Chinese New Year 2010

Chinese New Year 2010 is around the corner.

It is the year of the Tiger.

May the Year of the Tiger brings about a more manageable financial year for us, and a joyous journey through.......

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Most Chinese families are getting ready, on a larger or smaller scale.......

Walls and ceilings are painted again with many bright and vibrant colors.......

The gates and fences are recoated.......

The doors and windows too.....

The many bright and soft colors in different rooms, on various walls, shades and corners.......

The surrounding compounds are also cleaned, cleared, rearranged, redecorated with many plants and flowers.......

Gone are those redundant things piled up in the store rooms, stacked up in the kitchen cabinets, hung up in the wardrobes and closets, hidden in the drawers and under the beds........

All of a sudden, most people are made to realize that they have accumulated more trash than a dumpster.

Now the house looks beautiful, clean, and in order.

Time to decorate the front porch......

Big and small lanterns are hung and illuminated........

Then the many colorful and blinking flashlights........

The Chinese New Year cards, posters, "ang pow" packets, banners... with many word of new year greetings and the pictures of tigers and people of all age.......

New flowers and leafy plants are placed in pots and vessels, composed of mostly plastic and cellulose fiber materials, but look very lively and true.......

Now comes the living room.......

So big space and so many creative and innovative ideas.......

Now the children have their discussions, arguments, reasonings.....

Time to leave the children alone.... They know best what to do.....

The fathers and mothers now busy with the kitchen.........the many to-do lists.......

And the many shopping sprees.... the many to-buy lists.......

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And that is the year of the Tiger.

The Chinese New Year 2010 is around the corner.

May the Year of the Tiger brings us much happiness, good health, and joyful life.

Our House, Our Home

It was a whitewashed wall.

Now it is painted light violet.

It looks cool and adds a soft tint to the tv corner.

Everyone is happily smiling from ear to ear when it is done.

It is a consensus choice, though the light violet is not the initial color.

A 21 inch flat screen tv is tucked partially under the staircase.......

It has been there for almost a decade.

The under staircase for most is for storage purposes.

Many neighbors has enclosed storage under the staircase for keeping old newspapers, magazines, books, children's toys, ironing board and more.

But it is not our family's choice.

We have discussed it together, and the children are consulted.

A 21 inch flat screen tv is our no.1 choice.......

Yeah.... to keep the living room spacious, warm and inviting.

The decision has been made and it is there ever since.......

Our house is our home.

And we want to enjoy every single bit of it.......

Lying down before the tv is a 4'x8' carpet, with cute animal toys, big square comfy pillows and cushions readily for use.

It seems that sitting on the floor, or lying down on a mat or carpet has been a norm in the family while watching tv, a die-hard habit that we have picked up in our younger years while fighting for the front rows in any show, concert, play or sport event.

And now the family has developed the habit further......

The father is now reading the newspapers while watching the latest regional, national and world news on the tv...LOL

The mother is now preparing the veggie, ironing the clothes etc while watching soap opera, smiling, laughing and crying along...

The children are now eating, drinking, doing their homework, playing their toys etc with their eyes glued to the tv.......

And so is everyone who comes into the house.......

Every time of the day and night.......

Our house is our home.

And everyone must enjoy every single bit of it.......

Not many of us enjoy sitting straight and tall on the sofa watching our favorite shows.... though sometimes we do fight over who should be the boss to lie down on the long sofa when it is cold and raining........LOL

The wall now looks better in its light violet color.

It brings a home to life.......

The white color was the developer's choice.

It was his idea of his housing estate.

And we agreed to him almost 10 years ago.

The light violet color is our children's idea.

And we can't agree to them more.......

They have discussed, examined, analyzed, sometimes quarrel....... over the color of the wall.

And we can't agree to them more.......and more.......

They are our children and they love their home.

The house is now their very home....... their treasured home.......

For some, the house remains a house......

For us......

Our house is our home.

And we enjoy every single bit of it more.......

Coming to think about it.......

What is the color of the other walls?

Another Blackout!

It was the center wooden pillar of a village house.

Many village houses had it.

There was a switch on it.

It controlled the lighting of the living room.

A small boy was leaning against it, rubbing his back against the pillar.

It was sweating hot and his back felt very itchy.

The boy then looked at the light, deeply in thought.

It was the only light in the living room.

And there were many insects on it....

His father was reading the newspapers, slowly checking the lottery numbers with his broken spectacles, and speaking softly to himself. Beside him, there was a nice cup of tea....

His mother and granny were sitting on a rattan mat with their sarong on (A piece of clothing consists of a long piece of cloth wrapped round the body), watching tv while massaging his little brother and sisters.

The small boy returned to his homework, biting his short pencil, blinking his eyes, and rubbing his forehead.

The light was really dim and flickering.

Everyone was getting more restless and edgy.

In a distance, a nearby village's musical band was playing their favorite songs....

The small boy hummed along.

The light was getting dimmer.

More houses had many lights switched on.

It was the harvesting festival.... Many of those who lived and worked in the town or city had returned home.

The small boy read closer to his books.

*******

The night was really warm and humid.

The window panes were wide opened, so was the front door.

But the fan was not turned on....

His daddy said to conserve the use of electricity to RM20, the rate subsidized by the government.

It was a windless night....

The air was still and warm....

"A quick shower or a dip in the river will be nice." The little boy said to himself.

Then he looked outside the front door.

The cicadas were humming and singing loudly.

"It is so warm that even the frogs are sweating." The boy chuckled miserably.

He then looked at the father puffing his cigarette and sipping his tea...

The boy scratched his legs.

The pesky mosquitoes were out for blood and he was one of the targets.

Angrily he turned his attention to the mosquitoes....

Frenziedly looking around, he scrutinized every corner....

The small boy was getting excited!

"Spot and kill," he spoke to his heart.

Then the sound of claps and slaps.

Everyone looked around and saw what he was doing, then back to their game and fun.

Then came the sudden blackout!

Everyone shouted and cried in frustration!

The electric circuit was overloaded and the fuse had blown again.

The mother grumbled and quickly looked for candles.

The little ones cried....

In the distance, someone rode on a motorbike to the substation to check on the problem, most probably he would switch or replace the fuse....

A moment passed.

The light was turned on again.

Wow! Everyone was shouting and jeering like in a soccer match for gooooal!

The village was alive and busy again.

The light was very bright...

Then it slowly began to dim.... again.

"It's overloaded.... overloaded...." the father said audibly, shaking his head.

Then....

...... Another blackout!

Half an half had passed......

More motorbikes to the substation.

Then they heard some shouting and jeering from a nearby village.

The small boy rushed out the front door....

The lights of the nearby village were turned on because of wedding celebration....

His father also rushed out.

Then a neighbor walking with a torchlight grumblingy told them, "There is not enough power supply to our village...."

Sadly and reluctantly the boy and his father returned to their house and told everyone to set up for bed....

The children went into their room and began to make noise.

The little ones started to cry....

Then the father and mother shouted and screamed!

....... The candle lights were put off.

The children became quiet.... and tired..... and dozed off.......

The snoring session began....

Louder and louder....

More and more people joined in....

*******

The teenagers of the village began to complain....

Some just rushed to the nearby village and joined the fun....

"Oh mine! This is crazy. Blackout for a week now!" Some said among themselves.

The wind slowly blew.....

Getting stronger and stronger....

Then the rain came down....

Heavier and heavier....

Then the lightnings flashed....

The thunders roared....

Suddenly all the villages became silent!

It was total blackout!

Another miserable night.... Another blackout!

It was time to sleep.

The window panes and the doors were finally closed....

And the snoring session continued..........