31 PM GMT

gt: those 15 days don't sound bad at all. As for the wedding, is it a Bring Your Own Pie, or do we get freeflow? ;D

shaz: tried sms-ing and failed. hope to tty soon. *hug*

chris: what'll be your weapon of choice? I'll be back in TO I'm afraid...

myuu: ahahahahah!

Posted by t @ 02/16/2004 11:22 PM GMT