And so, this is it—the so-called year of the golden ox. Quite frankly, I don't have any extraordinary expectation from the golden ox. In fact, I did not even know about the "golden" part of it until my sister Bridget mentioned it last Sunday.
We had our customary new year eve dinner as usual. Audrey came all the way from Lahad Datu. Dinner was simple—Bridget brought along about 2kg of shrimps, and Grace cooked the rest, i.e. steamed chicken, mixed vegetables, fried fish and chicken-mushroom soup. As usual we haven't had pork for new year eve dinners—since Audrey, Bridget and Dennis have all embraced Islam since so many years ago.
This year mom decided not to visit. She was here about two years ago. Her next visit will probably be during the next Chinese New Year. Which is probably a blessing in disguise. So this year we are able to enjoy a peaceful Chinese New Year. Mom has an amazing gift in stirring up things between us siblings, you see. Each time she visits us she just can't resist trying to dictate how we live our lives; she wants to be the one to organise everything for us. And almost without fail she'd make us siblings end up quarreling with each other. It's a very rare and special gift, I tell you!
We started our mahjong sessions from Friday night. I won a miserable RM12 that night, only to be beaten up real bad over the next couple of nights. The golden ox isn't very kind to me so far. After 4 days of mahjong, I am down by about RM300.
Of course my stepmother—I address her as Auntie Mary—did not dare to take up my challenge. I challenged her to bet on Dennis' shirt for the Chinese New Year dinner. You see, I can read my brother Dennis like a dictionary. Many years ago he went to a fortune teller who told him that his lucky colour was red. So each time if he intends to play mahjong, he would surely put on a red shirt. And true enough, he arrived in a red shirt that night. But of course at the end of the mahjong session, he lost over RM30.
Although people have been talking about the golden ox, actually I feel it's kinda quiet this year. At the turn of midnight, there was that crazy fire crackers and fire works all over for some minutes. Just imagine how much money the police are making from all those fire crackers!
Oh! by the way, to my loyal readers from faraway lands, fire crackers are illegal in Malaysia; they've been outlawed since many years ago. But of course you can find plenty of supplies during festive seasons.
Well, if there is anything special about the golden ox, I fail to see it up to now. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed. As the economy is slowing down, we are all hoping for something good from the golden ox. However, I have a feeling it's likelier that we have to work extra hard like the ox just for survival. This is gonna be a tough year, golden ox or not...
3 comments:
Since gambling is no-no according to the holy book, you must be the BAD influence, hee hee.
Happy Chinese New Year!
Well, look at it this way, 2R1I; someone told me that mahjong is not exactly gambling. In fact, the old folks are encouraged to play mahjong because it can help to stimulate the mind - it helps to keep the mind alert.
So actually I am exercising the brains of my old folks while at the same time giving them RM300 pocket-money. Now where can you get such a good son?... HAHAHA!
I too could do with RM300 for a few hours work - sure beats sitting in the office, punching buttons on the computer keyboard.
So your next trip to Seberang, do carry those golden tiles along with you. By the way, I make a really mean wild mushroom soup!
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