title : chinese new year 2012 - just at a glance.
i think i am the least 'chinese' in celebrating chinese new year. surely there is nothing to be proud about. my chinese new year... from quiet to quieter each year. from a week long of celebration dwindled to just a day (almost just a 3/4 day) long. from a state apart to just a neighbourhood nearby. from the myriad of chinese new year outfit down to a surprisingly singular item. needless to say, how my angpow collection has got so much slimmer now it seems 'anorexic'.
it is
uncool that i am alone at home on the second day of my chinese new year.
my parents and my younger sister have gone for an untimely vacation to taipei. and my elder siblings have their in laws. as for me,
i have no friends and i cant wait to work tomorrow -.-, but contradictingly am also anticipating for another stretch holiday for awal muharram and thaipusam.
it is even
uncool that i choose to stay home and not to enjoy the empty roads in the city centre. [scrorchingly hot outside and im on critical financial drought..]
the best thing about chinese new year is actually how terrific the traffic is outside!!!
i did enjoy few
short happy moments with my family during that 3/4-day-long-of-celebration. for me, chinese new year is just like any other day, but also awesomely coupled with work- and traffic-free days as perks.
here is my relatively (damn short la ok) short account of chinese new year 2012...
1. food has always been the most essential element for any chinese celebration
... reunion dinner on the chinese new year eve at noble house, jalan imbi
yee sang.
lavish mix of raw salmon, abalone (apparently real), prawns, and crunchy thingy, gingers, and coriander leaves
lou sang...with chants and wishes of good health, better fortune (it has never been better), peace, and joy from within
my abalone chicken soup. i like it being distinguished from the usual starchy soup
the unjust treatment. that was my sister's bowl of sharkfin soup.
stacks of fins
please dont sue me for (accidentally) having that. i sincerely hoped the fin we have got were legally from a dead shark. and not those fin-less-poor-shark-thrown-to-the-sea.
it was no vomitus. it was a dish of splendour - lobster, birdnest, eggs...
and it was such a waste!!! argh! i would rather have lobster sashimi and then bird nest soup. simplicity at its best.
abalone and sea cucumber
stuffed chicken with glutinous rice - an inspiration from thanksgiving day im supposed
ashton's little friends stealing crunchy thingy from the yee sang
... ... homemade lunch for the chinese new year day 1
unflattering plates. but the dishes were mouth-watering. all done by my maid.
my favourite. esp the radish! slurp slurp
braised mushroom
i am having a bad feeling that my maid is leaving us soon.
(a) after serving us for 18 years, this was the first time she stepped out to lend a helping hand to make a chinese new year lunch from scratch all by herself
(b) she asked me to get married as soon as possible
(c) more substantially, his son is going to work as a veterinary physician in indonesia soon
i know the reasons did not really match with my feeling. let's just say it's my womanly in-born instinct which are very likely true, for once i hope it would not be anytime soon T.T
2. we did the traditional style of greeting the parents for 'cho 1'
ashton with his iron man red packet
the best picture!!!
the picture spoke a thousand of positive energy and emotion. i adore how my parents looked wonderfully over the moon! to my delight, that is my lovely niece, kaylee. how much she has grown out from her bald-y toddler phase. she has teeth.
i fervently wished my dad for great health and a flourishing business (and then early retirement)
health and beauty for mom... n less 'neurotic' as in not overly anxious for us. [note: not a diagnosed term but an expression]
3. the annual tradition - gamble
how my sister gambled with an aura of elegance. if you want to know, her cheongsam was from egete @ one utama.
tit bits. blackjack. and attempting to jinx the dealer.
and i have never won a single ringgit for consecutively 3-4 years
that are my cousins. we rarely spoke to one another on usual basis. we also never bothered to ask about each other lives on cny only because frankly speaking if one really cares, bonding session should not only be during the cny. i mean, once a while, we still do whatsapp and facebook-message each other.
i like them for their lack phoney-ness. and gambling brought us together very well.
while the young ones stood for three hours, despite our brittle knees and feet, gambling, and yelling and celebrating for burst cards for the dealer, the old ones were outside having men forum.
the [old] men's club
4. the family photo
... ... which you may find the link to my camwhor-ism.
ashton and hot mama
kakak dearest and ashton
hahahahaha. look at kaylee. lol!
chubby kaylee. cuteeeeeeeee-nesssssss overdose!
the 'old kind' of 'cute' - mom and her hamper + me.
we seem related now. despite the non-resemblance of our faces.
ashton squeezing my stress pill from university of strathclyde... and he is so handsome!
very unresponsive ashton
wati... who is part of my family too
she is the one who watches me grow from 8 till 25ish. she washed my hair when i was caught with head lice (stupid boy who had head lice and then put his infected head on my shoulder) till my scalp was about to leave my skull.
and yes, she was also the first to urge me to get married this year.
just because my 3rd sis is getting married soon. i have no more shield from the bombardment of that less welcoming "when to marry" question. ah!
im the most gigantic sibling. how great.
parents dearest
i like my psychedelic bedsheet.
victorian/oriental white dress from azorias (love it!)/ charles and keith pumps (adore 'em)/ fossil clutch (awesome grab from jpo)/ michael kors wristwatch/ h&m hairband (dirt cheap stuff)
vintage dress from greenpoppies @ haji lane, singapore/ pedro shoes/ accessories from diva and dorothy perkins.
my sister: dress from times square (apparently it is very much improvised)/ charles & keith (nude is the best colour...and it is in the season...damn broke each time walking out from c&k)
that's all. happy chinese new year to all. have a blessed and prosperous year ahead.
family is forever. i would not have just spent it with them on chinese new year solely but everyday. i cherish my family a lot. and im glad i have them. of all the people that come across my life, my family is the one of the few who are sensible enough to look past my past, to never judge me but to support me emotionally and mentally.
oh yea... dont be too disappointed at the yearly feng shui analysis for 12 zodiacs. God knows why the 'tiger' has never been good in terms of money every single year. i think we should just grasp our own fate and work things out.
