Masquerade Christmas Ball 2009

We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year! Glad tidings we bring to you and your kin, glad tidings for Christmas and a happy New Year!

Fun time is with family and friends. Fun time is for Christmas. Fun time is at the birthday party of three golden ladies, Pamela, Irene and Linda. Pamela booked a country cottage log house for ten at Yangmingshan National Park, Linda prepared the main dish of chicken soup hotpot for at least a dozen stomachs, plus three bottles of booze, Irene bought many side dishes enough for an army.

It was a special masquerade slumber party for eight golden ladies. Thanks God, it's Friday, we could dance all night, till the sun came up. In the wee hours of the morning, I ventured out of the wood cabin in the rain to take a good photo of a bunch of middle-aged women pranksters. Who cared what people said about our wacky behaviors, they were just jealous of me and you. We wish people could feel and act as we did on Christmas, dancing all night till we dropped merrily exhausted.

Saturday morning, we jumped out of warm beds to welcome the new day in unison like high school girl scouts in the winter camp. We didn't snuggle one another in bed, we dressed up as soon as we could for a big buffet breakfast at the restaurant. Before twelve noon, the check out time, we played a few group games, Do As I Say, Simon Says, Heart Attack, with the twin kids of Pamela's European friends.

The rules of "Do As I Say" were simple. If I say one, people raise the right hand. If I say two, people raise the left hand. If I say three, people clap their hands. If I say four, people clap their hands twice. If I say five, people jump from the ground. In stead of calling the numbers, I sang the song of 533, 422, 1234555; 533, 422, 13551; 2222234, 3333345, 533, 422, 13551, or GEE, FDD, CDEFGGG; GEE, FDD, CEGGC; DDDDDEF, EEEEEFG; GEE, FDD, CEGGC. Can you decipher the musical notes? Sing it out and try out the game yourself for fun!

After Christmas, it is the last week of year 2009. In stead of flipping through thousands of memorable photos in the past, it's time we planned an extraordinary year of 2010, aimed at audacious New Year resolutions, left ebullient footprints on the hearts of people around us.