NDP Parade@Padang 2005: NE Show 1
I spent the morning printing stuff I think I would need and left home later than I expected. Nevertheless, I arrived at City Hall well before the 1pm reporting time for ushers, so I waited outside the entrance of the City Hall (according to some official, the only entrance for NDP officials and ushers into the City Hall building) for the other ACJC ushers to come, since their security passes are all with me.
However, 1pm came and went and I still saw no one. I was wondering if they were possibly stuck outside, and just as I was wondering, Supreme Court Lane, the road behind City Hall and the only road leading to the entrance of City Hall, was closed. Really, now no one could come in without the security. I spent a lot of time tracking them down one by one (the earliest probably at 1.10pm) and finally went into the City Hall building at 2.10pm with one card still in my hands. It's partly my fault for not giving them my phone number before, but then again the reporting time was 1pm, and we wouldn't have met with such trouble if they had come on time.
When I found the rest of the ushers outside the Media Centre having lunch, I didn't want to get a lunch myself, instead sitting down beside them and drinking water. Everything really got started at around 3pm, with people starting to head to their posts. For me, I had to find Mr. Raja, whom I'd be tagging along. I found him after a bit of time, and he returned to the Media Centre to have lunch.
Basically we slacked (seriously) until about 4pm when the children began to walk into the Padang. My role was perhaps personal assistant to Mr. Raja; I held the walkie-talkie for him while he walked around. We mainly stayed in the City Hall building, occasionally coming out onto the VIP area in front of City Hall. I really sat down to enjoy the show in the middle of the parade, sitting at the back of the VIP area. From there, it felt as though it was the actual National Day and I was really enjoying myself. Everything that happened earlier in the morning was gone, nowhere seen in my head. I was standing throughout the performance, not only because it was hard to see at the back, but also because I was feeling it.
And listen to this review from someone who has actually gone there to watch: it was fabulous. I won't reveal much about what will happen (you can actually read it up on www.ndp.org.sg). But I can say that it was a magnificent show of action, lights and music. The concepts were brilliant and the performance was almost flawless (of course, effectively, it's only a real-life rehearsal). Not to mention the fireworks: I never knew why people liked fireworks so much until I saw it for myself tonight.
After the performers were dismissed from the performance area, it was time to do the opposite of the arrival: the dispersal. This time, I didn't have to tag along Mr. Raja, because he was only hanging around the St. Andrews Road boarding area to make sure everything was running fine. All I needed to do was to look after his FunPack (and mine; a fellow ACJC usher gave one to me). Surprisingly, though it started later than scheduled, it finished earlier. After getting the signal for dismissal from Mr. Raja, I returned to the Media Centre where another 3 student helpers (from other JCs) were watching True Files on TV (it was ending; meaning it was around 10.30pm when the dispersal ended). We cleaned up the room after that and went home after we've settled the stuff.
I can't wait to go back again next week and on the actual day.
However, 1pm came and went and I still saw no one. I was wondering if they were possibly stuck outside, and just as I was wondering, Supreme Court Lane, the road behind City Hall and the only road leading to the entrance of City Hall, was closed. Really, now no one could come in without the security. I spent a lot of time tracking them down one by one (the earliest probably at 1.10pm) and finally went into the City Hall building at 2.10pm with one card still in my hands. It's partly my fault for not giving them my phone number before, but then again the reporting time was 1pm, and we wouldn't have met with such trouble if they had come on time.
When I found the rest of the ushers outside the Media Centre having lunch, I didn't want to get a lunch myself, instead sitting down beside them and drinking water. Everything really got started at around 3pm, with people starting to head to their posts. For me, I had to find Mr. Raja, whom I'd be tagging along. I found him after a bit of time, and he returned to the Media Centre to have lunch.
Basically we slacked (seriously) until about 4pm when the children began to walk into the Padang. My role was perhaps personal assistant to Mr. Raja; I held the walkie-talkie for him while he walked around. We mainly stayed in the City Hall building, occasionally coming out onto the VIP area in front of City Hall. I really sat down to enjoy the show in the middle of the parade, sitting at the back of the VIP area. From there, it felt as though it was the actual National Day and I was really enjoying myself. Everything that happened earlier in the morning was gone, nowhere seen in my head. I was standing throughout the performance, not only because it was hard to see at the back, but also because I was feeling it.
And listen to this review from someone who has actually gone there to watch: it was fabulous. I won't reveal much about what will happen (you can actually read it up on www.ndp.org.sg). But I can say that it was a magnificent show of action, lights and music. The concepts were brilliant and the performance was almost flawless (of course, effectively, it's only a real-life rehearsal). Not to mention the fireworks: I never knew why people liked fireworks so much until I saw it for myself tonight.
After the performers were dismissed from the performance area, it was time to do the opposite of the arrival: the dispersal. This time, I didn't have to tag along Mr. Raja, because he was only hanging around the St. Andrews Road boarding area to make sure everything was running fine. All I needed to do was to look after his FunPack (and mine; a fellow ACJC usher gave one to me). Surprisingly, though it started later than scheduled, it finished earlier. After getting the signal for dismissal from Mr. Raja, I returned to the Media Centre where another 3 student helpers (from other JCs) were watching True Files on TV (it was ending; meaning it was around 10.30pm when the dispersal ended). We cleaned up the room after that and went home after we've settled the stuff.
I can't wait to go back again next week and on the actual day.
yours truly, tobias at 11:58 pm
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