Happy National Day Singapore!

We celebrated Singapore's National Day in drunken revelry last night at Yakki's.

Can't remember much of last night, but we shall sum up ten Singaporean things we're proud of. Since Yakki's busy clearing his bowels from last night, I shall just assume he agrees with me on this list.

1. Tin Pei Ling and Nicole Seah
Without them, we would have less to talk about during the last GE. Being so Gen-Y, they brought us into the whole political thingy. From "I don't know what to say" to "apologising to the Muslim community for the comments LKY made", the two candidates spiced up our normally boring political scene.

2. National Day Parade Songs, especially the Fun Pack Song
"In a Heartbeat" was moving when performed live, but I beg to differ on everyone's disdain for the song. Yes, the lyrics suck and ripping off Gaga's not very original. Still, the video posted on YouTube made my day. Laugh along with it for a change. And if you can't, then just be proud of our old NDP songs like "Count on me Singapore" and "Stand up for Singapore".

3. Peace
Look at Libya. Look at Syria. Look at Xinjiang. Ok, maybe they're too 3rd world for our liking. How about London? The mess there goes to show we all have a part to play in keeping our country safe and peaceful.

4. Hawker Food
Singapore food is so hard to define because it's so varied! You can't really have a Singaporean restaurant overseas, 'cos what's Singapore food man? Laksa, Bak Kut Teh, Mee Siam, Nasi Lemak, Chicken Rice, Chill Crab, Beef Noodles, Char Kway Teow, Hokkien Mee, Roti Prata, Briyani, Prawn Noodles. The list goes on.. you get my point. We love hawker food. Good and cheap (Screw Garibaldi).

5. Water
We had no water. Now we have too much (read: floods). 17 reservoirs (excluding temporary one in Orchard once a year), numerous desalination plants. We're a leading nation in water technology, I'm guessing.

6. Cubs and Lions
Our cubs have been doing us proud since YOG. And our Lions, honestly, haven't been that bad. We don't win much, but at least we've kicked our Malaysian rivals out of the World Cup qualifiers. Perhaps we'll continue doing so when our young Lions return to the Malaysia Cup scene.

7. Baby Boomers and Gen X
Yeah, they're not as savvy as us Gen Ys. But they brought us from third world to first world. Because of their hard work, we can kao beh about all the little things in life like poor internet connection, roads being clogged up by nice cars, etc. Respect them aye.

8. Lee Kuan Yew and the forefathers
Gotta give it to the man. We would be living in kampungs and slums, struggling to find jobs, food and water, if not for his vision and dedication. Ok, maybe that's a bit exaggerating. But look at Europe and US, we're doing not too bad for a nation with no resources and history.

9. Barbarella and the other variants of Michelle Chong
You just gotta love the SPG, the maid, the KTV hostess and the oh so Singaporean Nancy Goh. Michelle Chong rocks.

10. Singapore Spirit
Not quite sure what the NDP committee is referring to when they say this year's NDP is to reflect the Singapore Spirit. But whether it's our tendency to whine, complain and Stomp about everything, our never-dying kiasu-ness or our habit of queuing up ridiculously for food, I think we Singaporeans are unique. Embrace our Singaporean-ness, Singaporeans.

Disclaimer: This list is not exhaustive and is subjective. Please don't be too anal about the reasons I came up with. If you disagree, chill for today aye? It's National Day!

Photo Source: NDPeeps