Chinese New Year

&*#%#$$...my com hang while i was doing this entry..rewriting again so have to shorten it.

As the usual, every year my family would head over to JB to eat the reunion dinner. For the past few years, we have been eating at this restaurant that had a stage performance during dinner. For entertainment so as to speak.

I think....I have had enough. I can vaguely rememember that last year we seem to have a lion dance perfomance last year. Which was fine because despite all the diang la chiang chiang performances, there is something that signifies the coming of Chinese New Year.

This year was bad..bad singing, bad outfits, bad performances. I hope we will shift to another place next year.

After the reunion dinner ended, we headed to my aunt's place. We were outside the house looking at the fireworks when a cockroach flew past and hit my leg. Imagine that, those who know me shd know I am terrified of cockroaches. Anyway I screamed and as it landed on the ground, my ten-year old cousin Nicole stepped on it and that's it. bye bye cockroach.

She then started telling me off for crushing her wrist so tightly that it had left a mark. What to do? I was terrified ma, I din even realised I was grabbing on to her.

Then my 9-year old cousin Natalie took up the dead cockroach by it's feelers and proceeded to show it to me.

Natalie: See, YuanQi Jie Jie!

Me: AHHHH!!!! Don't come near me!

Aunt: Natalie, go wash your hands, the cockroach is dirty.

Natalie: orh. (drop the cockroach)

I am amazed at how how brave my cousins are.

Since I have been asked so many times why I am terrified of cockroaches, I shall start from the beginning. Once upon a time when I was pretty young, I do remembered chasing cockroaches that were scuttling around the floor and trying to whack them with a rolled-up newspaper. Think I was probably imitating my mum, and you know how kids have no idea of fear.

So anyway, there was one night I was brushing my teeth in the second floor bathroom of my house when I felt something crawling up my thigh. So I looked down and this cockroach was right there looking up at me. I closed my eyes tightly and screamed. I didn't even attempt to move, just stood at the same spot screaming my lungs off.

The next thing I knew, my bro was shaking me by the shoulders(he had ran up from the first level). I looked down and the cockroach was gone. I think I scared it away. (surprise!~) But if my memory doesn't fail me, that was the day I started being terrified of cockroaches, dead or alive. Believe me, a cockroach making it's way leisurely up your leg without asking for permission is something that changes your life in a bad way.

Okie, back to my topic. After midnight, as per the common practice, they started gambling poker. Being a non-gambler, I retired early to my bro's place which was a stone's throw away. (cos if u really throw a stone from my aunt's place, it would most likely hit my bro's front gate.)

The next day was spent at JB walking around the shopping centres and waiting for my brother to knock off work so we can have dinner together. I pushed the boundaries of bad fashion by roaming around in a big yellow tee that I loaned from brother, lime-green 3-quarters that my sis wore last nite to sleep, my pair of hot pink flats and a deep red bag. In case you think its out of my free-will, the truth was I actually forgotten to bring enough clothes which is why I was reduced to such a shocking state.

But hey, at least its bright enough! :)

2nd day of Chinese New Year was spent going to his place to bai nian, followed by my place, and lastly to my auntie's house. It's a rather eventful day and time well spent with loads of chit-chat. After that, I haven't been to any place to bai nian since then...sigh. No time cos my family is always out these few days.

And next week my work will be keeping me very very busy. I will be at National JC for these two weeks and tomorrow I have to be there at 6.30am and leave office at 9.30pm. And the rest of the week will be similar hours. Just the thought of it makes me very, very blue. It's supposed to be a month where we are supposed to earn more, but c'mon, if I was paid OT, I'll probably bring back the same amount. Sickening.