Post-CNY 2009

Like most would say, Chinese New Year this year came and went so fast that it didnt really feel like it was actually a festive season. But despite the little time we spent together, relationships were rekindled. Despite the recession, my ang bao money is quite recession proof. Unfortunately for a dear friend of mine, she received an empty angbao! which made me very much amused. Despite certain events in 2008 that forcibly made some couples sign a 1 year exemption from visiting contrat, they still made an effort to meet up with us, but no angbao =(.





Meeting up with my maternal side relatives was more heart warming than expected, and she's still so vain after all these years!



Ah Ma: Aiyo! Ni yao pai zhao ah? Deng yi xia! wo de tou fa hai luan!

(Aiyo! You want to take picture? wait! my hair is still messy!)



K: Aiyah Ah Ma! Buay yeow kin lahh! Le jin chio lehh!

(Aiya Ah Ma! Never mind lah! You very pretty lehh!)



Ah Ma: Wah, ni de zui ba zhen tian, ke shi wo hai yao bian geng mei!

(Wah, your mouth so sweet, but I want to be even more beautiful!)



And everybody laughs at our small exchange of words. Well she is certainly one happy jovial grandmother, the last one standing among my grandparents. Rumour has it that she was really very chio during her younger days. HAHA. I wonder how true.





Meeting my paternal side proved to be an eye-opener, cousins bringing their other halves to bai nian.. To be kinda honest, some of them dont look like couples! hahaha. Oh well, all things work together for the good of His kingdom. Myrna and Belle would love to be there cos there are quite a number of kids running around! My dad even asked my cousins to introduce girls to me. horrible. And I am the 3rd youngest cousin in the family! so you can imagine my cousins age. late 20s to early 30s. Sigh.. Ive this cousin. for the past few years, every year bring different guy to meet us. But this year different status already. bring fiance! was quite surprised. like "so fast?!?" haha God works in ways we cannot understand..





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Was thinking about personality versus character a couple of days ago after listening to "Choosing the Right Partner in Life", and I realised something about it. Personality is actually like cosmetic make up, whereas Character is what truly defines you as a person. It can be any partner, from romantically-linked partners to business-related partners, it dosent matter. Character still prevails over personality. Why do I say that?



When people ask me during heart-to-heart talks about the kind of girl I'd like (4-5 years ago), I'll reply things like "out-going, funny, sociable, etc" all that normal nonsense sec sch kids would blabber about. Thats where sec sch kids get tricked into thinking thats true love. In fact, more often than not, the relationship would fail sooner all later! Why? Because while you are still young, your personality may be quite erratic. Not saying you have a split/multiple personalities, or should I just say, 10 years down the road, your personality will never be the same and if your partner goes for the personality, you are destined for ditchland. (not Deustchland!) For people doing business, your client can be a super fun guy, go out with you, take you to pubs, treat you to meals, play golf etc. 6 months down the road, you dont see him anymore because he has squeezed every cent out of your company. Where on earth is there character in that?!



Pastor Kong quoted a number of examples, your partner can be an outgoing serial rapist, a funny psychopath, a sweet-talking murderer. Which is true. We see on the newspapers that some dont even look like they'd ever commit such a crime in their life, but they do. And their prey are unsuspecting targets like you and I who are attracted to people for their personality. Personality is simply cosmetics. It makes you beautiful, attracts you to people. It is very easy to change your personality, but not easy to change your character. Character needs to be moulded and defined.



What defines character?

How does ______ handle _____ problems/crisis?

Does ______ stick with you all the way or is he/she only there during good times?

How does ______ handle his/her finances?

Of course there are many questions to ask yourself, the above are just some examples. Likewise if you want to get attached, girls, assess your target properly. And guys, mould your character into somebody that can be marketed. If you want girls/guys to fight over you, then character is the way to go! I have seen many youths of today getting into so-called "unneccessary" relationships because the "other half" happened to meet the need of the person at that specific time. No wonder people are getting together and breaking up. The personality makeup wears off and reveals the true raw character of a person!

During this year, many of you have the desire to get attached because you're not getting young anymore. So am I! Im going to be 23 this year! But I want to get things right in perspective, I want to be able to support her emotionally, financially, spiritually and physically. Now that's character.