today's national day in singapore! for the uninitiated, singapore's national day commemorates the day that she gained independance from malaysia. for many singaporeans and expats alike, it's pretty much just another holiday. only this one has a big drama. NSmen train for aaaages (and i mean abso-fricken-lutely aaaages) with the marching, and the logistics, and the parachute display and the flight formations, and the fireworks, and the driving of their tanks and all that kinda thing. it's a real "yo dude, check out my balls, ain't they fancy" shebang. and then there's the school children of all ages dancing to singapore-songs with bigger and fancier displays than the year before. and flash-card displays (to singapore-is-my-home music of course). that being said though, it is quite entertaining, and with singapore being so small, you can pretty much see the fireworks from anywhere (this i am assuming because i've always lived in the east and the parade's held very near the east) .. and these fireworks aren't just any pissy ones. they're really extravagant razzle dazzle numbers. they make perth's australia day fireworks look like cheapo chinatown sparklers. fancypants.

also, from what i've heard and read, taufik's (singapore idol winner) the singer of this year's national day song. him and some other chick, and it's really annoying because they've been playing the music video ad nauseum on tvmobile. in recent years the songs have gotten heaps better. there's still the really old school ones doing the rounds (stand up for singapore! one people, one nation, one singapore! etcetc). i really used to like those .. but then again i was 3 and extremely easily entertained. they used to play them on tv karaoke style with blue skies, fluttering flags, children of all 4 major races holding hands and playing in hdb playground .. but nowsadays they get actual proper pop stars to record it so as to gain popularity and win the hearts and minds of the people.

i know lots of people want to run away from singapore, come to australia! dont need to pass chinese to get into uni! go to anywhere-that-you-don't-have-to-pay-$1million-for-a-toyota-camry! and it's true that school in singapore's a major downer. according to dee, every uni exam is like taking a levels all over again (not that i sat for those btw). the shopping's cheap but transport prices are starting to become daylight robbery. property is shockingly expensive, and in terms of a tropical getaway, it's pretty well So Expensive and Nothing TO See Also (volcano world? fail) but it's still stupid loser friends homebase, and there's still family and friends there that make me want to go back and visit at least once a year. not to mention the food is cheap and good and dirty (occasionally).

so anyhoo, in honour of the country of my birth, i wore my i heart singapore shirt to uni today! home-made summore. 'coz i heart singapore with (almost but not quite) all my um ... heart.

as promised, here is the love story of samuraibunny and bboj *flutters eyelashes*makes a cute face* . it even has a disclaimer right about now saying: WARNING!! extremely long post ahead. thou hast been warned.

getting on with the story ...

i had just finished grocery-shopping and was walking toward the bus-stop to catch a bus home. however, from a distance i could see that the bus had just pulled into the bay about 100m away. so for some inexplicable reason, i decided to run after the bus instead of waiting for the next one. maybe it was because i wanted to give my mentally retarded sister *koff* her kinder surprise as soon as possible .. i had worked so many overtime hours just to buy her that chocolate!

however, silly delicate me tripped on air and fell over, scattering the contents of my bag all over the sidewalk. oh me, oh my! the kinder surprise! its elliptical shape was perfect for rolling away from me! how torn i was!! was i to save all my other groceries from being trampled on by passers-by, or chase down that chocolate that symbolized hours of sweat and tears and love.

luckily, bboj made that decision for me.

he stuck out his toe and gently stopped the kinder surprise from rolling any further, and picked it up for me. "here," said he, "i'll help you gather your stuff and carry it all home even though it's completely out of my way". it was a very tear-jerking moment. so carried away with emotion was i that i could hardly stop my hands from trembling long enough to open the door, or to unwrap the chocolate i had bought. so bboj helped me do all that. he even helped my sister put
together her kinder toy .. what a sweetie!

from that moment on, we spent as much time together as we could. not all have been warm and sweet though. there was the time his demented grandmother threw herself down the flight of stairs and blamed me, when how could i have committed such a heinous act? my arms are so delicate and weak that i can't even lift them to mop my brow in extreme heat! and then there was the time that we had to rush to hospital to get the crayon removed from my sister���s nose, but then we lost each other in the meandering hospital corridors. luckily we managed to locate each other eventually. traumatising.

and then the biggest test of all! i am here in australia typing shit stories, and he is in singapore waiting for NS!

however, our lurve continues to blossom and soon my little hum cheem peng* and i will be reunited once again to fill the gaps between each others��� fingers.

just the beginning ...

* hum cheem peng is a deep-fried ball of dough with red bean paste in it. salty yet sweet, tasty and unhealthy! go singapore! majulah singapura !!

i've just realized that my first anniversary with ben's come and gone, and not a word on this blog's been said about it. shocking! appalling even. so i thought to commemorate this milestone of long-distance-relationshipping, belated though it may be, i will tell the story of our love. afterall, how can this blog be left behind while everybody else and their dog is telling the world about how in lurve they are with their honey-baby-schnooky-pants?

watch this space folks, for verily i tell you, a story of love shall unfold.

the hives [link] !! they come to perth !! and we're going !! *joy*rapture*dancing*fanfare* by we i mean stoo, order-y, me, linda + miscellaneous (i.e. dunno who else) .. just look we're on their list !!



although they do play one day only on the monday of folio week. but i endeavour to be done by then .. judging by the amount of work rob has given us so far, i don't think things will get much busier..i hope.

on a completely different note, ben googled the phrase "hit me with your rhythm stick" (ref: previous post) and unearthed this little gem [link]. seems like a kick arse song, just by looking at the lyrics i can tell! i'm so going to find it and listen to it.

* apologies about the proliferation of exclamation marks. girlies are excitable because the hives us the shimmy shivers

happy 20-somethingth birthday nick!!



* please note, this is nick's real birthday, not a concocted one like linda and i joke about planning for ourselves