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Most of the world follows the Gregorian calendar these days, but many Eastern cultures also follow the Lunar calendar. Whereas the Gregorian calendar follows the cycle of the sun, the lunar calendar follows the cycle of the moon. Both calendars work just as well as each other, but the Gregorian calendar has become the default.

Coming from an Eastern background, I celebrate both the “normal” new year and the lunar new year, known as Tết in Vietnam. It’s a time of year very similar to Christmas in Western cultures: family, eating, drinking and presents! But instead of a man in a red suit bearing gifts, our elders come bearing gifts in the form of red packets (lì xì) containing money. The red packets are usually given by elders to younglings. These red packets symbolise luck and wealth.

Exchanging wishes when receiving the red packet is important in Vietnamese culture. Traditionally it is done in a formal manner and with all seriousness. For example in my case, I would call my parents to sit down in front of me while I remain standing. I would then wish them all that is good for the new year. They in turn would then wish me good things for the new year and pass me the red packet. The whole affair can be quite daunting when you are a kid.

I’m no longer a kid, but parents still expect their children to follow this tradition, no matter what age they are. Once the formalities are over, everyone wishes each other a happy new year. Then the feasting and gambling begins to rid the rest of the year of any bad luck (if you lose) or gain good luck for the year (if you win). It’s all good!

Time for me to scoot over to my folks place. So, on the eve of the new year of the Rat, I wish you a Happy New Year!!!

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

It’s almost Christmas once again. Time to dust off the decorations, set up the tree and turn on the Christmas lights. Or maybe leave it up to someone else, while we sit back and enjoy the show synced to music…

» Wizards in Winter (Sarajevo)
» Carol Of The Bells (Perth)
» Jingle Bells (Perth)

Before I head off for a much needed holiday, let me wish you all a safe and…

Merry Christmas!

It’s funny how as kids, you look forward to your birthdays, while as adults, the older you get, the more you dread it.

Well, this year I’ve decided to embrace it and look at it from a different angle. Not sure what angle that is yet, but I’ll let you know when I find out.

The big birthday bash was last Friday. Went to Hofbrauhaus, a German restaurant in the city, for dinner. They served traditional Bavarian food, while for entertainment, there was some slap dancing! Very entertaining indeed!

We then headed off to Paul Van Dyk @ The Metro Palace. It was ages since I’d seen PVD live. It was also ages since I’d been to a trance party.

PVD was not as I remembered him to be. Either the trance was stale, or I’ve moved on in music taste. Maybe it was both. That’s not to say it was a bad gig. Far from it, judging by the hour I got home.

Normally I don’t enjoy my own birthday - too much fussing, but I have to say, Friday turned out to be a great night! I can thank E & P for putting it all together, and the rest of my friends for showing up! Thanks guys!

The other big milestone in my life recently is the opening of my food shop, Skew’d. It took quite a while to plan and execute that ‘little’ project, but I’m glad that it has finally reached fruition. We will wait to see if the concept takes off in Melbourne. I am quietly optimistic!

Anyway, have you noticed that as you get older, time seems to pass by more quickly?

But don’t they say, “Time flies when you are having fun”?

Does that mean the older you get, the more fun you (should) have?

I will let you ponder about that one…

…Yeah, I’m still here. My muse has temporarily left me lately. But since I’m writing something, I guess I could mention the fact that over the weekend I went to Mt Buller for some more boarding action.

Apart from the snow, there was also plenty of rain. That made for slushy snow. Let’s just say, by the end of the day I was soaked through.

However, it turned out to be a pretty good day, despite the dampness. I will try to make it up there again this weekend. Hopefully there will be a huge dump on Friday night, followed by sunny skies on Saturday…

Chúc mừng năm mới Đinh Hợi!

And for those a little confused as to whether this year is a Fire or Golden Pig year - it’s both! Here’s why…

The Year of the Golden Pig

Each lunar year is assigned an animal symbol, with the pig being the final symbol in the cycle. Running concurrent to the 12-animal cycle is a cycle composed of the “Five Elements,” i.e., metal, wood, fire, water and earth. This cycle repeats over a 10-year period. The elements act as modifiers on the 12 animal symbols.

Fire is red or yellow, and this is associated with gold; in China, for example, red is considered a lucky color, and money is traditionally given in red envelopes. Accordingly, the Year of the Fire Pig becomes the Year of the Golden Pig. This occurs only one every 60 years, and is considered a particularly auspicious time to have children. It is believed children born during a pig year will be particularly successful in acquiring material wealth. Those born during a “golden pig” year, doubly so.

And to top it off, 2007 is no ordinary Year of the Golden Pig. When further calculations are made using the principles of Ying and Yang, the year is a special kind of Golden Pig year that occurs only once every 600 years! For adherents of the science of divination, this makes it an extremely fortuitous time to pop out a little one.

Yang Jongsung, a senior curator at the National Folk Museum of Korea, explained, “The Year of the Pig follows in 2007. If you have a child during that time, he or she will be very healthy and very wealthy. The pig means health, fertility and money. And a golden pig? It shines very brightly, so this is very good luck!”

Articles:

• The Year of the Golden Pig
• Chinese astrology

Had a relaxing couple of days this weekend. The weather has been hovering around the high-30s C, so I headed down the Mornington Peninsula. Spent two days lazing on beaches around Portsea and Sorrento.

Only an hour’s drive from the city, it’s the best place to go and relax. I guess that’s why half of Melbourne heads that way. (The other half heads in the opposite direction, up the Great Ocean Road.)

During winter, Melbourne weather can get a little gloomy, so when summer comes, everyone wants their piece of sunshine. There is one thing about the Australian sun. It can get very intense.

Normally, tourists from countries with less sunshine, having arrived in town for a holiday and not accustomed to our sun, tend to over idulge on the solar rays. They are the ones walking around with glowing red complexions. Not unlike a red lobster.

Well, after the weekend I could be mistaken for hapless tourist. Too much sun and not enough sunscreen is not a good mix. Sunburn is fun. Not!

I’ll know better for next week.

Wishing everyone a safe and Merry Christmas!

Mia: Don’t you hate that?

Vincent: What?

Mia: Uncomfortable silences. Why do we feel it’s necessary to yak about bullshit in order to be comfortable?

Vincent: I don’t know. That’s a good question.

Mia: That’s when you know you’ve found somebody special. When you can just shut the fuck up for a minute and comfortably enjoy the silence.

Pulp Fiction (Directed by Quentin Tarantino, 1994). See Pulp Fiction in 30 seconds.

There is a lot of misunderstanding with the terms introversion and extroversion. Carl Jung brought us the concepts of extroversion and introversion when it comes to the study of personality types.

Introverts prefer the inner, subjective world of thoughts, ideas, and emotions, while extroverts prefer the outer, objective world of things, people, and actions. In other words, introverts tend to draw their energy from within, while extroverts need the stimulation of things around them to be energized.

Extroverts are energized by people, and often seem bored by themselves when alone. Leave an extrovert alone for a few minutes and they will reach for their hand phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of socialising, introverts need to time out to recharge.

When introverts want to be alone, it does not on it’s own mean they are depressed. It might just mean that they either need to regain their energy from being around people or that they simply want the time to be with their own thoughts. Being with people, even people they like and are comfortable with, can prevent them from their desire to be quietly introspective. It drains them.

Being introspective, though, does not mean that an introvert never has conversations. However, those conversations are generally about ideas and concepts, not about what they consider the trivial matters of social small talk. This does not mean introverts aren’t capable of small talk, it’s just that they have to actively think in order to chitchat. This tires them. People tire them.

Introverts tend to think and mull over ideas in their mind before talking (making them good writers), whereas extroverts instinctively think by talking.

Extroversion is seen as normal and desirable in Western and particularly US society, where fast talk and snap decisions are valued over listening, deliberation and careful planning. This may not be true in other societies, for example Japanese culture places great value on quietness, contemplation, reflection and self-control.

Are introverts normal?

While only about 25% of the general population are introverts, they make up about 60% of the gifted population. Which makes them a little abnormal. But don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt. Really.

Some famous introverts include:

Not all introverts are brilliant scientists and metaphysicians, but there are some things most have in common. Focus/concentration, love of pets and modesty are typical of most introverts. Shyness is not an introvert trait, as can be seen from the list above. It is a totally unrelated condition.

In an extroverts’ world, the etiquette is to fill silence with small talk. Maybe one day, moments of silence and reflection will not only be acceptable, but encouraged.

Articles:

• Personality Types
• Ask Yahoo!
• The Tyranny of the Extroverts
• Being an Introvert
• Caring for Your Introvert

One month till Christmas! Although most of the imagery we see is of snow, Santa and reindeers, Christmas around here is usually stinking hot. I guess it’s nice to imagine a white Christmas when in fact the temperature hovers around 35-40°C. Great beach weather though! Which is exactly where I’m headed today!

This is an inspirational clip I found recently. It reminds me of those little “how to live” handbooks that was quite popular a few years back. Pretty cool, even though it is an ad for sunscreen.