Explosion of glittering stars

Finding your own patch of sky
It was way too crowded. All of us were shoulder to shoulder and back to back. I really appreciated the sea breeze and it was probably the most important factor that kept me from being suffocated by the crowd.(Is it sea breeze or land breeze at night? I’m no Geog student lah.). We waited like patient sardines anticipating their release from the can (ok, lame analogy but you get the idea). We were waiting to squeeze, push or elbow forward to the open area with the clearest patch of sky. No umbrellas and green, leafy foliage please. We don’t need shelter at 7.35pm in the evening. We only wanted our own patch of sky, clear as can be. And THAT would be about 5 metres in front of that barrier ahead.

Wanna know how many people there were? From my estimation, all Singaporeans who like to go where the crowds go will be there. (ie. 1,000,000 people. Don’t count on it though) The bridges were swamped with people, the merlion had many people at its feet (erm, tail) and Clifford pier was overcrowding with people of all sorts of nationalities. My dad was standing on my left, sisters on my right, mum in front and a group of Germans at the back. Since we were this close, I can’t help but overhear some conversations… and to sum it all up, ALL OF US CAN’T WAIT FOR THE FIREWORKS TO START.

7.40pm Waiting. Still waiting. Germans were discussing about going to Cambridge. (NO, I don’t understand German. But they mentioned Cambridge too many times.)

7.47pm Counting down 13 min to 8.00pm. Hope fireworks will start.

7.57pm Groups of people started screaming and clapping. False alarm. No fireworks. They were too bored.

8.00pm All of us craned our necks in anticipation. Nothing happened. The crowd started to wonder why.

“Hey, maybe it’s not today leh. Scully tomorrow! Everyone make mistake ah!”
“The person in charge last min on MC right… so show cancelled ah…”
“I bet they will just postpone until 8.15, then 8.30, then 8.45… and let us wait and wait.”
“Aiya. I want to eat Ajisen already ah… so long one…”
“Eh, if really don’t have ah, we don’t waste our film lah. Come come, let’s take photo!”

8.15pm Quiet anticipation. People were too tired to crap.

8.25pm … …

When Push comes to shove?
An usher in low cut black spaghetti top (huh? Honestly, I thought ushers for such international fireworks competition would look a bit more pro) came and started to shout some instructions. But, no one listened. The crowd just surged forward, beyond the barrier… I was literally Pushed and shoved with the tide and was washed right up front with my family… and THERE! We were right in front with a perfectly clear view of the waterfront and the wonderfully clear night sky!! There was sufficient space to sit comfortably too! Great! YEAH!

We’re all attracted to the light
Fireworks are beautiful! A sheer delight to watch! Shimmering, glittering and dazzling… My eyes were glued to the show and it felt like pure ecstasy. Never tried the drug lah… (lame lame.) I couldn’t take my eyes off the magnificent red, green, blue and gold lights that bursts into shooting stars… and each explosion added to the excitement and the desire for more of this! I love the golden comets that spiral through sky with their beautiful glittery tails… I also love those little fairy-like fireworks that soar upwards with their beautiful trails of stardust behind… and I love the big explosion of stars that cover the whole expanse of the sky! The show culminated in showers of multi-coloured stars that left a lot of “ooo”s and “aaah”s (running out of vocab coz… it’s really too fantastic!). The stars that were flung into the night sky seem to be falling right onto us and yet they disappear before we can reach out for them… but they are beautiful.. Beautiful! What makes them so beautiful and delightful? Are we all attracted to light? Somehow, the brevity of this makes us crave for more… (Is this how drugs work? :p I think I may be addicted to fireworks.)
Maybe it brings the real stars in the solar system closer to us… Beautiful.

Resolution of the day: I will pack my room.