These days I have been waking up at 9 religiously somehow, I don't know why hahah but I'd like to believe that my body clock is getting better and better. I made a berry nice cream this morning (yes pun intended) with raspberry and bananas mixed together, topped with blueberries. What a sweet morning hahah. I actually made breakfast while waiting for my hair-dye to be done lol, I dyed my hair brown but it seems like the colour has faded out of the world since my hair still looks the SAME as before. I had the very last two red bean buns after my nice cream and I was STILL hungry and felt like I didn't eat anything hahah. I spent the morning blogging and editing my upcoming video, then decided to continue with packing. I swear packing is really my least favourite thing to do, it's so tedious and speaking of which I caught a flu while I was at it because my bookshelves were too dusty lol. And after my first sneeze I've been AH-CHOO-ing the whole day, and that somehow developed into a flu and I've been sneezing and sniffing the ENTIRE night. 

It's Chinese New Year's Eve today, and of course we have the annual reunion dinner at Grandma's place. It's my first reunion dinner as a vegan, and last night I called my Grandma just to ask her if she could cook a separate dish for me from the rest. So she cooked a separate bowl of leeks and tofu for me. Even though the dish was drowned in oil I enjoyed every bit of it nonetheless, because effort is the only thing that matters afterall. It is the sixth reunion dinner without my first uncle, and the fourth year without my dad. Even though reunion dinners, family dinners and Chinese New Year as a whole have never felt the same again without their presence, I've learnt to appreciate spending it with those who are still around in the present moment instead of mulling over things that wouldn't ever change. 

After our first reunion dinner at my paternal grandparents' house, we headed over to my maternal's grandparents' house for the second one. We had yusheng almost immediately after our arrival and just like usual, we shouted out our resolutions or whatever-you-call-it hahah, and as for me I only shouted "Everyone to be healthy" because that's the most important thing heee.

And for the first time in my life, I actually knelt down in front of my elders, or grandparents and I think it was my first time celebrating Chinese New Year proper in the most traditional way to begin. In all honesty it was my first time kneeling down before someone, and man that really brings down so much ego and pride but I think that's what all the elders deserve, at least. Everyone took turns to say their well-wishes for my grandparents and it actually began with the eldest grandchild, but when it was my cousin's turn she was so unwilling and it got me a little irritated so I just went ahead to do mine. Everyone said almost the same thing: For them to be happy, healthy, safe and wealthy. But when it was my turn I wished for them to be healthy, and that by the time I return few months later I hope they would become vegans then. I was half-joking and everyone burst out laughing hehe. 

Each year during Chinese New Year Eve and family gatherings my grandparents would just be the happiest people in the entire world. It's so heartening to just see them smile the whole time and hear them say "I'm so happy today". That's just one of the best few things to hear in my life, ever. I love family gatherings because I just cherish and love my family so so much, they are just so precious to me. 

I was so touched just by watching my aunt, uncle and my mum kneeling down in front of their parents and saying their wishes. I am honestly so proud of who they have become, and I'm so proud to have filial aunts and uncles. I am sure my grandparents are happy and proud of their children, and they must be so glad to know for sure that they have raised them well. Seeing them exchanging hugs made me realise how much parents care for their children, regardless of how old they are. And that they would never stop being by their side and worry for them. It was just so lovely witnessing everything.

I want to never stop making my grandparents proud of me, and I hope that they would be there on the day I graduate from university. 

We took a cab home and the driver was a really friendly and jovial Malay guy, and the conversation we had was so meaningful because we talked about Singapore, the education system and life in general heee. He ranted about the education system too, and I just kept on agreeing with him hahah. All in all I just realised how lovely it was to live in a country with different races, because there's just so much more to learn about each other's culture, religion and each other's differences. 

And after I got home I PACKED again, and this time round I can safely say that I'm at least 80% DONE. I'm really so done with packing, I just hate every single thing about it hahah. And after I was done packing I popped some pills to kill my flu, showered and had a bowl of cereal. I had coco shells, bananas, pumpkin seed granola all drowned in oat milk, and that was probably the best way to start Chinese New Year proper at 12am. Now that it's 1:27am in the morning, I'm going off to complete some last minute tasks before snoozing.