It is the time of the year yet again when the whole town is painted red… and gold…

The time of the year I dread.

I loathe those blaring dong dong qiang Chinese New Year songs, especially those sung by CT girls. They give me a headache.

I loathe the gaudy and loud mish mash of Chinese-New-Year-red and gold at every turn of the street.

I loathe the ubiquitous Chinese New Year decorations. They are unsightly and I can't seem to avoid them.

I loathe those big head “gong xi gong xi” boy-girl duo slapped on both sides of the doors of many shops. They are plain ugly.

I loathe those red lanterns. They look eerie.

I loathe jostling with the crowd from the neighbourhood to the town area.

I loathe all the spring-cleaning. But at the end of it, it is truly worthwhile.

I loathe going out to bai4 nian2. The most fundamental reason would be laziness. I’m one lazy person.

I loathe being late and being overwhelmed by so many people that I have to greet and wish every uncles and aunties one by one.

I loathe kaypo and gossipy relatives.

I loathe answering their questions. I’m too lazy to keep a conversation going.

I loathe all the superstitions and list of things not to do during CNY. They are just so dumb.

I loathe getting so little ang pows. Actually I receive a lot of ang pows every year, just that the value inside is little. My friends used to compare “earnings” and while theirs totaled to few hundreds or even a thousand. Mine barely reach $200. With 30 cousins on one side, I can’t really complain much about the abundance of $2 ang pows. Ya ya… it’s the thought that counts right? Pooi! Me think that age-old adage is just some excuse cooked up by some miserly people long time ago.

My loathing for this time of the year is augmented a thousandfold because I’m still having a runny nose plus I’m coughing badly. How am I to eat all the goodies??? Also, I wish I could make use of this break to take my drowsy medicine thrice a day as instructed and sleep my whole holiday away so that I can recover once and for all.

It’s funny how after I’ve typed all these, I do not loathe CNY that much anymore.