Till death do us part…

‘Uncle Louis has gone home to the Lord at about 2.20am’ that was the sms I received from my eldest brother at 11.08 today. I was stunned. The news was expected as my uncle has been battling cancer for sometime now but to hear the news felt so…foreign. Surreal almost.

It’s 12.12 now. So I’m guessing maybe the shock has not hit me just yet. I was silent. Total opposite from a few seconds before that. We were having kai ma’s (Prof Chois’) class and the mood was light. Jokes and laughter filled the air.

I guess that I will be crying soon.(would that mean it’s wrong that I don’t cry? no, I don’t think so.) Then thinking about all that he has told me. We were not that close in the sense that we call up each others family to chat but we do meet up occasionally. Chinese New Year and family gatherings mostly. He was a lively character.(ironic now.)

He was the one that would accompany Tai Pak (eldest uncle) to go around visiting family in Port Dickson. He had an air about him, an almost care free way of living life. He used to drink like a fish. Still do on occasions with Si Pak. But he cut cold-turkey when he got the news. He had liver cancer. He got healthy, took up wall-climbing even. But he never fully recovered.

I can still remember the last time I met him. It was during Loi Shins wedding last month. He kept pushing me to go overseas. ‘Don’t listen to your mom. But be realistic. Have a well thought out plan. Everyone wants to go overseas. But many don’t think about HOW’ at least that was what I thought he was telling me. He was challenging me and my goals.

He always does that…did…

My condolences goes out to Auntie Catherine, and their daughters Jessica and Victoria. I know that they have gone through a lot as a family….and I hope that they can carry on knowing that Uncle Louis will forever be remembered.

II Corinthians 5:8 ‘…to be absent from the body and present with the Lord’

Silver lining~

What you are about to read is a true story. It is in no way fabricated and none of the names have been changed. This is an account of what had happened to ME last Thursday.

3.30
After having lunch with Joel and sister, Putri, Shaun, Wina, Mei and Deryk at Amcorpmall, I was sent to the Mid Valley KTM station to go back to Seremban. I took the money out from my bag without taking out my purse and chuck the rest off the change into the bag.

3.45
The train arrived. I boarded it and found a seat next to a Malay lady. She was friendly and asked me to wake her up when the train has reached Nilai station in case she fell asleep. I took out my book to do some reading. There was a young Indian man who was listening to some Indian music on loud speaker through his mobile phone. After 10 min I decided to politely ask him to switch it off. The journey went uneventfully. Or so I thought. Some where after Serdang I decided to listen to my MP3. Nilai came and the lady left.

5.30pm
I arrived at Seremban station.On the way out I woke up a Malay man who was still asleep. I was sure he wanted to get down on that station as it was the last. He was grateful. I decided to wait near the main road for Anu. I gave her a call and she was on her way.

6.10pm
Anu arrived. I proposed that we go to the bakery store at Kemayan Square to get some supplies. Once we reached I dug into my bag for my purse. It was gone. It seemed so surreal. I was not panicking. I was emotionless if that is at all possible.But I remember saying that it feels like in the movies. So unreal. I searched through my bag thoroughly, but it was not there. Anu suggested I return to the KTM station. I approached the station master. Reality was setting it little by little. I reported to him what happened. They took down the contents of my purse and my contact number. They were kind. "This thing happens quite often, especially at Mid Valley station." perhaps trying to console me They told me to lodge a report at the nearest police station.

7.00 pm
We arrived at the Rahang police station. I gave them a detailed account of what had happened. Then while asking them what should I do next, Reality kicked in. A delayed shock reaction. I started crying. Thoughts were flying in my mind.

-My mom can never know about this
-How did I lose it? Wow they must be good.
-Will I ever recover my purse. I don’t care about the money just all my cards and something personal.
-Does it make a difference if I say ‘ I lost it and ‘It was stolen?
(I’m not sure about the later)
-What number do I call concerning my ATM cards?
-What wrong doings can my driving license be used for?

7.20pm
There I sat in Anu’s car. Calm collected, still a little shocked but already looking at the bright side.

-Hey, I’ve always wanted a new picture for my Mycard WITH Touch&Go features.
-Should get it done tomorrow. What time and what to wear?^^(I was in and out in 6 min!pleasant surprise at how fast and friendly they were)
-Must call up bank to bar ATM cards.
-Ask dad for money.
-Wow, what an interesting experience.
-Lucky this happened before they implemented rm100 per Mycard^^
-What about my driving license? I’m in no hurry as I seldom drive.
-oh dear my matrix card.

So now I’m back in University Malaya, with a temporary ID, no matrix and ATM cards.
No purse…Come to think off it I was lucky.
-I only lost RM50.
-Lucky in the sense that I might have lost more if I had not done some shopping previously (IN YOUR FACE KEL!!!)
-Lucky that it only took me 6 min and RM30 instead of RM100 to do my ID card. -Lucky in the sense that Anu was there with me. (Thanks Nu~)
-and also the fact that my mobile phone battery passed away(died) on my way back after I did my report and not before.
-and I’m fortunate to have friends to help me settle the aftermath.

So all in all I guess I did what my dad told me to do ‘chalk it up as an experience’ It was…interesting I would say^^ but then again that's just me^^