The whole CORS bidding thing is over for me for now (because I decided NOT to bid for my General Education and Singapore Studies modules which would force me into the next round of bidding which I want to avoid for now). The good thing is I got the 2 modules I bidded for (LSM1201 and SP1201, General Physiology and the Freshman Seminar respectively) and I still have some 500 points in my Programme Account and the full 400 points in the General Account. I'm good, I'm feeling slightly happier because

1) Bidding is over.

2) I have my 5 modules for this semester.

3) I managed to salvage my Wednesdays because now I have 1 laboratory session, 1 lecture and 1 tutorial instead of just 1 tutorial.

So in all, that translates into a happier and more relaxed me.

I hate(ok, dislike) it when the boyfriend can tell when I'm feeling a little more stressed out than I usually am because when I'm stressed out, the pimples start coming out. Ok, there are other signs like me becoming more cranky and antisocial than I usually am (not that I'm very sociable to begin with lol). Anyway, bidding is OVER.

Anyhow, back to the title. Yes, FIREWORKS. The Singapore Fireworks Festival is back. It's that one week of the year where we see fireworks a few nights over the Marina Bay area. The last time I went was in the year 2004 with the squad mates. We were there so early, we had enough space to sit. This time, I was there with the boyfriend, we were later and were cramped into a prime viewing spot, standing and squeezing with thousands of people. Needless to say, people started shouting as more people tried to squeeze in the already packed crowd.

Yes, the view from our spot was good but it was pretty irritating as there was this middle-aged man with his family (3 young kids, I don't know why people even bother bringing their kids when there's so many people there and they run the risk of people stampeding all over the kids, plus the kids are really too short to see the fireworks. Already, I'm 1.55m , I grew a centimetre last year, and I'm struggling to see) spouting words no one really wants to hear in Hokkien (a Southern Chinese dialect). He said things like "the 3rd generation of Singaporeans study so much until they become stupid", "activists or acti-stupidity". I didn't go to the festival to listen to such crap because for one, I am a 3rd generation Singaporean and I don't consider myself stupid (I consider him rude, undignified and just plain arrogant). Just because he didn't come early enough to get to the front of the crowd doesn't give him the right to make such remarks. Not to mention the fact that his kids kept pushing me and playing around with balloons left on the ground I wanted to step on the balloons.

Yes, they are kids, but for goodness sake, their parents were there and their parents didn't possess any sense of logic to keep them out of the crowd (the kids were from 3 to 5 years old I reckon and kids of that size should never be in crowds of THOUSANDS where most of the people there were teenagers or young adults because the kids run a risk of being stampeded upon. If I were a parent, I'm not letting my kid step into a crowd of that size until he/she is at least 14).

Just because there wasn't space left in front for his family doesn't translate into him having the right to spout utter nonsense. Whether or not someone wants to give up their spot in the front to this family is really that person's prerogative and the Singaporean society hasn't progressed to this stage. Moreover, if it were his family in front, I wouldn't think he would give it up either, judging from his behaviour.

So back to the fireworks. The fireworks were AMAZING. The display has gotten a lot better than they were back in 2004. Tonight, the team from Italy was responsible for the display. I loved it. The display lasted 12-15mins and I loved the finale. The explosion of colours, the way the night sky lit up. Spectacular. Except that the middle-aged man and his family 'treated' me to a 15min commentary that I didn't want which consisted of a few words, namely "wah" and "that's so cheap". Yes, if I wanted to be cruel, I would be stomped on the kids, bursted the balloons and tell the guy to shut up. I'm trying to watch the display in relative peace after them annoying me for the past 45mins with the kids' incessant shoving, pushing and asking when the display would start (when it's all over the media that it starts at 9pm) and the dad's useless and annoying comments (I'm not Hokkien, I'm Teochew, and my Hokkien is horrible, heck, my Teochew is horrible but I get the gist of his nonsense).

Photos of the display will come soon, courtesy of the boyfriend (he took the pictures because I'm too short). He's such a sweetie for doing this for me without a single complain. And I take back the part about me declaring the SIMS 2 as his 2nd girlfriend (Yes, I owe him). He had his hands above his head, holding my camera, taking photos and videos throughout the entire display, all 12-15 minutes of it. How awfully sweet. If things look good, maybe I'll add a video or 2 of the display. Keep your eyes peeled!