Xin Nian Kuai Le (i'll check on the spelling)

great house party at the "ministry of sharaabies" again. i've never had a big group of my peers wishing "gong xi fa cai" until last night. and they were ALL indian.
today is dedicated to recovery.
same gang tomorrow in "the gardens" at bishan.
happy "chinese" new year guys!

YOU know I loved you the most, and always will, Pa

I went to my aunt’s place today to catch up with my cousins. I didn’t know they made plans to go to Chua Chu Kang cemetery. Honestly, I forgot where or when my father was buried. It was only my second visit since he passed away 10 years ago.

Is adhering to this annual display of “filial piety” correlated with the affection I feel for my father? Phooey. Don’t get me wrong, I am not condoning this practice. It’s just that i don't see the immense importance or significance some people seem to place in this tradition.

I grew up listening to Doris Day, Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Jim Reeves and country music; waltzing to these tunes with him in the living room; watching and re-watching his taped tv musicals, warner brothers cartoons, Jerry Lewis comedy movies and sitcoms; caving in to his repeated requests for my amateur version of 'ode to joy' on the piano...

So I might decide to relive these moments to honor his memory. I'll listen to his favorite songs and watch his favorite programs.

I'll pause quietly when I walk pass his favorite food joints. I'll eat a vadai (wadeh), with alternating bites of the donut and green chilli. Just like the way he used to do it.. in satisfied chomps.

I can sometimes almost hear him belting out an oldie or laughing boisterously at the foreign stereotypes in 'mind your language'. And i'll reminisce on the pure joy we derived from reenacting our favorite scenes from the british comedy, the phil silvers show, movies... and even from WB cartoons.

Now, why wouldn’t one prefer to reflect upon such memories to those brought about by staring at a tombstone?

Ministry of Sharaabies

one last round before heading to Ministry of Sound for the countdown.

i guess sucking on a slice of lemon after a shot are for pussies. several home-made long island teas later, this manly drinker swore that the kick chipdip gave was fan-taste-tic!

Winner for most beautiful legs.

expecting a long line to get in, we prepared big bottles of i-don't-know-what, in case we got "thirsty". all i knew was, it was half and half. sure tasted like it..

turns out, us ticket holders had priority entry. we cleared our poison in half an hour. it started off being a pleasantly painful struggle, but as we approached the bottoms of the bottles, we wished we packed more.

3, 2, 1... Happy New Year!