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darkchoc
Monday, July 28, 2003
And one parade to brainwash them all...
Most of you have been subjected to my tedious story about how I was born just as the parade was starting and how it’s become a family tradition to have a birthday tea party whilst watching the parade on TV. It’s probably no surprise then that I’ve always wanted to receive NDP tickets as a birthday present. (Yeah, I admit it sounds lame…)
I thought it would be a grand gesture of love if someone queued up for days just to get tickets for me. This admittedly silly and overly romantic notion was blown to bits by my guy friends who said that queuing is for chumps and that smart folks use their military connections to score tickets instead. And that was precisely how my brother-in-law got the tickets to the NDP preview: from his policeman pal who was on guard duty during the parade.
Truth be told, after so many years of not being able to see it “live”, I was losing interest in the whole NDP thing. Isn’t it ironic that only when I didn’t care about it, was when I finally get to attend? But maybe it was precisely because I was losing interest that the powers-that-be felt I should go. The NDP sure did an excellent job of re-instilling nationalistic pride and fervor in me. (There’s a Singapore flag on my bedside table…) I swear it’s all a government conspiracy!
Anyway, I arrived at the National Stadium in the middle of the cheesy cheering segment. All I could think of was how similar everything was to the marches held by the Third Reich, the Red Guard and so on. But the mood was infectious and I was soon clapping in tune with everyone else. (See brain go bye-bye!)
My favorite part of NDP is the actual parade of the various military and civilian contingents. It’s nice to see them march in formation and go through all the rituals like saluting arms and what not. Am I weird to like such things? Maybe I have a military fetish, because the rest of the dancing/singing segments sure bored me to tears… I remember the last time I was at an NDP, I couldn’t stop looking at the tanks as they drove away from the stadium and my Dad had to remind me to watch the dancers on the field.
What else? The fireworks were awesome, even though it was not the full spread. The funpack came with a think wad of discount coupons. (The next time I see you guys, I’ll let you have some.) And I saw Dr Henry Yeung from the Geog Dept, who was there with his wife and daughter (Kay).
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