chinese new year

Sentosa: home to just about anything exhilarating – the tallest dueling coasters in the world, a speedy skyline luge, and an indoor wind tunnel so anyone can fly like a bird, just to name a few. That’s merely the icing on top of the cake; Sentosa is also home to not one, but a total of three beaches for all to take a quick breather from the stressful confines of the mainland. It’s really no surprise to see why the humble little island is touted as the state of fun! This year, Sentosa goes beyond just being a fun place…

I sauntered into the grocery store, basket in one hand, shopping list in another, ready to embark on my usual therapeutic routine: shopping for my beloved groceries and jamming along to the latest Ariana Grande tune while grooving to those insane falsettos. It was then when the sirens of doom hit me. That ridiculously and blaring noise screaming through those accursed speakers; yes, I have heard them before. They are not the alluring tunes sang by mermaids to lead sailors to their doom. They are those fateful songs that play on loop to torture even the coldest of criminals, to shred…

Ah, the Chinese Lunar New Year, a time of family and traditions to celebrate the coming year and the hopeful harvest of abundance. But alas, we can do without the stifling gatherings, the strict codes (no black, really?) and most of all, attempting to converse with cousins, aunts and strangers you’ve only heard gossip about from your parents. It’s time to be anti-social with our anti-social guide. So to give you some entertainment after you collapse into a random armchair and whip out your phone, let our anti-social guide tell you some of the very best anti-social things to do…

“Wah your ah boy in secondary school already ah? Heard he score very well leh. Aiyo your ah boy so smart!” “No lah no lah, he very lazy one.” For many of the larger families in Singapore, the Lunar New Year is a time of compulsory gatherings, discussed and arranged in the usual clandestine manner that middle-aged folks communicate in (i.e. hours of whispering between aunties over a landline). Planning the gathering, however, is nothing compared to being at the actual gathering. Amidst the slightly awkward dialogues and faltering false starts lie the true terror: finding a conversation starter with people you…