writing competition...

im 27 yrs old and here i am voluntarily entering writing contests while i've hated writing throughout all my academia....ironic.  writing competition criteria @ bottom. 

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"my favorite family routine...."

while cultural idiosyncrasies are what make each corner of the world so
different, it is the intangible variables within these idiosyncrasies
that exemplify the familial ups and downs that makes our human race so
special.   and this "special" brand of intellect and genius comes with
the by-product of rhetorical backwards-ness that essentially makes the
world a better and more hilarious place to live in.

my family, unlike any other family, is ur basic run of the mill
breadwinner/housewife and 2 kid category. (they should revise immigration forms for a large square for the generic family box, and asymmetrical shapes for everything else respectively).  when you add in the extended
family, it then becomes an exponentiated hodge podge of generic stereotypical breakdown of
aunts/uncles/cousins/in laws/nephews/nieces etc...so in essence, and poignantly conforming, my
favorite family routine is nothing more than the understated and overly
hyped up get-together sunday luncheons.

the family, highly touted for living life 3 meals at a time, ironically
or suitably (whichever comes first) finds very little leeway in cuisine
choices outside of chinese/chinese and chinese.  this gastric train of
thought leads only to one destination, crystal jade - the cornerstone
of our family meals, regardless of season, holiday, mood, time of day,
or health condition.  so with each meal as repetitive as the previous,
the traditions of passing the menu around acts as our version of
"breaking bread".   and as each dish is delivered, just as nostalgic as
the previous gathering, the conversation complaining about the food
makes the word dejavu sound almost "mis-enunciated hokkien"...

we laugh. we talk. we eat. we ask each other if they want to order more
food.  we all say "no we don't want more food". but we all still pick
up the menu and look to order more food.  we put the menu down and say
we don't want more food. but we always some how order more food.  and
it's always more noodles.  more hor fun.  more kuey teow. more la
mian.  more ee mian.  more noodles. more noodles. it's how we do.  it's
how we roll.  we want noodles.

conversation somehow revolves around an amalgamation of 4 topics.  1-
food, as i mentioned earlier.  2- someone's new diamond ring. 3- en
bloc. and 4- some new chinese herbal remedy.  see if you can follow
this....

"hey what do you want to eat? kai lan? dao miu? sea cucumber? abalone?
hairy crab?"
"is the hairy crab good?"
"that waiter is always trying to push the expensive stuff on us"
"hairy crab is high in cholesterol....just ask ur dad"
"hey, if u cook the beef bone with ginger and bird swallow then blend
it with durian ice cream it lowers cholesterol"
"really? u know who loves bird swallow? that auntie lee we met last
time, u remember? the one with the huge diamond?"
"omg...how big was that diamond? 5 karats? how much? where did she get
it? i want to get a pink one"
"wait for that apt to en bloc, buy 2 diamonds, one for me, kekeke"
"i heard that other apartment is going en bloc, the one next to that
beef ball/tendon noodle place...?"
"ooo beef ball....lets order beef ball"
"they dont have it. what do u want to eat?"

we eat till everyone feels guilty about eating.  we still complain cuz that's what we do.  but somehow we always have room for one more thing.  one more dessert. 

DURIAN. 

....to be continued.....

---

Dear Nuffnangers,

 

    Its
gives me great pleasure to announce that
Nuffnang.com.sg, in conjunction with the National
Family Celebrations 08, is giving away a total of
215 tickets to various attractions
in Singapore!

 

    35
lucky bloggers will stand to win sets of 5 or
7 tickets each, to bring their
family out to the Singapore Flyer,
Bird Park, Zoo, Night Safari, Hippo Tours, Duck
Tours, or Rhino Tours!

 

    All you have to
do is compose a blog entry, titled "My favourite
family routine", and send it in to family@nuffnang.com, it could be anything, from the
simple Sunday Lunch, to wacky days out. It can be
as short or as long a post as you want it to be.

   

    The
deadline for submission is May 20th
2008, 2359H, and winners wil be notified via
email on May 21st.

 

   
Winners will also have to blog about
their outing with their family, and a
dedicated page on www.nuffnang.com.sg will
be set up to drive publicity and traffic to these
blog posts!   

 

    This event is
brought to you by the National Family Council,
Singapore and proudly supported by
Nuffnang.com.sg.  

 

     Click
here
for more information about the contest.

 

NATIONAL FAMILY
CELEBRATIONS
08 

 

Organised bythe
National Family Council, National Family
Celebrations is an annual event which celebrates
and reinforces the importance of families and
family life. This year, the nation wide
celebrations will run from 24th May to 28th June
2008.

 

National Family
Celebrations 08 will bring together activities,
and events organised by community organisations
and private organisations. Singaporeans can look
forward to a line up of events and activities for
families to spend quality time together.

 

For more
information on the NFC 08, please click
here.

 

Best
regards,

Ming

Co-Founder

Nuffnang.com