Not a year passed by without my dad buying Jamon de Bola (a kind of ham shaped like a ball), Queso de Bola (a cheese ball with red wax covering), and fireworks for our New Year’s Eve family dinner party. This year, it’s the same—but minus the fireworks.

My mom has increasingly been paranoid about using fireworks through the years. It used to be just an annoyance that using fireworks was a waste of money—hard-earned cash blowing up together with the fireworks display. But for the past few years, it was more on the safety concern.

And I don’t blame her. Seeing blown-up fingers and charred flesh isn’t exactly appetizing when you’re eating dinner and watching television on New Year’s Day. But believe it or not, my dad and I used to be at odds with my mom on fireworks when I was younger.

My mom despised watching me and my dad waste money on different kinds of sparklers and loud fireworks. But we really enjoyed it, especially the preparation of our pyrotechnic display. My dad would take me to the market to purchase fireworks a day before New Year’s Eve, and we would stock them up in a cabinet like soldiers preparing for a battle. An hour before New Year, we would ready our “gear” and head outside the house with my mom and sister grudgingly following behind to see our display.

Well, those were the days… I guess when we get older, we become more careful (although I know quite a few people who are exceptions to this generalization).

I still enjoy watching fireworks displays like in the photo I took above (that’s a fireworks display Marc and I saw in Hongkong Disneyland on our honeymoon), but I prefer to be just a spectator now and not the one handling the fireworks. Maybe I’m just becoming a sissy, but I honestly don’t want to risk damaging my hands or my eyes (it would be pretty difficult to design websites and blog when body parts are missing). I think my dad feels the same, and so does Marc (although I think Marc didn’t want to get fireworks this year because they’re expensive hehe).

Our New Year’s Eve this year would be less “sparkly,” but we’ll still try our best to welcome year 2007 with a bang. It’s a traditional belief that making loud noises on New Year’s Eve wards off evil and bad luck—I’d really like to ward off as much evil and bad luck as possible, but I’d also prefer to keep my body parts intact. Besides, there are other ways to make noise on New Year’s Eve without having to light up fireworks you know… Hehe. You naughty dog, I hope you weren’t thinking of something that won’t pass this blog’s GP rating. I was just referring to party favors like noisemakers and clackers! 😛

Happy New Year, everyone! Stay safe! 🙂