Very Auspicious

On the second day of the new year, we gamble (not on the first day, because you don't want to risk losing anything to start off the year).

First, we play blackjack. Half of the family gathers around a round garden table in Grandma's patio, and the wheelin' and dealin' begins. I played two hands -- one for myself (drawing even) and one for Uncle Charley (I won him $6 and got $1 as a tip). It gets pretty crazy with smack talking -- man, we're rowdy.

Then, we play mahjong. It's the smartest game in the world -- down to the fact that the cards are porcelain tiles which stand on their own, so you don't have to hold them in your hands, and so you can authoritatively or triumphantly throw them with a loud clack in the middle of the table. It also helps keep old ladies' minds sharp and is an antidote against senility. Cases in point: both my grandmothers, who are also mahjong partners. I won $20, but the big winner was Uncle Limcy, who walked off with $55.

Before all that, we had brunch at Ah Ma's again:
- Yu Sang
- An assortment of Chinese sausages
- A traditional Hakka stew -- I forget the name and can't identify what's in it, but it's very tasty
- Mutton soup
- The hodgepodge dish again
- A new dish by Ah Ma -- fish shaped into little fishes, with peas for eyes, a shrimp's tail for its tail and a cross-sectioned slice of chilli for its mouth
- Ngoh hiang -- it translates into "five spices," a sort of spring roll with a meat filling

Mmm, iced 7-Up to go with brunch on a sunny day!