NDP

When I first started work at my current office, there was this little part of my portfolio which was regarded as 'public service' and because of it, I used to be 'automatically' offered a GrandStand seat for each year's NDP Preview. (That part of my portfolio has become obsolete now, so there is no longer such a privilege as far as NDP tickets are concerned.)

Back then, I didn't really appreciate the offer, and for several years, I would simply give the ticket away to colleagues who asked for it. Some years, there would be one single ticket; other years, it would be a pair of tickets.

Then, one year, Mother suddenly became interested in the NDP and asked if I had tickets for it. I hadn't the faintest idea that she would be interested in being part of that giant NDP crowd and so, by the time she asked, I had already given away my tickets. Mother scolded me quite harshly for it (weird, hor?), saying that I should have offered them to her 1st before I released them to colleagues! Sigh.

Then, as WY became older, we thought it would be a good idea to let him experience what watching the NDP 'live' at the stadium involved and how it felt. So, we started to get YP to use her lobangs to try to get tickets to the NDP Previews or Rehearsals.

Thanks to YP who successfully got us tickets for several years, WY was able to join that giant NDP crowd at the stadium/Padang for the parades. The year before last year, YP managed to get enough tickets for herself + BK + WS + WP as well as for R + WY + WF + me! Father, Mother and CP were not keen to go.

Last year, WS watched the NDP rehearsal called the NE Show which is open to all P5 students. And because YP herself, BK & WP were not so keen to go to the stadium again (because they didn't want to be showered again with all those fireworks dust which was what happened to them in the preceding year because they had sat close to the spot where the fireworks were shot from), YP passed all her tickets to us.

In the end, we even had 2 spare tickets which we then offered to the Director of WY and WF's CH school plus her daughter. They were both so grateful for the 'treat'. WY and WF also had great fun at the stadium watching the NDP 'live'.

This year, with the passing of the Kallang Stadium, the NDP has been moved to Marina Bay. According to media and feedback from colleagues who have been to the rehearsals a fortnight ago, it is going to be an NDP worth going to.

YP's lobangs didn't yield any tickets this year. So I submitted all our names and NRIC numbers for the national ballot for the much sought-after NDP tickets. By a stroke of luck, we managed to successfully ballot for 2 tickets for the actual-day event. Actually, it was Mother' NRIC number which was drawn for the tickets, but Mother said she would prefer to watch this year's parade from the comfort of her sofa.

So it has already been decided by now: R will bring WY to the NDP at Marina Bay whilst all the rest of us will watch the broadcast from home. Going by the traffic advisories, I think they probably should take the public transport.