(Hello my dusty blog. It has been awhile, but I think this memory is one worth documenting, because many nice things happened. Photos from R and stranger gentlemen H)
On Monday morning 23 March, I woke up to the news of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's death. It was everywhere; social media, mainstream media, conversations with most people I've met over the week. The week was an extremely gloomy one; because the nation was mourning over her founding father.
I've always highly respected this man, even though technically, I've hardly/never experienced his direct leadership being a millenial/Gen Y. I suppose it was due to the influence of how my parents both spoke so highly of him as a visionary, and how his outlook on work and life is something that in many ways, is worth looking up to and following
I had already missed joining the super duper snaking long queues at the Padang, because the only night (Friday) in which I was willing to sacrifice was the night of a 10 hour queue. Singaporeans, we queue so well (Hello Kitty and good hawker stalls have trained us well. I mean this as a compliment :).). I had cat class retreat on the following morning, so the only option left was Mr Lee's last journey across Singapore; from the Parliament House to NUS on Sunday afternoon.
On Saturday night, I packed a pair on sunglasses into my bag, preparing to stand in the typical hot SG weather on Sunday. I was happily thinking to myself "Yay, I can finally bring out my Swedish sunglasses again. So proud that I thought of that before going to bed.".
A friend R brought an umbrella, but it was honestly too small. To make matters worse, the umbrella was dripping on me more than it was providing shelter. For some reason, no matter how I shifted or positioned myself, the umbrella would somehow find itself dripping on my FACE. Thankfully the people standing next to us had the big ones, and were fairly concerned when I started shifting uncomfortably (maybe I was being a nuisance :P). I was standing under their umbrella for at least an hour, and it really helped a lot ^^.
Subsequently some kind soul gave out ponchos so that (1) people would put down their umbrellas so that the back rows can still see, and (2) no more dripping on faces. To be fair, the people at the front row already agreed to tough it out and put down their umbrellas when the gun carriage approaches. So you can see how so much kindness have just came out from this rain happening.
We braved two hours in the rain for this fleeting moment of the gun carriage driving past. It goes without saying that we were desparate to witness this moment, to say our final goodbye. Now, we were initially standing on the pavements along Clementi, which is quite a distance from the route. When the officials finally gave us the green like to go on to the road, I honestly half-expected a mad dash of fighting for your spot, that the queues formed on the pavements didn't matter because the system will 'reset'. I was so happy to be proven wrong; we still scurried, but we scurried in an unspoken formation, progressing forward together holding on to a row of our state flags along the entire stretch of the road.
We were constantly updated by R's live feed of the procession. When we started seeing police cars, the crowd kept chanting 'LEE KUAN YEW, LEE KUAN YEW'. But when we saw the crescent moon and stars in a sea of crimson blanketing that box for that fleeting moment, our voices broke for we broke down unanimously. The cheering stopped, and the wailing began.
It was a heartbreaking, no, heart-wrenching moment for us, but it turned into something beautiful. Strangers turned to each other, hugging, huddling and wailing in the rain. It was a gloomy and solemn occasion, but it did not deter us from sharing our hopes and dreams for our nation. We acknowledged what Mr Lee has done for us, and inspired each other to do even more.
(Some people were even picking up litter :))
It started with the lady on the extreme right telling R 'Hey girl, remember to take your umbrella'. She was all teary-eyed, compelling R and I to give her a hug. The gentleman H
came up to us and comforted us, and shared with us the photos that he took, and gave R and I advice, since we are the next generation.
Earlier in the week, his passing was saddening to me, but most definitely not overwhelming. I had not fully accepted his death earlier today, hoping that he would stay true to his words "Even from my sickbed, even if you are going to lower me to the grave and I feel that something is going wrong, I will get up.". I was honestly quite surprised that he had meant enough to me to cause me to break down and even wail. I didn't know that he had meant so much to me.
It was a really powerful experience. It was good closure, helping me to accept his death. More importantly, reminding me to move forward following what he stood for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvGk5cMwXf8
Look at that horizon,
Follow that rainbow,
Go ride it,
Not all will be rich,
Quite a few will find a grain of gold,
Dig it up!
In summary, this was my experience
(1) Filled with wonderful instances
(2) The rain is over, now let's follow that rainbow
(3) An umbrella/poncho is more important than a pair of sunglasses B)
(I really hope I won't fall sick after 2 hours in the rain, and staying in wet clothes for another 2 hours)
On Monday morning 23 March, I woke up to the news of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's death. It was everywhere; social media, mainstream media, conversations with most people I've met over the week. The week was an extremely gloomy one; because the nation was mourning over her founding father.
I've always highly respected this man, even though technically, I've hardly/never experienced his direct leadership being a millenial/Gen Y. I suppose it was due to the influence of how my parents both spoke so highly of him as a visionary, and how his outlook on work and life is something that in many ways, is worth looking up to and following
I had already missed joining the super duper snaking long queues at the Padang, because the only night (Friday) in which I was willing to sacrifice was the night of a 10 hour queue. Singaporeans, we queue so well (Hello Kitty and good hawker stalls have trained us well. I mean this as a compliment :).). I had cat class retreat on the following morning, so the only option left was Mr Lee's last journey across Singapore; from the Parliament House to NUS on Sunday afternoon.
On Saturday night, I packed a pair on sunglasses into my bag, preparing to stand in the typical hot SG weather on Sunday. I was happily thinking to myself "Yay, I can finally bring out my Swedish sunglasses again. So proud that I thought of that before going to bed.".
It rained. It rained heavily.
(What a wonderful and cool... SHUT UP LA JH)A friend R brought an umbrella, but it was honestly too small. To make matters worse, the umbrella was dripping on me more than it was providing shelter. For some reason, no matter how I shifted or positioned myself, the umbrella would somehow find itself dripping on my FACE. Thankfully the people standing next to us had the big ones, and were fairly concerned when I started shifting uncomfortably (maybe I was being a nuisance :P). I was standing under their umbrella for at least an hour, and it really helped a lot ^^.
Subsequently some kind soul gave out ponchos so that (1) people would put down their umbrellas so that the back rows can still see, and (2) no more dripping on faces. To be fair, the people at the front row already agreed to tough it out and put down their umbrellas when the gun carriage approaches. So you can see how so much kindness have just came out from this rain happening.
We braved two hours in the rain for this fleeting moment of the gun carriage driving past. It goes without saying that we were desparate to witness this moment, to say our final goodbye. Now, we were initially standing on the pavements along Clementi, which is quite a distance from the route. When the officials finally gave us the green like to go on to the road, I honestly half-expected a mad dash of fighting for your spot, that the queues formed on the pavements didn't matter because the system will 'reset'. I was so happy to be proven wrong; we still scurried, but we scurried in an unspoken formation, progressing forward together holding on to a row of our state flags along the entire stretch of the road.
We were constantly updated by R's live feed of the procession. When we started seeing police cars, the crowd kept chanting 'LEE KUAN YEW, LEE KUAN YEW'. But when we saw the crescent moon and stars in a sea of crimson blanketing that box for that fleeting moment, our voices broke for we broke down unanimously. The cheering stopped, and the wailing began.
It was a heartbreaking, no, heart-wrenching moment for us, but it turned into something beautiful. Strangers turned to each other, hugging, huddling and wailing in the rain. It was a gloomy and solemn occasion, but it did not deter us from sharing our hopes and dreams for our nation. We acknowledged what Mr Lee has done for us, and inspired each other to do even more.
(Some people were even picking up litter :))
It started with the lady on the extreme right telling R 'Hey girl, remember to take your umbrella'. She was all teary-eyed, compelling R and I to give her a hug. The gentleman H
Earlier in the week, his passing was saddening to me, but most definitely not overwhelming. I had not fully accepted his death earlier today, hoping that he would stay true to his words "Even from my sickbed, even if you are going to lower me to the grave and I feel that something is going wrong, I will get up.". I was honestly quite surprised that he had meant enough to me to cause me to break down and even wail. I didn't know that he had meant so much to me.
It was a really powerful experience. It was good closure, helping me to accept his death. More importantly, reminding me to move forward following what he stood for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvGk5cMwXf8
Look at that horizon,
Follow that rainbow,
Go ride it,
Not all will be rich,
Quite a few will find a grain of gold,
Dig it up!
In summary, this was my experience
(1) Filled with wonderful instances
(2) The rain is over, now let's follow that rainbow
(3) An umbrella/poncho is more important than a pair of sunglasses B)
Have a good week ahead Singapore!
(I really hope I won't fall sick after 2 hours in the rain, and staying in wet clothes for another 2 hours)
