NDP 2013 Rehearsal

Last weekend, after visiting the Art Science Museum to see the "Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb" exhibition, we were also able to observe part of this year's National Day Parade rehearsal.

It may just be a rehearsal, but was there a crowd! Not just at the grandstand of the floating platform where the parade was, but also the bridge link to Marina Bay Sands and the area around the Marina Bay reservoir.

While we couldn't see what was happening on the floating platform itself, we were able to see other aspects of the rehearsal. Like the Red Lions parachuting down.

The spectacular display by the navy's and coast guard's boats.

It is quite innovative, but we put the artillery on barges and made them practise the 21-gun salute floating on the water.

I have seen the national flag being flown on the helicopter a few times, from various angles (the most recent one before this being from seaward...) but this is the first time I got to see it up close.

And we saw the bomb burst by the Black Knights over the iconic Marina Bay Sands.

And the F-15s treated us to a sonic boom.

At the end of it, as we were walking away, my son started crying. When asked what's wrong, he said he was very touched. Very touched by the display, and now he understands what Singapore's birthday is about.

Wow! Talk about the success of national education.

"Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb" exhibition in Singapore

The British Museum, through the Art Science Museum, is holding this exhibition called "Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb" here in Singapore.

For those who have seen the exhibits at the British Museum, the one being shown in Singapore is not worth the S$13 (for Singapore residents; otherwise, it costs S$15 for an adult). The only real content is the 3D show, which isn't really much. The rest of the exhibition is a short walk with lots of space, few exhibits, and small words that everyone is crowding around to try and read.

But if you haven't had the chance to visit the British Museum before, well, this is better than nothing.

Taking care of my son

Two weeks ago, my wife had to go overseas to attend a workshop, and I was left to take care of my son for 6 days.

While I have taken care of him in the past without my wife around, it was only for a few hours each time. So a period of 6 days was a first. Somehow, we both managed to pull through.

It was a tiring 6 days. But it was fun too. We watched "Monsters University" and "Despicable Me 2" together, played in the swimming pool twice, and went to attend his enrichment class together. We had fast food, local food, even instant noodles by me. We went for my taiji and pushing hands class together, where he would keep himself occupied with his toys and drawing/writing on pieces of paper that I would bring along. We also went to walk around the shopping malls together (okay, this was part of the movie deal...) and explore the Lorong Halus wetlands.

It was great bonding time for father and son. It also taught me to appreciate what my wife does, day in and day out. Between juggling the household chores (yes, someone needs to wash the clothes and keep the house clean, and that's me while my wife wasn't around) and making sure that we are all fed, much of the remaining time was sucked up watching over my son. Yes, he can play on his own, but you never know when he is going to grow bored or need something. So trying to get anything done can be challenging; the only real time that I could use to get some work done was the 3 hours each weekday morning when he was in school.

Being a stay-home mom is a big sacrifice, a tiring job. Still, people do it, even without a salary, because of love. My salute to stay-home moms, and the biggest salute to my wife!

Ah Boys to Men 1 and 2

Finally, months after they have been released, I have managed to watch "Ah Boys to Men" and "Ah Boys to Men 2".

This is actually a single movie, shown in two parts. It is about a journey that every Singaporean son goes through, that of basic military training. It is a show close to heart, because of the common experiences about basic military training that it touches on. The shaving of heads, the bunk inspection, field camp, road march, rites such as rifle presentation, foot drills, and the moment when all these end - the passing out parade.

The initial part of the movie is also heart wrenching, when it shows what happens if we ever get attacked. It is the reason why we all train. The rest of the movie is actually about how young boys grow up together into men. It is interspersed with stories of how basic military training used to be like. My own experience was somewhere in between; not like what it is now, but not as unreasonable as the "flashbacks".

In the end, it is about what motivates us. Why do we serve? It is about love for one's family, for one's country.

This is a movie that Singaporean males who have been through national service will understand. For those who do not have these experiences, it may be harder to understand the jokes, the stories, but it is still an enjoyable movie.

Goodbye, old home

After more than 20 years, my mother has decided to move out from the old house.

It is a nice, quite neighbourhood, though a bit inconvenient since it is quite a walk from public transport and shops. Still, it was the house in which I spent my teenage years, and a few years of my married life. So there are lots of memories to do with the house too.


This artificial waterfall was actually built by my father. So I have posted it to cyberspace, hoping to keep the memory alive.

"It's not my fault" - Why do we always blame others?

I think it is human nature to blame others for our mistakes, for our failures. When things don't go as we would like them to go, instead of looking at ourselves and asking if we had done what we could, if we had done our best, we tend to blame it on the weather, blame it on supernatural forces, blame it on others for not doing their parts, blame it on superstitions that are no more than old wives' tales.

"It's not my fault." How many times have we heard this? How many times have we said this? But is it really not our own fault? Have we really thought about it before we said it? Was it really luck? Was it really that superstition? Was it really because our teammates didn't do their bit?

Or was it really because we don't want to know the answer? Was it because we don't want to take responsibility? Was it because we are afraid of admitting that we are not as good as we thought we were? Was it because we are afraid to face reality?

Are we really afraid of forces beyond us? Or are we just using them as an excuse for our shortcomings, our incompetence, our laziness? Are things really beyond our control? Or are we just not trying hard enough?

Something worth fighting for

My wife and I were chatting, and we got to this topic about determination, about fighting spirit, about drive to push through difficulty, etc.

It got me thinking, why do we fight? Why do we push on even when faced with difficulties?

We fight because there is something worth fighting for. There is something that we believe in, something important, something that we want to protect. It can be a dream, an ideal, our loved ones.

There is always something worth fighting for. Have you found your reason yet?

Remembering our dreams

All of us have dreams, if we work hard enough, our dreams will come true.

How many of us remember our childhood dreams? How many are still working on those dreams? How many are living different dreams? How many have fulfilled their dreams?

And not just about ourselves. What about our dreams for Singapore? What were our dreams for our Singapore? Have we been making progress towards fulfilling those dreams? Have the dreams changed?

Do we still share the Singapore dream?

The video below was aired in 1990, although the song was first written a few years before that. I still remember the video, and seeing it again brings back many memories, of childhood dreams, of schooling days, of inspiring teachers. It brings tears to my eyes.



Count On Me Singapore

We have a vision for tomorrow, just believe, just believe
We have a goal for Singapore, we can achieve, we can achieve
You and me, we'll do our part, stand together, heart to heart
We're going to show the world what Singapore can be
We can achieve, we can achieve

There is something down the road that we can strive for
We are told no dream's too bold that we can't try for
There's a spirit in the air, it's a feeling we all share
We're going to build a better life, for you and me
We can achieve, we can achieve

Count on me Singapore, count on me to give my best and more
You and me, we'll do our part, stand together, heart to heart
We're going to show the world what Singapore can be
We can achieve, we can achieve

Chorus:
Count on me Singapore, Count on me Singapore
Count on me to give my best and more, count on me Singapore

( Repeat Chorus )

Together Singapore Singapore ( X 2 )

Got the Lenovo Ideapad Y500

Old news... but just to let everyone know, I got the Lenovo Ideapad Y500 at the recent (okay, not so recent) computer fair (early June).

It was a good deal. First, it was the new Y500, which came with a Nvidia GT750M (2GB) instead of the GT650M. And, it came with a second GT750M (2GB) that could be slotted in to make it a dual graphics card setup using SLi. Plus the dealer gave me a DVD drive and an additional CPU fan (both are interchangeable with the second graphics card). So I get to choose if I need extra graphics processing, a DVD drive, or just keeping the computer cool. Most of the time, I just use the DVD drive.

Another deal was the RAM upgrade to 16GB. That's 8GB on top of the original setup of 8GB.

What made me really want this was the full HD display of 1920x1080 pixels. That's a sharper screen with a lot more real estate on a 15.6" screen.

And... I managed to get Windows 8 running together with Linux Mint 15. :) That made my day.