I'm going to type about the first 15 days of the new lunar year, ie 15 days of the Chinese New Year. Why 15 days? Because today is Chap Goh Meh, the last day of Chinese New Year, the 15th of the first lunar month. (The real reason I'm typing this post on this particular day is: I have time now =_=)

It is said in China, their Chinese New Year holiday is as long as 15 days, it is mainly because of the winter, it would be troublesome to attend school in the blizzard, but still... I would like 15 days of holiday instead of the normal 9 days (or less). Greedy greedy...

We finished our first test just before Chinese New Year start, and on the last day of school, everyone was giving out New Year cards. I'm surprised, I thought people would just make do with an e-mail. I received some, so it's only proper that I send a card in return... (But I didn't manage to send a New Year Card to S, feeling guilty about it...)

And than, it was New Year, I went back to my hometown, ie Malacca. This year, it's extra special, because my dear Singapore cousin is coming down with us! So many years had passed since we last celebrated Chinese New Year together! On top of it, we are staying at old house, the first house my father bought! That house has sentimental value, my grandparents stayed in that house before we (the grandchildren) are born, and my grandfather actually planted a durian tree there! The durian tree was chopped off before I'm born, my grandparents fear that the durians would one day drop on our heads. During my earlier years, we would stay there whenever we return to our hometown, the days down there... were boring. Because most of the time when we are staying in Old House, my parents are not with us (outstation), so we are trapped there. My cousin only stay here during her younger days, Chinese New Year. I remember one day, so long ago, someone knocked me(or I knocked myself), and I'm crying because it's pain (I'm very small that time), than my cousin and my sister made some funny antics, and I started laughing between my tears, that joke is remembered till today (At the expense of my pride...).

Today, the old house stay empty for the whole year, maybe visited occasionally by the cleaner to do the annual cleaning. Wild grasses (and even trees) sprouted among the cracks of the concrete outside. Furnitures were covered with flowery cloths, cobwebs cling to every corner, the only hint that this house was ever lived in was the photos hung on the wall, black and white ones which made my father's youth stay eternal, and the more recent coloured ones which told of the proud graduation of our generation. I once told my parents that I shall hang graduation photo alongside with my cousin's one, and I shall name the wall 'The pride of A-gong' (A-gong=grandfather). The old tv still stood there, I wonder is it still functional. My younger brother's attention was temporarily captured by this greyish looking tv, he played with the buttons lined on the side of the machine.

When we stepped into the Old House, we found out there is no electricity. Horrors of horrors! How are we going to survive? Luckily we manage to contact the Tenaga (those in charge of electricity) and electricity is here, once more.

We go visiting, and this year, we visited lots of people, which means more Ang-pow and more cookies. On the third day, I got too heaty, and my head is so pain that it is going to split.

I suddenly have a few more aunties, they are actually my mother's half siblings, and they started contacting each other, after all these years. Although we are related by blood, but I couldn't help feeling they are strangers. My mother think so too.

And than there is Auntie M, my mother's dear friend who calls me 'teapot', because during my innocent younger days, I danced and sing 'I'm A Little Teapot', so I stay a little teapot, even though now I'm already 16 (Logic tells me I should be upgraded to 'big teapot').

Another of my mother's friend said I look very young, like I'm only 14,and they thought my second sister (14) is older than me... I wonder should I be happy about it, or grumpy.

After a week of New Year, it is time to go back to my hectic schedule, with tuition and all...

Sports day is approaching, and that means the marching season is here. Marching practise is not exactly too bad (fine, maybe the response is bad...), but the weather... is very bad. We marched in the mud, our shoes went from white to brown. My socks are damp. Five years of marching, and this is the first time I marched in the mud. When I told my father about it, he said it is good practise, like it's meant to discipline us. What discipline is he talking about when we are half squealing when our feet sank into that semi-liquid substance?!

And while we are fooling around during the breaks in between marching practise, we chatted. Once, Nicolet told Scorpteen about a new manga she read, and while she reached the climax, Scorpteen held my hand, and shook it, vigorously. I hope to draw it out and post it here, but I've given my word to Scorpteen not to do it. Still (hehehe), I can type about it.

And today, Chap Goh Meh, is officially the last day of Chinese New Year. We had tangyuan, but the tangyuan soup taste a bit odd, my grandmother said it's because of the gula melaka of lousy quality, we should have stick to brown sugar... And we also had popiah, I didn't help in all the shredding of the popiah, though, I'm too busy moping around (morning gloominess) and banging on my piano.

I made dadih, it's Malay pudding. My aunt is the one who taught me that, and it turns out a bit...er... watery. But the taste is good, at least it's not too sweet. But still... my father is a bit sarcastic about it, although I know his comments is meant for me to improve.

I still have some of those dadih ingredients, and I'm going to make dadih once more, and this time, it's not going to be watery...

Lastly, the biggest surprise I received within this 15 days is my article is actually published in the newspaper! It is kind of scary... I think... because I never thought it would get published. My mother was very excited about it, she said she wanted to laminate it for me. My father said everything but not a word of encouragement, so typical of him, but still, I'm happy. Father is always provoking me by saying I'm a student journalist, I have the power to write lots of things, I can be a critique (I don't think that's allowed, the slightly sensitive part of my article was edited), and my uncle also wrote to the newspaper, his articles got published lots of time, so much so that he was approached to publish a book! Some day, I'm going to prove to my father that I can also do something like that (maybe I would not publish a book, buy hey, I'm a student journalist, I can write some more stories to the newspaper).

So, that is all that happened within this 15 days (or more, considering that I also wrote about stuff that happened few days before Chinese New Year).