2010 The year of the metal tiger

First off, it's the lunar new year so happy new year everyone! I say lunar new year because it's supposed to be the politically correct term since it isn't celebrated solely by the Chinese. It's a subject of debate for some but I don't really care to be picky on semantics. As long as people get the idea, then is it really that big of a deal? Call it what you will and move on to focusing on the more important aspects of the holiday.

It's the year of the tiger which is my lunar animal year. I was born as a fire tiger. What this means? I'm not entirely clear on it so I'll leave it up to you to look up. This is my favorite holiday by far. Not because I receive little red envelopes of Li Xi with money in them (well maybe partly because of that) but because it's so festive compared to all of the holidays. I love everything about it from the flower markets to the food to the Tết festival. Hell, I even like the music and I'm not one who is keen on listening to Vietnamese music.Too bad I didn't have time to go to the Tết festival this year. I missed out on all of the delicious food **depressed**. If you know me then you know how much I appreciate good food so this was a bit of a bummer for me.


Wasted free Tết festival tickets and VIP parking pass

My haul this year. Not as good as last year's but I guess I'm getting older now so I'm not supposed to be getting these anymore. I thought you're only considered too old once you're married. If that's the case then I should be getting these for at least 4 or 5 more years lest I somehow wind up married sooner than that.
Although I was not able to attend the Tết festival, I made up for it by ringing in the new year with my entire extended family at my grandparent's house. Six loud and crazy uncles challenging each other to drink their livers out. How could I not have fun? I'm happy that the family can still manage to come together even with our chaotic bustling lives and separate families. We all get together for the sake of my grandparents but hopefully it can still be like this for many years to come even once my grandparents pass. After all, my grandpa is already 91. I don't know how much time we have left but I'll take what I can get.

It's hard to think about time and what it really means because we're so engrossed in our lives we just let it pass us by. The more I grow, the more I realize the real importance of time and the power of it's virtue. As stated by the author James Matthew Barrie:


"You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by; but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by"
The gift of time is something that many people throw away carelessly without even an afterthought. Time is not something that can be gained and definitely can never be retrieved once lost. Many will come to realize this the hard way. Take care to remember the preciousness of time.

Wishing you a happy and prosperous new year,
WideEyedWonderer