Sunny Days are here again

After an entire week of rain, the sun finally came out on Saturday. The weather was really weird that day coz it would drizzle for 5 min & stop then the sun would shine brightly for 5 min & the drizzle would resume. I was at West End trying to take pictures. Imagine me trying to hold on to the Canon EOS while carrying the tripod & umbrella & not forgetting my backpack.

Anyway it's the last week of August which is also my 6th week of study. It'll be National Day in a few days time. A few weeks ago my Singaporean housemates invited me for their National Day [Live] broadcast. I went after watching "Woman on the Beach", a Korean film directed by Hong Sang-soo. It was part of my Brisbane International Film Fest assignment.

As I entered the dark lecture hall, there were at least 100-200 people seated. I could feel the excitement & enthusiasm. Some of them held on to colourful neon sticks. There were some M'sians in the crowd. I shared a seat with Therese. Actually I could hardly feel the seat at all but I couldn't be bothered because I was too exhausted. Having to make time to watch all those films without skipping any classes is no mean feat.

S'pore's National Day Parade (they call it NDP) is held from evening till night as opposed to ours which starts early in the morning. They even have a fireworks display. Maybe it's because these students were so far away from home, to hear them cheer & laugh excitedly as they watch the NDP kinda puzzles me. Would I have reacted the same way if it had been a [LIVE] broadcast of our Merdeka Day Parade?

I usually sleep in during the [LIVE] broadcast from Merdeka Square. I just couldn't be bothered. It's the same year in year out; we see people marching around in colourful costumes & uniforms. Sometimes my family & I would just watch snippets of the broadcast & later switch off the telly. One of the best Merdeka TV commercials ever to be produced would have to be from Petronas. They never fail to remind us of the importance of the Merdeka spirit.

Last year Esther & I just stayed home. We didn't do anything special to celebrate. I think we might have been busy with assignments. This year I want to celebrate Merdeka in Brisbane. I've this crazy idea of going to Southbank to play with sparklers. I know it sounds pathetic but what else can I do? Any ideas? Oh & did I mention I've four assignments due in mid-Sept...