Chinese New Year!

And indeed, I woke up at 7.30am, had a very light breakfast and off to mash the pedals I went!

Spent a whole stretch trying to readjust my gears again, they're sorta out of whack after I relubed everything.

Haven't been bicycling for a while, and it shows! Slightly slower now than a couple of weeks back. The roads are quiet, the park is quiet, but still, weirdly, the cyclists are still in full force, and the wiseman in Bishan Park's there today.




Yellow bird. Is it like a good luck sign or something?

Chinese New Year, and my relatives are visiting us today. Sorta spent a large part of it hiding in room. I don't like the awkard silences, the inane conversation about stuff like your body size ("Wow you're thinner by alot!"), pineapple tarts ("I spent the whole afternoon last Sunday queuing up for this really famous...."), parents comparing their children ("My son's planning to study soandso course in suchandsuch place so that he can...").

And I don't want to make my cousins feel bad when my parents talk about my education and my brother's work.

So in my room I hide. Either that or I show my face, smile a little, then act busy by stuffing pineapple tarts and chocolates into my mouth.

And now a tour of my home:



Mandarin oranges.



The kumquats growing in the balcony.


Living room.


Goldfish!


Stairwell.


Dining room.






Pussy willow. If Christmas has its Christmas tree, this is literally like a Chinese New Year tree.


All that food.


Some really tasty and crispy snack I dunno the name of.


Pine nuts!


Macadamias!


Cake. Somehow my family's feeling particularly generous in terms of food this year.