NDP '06

i just caught the national day parade on tv, and i think this year's parade seemed to feel much shorter than previous years. it's probably the performances, which were being cut down or something. or maybe it's just me. afterall, the duration's still the same. but whatever it is, i liked that it seemed shorter. less is more.

this year's pre-ndp spirit seemed to be much quieter also. i dont recall seeing the national day song being played on tv as much as previous years(just look as last year. rui en and taufik almost drove me crazy with their catchy tune). which makes sense since most people around me didnt even know who Kaira Gong(is that her name?) was. Neither did i. but now i do. she's the girl who sang at the parade. that's what i'm going to remember her by. she seemed pretty sweet though. a pretty likeable image.

ALTHOUGH, i did catch a glimpse of her coming in too early before it was cue for the second verse...and yet, no sound came out of the mic. chill. i'm not going to make a big fuss out of it. it's not like we dont know they lip-sync at every parade. hah.

it's kinda sad to know that the national stadium's going to be pulled down. afterall, it is the NATIONAL STADIUM. it's singapore's stadium. pulling it down is like taking away part of singapore's history. i've been to the stadium umpteen times. i watched the parades a few years in a row there some years back.

and let's admit it. even the most anti-singapore person would feel different when he's there. watching the parade with thousands of other fellow singaporeans, you'll feel a sense of pride, a sense of harmony, a sense of belonging. you'll cheer when the free-fallers land. you'll do the kallang wave when the hosts tells you to. you'll say the pledge when the whole stadium stands up. you'll scream and sing when the fireworks are being shot up to the sky. and best of all, you'll dig and dig the goodie bag until it's all emptied out, making sure that you get everything that everyone else has. now that's being singaporean.

and then you'll go back to work or school the next day complaining about how the government makes life difficult for us and how singapore's so stressful and blah, blah, blah. but deep down inside, you KNOW there's is a little bit of patriotism somewhere. it's true. and hey, coming from me especially, you better believe it.

patriotic or not(there're less than 15 households who hang the national flag outside their homes in my block ,i think), there's one thing that i cant do. if watching singapore idol is being patriotic, then yikes. *coughs* too bad "RockStar: Supernova" and "Singapore Idol" falls on the same day, at the same time. i cant help it. HEH. which reminds me, i absolutely loved Magni's accoustic performance tonight. it was awesome.

remember that issue that's been affecting me? i think it's been solved. at least for a while. i'm happier. exams are approaching, and that sucks, but this issue's settled. seriously, a HUGE sigh of relief.

happy 41st.