January 29, 2006
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Another morning, another headache accompanying my waking up.
The fever subsided yesterday after some Panadol and my uncle drove me to my paternal grandmother house before he left for the airport. We were not supposed to bai nian since my paternal grandfather departed in the previous lunar year. Hence, the two Mandarin oranges I brought along were consumed by my father and I at the void deck.
Only my sixth uncle family was there before us. I said it last year and Il say it again, my sixth uncle has three beautiful kids. For some reason, they were glued to me and made me the focal point of their entertainment. I wonder why I was suddenly so popular, maybe it was my lovely clothes. I was first bombarded with all sorts of kiddy questions. Then I played a game of Reversi (my first games with human opponents) each with the two elder children. I lost the first game to an eleven year old girl but saved some face by beating the nine year old boy. I think the girl lost her interest with me after beating me. Her brothers then spent the next few hours bombarding me with kid talk and climbing all over me. If all children were as adorable as them, teaching would be much higher on my list of career choices.
We did not have our usual steamboat dinner since it was not working. Nevertheless, I still quite enjoyed the fare. The mood this year was somewhat subdued, especially when my third uncle and aunt did not join us for the dinner.
This Chinese New Year entry would not be complete without mentioning red packets. I must say that what I garnered was quite negligible, since I did not pick up a single red packet at my paternal grandmother house due to the no bai nian law by my paternal grandmother and did not take any cash from my parents. I guess I have no choice but to top up the difference when I replace my bottle of
Sigh, as if it was not bad enough not getting any pro-rated bonus.
