It's CNY Time!

You know age is catching up when this time of the year draws near and you fancy buying red nail polish, red boxes of tissue paper and (I beg your pardon) red underwear. Full set, no less.

All of which was what I just did last week.

Well that's embarrassing to admit, but what is truly frightening is the fact that I am actually putting it all in my Blogspot for you to laugh at. You see, when you grow older (much more than you'd like), you become more ready to blow your own cover. You laugh at yourself and you tell strangers the silliest things that you've done. No more pretenses, no more acting cool and tough. No more waging war with your parents coz you've decided that you want to wear black head-to-toe for Chinese New Year visiting.

I'm starting to behave, according what my closest friends say, like an auntie. And this particular auntie is none other than my beloved mother.

Gee, it drives me crazy to know that I am just like Mom. But really, how could anyone think that ordering those must-have pineapple tarts and checking out NTUC's abalone prices are anything but essential? And let's not forget the queuing for bak kwa at Chinatown and getting ang pow envelopes from the banks. There are a thousand and one things to be done for Chinese New Year, and how else can Mom cope if not for her mature and responsible daughter who proudly takes on the tasks to ensure a prosperous and smooth-sailing year ahead.

Of course, there are a few things that we'd do differently from our elders. Take reunion dinner for example. While Ma and Grandma would probably slog day and night in the kitchen to prepare the most sumptuous feast of the year, slaughtering kampung chicken and steaming traditional kueh for the whole extended family; new-age career-riding, IT-savvy and unfortunately also credit-revolving* lifestyle women like us will very much prefer to just call Sheraton for a reservation at Li Bai.

Instead of kneading dough and doing unthinkable damage to our perfectly painted nails, all we need is a click of the mouse to place an advance order for the most authentic home-made CNY cookies delivered straight to our doorsteps. And my, pay by Visa and get an additional discount! Need we say more?

If haute cuisine is your cup of tea, why not take it one step further and fly the whole family to Paris for a reunion dinner a la Francaise? Or better yet, jump onboard the Eastern-Oriental Express for a 'rail' of a time while shouting your yum sengs in the middle of lush tropical rainforest setting.

Of course, if you prefer a more down-to-earth and simple homey affair that doesn't break your bank, the traditional all-time favorite steamboat dinner is the dummy-proof way to go. You don't have to be a chef to prepare your dinner. A one-stop shopping trip at your nearest neighborhood supermarket will solve it all. Best thing is, you won't even chip a nail.

The bottom line is, no matter what generation we are in, or how we like our reunion dinner to be, it is always a time to look forward to and have tons of fun preparing for. We Chinese believe that having a good celebration brings happiness and riches in the year to come.

Which, by the way, is what the red underwear is for too.

Oh, and don't forget to buy Toto.

(* For the record, I am not revolving any credit. It's only a writing methology to emphasize my point, OK... :P)