Chinese New Year 2018

Time and time again I like to go down memory lane and look at the Chinese New Year posts I have done over the years, my earliest ones being in Jakarta while my later ones being in Singapore. I hardly talk about my enjoyment in Singapore, but Chinese New Year gives me an avenue to acknowledge how nice it is to live in Singapore where my family is. It allows me to visit them much more often than I could when I was in Jakarta and thus plan meetings outside of the Chinese New Year system. The only thing I have to do now is live up to my word which is a challenge itself, with busy schedules and busy mindsets. 

It is rather sad this year because we have another household to skip with the departure of Uncle Jimmy from this mortal plane, with his wife soon to join him. With his wife, Auntie Margie, incognizant of her surroundings we decided it would be detrimental to her mental wellbeing should we pay her a visit. If we were to visit she would verily no longer know the names of the guests, nor would she be prepared to receive any anymore being bedridden. It is a melancholy moment therefore, to be released of our duties at so early a time when it was so late before. We would usually finish our tours of family members at around 7pm, but this year we finished our tours at around 4.30pm. I never care for money, but seeing the low frequency of ang paos made me realise sadly how few we visited, and how much fewer we visited from the year before. Indeed my immediate family is growing smaller, and it is always my regret that I never went out of my way to form a proper bond with the further indirect family members that we do not usually see on our tour. 

What family could not satisfy, we made up in friendship. As I type now my father is entertaining friends that he has made in his childhood, many of which are my mother's schoolmates as well. It is nice to see that family truly is who you decide them to be, rather than it be decided to you. I only wish that my future would be as blessed, although God knows as an introvert I care for my friends in a way that requires a bit more distance than the next Tom Dick or Harry. 

Nevertheless life goes on, however much we choose to live them. I, for one, am very happy with the way my life is leading, and at the current moment I can verily swear to you, that I am in one of the most comfortable moments and one of the happiest moments of my life. 

I find it so nice how I always get these feelings after exercise. Truly endorphins really do make you a lot more happier. The world shines much more brighter today. 

Cheers,

Matthew Tan