Hari Raya Haji

So guess what yesterday was... Public Holiday!!! haha I know all you Westerners are probably thinking "What is with all these public holidays? Didn't they just have one last week?" Don't be jealous!!

I think I mentioned in one of the my other posts that each of the major religious groups here can pick one or two of their religious holidays and designate it as a public holiday. Well yesterday was Hari Raya Haji, an Islamic holiday.

I am not sure how much you guys know about this day, but I believe it's purpose is to celebrate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son (whom they believe is Ishmael) in obedience to God. Of course, before Abraham could do that, God provided the animal to sacrifice instead. I believe it also marks the end of the time of pilgrimage to Mecca. Well anyway, this is a day in which animal sacrifices are customarily made and over the weekend, over 4,000 goats were brought into Singapore for that purpose. 4,000!!! 

I have absolutely no idea how or where all these goats were sacrificed...and every single on of them was intended for that purpose. I mean, there is no way the temples around here would even be able to hold that many people, right? And it's not like yard space is abundant around here either. I really have no idea where this all took place.

Of course, I spent my day shopping with the family...surprise surprise. haha We ate at a German restaurant that I actually enjoyed more than I thought I would, and then we saw a movie.

Oh, side note about the movie:
The movie we saw was Tower  Heist. It was pretty funny, but with Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller I expected nothing less. During one part, the concierge of the Tower (the Tower staff are the main characters) produces a bunch of red flowers and informs Ben Stiller's character that, as it is Chinese New Year, he has gotten the flowers for one of their Asian residents. He also insists that he must say something nice to  her or else she might have a bad year. He then proceeds to present her with flowers when she arrives in the building lobby and to address her in Chinese. There were no English subtitles, so I have absolutely no idea what he said, but all the Singaporeans in the theatre (many of whom speak Chinese) all started laughing, so I have to assume it was funny. That is when the bizarreness of seeing a movie where the majority of the people around you actually understand the Chinese struck me, and I couldn't help but laugh too.
Of course what I found odd and somewhat funny was that the movie was set for sometime in November, but Chinese New Year is not until closer to February.

Back to my topic of Public Holidays....
No need to be jealous, my lovely American friends and family. There are no more public holidays that I am aware of here until Christmas, by which time I should be back in the States. You guys get Veterans Day soon, then Thanksgiving after that.

Mischief Managed

It's happened. The time is finally here: Harry Potter 7 part 2 has come to theatres!!!
I write this on the eve of July 14th, though it is posted now due to laziness. yeah, sorry about that....

So there is a good side and a bad side to the release of the new movie in Singapore. Good side: The movie comes out in Singapore an entire day before the US plus the added 12 hours ahead that I am.... awesome for me, right? Down side: No midnight release. That's right, they apparently don't believe in things like that here!
There also was a significant lack of costuming... though it was not all together missing.

The review: liked it! Yes, there were differences.... some that I approved of more than others, but over all, I really enjoyed their take on what happened. It's sad, really, that the Pottermania is over, I mean I started reading the Harry Potter books in the third grade... let's see, that would have been around 1997 I guess and it is 2011 now... so 14 years? Wow, that's a huge hunk of time! At least one more Harry Potter adventure remains for me.... Harry Potter World at Universal!... that's right, I have never been. Aggghhhh!!!!
*sigh* But anyway, just thought that I, as an avid fan, would throw out my two cents there!
As we great Potter fans like to say at the end of everything great: Mischief Managed.

Harry Potter Review and Thanksgiving Plans

So, I got to see HARRY POTTER! Yay!
After work on Friday, there was a movie that had just started and wasn't sold out, so I got to gooooooooooooo! So, my thoughts: still not on my list of favorite movies. I liked the 4th and 5th ones better, but this movie was waaaaaaaaaaaay better than the 6th, for sure! It stuck a lot closer to the book, which was awesome. Unfortunately, since they didn't follow the books closely enough in the previous movies, a lot of characters that hadn't been introduced before, had to be in this movie because they are vital to the plot. In reality, I wish they had waited till after all the books had come out to make the movies.... or at least waited until the 6th or 7th one, because J K Rowling is really awesome and brings back smaller details in previous books that turn out to be a huge deal later. She also uses a lot of the same side characters in a way that you end up knowing all of them pretty well even though they were hardly in the story.
In conclusion, movie= pretty good. Books still = AMAZING!!!!! If you are reading this, and have never read the books, I can't stress enough how much you are missing!

And now for thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait! I am leaving TOMORROW morning to fly to Mississippi until Sunday! I. LOVE. THANKSGIVING.
Family, turkey, desserts, and NO SCHOOL are just four of the things I like about it!

HARRY POTTER!!!!! And Linedancing?

Today is a very important day. THE 7th HARRY POTTER MOVIE IS BEING RELEASED AT MIDNIGHT!!!!!!   XD  I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I mean seriously, Harry Potter has been such an important part of my life since I was in the third grade! That's a long time, people! AND, it's not over yet! Part 2 will be released over the summer! I have to work the release, so I won't be able to watch it, which is sad :( Actually, I am not sure at all when I am going to get to see it. I am scheduled 10:30-3am tonight, 10:30am-6pm 2morrow, 8:30am-6pm saturday, and 6-10pm sunday. I might have to wait until Monday! *sigh* Did I mention I am excited? I AM EXCITED!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER! 
Of course, 1st, I have to go to my dance class! yeah, that's right.... I am in a dance class :) A 2 credit Country and Western Line Dancing Class. It is pretty awesome. It is every thursday night from 7:30-about 8:45ish. Our teacher calls himself El Capitan and dresses every week in his button down shirt and cowboy boots. He's pretty awesome. What could make this even more awesome, you ask? Well, when we have tests (like tonight) not only are we graded on our knowledge of the dance, but we can also text in votes for other classmates American Idol-style. That's right. Awesome.
I'll go back to my Harry Potter geek-out now........