HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!! =)

first day of chinese new year. haha things have been pretty uneventful in recent years, and i miss visiting with my maternal grandparents and relatives. but there has been no hosting of new year gatherings ever since many many years ago when... well, you know, life happens, or in this case, the converse happened, and things changed.

sometimes i wonder if it isnt just slightly hypocritical during chinese new year? cuz some people you just visit like once a year, and once every year you sit together and celebrate the festivities, but really, there's nothing in common, nothing shared. and sometimes, it's odd to see three people talking because you can see that they are all caught up in themselves only, each fighting to share their stories over the past year (only the good ones of course, or the ones which would earn them sympathy, what else?). so when you, as an outsider look at the three of them talking, you can distinctly tell that they aren't really listening to each other, merely nodding their heads appropriately and then listening for pauses where they can then cut in with their own similar experiences, thus successfully drawing the attention back to themselves. it's also the time where some people come together to showcase their latest acquisitions/conquests, be it gadgets and gizmos, results, jobs, 'might-be-future' spouses (some of which, i regret to mention seem to change faster than you can say 'what happened to whats-his-name?'), or, incredibly, even the latest injuries (i know, it's pretty ridiculous haha) etc etc etc. so sometimes you wonder if it's a bit absurd that you are still following traditions, but simply for the sake of doing so. it seems, ever so slightly, pointless, i must say.

i may seem cynical in the above paragraph, but i'm really not. i only wish that these people will get together more often than the once-a-year they currently do. i wish things were not like that and situations were different. i wish people could learn the meaning of 'give-and-take' and 'blood is thicker than water' blah. but tough i guess, just as traditions are hard to break, so are emotional barriers, and i guess some of the older generation have too much history for there to be too big a change. it's pretty much an endless thing unless someone sees the light and tries to get the others to see the light. but it's a thankless task, and i can hardly see any of them doing so. so i guess we'll simply bumble along. =)

the funniest thing happened to day while i was teaching my family to play bridge (it took a darn long time, mind you) hahaha. so anyway, my dad called for ace of spades as his partner, and during one particular round, i was forced to throw ace of spades, and my sister trumped me with a 2 diamonds, she then gave me a cheeky smile and then after contemplating for a few seconds, her expression changed into one of uncertainty and THEN she said (the punchline) : 'i hope she's not my partner' hahahhahaa i hope you caught that? if not you can read it again. it was so funny i died laughing. of course you know i have nine lives, so here i am alive again and typing this. haha. it was super funny anyhow. =)