Aye, that is Chinese for Happy New Year. Today is the sacred day of days, so for anyone and everyone who celebrates it, Gung Hay Fat Choy!!

So what does Mir choose to blog about on CNY? Food of course, which seems to be a very important aspect of Chinese culture (second only to the eating of the food, of course). My parents place great emphasis on a Chinese restaurant being good enough to frequent based on its authenticity, and the food must also be very tasty. I've always enjoyed taking my non-Asian friends to Chinese restaurants. One time (back in the day), I took Hubby (then only known as Boyfriend) and my college roomate Marla out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant (side note: Marla asked me what her name meant in Chinese. I told her "monkey" (phonetically it sounds like mah-lau which is monkey in Cantonese but that's just me), she wasn't very happy about that). Both were ecstatic when the waiter didn't immediately bring them forks (a sign that they are not complete Chinese culture noobs). Had to order a clay pot dish containing chicken feet of course, Marla decided she would take the plunge and try it. In the course of her trying to spear a foot with her chopsticks (still newbie at it), she somehow managed to break her chopstick, the shards flying across the room. I was howling with laughter, she was totally embarassed. She turned even more red when the tight-lipped waiter approached her, placed a fork firmly on the table and said, "You need this."

In other news, I want to give Hubby a hearty congratulations. He's published!! Woot! He co-wrote a technical article (he's a chemist) for an industry mag. There is a headshot of him wearing a suit in there. And the editor of the magazine called him an industry giant. So kudos to you, my man (who is still bitter about me telling him wasabi is guacamole)!!!!!!!!