A Tigerish Year

My piggy bank got fatter, my table is littered with red packets, my throat's sore and scratchy,
the fridge is overflowing with mandarin oranges and the smell of gun powder is in the air.
Ahhhhh,

That's right, Chinese New Year just came, (in a huge ballyhoo of firecrackers, pounding drums, sweet and sour yee sang, curious relatives and the whole nine yards) and left us a whole new year to look forward to.

So, how was it for you guys?

For me, it was like any chinese new year I had celebrated before.
I had to face..

THE RELATIVES

Like any Malaysian holiday, most of my friends will be visiting their if not, their parents' home towns but it's slightly different for me.
What I'm trying to say is, what if the grandma, the matriarch of the family, the nucleus the clan is living in the guest room right under the very same roof as you?
Then, may Choy San, the God of Prosperity have mercy on you as you'll be facing wave after wave of kukus, ku changs, kao foos, tai kau foos, kau moes, ah yees from every corner of Malaysia. Oh GOD, was that a mouthful.

Well, sure, the money comes to you but it really is double edged.
For one thing, you can kiss that peace and silence you revel in good bye.
Every car that honks on our gate will be a relative you forgot what to call.
And what if the language spoken isn't universal?
You'll be waking up to languages not used to and communication will be something so jumbled up because while you grew up, you sort of cut off my mother tongue.

Well, that's what I endure every time the season comes.
Though it may seem stressful the chaos can sometimes be fun to deal with.
Have a happy new year...