Just opposite the Istana

With no real intention at all, I happened to walk by the Istana today, and I decided to drop a message.

And as I was walking towards the guarded area, which led to the station where all the cards and gifts were laid, I met with the little scene above. I dunno what the picture means or the motivation behind it, but it gave me a little sorta feeling that I can't explain. Something about the state flags, and our foreign workers still tirelessly milling and tending to the flower patches. Maybe from India, maybe from Bangladesh? They seem oblivious to the event taking place over at the Istana. And the sun was beating down on them.

I dunno. They were just random thoughts but I still felt something. Maybe it was the golden light that shone, making it all fairy like.

Or maybe it was because right before that, I randomly stepped into a quaint chapel along the way while I was walking from Clarke Quay.

Needless to say, I stepped inside. I mean, I am an explorer overseas and I am an explorer at home.

Maybe it was a certain mood that followed me.

And it was a mood that I carried the past few days.

I think from the time Schooling won our first gold, to the moment when PM Lee gripped the rostrum during NDRally and the passing of our former President, I felt a little shift in me.

Perhaps, they're signs that things are changing. A cycle of renewal. The old making way for the new.

And I believe that I am part of that renewal. Singapore moving, changing, evolving and heading towards something new and uncertain. Slightly unsettling, yet at the same time, ever so exciting.

Gives me a lot of energy and motivation to do well in what I do.

Last night, I was at work when Mr SR Nathan's passing happened. There was a bit of chaos in the office as my boss was trying to get everything into order - to ready the public for the big news to come. Reporter was deployed to the scene. Others stayed back to initiate support. Everybody's adrenaline pumping. Atmosphere slightly tense. It was quite inspiring actually to watch my colleagues in action... though some were complaining that they had to work into the night.

Then there was me, a newbie amidst the fray, waiting with bated breath for the news anchor to go live on air.

Finally the press statement from the Prime Minister's Office came in,

and it was the moment.

Lines were delivered,

people were tuned in,

then a quiet sadness slowly enveloped the country.


And in that instant, I knew why I do what I do every day.