Every single year for probably at least the last seven years, Chinese New Year was kind of like a chore to myself. To me, it just means meeting relatives that I’ve not seen in ages, probably once a year or something. There are usually not many words exchanged and more often than not, conversations will just be limited to “Happy New Year!” with a big smile from the relative and me returning the exact same thing. In some exceptional cases, the relative will start asking about what I’m doing right now which usually, I’ll be really lazy to go into the details. I figured that telling a really short story is not better than telling the full details. When I go into details, the relative will stop me halfway and then stop talking, switching to topics like “what is on TV right now” or “you wanna have some Bak Kwa?”. It works every single time and that is my strategy every year to minimise talking in such awkward situations. I also know that without fail, they will forget what I told them this year and looking all stunned when I repeat what I told them today come next year. Well, never mind. This is in its own capacity, a vicious cycle that I may not be able to get out of anytime soon…

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