It is that time of the year again. This Chinese New Year is on a short Feb month and a day after Valentine’s day. My usual 3 annual reunion dinners have started since last Sat, firstly with my in-laws family, then today with my side of the family and finally on the actual eve of the CNY day (on 15 Feb) with my immediate family, parents and parents-in-law.
I always look forward to preparing the 3rd reunion dinner, spending a few weeks beforehand to conceptualize the menu and then going around buying the stuff at certain seafood places open for business during this period of time. Like last year, it will be a steamboat buffet again. So many interesting things to buy and so little time remaining. You just feel the festive mood everywhere you go, especially in the wet markets.
Had 2 very interesting catch-ups with old friends this week. CNY is an excuse for everyone to meet again for a nice meal and drinks. The first happened on Thursday night for a gathering of ex-colleagues for a Loh Hei dinner. We all shared an interesting period of our careers during 2005-2010, surviving the GFC crisis and living out our motto : “Work hard, play hard”. It was nice to see all of them again, as we have moved on with our work life while cherishing the times where we doubled our budget but yet having lots of fun along the journey. After a few drinks, we had also decided to “encourage” 2 members to get together. We agreed to regroup again in April for another dinner at another nice zhi char shop.
The second meal happened yesterday for lunch. A schoolmate from my secondary days brought the 8 of us together for a catch-up lunch. Some of us have last met up almost 2 years ago. One is in politics now and he shared some interesting stories with us. I am amazed at how he can do so many things as he is also a CEO of a listed company. Hats off to him! Generally, all of us have crossed into our second half and are thinking out loud : “What should we do next?” We agreed to meet up again in April.
Nice get together experiences are treasured memories as we get older. Although they provide short-term happiness, these experiences enrich the soul and make life much more pleasurable as we reconnect with old friends to establish new memories while talking about the good old times.
Just like to share the latest article from one of my favourite writers, Michael Lewis. He gives a fresh perspective on the state of the crazy American politics :
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-02-09/has-anyone-seen-the-president
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