happy chinese new year

had the family dinner over in the temple and it was amazing. the scrumptious dinner was prepared by our family friend, who happens to be a she-monk (is there another term for female monk? or do we just call them monks regardless of the gender? she shall be called she-monk until i find out). damn, she can cook. cooks better than most vegetarian restaurants. over dinner, she says that i've lost some weight.... in like 2 days. ooookay. not that i've noticed. but yeah, i'm really exhausted. a lot has been on my mind and the lack of sleep doesn't help. i think i'm turning into an insomniac. it's chinese new year... almost... the air smells of burning incense, the atmosphere kicks ass, i hear firecrackers in the distance, i hear people talking and laughing, everyone is pumped up.... but why do i feel so empty inside? sigh...