I found out what the Year of the Dog has in store for me pretty early
January 30th, 2006
My family's spending the holidays in Penang, while I'm staying in KK home alone for CNY. I joined the extended family on my dad's side for the Reunion Dinner, and later the same evening, made the get-together with the extended family on my mom's side one person merrier. Busy night yeah.
Long past midnight, I was to drive my Auntie Lea and her kids home. The way to her house was unfamiliar terrain, and it was dark and drizzling as if it was the fallout of a disintegrating old year.
Only two hours into the Brand New Lunar Year, and I have driven the front-left tyre into a drain.
I'm not the superstitious sort, but standing there dumbfounded, peering at the tyre as it dangled horribly there like a baby of Michael Jackson's, a depressing notion crept over me that this may be a sign of a really sucky year ahead.
The Wira was going nowhere. I tortured myself with thoughts of helicopters and fire trucks swooping down the scene, and the car dying and becoming Dad's final proof that I'm a menace to society.
Wth me incapacitated like so, it was Auntie Lea who took corrective steps. She woke her husband who was sleeping at home (it was approximately 2AM). Groggily, Uncle Richard examined the complication and fixed a jack to the left side of the car, intending to first lift the wheel clear above the abyss. He then handed the job of pumping the jack to me because he said I'm stronger, and I was conveniently desperate to do whatever to clean up my mess.
Auntie Lea wasn't done. As expected in a tightly-knit family, she had called reinforcements: some of the other aunts and uncles from the gathering we had left — to which I had very mixed feelings about.
Within 20 minutes Uncle Wil came in his four wheel drive... containing Auntie Lona, Uncle Paul, Auntie Flo, and my cousin Michelle. I half-anticipated their cats to hop out of the vehicle too.
On one hand, I was elated to see the arrival of generous man/womanpower eager to rescue me; on the other, I knew with the foresight of one who grew up in this family that I had to grin and bear the relatives wowing at my little trainwreck.
Uncle Wil is a bit grey now but still like an ox; he'll probably remain brawny for the next 100 years. He used a roofbeamish hunk of wood as a lever to lift the wheel out, while the rest of us pushed the car backwards. For a long time it was like pressing the Great Wall of China, but finally the car and all its four wheels were on solid ground again. Problem solved!
There was a huge, collective sigh of relief, and another after I checked to find not one battlescar on the old Wira. Uncle Paul had the cheek to say whew! my parents would never have to know. It was when everyone went home, after they were satisfied with their output of wisecracks, that I knew there's another thing I ought to worry about: I'm going to hear "Driven into any drains lately?" for the whole of the Year of the Dog, and possibly the rest of my life.
Well, I did phone up Mom about it in the morning of CNY. Better I tell her, before they do.
I'm just glad my parents weren't there to witness it, and neither was Lillian Too for that matter. Drive safe, folks.
Indian-Canadian comedian 
