I was waiting for the shuttle bus at Kent Vale today when I sort of overheard (well ok I was eavesdropping maybe) a conversation between 2 Business professors, one from USA and the other PRC.
"How do you find Singapore so far?" "It's great, I really like it" "The way they do things over here, really efficient." "Over the weekend, I was at the library, at Jurong East." "Oh the community library." "Yeah, I went there in the morning and there were people queuing up to get in, its pretty amazing, you will never get that in the States. And it's modern, new, very well laid-out, good collection of books."

Sometimes, I feel so proud to be a Singaporean. :) Whatever gripes I have about the government, I will be the first to admit, they are a very good government, probably the best in the World.

Today Once More

Years ago, where that old Bedok road suddenly
Swung inland, I felt you breathe. Benedicting
Sunlight by the pillbox lit a quiet in which I heard
My heart’s first cry. It grew into a circling eagle,
Whose thermal eye kept free our dome of blue.
Far below the tide rippled, turned and gripped,
Removing sand from under where I stood. You
Held me citizen as I grew, wondering in awe,
What made darkness come at noon, or why sea-salt
Bitterness, and the wind’s lamentations, can cleanse.

From there a tale of colony, war and occupation;
From here a past we made from careful politics
For better history, and bright embraceable evenings.

Hunting for a future leaves memories and images
Of crucial moments: gritty challenges which, for some,
Are high despair and doubt; a time to think of leaving.
Stay and be damm’d, or prosper in our fashion.
We re-arranged ourselves, besieged our hills, re-made
The contexts of our lives as we gardened city and island.
Now petal, shade, octaves in the night, and young faces,
Shift the mood and margins of our hopes, our seasons.
Side by side, old and young split Merlion thoughts, giving
Reasons, while savouring those two durians-on-the-bay.

Each generation has its songs and destinations that assert
A different destiny. Theirs more digital; keyboard-bound.
I learn, adapt; process words to stalk and refresh nostalgia.

Today, no smoke from burning half-dried wood to smudge
Our skyline’s signature. Eyes tearful, not from fumes,
But the death of friends. Gopal and James now live in
That ever present past. So does Lim Boh Seng. I cross
The Padang as banzais echo again, rolling down city steps
As Coleman’s demolished home haunts the new with gusto.
I taste the stalls in Hock Lam Street, feeling the chillies rise
As Ah Lau cuts his fruits. Foodcourts are less friendly.
Regret? Yes and no. All is still here, as I pass the latest Bedok,
Knowing epiphany, tide, and crab are still a mile away.

Edwin Thumboo

---------------------

In a bid to beat the Monday Blues, we head out of school for lunch. And I must say Josephine looked really pretty today in green! But I think I look bad with my new haircut.

Isn't she pretty in green?

Sucky untidy haircut:S

We were talking about stone lions and how having a pair of them outside your house will bring Good Fengshui, when we saw this!