just minishorts.

My mother comes from the northern PAS controlled state of Kelantan, and she goes on her balik-kampung journeys several times a year. Me, I'm the prodigal daughter, where twice a year is often too much for me–plane tickets burn a hole in your pocket, even if they're from Air Asia. Mum doesn't like the stingy side of me, and she often reminds me of my aging grandmother and how it's important to set aside a traveling fund that includes the quarterly trip to Kota Bharu…

But Chinese New Year is the balik kampung trip that you can't avoid. As a kid I used to love those CNY trips to KB, because that's the only time when you can earn a quick buck (or maybe hundreds). It was fun because that was when I got to see my cousins from around the country and it was when we started looking for the new additions to the family we'd never got to see before.

This year I've got two new cousins to say hello to, and they'll probably think me a looming giantress when I pinch their cheeks.

I can't quite recall when Chinese New Year stopped being 100% fun for me. It was probably a few years back when I just crossed the legal age and became an adult. The switch was quite abrupt. Suddenly, I was expected to help in the kitchen. Suddenly I was expected to do the heavy chores. Suddenly I was expected to sit down till late, waiting for my uncles to finish their long catch-up conversations, and then I was expected to help do the cleaning up. It's still fun, taking the ang pau is still fun… but there are catches, because each time you head out shopping for extra sundries, you're expected to pay from your pockets.

Look, even after 6 years I'm still adjusting to the new responsibilities required of me as an adult member of the family.

And make no mistake about it, I STILL LOVE ALL THE WORK that comes with the celebrations. I enjoy it all, the cooking, going to the restaurant to get the suckling pig for the reunion dinner, cleaning up the dishes, playing croupier with the kids while we do the once-a-year-gambling, it's all good fun and I love it.

There's one thing I don't quite like about CNY though. I just didn't like having to go back to 14 uncles and aunties bugging me about boyfriends and getting married. Being over 20 is tough like that… and honestly it borders on ridiculous when you think about how you started having crushes on guys when you're around 16, and your aunts sternly warn you that 'teenagers cannot have boyfriends'…

Suddenly you're 20 and everyone wants to know who you're dating. And oh the scrutiny, it's hell more than annoying.

'So, got boyfriend adi ah? How old ah? Doing what ah? Drive what car ah? Where you met him ah? He got buy you gifts or not? Got take you out or not? Got money or not? Got ask you to marry him or not?'

'Eerrrrmmmm…'

'Why don't bring him back? When are you going to bring him back? His parents treat you good or not? Got brothers or not? Got sisters or not? His brother marry adi or not? His sister kahwin adi ah? So when you getting married ah? Must go and see if suitable or not you know?'

'Ermmmmm…'

The good thing is as long as you shut up and continue to play dumb, the questions will keep flooding in and they'll just forget what the previous query was.

Ah yes, those were the years when I went home to KB, just the two of us, just mom and me. This year, heh, there's going to be slight difference with the balik kampung entourage.

Eric's coming with me to KB to see my Grandmother. And him being a KL boy with no kampung to balik to, this trip to KB is probably going to be a huge culture shock for poor Eric. I have a feeling also that my own CNY experience is going to be a mixed bag of emotions, although I'm anticipating it, I can't say I'm happily excited. Somewhere deep inside there's a nervous wreck waiting to be unleashed, and I can only pray that I'm all stable and ready to receive whatever may come from my busybody uncles and aunts.