A Part of the Family I Know

The day started off around 9.30am with us knocking on our neighbour's door, wishing them a "Happy New Year!" and getting our very first ang paos (i.e. red packets) from them! haha..

We went to church, and then off to another 10 houses.. yes, that's right, TEN.
And that's only my dad's side of the family.
Tomorrow would be another... hmm... 6 at least?
My bro would complain that all his friends make like 2-5 home visits a year.
Us? We can cover up to 20 in the space of 2-3 days. It's almost insane how we do it..! Like I tell my friends, we "work hard for the money" ;)

Sure, we'll have huge gatherings at someone's house, but even though we've met, and exchanged angpaos, it doesn't mean you don't have to go to their homes and visit them. Respect, I guess. It has lots to do with age and (birth) 'ranking'.. both my dad and mum are one of the youngest siblings in their own families of origin-- so naturally we'll have to visit all their older sibling's place, where we'll meet cousins, their own families of procreation etcetcetc...

Other then the blisters I had from my new pair of heels,
I really enjoyed myself much more this 1st day of CNY.. somehow, I'm glad and grateful to have met my extended family, even though we only meet up once evey year.. :)

[taken with: SE k800i; I used my cam-phone to snap the picture we took and developed today]