where's the joy in CNY? help me find can?

when i was young younger (not that i'm not! i'm still young leh... don't you dare laugh!), i always look forward to Chinese New Year!

for it means i'll have the chance to....

-eat all those junk food i seldom have the chance to, such as prawn crackers and chips..
-drink soft drinks without getting scolded!
-eat those processed canned fruits, like longan and lychee, which i love!
-eat a big spread of my favourite food!
-have all my relatives comment i've grown taller and wider
-have my cousins to play my favourite toys with me!
-play my cousins' favourite toys!
-admire my older cousins' pretty and nice clothes!
-watch all those nice nice cartoons they'll show in the morning!


and most of all..


collect loads and loads of HONGBAOssssss!!! woooooooOOooooooooooo~

i mean how can things get any better for a kid right? =)


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then the days soon turn into months, months into years.....
-----------------


i've now grown up (BUT still YOUNG mind you!)
Chinese New Year no longer have much meaning for me.

because...

-i have had one too many packs of junk food, with my ample mid-section as evidence.
-i've started drinking beer a couple of years back.
-i tend to study the nutritional value of processed food alot more intently nowadays.
-i always eat alot no matter where and when, once again with my ample mid-section as evidence.
-my relatives now asked me how much i'm earning per month and NO-ONE, NIL, ZILCH, ZERO -comments i've grown taller.
-the cousins i once played with, have no problems going to watch the Movie Borat or any movie for that matter at YangTze now.
-the cousins whose dressing i used to admire is now going through a mid-life crisis.
-i lost interest in television programs that doesnt show hot chicks, even hotter wheels and at least a 10minutes high speed car chase/sky-high explosions.

and most of all...

i only got 24dollars, yes TWENTY-FOUR DOLLARS, of Hongbao money from my relatives this year.

i mean how can things get any worse for a young adult right? =(












oh.. maybe it can. dear told me she lost $24 in gambling during a single visit.

sidenote:
i don't care about the money.
but where's the warmth the elders always talk about?