Tag: national day

“You shouldn’t push yourself too hard.  You are still recovering,” said TK over MSN.  That particular week, I was resting and working from home most of the time.  That particular Saturday, my friend Mark has invited me to accompany him for a photo shooting session.  By the seaside overlooking the floating platform, where the rehearsal of the National Day Parade took place.  I’ve made a promise that as soon as he gets hold of the right gears, we would go for a night shooting.  Mark chose fireworks; and fireworks it was then.

I seldom shot fireworks and I certainly cannot measure myself up to Mark’s enthusiasm.  That day, he reserved a spot for us along the Nicoll Highway 2 to 3 hours before the fireworks took place.  I, on the other hand, turned up half an hour before the fireworks began.  Nearly missed the shot had the traffic jam was any worse.

According to Scott Kelby, I should bring my zoom lens for some tight shots.  If I was shooting fireworks at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, it probably would have worked better.  In Singapore, we are pretty close to the action.  So, a zoom lens seems to be a bit too long.  Mark has done a much better job.  Check out his.  I really suck at shooting fireworks.  Like I said to Mark (and he disagrees), each photographer works within a certain set of genres.  I have a lot more patience shooting animals in the dark.  Or even the moon.  And I have better connection with nature’s creations or monuments that stand or will likely to stand the test of time.  My analogy is that I can comfortably write a piece of music in the Alternative Rock genre.  But I don’t think I can ever write a Jazz or Country song.

Below are some of the shots taken on July 25th (Facebook readers please view original post at my website).  It all happened so fast!  3 or 4 minutes was all it took for the 2 settings.  Each setting I reckon was a 1 minute of fireworks display.  When it was all over, Mark asked if I wanted to do it again for the next rehearsal.

Hmmm.  Maybe not.  And for the fireworks lovers, do drop by Hong Kong during the New Year period (Jan 2nd I think), July 1 National Day, or Chinese New Year.  Hong Kong has the mother of all fireworks I have seen so far.

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Ahead of my country mates’ entries, which I am sure you will see hundreds and thousands starting in the next 1 or 2 hours’ time, happy birthday Singapore!  I know my accent often confuses people.  And believe it or not, some friends of mine despite this “open secret” of I being a Singaporean still think that I hold a blue IC.  No.  I am pink.  I am very pink.  As pink as my IC can be.

For this National Day, I am thinking of doing something slightly different.  Having lived in Singapore for 14 years and have become a Citizen since 1998, below are the frequently asked questions when I told people that I hold a pink IC.

What happen to your Hong Kong Citizenship?  Do you need to give it away?

First, Hong Kong is not a country.  For those who are born in Hong Kong after WWII and before 1997, we are born as a British Subject.  What it means is that we had the right to reside in the then-British colony called Hong Kong.  That’s about it.  In short, we – or at least how I see it – are born with no country, and no religion.  Was I happy to toss the British Subject status away?  I was indifferent.

Were you running away from 1997?  The return of Hong Kong to China?

Not really.  I didn’t think that with such a strong economic establishment, China would want to tear it apart.  The Basic Law was enacted way before 1997.  While I wasn’t entirely bought into China’s promise on “50 years of life remains as it is (in Hong Kong)”, I saw this return to motherland part of a bigger plan to unify Macau and maybe eventually Taiwan.  So, was I running away from anything?  No.  In retrospect, I think China has done a pretty good job to Hong Kong and Macau so far.  It helps when China is rising, a trend as predicted a decade or two ago.

Ain’t you glad that you don’t need to do National Service?

It’s hard to say.  If I was born and grew up in Singapore, I would just do it like the rest.  But as a first generation immigrant who has passed the age of enlistment, I am not sure if I would be thrilled to do NS (however if I could bring my camera and blog about what I experience …).

But I guess we all do nation building one way or another.  And I always joke to my friends that those 2 years and more of working with the MINDEF as an external consultant shuttling between the military camps is my very own way of doing NS.  Sir, yes sir!

Why Singapore?

I chose this region because I love its diverse cultures.  I chose Singapore as my home because there is no other place I’d rather be living in for long term.  I haven’t lived in Africa or South America yet.  So my view may change.  But for now, I am still happy with that decision I made 11 years ago.

Would you return to Hong Kong or migrate to another country?

Probably not Hong Kong because Cynthia can’t speak Chinese.  And my sister has married my buddy in Singapore, most of my friends are from Singapore, I am pretty much rooted here.

I guess my question is: How long can I afford to live in Singapore?  The other day, I was asking my Singaporean friend how much I need to survive in Singapore.  She tossed me some six-figure numbers judging at my current lifestyle (because I said I want to retire now … ha ha ha) and it was kind of depressing.  Jokes aside, the government’s message is clear: We shall remain as productive for as long as we can.  I read those news of sixty odd seventy odd years old people still happily working.  For me, I don’t think I want to work for money till that age.  I reckon I will have many ways to keep myself productive.  Will I have enough money to live in Singapore looking at the rising cost of living or will I have a much better quality of life elsewhere with the finite amount of savings I have?  I have no clue.  I need to do some serious calculation first.

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It all happens so fast.  Time to celebrate Singapore National Day again.

PS. Because of this National Day entry, my usual Spanish holiday photo entry will possibly be postponed by 1 day (Aug 10).  Thank you for your understanding.

If someone was to ask me couple of years ago how I felt about National Day Parade (NDP) as a first generation immigrant, frankly speaking, I could only connect at that symbolic level. Not that being symbolic diminishes the importance of the event. Quite the contrary, the power of something as symbolic as a country’s flag and the image of her leader raise emotion and brings hope to the citizens. Question reminds: how can I get connected to even this symbolic level as an immigrant?

I was born as a British Subject and brought up in an environment when people worship money as God. I have lived, studied, and worked in various different countries excluding my tour destinations (in chronicle order) – Hong Kong, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Singapore, United States, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Mauritius. There is no perfect world. However, whenever I returned to Singapore after an overseas trip before I took up the citizenship, I always felt at home. And still am. There are many things that Singapore is not. For me, I love what Singapore is. And I have accepted what Singapore is, is not, and her past as one single package. No one has asked me to be a citizen. When I have counted exactly 2 years of stay from my passport (I had many business trips back then), I headed to the then SIR building on the next day with all my papers ready – alone – and sent in my application. Now you see why I have no problem in connecting to this symbolic level from day one.

In the past couple of years, I have had the honor and opportunity to work with the Singapore Armed Force (SAF) in the capacity of an external consultant. I have visited units across the three services and met with officers from the ground to the top. SAF Officers are all humans, of course, just like you and I. They all have their worries and concerns (like the early retirement at 45 that was not what they signed up for), some may wonder what the non-military jobs are like for them, but they do share a strong set of core values that I witnessed throughout my course of work. And it is because of all these great people I have met as well as the people from the unit that leads the NDP effort for the second consecutive year that give me a new perspective on what NDP is about.

NDP is part of nation building. It is also part of the effort to raise image (under the umbrella of “Total Defence” as well as the government) and identity (of citizens) that in turn, links to nation building. By definition, a nation comprises of people who speak the same set of languages, culture, and history living in a particular area under the same government. And it is what NDP is about – people. It is because tickets are not sold but rather distributed, at the preview, I have seen the very young and the very old. I have seen people from all walks of life. To me, it was as though we have taken a small portion of Singapore – be it as people, or the Total Defence force, or our military assets, or our government – and put it into one area for this special celebration that people all connect with one another. But that was not all. As the event of the actual day will be broadcast nationwide, viewers from home will be joining the celebration as well.

A lot of people have put in a lot of hard work to make it happen. My heartfelt thanks to all of them. Is it an event worth celebrating at this scale? Sure it is. It is the founding of our nation. And how would you feel if you have to participate in organising the event including all the previews (extra work on top of your normal work duty and you have to start doing it one year in advance) not just for one year, but two? After the show, I messaged my friend from SAF (who helps organising the event) to thank him for the tickets and told him that I have thoroughly enjoyed the event. His reply was:

Me too. Every show is a wonderful journey of a brand new experience.

I don’t think all who participate in the event actually think like he does. Would have been nice though.

Now, I have actually wanted to include some videos and pictures I have taken into this blog but it will make this blog a bit too long to read. And since I am still in the mist of sorting the videos out, it may take another day or so for me to publish them in my website. But I promise you, the videos and pictures should be out as soon as possible. Thanks for reading and your patience. Staying tuned.

As a first generation immigrant, I am exempted from National Service (NS). In the past 3 years with my previous employer, Ministry of Defence was my biggest client. So, I often joked with people that I was serving NS in some ways. My work required me to travel from one base to another meeting different units, different people. Looking back, though colleagues from my current job often ignore my experience with my previous employer and get fixated with my first employer (something to do with reputation I suppose) making me wonder if my past couple of years of working experience has been obliterated from my resume, I enjoyed being able to serve my country as an external consultant. Besides, being a civilian on the military ground has lots of added advantages. Since I don’t have ranks at all (not even like those who have gone through NS) and I don’t wear uniform, the SAF Officers (and Warrant Officers) have treated me very nicely. After all, they all wish to be an exemplar of someone who embraces fully the SAF core values. What better way it is to take the opportunity to raise their image through public commoners like myself?

When I received a phone call from one of the SAF Officers whom I have worked with during lunch, I immediately got into that “Sir, Yes Sir!” mode. Though he is a great friend of mine and has agreed to be a reference for my current employer, formality cannot be bypassed.

After all the introductory conversations such as “Long time no see, Sir. How are you, Sir?”, he popped the following question in all sternness.

“Are you a Singaporean?”

Many thoughts shot pass my mind. What does my country want from me? Some secret high profile high risk tasks that require my expertise? An undercover team to be deployed into East Timor asap? Will I be called into the Pentagon … erm I mean Gombak HQ for briefing just like in the Tom Clancy’s books when Jack Ryan being called in as special consultant to the military?

I took a deep breath with my chest held high and suddenly a familiar sense of patriotism overtook my anxiety and curiosity.

“Yes Sir. I have been a Singapore Citizen since 1998, Sir.”

And he continued, “How would you like a pair of ticket to the preview of National Day Parade?”

You kidding me?! For someone who tears seeing our National Flag flies up in the sky (hang by 3 helicopters during their rehearsal near to the condo I stay), going to watch NDP will kill me … with all that emotions. And the great thing is, it is a preview. Because on the National Day itself, our band has a tradition to jam at my home studio, just like what we did last year. That would have been quite a sacrifice because I have been waiting for months for this jamming session to happen. Everyone are just so busy with their lives.

I really wanted to scream “SIR YES SIR! I WANT THEM BAD SIR!”. Well, in the end I think I did scream due to overwhelming excitement but I cannot make a decision without Cynthia’s consent (part and puzzle of how to sustain a healthy relationship making our decision and not my decision – however symbolic at times). She may not be able to make it and what am I to do with an empty seat? I would rather pass them onto the next couple.

So I replied, “Can I get back to you? I need to give Cynthia a call first.” He asked if I could get back to him soon. I read his mind of course so I replied with a sense of urgency, “I will get back to you within 30 minutes, Sir!”.

He was laughing and said, “You really sound like you are in the military!”

Well, I may have left the military project but a part of me is still inside. When I called him up within 5 minutes, he said he would deliver the tickets to my doorsteps in the evening.

And he did.

I am so honored. Now, stay tune for my NDP Preview write-up. According to him, this coming Preview will be more or less like the actual one and the firework will be no less than 75% of the actual day parade. Man, I am so excited.

Before he drove away from my doorsteps, I frantically asked, “Sir, where is the parade going to be? Is it near Esplanade?”

He smiled, waved at me and said, “Head to Esplanade. You will see the whole army there. You won’t miss it.”

I laughed thinking of “the whole army” and I saluted him as he drove away.

Related Blog Entry: Vidoes And Pictures From The National Day Parade Preview, Enjoy!