It is 3 months after the Chinese New Year and I am just done with editing the photos. I say 3 months is a pretty good improvement as compared to the previous years. °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°
IMAGE HEAVY Loooooooong picture-ful post. Go get your drinks and popcorn while waiting for the images to load. You could even savour your main dish in front of your computer. Those viewing this on your smartphones and other hand held devices, I suggest you skip reading this post till you get home or you might risk jamming your device and cursing at my blog in public. I know my turtle friend did that once minus the cursing in public. =P
~*Pre CNY*~
The Year of The Rooster is my hubby's year (and nope, he isn't 24 years old so figure how OLD he is.)
My MIL who doesn't usually buy chinese zodiac decorations bought rooster CNY decorations for us since it is her son's zodiac year. The boy boy and girl girl chicken with furry tummies are just too cute! I love them and love how festive they made our home look. Now after CNY, they are sitting idly in the cupboard only to be gloriously hung up 12 years later. _へ__(‾◡◝ )>
I looked like I was posing casually with the chicks but check out what went behind the scene. I had to prop myself up on the chair to reach tat level to stick the decoration up. And one of my gal pal who saw the above photo asked me if I was wearing my CNY clothes coz it looked so pink. Well, I was in home clothes -- my VS Love Pink pajamas and FBT shorts. LOL.
Presenting my CNY 2017 nails to welcome the year of the Rooster! Because roosters are not that cute in general, I decided to do a baby rooster instead. I asked the nail artist to modify from a chick nail art and had its hair replaced by the red lines for a baby rooster. 🐔🐓🐣🐥
I did my CNY2017 nails way early as I couldn't stand the ickiness of how long the Christmas nails had grown with the edges flipping up. But after doing so much housework, my CNY nails are starting to show signs of colour lightening at the edges.
After moving to our new home, my OCD nature peaked. I'm constantly cleaning the house largely because of Miyo too. Her fur is too soft and smooth that when they shed, they float everywhere, contributing to 90% of the dust and dirt in the home.
Here are 19 out of 26 household tasks checked! I was surprised by how much the hubz and I could do over the last weekend before CNY and how much we could accomplish when we divide and conquer. Although we did not complete all the tasks, we felt proud of ourselves and had an enjoyable time having people visit our home.
The kitchen counter looked so festive with all the goodies, a nice basket of mandarin oranges and a silly mascot cat who seemed to think it is HER YEAR.
"This is my chilling place ok?"
"Humans, you do not put 2 mandarin oranges in front of me and make me your CNY mascot."
We did not snap any family photo this year during reunion dinner with the in laws coz it was the first time we were seated outdoor where it was too dark. This was what my FIL snapped.
~*CNY Happenings*~
All decked in maroon for Day 1. I suspect this dress would wind up being my Xmas dress too.
I was also trying to snap my purple, blue and green hair but all the camera could capture was the blue.
When you have an uncooperative cat with a resting bitch face and you just want to take a decent CNY family portrait, you realize that you need to invest in a tripod... or a new cat.
Day 1 would be spent at my family home for lunch. I always LURVE the food that my parents prepare. Yes, both my mum and my dad are good cooks! We had steamboat lunch this year and the soup base is pig stomach soup. They make the best pig stomach soup in the world! We also had the usual CNY dishes like ngor hiang, leek and white-spotted rabbitfish.
As usual, we would have the tradition of taking The Loh Family portrait shots on the sofa and the anigif of various shots on continuous snap timer mode that would follow.
After that, it would be at The Ng Family for the same portrait shot on the sofa and the anigif. Both sofas are getting really old.
（‐＾▽＾‐）
My paternal grandma whom we always find really cute hasn't been doing well these 2 years. She doesn't recognize anyone anymore. I missed this family photo with her while I was paying respects at the in laws' side on Day 1.
(⌯˃̶᷄ ﹏ ˂̶᷄⌯)ﾟ
I forgot which day it was when we had the usual steamboat dinner with the hubz' paternal relatives. I always love all these home cooked Chinese food and kh's eldest uncle and his wife whip up really fabulous home cooked food.
Great home cooked food should be shared.
The best black coffee in the world too!
This pair of yellow birds would come every new year to build their nest at the exact same plant outside kh's uncle's place. I spied a little blue egg in there! So exciting! I guess for a tropical country that does not experience the 4 seasons, this is indeed a tell tale sign of spring's arrival.
A yellow bird also attempted to build a nest on our swing. I wondered if it is the same species of yellow bird. Can you spot the bird and the curious Miyo?
After a good lunch feast, it was dinner feast at my paternal relatives' place. There was a mixture of Chinese and Western food and they were all so delectable too! What a day of lots of good food and family warmth.
Best Japanese sake ever!
There are lots of new addition in this family photo as the younger cousins are all taking their partners along. The youngsters are all growing up and the not so young are all growing old but still keeping our hearts young.
There seemed to be 2 CNY lunches with the the department as one of the day was the actual CNY lunch while another was a CPR workshop day coupled with National Education tour at the Battle Box.
Instead of taking a whole dept shot, we decided this would do when we asked the other table to join in the wefie.
The unofficial 2nd CNY lunch with the dept after our CPR renewal course. We are all certified to perform CPR.
Anywhere also can take photo... Gals... This is in the ladies btw.
The Battlebox tour at Fort Canning may not be cheap but it is worth every cent. This is currently run by a private company and the guides who are volunteers are excellent. If this private company had not stepped out to manage this, the Battlebox would have been closed by the government for the next few years. That would be a huge part of Singapore's history being closed to the public.
After the battlebox tour, a few friends from work headed over to my place to see Miyo and to gamble. What's CNY without some gambling?
The Banker who kept winning sought Prophet Miyo's divine answers.
Everyone loves Miyo even when she has a resting bitch face.
The VIOS decided to replicate the atas CNY BBQ from 2 years back.
Just look at the premium ingredients!
Dot was surprised by the birthday cake for her. Check out the scaredy cat Miyo cowering under the sofa in the last pic. She was freaked out when we switched off all the lights and sang the happy birthday song.
This is what goes on behind the scene when you are the cutest diva RBF cat in the world.
And as the years go by, we continue living young and doing youngish stuff like age didn't matter. Ending off the night with failed 三连拍 which nobody followed and THE silly DAB pose which everyone did!
The last CNY gathering was the Hubz and his uni frenz' annual mahjong gathering. That was the first time we had it at our new place coz everyone wanted to see Miyo too.
The boys plan to take a shot like this for the next few years to come until everyone becomes old uncle and old grandpa. °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°
And we deep fried for the first time in our open concept kitchen coz everyone had craving for luncheon meat fries for supper.
I thought of scrapping the idea of posting a late CNY post but felt that it would not make my blog complete if there is a missing post for this year's CNY, and the hubz' year too. I sure hope you enjoyed joining me on my CNY 2017 happenings through these photos whether they are late or not.
It is the Labour Day public holiday here in Singapore and I was supposed to be working on my work laptop for an event we are organising. It would be a real busy month of May this year but hey, I've promised myself that I want to blog more and I'm honouring my word to myself. It feels really good! I realise that the only promise I always break is the one to myself. I will break that habit and continue to keep promises I made to myself from now on.
This week, the hot conversation topic of how long the queue is has fizzled to a nought.
This week, newspapers of all languages feature lesser pages of Lee Kuan Yew.
This week, TV is back to broadcasting its normal drama serials and variety shows.
This week, radio resumes to playing the usual tunes.
This week, Facebook news feed has images on food, celebrations and selfies, and videos of funny pets and pranks replacing the countless shares of Lee Kuan Yew articles the last week.
This week, Facebook friends replace their Lee Kuan Yew profile pictures and banners with their own pictures.
Life is gradually regaining its normalcy in Singapore. But still, some of us continue to talk about the legacy of Lee Kuan Yew.
The Final Send-off
The last week had been a week of mourning for Singapore with the demise of our founding father Mr Lee Kuan Yew. Sunday (29 Mar 15) was a melancholic day for many Singaporeans. It was the day of the final send off.
On top of queuing up for almost 6 hours to pay my respect to Mr Lee Kuan Yew on Day 1 (25 Mar 15) of Lying In State, I had wanted to line the street along the route taken by the funeral procession to bid Mr LKY the last farewell on Sunday.
I thought that that was the last thing I could do for this great man.
In the morning, I woke up to a dark room with grey skies. Thunder rumbled and soon it began to pour. I decided it would be wiser to stay at home to watch the live telecast of the funeral.
All this while, I saw status updates and WhatsApp messages like 'even the sky is crying', 'heaven is weeping', 'praise the Lord for cleansing the land to prepare for the funeral procession' etc.
It hadn't rained at all for the whole week of mourning. Then on the day of the final send-off, it poured torrents of rain. Is there any divine significance to the coincidence? I don't know.
In 1968, it rained for the first time on our National Day Parade. Mr Lee Kuan Yew sat in his seat and said, "The whole world is watching us to see what we are made of. We will brave on!"
It was really heart warming to see how well-loved our Mr Lee Kuan Yew is with Singaporeans and even non-Singaporeans working here chanting his name, waving little Singapore flags, throwing petals, singing National Day songs etc all these while braving the rain for him.
Majority of the crowd was dressed in black and white but the colourful rain coats, umbrellas and the Singapore flags lining the roads made everything so vibrant. As we mourn the death of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, we also celebrate the creation of our beautiful nation.
Instead of being clad in black or white, I donned one of my usual "home clothes" which is my hubby's SAF T-shirt. I made a decision that the last and neverending thing I could do for this great man is to keep him in my heart and to contribute to his dreams for Singapore through my own tiny efforts.
My Altered View of Lee Kuan Yew
Over the past week, the demise of Mr Lee Kuan Yew had hit many Singaporeans hard. Those who love him. Those who hate him. Those who are neutral. And those who have a love-hate relationship with him.
I'm one of those free-spirited individuals with a dislike for being too mainstream. Hence, I'm not really a fan of many of his policies as much I see the greater good of it all. There are things he had said and done that I do not agree with. I know many people are in the same camp as me as well.
I started off being a Singaporean who do not love Mr Lee Kuan Yew though I have full respect for him for all that he had done for Singapore. I'm also particularly moved by his tender love for his wife.
And that's almost it.
However, my sentiments now and from my last post has taken a different turn. He is not an authoritative figure to be feared and obeyed. He is a man to be revered and loved.
After a whole week of reading numerous articles, watching videos and listening to first hand accounts of other people's encounters with Mr Lee Kuan Yew, I've seen the many facets of Lee Kuan Yew that many Singaporeans never knew and I've grown to like this man a lot. I know many Singaporeans who were neutral towards him have also altered their views of him. Some of my friends even lamented about how we only realize things or let go of bitterness when they are gone.
It turns out that he was not just a paramount leader that ruled Singapore with an iron fist. Below that steel layer is a normal human being who loved his family, the people around him and Singaporeans so dearly. Removing that iron fist is a loving hand of flesh who supported the nation throughout his life.
There are simply too many heartwarming anecdotes about Lee Kuan Yew and his family. People spoke of his devotion to Singapore, his frugality, his kindness (a great surprise to me), his sense of justice, his integrity. The list is endless.
For the detractors who assert that propaganda has whitewashed us, I stand firmly by the fact that these articles and transcripts are from people who have personally encountered him or his family, be it the common folks or the high-profile ones. You have your views and I have mine. My view is that for so many people to say the same things about him with different examples, situation and context, it sure proves a lot.
LKY's death has brought our nation together and it is really amazing to know about all the kindness exhibited by Singaporeans during the mourning week.
LKY's death has also unfortunately caused tension in many relationships which won't be my focus in this post. His achievements far surpassed frivolous comments from keyboard warriors and haters.
Personally, I'm deeply grateful to Mr LKY for 3 main reasons.
He provided us with a safe and secure home to live in. Singapore is ranked second for the country with the lowest crime rates. Yes, he had enforced strict laws. We are called an autocratic country by many Western countries. But you know what, I've never felt more freedom in Singapore than anywhere else in the world. I'm free to walk home at 3am without any fear of being mugged or shot.
I'm also thankful for the bilingual education I've received due to his Bilingual policy back then. People are often very surprised that Singaporeans are well-versed in 2 languages. I'm ashamed to say that my Mandarin isn't at all good but at least I can switch easily from English to Mandarin to communicate my point. I'm also able to appreciate Chinese text which sometimes are more lyrical than when written in English.
I'm also very proud of our little red passport. It was Mr LKY's great foresight that led to Singapore's good diplomatic relationship with many countries. Singapore passport holders enjoy visa-free access to 167 countries. It extremely convenient for Singaporeans to travel to many countries without the hassle of obtaining visas.
I could go on and on but if ever, I would probably save it for a new post on why I'm proud to be a Singaporean.
Chronicling the Great Singapore Queue on Day 1 Lying in State
On 25 Mar 15, there was an official address by our division's head in the morning. Videos of Lee Kuan Yew were played and fellow colleagues shared their encounters with him. After that, we were given time off to pay our respects.
It was the first day and nobody knew what to expect. That day, Singapore formed the longest snaking queue ever!
We alighted at Raffles Place MRT Station and tried as best as possible to find the end of the queue. We got our updates from social media, texts from friends in the queue and people working in the area while navigating the snaking queue to find its tail.
We went by the Singapore river, walked through underpass, slinked along five-foot ways, took shelter under shophouses in Boat Quay and Clarke Quay, went up the overhead bridge and down again and lined the path in Fort Canning Park!
I've drawn out the trail of the queue on Day 1 without factoring in U-turns at various shops and bridges. Click here to view enlarge map.
We found the end of the queue at Clarke Quay. But as time went by, the end of the queue behind us snaked around the shophouses in Clarke Quay.
All of us clad in black were perspiring profusely under the hot scorching sun for it took us more than half an hour of walking just to find the end of the queue.
Singapore is well-known for queueing but it was the first time I see queues going up and down an overhead bridge.
We wondered how long the waiting time was.
And nope, we saw the overhead bridge but we weren't about to reach there yet. There was still the 2-lane queue along the shophouses to get by.
I bumped into my gal pal and her guy at Fort Canning Park but I can't reveal who she is as she actually skipped work to pay her last respect before she flew off for the week.
Some of our colleagues were activated to man the 24-hour hotline for the public during that week. They were located at MCI which is the building with colourful windows that you see behind the overhead bridge.
This is what I mean by 2-lane human traffic and U-turns. The red path that I drew did not factor in all these.
The queue got a little messy when we reached the overhead bridge. We could no longer see the trailing queue behind us and the snaking queue seemed to have been broken at various points. We were slowly led to Hong Lim Park which was the temporary the holding area where we were told it would be a 6-hour wait from there.
Some of my colleagues who had family commitment left in disappointment after queuing for 3 hours. Moreover, when the queue was broken, it seemed that anyone could just cut in anywhere. It made some people unhappy. At this juncture my gal pal had an emergency and after "saving" her, I queued together with her and her guy.
Just when we thought that we would be parked at Hong Lim Park forever, the queue started to move!
It was a long walk to the Parliament House but at least it wasn't a 6-hour wait like what was previously communicated to us.
When we saw Asian Civilisations Museum, we almost jumped for joy. That's the building to see before reaching Parliament House.
And finally the white tentage!!! It had been about 5 hours since we started queuing.
We were so glad we kept the faith despite being told "8h from here", "10h from here", "4h from here". When finally we were told "half an hour from here", we gave a loud "yeah" and the staff also "YEAH!" so loudly with us. My gal pal even high-fived with the volunteer on duty. In all, we spent about 5 and a half hour queueing.
Walls and walls of tributes.
My friends and I felt that it was a blessing that we pressed on at the Hong Lim Park holding area after the crowd control went a little messy and being told of the 6-h wait.
The fact that we belonged to that part of the queue, the perfect timing (without cutting queue like many others) and the "stars and moon aligned" allowed us to catch Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, his wife Ho Ching and Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen (blocked by PM Lee) emerging from the Parliament House and shaking hands with all in queue and thanking us for going down.
Everything happened so quickly that I muttered a "My condolences to you and your family" to PM Lee. He looked a little surprise and then he smiled, not saying anything. As for DM who is my favourite minister, I muttered something bimbotic. He too, smiled and did not say anything. They still had a long line of hands to shake.
My FIL and BIL said I need not wash my hand that night. Lol. My gal pal and I were both equally glad to have spent this significant day in the company of each other. She, a fan of LKY. Me, a Singaporean thankful to him.
Singapore, being a very efficient state, changed the queueing system from the lessons reaped on Day 1. From Day 2 onwards, tents were set up by the SAF for people to wait in line. The hours for paying respect were altered to 12 midnight and subsequently 24 hours. Public Transport services also operated for 24 hours. Public officers were activated to help out with the whole proceedings. Everything became a lot more manageable from Day 2 onwards.
My Last Tribute to Lee Kuan Yew
On the night before the final send-off (or should I say the wee hours of the final send-off), the hubz and I dropped by Nee Soon GRC Community Tribute site.
It was already 2 am, but people continued to pen their condolences at the counter manned by volunteers and watch reruns of LKY's National Day Speech over the years.
I have lots of favourite images of LKY but I particularly love this screenshot from the video. I smile at the way he laughed like a little boy receiving a golden ticket in the chocolate bar when Mrs Lee said he was a handsome young man.
I hope this card reaches him somehow somewhere.
Along with the rest of many Singaporeans' tributes.
And finally one of my favourite videos! Maybe if you had been scrolling through without reading, you might want to spend some time to watch this video? >_<
Without knowing, I've spent so many hours on this post over a period of days. It looks like there is a lack of focus but I guess I just want to put everything about Lee Kuan Yew all in a post for me to refer to and reminisce in future.
The mood has been sombre here and I will be back to updating light-hearted stuff soon!
