Chinese New Year Day 1

Finally, Chinese New Year has arrived!

Went to Ah Ma's house to have lunch after waking up, and to my surprise, quite a number of relatives had already turned up. Was embarassed to be seen in my pyjamas sans makeup, so hurriedly finished lunch (Yoohoo, Ah Ma cooked my favourite braised sea cucumber!) and returned home to bathe and stick on faux eyelashes (which was a good conversation-starter).

Later, 2nd Gu and Gim, Ah Bee, 4th Aunt and Uncle, Zhengyang, Henglip, Anthony and Haoling came up to visit. The older folks partook in some karaoke singing, while the destructive boys were messing up my bedroom and scaring my cat Mimi. At one point, they were mocking Ah Sir's Facebook profile picture, instigated by Kar Cheng.

Then all of us returned to Ah Ma's house to meet more relatives, collect more ang-pows (Wow, I am starting to see an appreciation in ang-pow value over the years, no more $2 ang-pow from we-know-who!), gorge on more junk food (Mmmm, cuttlefish strips coated with sugar and fried green peas) and immerse ourselves in hours and hours of mindless gambling. What else is new?

Two of the little tykes were absent: Brandon and Gordon, but Ah Liang Liang and Lay Goon's baby girl, Ying Liang (sounds like Mandarin for silver ingot), turned up. Wow, ALL sure has grown (and slimmed down) a lot ever since the last time I saw him, and today, he was especially cranky. He kept whining and would petulantly turn away whenever anyone wanted to carry him. Ying Liang on the other hand was quieter and more demure, and looked adorable in that little Minnie Mouse frock. Their two psychotic mothers (and other relatives) were already discussing about childhood betrothal for these two poor unsuspecting babies. Henglip seemed ready for fatherhood.

Henglip with Ying Liang and our jolly Ah Ma

After dinner, we kicked off the night gambling session in Ah Ma's stuffy and poorly-ventilated kitchen, but I had to wait for a long time to finally secure a seat at the gambling table (How to gamble while standing up?). Although Blackjack is our classic favourite, we had to cater to the old folks, especially 1st Aunt, by playing see kee.

Gambling addicts

Ended the night nearly $50 poorer.