JYSim for jobless-yokel Sim

Chinese New Year is an excellent period for reunions - some distant cousin of yours will turn out suddenly and remind you of the good o’l times where children are still so naive and they can so simply play together without a proper introduction and handshake. Besides cousins you see only once every year (and maybe even fail to recognise even if he sits next to you coincidentally in GSC), there’s a great chance you might be meeting a relative you never knew existed. You see, my Dad comes from a great family of merchants with 9 siblings. And reunions are just a great affair as meeting our Prime Minister at his bungalow.
The small gatherings are nontheless welcoming too because you’ll always have people calling you ‘Dr. Sim’ already even though you still have 7 years to go. It’s a great chance to savour and partially experience the different walks of life your relatives are walking. And sometimes it’s just this little figures that inspire us more than Bill Gates or George Bush (if you idolise him at all).


Photographed here my babysitter’s daughter’s son (in short, my cousin angkat). This little guy reminds me of myself when I was small - always that energetic, charismatic and kuai-ku. Of course somewhere along the way I guess I gradually lose those characters and they got replaced with who I am today. And I think I looked a little like him when I was small.

My almost-complete photo of my babysitter’s family, all in red (
more or less). My babysitter’s the one in pink.

My cousin of my Mum’s side with me in the RM7.99 Fila. To Khang Ning - he is Jiin Ying’s brother. Again, this little guy reminds me of myself when I was of his age, mainly because of his double chin.

Me and my family in black and white. The one behind drinking a cuppa is my second aunt from my Dad’s side. Photographed in Penang Club today during our mass family gathering - the one I mentioned meeting distant relatives and cousins who looks always so alike with those waiters in Chopper Board.

Me and my cousins from my Dad’s side. Seated on my right are my smallest and 4th aunt from my Dad’s side also. Nowadays rank is so important you’ll get whacked by Mum simply because you called her ‘auntie’ instead of ’second aunt from the Dad’s side’ (in Chinese).

This is the prestige. Sitting in the center is my grandpa’s cousin of his Mum’s side. So generally you can see 4 generations in this one single photo. And they speak such traditional Hokkien you’ll mistake yourself in Taiwan.

Happy Chinese New Year, wherever you are. May this new year brought forth more prosperity and joyous occassions to all of you while you enjoy your brilliant results (may it be SPM, STPM or PMR) because it’s election year next year. And while you cheer for RapidKL taking over Penang’s rotten bus system, please do remember to give thanks everyday because we’re always so much better than somebody else who lives in terror-striken countries.

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