∞

Lunar New Year this time seems awfully swift. In a blink of an eye, I find myself back in this room; off-white walls and strips of photos hanging against the off-white curtains. The face of my white wardrobe doors emptied, making way for new photos I took and new people to look up to, new quotes to remind me to live rather than merely existing and new destinations I will visit.

Some time ago, when I worked at this business news firm, I would occasionally lunch with an elder cousin whose workplace is really close by, and another time with two of my cousins, too. It felt surreal to them that I was working. What does this pampered little girl has got to contribute to this dog-eat-dog society? All bright eyed and bushy tailed.

People can forget to age. They live in this perpetual déjà vu where the mind plays the same broken tape and the pain and pride that comes with the memories stir their everyday lives, overwhelming the present. They become unreasonable, and that, by the traditional culture is tolerable. I wonder if I will grow old to become the person that I cannot tolerate today, in decades to come.

A pat on the shoulder and a little taken aback, 三伯娘 mistaken me for a teen, still. I’m not the same person as I was in my teen. Heck, I’m not even the same person as I was last year. I’ve learned that it isn’t about the numbers that adds to my age, but the mentality that makes me really my own person. And the plans I have for myself.

一不为名，二不为利。只要自己开心就夠。

#1 Pinching food bits before the reunion dinner!

#2 iPad well-utilised by everyone.

#3 Favourite dish of all time…

#4

#5 We played a 汤圆 game hahaha. Only TWO out of the X number of them are filled with peanuts. Everyone in the family put in an amount of money and the person(s) to get the ones filled with peanuts will get (and/or split) the grand prize! It wasn’t me! but truthfully, it was so much fun and so much suspense!!! :p

#6

#7

#8 Everyday after dinner time, Dad brings Mom, Sis and I to Ipoh Garden (which is relatively far from grandma’s house) for ais kacang.

#9 First game/win of 麻雀 this year! 大三元 alright! Also played Rummy till late nights.

#10 A place so close-knit, yet still so much to be discovered.