Oy Bull.

Omg. Omg. Omg. Reunion Dinner on Sat.

Remembered I need to hand in book list ASAP before CNY. WAHLAOS. *emohs*

SUPERVISOR BALIK KAMPUNG DY LA HOWW?!

*panic*

*edit: Got a reply. workaholic. - Feb 12*

All because I was

1. Busy looking for a place to stay.
2. Procrastinating.
3. Trying to finish Brilliant Legacy (2009) and Minamishineyo (2009).
4. Singapore-ing and Procrastinating even more.
5. CNY-ing
6. Baking.
7. Thinking about everything else but my thesis. lol.

I don't believe I run on a Pentium two up there but I admit. I question my brain capacity sometimes. Why oh why am I not blessed with the incredible ability to multitask and hence more on-my-toes-abit, less up-in-the-sky-somewhere.

That aside.

I DON'T FIT IN ANY OF THE CLOTHES I BOUGHT FOR NEW YEAR THIS YEAR. GARGHHH. EVERYTHING I PUT ON GIVES ME A MUFFIN TOP.

Yes, I am going to start on a CNY rant now on the eve of New Year's eve.

Every year, we go through this. And who are we kidding? There are somethings about family gatherings that pricks us once in a while. But hey, don't get me wrong. It doesn't mean I love them any less. There's just a handful. It's especially problematic for really BIG families, huge extended ones.

So, since it's 2am and I've just found 4 books to add on my book list, I am going to come out with a list of awkward CNY situations that I'm sure people can relate to. Some I speak from experience, some coz I'm observant. Heh.

Topic 1: Your weight.

Yeap. Everybody's got relatives who do that. For girls, this is possibly the most dreaded topic to ever bring up when everyone is gathered around yummy food during the reunion dinner. It's one of those topics that really kills your appetite. Even worse, if you were the one who prepared the meal.

Sure, you've had a stressful year, snacked abit in between, had a baby perhaps?, had no time for the gym or no money to sign up for one, or just plain lazy to work out because it didn't occur to you how fast a year past after someone says to you "Wah, you putting on weight ah," while you were chomping on your abalone/cookies/bakkwa halfway. Or maybe you're just naturally the way you are no matter how much you workout/eat. [This applies to petite people too, but they get the opposite 'Must eat more treatment']. And the worst, it just didn't occur to you it was going to happen again the next year if you didn't do anything about it.

This year. You meet. Something changed. Your waistline. She mentions it again. At the dinner table. All your other relatives are around. She just put you through something even worst than public execution. LOL. Your appetite gets killed so does every other organ in your body. You remind yourself to change and swallow the last bit of bakkwa and vow upon the very day itself that you will be a changed person. Some people succeed. Some people just turn to the cookies after someone offers them and the cycle repeats all over again.



Topic 2: Their kids.

In a typical Chinese family setting, I am not generalizing but all Chinese parents really do this, parents love to talk about how great their kids are. Often out of love really =) and among parents, it's the only topic in common they have to discuss about after they're done gossiping about the government/share markets/business/other relatives. Except, some parents happen to sell their children a little too well like they're a mass-produced product sold on TV it makes you feel really icky on a joyous day. But hey don't be. Just remember your parents will be selling you as well. As you grow older, you will start to realize that perfect picture painted is really just, well... a picture (one thing I learnt in my course, communicating is just a matter of perceiving. Everything that is communicated is framed in such away that tells a story for the person's perspective Nothing is the gospel truth) and how pointless it'll be to be affected by something really trivial. =)


Topic 3: Your future.

SPM leavers/Uni-graduates/Retrenched get this quite often. For people who know what to do in your life, this is the time to shine. Outdo, outwit and outlast that kaypoh relative who dissed you for not having that straight A's/scholarship/promotion that they expected you to get. You explain your plans is great-detail with great passion sparkling in your eyes.

For people who don't know what they are doing yet, the case is often harder to deal with. Especially if your relative just listed out his/her/their children's plans, it's even harder to prevent your pride from being trashed. It can be really demoralizing especially with the fakeness of the whole conversation, "Oh you'll find something to do soon" or "Do you want to work for random-business-tycoon-relative-i-know". It's already weird enough you only meet this person once a year, pretty obvious you don't feel particularly close or sometimes any connection at all to that relative.

Remember words can travel. If your family happen to be the gossipy kind, tell a white lie. "I'm thinking of..." blablabla. Just be really down to earth about it. Anything but I dunno because they'll automatically think you're bumming.

Topic 4: Your Lovelife.

Whether you're single or taken or is your marriage going well random things that you really rather not talk about. It normally starts once you hit your early 20's. By 30 it gets tiring. If they live long enough by 40, you've move on. By 50... Hm. Either way, conforming to societal pressures rarely work out. I personally think it not worth sacrificing your own happiness to gain approval from others.

Remember this is only just to create small talk. Somethings that are said, really don't matter enough to be taken seriously. Spare the grudge. Spread the love. Be tactful. Avoid touching on too sensitive issues. If they do things to tick you off just be polite to remind them about your boundaries.

It's comfort you find in your family. Not competition. Those who can't provide simply don't mean as much. =)