It's not about the food or the wine...

"What time r u coming bac on Thursday? Uncle Donny is inviting al of us 2 a Christmas party on 24 if you can make it. let me know."

Mom sent me this message 3 days before Christmas. CM and I initially planned to go home on Christmas eve, meet up with my parents and travel to Penang the next day. Uncle Don's invitation spiced up our plan and there was no reason to refuse. So a minor change of plan, Mom and Dad will meet us at JB and we will sashay our way to KL for Christmas. Passing through the Sultan Iskandar CIQ was smooth but when we returned from our holiday, it was a different story.

Sultan Iskandar CIQ - tip of the iceberg you see here.

The journey up north was jolly despite the fact that we brought one too many luggages and the car was stuffy. We reached PJ at about 6.30pm, expected to reach Uncle Don’s place at 7pm, but we missed the junction. Thanks to the confusing road sign and the lack of intellectual acuity to place it strategically. We attempted to make a U-turn and was lured by the signboards to the toll plaza. RM1.30 gone. Followed the signboard and again we were directed to the second toll plaza. RM1.60 gone. Made a big round and finally back to the toll plaza again. Another RM1.60 gone. When we told Uncle Don about this, he remarked that the sign boards are design in a way to channel us to the toll deliberately. I learnt 2 lessons that day:

1. Carelessness is costly!
2. Never Trust the Road Signs in KL!

We reached his house at 9pm and the feast commenced shortly after my other aunts arrived. We had the famous Banting nasi lemak, Kajang satays, Muar otak-otak, roasted pig trotters, chicken curry, fried vermicelli on the table and the Egypt Sakara lager, Netherlands Bavaria, Carlsberg, and Jacob’s Creek just couldn’t wait to be served.

After the feast...

I don’t remember since when alcoholic beverages became a mainstay of Uncle Don’s home, but I do remember the time I got knocked out after 3 bottles of Anchor Ice while we celebrated Christmas at Genting Highlands under Uncle Don’s persuasion. I was just a secondary boy then, how could I “disobey” my elders?

"Come on, you’re big enough to take it. Come, one more for you." And he removed the bottle cap with the opener suavely.

So Dad, if I ever become a drunkard, now you know who to blame lah!

Uncles and my pap.

And so we ate and drank, laughed and chatted merrily.

I was chagrined that there was so much to catch up with everyone. Dad, Uncle Don, Uncle Eric and Uncle Raymond chat-boozing in the dining hall while Mom and her sisters gossiped on the veranda; Uncle Don’s landscape business is going strong and steady, his pitaya farm and sales are doing good; Alanna is going to college and probably fly to Australia a year later; the uncles and aunts enjoyed themselves so much during their recent trip to Kluang, sang their hearts out and agreed that the karaoke session was the climax of their trip down south; my hyperactive juvenile cousins (some of which I also don’t know the names, generation gap…sigh.) played at the garage; the adolescents (Alanna, Lip Ren and Winnie) watched the TV and surfed the Internet on and off.

CM and I were busy taking pictures.

Finally, we retired at about 5.30 in the morning.

Sometimes, it's neither about the food or the wine, nor the fireplace or snow...It’s the moment family members gather together blithely, the jokes and laughter, the embracing and encouragement towards each other, the memories we share and reminisce over the dining table, that all matters.

Mewie Kissmus