Cupid vs The Tiger

Cat overheard a discussion between 2 friends on the oncoming Chinese New Year in February. This year, the first day of Chinese New Year falls on 14 February..yes the same day as Valentine. Both friends were gloomy at the prospect of not being able to celebrate Valentine's Day with their sweethearts.

Hmm.. cat just couldn't see what's the big problem. Why don't they celebrate it 1 day before? Valentine's Day is certainly not a religious celebration. Whereas the 1st day of Chinese New Year is. And that is also the day where all the family members and relatives gather around for the reunion dinner or celebration. The girls see their boyfriends almost everyday of the week. Would a few days of going back home and not seeing each other too hard to endure?

'But cat! It's Valentine's Day.' one of them cried out.
Ok.. but cat still do not get the point. Guess the puzzled look was very clear on cat's face :p Ouchh..
'No one celebrates Valentine's Day 1 day earlier!' the other girl said.
'Why not?' said cat. 'Will it be against the law? No! Will it be against the religious teachings? Of course not. There's always a first thing for everything and it's just 1 day earlier. Or would you prefer to celebrate it 1 week later? And you should remember that on 14th Feb, no one will be at the office to see the flowers arriving. But if you celebrate it on 13th instead, everyone will still be here.'

Both of them were looking at cat like cat was an alien. Duh..this is not a matter of life and death, dears. And it's easy to read their minds: they would love to show off the flowers to their colleagues. Then smiles appear on the girls' faces. There! One problem solved. Back to work.

'Cat!' Ooo..cat's heart nearly jumped out and stopped. Grr.. can't he enter the office the same way as other people. And pleaseee do not shout. Cat is not deaf yet.
'What is this talk about celebrating Valentine's Day 1 day earlier? You and your silly ideas!'
'Boss, wait. You see.. our restaurants are not that fully booked on Valentine's even if we do get more revenue because of the packages. You see..if the couples booked 1 day earlier on 13th, then we would have more tables for the Chinese New Year gatherings on 14th, won't we? Every other place in town would be fully booked. If you want, we just reserve one outlet on 14th for Valentine's and the rest for the Chinese New Year Dinner.. '
'Hmm..that way, we would get extra revenue on 13th'..That might work..' said he with his mind going 100km per hour. 'Hmm..then we'd better come out with a Valentine's early bird promotion only at..and..need to see how many would take the offer and need to get the companies... Sxxxxx. Why didn't you think of this earlier, cat? If this doesn't work.. Hey, PR, I got this interesting idea..' and off he storms out of the office. Grr..

Count to 20 ,cat. Count to 20. Deep breath, In and out. At least that will leave cat alone for a few hours. Happy working, cat.

Signing off,
Cat

P/S: The Tokong Chee Teong Beow at Jalan Tun Perak in Melaka will also be open on the 1st day of Chinese New Year to allow couples to register their marriage on 14th February.

The bad news is the price for Roses (usually sold at RM 6 per dozen) will now hit RM 30 or more this year. Alice Florist in Melaka says they will still offer the delivery service and open their shop on the 14th Feb (which is unprecedented). Their reason: After all, Valentine's Day is celebrated by all races and not only the Chinese. The only thing is to make sure that the person receiving would be at the address on that day (most offices will be closed).

Cat's conclusion: There's always a first time for everything. Business is business. Hmm..never thought to see the day where Valentine takes the first priority. Imagine that... Well, Cupid 1 and Tiger 0