chinese new year is...

a big fat bust.   london's celebration of chinese new year is touted as the largest outside of china itself.  for weeks, i research the best areas in and around chinatown to watch the lion parade and the acrobatic shows.  i learn exactly on what blocks the vendors ply their wares.  i even line up a restaurant far enough away from the main drag to eat our authentic chinese feast in relative peace.  at home we read books about chinese new year and create our own masks.  in joe's classroom, mrs. upritchard sets up a chinese restaurant and actually enlists a volunteer to prepare a chinese feast for all thirty children.  we over-prepare ourselves for the official celebration.

on the day, tally awakes with a fever.  she's too tired to even turn her head towards the telly.  joe gets to choose his chaperone for the day.  no way does mommy even come close in that tally.  so, he and daddy bundle up for the at-freezing temperatures.  after he is mostly layered, joe whines, "i can't move!"   we explain to him that he has no choice, but he only grows more vocal in his protests, "i can't put my arms down properly," he complains. "we're going.  now." says daddy with not a hint of patience.  so finally off they go.

they return just a few hours later.

"how was it?"  i ask, all chippery smiles.

"terrible," says joe.  "there were too many people."  then he ticks off a list of things cancelled due to the temps:  the parade, the acrobatics, the food vendors, etc.  "did you at least eat some dumplings?" i ask.  "no, daddy said 'the heck with this' and we went to bk.  i had a great cheeseburger."  "and," he continues, "i did get these."  lovely -- snappers.  i send him back out in the freezing temps so he can use them up all at once.

"shall i go ahead and call for delivery?" i ask chris.  he nods.  so we all celebrate the new year with our eat-in chinese as we watch the liverpool-chelsea match.  gung hey fat choy!