No more CNY getaway, for once

This is the first time in two years that I am spending my Chinese New Year (CNY) at home.

Not that I had gone abroad for studies or anything like that in the past two years, but because my family used to visit Bangkok on our “new year getaway”.

Some people make their “overseas escape” during the Chinese New Year season because they do not want to spend too much money on hongbaos for their relatives' children. Others do so because they want to avoid being questioned by their relatives on sensitive issues like: when are you getting married (for the bachelors and spinsters)?

For my family, the reasons are none of the above.

My parents work very hard the whole year round, while my siblings and I are busy with our own stuff. It is only during the CNY period where we can all take a nice, long break. My grandparents (both paternal and maternal) have passed away in recent years, and being a small family, CNY celebration is a simple affair for us.

That was why we rewarded ourselves with a vacation during the CNY holiday for the past two years.

Celebrating CNY abroad is pretty interesting.

There is no need to rush to the supermarket to stack up on food because shops are closed during the first few days of CNY. There is also no need to sweat over spring cleaning (yeah!) since we would not be at home during the new year.

In Bangkok, we shop wherever we like, eat when we feel hungry, rest whenever we are tired. There is enjoyment to the fullest.

But, it just feels more like just a happy holiday abroad, not really CNY. Although the shopping malls and hotels in Bangkok do put up some New Year decorations, somehow, the feeling of celebrating New Year away from home is different.

This year, because of work commitment, I was unable to make time for an overseas trip and as my family cannot bear to “abandon” me, we decided to spend our “long-awaited” CNY together in Singapore.

While I have to endure my mother’s constant nagging (for me to clean up my room) and the hassle of tidying up my desk (when I know it will become messy again in a few day’s time), to be at home celebrating the Chinese New Year, there is only one word to describe this feeling:

GREAT.

Here’s wishing you and your family: good health, harmony and prosperity for the Dog Year ahead!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Did you post any New Year cards?

A month ago, I enthusiastically went to the bookshop and bought Chinese New Year cards. I was planning to write my greetings and mail the cards out.

But once I got home, I forgot about them.

For more than two weeks after that, I was tussling with devil P (P for procrastination). The cards simply lay untouched and unnoticed on my table.

When three weeks passed, it dawned on me that if I do not start doing something, the cards would have to be recycled for next year. I then carefully took the cards out, found my pens, thought through what wishes to write for my friends and finally started writing. Progress was slow, it took me another few days to search for the addresses.

A few days later, I eventually made a trip to the post office and sent the cards out.

While I was "proud" that I fought and won the battle with devil P, the number of cards that I sent out fell far short of the number of recipients I had planned to send greetings to. All because I fell victim to monster L (L for laziness).

In this electronic age where E-cards and email greetings are so common and handy at the click of a button, it makes me really wonder how many people still painstaking write and post New Year cards.

Not many, I reckon.

Do you?

I have been "dutifully" checking my mailbox (the real one, not the email mailbox) these days and so far I have only received one Chinese New Year card. It came from my insurance agent, so that does not really count.

It is hard not to hide my disappointment.

When I was still in school, many friends readily send cards during special occasions like Christmas and Chinese New Year. During this season, the mailbox will always be full of white envelopes or pink envelopes.

But that is all history.

Now, I hardly receive such cards.

Not that I should complain since I rarely send out cards too.

Well, E-cards are so convenient that is it truly hard to resist. Furthermore, it can be sent just a minute before the clock ticks 12 midnight on New Year’s Day, unlike normal cards which have to reach Mr Postman at least two days earlier.

But to me, sending out Chinese New Year cards especially, is a tradition that I would like to preserve.

The happiness and thrill in finding a card in the mailbox and tearing it open to see who it is from, is something no number of E-cards can replace.

Dear friend, if you did not receive my New Year card, it does not mean I have forgotten about you. Blame it on Monster L.

Much as I hate to say it, but please wait for my E-card.

Happy Chinese New Year. Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Being a Crime Desk Journalist

How time flies.

I have been working as a crime desk journalist for six months.

Rushing to murder scenes and accident sites are part and parcel of my job. It is also a “normal” affair to be scolded or yelled at by grieving victims’ families. But more often than not, we simply get ignored.

Some people ask me whether I feel upset having to face gory or tragic scenarios every other day.

I don’t, seriously. That’s because I understand the meaning of my job, and I know where my responsibility lies.

When one’s beloved family member has passed away, it is understandable that while coping with sorrow, no one wants to face endless questioning by an “annoying” reporter. But journalists are human beings too, and we do feel sympathetic as well. But we have a job to do, and our job is to cover the news and inform the public.

What has happened has happened.

Many a times, questions like: “what really happened, what could have been done, can the public be educated or learn something through this piece of news”, can only be answered with the aid of media reports.

These are meaningful lessons I have learnt from my job. As 2006 has just begun, I did a reflection of my past year being a rookie journalist: three experiences were in particular most “unforgettable”.

1) Most terrifying

When I was still very new on the job and was on one of my first few night shifts, I got a call at 3am. I was sleeping soundly when my phone suddenly rang. I nearly jumped out of bed. What I heard a few seconds later virtually scared me out of my wits.

“Hello Yvonne, I don’t want to scare you, but a murder just took place at Commonwealth Drive. Would you like to come down now?”

What? Murder? At 3am in the morning? Are you joking?

When I rushed to the murder scene, the accused has been brought away by the police. Everywhere was dark, quiet and peaceful (well, what do you expect at the wee hours of the day?). There was no bloody and gruesome scene as I had imagined on my way there.

That was the first murder case I covered.

2) Most maddening

There was this case where a 62 year old cobbler used a fake $1 cheque to con a 21 year old Vietnamese bride into having sex with him, on pretext of marrying her. He used to set up his stall in Bishan Central, and I was sent down to interview residents in that area.

I held his photograph which was published in newspapers and went around interviewing people.

It was then when I met this disgusting old man. He looked at me from head to toe and said “excitedly”, “So you are the Vietnamese bride? How were you cheated exactly?”

For goodness sake! I told him repeatedly that I am a journalist but he simply lived in his own world and continue to throw me “revolting” looks. Yucks! If I had not been sent on a mission, I would have given him a good dressing down for being so abhorrent!

3) Most unexpected

Unexpected assignments dot my life as a crime reporter. But the most “unexpected” thing that has happened to me so far is neither a grisly murder case nor a grave accident.

It was when a victim’s family member showed concern for me. I guess most crime reporters are so used to being “ticked off” while on their job, that to be “cared for” seemed too unbelievable.

In that particular case, a man had suffered a sudden death and I was at his wake to find out more from his daughter. I was at a loss of words to console her, but to my surprise, she actually showered concern on me at the end of the interview.

“It is so late and you still have to cover news? It must be hard on you.”

When I heard that, all feelings of fatigue vanished. I felt warmth in my heart.

I love my job, and these little things give me the drive to strive harder on.

Goodbye 2005, Welcome 2006!

It's the brand new start of a year: 2006.

A good chance for you to make new resolutions and motivate yourself to greater heights.

If you set out to fulfill a wish, but fail to do so in 2005, it is never to late to do it in 2006.
But if it stops inspiring you, do not hesitate. Change it, and move on.

Best wishes for the new year!