[[ Stickman & Stickbabe ]]

we're just two simple stickpeople who :-
met,
clicked,
hitched,
till death do us part...


[[ All I want in 2007... ]]

Seeing loved ones happy
Mission trips
Have a cute baby
Learn bridal makeup
Speak Camb/Viet
Pay off our housing loan!


[[ Leaving? ]]

~C-Cup : cupcakes from heaven... (perfect 4 parties)
~My Bali Photo Blog
~Melonbabe (my female sibling)
~Angelia (a kid i tutored, who grew up!)
~WZB (a woman with an expensive rock)
~Get Blobbed... (splish splash plop blobbe)
~My Primary School Classmate
~My pescatarian recipe blog
~Simplicity - making a difference in Kenya
~A visually delightful blog of a stranger
~Another visual treat...
Been read free hit counters by free-counters.net times!

Tuesday, January 17, 2006
I'm new to angbao-giving, this being my 2nd year. To my surprise, it's quite a happy event - like a necessary initiation rite of being a full-blown grown-up (sounds so HIV-ish).

It wasn't always a pleasant affair. As children, my siblings and I were always very jealous of peers who had lots of angbao money. We didn't have many relatives, and most of them were dead, estranged or lost in WWII. What little we had were either very poor, or Malaysians. No offence, but the exchange rate is not exactly tilted in our favour.

So after the holidays, I would hear about how much money my classmates have amassed over the short festive period. Mine never seemed to rise with inflation. $2 + $2 + $2... I could count till I was green and be thankful that I got $30 for the entire chinese new year period. Because of our huge losses in the past, my mother used to determine how much to give by second-guessing how much the other adult will give us (she could have just asked me...), then divide the amount according to the number of children they have.

In fact, I only got around $50 after I met my BF #1 and visited less of my relatives and more of HIS relatives. After I got to know Stickman, the amount went beyond $200. Ya, I could have married for money! :-P

Here's a bit of unsolicited advice from this novice angbao-giver : the art of the art of angbao-giving is to give with a sincere heart to loved ones, even if the pockets feel sickeningly empty at the end of the day. It counters the poverty mindset and is good for the soul in the long term.






stickbabe [ 3:32 AM ]