National Day - What Does It Mean?

Now I know you guys must have heard the theme song for this year's National Day Parade. It's really bad, no offense to Electrico. To be honest, it really sucks! hahaha. I know it's supposed to be artistic and that is the typical kind of music that the band plays and all, but it's really not the way we all know NDP to be. For years we've been mesmerised by patriotic tunes like "Count On Me Singapore", "We Are Singapore" and "Stand Up For Singapore" - This year's song just doesn't match up to it.

Anyways, finally having gotten that off my chest, I was thinking today. What does National Day really mean to us, as Singaporeans. Are we really celebrating 44 years of independence, or are we just happy to see the fireworks and the performances in the parade? I started to think back to the days when Singapore was still a third world country (by the way did u know they called Singapore 'Temasek' in the 19th Century? I had no idea. So basically Temasek Polytechnic is literally 19th Century Singapore Polytechnic LOL kidding kidding :P)

I mean back then, the people of this country were living in poor health and less than sufficient homes, like many other Asian cities were. My mom tells me they had to poop in little cabins outside their kampongs and then wait for the waste collector to come and get it. Later got diarrhea how sehh?? "Uncle, wait i still got some more coming!" - lol....

But look at the country now. I mean I only need to walk like a couple hundred of meters before I get a decent place to poop. I have an equal chance to be the person I want to be and get employed equally (though not always). I was watching a documentary about Singapore on the Discovery Channel and they showed the classic scene where MM Lee was all emotional when we separated from Malaysia. I really can imagine how he would have felt.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not sucking up to the country or how perfect it appears to be. I mean come on, I still have issues about that whole criminalizing gay sex thing. MM Lee also said that we are not a nation yet, and i totally agree.

It ain't perfect, but there is no where I would rather be this month than here in Singapore, singing to the old classics and walking around the neighbourhood as they display the NDP spirit. I'm no sucker for the country, but after all these years, I would say that National Day really is one day where we put aside our many many many many differences and celebrate together. Don't laugh at me for this post. Lol.

So come 9th August, as you recite the pledge and participate in the only Singaporean holiday, think about what it means to you, what it means to be Singaporean. It may be that at least you have a country to call home, or it may just be the simple fact that it's a public holiday for 2 days. Whatever it is, Monday NO SCHOOL !

~WE WILL STAND TOGETHER HEAR THE LION ROAR~

cheers.

Mitchell is a hot-guy name.

So I was scheduled to have training the other day, for the whole 'Poly 50' run. The trainings had started like 2 weeks ago but i never bothered to turn up lol. The day before the session the leader of the whole thing messaged me saying "You have either not been coming for training, have not replied any of my messages, or have not given me your Tshirt sizes, or all of the above. Are you still running? I would need to substitute you..."

So i guilted myself into running, since i had voluntarily signed up and all. Man did i make a smart move. This leader told me i was in group 3, and that my team leader's name was Mitchell. Mitchell? wow. sexy name already. :P

So when i headed down to the running track naturally i did not know who Mitchell was. I decided i'd call the number given to me. Ring once.... no one picked up. "No way man... imma spam this fella till he picks up," I told myself. Second ring. A masculant voice picked up the call and after like 5 seconds of talking my friend next to me nudged me. "Err... look there."

I turned and i saw this piece of hunky man meat (probably shouldn't describe him as a piece of meat but oh well) that was wearing tight sportswear. That singlet totally showed off his sculpted arms and those tight shorts could in no way mask his bonerific (LOL) behind. He had a totally hip hairstyle and perfect teeth too! Like OMG was this guy an absolute dream man or what? lol. And guess what? He spoke great English. @.@

What i'm trying to say is that he was totally hot. I may have gotten carried away with the last paragraph there, sorry lol. But it's not just him. I know like 3 people named Mitchell and they are all undoubtedly hot, like Matthew's friend from Shatec that goes to gym, or that Mitchell dude in secondary school (he was much hotter then, lol).

Why are all the Mitchells i know all irrestibly hot? I really don't know. After last friday's training i can safely conclude that Mitchell is indeed, a hot-guy name.

Next time you go online-dating look out for people named Mitchell, or at least, now you know what to name your kids. haha.

cheers.

Facebook Gave Me A Home

Never underestimate the power of the online world. That's right, read the title again. For months now i've been innocently facebooking, not knowing of the incredible reward it was to bring me.

My mom would always complain about me staying up late and using the computer. What was i doing? Facebook lah! I used to play this game called restaurant city lol. So yea. As innocent as it was, i got bored watching the moving pixelised characters doing the same thing over and over. I scrolled my mouse over to the ads at the site (I also happened to join a gay personal's network too this way hahaha). So i saw this advertisement for a housing agent. "3 room flats in Hougang, Toa Payoh, Serangoon ...."

For those of you who don't know, my family has been frantically looking for a house to stay in for the last 4 years? Yeah. I've been living out of boxes most of my teenhood. The agent my mom has been working with is unreliable and bottom line lazy. No results for 4 years of house hunting. So I clicked that ad and it diverted me to the agents personal website. I was shocked to see how many houses were available.

I emailed my mom the link and she called up the agent. Within no time we went for several viewings. And after like 2 days or so with the agent, my mom found a house she really liked and that was in her budget. Not too long later, we bought that 3 room flat in Hougang and we are expected to move in somewhere around August, and this time, it's FINAL! No more boxes and living like a refugee. I can finally call a place home. =)

Funny how all this came out of Facebook, the thing my mom hated to see me on at night. Yet night and facebook it was, that delivered this great gift to us that we finally have had years of prayer answered.

What can I say? Good things happen when you least expect and in the weirdest ways.

THANK YOU FACEBOOK !!!

Music That Made Me Cry

I don't know if it's because I'm tired, I dunno if it's because I don't feel too good. But whatever the reasons and combinations are, I was still brought to tears when I heard this magnificent piece of music. You probably will recognise it; it's called He's A Pirate.

I know this isn't the kinda music that makes people usually cry, but I'm feeling all fuzzy and I just started crying when I heard this.

Enjoy. Pirates Of The Caribbean, main theme. your heart starts echoing the beat of the music. it is unmistakably recognisable.

Coming Out All Over Again...

"I have something to tell you. I don't exactly like girls. Get what i'm saying?"
"Erm dude, i like guys...*innocent look*"
"I just wanna get this off my chest. *Breathes deeply* I'm gay."
"There's something you should know about me. I don't care what you say or think about me. I am who i am. I am gay."

Some of the lines that i have used in the past to enlighten my friends as to why i never spoke to them about girls i liked, or would talk about girls in a cheeky way etc etc etc. After 4 years of realizing who i am, I am at utmost confidence of myself. Yet, when i am put into new surroundings and i am forced to mingle, i often hold back the whole 'i'm gay' card and try my best to fit in while being myself. I don't laugh at gay jokes, but i don't say anything either. It's as if I am back in secondary school and i'm trying to come out all over again. I often avoid the subject and my tongue ties itself up when i try to use my famous lines up there. Basically, i'm having problems coming out to the new group of people i meet in my life.

The fact is that as a homosexual you come out many times in your life. When you go to the mall and see an old relative and she asks about your girlfriend. When you meet up your old school-mates and they ask you hows life. So on and so forth. Part of being an open homosexual is being able to come out to people comfortably and still respect yourself at the end of the day even though the person you met may not. Imma huge people pleaser. I do my best to be as diplomatic and please all parties involved in any situation. That's my nature. This kinda conflicts withs my views on homosexuality because when i come out i need to educate people, not sway to their opinion of who i am. What can i say, being gay and Ajmal is hard. Funny, being Ajmal also means being gay! :D

It takes a tremendous amount of courage to come out to someone for the first time, though it gets gradually easier the more you do it. You could not imagine how insecure i was when i first came out, unless of course you have come out youself lol. Somehow or rather, i am a little excited about the rejections i will face when it happens and how i will handle them. I just pray that i do not crumble under the pressure. If i do, i can only reach out for my phone and call Matthew, Marr or Kim Yong. LOL. XD - thanks guys for always being there. =)

And thank you (you know who you are) for recognising how much courage it takes to come out. Gimme a pat on my shoulder sometime and say "i'm glad for you. congratulations." - that's all i wanna hear ^^

happy gay pride month!
aj.

Sit Down and Wait, or Stand Up and Fight?

As SPECTACULAR as that PinkDot event was to me, i couldn't help but ask myself, why there was no hype on the local media like on channel 5 etc, or why i did not hear of this event on TV. Is Singapore still not ready for events like this to be broadcast on national TV? Somehow, i don't think so. Maybe if we lived just 10 years ago the idea of having such an event would be... absurd, wierd and WRONG even, maybe. But things are different now and the world is steadily accepting the LGBT community. So why not Singapore media? I'm still kinda fed up at why they removed the gay wedding scene in the show Brothers & Sisters lol.

Our gay forefathers have fought long and hard for many years in courts and parliaments and communities just so that we can live as equal human beings. Its pretty much the same as a country (take Scotland, USA, Jerusalem and even Singapore for example) who has had to fight its way to gain independence, to not let other people's beliefs and cultures be passed off as your own. To fight for an equal stand in the world. Our gay forefathers must be so proud today to see that their dreams are finally materializing into society today.

However, it is not our duty to be complacent that our rights will always be there. It took many years of fighting to establish laws of protection for being beaten 'because he was gay'. What makes us think that these rights will always be around? Just as our forefathers let us reap the benefits of their hard work, so must we let the future generations reap the hardwork we sow today. My message is; don't just sit around and wait for things in the world to start falling into place, stand up and fight for it! As the words of the great Mahatma Ghandi said, "be the change you want to see in the world."

As for all you straight people, this fight does not elude you. You have friends who are homosexuals and/or bisexual. Helping to stand up for them is like helping to stand up for your friends when they are bullied. Although we have made great changes already, we cannot do it alone. We are afterall, one people, one nation, one Singapore. :P don't we all deserve to live in a country where all are equal despite race, religion, economic background, SEXUALITY?

so once again. Sit Down and Wait, or Stand Up and Fight?

PinkDot & The LGBT Community.

I couldn't believe my eyes when i first saw it, but yes. After so many years of being in silence, the LGBT communuty is coming out of the closet and into Singapore's society. In one of my earlier posts i did mention that there are more people that are coming and and embracing homosexuality as a part of life. Not that there weren't homosexuals back then or that there were lesser, it's just that at that time society wasn't exactly very welcoming of us and that led to the relative 'silence' of the LGBT Community. Now, i could'nt believe my eyes when i saw it, but my visions for gay people is coming true indeed. An organisation called PinkDot held an event on the 16th of May this year (2009) and the turnout was much more than expected.

PinkDot.Sg is an organisation that gives individuals, business and people a platform to stand up againt prejudism and identify themselves as advocates of a more 'loving Singapore'. So if you would like to support this cause, feel free to join them in Facebook where they have over 5,700 members already signed up with this groundbreaking organisation.

LGBT/GLBT - stands for The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender / Gay, Lesbian Bisexual, Transgender community in any country. For those of you who don't know, well now you don't have an excuse. :)