CNY
Chinese New Year celebrations are in full swing here in KL. Little red lanterns are hung in the shopping malls with care, red and gold decorations are visible at every turn, New Year's (for the lack of a better term) carols are blaring on PA systems everywhere. Think Christmas with all the commercialization and none of the fake Santas (I'll start believing again when I get my pony - your move, fat man).
This year's favourite new year's song (so I'm inclined to believe - I hear it everywhere) is a traditional piece as sung by a pair of five year olds. For the uninitiated, the song is cutesy poo and nonsensical, almost heartwarming. Problem is, it gets stale when it's looped over and over again. After a couple of choruses of "Gong xi, gong xi gong xi ni," in their high pitched, off key voices and one begins to wonder if infanticide rates are expected to rise prior to the new year.
The family is doing its annual reunion dinner on Saturday, which will be a good opportunity to catch up on old times. My late grandfather used to hire a lion dance to bless the house when I was a kid. I think this year's going to be a bit subdued now that everyone is grown up. Nevertheless, I hear there's going to be quite a dinner and there will probably be a good number of Ang Pow (Chinese red packets full of money) too - I think I may be too old to qualify for them though.
posted by Fly Lice You Plick @ 2:55 PM
3 Comments:
Happy CNY, bro
Hey man, I'll take Chinese lanterns and mythical lions over plastic Santas anytime. At least those mean lookin' lion heads actually scared me into being good when I was a kid. Santa, well......
New Year's carols eh? I wonder if a certain W. Hung has a CD for that? That's your li'l homework assignment.
Yeah, you might be a bit old for traditional Ang pows. How about electronic Ang pow, or
"e-Angpow(TM)" But then ,that's probably what wire transfers are for.
A side note before I go....Most of the guys from Ayutthaya called this week. I told Nimit and the Thai family about you...They're expecting your visit later this year, so the heat's on you, man!
In preparation for Thailand, may I suggest changing your identity to "Jorn"? I mean, that's just how your name's spelled and pronounced in Thai.
Anyhow, happy new year and happy eatin'
Big Brudder
Oh yeah,
If yer wonderin' about your name in Thai script, give these a shot:
"จอหน"
The above version contains the Thai equivalent "h" in it, giving you "John", which I know you don't like.
I guess you're either left with this:
"จอน"
or this:
"จร"
Either way, the "r" sound's gonna creep in there somehow, giving you "Jorn".
Better get used to it, Jorn.
L8er
Big Brudder
Sweetness. My name will be Jorn for my new Jorb. Thanks for the translation brah. Does it have any additional meaning in Thai? By that, I mean, is it a dirty word? And by that, I mean... can I use it to impress the ladies?
MMM I wubs Ang Pow. Someone I've never met before gave me fiddy bucks yesterday just because I showed up for dinner. Granted, fiddy Malaysian bucks is about $17 CAD but hey, that's equivalent to a stack of DVDs here. I don't think I want to get married now because that's when I stop getting Ang Pow and have to start giving them out. I may die a bitter lonely old man but at least I'll be rich!... hmm. let me rethink this plan...
Heh. I was a pending midlife crisis prior to making this trip out here. Hopefully the situation will be alleviated within the next few months when I have some more adventures.
I'm probably heading out to the middle of nowhere some time next week so I may not have access to the Internet. If that's the case, I just bought myself a new laptop today and I'll write up my posts offline and upload them whenever I get a chance. The Starbucks here have free wi-fi for the customers - that may be my best option.
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