Saturday, March 08, 2008

for the first time

i visited my primary school for the first time in more than 10 years this morning. it was strange walking the corridors a decade after leaving them.

nothing much has changed. the classrooms still have those dark brown wooden desks with rough surfaces. i wouldn't be surprised if the tables retained the correction fluid souvenirs my friends and i left on them so many years ago. the music room is in the exact same place. the "nilai murni" plaques my headmaster installed on the stairwells prior to his retirement are still there, albeit somewhat worn out.

however tempted i was to wander around and peek into each and every classroom, i wasn't there today to reminisce about those innocent days. i was there to cast my vote, for the first time ever, for whoever i think is best to act in my interest.

voting was incredibly easy. all i did was hand over my identity card and had my name checked out on the roll. then i was given two voting slips before being ushered to a voting booth that was little more than a classroom desk with a cardboard box to prevent my vote from being seen. after that, it was a matter of folding the voting slips and putting them into the relevant box.

the end.

i am proud to say that the choices i made were pretty well-informed decisions. i wish i could have gone to more rallies and heard a couple more speeches. i wish i asked my father for more clarification on the economic issues discussed by the candidates. but what little i have seen and heard has convinced me that the people whose names i placed an "X" next to were the right people and i guess that's what really matters.

i hope everyone who can vote has gone out and done just that.

now, let's sit tight and wait for the results tonight.

lishun at 2:58 PM

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