Roar of the Water Dragon

The title has no relevance to whatever I am about to write whatsoever. I was looking for a dramatic title for the post, keyed in the words "dragon" and "roar" into Google and picked out the first item it coughed out. Pretty apt I'd say, bearing in mind that this is the year of the water dragon in particular. On hindsight however, I would like to think of the title as a promise of things to come.

The Rabbit year which has since past was a year of ups and downs. The most significant event perhaps was the passing of our pet dog, Sumo, on May 17th 2011. It was a traumatic event for my family, seeing someone who's become an integral part of the family leave just like that. Words simply do not express the sense of lost I felt and still feel right till this day. That aside, the two car crashes I got involved in would too count towards the downs I've experienced this past year.

Fortunately, the Rabbit year brought with it more ups then downs. My sister made good on her promise to get herself accepted into UBC and I've done better this academic year than I've ever done... since... well... god knows when. Most importantly, as we sat down for our reunion dinner this year, we realized that the greatest happiness that we've got this year is knowing that regardless of what happens in the cold harsh world out there, the 4 of us have got each other to turn to. Not many people out there have that... and one doesn't need to look too far to realize that. No amount of money can buy one the above, just like how any amount of wealth cannot buy someone dignity and class. Losing Sumo thought us an important lesson in life and that is that life is short and unpredictable, and that one shouldn't waste in on insignificant events and individuals. I am glad that the bitching, rumour-mongering, cup-smashing (a classic moment if I might add), groveling for red packets in accordance with Lunar New Year traditions that I believe were not started by the Han people and other assorted theatrics that I've come to associate with the passing of the Lunar New Year are now a thing of the past. Things have been looking up somewhat for me and I hope that they will continue to do so this coming New Year.

Having said that, I'll take my leave and go back to my tea and readings. Happy Lunar New Year Everyone!!! :)