Ushering in THE CHINESE NEW YEAR OF THE PIGGY 2019

I’m terribly excited about Chinese New Year 2019 because this is the year where I celebrate my favourite four-legged creature. Pigs are smart and loyal. If only I could have one as a pet!

Incidentally, this is the best age yet as I'm finally eligible to join the prestigious turtle club. It is quite a milestone because only people who have lived through several decades are automatic members without having to pay subscription.

Was it that long ago when I was a member of the unicorn club and running the rat race?

The turtle club is something else. I would like to think that the mature members are calm and secure and completely at peace with themselves. In fact, I can even hear the primordial OM sound ringing in my ears.

But happily we still recognise each other as dementia hasn’t set in yet but for the odd instance where everyone has a senior moment as in, ‘Where did I leave my car keys?

Now is the time to dye my hair purple, and not just to wear purple like Jenny Joseph suggests. I’ve done my fair bit of travelling to touristy spots so onwards to darkest Peru or to the heart of Africa. All at once, I dream that I’m running with the gazelle only to realise that I might end up as fresh kill for some predator as I’ll be moving at a much slower speed than I imagine. The spirit is willing but the body is weak. I have to mind myself now, making sure I don’t trip over that Lego block that some child had left on the floor.

I will finally have that birthday cake with so many candles. It is good that I do not have dentures because the last time my friend blew out that many candles, her false teeth flew as well.

I am still delusional though. I can look into the mirror and try out the dresses that have been in the wardrobe for the last ten years and like Tanya in Mammamia, with great confidence I’ll flick my hair and say, ‘Baby, you do good.’ Be gone, Botox, I won't ever need you.

I love this delicious sense of calm, confidence and clarity of purpose. There is certainly more disposable income to enjoy the fun things in life. There are more good stories in my jar of memories - a jar that has a screw tight lid so none will fly away.

It is all about choice. I don’t have to suddenly become defiant because I have never lived for the appraisal of others anyway nor have I been pigeonholed in convention. I can choose to sit in front of the TV all day and lament about my aches and pains (I worship the magnesium spray) or I can choose to be among friends and do the things that make me happy. I am not going to re-brand myself, instead I am a new version altogether.

Do I envy youth? No, been there, done that.

Do I succumb to the allure of  cosmetic surgery to give me a boost? No, I can hold myself against picture perfect, air-brushed images of what women should be.

It is all about having gone through so many challenges with a new sense of achievement and self worth. Those difficult circumstances did not forge the end of my world.

I will not retreat into shapeless clothes, tweed skirts or brown cardigans. The creative soul in me is outraged by the misconception that you need to dress down or wear your hair in a certain way. 

Neither will I let reading glasses with chain attached dangle over my neck. Nor will I go round dishing out unsolicited advice on parenting in particular. My only concession to my great age is sensible walking shoes.

Is there still a greasy pole to climb? 

Being at home surrounded by my hobby crafts is entirely blissful. The creaking hasn’t started yet and I take pride in saying that ‘I am a free woman’.

I enjoyed my days with my students at the university very much but  ever since I clocked out of the office for the last time, going back to work had never appealed to my new found freedom. 

                                   HAPPY DAYS WITH MY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY

                                                                       (1983 - 2010)

I saw David Attenborough’s 90^th birthday celebrations on telly and he is still in his element and as bright as a button. There is no stopping for him and already he is planning some new wildlife episodes. 

When I am 90, I want to be like him. Charming and clever still.

Now that you are a turtle, what will you evolve to in the next decade? The beloved asked.

Well, I could very well be the phoenix, rising up from the ashes with power and grandeur..... 

Just watch and see, I said.

WELCOMING THE YEAR OF THE ROOSTER IN IRELAND

Yesterday was the last day of the Chinese New Year and the Rooster is a Chinese symbol of honesty, as well as physical and moral fortitude.

This is the second time we celebrated this glorious occasion in Dublin, 6769 miles away from our home in Malaysia.

What is it like celebrating a very special occasion away from that land that you were born in and away from the air of festivity that you were accustomed to?

Prior to the New Year, I managed to buy some arrowroot bulbs from the Asian supermarket and turned them into crisps. This was my first try and they didn’t turn out exactly like the store bought ones, but they were tasty nevertheless. I wanted to make the special New Year cake (niangao or kuih bakul) but couldn’t find the necessary ingredients. So I managed to buy two imported from London Chinatown for 10euro a piece.

Next was shopping for clothes. I didn’t need an excuse for that but an excuse made shopping for the quintessential red dress all the more fun.

Then came the question of cards. Unless you order them online, it was impossible to buy any. So I made some for friends and for some Chinese shop keepers or restaurateurs whom I know.

Before I knew it, I was invited to give a short talk about Chinese New Year to the Irish Countrywomen’s Association (Castletroy Guild). I managed to borrow ornamental firecrackers and paper cuttings with auspicious words from my friends from Mainland China. I don’t know who enjoyed it more – the audience or myself giving the talk! I slipped into the lecturer-presentation mood seamlessly and the adrenalin rush was immense when I talked about something close to my heart.

The opening ceremony of the Dublin Chinese New Year Festival (DCNYF) took place on the eve of the New Year at  Templebar’s Meeting House Square. Temple Bar is the cultural quarter on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin. The whole square was filled with tourists and locals alike and it was wonderful to see children dressed in traditional clothes.

The two-week programme was varied: photography and art exhibition, symphony orchestra, Chinese cooking demonstration, ping pong challenge with Chinese nibbles, Chinese movies, lantern making, tea ceremony and even Guinness Storehouse tours in Mandarin!

We went for Yan Wang Preston’s Mother River Photography talk and exhibition at the Gallery of Photography as well as the Chester Beatty Library’s Chinese Collection. Then we had a grand Lunar feast at Lao Chinese and Korean BBQ Restaurant on Parnell Street.

I remember the first time we stood in Temple Bar in 2012 surrounded by many pop up stalls selling hot Asian snacks as well as toys like paper dragons and watching the dragon prance on the stage in the freezing cold. The dragon was clothed in green, white and cold – colours of the Irish flag – and the well built dragon dancers were Irish. Even the guys beating the drums or clanging the cymbals were Irish.

The nostalgia, the memories and of course, the separation from loved ones and friends and the feeling of being a stranger trying so hard to make sense and fit into another land welled up within me and I burst into tears.

But this time round it didn’t feel that painful as I watched the lion dance on the street.  Like the rooster, it is all about honesty as well as physical and moral fortitude.

I am surrounded by more loved ones and many good friends. I am honest with myself and know that without sacrifice there can be no victory. I also received one solitary Chinese New Year Card from a friend, a plate of hot piping noodles from a restaurateur, half a durian from a friendly shopkeeper (incidentally  one fresh durian would cost 35 euro per kg.) and lots of well wishes from family and friends.

All these little gestures made all the difference.

This article was originally printed in the New Straits Times Malaysia 12 February 2017
http://www.nst.com.my/news/2017/02/211554/welcoming-year-rooster-ireland