Chinese New Year
Haha. CNY 3-days holiday is over so soon!! This year not much mood. I just went to both relatives' places (as usual), greet, take ang baos, and watch tv. Nothing much. No catching up, no chit chatting. The best part? Most of other relatives were doing the same thing: watching TV. Perhaps the most exciting thing that happened is the few minutes when san-gu-ma asked whether I was baptised. The conversation went like this, loosely translated from Manderine.San-gu-ma: (said something about church). Jiamin, you baptised already?
Me: Ya, baptised liao.
SGM: (disapproving look) So fast ah. (no smile, obviously not pleased)
SGM: (turned to brother sitting on the other side) You leh? You also baptised?
Bro: Uh, no.
SGM: Good. Don't baptise so early. Your father and mother still around, don't baptise yet. (never turn back to me)
Ah wells. She's already someone very paganistic. She came into the house, greeted, and then went to the ancestor alter to light joss stick (plus kneel). And said, "So that they will bless us to strike lottery." Kinda says alot. The other relatives who went and offered joss sticks didn't really said anything like that. Oh, and after a while, they were shading those papers you use to buy 4D. She shaded it especially at the alter there. Guess she thought that that could bring more blessings. And guess what? She won. I don't know what prize, but she did. She always does.
Things the devil would do to keep his followers huh. Sigh, sad.
Happier stuff. Or so. Went to Esplanade at night, but left after a while cos it's just so crowded. At first I didn't know why. But this was why:
There was a string of fireworks at 9pm. For around 10 minutes. I was at the bus stop waiting for bus to go elsewhere, when I heard a loud bang. In all honesty, I really thought it's some kinda bomb. (Govt message on aleartness on terrorist really worked).
So, I asked my friend what is it, he said fireworks. I looked beyond the bus stop roof and saw these spectacular splashes of colours. The last time I saw live and big firework was in Pri 5 when I went for National Day Parade rehearsal, and of course I've forgotten about them. So when I saw all these beatiful splashes appearing one after another, and sometimes many together, I was marvelling and could not take my eyes off the sky. They were really beautiful.
Another beauty is when the bangs of the fireworks will come a few seconds after you see them splashed out onto the sky. Same principle as why you see lightning before hearing thunder. So this sycro (or the lack of it) also mesmerized me.
But I suddenly realized that these were, afterall, explosives. Meaning, during a war, these bangings that I heard would be the same. So I turned to my friend (who is going through army) and asked whether these were the same sound as those made during the war. He said quite the same, and starting comparing how this bang magnified 10 times would be the bang of tankers, and that bang sounded like some weapons shooting whatever. I didn't pay attention to the details of course. :P But I find it quite an irony that there I was, enjoying the colours and the sounds, but during a war, these would scare me to my piss, and these sounds and bangings would be signally destruction somewhere, to someone.
That's all for profound (or not) thoughts.
2nd day. Followed friend to relatives house. His grand aunt has a cuuuuuuuuuute little dog!!!! I know, it's not Carmen to coo over animals, much less puppies, much much less ornamental dogs! But I don't know, this doggy is so responsive and so obedient (but playful). He kept letting me scratch behind his ears!! Oh and he stole a pineapple tart off my plate though he's not supposed to. hahaha! I want a dog!!!!!! But not these ornamental dogs of course. I want a Retriever. Or a German Shepherd. Or an Alaska. =D
