Merdeka!

Call it writer's block, call it stress, call it whatever.

It's been a long time since I left an entry here, and our nation's 50th Independence (Merdeka) Day seem the best topic to talk about, since the nation's patriotic spirit is currently running at an all time high.

Well, not quite so in our household.

There seems to be too much our plates to chew. So much to handle and so little time. Despite having been in a new department for the last month, incidents still occur to remind me that I am still, the new kid on the block. More about that another time.

Yesterday was a historic day for our nation - we celebrated 50 years of independence from the British colonial rule. Events were organised throughout the country in commemoration of this special day. This weekend was to be a time of joyous celebration.

One little snag though.

Chris was back at work this morning, bright and early, post Merdeka celebrations (not that we did anything significant). Tomorrow, I will be labouring well over 24 hours in the beloved Aceh-like Male Medical wards. What was to have been a long bank-holiday weekend will instead be a dreadful, unsynchronised work week.

I reckon poor Hannah gets a little confused. She doesn't know when to expect Mummy or Daddy to be at home. No wonder she often says "bye-bye" to me out of the blue, as though expecting another disappearing act from me. How heart-wrenching.

Grouses aside, I must admit that the Merdeka celebrations always had a special place in my heart. I remember as a little child I would rush down early Merdeka morning to catch the annual parades live on television. Secretly I longed to be part of those colourful formations and be among those proud marching students.

So, what DID we do for Merdeka?

Well, we had a leisurely breakfast at our local dim sum shop, and proceeded to mingle with the MILLIONS at Mid-Valley Mega mall. Even after we had done all we had planned, we were forced to retreat back into the shopping mall when we discovered a horrendous standstill traffic jam in the parking lot at lunch hour.

Later in the evening, we met up with old university friends back from England and met their little cross-cultural darling for the first time. We would have posted some pictures, but ah, we seem to have stopped taking pictures since Hannah's triumph (been there, done that!), and discovered a little too late that our camera was out of battery power.

To cut a long story short, we found ourselves in front of the TV at the end of a long day, somewhat dreading the working weekend ahead of us. After immersing ourselves briefly in the dramatic life of Jack Bauer (24), we found ourselves surfing the channels and ending up with ... the Merdeka parade.

In spite of himself, Chris had to admit it was an impressive display that kept us watching till the end. In fact, here are some snapshots of the day.

Commentators have much to say about the progress of the country over the last 50 years, both positive and negative. Everything said and done, it is no doubt difficult to attain racial harmony and unity in a country as diverse as Malaysia. This young country has struggled to become what it is today, and rightly deserves to be proud of what has been acheived.

Happy 50th Birthday Malaysia.