Dancing Buttacupp

These past few days have been crazy, sad and erm, weird.

The first event under ‘weird’ happened when I realized that something which I hung out to dry was missing, an undergarment, at my rented house in Port Dickson. I looked everywhere for it, but could not find it. Could a cat or a squirrel have decided to pull a prank on me? Don’t know. If it was intentional, who would want used undergarments? Freaky…

Crazy happened when I wanted to leave from work to my parent’s house in Bangi, at

8.30 p.m.

I started the car and was shocked that the car could not start. Thankfully, my office mates were still in the office. I called them down and all of them i.e. Syaiful, Andrew, Majid, Abu, Michelle and Amin came down to help. It turned out the problem was a defunct battery. I admit, I’m really lame at this automobile stuff. Thus, I postponed my journey to the next morning. To be honest, I was frightened like hell. My past experiences were bad where the car I was driving died in the middle of the road in Ampang (my dad’s car), the car my sister and I suddenly stopped working at KESAS on the way to Subang, etc. I consider myself fortunate as the problem manifested itself before I left for Bangi, and not while on the road, at night. I’ve lost my way before in Seremban- once is enough an experience.

On that same night, I received a shocking SMS. A person whom I was fortunate of knowing his acquaintance, passed away earlier that day. He met an accident. A metal slab at a construction site adjacent to the entrance to his office fell on his car, killing him instantly, while his wife is in critical condition. He leaves behind 2 young children. Though I never knew him as well as others, I had fond memories. He was kind and shared a lot of knowledge with me. His presence will be sorely missed.

I answered a call. The message was received. After the approval of my medical examination (after 10 days of waiting & anticipation), I can finally start work at Shell.

Though I am overjoyed, leaving the office with the colleagues-cum-friends and boss-turned-friend, it was really hard. Moving out of my house and living alone will also be a challenge. Hey, that’s what life’s all about isn’t it?

So here I am. Moving into the world of competition, long hours in the back drop of sun sea and coconut trees. The perfect setting for a beach bum life. Corporate beach bum could work I guess.

Oh well. Wish me all the best, guys. Don’t forget to pray for my sanity and safety. I start on the 12th of Dec, 2005.

I was inspired by a man, a dear old friend of dad’s that called on us for a visit on Saturday. He came all the way from St Louis, Missouri, USA.We prepared a special dinner just for him.

He said, "It is a rare occasion where people would meet for the sake of friendship, as most would do so for business purposes or for political support".

I agree.

After listening and observing a discussion between a Peace advocate who heads a reputable NGO with a respectable leader, I was told by my supervisor to wheel the guest of honor out. Well, he only said, "Asma, tolong…", assuming that I actually understood what he meant. Surprise surprise.

I held on to the handle of the wheel chair, and drove him to the elevator. There were a few suited gentlemen, and I wondered which one will be sending our guest off, as I didn’t know who had brought him in.

We entered the elevator, and I stepped out. The elevator door quickly closed behind me. Immediately I asked one of the men who was supposed to take the guest to his car. They stared at me, "Aren’t you supposed to do it?"

"I am?", bewildered.

"Then how is he supposed to get down?". With that, the guard pressed the elevator button "down", and the door opened once more, revealing a smiling man in a wheel-chair. He good-naturedly asked, "Is there anyone else going down?"

Then the guard quickly went into the elevator and attended to our guest. Soon after the elevator door closed, the whole floor erupted in laughter, at my expense. I just realized that I was supposed to bring him down. They couldn’t stop laughing. It is ridiculously funny when you think about it.

After explaining myself over and over, everybody only remembered my funny expression, as well as the response given by our guest, who now holds a special place in my heart. Not only does he have some brilliant ideas, but even with his disability, he still writes, reads, and travels. Most importantly, being a public figure, he doesn’t demand nor expect a handout/special favors from others…