'tis the season to be jolly

I'm talking about the Chinese New Year. There are several reasons why I love it, just as there are the reasons why I hate it.

Reasons to love CNY:
Ang paos This is especially so when I'm on the receiving end :) Greedy, money-faced, whatever. If they are offered to you, would you say no? 'nuff said. Heh.

Family I love my family - immediate & extended. As far as I'm concerned, I've got the most exciting & happening family ever. From infants to straight-laced accountants to a possibly schizo relative to *ahem* dodgy businessmen, this is perhaps the most colourful array of characters & personalities you'll find under one roof.

So this is the time of the year where we all find ourselves gathered under one roof, with 60 of us at the 'peak' visitation time. Imagine the madhouse my Grandpa's place becomes but that's the spirit. It's the time we all say our very delayed hellos & continue with the conversations that we left off from a year ago.

The extended family at Mum's cousin's wedding. Not a very good picture of all of us & not all of us are present in the picture either. Need a professional photographer for that ;p

Sad to say, there are many who are no longer around because their physical bodies have become tired & worn out. These dear ones will be sorely missed but they will always have a special place in my heart. Among the ones that have left, I miss my Grandmas & my Third Aunt most- miss you, love you all loads. Can't wait to see you all again :'(

Food In as much as I tell myself I'm on a diet, this is the one thing I can hardly resist at Chinese New Year. I always justify my indulgence *oops!* I mean my intake/consumption that 'tis the season to eat, drink & be jolly so gobble gobble gobble I go. After that, I'll feel guilty & I never quite resolve to never go gobble gobble gobble at family gatherings. I mean, what would my relatives say if I told them I'm on a diet "Whoa! Don't lah! Why don't eat? Get sick then you know!" or the eternal emotional blackmail line "Why don't eat? My food not nice is it? I cook your favourite. What do you want?" Sigh....

It's not even Chinese New Year yet but to date I've consumed (i)80% of a tin of cornflake cookies (ii)80% of a container of pineapple tarts (that's probably 10,000 calories given 1 pineapple tart = 70 calories) (iii)90% of a container of peanut cookies my friend, San, made.

Projected calorie input for the next week = 1,000,000
Projected calorie output for the next week = 0
Projected net calorie gain/(loss) = 1,000,000

Reasons to hate CNY:
Q&A The concern of well-meaning relatives can be such an annoyance. Since I'm not married & not seeing anyone, I'm subjected to the "When are you getting married?"/"Got boyfriend or not?" questions. If the bug doesn't stop at those questions, it goes on to the point where I get a mini lecture on why I must find myself a man ("Yes, I know but when it happens, it will. Zip")& stories of themselves when they were 27 with 3 kids running around them. Sigh...when will they ever understand that times have changed & the very simple fact that I'm not them?

Another thing I want to avoid talking about is work. Yes, yes, I'm in the noble profession but really, it annoys me when they all think that it's the easy life where I get off at 1pm or start asking me questions about things that are not within my scope. For example "You know how they calculate PSLE aggregate or not ah?" or "Can you tell me what questions will come out for exam?"

All I can say is that I'm so glad that there is Chinese New Year. Fat or not, irritating relatives or not, this is really the time where everyone gets to be jolly.

Happy New Year all!!! *woof!* (Year of the Dog)