Saturday, April 30, 2011

3rd Rally site for The Workers' Party in GE 2011

This is a very exciting General Election and I am actively involved as the Principal Election Agent for Moulmein-Kallang GRC team from The Workers' Party. One of the most interesting thing in my mind is how we managed to be 1st in the Queue for Rally Sites this year..the 1st time in History and now i finally understand the reason(s) behind it.


Our 1st rally was at the open field beside Blk 837 in Hougang. The 2nd was at Serangoon Stadium.





 After attending these 2 sessions, I have a conclusion in mind: There is a difference between this election and all those before..besides the number of seats contested that is. I noticed that this year, the Police blocked up a good number of car parks preventing visitors from attending the rally parking nearby. The roadside kerbs have cones placed along them to prevent roadside parking unlike last election.
*all photos from theonlinecitizen Facebook*


Anyway, our 3rd rally tomorrow 30th April 2011 is at Bedok Stadium from 7pm. Please try not to drive so as to avoid the disappointment of not being able to find parking, stuck in traffic jams etc..etc.
Thank you Singaporeans for the great support you have shown us so far! See you later! 

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Attending a full month celebration of a newborn baby..

I have been busy with Workers' Party activities in the run up to the coming General Election.
Last weekend, in between WP activities, I attended a full month celebration of a baby boy. This is one of the rare occasions that I would shameless ask to attend someone else's party..


Well..it's like this..His dad is one of my close friend in the army and he had just passed away recently before the birth of his son. I am very concern about the situation and had wanted to see him when I knew that he was born. In the end, I decided that his full month celebration would be a more appropriate time for the visit.


I went to City Square Mall near my place to shop for a gift. The surprise I got was how I reacted when I first saw the gift that I chosen in the end and how I overcame it and added something to it..(see slideshow below)



This is the 1st time in my life I asked to attend a baby's full month celebration. There was this close friend who gave me the concept of "What's the point??The baby is not going to remember who you are nor what you did for him anyway!"..well, people got the right to think and do(or not do) what they prefer. 


Just by virtue of the fact that his daddy is a buddy of mine in the army, I just want to show my concern in my own way..whether the baby know anything is not an issue to me at all. I am just a bit disappointed with how materialistic this world have become..


I wish for the baby to grow up strong, smart and healthy just like his daddy!

Friday, April 1, 2011

What the Qingming Festival (清明节) means to me: Paying respects to my ancestors!

The below is a famous poem by Du Mu(杜牧):
清明时节雨纷纷
路上行人欲断魂
借问酒家何处有
牧童遥指杏花村
It describes the weather(rainy) during this period of the year and makes me wana have a few drinks :P~
Qingming Festival is a time for Chinese to pay respects to their ancestors.The only ancestors that I've met and known are my grandparents. Anything above that, the most I remembered was a photo of my great grand-parents. Ancestor worship do not have a significant meaning for me except for the fact that this is a Chinese tradition and I am a Chinese. Well..not exactly..I guess that is what the younger generation may feel,not me.
I still miss my Grandparents..very very much! My parents used to whack me up pretty badly when I was a kid and my grandparents were always my protection. I can see the same situation today in my family..suddenly my parents became very lenient with their grand children! I wonder if my child and nieces will see Qingming Festival the way I do when my parents move on, because I am the only one amongst all my siblings who still attend to the festival year after year.
Every year, when I arrive at the graveyard, I have to try to remember which blk and plot number..they all look similar in the distance.

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Once my Grandpa/ Grandma was located, we immediately set up our offerings and decorate the grave.

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It is also a time of gathering for the rest of my family..

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I have a bit of time to myself this year to reflect on my involvement in the Qingming Festival over the years and what it means to me. I have decided to just write a post about this so as to encourage younger generations of Chinese to treasure this tradition that may soon be dying out. ..very soon, we will see more and more untended grave like the picture below:

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That was not the worst one I saw,but I just want to show some respect here..
Will you be participating in the Qingming Festival to honour your ancestors this year?