Chap Goh Meh

Happy Chap Goh Meh to all...

Today is the final day of Chinese New Year 2009. It's called Chap Goh Meh (in hokkien meaning "15th night"). It's the Chinese Valentine's day actually, where "hopeful" single women throw "kam" (mandarin oranges) into the river while the daring single men go all out to grab these oranges. The most romantic day of all the days in Chinese New Year.

Incidentally, today marks the wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Keyman. Kinda romantic when I think about it falling on a Valentine's day. However, Keyman tells me that he's celebrating the day with his "gay" friends.... (gay = in cantonese meaning machines/gadgets i.e. hi-fi, audio video stuffs).

Today is Ginger's birthday too (based on the Chinese Calender). Also very romantic because her actual birthday falls on 14th February, the western Valentine's day. How coincidental. She told me that this phenomenon only happens once every 19 years and it happened on the day she was born. How romantic, I thought. However, she tells me she's not celebrating tonight with a date, nor is she going to celebrate the coming Valentine's day with anyone.

Then cousin told me that his friend has organised a clubbing session this coming Saturday, but it's only for the singles. I was somewhat offended initially, thinking that I was prejudicially excluded from the outing on purpose. And then he told me I was not invited because it's "Single Awareness Day" (SAD) and only then did I realise that next Saturday is Valentine's day. Clubbing on Valentine's day for the singles seems like a romantic occassion until cousin told me that the meaning of single in his context does not refer to marital status but being alone!

Such irony. For what seemed to be romantic stories or situation, is actually celebrated with the least romantic inclination.

Closer to home, Big B is going for Badminton tonight, totally oblivious to any romantic relations...

So I decided not to be alone.... I went to cousin's house for some Guitar Hero. And boy was it fun...

"And so what, I'm still a rockstar..." Ahhahaha.. pfffttttt....

Happy Valentine's Day (said in rocker style... yeah! Peace, man, peace! hahaha)

*Disclaimer: This article is not a flamer to those romantic couples nor do I disapprove of romance, love and affection (I am a hopeless romantic, actually). Just something to spread cheer and help lift the spirits of the broken-hearted or the faith-departed.

PS3 - Playing Seriously 3 - Wanna be a rockstar?

The latest craze in the gaming section seems to be the Rockband or Guitar Hero games. Almost every other computer shop have stocked up these mock band sets in their stores like it's the hottest items for Xmas. It's popularity is further spured by it's compatibility with PS3, Wii and Xbox 360. I suppose a lot of people buy them in conjunction with long Chinese New Year holidays. Good idea too as it's something you can show off to your guests when they come visiting besides being good entertainment value.

I now understand why cousin bought it just a few weeks before the New Year. Just ample time for them to practise. And their practise paid off as they can play expert level for drums and guitar now. No wonder he kept asking me to practise my vocal chords before coming to his house for an "audition". He seriously warned me against making a fool of myself with the vocals should I play expert level.

I still remember the eager beaver look on my cousin's face when he first got the PS3 set. He came to my house with the new toy and insisted we go for yumcha. It was pretty weird for him to insist that I go for yumcha even though there was a special guest that he wanted me to meet. True enough, Miss Cake was back from UK but I guess the real reason was to practise the Guitar Hero as it needs 4 people to make up the complete band of drums, guitar, bass and vocals.

Practising with the Guitar Hero for the first time was pretty frustrating (although fun) since everyone was new with the game. (We were so amused by the new game that we stayed till 4am - but I think the neighbours weren't too amuse with our bad music and laughters...). We couldn't even go pass the first bar without mistakes or totally striking out. Cousin Mun said he wanted to sell the set at ebay the next day. Guess he wouldn't part with it for a 1000 bucks now that he's mastered some of the songs like Hotel California, Beat It, Eye of a Tiger, Living on a Prayer and About A Girl. (To further illustrate and emphasize how frustrating it is to play "expert" level without practising: even Little b was frustrated, and shouted, "What is wrong with you guys?" when he was playing the "easy" drums while we keep striking out with our "expert" instruments. "C'mon Miao, let's get out of here", cried a bored Little b and ran off to play in the garden with his cousin Miao after we struck out a few rounds).

With this game, we now appreciate how difficult it is to play music, let alone be a rockstar (especially when you try and play No Doubt's Spiderwebs) and thus, perhaps think twice before we give in to piracy. (I know I know, the heart is willing but the flesh is weak).

Here's a few rockstars wanna be...

This one looks like a serious Yee Woo player rather than a rocker.
Aren't we a little too ambitious to play and sing at the same time?
This one takes the cake.... King of all ROCKERS!!! Yeah Man...!



The "band" singing (or killing) Nirvana's About A Girl

Living on a Prayer? How apt to be playing a rock song in front of the altar! Omitofu... Yau Kwai Muk Kwai.... (translated to something equivalent to "Father please forgive me for I have sin...")

Chap Goh Meh!

Just came out of the bathroom.... after some deep bowel cleansing and a shower. I wonder if it was the burger or was it the Yee Sang at my mom's place.

Lately there's been so much good food entering my tummy... Ah Yatt Abalone, Marco Polo dimsum, Nikko Hotel Dimsum, Mei Keng Fatt Seafood, Overseas' Char Siew, Ipoh's Assam house, Setiawan's Ah Pek Seafood, homecook goodies, etc etc... Feels so satisfying... Hahaha, everyone knows that I am a little gluttony when it comes to food... I derive a lot of happiness when eating good food... Feels so gratifying as we spend our hard earned money "into" ourselves hahaha...

Have been a little dry on ideas lately due to too much entertaining, angpow exchanging, CNY card playing, and of course CNY gluttony... Thus I will keep this short and simple. Enjoy the pictures though... :P (Special note: will upload pics later coz I need to visit the bathroom again.. *bummer*)

Oh, oh... Incidentally today is the "Valentine's Day" in the lunar calendar... Happy Valentine's day to all the lovers out there... May you find abundance sweetness in your lover year after year ..... (doesn't it sound like some CNY greeting? ahaha.. it's totally intentional AHHAHAA)

CNY Ipoh trip

FEB 10 SAT: It’s Chinese New Year again… time for fun and merriment of sorts, food and drinks galore, gathering and gossiping, and not forgetting lanterns and fireworks in abundance….

This year, without much preparation, we took a trip to Ipoh and Setiawan, just to sample the food there after hearing so much from colleagues…Everything was ad-hoc, where to meet and time was decided last minute, less than 15 hours before the actual trip itself…. Nevertheless it was an exciting experience for us…. And especially for Bryan....It was a great way to get him to see the greeneries and animals in the sub-urbs instead of being glued to the computer all day… He wasn’t too keen to leave his video games at first until I told him that there’s be 3 friends with better computer games, waiting for him in Ipoh…

Bryan has no idea what Ipoh is but it’s some where far…. So he was excited. And when we reached Tesco Extra Ipoh, Bryan saw the word Ipoh next to the Tesco sign board. He immediately associated Ipoh with Tesco. So now he thinks Tesco is Ipoh and Ipoh is Tesco, and keep telling me that he wants to go to Ipoh, thinking it’s a Ipoh is a supermarket where he can buy his Spiderman and Final Battle Gameset toys. OMG Help!!!! How do I explain what’s “Ipoh” to him…???? HAHAHAHAHA

Anyway, we found the Ipoh guy, Kee and proceeded to have lunch at Assam House…. MC was a little disappointed that his "weird taste pork hands" was no longer served in that restaurant as the restaurant has turned Halal. Food was okay only compared to those in KL (only the Sambal Kerabu and the Curry Hawaiian Muscle was worth mentioning).

We proceed to Kees house to rest for a while and complete the Chinese New Year tradition of visiting… Sorry Kee, we’re so embarrassed that we brought only “bananas” as we weren’t prepared for visitations ahahhaah…… Kee and family were nice and welcomed us warmly… Bryan warmed up quickly to his 3 little friends too..

As time didn’t allow us to hang around in Ipoh for too long, we proceed embark on our next destination - Setiawan for dinner. Journey was long with lots of traffic lights… the only highlight was when I showed Bryan a bunch of water buffalos. He’s never seen black cows before, so he asked innocently, “Why are they black? Venom attacked them ah?” AHAHAHAH… I bursts out laughing at his silly yet logical association …. Hahahahah Spiderman became black after being attacked by venom so it’s only logical to think that the cows became black if they were attacked by Venom hahahaha…

Dinner time came and we found LP who kindly brought us to Kampung Koh to sample their seafood. We wanted to Lou Sang but the restaurant doesn’t serve it… *bummer*…. We had a whole table of seafood, Fish, Prawn and Crabs… with oysters, sotong too… quite a sumptious dinner.. but still room for improvement tastewise… Anyhow, it's the company that counts. We had a superb meal because everyone was in such high spirits and joked about anything

Bryan keep asking me to bring him to the beach and thus we adjourned to Lumut beach for some final sightseeing. If you’re expecting sand and beach, then you’re in for some disappointment. (*Special Note: Yesterday I asked Bryan whether he wants to go to the Lumut beach again; the place where he can play with those dolphins statues and run around in the park beside the port. He replied bluntly, “But Mom, I don’t like to play with statues, I want some REAL DOLPHINS.” HAHAHAHAHAHA … and I thought I could trick him into some cheap alternatives ahahah..)

The day ended there for me as a very tired Bryan unwind to sleep in the car after some milo. But I heard Kee, MC and LV were still on the move. They went back to Ipoh hoping to get some more goodies such as “Salted Chicken”, “Ipoh Hor Fun”, “Ipoh White Coffee”, “Ipoh Taugeh Chicken Rice” ..etc…. However, to their disappointment, Ipoh was infested with tourist on that day and everything was sold out!!! They looked everywhere for food until around 1 am and had to settle for some imitation Ho Fun… CMC says the imitation white coffee was still good… Hmmm not sure if he was just saying that to lessen Kee’s guilt on his inability to bring his fellow friends to sample all the infamous food…. Ahhahaha… We can see Kee tries pretty hard to please everyone and was hoping his fellow buddies could stay the night to accompany him longer…. (Kee must have been pretty bored in Ipoh to be so desperate for MC and LV's companionship....)

Time flies when we’re having fun… it was indeed a very fun trip despite us spending most of the quality time in the car. We had joy, we had fun…. And we just cant wait till the next makan trip… :P

Thank you Kee and LP for such a wonderful time. And thank you LV and CMC for such a silly funny good time....

Gong Xi Fa Cai! 2007 Part 2 : The legend continues....

And it’s back to work again for most of us after the long auspicious week of resting (for some), or frenzied visiting (for others). Notably, it’s the 9th day of the CNY today, which incidentally is actually the first day of CNY for the Hokkiens. For those who are not familiar, according to verbal legends, long long time ago in China, there was an ethnic cleansing activity done on the Hokkiens (maybe due to some “kongsi gelap” or triad fight). The Hokkiens seek refuge in their sugar cane farm but their enemies were persistant with their searched and destroy agenda and proceeded to burn down the farm. The Hokkiens prayed hard to the Jade Emperor (one of the Chinese Deities) and miraculously, the skies begin to pour and dowse the fire and washed away the assassins. Coincidentally, this happened during the midnight of the 8th Day of the Lunar New Year, when the Hokkiens came out of hiding, unhurt and safe from being wiped out. Since then, the Hokkiens celebrated their Chinese New Year on the midnight of the 8th day of the CNY by giving thanks and praise to Tin Kung (God of the Sky) for having mercy on them on that fateful night and preserving the existence of their clan. It is also noted that it usually rains on the 9th day of CNY. Like it did just now during the Lion dance performance in my company.

While we're on the subject, I have another story to tell regarding the lion dance. How did the lion dance came about? Well, according to Chinese legends (again!), The Year (Nien) is a fearful monster which terrorized humankind once every 12 months, at the beginning of the Lunar Year. There were no Superman or Ultraman then to battle the stealthy Nien so people live in fear of the Nien for many years, each time spring arrive. One day, a monk from the mountains (Not sure if he’s from Shaolin Temple though but legend has it that he has a big head and a big fan) tamed a Lion and converted the Lion into a vegetarian. Together with his vegetarian lion (which explains why Lion dances usually come with that Green Vegetable as a reward for the lion), they found that loud noises and the red colour will scare the Nien Monster away. And with that discovery, the Chinese were free from The Year Monster. From then onwards, the Chinese celebrated this overcoming of fear as Chinese New Year, which incidentally is also called “Kuo Nien” ( which literally means “overcoming the monster, Nien”). Each year during spring, they will make lots of noise via fireworks and lion dances (lead by a monk with a big fan called Tai Tao Fatt in Cantonese) and put up lots of red decorations and give red packets to each other as blessings and protection from the Nien Monster.

That’s my story for this Chinese New Year which I hope will somehow bring forth some insights to the rich Chinese culture that has been brought down many generations since thousands of years. There are many more myths and legends that come with the Chinese New Year (like the deity Nuwa making humans from clay on the 7th day of the lunar calendar and thus making it everyone’s birthday every 7th day of the CNY). All these makes the celebrating of the coming of the lunar year so much more meaningful and exciting. I view myself as almost at the end of the Chinese generations in my family to observe the Chinese traditional practices/prayers (yes, I guess I shame my ancestors as I don’t know how to set up the altar etc …with the excuse of westernization and modernization *blush*). As such, I only hope that in my writings, I can at least carry on some of the Chinese Legends and Cultures for my future generations.

Chinese New Year 2007

The Big Chinese New Year is finally here. Yes, the Golden Boar (I wont use the other “non-halal” word as a respect to muslim readers) has arrived and has been bestowed the honour to bring luck, prosperity and happiness to one and all. The “Dog” has done a good job before handing over the year to the Boar by starting the stock market rally, treating many happy punters to big fat bonus just before the Chinese New Year holidays. And the Boar continued the rally by bringing in foreign investors to make Bursa Malaysia history (KLCI hits 14-year high in record volume on the first day of trading after the CNY break!).

It’s been a “boar-ing” new year for me. Maybe it’s due to the fact that I had to report for work on the 2nd day of CNY which dulls the whole event. Not even the ang pow which I received from my boss could cheer me up. Somehow everything seems sluggish. Even on the first day of New Lunar Year, we didn’t do much but eat and sleep a lot… signature habit of the boar? Ha ha. Up until today, the 5th day of Chinese New Year, we haven’t done much to celebrate except to sleep and eat dried meat, cookies, and Yee Sang. When we visited friends and relatives, we end up eating more dried meat, cookies and Yee Sang. In fact, the biggest event that happened to me this year is having Yee Sang with my Malay friends. Now, that was a very meaningful lunch for me - to be able to have a happy “muhibbah” lunch with my friends (ex-MBA classmates). For one of them, Azhar, it was his first time tasting Yee Sang and he found it very good (even though we found the Genki Sushi’s Yee Sang a little too bland). So that’s even more meaningful. J Incidentally, I want to add that Chinese New Year is not a Religious Celebration, but a spring festival to celebrate the coming of Spring, so that’s why you see Chinese who are of various religions celebrating it together.


Eating Muhibbah Yee Sang at Genki Sushi

Besides that, nothing interesting happened to me thus far, so I will keep this blog short and simple. Oh, a frown on Brandon’s face when I say nothing else is interesting reminded me to thank him for making me the “unofficial” product endorser for Nike Golf. Have been wearing nothing but Nike Golf shirts, Nike golf culottes, and Nike golf shoes for the whole of CNY… ”I would like to thank God for getting me where I am today and Thank you, Brandon for making all this possible.” Note that I am saying this ala Grammy’s style. Ha ha… Have a great Chinese New Year, Gong Xi Fa Cai, to all who are celebrating and to those who don’t, hope your long holidays was a great one.

Chinese New Year 2006

Happy Human Day - 04 February 2006

I can’t believe it. So far, this chatterbox has nothing to write about for Chinese New Year this year until now. In fact, I haven’t much inspiration after King Kong. Was even too lazy to write about Geisha, although initially I thought the story was a tat too simple to be a blockbuster. However, after watching Last Samurai today, I realized that these kinds of shows amazes the westerners as it brings forth the deep and mysterious culture and heritage that only we Asians have the fortune to have. And seriously, if I didn’t watch Last Samurai and Geisha, I wouldn’t have the slightest idea what these rich cultures (or ways of lives) of the Japanese were all about. These traditions that the Japanese fight fiercely with their lives, carries profound meanings and intense substance that most of us do not understand. After all, the Japanese can proudly boast that these cultures belong to them and them alone.

Of course, we Malaysians also have many things to be proud about. Our multi-culture and multi-ethnic group population makes us even richer with cultures and traditions even though much have been altered, enhanced and omitted through the years due to various reasons such as inconvenience, social welfare and adaptation. Even the Chinese New Year traditions albeit rich, are not resilient to these evolutions.

Yee Sang, for example, is a locally “invented tradition” where the Chinese in China, Taiwan or Hong Kong do not practice serving this dish as part of their Chinese New Year Cuisine. In

Malaysia

, it’s a must have traditional CNY cuisine to symbolizes good luck, increasing prosperity and successful business. In fact, even in

Malaysia

itself, the Yee Sang has evolved from being served only on “Human Day” (the seventh day of CNY which incidentally is today) to almost everyday even before the CNY starts! Those who are doing marketing courses can cite Yee Sang as a classic example of successful marketing. Extremely successful in fact, as the margin for a plate of these colorful cheap vegetarian ingredients plus a few slices of fish and a packet of crisps, can be up to 300%-400% (especially if served in a fancy restaurant)! Hmmm, come to think of it, the restaurants are getting all the “good luck, increasing prosperity and successful business” which the Yee Sang brings. Having said this, I would still pay for it as I like the taste and it reflects our own significant CNY culture (aiyah, only once a year).

As we put our chopsticks together to indulge in boisterous flipping, mixing and tossing the “al cheapo” ingredients (except if you’re having abalone Yee Sang (Note: aha, the ingredients itself show an evolution of tradition here. It used to be only raw fish as the name Yee Sang suggested but the innovative Chinese has invented various other ingredients such as abalone, jellyfish etc)), I am sure you get that quintessential feeling of family togetherness/bonding/affirmation of ties/social unity all at the same time! Well, that is what cultures and traditions are all about - creating unity and family/friendship bonding. If we don’t uphold them (not necessary to fight with our lives like the Last Samurai), then the cultures and traditions will be lost forever! And strong family ties and friendship will slowly fade away.

Have a wonderful Chinese New Year 2006 – The year of the Dog. As I write, the Hokkien families are already beginning to prepare for the second family reunion dinner tomorrow which continues to midnight to “Pai Tin Koong”, (the Ninth day of CNY where Hokkiens offer prayers to the God of Heaven or Jade Emperor). This is another tradition that should be proudly passed down to the younger generations. Excuse me while I peep out my window to get a glance of the beautiful fireworks released by authorized parties (note that the usage of firecrackers as tradition to scare away the “Nien” (New Year) monster/dragon has been omitted in view of the welfare and health of children and insomniacs).

Alright, I will end here with some auspicious or lucky sayings (Traditionally these lucky sayings, which usually rhymes, are written in beautiful calligraphy only red strips of paper called “Fai Choon” to be pasted onto the doors to welcome good luck):

May you have a year of health and joy,

And an abundance of good fortune which you can enjoy!

Happy Chinese New Year, Gong Xi Gong Xi!

Kelly Rivers

p/s. The above article is not an endorsement or declaration of all the Malaysian Chinese New Year traditions and cultures. It is just a recollection of my personal experience and thoughts in conjunction with the Chinese New Year. The article is written just to promote the festive mood and bring you well wishes.

Chinese New Year 2005 - Part 2

Happy Valentine's day and Human Day (Part 2 - 15 Feb 2005)

Wow, I didn't realize that my quest for a "Hot date" would gather so much feedback and interest! For those who sniggered at my ability to find a hot date (What? Can an Auntie get a hot date? Dream on!), well, wait till it's your turn. Oh, btw, let me remind you that I am not a girl but NOT YET an auntie (sung to the tune of Britney Spears, "I am not a girl, not yet a woman").

For those who gave their well wishes and prayed for me, thank you very much as you have proven that the power of group prayers does work! Initially I didn't think anything would happen. Well, I did receive a few disappointing sms, emails and calls from guyfriends asking me if I managed to find a hot date for the night. But they did not follow up with an invitation. Their main purpose of calling was just to see whether cobwebs have grown on me and another was worse, he asked me for directions to Mont Kiara as his hot date is waiting for him there! I even got turned down when I tried to camouflage my endeavor with a "lo sang" invitation. Harrummpphhh...!!! Anyway, these are really close buddies of mine and I guess they were just poking fun and rubbing salt coz they know they can.... Ha ha... (errr... guys, I guessed right, RIGHT?)

And then my luck changed when I received a phone call from a girlfriend who happened to be at the next building finalizing her air tickets. Not wanting to depend on the opposite sex for some valentine's fun, we decided to go to the movies after I dropped off the hardcopies of my final assignments at the college. And then all the invitations started coming in through the phone. At first, I thought I was just sympathy calls from well meaning friends but it wasn't!!! There were like 20 continuous smses for us to join a group of friends at a Japanese restaurant in Mont Kiara. Boy, I wondered what is wrong with men and their timing. I couldn't even concentrate on the movie as I was busy deleting the smses!!

Anyway, to cut the long story short, we had a great dinner and proceeded to Neway where we croon (croak rather) to our hearts content. The best thing was - we manage to claim our 3 free bottles of Hennessy from the Director himself (Hmm, another long story which shall be told another time - thanks to our dear friend Michelle -> No worries Mich, there's still another 2 bottles left!). The night was filled with joy and laughter and everyone laughed their hearts out. As we bid our goodbyes at around 4am, we wished everyone Happy Birthday as today is the seventh day of the lunar year, i.e. a day to celebrate the creation of human (according to the Chinese believe).

Well, I took half a day off today to recuperate from the hangover and I came in earlier to write this update as many were interested in knowing how my "hot valentine's day" went. Hmmm... not as romantic as it should traditionally be, but still it was just simply superb.... Thanks B for spicing up my life and saving the day!

Till the next edition, Happy Birthday everyone!!!


Regards,
Kelly Rivers

Chinese New Year 2005

Happy Everyday to you! (14 Feb 2005)

My CNY begins today. Yes, the gruesome exams which has almost taken over my life is finally over. Yes, no more assignments and books for a very very long time.... I finally understand the feeling of lazing on the couch, with dried meat on one hand and a Chrysanthemum drink on the other, watching endless DVDs and Astro with no worries of unfinished assignments! Yes, that feels good. Too good. In fact, I wanted to finish watching both Kill Bill 1 & 2 in one sitting after watching Jiang Hu, New Aces Go Places and other Wah Lai Toi series and variety shows. Well, as I had to come back to work today, I content myself with watching only Kill Bill 1, after all the Chinese movies on Astro (Awww, how unfortunate to be working on the supposedly first day of CNY which coincides with Valentine's Day). I figure I could continue with Kill Bill 2 tonight. More dried meat, soft drinks and lazing around for me... Yippee...

Anyway, there are countless things that I want to do, like clearing all the DVD backlogs, going for exercise (this is a lie but I have to TRY to fulfill my new year resolution), learning cooking and baking (this could be another lie too ha ha), picking up music and singing (too much complains on my croaks during karaoke sessions!), updating my blogs page, visiting places etc etc. But first thing's first. There are still truckloads of laundry which I have conveniently put aside due to the exams. My room looks like a tsunami has just swept by, my car needs a good wash and spring cleaning (yes, my car has become a warehouse for my notes), and the utility, phone and credit card bills needs sorting out. I still haven't changed my IC to the new card format yet, knowing very well that this is the last year to do it.

Well, with so much time in my hands now... I guess I can insert a chore at a time while indulging in more dried meat, soft drinks and DVDs.... Have a great CNY and Valentine's Day. Happy Happy Happy Everyday to you!!! J

p/s In case you're wondering why there's no mushy love stuffs in this edition, well, maybe tomorrow I'll have a story to tell (that's if I land myself a real hot date tonight). Hmmm... if you don't hear from me tomorrow, you can guess how well the date went ahahaha

Chinese New Year 2004

January 20, 2004

. Chinese New Year edition -

Chinese New Year Greetings with a twist... Pepsi Twist!

With the frantic simultaneous Chinese New Year spring cleaning during the weekend, it's no wonder that KL has been a little hazy lately. Luckily, the heavy rain yesterday night cleared the air a little so we can at least breath some dust-less air (not dustless, just less dust..... haha). However, the rain indirectly has caused tremendous traffic jams in and around KL. It was still slow moving when I left at around 11:30 last night!

Talking about traffic, I am quite surprise to see so many people still in KL. This morning when I left around 6:25 am, traffic was already building up. What was I doing up so early you ask? Do I hear some of you say, "It's not like you to be so early"? Well, it's a stupid mistake really. The alarm clock was telling the wrong time and with me going home so late last night, little did I realize that it has run 1 hour ahead of the actual time! So the alarm went off at the preset time (6:30 am) and I was ready by the time the alarm clock shows 7:15 am.

As I was about to leave the house, I realize that my watch was showing 6:15am. I couldn't believe it! A quick check with the handphone and kitchen clock confirms it! Darn! Wasted one whole hour of beauty sleep! Oh bummer, might as well just go for breakfast! Hmm.. the Roti Bom and Milo Tarik is the main culprit for my drowsiness now (not to mention all the fat around my waist! I must change my principle of "not letting food go to WASTE" to "not letting food go to WAIST"!)

Anyway, back to traffic conditions. It's really funny how traffic is getting more and more congested nowadays. Hardly any more room to move about! Have you ever listened to those daily radio traffic updates? Most roads in KL are reported having slow moving traffic or have been converted to a massive car park (imagine an almost stationary traffic on a major highway!). Even during this week when some of the cars have already gone back to their respective hometowns to celebrate the festive season! Does this mean that most families have emigrated to KL and thus are celebrating the festivities in KL? Well, I don't have any statistics with me now but the shopping complexes, hotels and even city council have done their bit to improve the festive mood around here with street lights, lanterns and Chinese New Year songs. Nevertheless, I am sure it's still a far cry from the boisterous and jovial sub-urban reunion celebrations!

Well, no matter where you're celebrating the new year, I am sure it will still be as joyous, fun and exuberant as it has always been the previous years! There's no stopping the Chinese from their traditions of "gift exchanging" and generous ang pow giving! So here's wishing all those celebrating Chinese New Year, good health and a happy, prosperous Chinese New Year. Hopefully we'll be able to slot into our busy schedules to meet up during the Chinese New Year as part of upholding the Chinese New Year visitations tradition! Those who are not celebrating, have a nice, and enjoyable holiday! Gong Xi Fa Cai!