Lucky star is on my side

What is one of the Chinese customs that we never miss during CNY? It's gambling, of course. Frankly speaking, I'm not much of a gambler cuz it's not really in my family culture to place small bets in card games. Grandpa dislikes it & never permit us to play at home for fear of addiction.

I was at an old friend's house to bai nin & she invited us for a few rounds of blackjack. Since it was for pure fun & no serious bettings involved, I decided to take part as well. I guess lucky star has been on my side despite losing minimal bets in the first few rounds. Luck took a good turn towards the end & when it was my turn to be the chonker, my lucky star was definitely shining oh-so-bright on me.

Unbelievably, I won RM20+ with only RM1 or RM2 bets. Whee! XD Nevertheless, it was a good game after all not cuz of win or lose but the opportunity to catch with each other after a two year lapse. I mean, how often do we get to meet up like this so often? This the joy of CNY. =)

Roaring Tiger is here to usher New Year & Valentine's Day

Just after slightly more than a month, the year of the Tiger is here! For the first time (or at least in my life), the Lunar New Year coincides with Valentine's Day. This day is special in some ways as it doesn't happen in another 40 years or so. I didn't want any flowers this year even though WL was planning to give me a smaller bouquet as a gesture to signify our 2nd Valentine's celebration.

As for CNY, this year is a different kind of celebration for my family as compared to previous years - without grandpa's presence. Grandpa's untimely incident didn't allow him to recover in time; return home & to usher the new year with us. We still continued with our customs of reunion dinner & prayers. After that, we headed to the hospital to greet him. It was late at night by the time arrived & he was seen sleeping soundly. He didn't respond much when we called mainly because he was exhausted from the physiotherapy during the day.

Seeing him bedridden & missing out the fun at home made us disheartened. I'm sure anyone who have gone through this can truly understand what we're feeling right now.

But there's nothing we can do. Only time can tell. Meanwhile, Happy Chinese New Year & Valentine's to all of you. Have a prosperous & roaring new year ahead!