CNY

The year of tiger is coming to an end. Time really flies. Last year, on the eve of the lunar new year, I was in Levi, northern Finland. I started the day by skiing for the first time, and took several hard tumbles. It was very cold, yet very fun. I had a great time with my friends in Levi. After the skiing, I went grocery shopping for the reunion dinner in Levi, with my friends. It was great, and I am proud of my effort. I cooked 4 dishes in a very short time, and together with the help of my Taiwanese friends, we had a feast! Coke, Whisky, Salmon, Chicken, Pork, Soup, Veggie. I think the dinner was wonderful considering the limited amount of resources we had in Levi. I do miss the dinner and the fun we had, and missing my friends from Taiwan, Cheryl, Susan, Larry, Sujin from Seoul, and Vivien from Singapore!

I even brought a new set of clothes to change in Levi, as with the traditions. I also called home, in the afternoon, when my family was having reunion dinner in Singapore. I chatted with them, my grandma, and my relatives. It was kind of touching. I do miss the Chinese New Year snacks, like Bah Kwa, and pineapple tarts. During my stay in Europe, I often dreamt of these foods, and I bought Bah Kwa in the first week I was back home.

After the Dinner, I had a magical moment as I trekked up the hill with my friends and caught the Aurora Borealis. It was great and magical. What a way to welcome the New Year. I thought that the year of tiger will be good for me, and it was good for most part. 9 good months and 3 bad months. I guess it is a pretty decent year. Lets hope that the year of rabbit will be a better one!

Chinese New Year is the most important festival for most Asians. This year, as my grandma passed away a couple of months ago, I will not be celebrating it again. Do I miss Chinese New Year? Perhaps not. While I love the goodies and the food, I do not miss the occasion. To me, it is the most demanding festival of the year. We have to do the cleaning, the visiting, and sometime, tensions run high. I know that my mum is always extremely tired after the eve and first day of Chinese New Year, due to the cleaning involved, as well as the long trip to Malaysia for visiting of relatives. For me, I do not see any point of this madness of cleaning and washing up. I do appreciate the traditions of reunion dinner and wearing new clothes, as the latter give me excuse to buy new clothes and shoes.

This year, I have my new jeans bought in Finland, 3 t-shirts bought in Hong Kong, 3 polo shirts bought from ae.com, and a new pair of shoes from Dr Marten. I also take this chance and cleared the stuff which I no longer need or want. Hopefully, with the stuff cleared, I will have enough space this coming new year for new gifts and new people.

For the second year running, I will not be celebrating Chinese New Year, but this year, with all the constant cleaning, and screaming at home, Chinese New Year is still not a festival I look forward to. I went to Chinatown with my friends yesterday, and these are some of the pictures taken. It is a tradition to visit the Chinese New Year Market in Chinatown.

Happy New Year everyone in The Year of Rabbit!