Chinese New Year Festivity

In 2021, to use the term "festivity" sounds like an overkill. Especially with the restrictions imposed on visiting due to the Covid-19 situation. For once, I have zero plans for the second day of the Niu (homophone to "new" which refers to the oxen year we are welcoming) year when this itinerary had been fixed since I can ever remember.

But Chinese New Year (CNY) had really changed in terms of its significance for me. From the carefree childhood when it was all about angbaos to vainer times when I spent time and money to find new clothes and shoes to now when all my grandparents had passed and I no longer buy in to that "necessity" to get everything new. I had expected this CNY to be subdued.

Unless marketing delicious CNY goodies can count as part of the festivity, I had not intended to do more than sending out bright cheery CNY cards (from MFPA) to all the relatives I cannot visit this year. 

However, I was unexpectedly gifted with a CNY plant that is gorgeously decked out in red. 😍 It immediately brought in the CNY atmosphere at home.

Then, I received a surprise CNY goodie bag of mandarin oranges and pineapple tarts from the tuition centre I am teaching at. I was so touched by this gesture (never realised till now how much I missed similar gestures by all the schools I had taught at!) that I was inspired to DIY some angbao lanterns to help enhance the CNY ambience at the centre. I really wanted to make this beautiful flower ball but square angbao envelopes are so rare!

Seven Star Lantern

Easiest Lantern Ever!

Lucky Star Lantern - great for students in a tuition centre!

Finally, in a rather out-of-character fashion, we ordered drinks by the carton because they were on sale. 👉👈  I was just eyeing my favourite Sparkling Fuji Apple and maybe some beer but the hubby added on for future drinking sessions! The cheap deal and free delivery are hard to resist! 😝

So if you are similarly free during this CNY, my house has drinks, Bee Cheng Hiang bak kwa (another gift received by hubby), pineapple tarts and a more livened than usual CNY ambience to welcome you! There is also mahjong, Harry Potter scrabble and Netflix available for entertainment 😆 Or for a healthier option, Bukit Timah Hill is a stone's throw away!

Oh! And to really add on to the festivity, here's a CNY song by MICappella!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

Too Environmentally Conscious?

I prefer dining in to taking away. Period. I honestly feel a heartache if I have to use one-time disposables. So whenever possible, I will choose to have a sit-down meal even if it means I have to look out of place eating on my own. I have become so thick-skinned in that sense.

Along my journey, I am really thankful to discover alternatives such as beewax wraps, Keepleaf and Roll'Eat that allow me to not incur disposables when I am in a hurry. When I was moving into my own apartment, one of the first things I "stole" from my parents was a tingkat container. Haha!

So you can imagine I almost never order deliveries. Generally too cheapskate to pay for the delivery fees but also just unable to deal with the amount of plastic that inevitably comes with each one. However, during this circuitbreaker period when so many of our hawkers are adversely affected, I do want to help in my small ways. I ordered something which I had been craving but unable to find anywhere within walking distance. And I intentionally chose a hawker who is engaging private drivers (as they will receive 100% of the delivery fee) to deliver their food so as to kill multiple birds with one stone. #HawkersUnited #savefnbsg Support local hawkers! Satay forever!

But without a dine-in option, meals have been mostly settled at home. Definitely getting more comfortable in the kitchen! In the rare times when I do dabao, I would certainly have to plan in advance. What to eat? Is it dry or soupy? What containers to bring? Are they big enough? And I think through my approach.. my first question to the seller is always if they will accept my container. Unfortunately despite the government's call to BYO, it is still the hawker's prerogative to accept them. And I am prepared to walk away if they say no. I also tend to approach stalls that are less busy and thus will be less stressed about a disruption to their routine. Yes, I recognise that it might break their flow.

From when I first began years ago, being embarrassed and paiseh about my request, to now after trying-and-testing at various places on numerous occasions, I thought I found my balance point between convenience and environmentalism. 

I was not prepared for today.

Out on my grocery run/cycle, I had my tingkat ready and brought along my all-encompassing food bag just in case the tingkat is too small for the char siew rice I had in mind. While waiting for my rice, I spied some chwee kuey nearby and since I had an extra container, I seized the opportunity to buy myself an extra treat.

"Auntie, 水粿5个. 可以放里面吗?" 
(5 please. Can you put them in?) Pointing to my bag.

She eyed my bag and gave a nod so I waited happily.... until I observed her scooping the chwee kuey while my bag was far from her.

"Auntie, 可以直接放里面.这个可以放食物的." 
(You can put them in directly. This bag is specifically for food.) 
I tried to reassure her as I had done many times with other hawkers.

She still looked unconvinced but with some gentle persistence, she finally transferred them into my bag. I mentally heaved a sigh of relief and hoped she becomes more accepting in future with this first occurrence.

As she watched me closed up my bag.... "你太环保了" 
(You are too environmentally conscious)

My heart and face fell. Or sank. So hard I thought I heard a thud somewhere. I was momentarily stunned and I did not know how to respond. I wondered if my eyes above my mask reflected what I felt inside. And I am still feeling it right now as I type. 🙁

I suppose this is the whole crux of the problem?

I get it that we are already used to a lifestyle where things are efficient and convenient. 
I get it that not everyone has had the same experiences as me to want to go to this extent to avoid plastic. 
I get it that my individual efforts right now may not so much make a dent of a difference to the issue our collective presence imposes on this planet. 

But, TOO environmentally conscious? How can anyone be too much of the right thing to do? How about just becoming more conscious of choices and decisions made?