Koong Hei Fatt Choy

A very 'Koong Hei Fatt Choy' to all of you who are reading this. A customary Cantonese greeting for the Lunar New Year.

This is the fourth day, as I sit down to write this new posting. This is also the last Chinese New Year celebration before I move to my new place. There seemed to be an increase in visitors to my estate, as people savour the final celebrations here. Some of my friends told me that they will be showing my DVD to their friends, to show them the beauty of the estate.

I find this year's celebrations to be very disappointing and subdued. Not much of a Chinese New Year spirit.

The eve happened to be Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent in the Catholic Church. At the 7 am Mass in church, I was busy serving Mass and having to gather my Communion Ministers to impose ashes at the end of Mass. Happily everything went off well and my new lady Communion Ministers performed well, this being their first time. Sadly this will probably be my last time as their leader, because I plan to leave the ministry in a few months time.

The family reunion dinner was held at the Golden Pheonix Restaurant at Gillman Heights - the highlight of the celebration. Everyone was there, including the maid except for Ben, who turned up late after he got back from KL. Poor guy had to work! Anyway it was a very pleasant family gathering albeit a rather short one. When we adjourned for dessert at Keppel, Emma had fallen asleep and had to go home.

First day of Chinese New Year began with the 7 am Mass in church. Again my team was on duty and after distributing Holy Communion, gave out Mandarin oranges to the congregation. We were all dressed in red except for the non Chinese Ministers. But it was alright as there was a lot of laughter and goodwill among all the races gathered there.

After reading the newspaper from front page to the last page, it was a long wait for the family to gather at home. As if by a silent signal, everyone turned up at noon, in their holiday togs. Emma looked cute in her tiny cheongsam for the first time. The very much anticipated exchange of 'Hoong Pau' followed, especially by the kids, followed by tea from my children, an old tradition. I used to do that to my parents when I was a boy. So I was surprised when my children observed that.

Soon it was time to set out to Liz and Kip's house for lunch, a practice which we have been doing every year. This is the only house I visit every Chinese New Year. Liz and I have been very close family friends since our school days in Ipoh. Liz had called me one day to remind me that, since our family elders have all gone, we are all that is left. A poignant point when she asked for continued support.

Liz and Kip live in a mansion, which is so big that it required a power sub station on its own. It was unfortunate to see Liz in a wheelchair, because she had strained her hips, when she was in New York recently. It was also nice to see Dick, John and Peter.

There was so much food and the buffet table was loaded with all things nice. As usual, I over ate! Funny when I ate the ham with curry. I tried to 'wolf' down my food in order to feed Emma her milk, but she managed to induce her aunty to feed her. I ended up with an uncomfortable bloated stomach due to the hurried eating.

I also met up with my brother to catch up on his health concerns. After munching on the tit bits after lunch, we finally decided to take our leave, by three in the afternoon. We all dispersed into various directions and had a quiet evening at home.

Second day, Friday, after the morning Mass, I had roti prata in the market with a friend. The market was deserted with a few stalls opened for business, mainly the Indians and Malay and a surprisingly Chinese stall selling nasi lemak. It would have been a mundane day, had it not been for a visit by my wife's niece, nephew and two hyperactive grand nephew, who all stayed for lunch. Surprisingly still, my son had decided to stay at home for the day. I had some heart stopping moments when the two kids tried to finger my Mr. Christmas circus movements. Must think about all this when I move to my new place. How to child proof all of them?

Third day, Saturday, had braised fish porridge for breakfast with my friend Denis in the market after church. I am going to miss this when the market closes for major renovation after 17 February. This porridge is only for fish lovers like Denis and myself, and had always been our favourite. Costing only $2.50, the porridge has two to three pieces of fish stomach, cooked with ginger. The meat is soft and succulent with quite a lot of bones like long darning needles. You can pull them out with your chopsticks or fingers and they are not that bothersome. When the market reopens, I would have moved out already. I will probably come back for it.

My brother-in-law and the wife visited us on the third day. It was good, for we had not seen each other for a long time. After lunch that day, I went down to 'Marks & Sparks' (Marks & Spencer) to buy my cereal muesli. I like this because it helps my bowel movement everyday since I have been taking it for breakfast. I eat a small bowl even if I eat something from the market.

Today being Sunday, it has been very quiet, and nobody visited us. I listened to the radio to the old time favourites and the vintage chart featured the top ten tunes of 1965, when I was still a bachelor in the Air Force. Ahhhhh!

My son stayed at home the whole day and went for evening Mass. He came home just as I was leaving for church this morning. He just went out. What a night person! Had a lot of washing up to do after dinner. I am getting sleepy and tired. So good night to all.

Till then....