National Day: A Joyous Celebration

Give some credit to the ice-shooting-air-conditioner that decided to churn out disturbing bits of rusted metal today, for without it giving up, i would have been in my refreshing after-celebration slumber at this unearthly time of the day. 5am. Maybe i shall hurry on to my qigong practice. Whoooooo....Seeeeeeeee....Whooooooo....Seeeeeeeee.....

For all prospective property hunters, pay attention to this fengshui master wannabe. A bedroom with a window facing anywhere near 30 degrees to the West, would be a frying pan in the afternoon, an oven in the evening, and a sauna at night. To capture the most heat, it is recommended to build a large window, cover it with a thin cheap curtain, and install carpets to trap more heat. Place your bed in the sun from 3pm to 6pm for the heater bed effect. Actually, its a great room for the the winter. The warmth that it brings, would save you bucks on heating and keep you comfortable while counting your sheeps. However, THIS IS SINGAPORE! MY HOME! My bluddy hot room. Alas, there is no such thing as winter, autumn and spring. Although, there is always summer for those who claim we do not have the four seasons. We just have one of it for now, till the next ICE AGE.

For those reading this post, I am not a chinese, or a malay or an eurasian. I am a Singaporean. I am writing this because: a) I am proud to be part of this country, b) I am quite waxy (a synonym for "*issed"??) that i can't get to sleep again. Well, my heart hasn't slowed since the celebrations ended, for it wasn't just a celebration for the nation for me, it was a joyous family gathering with a visiting aunt. Aunt Fact: Lives in London since marriage about 10 years ago? I love family gatherings. It helps that every single one of my relatives are the best there ever will be. Except for the 13 year old cousin of mine, he tops the list of "avoid list". Stand too close to him and you will get the familiar "wah, so who's the taller one now?". Of course, it was pure family entertainment everyone enjoyed. I love this family as much as they have loved me. I shall dedicate more family talk to another blog.

As some of us sat down and watch the NDP (National Day Parade) live on television, the other uncles started to move downstairs for a catch-up game of Mahjong. Maybe its an overdose of NDP parade: sky diving, singing of song, marching in of contingents, singing of song, ministers arrive, singing of song........more singing of songs, FIREWORKS....and to end it all... Singing of songs. Catch my friend's post on acswo.blogspot.com for a better discription, for i do not have the command of language that would justify the tremendous effort put up by thousands of people. Yea, i do think that the NDP is a great idea, no matter how much the cost is. A cousin of mine did sugget we do away with the NDP, save the money and logistical headaches it would cause. But to me, the NDP is a great way of celebrating our nation's birth. You've just got to be there to experience it, to actually appreciate every detail that happens on the screen.

I was part of the contingent in NDP 1999. We guys had to perform the bayonet fighting in front of the VIPs. The practice started near January. From then onwards, it was "Haiyah!...Haiyah!" daily till the big day. We trained from one camp to another as we were joined by other platoons from other units. It was tiring, ugly and stupid. To be commanded by immature sergeants made it the best experience i could ever get out of NS. But hey, on hindsight, i guess i might have done the same too. NOT. I was a little rebel myself. I didn't like to be taught by an incompetent, favour-the-rich bunch of crap. I didn't want to learn my steps, and had to be given extra training. (Other than that, i'm pretty nice. =P)

Practicing on all my sundays, withholding me from going out with my friends, was just as great. It was pure torture, to say the least, to be unable to hang out with a great bunch of friends. Wats more, we spent the whole day waiting and waiting for our turn. It took a whole 30 min or more just to get from the waiting area to the inside of the stadium to wait yet again. Before that, however, we had to put on our makeup. I never knew green was the 'in' colour, but at least they come in various shades this season. "Cover all parts of your body. Don't forget the back of your hands, your nails and your neck." Nice. Why not i change my name to Mr Froggie.

So you see, NDP is rather crap. Its a waiting game, a waste of time, the same thing over and over again.

9th of August. The final day arrived. Lets cut things short. It was ALL WORTH IT. Just standing in the stadium itself was a pure rush. Imagine thousands of people stareing down at ya from all angles. Jets flying pass over your head, cannon explosions and the cheers from every single class of Singaporeans. To add a personal touch to the NDP, i decided to perform my personal stunt too! (Shh...).

In a moment, it was over. Watching the fireworks from the back of an SBS bus wasn't that fantastic thanks to the clean and GREEN Singapore but it was ALL WORTH IT.

To end it all, Singapore has given me the best and the worst times of my life. As long as the army does not piss me off further, i would definitely love to build my family on this cute little spotty island. and NO. singapore is NOT in china or hongkong.

HAPPY 39th BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE! May you start scraping the army idea soon. =P

*the blogger went to sleep, fixed the aircon, photostated his certs, wrote his resume, and watched some anime in this time. If the blog seems cut short, it probably is. SLeep is the priority today! *