Yeps, it happens to be my year this year, which some frens would no doubt find surprising, cos those born in the year of 1982 are supposed to be of the Dog sign. But I happen to be born in January, eight days before Chinese New Year, so I fall under the Rooster sign.
Enough of technicalities. =)
It was a very 'noisy' new year. My parents were having a heated argument over something trivial (like they always do) on the afternoon of Chinese New Year's Eve. I was the only one at home then and had a really tough time trying to mediate between the two of them. Their quarrel was a little more serious than the previous years'; my Dad was fuming right till the next day before we were due to leave for my uncle's house. Quite unlucky for us that they were still quibbling on the very first day of Chinese New Year, but everything was okay by the time we reached my uncle's house. But more drama awaited us at our uncle's house, with my auntie 'staging' a terrific performance which I'm not inclined to elaborate on here. Sigh, what's it with the other side of the family...
After lunch at my uncle's, we went to visit my mom's side of the family, and got to go to my aunt's new semi-d in Clementi. The best part about the whole thing was I got to play with their dogs!!! hee, one mini-schnauzer, two golden retriever pups, and one very hyper Jack Russell terrier... =) Their new house is pretty nice: they have a terrific garden at the back, complete with a pavilion and a swing. Left by 5 plus, cos I had to go down to Guan's house to bai nian, and go for dinner with his family at a vegetarian restaurant. At the restaurant, we were really rushing the waitresses because me and Guanz were going for a movie at 9 pm. His parents were extremely accommodating and took pains to make sure we got there in time. It was pretty fun running with Guanz to collect movie tickets at 9 pm for a 9 pm show. We made it in the end, and were utterly pleased with ourselves. haha....
The second day of Chinese New Year brought us to the temple for prayers. After that, we went to my maternal grandaunt's house to bai nian. They (my maternal grandaunt and grand-uncle) couldn't recognise me and my brother cos they haven't seen us for a few years. We stayed for about 45 min and then rushed home to bathe, rest, etc. Guanz drove down to pick my siblings and me up, cos he was joining us for dinner, which was a treat from my second sister's in-laws, who were in town from Taiwan for Chinese New Year. Dad and Mum went in Dad's car. We first proceeded to pick up the Taiwanese side of the family from my sister's flat in Jurong West, and then went to the restaurant, which was pretty nearby to my sis' flat. Dinner was a ho-hum affair; food was pretty good, everything was pretty okie.
I spent the entire third day of Chinese New Year (today) sleeping, cos I had a huge headache. The head's much better, but my sense of guilt at not having done any work over the Chinese New Year period is slowly growing.
So Chinese New Year this year was pretty eventful for me. The best part was when I got to drive the car by myself (sans parents and family): first time, I sent my brother to school on Chinese New Year's Eve; the second time, I picked my grandma and cousins up from Tampines over to my house for reunion dinner. I really enjoy the peace and quiet in the car when I'm alone in it. Hopefully, my Dad will slowly warm up to the idea of me taking the car out by myself, now that I've accomplished the two 'missions' he tasked me (well, I sorta volunteered).
Chinese New Year also saw me getting into my first little scrape while driving. I was driving the family to the temple on the second day of Chinese New Year. The temple is in Joo Chiat, and along the roads there, there are always vehicles parked on the side of the road. Apparently, as we were nearing the temple, I drove past a blue car parked along the side of the road, and my left wing mirror bumped its right wing mirror, resulting in a loud thud. I say 'apparently' cos I really didn't see the car, and was really careful about not going too near to the parked vehicles. Even my dad didn't see what happened. So I was puzzled about how the whole thing happened, and can only rely on eyewitness accounts from the family. I was feeling rather bad about the whole thing, and said sorry to my dad, but he din scold me for it. Maybe because it was a really small graze that was hardly noticeable: about 3 to 4 mm in diameter. Still, I felt genuine heartache for the car! I'm beginning to realise how attached one can get to the car one usually drives, even if the car is not yours. I wonder how I'd react if the car was mine (that is, if I'm paying for it).
Anyways, talking about cars, I can't wait to get one of my own, even though i know buying a car is not entirely economically sound. So that's why I'm not aiming for a very big car, just a small Kia Picanto would do. Dad sealed his sign of approval on the Picanto when we saw one at the carpark near my sister's house. My mom likes the headlights; she thinks they look like big eyes, haha! Still, Kia cars aren't known for their quality, so will have to do more research on it. Hopefully, I would snap out of my 'want-to-buy-car' mode, but I doubt it'd be anytime soon! =)
Oh yah, a very Happy Chinese New Year to one and all. May the Year of the Rooster bring loads of good luck for work, studies and (love)lives!
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