Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Try Repeating "Gong Xi Fa Cai!" A Gazillion Times
Before any of you scoff at the fact that any Chinese person with the littlest hint of respect for their own culture should not in turn scoff at the fact that they have to wish their friends and family "Gong Xi Fa Cai" on Chinese New Year, try imagining yours truly as this large fella:[Now imagine the pic of a moustachioed, plump Chinese man with a long beard, sporting a gaudy Imperial costume and a hat while I wait for a friend to send me the pictures she took]
Probably the only person whose sole responsibilties on CNY are wishing people luck and good health, handing out angpows, as well as being an interesting addition to an otherwise boring photograph of two (or more) people standing in a random location in Genting Highlands.
Yes my friends, I was the God of Prosperity (henceforth referred to as GOP), the Dewa Tuah, the Chai Sen Ye (Choy San Yeh for the Cantonese), in Genting Highlands for about eight days throughout the CNY. Originally, I went uphill in the morning expecting makeup and a different brand of gaudy costume, but it seemed that Genting had contracted my boss to get at least two guys in GOP outfits, doing the aforementioned duties. I was one of the lucky two.
Hooray for me.
It would've been fun, if not for a couple of things. Firstly, I wasn't a makeup GOP, I was a giant-cartoony-mascotlike-head GOP... And the head was friggin heavy. It didn't help either that the cursed thing didn't rest on my shoulders, but rather, was supported only by my own head, which in turn pushes down on and hurts my neck and shoulders. Splitting headaches ensued whenever I was unlucky enough to have the head falling out of what I'd like to call the 'optimum position', which was very often due to the large amounts of head-nodding I had to do. Worse still, my field of vision was severely limited to the tiny mouth of the GOP head, allowing me to see straight ahead, as well as through the gaps between the GOP head and my own chest, where I can see my own feet. Hence the need for chaperones (in the form of clowns, who were lucky as heck to have been assigned such a simple task as compared to the people they were leading) to guide the bumbling GOPs through the sea of tourists. On busy days, even security guards were required... And when there were strong breezes in the outdoor theme park, all hell breaks loose as I struggle to keep the head from getting blown away, while at the same time posing for a multitude of cameras.
Well, secondly... Nothing could compare to firstly. I also had to wear a pillow round my belly plus body padding (like a Kevlar vest, only made of foam) to add to the effect of "prosperity" (in most languages, fat). It made me sweat like a pig, but that was nothing compared to the headaches I mentioned above.
And so, for the eight days, two almost aimless and blind GOPs wandered the streets and halls of Genting Highlands for a couple of hours each day.
I'm so thankful that is over with. But like they say, some clouds come with silver linings (or something to that effect). The angpows I handed out were filled with vouchers and coupons for use in Genting Highlands. Like any respectable employee would do, I embezzled some. Therefore, I now am the owner of 9 "Buy one get one free Outdoor Theme Park Day Pass" vouchers and 8 "Free Bowling Games at Genting Bowl" vouchers. They expire by the 28th of April, so I have until then to abuse the 50% effective discount on ticket purchases (price for Adult pass is RM32 --50%--> RM16)
Any takers? This is directed mainly to all the ASEAN scholars who happen to be free in the coming weeks, because almost everyone else happens to be exceptionally busy with college on weekdays. And since my weekends are usually filled with either work or acquiring my driver's license, there's a clash of commitments, you see...
P.S: My good friend Sarah Ho mentioned once in a post I made long ago about the origins of the St. Andrews' Junior College stickman, which only came to my attention a short while ago when I re-went through the comments on my posts...
It's actually from the old TV series "The Saint", starring Roger Moore (which, prior to that, was based on novels). Enclosed is a picture:
The mystery is solved! Now we know that anyone else claiming to be the creator of the Stickman can rot in heck for all we care. I even have a story of an ex-Saint (as in SAJC) chastising my friend who had a SaintInk T-shirt for apparent "copyright infringement", but I'll leave it at just that.
