My family rarely plays mahjong, and I’m lousy at it. We have a saying in Chinese calling slow mahjong players “station chiefs” (站長) because the game stops every time it’s their turn, and they take forever to fiddle with their tiles, figuring out what to discard. I definitely fall into that category.

But that has not stopped me from adding good omens to my fingertips. I found cute nail stickers of the three suits (Characters 萬子, Bamboo 索子, Dots 筒子) and other loose mahjong tiles (中發白) online that would save my manicurist the nightmare of drawing any of them. Since the tiles came in the primary colours red, green and blue, we added matching borders and gold flecks for an extra dash of bling.

These nails may have been my flashiest set yet, and any serious mahjong player will tell you these misfits are useless in any practical game (they don’t even fit into the 13 Orphans). But I won’t deny they were good for laughs and super fun while they lasted.

Here’s to lots of luck and joy for your Chinese New Year!

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