"Offer something other people don't have!"

The Chinese New Year. A time for feasting, drinking, gambling and lazing around, catching up with relatives and friends.

CNY is also one of the few times of the year that you get reminded why you only see certain people a scarce few times a year.

Tuesday, the second day of the new year, and the oldest sister and the youngest brother of my Dad's siblings popped by as a surprise. My parents were out for a bite, so as customary for the Chinese, the eldest of the family should entertain the guests.

(In case you were wondering, my Dad has 6 siblings and my Mom has 5, all of them married. You can figure out how many cousins I have.)

My Dad's siblings are decent people, they are nice, courteous, well, the normal kind of relatives that people usually have. They are my aunt and uncle whom I don't often see, but I'm not awkward around them. But I don't like my aunt's husband. Period. And when I mean I don't like, it usually means I don't want to see them. At all.

What happened? Okay, after they all came in, Youngest Uncle and his wife with their 3 kids, and Oldest Aunt with her husband and their 2 kids, Bro brought out the drinks and I passed Mom's handmade pineapple tarts around.

When I offered it to Oldest Aunt's husband, he waved me away and said ,"Don't want la, you want to offer, offer something other people don't have!"

SHEESH!

If you are gonna complain, then don't come!

I'm so not gonna greet him the next time I see him. "Don't want la, if you can't behave like a rational human being, don't ask me to behave like a rational human being back!"

To hell with tradition.