9 August 2005
HaPpy BiRtHDaY SiNgaPoRE!
Last year this day... It's interesting to note, that on this day last year, I wrote many entries as well... Ha.
10 August 2004, 03:29 [NDP 2004]
National Day Parade 2004... I was there, as one of the spectators.
My day began at about 1pm, when I woke up to have lunch. I managed to talk to some friends online, got ready and left the house at 2.40pm. Yup, with my red OP t-shirt, my berms, my sandals and my black sling bag.
I met my friend at Queenstown MRT Station and we headed down to Kallang MRT Station, in a train with quite a few other people wearing red as well. We were quite early... and already there was quite a crowd. A short walk led us to the bus area where we queued up for a ride to the National Stadium in the free shuttle buses.
This process reminded me of my days in the army, when my platoon was in charged of the boarding area as well as the buses. Nice memories... heart warming ones. Memories of us ushering the public onto the buses when it was raining heavily and we had no form of protection from the rain. We were all drenched... totally drenched. Some people even offered their umbrellas.
A short ride was all it took for us to reach the stadium. We walked up the steps of the main entrance of the stadium, collected our goodie bags and proceeded to the seats. It was quite a hot afternoon... and the sun was shining directly in our direction.
It's always very interesting to notice how obedient Singaporeans are. It can easily be seen when we were led to the benches. We don't have the choice to choose our own seats and nobody attempted to request for better seats (those with a better view maybe).
We were seated by 3.40pm I think... and there were not many people yet. The bulk of the spectators arrived between 4.30pm to 5.30pm I think. I opened my goodie bag and proceeded to explore its contents. A plastic bag for throwing rubbish, a cap, two bottles of drinks, a packet of Justea, biscuits, some other foodstuffs, a shaker can, a Nokia 3200 shaped torch light, a handheld fan, a handheld "drum" with a mini stick, an NDP booklet, one magazine, some discount coupons, a packet of tissue and even a packet of Sakae Sushi wet towel.
The emcees were still rehearsing and testing the microphones when we reached there and I even got to see how they covered the field with a large piece of canvas. I got to see Lin Junjie rehearse for his item for the night as well :P
There was this word search puzzle in the NDP booklet and my friend and I tried to do it while waiting for time to pass. It was quite a good "time-waster" and it was soon time for the pre-parade segment.
At this point... I would like to stress that there were these policemen who were standing right in front of me for most of the duration of the parade and performances and they really spoilt my view as well as my mood for the day. I had this constant feeling to ask them to squat down or something. It wasn't my choice to sit so near to the aisle.
Ok, the pre-parade segment... a dance to "Let's Get Loud" by the motivators, followed by some talking by the emcees, singing by the combined school choir, School Display Band Performance by Tanjong Katong Secondary School, a Mass Display Performance by Boon Lay Secondary School and lastly, a Total Defence Performance by NCC and NPCC cadets as well as the Civil Defence and the Army. There was the usual parachute spectacular by the Red Lions as well.
The parade... The contingents form up, the arrival of the members of the Parliament, Prime Minister Goh, President S R Nathan, the National Anthem with the Super Pumas, Chinook and the State Flag, the flypast of the supersonic jets, inspection of the Guard-of-Honour with the 21-Gun Salute, the Presidential Drive-Past, the Feu-de-Joie and lastly the March-Past by the Colours Party and the Guard-of-Honour.
I managed to take some pictures of each of the events that happened... I have a picture of President Nathan in the Drive-Past as well. It's quite clear I think. I managed to take a picture of the jet planes as well.
Next, the main show... consisting of 3 parts:
1. Our Home, Our Strength -- with lots of "flowers" and "greenery" in the mass display by the People's Association. Lin Junjie also performed his version of "Home"... a funky and upbeat version
2. Our People, Our Passion -- with lots of balls that rolled down from the top of the stadium and mass display by the Singapore SOKA Association
3. Our Future, Our Hope -- with mass display put up by Telok Kurau and East Spring Secondary School and the NUS Dance Society
A finale with the rendition of "Home" by Kit Chan as well as the fireworks display and a song medley and another round of final fireworks display. My view at the blue sector of the stadium was not that good, and most of the fireworks were blocked by the lighting structures.
A final tribute with a short movie clip for PM Goh who will be stepping down soon... I was quite sad. PM Goh was a really good Prime Minister and he did a lot for Singapore. I suppose it's time for him to take a well deserved rest.
The Kallang Wave... It was done quite a few times during the whole show. A must in every NDP show. This will be the last time the NDP will be held at the National Stadium until it has been rebuilt.
I met my friend and his girlfriend (both of whom are my secondary school friends) after the whole event because they were at the National Day Parade as well. It took quite a while for us to reach Kallang MRT Station given the crowd... more than one hour I think.
A short train journey over to City Hall and we settled down at Cafe Cartel. I ordered a Waffle with chocolate ice-cream, peach slices and caramelised bananas as well as a chocolate milkshake. We ate and had a short chat. We had to leave at 11.35pm because Cafe Cartel was closing and my friend sent me home in his car. A short but appreciated meeting =)
A big thanks to Mr JJ Cheong for his NDP ticket without which the above would not have been possible. Heh :P
Overall, it was quite a nice NDP... except for some minor though irritating stuff like my view being blocked by the policemen. It's good to be living in Singapore =) I'll put up the pictures that I have taken when I'm in the mood... together with the photos from the fireworks display at The Esplanade. Now it's time to rest because school starts tomorrow for me.
9 August 2004, 04:33 [Some thoughts]
The night is late... and sometimes, late timing is a good factor when it comes to putting down thoughts :P
There are three thoughts that I would like to type down. Here goes...
Firstly, about the uniqueness of a person's suffering. Some things that I find quite true... There is no point telling people that there are others who are worse off then them. It doesn't help in anyway, because everyone's suffering is unique. We have to recognise that suffering is unique in order to be able to help in comforting others. Sometimes, just staying with a person when he or she is depressed already helps a lot... much more than telling them that there are worse things in life.
Of course it would be good to think that suffering is essential when it comes to learning or just to accept that it's part and parcel of life. It's not easy to see suffering in a positive light, but doing so will make things seem better. One thing I know, is that viewing suffering in a positive manner lightens the load.
Secondly, about forgetting and moving on. One thing that I myself think is not true, that time can heal everything. I think that time only makes wounds deeper, because it simplifies the relationship and it becomes easier for one to be reminded of past memories. One can never forget... no one ever forgets, the information is stored permanently in the brain.
Yes, one may never forget, but one can put unhappy memories aside and decide to move on. Putting unwanted memories aside is not an easy task, but I personally think that it is the only solution in order to move on in life. Why would a person be willing to allow himself or herself to be stagnant? There is much more to life than suffering and unwanted memories.
Lastly, to live a life without regrets. No matter what I do, I will want to make sure that every decision that I make will be without regrets. I have had enough regrets in life. The mildest of which would be to regret helping people who are not worth helping, just that I hadn't seen it at first.
It's not easy (Ha, I'm seem to be saying that everything is difficult :P) but that's how I would want to live my life. I don't want to allow things to happen now which will end up with me regretting months or even years later. As long as I am accountable to myself, as long as I think will not regret the decisions that I have made, then any decision that I make is justifiable even if others don't feel the same way.
The bottom line is, you only live once... make the best out of life, don't live to regret it.
9 August 2004, 03:12 [9 August 2004]
Happy 39th Birthday Singapore!!
Okie... so the next thing I knew after falling asleep was hearing my handphone's alarm clock ring and drifting back to sleep. I woke up at about 1pm because I had to give tuition to my cousins who had come over.
After two hours of tuition, I bathed and left my house to go down to The Esplanade again. This time, it is to view the fireworks display =) I love fireworks. Heh
My aunt came over to fetch my cousins and thus sent me over to City Hall MRT Station where I met Victor. The both of us then walked over to the bridge leading from The Esplanade to The Fullerton Hotel to join a few of my coursemates who were already there. The time was about 4.45pm in the late afternoon. The fireworks display was to begin at 8.30pm in the evening.
I got to know a few friends of one of my friend, those who were in the same ushering team as him. I also met a friend from BMT who was a friend of my coursemate. Singapore is really a little small. It's easy to find mutual friends :P
After almost 4 hours of waiting under the evening sun and watching the number of people increase at an exponential rate, it was time for the display. There were so many people that even the bridge, which was meant to be travelled upon by cars, was filled with people. I had no idea where all the cars disappeared to. The whole road was filled with people. I'm glad that I had reached there early to be watching the display from quite a good position.
It feels so good to be able to view fireworks live, to be able to see and feel the fireworks at such a close distance. It was simply captivating. I managed to take some pictures of the fireworks but only managed to get one or two really acceptable pictures, out of about 20 that I took. Not too bad considering that I'm not using a tripod.
I shall go and watch next week's fireworks display as well. This week's display was by a Hong Kong team. I think next week's one will be by Singapore. Not so sure... but it doesn't matter because as long as there are fireworks for me to watch, I will be happy :P
I went over to Bras Basah Hawker Centre to have dinner after the fireworks display... All of us ate noodles. The noodles stall is supposed to be quite well known. I think it's quite good. I'm not picky when it comes to food... I cannot tell the difference between good and better. Heh
I'm supposed to have a family gathering tomorrow evening. My friend suddenly had two tickets to the NDP parade because his aunt didn't want them, so I'll be going down to watch the NDP parade live. The first time I'll be watching the parade live on the actual day. The last time I watched it was during one of the NE shows during my army time.
Looking forward to tomorrow or rather, later :P
Ok, today was spent at home... woke up in the early afternoon, didn't do much, watched the National Day Parade on television. Hmmm, I think the program items were quite good this year, at least it's back to the basics. The mobile column was quite boring though :P
No lessons tomorrow... tuition in the evening though.
Last year this day... It's interesting to note, that on this day last year, I wrote many entries as well... Ha.
10 August 2004, 03:29 [NDP 2004]
National Day Parade 2004... I was there, as one of the spectators.
My day began at about 1pm, when I woke up to have lunch. I managed to talk to some friends online, got ready and left the house at 2.40pm. Yup, with my red OP t-shirt, my berms, my sandals and my black sling bag.
I met my friend at Queenstown MRT Station and we headed down to Kallang MRT Station, in a train with quite a few other people wearing red as well. We were quite early... and already there was quite a crowd. A short walk led us to the bus area where we queued up for a ride to the National Stadium in the free shuttle buses.
This process reminded me of my days in the army, when my platoon was in charged of the boarding area as well as the buses. Nice memories... heart warming ones. Memories of us ushering the public onto the buses when it was raining heavily and we had no form of protection from the rain. We were all drenched... totally drenched. Some people even offered their umbrellas.
A short ride was all it took for us to reach the stadium. We walked up the steps of the main entrance of the stadium, collected our goodie bags and proceeded to the seats. It was quite a hot afternoon... and the sun was shining directly in our direction.
It's always very interesting to notice how obedient Singaporeans are. It can easily be seen when we were led to the benches. We don't have the choice to choose our own seats and nobody attempted to request for better seats (those with a better view maybe).
We were seated by 3.40pm I think... and there were not many people yet. The bulk of the spectators arrived between 4.30pm to 5.30pm I think. I opened my goodie bag and proceeded to explore its contents. A plastic bag for throwing rubbish, a cap, two bottles of drinks, a packet of Justea, biscuits, some other foodstuffs, a shaker can, a Nokia 3200 shaped torch light, a handheld fan, a handheld "drum" with a mini stick, an NDP booklet, one magazine, some discount coupons, a packet of tissue and even a packet of Sakae Sushi wet towel.
The emcees were still rehearsing and testing the microphones when we reached there and I even got to see how they covered the field with a large piece of canvas. I got to see Lin Junjie rehearse for his item for the night as well :P
There was this word search puzzle in the NDP booklet and my friend and I tried to do it while waiting for time to pass. It was quite a good "time-waster" and it was soon time for the pre-parade segment.
At this point... I would like to stress that there were these policemen who were standing right in front of me for most of the duration of the parade and performances and they really spoilt my view as well as my mood for the day. I had this constant feeling to ask them to squat down or something. It wasn't my choice to sit so near to the aisle.
Ok, the pre-parade segment... a dance to "Let's Get Loud" by the motivators, followed by some talking by the emcees, singing by the combined school choir, School Display Band Performance by Tanjong Katong Secondary School, a Mass Display Performance by Boon Lay Secondary School and lastly, a Total Defence Performance by NCC and NPCC cadets as well as the Civil Defence and the Army. There was the usual parachute spectacular by the Red Lions as well.
The parade... The contingents form up, the arrival of the members of the Parliament, Prime Minister Goh, President S R Nathan, the National Anthem with the Super Pumas, Chinook and the State Flag, the flypast of the supersonic jets, inspection of the Guard-of-Honour with the 21-Gun Salute, the Presidential Drive-Past, the Feu-de-Joie and lastly the March-Past by the Colours Party and the Guard-of-Honour.
I managed to take some pictures of each of the events that happened... I have a picture of President Nathan in the Drive-Past as well. It's quite clear I think. I managed to take a picture of the jet planes as well.
Next, the main show... consisting of 3 parts:
1. Our Home, Our Strength -- with lots of "flowers" and "greenery" in the mass display by the People's Association. Lin Junjie also performed his version of "Home"... a funky and upbeat version
2. Our People, Our Passion -- with lots of balls that rolled down from the top of the stadium and mass display by the Singapore SOKA Association
3. Our Future, Our Hope -- with mass display put up by Telok Kurau and East Spring Secondary School and the NUS Dance Society
A finale with the rendition of "Home" by Kit Chan as well as the fireworks display and a song medley and another round of final fireworks display. My view at the blue sector of the stadium was not that good, and most of the fireworks were blocked by the lighting structures.
A final tribute with a short movie clip for PM Goh who will be stepping down soon... I was quite sad. PM Goh was a really good Prime Minister and he did a lot for Singapore. I suppose it's time for him to take a well deserved rest.
The Kallang Wave... It was done quite a few times during the whole show. A must in every NDP show. This will be the last time the NDP will be held at the National Stadium until it has been rebuilt.
I met my friend and his girlfriend (both of whom are my secondary school friends) after the whole event because they were at the National Day Parade as well. It took quite a while for us to reach Kallang MRT Station given the crowd... more than one hour I think.
A short train journey over to City Hall and we settled down at Cafe Cartel. I ordered a Waffle with chocolate ice-cream, peach slices and caramelised bananas as well as a chocolate milkshake. We ate and had a short chat. We had to leave at 11.35pm because Cafe Cartel was closing and my friend sent me home in his car. A short but appreciated meeting =)
A big thanks to Mr JJ Cheong for his NDP ticket without which the above would not have been possible. Heh :P
Overall, it was quite a nice NDP... except for some minor though irritating stuff like my view being blocked by the policemen. It's good to be living in Singapore =) I'll put up the pictures that I have taken when I'm in the mood... together with the photos from the fireworks display at The Esplanade. Now it's time to rest because school starts tomorrow for me.
9 August 2004, 04:33 [Some thoughts]
The night is late... and sometimes, late timing is a good factor when it comes to putting down thoughts :P
There are three thoughts that I would like to type down. Here goes...
Firstly, about the uniqueness of a person's suffering. Some things that I find quite true... There is no point telling people that there are others who are worse off then them. It doesn't help in anyway, because everyone's suffering is unique. We have to recognise that suffering is unique in order to be able to help in comforting others. Sometimes, just staying with a person when he or she is depressed already helps a lot... much more than telling them that there are worse things in life.
Of course it would be good to think that suffering is essential when it comes to learning or just to accept that it's part and parcel of life. It's not easy to see suffering in a positive light, but doing so will make things seem better. One thing I know, is that viewing suffering in a positive manner lightens the load.
Secondly, about forgetting and moving on. One thing that I myself think is not true, that time can heal everything. I think that time only makes wounds deeper, because it simplifies the relationship and it becomes easier for one to be reminded of past memories. One can never forget... no one ever forgets, the information is stored permanently in the brain.
Yes, one may never forget, but one can put unhappy memories aside and decide to move on. Putting unwanted memories aside is not an easy task, but I personally think that it is the only solution in order to move on in life. Why would a person be willing to allow himself or herself to be stagnant? There is much more to life than suffering and unwanted memories.
Lastly, to live a life without regrets. No matter what I do, I will want to make sure that every decision that I make will be without regrets. I have had enough regrets in life. The mildest of which would be to regret helping people who are not worth helping, just that I hadn't seen it at first.
It's not easy (Ha, I'm seem to be saying that everything is difficult :P) but that's how I would want to live my life. I don't want to allow things to happen now which will end up with me regretting months or even years later. As long as I am accountable to myself, as long as I think will not regret the decisions that I have made, then any decision that I make is justifiable even if others don't feel the same way.
The bottom line is, you only live once... make the best out of life, don't live to regret it.
9 August 2004, 03:12 [9 August 2004]
Happy 39th Birthday Singapore!!
Okie... so the next thing I knew after falling asleep was hearing my handphone's alarm clock ring and drifting back to sleep. I woke up at about 1pm because I had to give tuition to my cousins who had come over.
After two hours of tuition, I bathed and left my house to go down to The Esplanade again. This time, it is to view the fireworks display =) I love fireworks. Heh
My aunt came over to fetch my cousins and thus sent me over to City Hall MRT Station where I met Victor. The both of us then walked over to the bridge leading from The Esplanade to The Fullerton Hotel to join a few of my coursemates who were already there. The time was about 4.45pm in the late afternoon. The fireworks display was to begin at 8.30pm in the evening.
I got to know a few friends of one of my friend, those who were in the same ushering team as him. I also met a friend from BMT who was a friend of my coursemate. Singapore is really a little small. It's easy to find mutual friends :P
After almost 4 hours of waiting under the evening sun and watching the number of people increase at an exponential rate, it was time for the display. There were so many people that even the bridge, which was meant to be travelled upon by cars, was filled with people. I had no idea where all the cars disappeared to. The whole road was filled with people. I'm glad that I had reached there early to be watching the display from quite a good position.
It feels so good to be able to view fireworks live, to be able to see and feel the fireworks at such a close distance. It was simply captivating. I managed to take some pictures of the fireworks but only managed to get one or two really acceptable pictures, out of about 20 that I took. Not too bad considering that I'm not using a tripod.
I shall go and watch next week's fireworks display as well. This week's display was by a Hong Kong team. I think next week's one will be by Singapore. Not so sure... but it doesn't matter because as long as there are fireworks for me to watch, I will be happy :P
I went over to Bras Basah Hawker Centre to have dinner after the fireworks display... All of us ate noodles. The noodles stall is supposed to be quite well known. I think it's quite good. I'm not picky when it comes to food... I cannot tell the difference between good and better. Heh
I'm supposed to have a family gathering tomorrow evening. My friend suddenly had two tickets to the NDP parade because his aunt didn't want them, so I'll be going down to watch the NDP parade live. The first time I'll be watching the parade live on the actual day. The last time I watched it was during one of the NE shows during my army time.
Looking forward to tomorrow or rather, later :P
Ok, today was spent at home... woke up in the early afternoon, didn't do much, watched the National Day Parade on television. Hmmm, I think the program items were quite good this year, at least it's back to the basics. The mobile column was quite boring though :P
No lessons tomorrow... tuition in the evening though.
posted by notsniw at 9:20 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home