I am not Chinese....

At least, I don't feel like one anymore. :(

Chinese New Year 2008 came and go. What did I do? I stayed at home, drew comics, watched TV , studied Japanese, played with my dog and played board game/mahjong with my brother's friends.

No new clothing (didn't go out)
No home visits (relatives are too far away)
No ang pows (didn't visit anyone)
No firecrackers or fireworks (thanks to government who banned them)
No lion dance (can't afford it)
No CNY music (didn't have any albums)
No hampers (seriously, who does that anymore?)

I don't know whether I should feel bad that my family and I have lost a significant amount of our cultural heritage.

********************

On a lighter note, I googled for "Are you Chinese?" quiz. Here are some questions you're supposed to answer True or False to. Teehee.

• Your friends and everybody else assume you know Kung Fu. (Eh, no.)
  
• You notice the main topic at family get-togethers is food. (True)
  
• You prefer your chicken and shrimp served with heads and feet still attached. (Yup, sorta)
  
• Your stove is covered with tin foil. (Not mine but I've seen it XD)
  
• You know what the term "FOB" and "ABC" means. (Yup, Fresh Off the Boat, American Born Chinese)
  
• You keep most of your money in a savings account. (Eh yeah?)
  
• Your parents tell you to boil herbs and stay inside when you’re sick. (True)
• Your parents are never satisfied with your grades. (Not really true)
  
• Your parents have kitchen towels made of old cloth rice bags. (No?)
  
• You have several relatives who wear thick glasses. (Used to)
  
• You have two middle initials instead of one. (Yes!)
• You have an inherent "fear" for bamboo feather dusters. (Yup)
• You only call long distance after 11 PM. (Anything to save money, yes - try Skype)
  
• You own your own meat cleaver and sharpen it. (Used to)
  
• You live with your parents till over 30 years old (and they like it that way). And if you’re married, you live in the apartment next to your parents or in the same neighbourhood. (Eh, dunno? Not applicable LOL)
  
• You never order for room service. (True)
  
• You buy rice in 50 pound (or 25kg) sacks. (True)
• You always carry a stash of food when you travel like preserved plums, beef jerky, or dried cuttlefish. (True, preserved plums yes)
• You have no eyelashes! (NOT true! :P )
  
• Your dad still pulls his socks up to his knees, the ones with the blue and pink stripes. (True, not blue and pink stripes though)
• You never ever sat down on ‘Popo’s’ warm chair after she got up. (Probably would have)
  
• Your "hot" date is going to your parent house to have "jook". (Huh?)
• You sneak in snacks at the movie theatre. (Used to.)
  
• You still have your old slide ruler. (True)
• Your eyes resemble dime slots when you laugh. (No!)
• You never use measuring cups. (Sometimes)
• You tip Chinese delivery guys/waiters more. (No, why should I?)
• You iron your own shirts. (True)
• You play a musical instrument. (True)
• Your friends ask you to translate the scribbles on chopsticks (like you really know what it means!) (True)
• You eat all meals in the kitchen. (Nope!)
• You unwrap Christmas gifts very carefully to save and reuse wrappings and bows. (True!)
• You suck on salty preserved seeds for a sore throat. (No...eww)
• You majored in something practical like engineering, medicine, or law. (True)
• You steam something on top of your rice while it’s cooking. (True)
• You hated that black herb medicine that your parents forced you to drink when you were sick. (True)
• You are good at maths!!! (The hell with humility). (LOL No!)
  
• You inform the ticket clerk that your 13 year old is 12 to avoid paying adult fare. (Ehh...no?)
• You save grocery bags, tin foil, and tin containers. (True!)
• Your parents have a glass jar of preserved limes aging on top of the roof. (Huh? For what?)
• You have an assortment of condiments and utensils from fast food takeouts stuffed in a drawer. (True!)
• You only have to shave every other day (maybe). (True!)
• Your parents or relatives have goldfish swimming in an aquarium. (Used to)
  
• Your folks’ kitchens have a constant lingering aroma. (Erm...maybe)
• Your grandmother smells like mothballs. (Oh my.....oh dear)
  
• You know how to pinch someone with your toes. (Huh?)
• You have stuff in your freezer since the beginning of time. (True!)
• Your parents buy you clothes and shoes many sizes too big so you can "grow" into them and wear them for years to come. (True!)
• You always drink tea after a meal. (Not really, except if it's in a Chinese/Japanese restaurant)
  
• You laugh at Kan Tong and Chung King commercials. (Huh?)
• You feel like you’ve won the lottery if you didn’t have to pay tax for an item. (LOL yeah maybe)
  
• You have a lonely unmarried relative who frequently drops by during dinnertime. (True)
• You received little red envelopes containing money on special occasions. (True)
• You have piles of shoes and slippers blocking the entrances to your home. (True)
• Your friends automatically assume you’re good at maths. (True)
• You bring home a Caucasian friend and "Popo" would be cooking something that smelled like it had died a week ago. (LOL! No.)
  
• You keep used batteries. (Used to)
  
• Your parents enjoy comparing you to their friends’ kids. (Not really, thank God)
  
• Your family always cheer for the Asian athlete competing (eg. Michael Chang, Michelle Kwan, etc). (Kinda sometimes - Asian pride!)
  
• You never made the school football team. (LOL! No)
• You cut your own hair or had someone in your family do it. (True!)
  
• Your grandmother or mother has a lot of gold teeth and especially in front. (Eh.....no)
  
• You wash and reuse zip lock bags. (True! LOL)
• You either love or hate "moon cakes". (True, love them to a certain extent)
• Your mother has short-haired, curly perm. (True)
• You eat rice for breakfast. (True)
• You only buy Christmas cards after Christmas when its 50% off. (True, done it before)
• You fight over who pays the dinner bill. (LOL it may have happened before)
  
• You’ve had to eat parts of animals that they don’t even put in hotdogs. (True!)
• You would drive around the block 10 times rather than pay for parking. (True, sometimes)
• You have never used your dishwasher. (True! Even when I was in the States)
  
• You starve yourself all day before going to an all you can eat buffet. (True!)
• You have at least one family member who wears black wire or plastic framed glasses. (I think I used to)
  
• Your parents never kissed you and never kissed each other. (True!)
• You truly believe that your neighbour could use that old sweater rather than throwing it away. (LOL True but not the neighbour)
  
• You never discuss your love life with your parents. (Rarely. ^^;; )
  
• You know someone who can get you a good deal on jewellery or electronics. (True)
• You were told you all look alike. (True)
• You spit bones and other food scraps on the table (that why you need a vinyl tablecloth). (Ewww...not really)
  
• You keep fresh garlic and ginger in the kitchen at all times. (True)
• You have clothes in your closet that is coming back in style. (True)
• You never eat fried foods when you’re sick (it creates phlegm and hot air). (True)
• You beat eggs with chopsticks. (True)
• You know not to eat the oranges or tangerines arranged in a little pyramid. (Huh?)
  
• You boil water and put it in the refrigerator. (Hmm...maybe? We boil water)
• Your parents vehemently refuse the sack of gold coin oranges that their guests brought to be courteous. (Huh?)
• You know all the waiters at your favourite Chinese restaurant. (Not really)
  
• Your parents never go to the movies. (True - wake up and smell the piracy)
• You like congee with thousand-year-old eggs. (True! Yum)
• You live in an apartment and your parents always want you to come home. (True)
• You tell your friends that you’ve starting a new moustache when you really had it for several months. (Bwahaha, not me but I'm not surprised)
• You pick your teeth at the dinner table, but you cover your mouth. (Ewww might have done it before though)
  

Quiz ==> http://www.soft-trek.com.au/quiz-central/runAreYouChinese.asp

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR, everyone!

Brilliant execution

Time to rant about something that happened in the Naruto manga. Last year, fans all over the world went "Wah? No way?!!! Arrrgggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! No no no no nooooooo!!" *starts whacking pillows and verbal-trashing Kishimoto-san*

Asuma Sarutobi (Naruto)
Leader of Team 10 and Son of Third Hokage, Asuma-sensei became one of my fav. jounins, despite having very little limelight in the earlier chapters (everyone was too busy with emoboy Sasuke XD). I find his fighting moves and wind-based power chakra are quite formidable and yet, it's his laidback, friendly and courageous character that is the most charming.

This is one awesome violent move. One of my fav. panels in the whole of Naruto, actually. The slash is stylistic and yet, the readers don't see the gore and blood explicitly. Get what I mean? No? You would if you read Berserk or Blade of the Immortal for comparison.

I think what strengthened the appeal of Asuma-sensei is his teacher-student relationship with genius-yet-unenthusiastic student, Shikamaru Naru. He quickly recognized Shikamaru's abilities and encouraged him. But I also noticed that he never forced or pressured Shikamaru into being something he didn't want to be. He allowed Shikamaru to develop his own sense of responsibility and form his own identity. I think Asuma understood Shikamaru very well.

Now, I was greatly upset that Asuma-sensei was taken down by an Akatsuki freak *gag*Hidan*gag* and I totally felt for Shikamaru.

"Smoke get in your eyes" was one cheesy song but it was not cheesy in this context, IMO.

But mangaka Kishimoto-san gave Asuma-sensei a respectable farewell and gave us awesome chapters of Shikamaru avenging his teacher.

*Ka-boom* This was beautiful. *sniff* Brings tears to my eyes.

In retrospect, Asuma-sensei's death was necessary to develop Shikamaru's character further and to set a more grim mood in the Naruto series.

Shikamaru has changed drastically from the bratty kid who whined and did everything he could to avoid work to a trustworthy, courageous and inspiring leader. In his conversation with Kurenai-sensei (who is pregnant with Asuma-sensei's child), it's clear that the teacher had a huge positive influence on the student.

"I messed up so often and Asuma-sensei would have to protect me. He made for a weird teacher and I could never quite figure out. But I always thought that he was the coolest adult I ever knew."

"And now it's my turn"

"When you have that kid, I'll have to protect it."

The handover to the next generation continues. Farewell, Asuma Sarutobi.

Images obtained from http://onemanga.com