GONG XI FA CAI...!

Today's posting is neither about Cats nor about Cancer.....It's that time of the year yet again when everyone in town seems to be running around "like chickens with their heads cut off" some say, or like "lipas kudung" others say. I have not seen either of these two "performances" and yet I can grab more than a gist of their meaning. Throngs at supermarkets and florists flourish with orders of giant bouquets and festive floral hampers. People zoom about from car to store, from store to car and traffic abounds.

Even today on the eve, everywhere I went to earlier today there were crowds of people doing last minute shopping to prepare for the Big Reunion Dinner tonight, and to welcome yet another new year, which is Year Of the Rat ( which in fact is the first of the 12 animal years in the Chinese Zodiac). Like everyone else in Malaysia, I celebrate all the festivities, and Chinese New Year is a favourite because it means Yee Sang time! And I love the arrow roots that are really on offer this year ( at Rm 1.48 a kg in Tesco Melaka when BV Grocers tagged theirs at RM 5.99!!Same quality too). My helper loves to munch so I got kilos which she happily turned to crispy chips which I sneaked to snack on sometimes. They are ever so tasty, no salt needed, just grate them with the salad slicer straight into the kuali of hot oil ( VCO, of course) and wait for it to turn golden. For every kilo she fried, I think Wik popped and munched her way through half a kilo. I don't blame her.

It used to be we had to wait for the 7th day to be able to get Yee Sang anywhere, and the anticipation was part of the fun. Nowadays, you can even get pre-packed Yee Sang way before the new year begins, so it has lost a wee bit, not much, of it's lustre for me. I remember times when my buddies and I would form a Yee Sang group, and it would be Yee Sang at lunch, and then dinner until it is no longer served by the restaurants . Why, we would even tau-pau some ( my favourite is from Lake Club) home so we can start the meals at home tossing the rainbow coloured assortment of vegetables. I have a small Chinese dinner service for this occasions.

This year will be no different, and already we are thinking of having a pot luck Prosperi-Tea over the Chinese New Year break, with those participating bringing their own version and concoction of auspicious dishes. The challenge for me will be to make sure that whatever I come up with is consistent with my dietary requirements - and for that I will probably volunteer to do the Yee Sang - all raw vegetables except for the few bits of preserved nutmeg, ginger and of course the slices of raw fish. Hmm....the sesame oil can even be enriched further with VCO, by fermentation method, if I could get that right! We'll see.

If my 11 year old niece is here, it would be a more meaningful start to the new Rat Year. She was born in the year of the Rat and I have just received news that she has just been accepted to Sevenoaks Prep School after completing her 11plus exams. Her dream of wanting to go to boarding school has materialised, and she is thrilled to bits, so is her Mum who happens to receive the news today, on her birthday! I am so happy for Jannah, as boarding school life has it's own merits even though one has to be away from home. So, it will be a good start for her to start boarding life in a Rat Year, the year she was born. It will be a conversation piece(for her!).

I can count on her to elaborate to her schoolmates about the Chinese Zodiac!

For the rest of us, different forecasters say different things about what will be in The Year Of the Rat. I read them for fun and feel quite tickled to read how some reports contradict. One report may say it is a good year for say rats, dog, sheep etc while another may spell out just the opposite. Read horoscopes with a pinch of salt, that's what we do and laugh at the inconsistencies. The Almighty determines what is in store for us and we strive to meet our destiny, and accept that for each of us there is already a plan, a Master plan.

Horrorscopes aside, here's wishing everyone a prosperous and bountiful new year. May you be blessed with better health, more wealth and happiness, and may God bless all you, your family and all your undertakings....