Tribute to A Union

It never quite occurred to me that a union of one kind could break up a union of another. I'm still reeling from the sting abandonment brings, which was why I couldn't post this entry sooner. It's like a a papercut, but one that goes much deeper and threatens more serious complications that a mere superficial wound. It took three odd years to build up the chemistry that we have, and two days ago, it counts but numbered days. Time is ticking; sands are shifting. Life must go on. Soothsayers say, "Enjoy it while it lasts". Can't enjoyment be mine to enjoy for longer?

I am sentimental, expressively but rationally sentimental. Can an impending separation not affect me? Even the tin man in the Wizard of Oz felt emotions. How unfortunate that oftentimes, we only begin to treasure what we have when we know it will be taken from us. I wonder how many couples shared solidarity the way we did; we were united in bringing only the best of ourselves and our work to the hundreds and thousands who listened to us. Soothsayers reinforce, "All good things must come to an end". Can't the 'end' come later?

She laboured, she created, she crafted. Yet the 'little princess' understood humility and diplomacy through her delicate and polished manner with people. Her names means 'Queen'; she lived up to it. Her mother must have had great foresight to have bestowed on her such a title. The Queen's reign in this kingdom is about expiring. Soothsayers quip, "A new lady can be found". But I retort, "To find another like her is as the prince who sought far and wide and encountered many possibilities before he found Cinderella whose feet the slipper fit".

This entry is to honour Mahesha Thenabadu - my colleague, my co-host, my lunch partner, my friend. Bidding you adieu and Godspeed. Wishing for you a union that will bring much joy.

Before you leave, make sure to pack drawerfuls of memories containing our foul-ups on air, the "Happy Stupid Days" we had, the corny jokes we shared, and for just allowing each other the space and opportunity to be ourselves, to let our guard down and be who we are on air and off. I'll miss you when you head Down Under, but don't worry about me. Many will rally us on because they say that behind every dark cloud is a silver lining. May that lining never end for you. I won't know if there'll ever be a Cinderella like you, but even if there was one, she'd never be a size 6, love hot chocolate, end her meals half-eaten, have a knack for tiger rolls and know how to sew her own clothes. Thanks for being you, 'Mashabadu'!

It's A Bad Word.

It begins with the letter 'p' and ends with an 'm'. Patriotism is a bad word! It's so bad you wouldn't want to admit it for fear of being mocked at, or as being a supporter of the ruling party. Despite a generally honest and scandal-free government, it seems an unpopular choice to admit we love our government and nation. That is my hypothesis following my recent visit to soak in "The History of Singapore" by the Dim Sum Dollies. There was flag-waving, vernacular tunes and nation-building strains of old. Natural-Lee, there was also a lot of satire that surprising-LEE made it past the MDA. But honest-Lee, it was a bag of fun with the poke and puns performed so splendid-Lee.

Following the show, I texted my brother telling him how much I'd enjoyed the performance, and at some places, driven to feeling warm (not my bum from sitting too long) and patriotic. His reply was in the form of a question - "You know it's satire don't you?"

That prompted me to try to draw a distinction between what makes the fourth day of the seventh month of every year a day of pomp, pageantry and pride for all Americans, and if the ninth of August had the same level of appeal and heart-stoking connection with our very own. Thanks to Fredrik Idestam (NOKIA founder), I conducted a zippy straw poll with a sample size of 18 which I plucked out of my mobile phone. They received this text message from me, the amateur spammer:

Straw Poll! Spontaneous response pls! A, B or C?
(A) I wear patriotism on my sleeve.
(B) I'm proud of my nation but generally silent abt expressing it.
(C) I'm indifferent & besides, isn't 'patriotism' a bad word?

Of the 15 responses received within 101 minutes of the poll being sent out (as you can tell, 'spontaneity' is subjective with the first response flying back in under 2 minutes! Tks UCN - the NSF who designed the stunning floating stage for this year's NDP!), here were the results:
Option A = 6 votes, Option B = 7 votes, Option C = 1 vote
- The vote of the lone respondent who picked Option C was disqualified because investigations revealed he is a citizen of the north. In no way am I saying his answer wasn't an honest one, but incorporating his response would have skewed the findings since the survey was towards unravelling Singaporean sentiments.
- One forward-looking respondent said his nation was the 'Kingdom of God', to which I replied asking him for his response in relation to THIS earth-LEE kingdom, the here and now.
- There was another who was presumably undecided and picked a fictitious option. In local elections, it's called a Spoilt Vote.

Ahead of the nation's party, I'm comforted the results don't paint an embarrassing revelation I'd been expecting.

So where will I be on National Day 2007? I might just be enjoying VIP viewing from a friend's office fronting Marina Bay where all the live action is to take place, with a plasma tv beside for close-ups. Bring out the food, pop the champagne and let the celebrations begin!!! There....can 'patriotism' actually be such a bad word? I think it's a blessing to say one's patriotic because it's a recognition and an acknowledgement that God's blessed our land and has done great things for us, whereof we are glad!

070707 Re-scheduled

To get married on this very day had crossed my mind. Just as I've told friends I'd throw a birthday celebration (which isn't an annual event) on '090909' where I'd be at the prime of life or smack at mid-life, getting hitched and walking down the aisle would be wonderful with a magical perfect-sounding string of numbers like '070707'. Had I followed my head, I'd have been the 773rd solemnisation to have taken place today all across this tiny island.

Got home not very long ago from Jacob's wedding at church. Simple and sweet. The early morning rains surely brought down the temperature for what would be sweat-inducing affairs around midday. But it turned out well for the handsome couple, Jacob & Rebekah. And may the Lord bless their union richly hereon forth.

Torn between their wedding banquet and another childhood friend's invitiation to his, I chose the latter as I'd missed Kam Wai's (aka David) solemnisation at the Armenian Church - the same pretty premises Cheryl & Thomas had made their vows and released colourful balloons filled with messages into the air. Thanks to overhanging tree branches, my balloon never made it further than two storeys! Perhaps my written wish should've been for balloons to have unobstructured passage to the sky! But it's a joy seeing baby Claire growing up well. She sometimes comes to church with her grandparents.

Tomorrow, Dorcas and I sling our bags over our shoulders and play the role of postman. The cards will begin to find their way to their rightful owners whose names we've written on the envelopes. Names of people who've blessed us, whom God has brought into our lives to enrich it with meaningful relationships. People whom we'd love to celebrate with on the impending joyous day.

Ahead of the day the bells ring, the petals thrown and the vows taken, Chris from Agapella offered to snap pre-wedding shots of us in casuals since we weren't taking bridal photos before the day. Interestingly, Chris' fulltime occupation (pre-ocupation?) is with food. He prepares them, minces them, fries and bakes them, kneads and knots them and also snaps them. Am I to assume he thought we looked delicious enough for a photoshoot? Appetite-aside, Chris is truly a wizard of a shutterbug. His amazing work with Junyan's (former Agapella member) Lord of The Rings-themed wedding photos were incredible.

With this entry are 2 samples of shots he took of Dorcas & I recently at our shoot that covered four locations in four hours. We can't wait to see the rest on '190807'! Thanks Chris!