I Love Chinese New Year 22 February, 2011
Posted by dear1dear2 in Dear2, Slice of Life.add a comment
Chinese New Year was over just like that. Weeks of spring cleaning and decorating your house, weeks of anticipation for the festive season, 2 weeks of festive mood, 4 days of new year visiting (this year the CNY starting on a Thursday so there’s Sat and Sun of new year visiting too!), and it’s back to looking forward for next year’s CNY now..
I love Chinese New Year. It’s a once a year thing where we visit my maternal Aunt’s place on first day, and paternal relatives place on Day 2. Every year, you see the same uncles and aunt and cousins (and now with their extended families of spouses and kids), who will wish you the same CNY greetings and ask you the same study/ work/ BF/ GF questions (where applicable). Every year, we’ll eat the same dishes during lunch and dinner, and we’ll play the same Black Jack or mahjung in the afternoon.
But I love Chinese New Year nonetheless. Over the years, we’ve lost our Grandma and Big Aunt, so I’ll treasure the remaining Uncles and Aunts and my parents during CNY even more. I’m glad that I’m still able to have them with us during the festive season, so I treasure greeting them again despite doing the same for 30 years already.
I love Chinese New Year for the same food that we eat every year. There’ll be a soup, and steam fish, and roast duck, and stewed mushrooms, and vegetarian dish and stir fried prawns and fried vegetables and roast meat – exactly the same dishes that Granny cooked every time during big festive days. Even with Granny gone now, my mum and Aunts still cook the same dishes during CNY. It’s the same taste, the same nostalgia feel….
I love Chinese New Year, though the afternoons are usually boring – watch TV, eat new year goodies, or play Black Jack. When we were kids, we’d gamble hoping to win big bucks to top up our pocket money. As adults now, gambling with the cousins is more of savouring those times that we had together as kids. Win or lose doesn’t matter now – it’s more for fun now.
I love Chinese New Year. It’s a time when you feel gratified that you are still able to celebrate this season together with your cherished relatives.
- Dear2
Such Wastefulness 21 February, 2011
Posted by dear1dear2 in Around the House, Dear2, Dollars & Cents.add a comment
We were very poor last time. After buying our 3 room flat with major renovation uphaul, we were down to the last penny in our bank accounts. The rest of the furniture and appliances were purchased bit by bit over the next few years after we settled into our house. Even our TV was sponsored by my brother as a house-warming gift. These, we remembered deep down, but over time as we have a steady salary, the memories got buried away…
Food that were kept in the fridge for months – throw away lah. Vege that Baby1 don’t want to eat – throw away lah. Softener that was unused since time immemorial – throw away lah. Tidbits that were left uneaten – nevermind, I still want to stock up more of my favourites first.
So wasteful!! Because we are better off now, the few dollars and cents don’t seem significant now, so throwing away things is commonplace now.
Stop! Halt!! Don’t you realise that the few dollars and cents can make up a lot. And don’t you realise that such wastefulness is because you think that you can afford them now? If you accumulate these together, you might be able to gather a few hundreds to buy other useful things, or for investments, or for some leisure, or for some nice things for yourself or for Baby1 or for Dear1, or for some nice food, or for other practical household items, or for some thing for other people, etc etc etc. See, there’s so many things that you can buy or do if you’ll just stop wasting that packet of biscuits, or that shower foam, or that maggi mee, or that whatever.
The next time you buy something, make sure that it is what you want to consume. And if you realise that some item has been opened but there’s half a bottle left, make sure that you finish it before buying a new bottle!!
- Dear2
