National Day and Me.

It was really one of those “Tio 4-D” moments in Sec3 when my principal announced over the PA system.

“OK Guys this year we will be doing NDP. Trainings will start on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You will be exempted from classes on those days and the mid year exams are canceled”

Wah!! Ho say liao!

National Day never really had any significance to me.All along it was just an excuse to get a school holiday, usually spent bumming at home or in a LAN shop playing games. But over the course of that year I came to appreciate the great nationalistic exercise that is NDP. At the end of it , we really felt sad when it was over.

Of course the free KFC helped a lot too. Also the chicks really dug it when I told them…

“I’m performing in this year’s NDP. I’ve got 2 tickets baby. Wanna come watch me?”

Ok maybe that’s a little over the top, but I did try that trick on a girl I fancied. Eh it worked ok. Dun play play.

(Of course I heard the army people assigned to babysit us weren’t too happy. I even overheard one of them saying “NNBCCB the rest tio the Cheerleaders we tio this boy’s school….”)

Then JC came and it wasn’t cool to be patriotic. C’mon everyone knows the chap standing at assembly singing the National Anthem at the top of his voice with his hand over his heart and tears running from his eyes is a few taupok short of a rojak. National Days were spent at Sentosa. (Now got girls so must go Sentosa mah…then still go chiong LAN shop meh?)

And it wasn’t cool get a Singapore flag tattooed on your bicep, as I found out soon enough.(Stick on tattoo la…you think I so hiong?)

In army I was once again involved in NDP for both my years in NS. Weekends wasted and no off days given. Endless rehearsals. Annoying organizers who kept changing the plans at the last moment. NO CHEERLEADERS! Enough to drive any grown man insane. The only comfort was the unlimited boxes of KFC and Pizza Hut but we soon learned to stay away from those. Gives you very bad laosai. Not ordinary laosai. High power projectile laosai , a la the scene in The Exorcist with the projectile vomiting girl.

This year, my first year away from home as the 9^th of August comes round the corner, I feel myself overcome with a strange sense of longing. What is it about being overseas that makes one watching the National Day Parade with its cheesy displays and poorly disguised propaganda songs?

Missing August 9^ths spent with my family having dinner and catching the NDP on TV. An Ipod full of NDP songs that I swore I’d never ever listen to. A Singapore flag tattooed on my left buttcheek.(Come find me and I’ll tell you if I’m lying or not.)

I’ve got all of these. What have you?

-Hong Yao