KONG XI FATT CHAI

Spring is coming and for the Chinese community, it’s the time of the year again to get down busy for the coming Lunar New Year celebration. It marks the start of the new lunar calendar for the Chinese community and also the end of the farming works. This is also the time whereby people and families get together for reunions after all this while being apart. During this time, houses are clean from top to bottom to get rid of all the bad karmas and bringing in the good ones. Goodies and delicacies that are made only once a year are prepared with care and skills that only matched by top chefs. New clothes are made and some people even go to the length of changing everything in the house. The start of the celebration is mark by the sometimes very elaborate reunion dinner that is attended by everyone individual of the family members. After the sumptuous dinner, all the families members from the old til young eagerly waiting for the strike of midnite when firecrackers will be lit and loud noises will fill the air. That’s the start of the Chinese New Year. The next morning, kids will wake up and get ready to get ‘ang pow’ from the elders. I do get my share of it until all these years. Hehehe! Before we get excited about all the hoo-ha of Chinese New Year, there are a few rules that need to be observed during this period. First rule: DO NOT sweep the floor as it means sweeping away all the luck. Second rule: DO NOT swear or says any bad things as it will bring back luck to you. They are many other rules and regulations that ones need to obliged to during this short period. Who says fun doesn’t come with a price. Well… I don’t want to spoil the fun here. Just wanna wish you all a very Happy Chinese New Year and a great holiday. "kong xi fatt chai" “tong tong chiang”

BUSY! BUSY! BUSY!

It’s been awhile since I pen down something on this blog. Being busy with work and travel most of the time. I started to treat the airport and the hotel as my penthouse already, almost forgetting that I still have a place called home to go back to. The time has come to a period where everything has to be completed fast and everyone including me myself is breathing down my neck to get things done. Everyone is rushing to complete what they had in their hands because it’s the time where by everyone is going on holiday. Yes, it is the time for Chinese New Year again. It seems that the last celebration is still fresh in my memory and yet a full year had passed by just like that. I still got tones of work to be done and my preparations for the most important festive season are still in progress. Wait, I still haven’t started it if I remember clearly. Gosh! 24 hours are just not enough for me.

RESPECT

This is a conversation I had with a Korean restaurant owner in town. A very disturbing and annoying chat. The conversation was simplified to get the message across here.

Owner: How’s the food?

Me: It is fine tq.

Owner: Glad you like it.

Me: You’re not from here?

Owner: I’m from Korea.

Me: Oh! How long have you been here?

Owner: I have been here few years already. Came here with my brother to open up this Korean restaurant.

Me: That is nice. How do you like it here so far?

Owner: Not bad considering it’s a small place. I still find Korea is much better than here. The foods here are just not good at all. It’s tasteless. Korean foods are still the best than the rest.

Me: How could you say that? I bet there are good food from here and different people has different taste.

Owner: Nah… no good food from here. Still think Korean food are the best. People here are also kinda lazy.

Me: Why do you say that?

Owner: Because people got so many free times and so many holidays. I asked my staff to work on Chinese New Year but they say they want to celebrate it. So old already still want to celebrate, better use the time to work.

Conclusion: If foreign people come to our place and don’t respect our people and culture, they are not welcome here. We don’t need arrogant and ignorance people in our society. We are all equal and should respect each other no matter where you are from. So boycott those places owned by foreigner who don’t respect us. PEACE!

HAPPY THAIPUSAM

Thaipusam (Tamil: தைப்பூசம்) is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan/Feb). Pusam refers to a star that is at its highest point during the festival. The festival commemorates both the birthday of Lord Murugan (also Subramaniam), the youngest son of Shiva and Parvati, and the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a vel (lance) so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman.