For those of you who celebrate, Happy Lunar New Year! As my ninety-two year old grandma said this morning, she can’t quite remember a New Year like this since World War II. The roads, normally bustling on the second day of the New Year with everyone criss-crossing the island to visit relatives, were unusually quiet. Many of the older generation completely cancelled visits from younger relatives. Singapore commenced vaccinations in late January, but few seem eager to get their shot, mostly because of the almost utopian “Covid-free” bubble we live in.

“I heard you might get a fever, or headaches,” my grandma says, telling me she and her friends are all in no hurry to get the vaccine. “We’ve already stayed at home for a year, what’s a few more months?”

To relieve her boredom, my sister helps her download Candy Crush before we leave.

I’m appearing at a literary event next week—it’s going to be my first ever reading. If you’d like to hear me read from my short story, A Hundred Unions, at Room Magazine’s online launch party, do sign up via this link (Eventbrite) or Facebook.

When: 10am 19th Feb (Singapore time), 9pm 18th Feb (Eastern Time)

Kinda nervous, but hope to see you there!