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My family make it a habit of returning to my grandmother’s house a day before Chinese New Year for a family reunion dinner. Things are pretty much the same this year, except that my grandmother was no longer with us to share the happiness and togetherness of the moment. However, I believe that she’ll always be up there watching and sharing our moments.

My grandmother’s house, built of gray stones, is located on a small plateau in the middle of rolling hills. Sunken into the land, it fits like a perfect piece in the puzzle of the checkered landscape.

About eight stepping stones away from the road is the door. A gigantic mango tree, only half as tall when I was born and even smaller when my father was young, shades the front of the house and blocks the wrap-around porch. Every time I return, the sweet mango scent from the tree triggers the memories of old times.

The house was the place where my cousins and I had dwelled in days of crazy play. We combated with the Indian boys using rubber-tree seeds, climbed hills, and looked at the setting sun by the lake. We spent comfortable hours in the beautiful landscape, knowing that the day was ours. The collage of the memories and smiling faces is still vivid in my mind.

The house which fosters comfort and happiness, in stores many chapters of my childhood life. It reflects a time when I could look messy, muddy and uncomfortable yet be so blissfully free of inhibitions. I trust that the house will always be there, and feel safe in knowing that I can always go back and revel in its character and uniqueness. It is my father’s home. It is my grandmother’s house. 

Knowing that I’ll be returning to the house tomorrow, my heart leaps with extreme happiness and joy. Closing the memory book in my mind, I carry with me a sense of anticipation for tomorrow to come.

The bustle and clamor at the markets selling spring couplets and playing cheerful melodies tuned with banging gongs and booming firecrackers create an atmosphere of joy, gaiety and renewal. It is a sign that the most elaborate, colorful, and important festival for the Chinese — Chinese New Year, is arriving.

            Having passed through another year, it is now time to finish out the old, and to welcome in the new. For many people, it’s time to turn over a new leaf and start fresh in their lives.

            I like Chinese New Year because it is a time of gratitude and togetherness. On this special day, we visit our families, relatives and friends and strengthen the intimate bond that ties us together. We stay up until the wee hours, sipping tea, and having a nice chat with our families. We share stories about what we have done in the past year, talk about life, and pry into relationships among ourselves (my favorite).

            On Chinese New Year, everybody dresses up. That’s quite a show to catch. Everybody’s smiling and laughing and you are never gonna find any moment merrier than this. There is a tradition that anyone who is not married can ring at people’s doors and get the red packets. That’s, for me, the most enjoyable part of the celebration.

            There are certain things that we don’t do on Chinese New Year. For example, we don’t sweep the floor because we are afraid of sending away our luck and money. You can call it a custom, or you may call it superstitious, but we believe that many things are signs of other things, good and bad. These so-called taboos may perhaps look odd and silly, but they are the ancient ways left behind by our ancestors to help us harmonize and regulate our lifestyles.

            I hope that in this coming new year (and many to come), my family are in the pink of their health, and for everybody else, a happy and prosperous Chinese New Year!

            Back in high school, when asked to make a sentence using the word ’shopping’ by my English teacher, I unhesitatingly put it this way,

            "Men don’t like shopping."

            The whole class was in uproar upon hearing my remark. The boys roared their approvals, and the girls scowled their disagreements.

            Years later, I had made a really horrifying discovery about myself…I do love shopping (on occasion).

            I love New Year shopping the most because it’s the time when I can get out more and start looking good. Even if you’re not fabulous, you can always find something to fit you well and make you look hot as hell.

            New Year shopping is also the perfect time for me to hang out with my friends, trudging around from shop to shop carrying heavy packages and shopping bags. We would plunge into the crowd and compete with all those Shoppers of Doom to hunt for good bargains at a sale.

            The competition could be nasty and yet exciting. We would have to surge in throngs and masses of human flesh, pushing, pulling, screaming, sweating, and trying to reach for that last elusive item hidden under piles and piles of fabrics up for grabs.

            The fitting-room show is what we enjoy the most. It could turn out to be a scary movie, a comedy or a fairy tale.  Our mouth will open up to the extent of a big ‘O’ when someone tries something funny, and our eyes will gleam with astonishment if that someone walks out like a perfect lady or gentlemen.

            A good many people, men or women, enjoy shopping today. It is undoubtedly a good form of exercise for the overweight and a luxury pamper for the overworked. I think I might have to let the boys down by changing the sentence to:

            "Men do like shopping."

            I think they might agree with me now.

          We all come from different walks of lives. Thus everyone is unique with his or her own character, be it good or bad.

           I have friends who like to shrug off responsibilities. I don’t hate them, for hate is a strong word for me. I just don’t like them when they are doing that.

          You must know that you cannot run away from your responsibilities all the time. One day you are gonna get married and have children. Do you want your children to pick up from you? Then you might possibly end up alone (or with your spouse) in the nursing home.

         What must be done must be done. You should brace yourself and say "Come what may!", or "Oh, that’s no big deal, I can handle that."

         Most people elude their responsibilities because they are afraid of extra work or unwanted trouble. These people can never make a good leader. Usually, irresponsibility superimposes on other bad qualities that one has:cowardice, untrustworthiness and low self-esteem.

        So, step up now and embrace your responsibility, for life is full of it and you are never going to get away. You can become a better person and make your family proud.

        Do I sound like an old school teacher? I hope not.

1. As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in schools.

2. Time is the best teacher, unfortunately it kills all its students!

3. All men are idiots, and I married their king.

4. Mothers with teenagers know why animals eat their young.

5. Seven days without Jesus makes one weak

6. Avoid Hangovers: Stay Drunk

7. Children are like farts: your own are just about tolerable but everyone else’s are horrendous.

8. I can resist everything except temptation.

9. I hear you lost your cat? Check under my tire.

10. I Used To Be Indecisive. Now I’m Not Sure

11. IRS: We’ve Got What It Takes To Take What You’ve Got.

12. It doesn’t matter what temperature a room is; it’s always room temperature.

13. No prohibiting allowed!

14. Plagiarism is copying from one source; research is copying from two or more.

15. When I married ‘Mr. Right,’ I didn’t know his first name was ‘always.’

          A guy walked into a bar and asked the bartender for a beer. He saw two beautiful women and sat down beside them and asked if he could buy them a beer. They said,

         " Sure, but you’re not gettin’ us in bed because we’re lesbians"

          The guy asked,

          " What is a lesbian?."

          One of the women replied,

          " Well, it means we like woman more than men."

          The guy then yelled,

          " Hey bartender, get us three lesbians a beer!"

            Crowds. Year End Sales. Fireworks. Countdowns. A new year has come.

            For most people, the arriving of New Year has lit up the torch of hope in their lives. People who worked hard would finally get their hard work paid off, those who struggled at the verge of despair would find a new light to move on, and men who lost their battle would find the new strength to fight again.

            New Year is always a fruitful time for change. While sending away the year of 2005, people are already making resolutions for the brand new year–family vacation, get a better job, lose a couple of pounds in weight……and for most of the people, becoming a better person.

            For a great many people, however, their New Year’s resolutions never seem to get off the ground. The most common reasons are that their goals are too stringent and that slips and backslides are viewed as total failures, as opposed to opportunities to learn. For some people, resolutions are just weak commitments made in the excitement of the New Year hype.

            With underlying determination, careful introspection and strong self-belief, one can be sure to achieve any resolution a mind can dare to conceive. Dally no more and get started now. You can harvest the fruits of hard labour in no time.

            This year, 2006, is the year of Dog. For the Chinese, every animal in their calendar is a good omen. The barking of the dog, "Wang Wang", means ‘Prosperity’ in Chinese, while in Malay, literally, it means ‘Money’. Nevertheless, it’s neither of them that we need most. What we need most is a safe place to live, a happy family to return to, and a good health to enjoy.

            So, my wish for the New Year is that men will stop fighting and going to war. My resolution is that I will stay healthy to spend quality time with my family. What is that of yours?

            Happy New Year to everyone!