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a new year – Chinese style

I know the title doesnt make much sense, but I liked it. I know it should be a Chinese new year, or something along those lines. But it just didnt flow for me. For those that werent able to make it to this dinner because they had their own, here is what went down:

(I do have a few pix, which I'll post later.)

The pre-Chinese new year feast came and went in its glory. Dad made the food. As usual, it was excellent. We didnt eat much of the vegetables, but then again, we never do. Dad packed us some leftovers. I LOVE THAT MAN! Dinner was at 6pm, but I got there about 10 minutes late. HG got here 10 minutes later. Eric arrived by 6pm with about 6-8 bottles of wine. I dont remember the exact number. HG also had 2 bottles. As mentioned earlier, the food was delicious, and we gobbled as we always did. There was lots of talking, but for some reason, there was about 2 minutes of silence. That was very weird. There's never been any type of silence during dinner with this family, even before the kids were born. I'm sure that's normal for other people, but I felt very awkward. I made a comment that it was quiet, which ruined it.

After dinner, the men (minus Dad) stayed in the kitchen and yapped it up. A bottle of wine had been opened during dinner, but during their long conversations, another bottle or two or three were opened up. I stayed in the living room with the kids and mom. Dad was busy cleaning. We, half-heartedly, told him to go rest and that we'll clean up. I LOVE THAT MAN! Well, he cleaned up nicely, packed us some leftovers, and took out dessert. Along with his freezer-load of ice cream, there were oranges, and an awesome cheesecake from Eric's mom. (Thanks, Mrs. R.!- Don't worry, I asked also Eric to thank his mom for us. Who'da thunk it? I thought she was on the outs with this family, considering that we stole Eric from her family.) Anyway, we ate lots of ice cream, and eventually parts of the cheesecake.

Jay had his uncles playing an Avatar computer game, where you blow up your opponents pagoda. That little man is a cheater, but he's pretty decent. He kicked my butt in the game, but lost to his uncles. Let me tell you, those men are ruthless. They dont care that they're winning over a 7 year old boy. I had Jay playing Super Mario World 3 on PG's GameBoy, but he kept having me help him on levels he couldnt pass. Kay was all over the place.

After the kids were done yelling and beating everyone (yes, I said EVERYONE), it was time for them to go to bed. That was around 10:25pm. (Dinner was at 6:30pm, and devoured by 7pm-ish. This means there were lots of talking and playing. Dont worry, Oda, HG & I took loads of pix with your camera.) As Eric brought the kids upstairs to put them to bed, we were on our way out (Dad had the car warming). Of course, the rest of the men wanted to finish drinking, so I went out to turn the car off. PG & HG took it upon themselves to teach Steve a drinking game. I believe it's called "Chai Mui" (I'm not sure of the pinying, but from my 5 months of Mandarin, I think it's right). Even though he played it in English, he did learn how to say '5', '10', '15', 'open', and 'nothing' in Cantonese. He also learned 'listen up', and that PG is real good at the game (although he's unethical). It did take him a while to remember it, but mainly because they kept opening bottles and drinking. There was lots of trash talking. In the end, one whole unopened bottle and 3/4 of another bottle were left.

PG was supposed to go out, but obviously did not. I ended up driving HG, and myself and Steve, home. HG tried to moon some guy who cut us off, which led to Steve wanting to do it also. I started hitting both of them to stop. Eventually, HG put his belt back on, and Steve, begrudgingly, did the same. I took a scenic route back home because I didnt want to get on the FDR. The scenic route in the city sucks because there was traffic and potholes a'plenty. All through the highway, and until I got home, I was a total biotch and cut off anyone and everyone. Hey, I had to make up for all the time lost taking that stupid detour.

The next one we have should be even funner because HG should be graduating, and Oda should be pregnant. :-X ......I kid I kid.