CNY greetings from the stone-age
Here I am blogging from the stone-age, using dial-up connection. :s
No GPRS on my phone network too. Ugh. Can’t send MMS to e-mails either.
But I guess it isn’t that bad. At least I have Internet now. 
The year of the Dog has been good so far. Good to be visiting relatives whom I’ve not seen for ages. Nice to share rooms with my sister and hurl insults at each other all day long too. Plus food tastes good after my month-long diet of eating out. And watching Hong Kong shows on TV sans Mandarin-dubs is great. I miss KL, but Penang’s not too bad either. Just a tad too hot. I walk around the house with the heat clinging to me like a second skin. ugh.
Also realised that people don’t really know much of the legends and believes associated with the lunar new year celebration. Or maybe it’s just me. Like, how the second day of the new year is the official ‘opening’ of a new year (”kai1 nian2″). Or why ang paos are given, and a whole assorted temple visit rituals and etc. The only thing I know really well is the ‘nian’ monster story. Probably because it’s on TV year after year.
Speaking about TV, the one thing that I never miss is the chinese new year commercials on TV. Big companies like Petronas and Perodua always come up with the best ads. Not only because that it’s usually funny, well-shot and nicely scripted (and well acted out), more often than not there’s a social message that reflects the society at its truest. I like this year’s Petronas’ ad, which depicted several old ladies sitting at a table and boasting of their children’s careers & money-making abilities. People laugh at it, but it is so true of the chinese community, where everyone just wants to have more ‘face’ than others. But in the story, one old auntie wins it all. After everyone else was done boasting about their kids’ multimillion house and x-hundred pounds salary per annum, that old auntie said nothing about her son except for the fact that he’ll be coming to bring her for a trip. The camera pulls out, and reveals a rickety Proton saga car driving up and the old auntie happily following her son, while the boastful old ladies have to be contented with the chinese new year alone in the old folks home. Ok lah, actually it’s a bit sad, but I still think it’s a good ad. Almost a mini-drama piece.
Okay, gotta head off to relative’s place to bai nin.
Gong hei fatt choy!