Happy 44th birthday, Singapore

Today is the 44th year of Singapore's independence. Majulah Singapura!

Singapore became a British Colony in the 1800s. After going through two world wars, the British Empire released Singapore and we merged with Malaysia in 1963. In 1965, we officially separated from Malaysia on 9 August and a new nation was born.

Since 1965, Singapore has progressed tremendously from a developing country to a developed country. We have many things to be thankful for, such as a stable economy, a safe country, good education, a multi-racial and multi-religious society, etc.

Due to the National Day celebrations today, there were only two church services. As such, Da and I attended the second church service at 11.30 am today. Gosh... the car park was not full today. Many Singaporeans must have taken the opportunity of the long weekend to go for a short getaway.

After church, Da and I met up with my mother, my brother (LG) and LG's girlfriend (ZT) for a late lunch at the food court located the basement level of Katong Shopping Centre. My mother also collected her new pair of reading glasses from our optician located at Level 1.

In the evening, Da and I went to the home of the Three Musketeers for dinner. When we arrived, Nining greeted us and promptly demonstrated her version of the "moonwalk".

Dinner comprised curry chicken, fruit salad, french loaf and baby tomatoes. Nining was the host of the night and she ladled the curry chicken into bowls for everyone to enjoy.

The National Day celebrations were shown "live" on television. Each year, the programme gets more and more elaborate.

During the programme, an except of our Prime Minister's National Day speech was broadcast.

At the end of the programme, it was time for snacks. Nining gave the victory sign when a container of cashew nuts was brought out.

Singapore Idol Season 3 kicked off today with an overview of the selection process of the applicants. This Season (as in the previous two Seasons), we were entertained by the comments of the three judges, namely.... Dick Lee....

Florence Lian....

And the oh-so-sexy Ken Lim.... (who is our local equivalent of Simon Cowell, I guess).

Snack #2 was a large bowl of chin chow (glass jelly) mixed with longans stuffed with pineapple. It was very refreshing!

Snack #3 comprised some assorted munchies. Wait a minute... whose hand is that reaching for a snack?

Ah! Little Nining!

The 2009/2010 season of the English Premier League kicked off today with the Community Shield. Manchester United (the winners of the 2008/2009 season of the English Premier League) against Chelsea (the winners of the 2008/2009 FA Cup) - what a clash of the titans!

The match ended on a 2-2 draw. Unfortunately, the Red Devils lost 1-4 on penalties.

On the occasion of our 44th birthday, I wish our Nation a very happy birthday. May the Lord continue to bless our Nation. In and of our own, we cannot do anything to get ourselves our of the current financial crisis and H1N1 outbreak. However, nothing is impossible for the Lord. He will see us through. Amen!

Shaloam,