This author is currently on hiatus for the ignoble cause of mugging. The public is advised to remain calm, as this routine protocol has been shown to have no effect on one's violent tendencies in 96% of cases.
| Sunday, August 23, 2009 |
|
As I was typing out my previous post on NDP, it just kept growing and growing into one heck of a mammoth-sized post. Guess that makes up for my six months of absence from blogging, huh. In any case, if i were to compress it all into a single post, you'll either get bored of reading it halfway or grow old without kids just sitting in front of the computer trying to finish reading it. And that would be sad. So, for the sake of your sanity and my time, I've split it up into two parts - the narrative and the reflections. Here's the second part. As most reflections go, I'm tempted to go angsty emo teen mode and moan on and on about how I miss NDP and all the friends I've made and how much I love Singapore (ORLY?), but that would be so conformist. Still, I can't help but feel a tinge of sadness that this chapter ended as suddenly as it began - we were all just starting to get to know each other better and all of a sudden it's our last performance on National Day itself and we probably won't be seeing each other again. In fact, I'm so accustomed to spending all of my Saturdays out at rehearsals already that I don't know what to do with them now. I guess I actually have to do my tutorials now, boo. Seriously though, I didn't even feel this way after SLC or Dance Nite - but I guess that's because I know I'll still be seeing those guys around nearly everyday in school even after the performance, for at least a couple of years more to come. Not that it's always a good thing though - if only my abang would stop pinching me and stepping on my toes. When I first joined NDP, I wasn't really expecting much from it - it was more of a "oh my friends are going, I have some free time and it sounds cool so why not?" Talk about herd mentality. That was four months in advance. Four months to learn a five-minute choreography - sounded easy enough, considering M.A.D. could rush out a dance performance of around that length in just two weeks for Greenworks. And then we would execute it flawlessly on 9 Aug, entertain the nation for that five minutes, and that would be the end of my commitment to NDP. At least, that's how far my expectations went. How wrong I was. I certainly didn't expect the week-after-week of rehearsals first just to get the timing nailed down, then the formations, then to get used to the costumes and the props, and finally all the numerous National Education performances for the Primary 5 kids before the actual thing. Not that it was such a bad thing after all, especially with the pretty fireworks we were rewarded with at the end of each rehearsal. Plus, it's amazing what weeks of stoning for five hours straight together does for human relationships - from random small talk evolving out of boredom to exchanging contacts and eventually I didn't expect much for the treatment of the performers either - I was prepared to tolerate meals to be hard dry rice with cold dishes and perhaps a little squashed tofu. Or maybe we might get some noodles with salty gravy, if we were lucky. To some extent, some of the food we got did prove me disgustingly right (*cough* Singapore Food Industries), but the Old Chang Kee snacks and Pizza Hut more than made up for it beyond what I could possibly hope for. The crowd, too, went beyond my expectations. I'd thought that most of the people who went to watch NDP were mostly made up of aunties there for the goodie bags, but the way the excited audience cheered and clapped and actually stood up for Singapore showed a different image altogether. It felt good to be feeling the crowd from down on the stage, too. I guess you could say my prior expectations towards performing in NDP weren't too high, which could be why I was so easily impressed. Call me a pessimist, if you may. But that's the nice part about being one - you're either always right or pleasantly surprised. I was pleasantly surprised this time round, thankfully. My only gripe? The bloody retarded box that we had to wear on our heads.  In fact, all the performers were against the box-helmet-letterbox thingy for both aesthetic and practical reasons - the outer reflective layer is supposed to act like a one-way mirror, but with the lights inside the box we couldn't see outside at all and were essentially blind chickens running about in the dark. I can't remember how many times I crashed into people while trying to locate my position with that thing on my head. Still, the organisers insisted on us wearing them; I think they thought we'd somehow look more "futuristic" and robotic that way. That, or perhaps they wanted to save on makeup costs. At least they eventually relented a bit and cut us a slit so we could actually see through the box. Needless to say, the costume design fell short of my expectations. The silver "power suit" (read: Western-style blazer and pants) was supposed to portray the idea of "corporate warriors", but didn't really go well with the overall theme of our performance, what with the traditional Chinese music and martial arts. I suppose it was also partly supposed to depict the merging of Western and Chinese cultures, but it turned out to look more like a clash of cultures instead. Dressing under three layers of clothing in this tropical climate while swinging a long stick about is quite a sweaty affair too. That said, the lights were a nice touch, probably inspired by the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, though that was much more impressive since they could actually control the lights and make cool patterns with them. The wiring inside our costume was terrible though. After every performance, some part of the wiring would inevitably come loose, basically cutting the connection to a section of the circuit. That would mean another frustrating few hours waiting in line the next week to get it sloppily fixed with some soldering and duct tape... at least for a brief period before the lights stop working again. Sigh. If only the designers could've taken heed from our dear commentators and "think out of the box", heh. At least the costume might still have some practical use later on - Wear a flashy blazer (pun intended) to prom, anyone? After all, you can't do that for say, a warrior outfit or a green barney/crocodile suit. ... I think this year's NDP is probably the coolest one yet though. Not because I'm in it (although im sure that's a key factor, heh heh) but because it was way more creative and "hip" compared to previous years. Granted, I haven't exactly been paying full attention to past years' NDPs, but that's partly because they've been a pretty boring affair with the same set formula of line dancing, fancy mass displays, song-singing and fireworks and more fireworks year in, year out. In fact, the most "memorable" performance I can remember was the year when they had roller blading in fish suits. (The poor guy fell when the camera was focusing on him.) Now fast forward to 2009, where they had wushu *woot!*, drumming, a rock band performing this year's theme song and even pole dancing (which wasn't exactly in very good taste imo). The organisers have even hopped on the new media bandwagon, with NDPeeps.com and their Facebook group, and them roping in Mr Brown to blog on NDP preparations to generate some buzz - I actually heard about NDPeeps from mrbrown.com and Facebook first. Everything, from the performances, music and publicity down to the messenger/tote bag funpack (it actually looks decent) and the island-wide Pledge Moment, screams out rebranding for the better. And I'm glad to be part of this milestone that I think future parades will find hard to beat. So, at the end of it all, you might ask: Was it all worth it? In answering that, being a pragmatic (or kiasu, if you prefer) Singaporean, let's consider what I've gained: - A greater appreciation for the organisation of NDP (Politically correct as always in case my future employer decides to read my blog~) - The chance to be part of Singapore's largest birthday bash! - New-found patriotism <3 - Knowing the lyrics to all our national songs by heart. I should audition for "Don't Forget the Lyrics". - Getting to meet a bunch of the coolest and most fun-loving people I've ever met. I'll miss you guys. :(  And other miscellaneous goodies: - ??? x CIP hours (I've been a lazy ass and haven't checked with the school about this yet, though.) - 189 x photos, mostly unglamorous shots of bored people in funny poses and of terrapins. - 3 x NDP funpacks.  - 2 x NDP tickets - I gave them to my mum and brother.  - 1 x useless costume and pole. Maybe i'll use the flag as a tablecloth...  And for all that, I've had to give up: - Numerous saturdays and weekday nights rehearsing. I've had to sacrifice lots of other personal activities because of this, especially since M.A.D. seems to like to schedule all its events on saturdays. =/ - My dignity in allowing my head to be put in a box. On national television. - Even more time to type up this couple of lengthy posts on NDP. YOU BETTER APPRECIATE ALL THE TIME I'VE PUT IN TO REVIVE THIS BLOG, MAN. Or else I won't post anymore and your life would degrade in quality by three notches. Despite all that, was it worth it? My answer is still a big HELL YEAH! for the unforgettable experience that NDP '09 has given me. In fact, the organisers should try to get more people roped in to participate - it brings patriotism to a new level that incessant government messages can but barely scratch. You won't imagine how much eagerly I lapped up NDP reports and how often I searched YouTube for NDP videos - sometimes in the hopes of that millisecond of fame in the corner of the footage - when in previous years I merely flipped over the NDP headlines on 10 Aug, and would rather be pewpew-ing internet villains than watch it on TV. In fact, I'll probably be catching future NDPs from now on, although I think I still might give the parade segment a miss. Ultimately, it's that feeling of pride of being part of something massive, something special, even though I know I'm just one out the 13,000-strong NDP crew out there. Heck, it can even compel a cynic like me to hum national songs on the way to school, days after the parade is long over. I'd definitely participate in NDP again if given the opportunity to do so; and for the NS men who kena arrow to help out, at least Pizza Hut is tastier than the in-camp food, and besides the parade duties are probably more slack than the sh*t you'd get in camp, so it's a good thing. =P But now, I must revert back to my unpatriotic, whining, hater self. Walao eh why Nat Day this year on Sunday then got one day less holiday?? :(( --------------------------- For more photos and even more retarded captions, check out my albums on Facebook: NDP '09 - Behind the Scenes I NDP '09 - Behind the Scenes @ 9 Aug |
'Twas teh winnar at 1:39 pm.
