Dear tai gong, tai ma, ah gong & cousin,
It seemed miraculous that I was telling gor the night before that I hoped you all will bopi (保佑, Hokkien for "bless") me so that I can go back for cheng beng to pray to all of you and the event that deterred my return got postponed the following day. I know, you've all heard my prayers and I thank you for that. It was one of the rare chances that I felt my prayers were instantly heard and answered. Thank you for giving me a chance to pray to you before your graves.
On Sunday, my bro and I were mad enough to sleep at 3am after chatting and playing games at the same time and wake up at 5.30am to go all the way to McDonald's to buy 4 cups of their premium roasted coffee for a total of RM12.50 and bring 'em back with 4 sets of Big Breakfast to cure our stomachs before making way to the graveyard. Muahahaha~
The photostat shop I used to patronize in Kampar has cleverly reprinted the coupons on a piece of A4 paper and had generously gave me one, free-of-charge. Just the cut-out part; 6 coupons on a piece of paper. How clever of them. Haha. And so, I brought 2 coupons back to use. :P
Cheng Beng was as usual except the cock-up thanks to a distant elderly relative (it seems like I have so much against them this year :P) which left everyone except my godlike-patient grandmother fuming like hell. It's because of that distant elderly relative that everyone had to get an extra hour of the painful sunlight besides causing the innocently under-exercised youngsters - me, my bro and my two other cousins - to make a few supposedly-redundant trips up and down the hill carrying heavy stuffs and tire the hell outta us. Inconsiderate people!!! Pfft.
小心太公晚上来鸟你！Blah.
Something bad happened when my dad, 大姑, cousin and I were on the way back, heading to KL. The North-South highway around the Seremban area had three lanes and my dad was driving on the right lane, a.k.a. the fast lane. There was this motorbike (not a police bike) zoomed past our left with sirens blasting. I guess the idiot suddenly swerved into our lane or asked one of the cars in front of us to stop or what, causing the car to brake out of the sudden.
Behind the car was a new Honda Civic (let's just call it Civic 1). He braked hard and was able to stop in time, hence sparing the car in front from any mishaps. Behind Civic 1 was yet another new Honda Civic (hereinafter known as Civic 2) which also managed to brake in time to avoid banging into Civic 1. Behind Civic 2 was my dad's also-a-Honda car. Seeing the emergency braking of Civic 2 had my dad stomping on the brakes hard enough to bring the car to a complete stop just inches behind Civic 2. Just as I thought that we were lucky that we didn't hit Civic 2, a loud crash was heard behind and we jerked forward. Before we could even react, a second bang was heard, followed by a louder third bang and we jerked forward again.
If you were able to imagine the above scenario, you would have guessed that my dad's car banged into Civic 2, and Civic 2 banged into Civic 1. I sort of expected more bangs to be heard but thankfully it stopped there. I was still calm enough to exclaim "Oh f*ck!" before pulling out my phone to call 小姑 and then my mum while my dad and cousin went down the car to assess the damages.
When my mum picked up the phone I was still cool enough to tell her, "Ma, I got something to tell you but you don't freak out ah... we just got banged on the highway...". It was only after I hung up when the fact that we got involved in a car accident sunk in and that was when I started to feel the panic and anxiety. My heart was beating non-stop. I slipped into a daze.
The PLUS people came soon enough, directed the traffic so that all the cars involved in the accident could move left onto the emergency lane. That was only when I came down from the car and stood way inside of the road shoulder where no cars should be able to hit us. Traffic was slow. When I saw the car that hit us from behind, I cringed. It was a Proton Wira, badly damaged at the front and rear due to the strong impact. Compared to the three Hondas in front of it and the Honda Civic (old model) that banged it from behind, it was a wreck and I saw it leaking.
The thought that I would be driving a Proton Wira back to Kampar the following me disturbed me so much that I began to weep uncontrollably. What if the car I'm driving got hit from behind too? Would I die? I know I'm driving one and I shouldn't be complaining, but it dawned on me that the quality of our local cars are really like what they call "Milo tins" - so really fragile. And the braking system... the fact that the three Hondas managed to brake in time but not the Wira said it all. As for the old Civic, its front bumper was still intact apart from a slightly dented upwards bonnet and dents on the front.
The adults did whatever they were supposed to do while I walked up and down, taking photos (I don't want to upload them because I don't want to traumatize myself again when I read back this post) of the cars and jotting down car number plates. The Wira's front and rear were so wrecked that I could only get its car registration number from its road tax. The old Civic driver hopped onto someone's car and took off to goodness-knows-where after the verbal "settlement", but the drivers of Civic 1 and Civic 2 as well as my dad declined the offers of some tow truck companies or workshop staff to repair the cars or whatsoever. Instead, since all the front three cars could still start and be driven, we all drove to the police headquarters in Seremban. Except for the Wira driver who came later because his car had to be towed away.
Thankfully though, there were no injuries nor death. In other words, only money flew away. Thank Buddha.
The process of police report-making took more than 2 hours, which also displayed to me how efficient our police force is. During the wait which I was still trembling in fear, I made phone calls to my friends and cried my lungs out. I was so scared and helpless. I didn't want to trouble my dad or 大姑 because they were troubled enough already, that's why I called my friends.
As my dad's insurance company told him to bring the car back to Ipoh for damage assessment before sending it to a local authorized workshop and the fact that the car can still be driven albeit not so fast anymore (because we didn't know if it's damaged inside or not) for safety reasons, we decided to proceed with the original plan of dropping my aunt and cousin in KL and head back to Ipoh. We took the wrong exit at the Seremban toll and headed south instead. Exited at the next toll and took the southbound exit again before finally getting it right at the third exit.
We dropped my aunt and cousin at my 四姑's place, where her husband - an engineering expert in cars and stuff - helped us check the car which boot couldn't close back after opening to unload some stuff. He cleverly fastened the bonnet and boot with metal wires so that the dents wouldn't cause either one to suddenly flap up because if it did, visual would be totally blocked and I don't want to imagine the rest.
We started journey from my paternal grandmother's house at 3+pm. The accident really took a lot of time but my dad and I managed to reach Ipoh at 1.30am, safe and sound.
On hindsight though, perhaps it was the ancestors whom we prayed to in the morning who were looking after us from above. Really have to thank them for their blessings that I'm only mentally and not physically traumatized. And I'm really thankful that my cousin and I put on our rear seatbelts. When the law on rear seatbelt was enforced, I only put on rear seatbelts for the sake of not getting summonses. But that day, it saved us from being flung forward and a possible injury or even death. Therefore from that day onwards, I will advocate the fastening of rear seatbelts not because of wanting to save that RM300, but it really does save lives.
Even though it has been a few days, the thought/mention of this incident still makes me tear, tremble or palpitate. It's so hard to get over it, especially the two or three days after the incident, where those scenes will flash by if my mind is blank. When I drove back to Kampar alone on Monday, I was pretty scared but I declined my parents' suggestion of accompanying me back because it would tire my dad even more, especially after the ordeal. Thankfully, Molly called and talked to me (I was on handsfree) throughout the slow drive back. The phone call sure calmed me a lot.
For the time being, I cannot take anymore scares/shocks. Even when someone threw me a paper aeroplane when I was concentrating on jotting my minutes in the meeting the other day, I sprang up and could only muster a fierce stare while trying so hard inside to ease my suffocating heart.
It was tough on me, especially at the time when the stress of uni stuff is peaking. =(
It was my first time being involved in a car accident. And it was my dad's first time too, after his experience on the road for more than 30 years. I think it will haunt me from time to time because we always exert so much care and caution while driving but we still end up getting banged. But, like what everyone said, 人没事就好 (the most important thing is that everyone is fine).
And oh, this incident fortified my principle of buying an imported car when I'm rich. But before I reach that level, my dad will never never never ever let me buy a Perodua Viva anymore. He was already very against my idea of getting a Viva when I go out to work (because it's the cheapest car to pay) before anything happened because he disliked it for its small and unstable size. He prefers more sturdy cars like the Myvi ($_$) or car with boots like the Proton Saga so that if *touch wood* anything happens, at least the boot can absorb part of the impact first before reaching the rear passengers. And the accident gave him all the more reasons tohave me pay higher monthly installments ban my Viva. =|
To all the insignificant beings up/down there, please bless me with more strength to continue my current journey which will end soon. I will try to hang on as much as I could. Thank you.
It seemed miraculous that I was telling gor the night before that I hoped you all will bopi (保佑, Hokkien for "bless") me so that I can go back for cheng beng to pray to all of you and the event that deterred my return got postponed the following day. I know, you've all heard my prayers and I thank you for that. It was one of the rare chances that I felt my prayers were instantly heard and answered. Thank you for giving me a chance to pray to you before your graves.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
On Sunday, my bro and I were mad enough to sleep at 3am after chatting and playing games at the same time and wake up at 5.30am to go all the way to McDonald's to buy 4 cups of their premium roasted coffee for a total of RM12.50 and bring 'em back with 4 sets of Big Breakfast to cure our stomachs before making way to the graveyard. Muahahaha~
The photostat shop I used to patronize in Kampar has cleverly reprinted the coupons on a piece of A4 paper and had generously gave me one, free-of-charge. Just the cut-out part; 6 coupons on a piece of paper. How clever of them. Haha. And so, I brought 2 coupons back to use. :P* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Cheng Beng was as usual except the cock-up thanks to a distant elderly relative (it seems like I have so much against them this year :P) which left everyone except my godlike-patient grandmother fuming like hell. It's because of that distant elderly relative that everyone had to get an extra hour of the painful sunlight besides causing the innocently under-exercised youngsters - me, my bro and my two other cousins - to make a few supposedly-redundant trips up and down the hill carrying heavy stuffs and tire the hell outta us. Inconsiderate people!!! Pfft.
小心太公晚上来鸟你！Blah.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Something bad happened when my dad, 大姑, cousin and I were on the way back, heading to KL. The North-South highway around the Seremban area had three lanes and my dad was driving on the right lane, a.k.a. the fast lane. There was this motorbike (not a police bike) zoomed past our left with sirens blasting. I guess the idiot suddenly swerved into our lane or asked one of the cars in front of us to stop or what, causing the car to brake out of the sudden.
Behind the car was a new Honda Civic (let's just call it Civic 1). He braked hard and was able to stop in time, hence sparing the car in front from any mishaps. Behind Civic 1 was yet another new Honda Civic (hereinafter known as Civic 2) which also managed to brake in time to avoid banging into Civic 1. Behind Civic 2 was my dad's also-a-Honda car. Seeing the emergency braking of Civic 2 had my dad stomping on the brakes hard enough to bring the car to a complete stop just inches behind Civic 2. Just as I thought that we were lucky that we didn't hit Civic 2, a loud crash was heard behind and we jerked forward. Before we could even react, a second bang was heard, followed by a louder third bang and we jerked forward again.
If you were able to imagine the above scenario, you would have guessed that my dad's car banged into Civic 2, and Civic 2 banged into Civic 1. I sort of expected more bangs to be heard but thankfully it stopped there. I was still calm enough to exclaim "Oh f*ck!" before pulling out my phone to call 小姑 and then my mum while my dad and cousin went down the car to assess the damages.
When my mum picked up the phone I was still cool enough to tell her, "Ma, I got something to tell you but you don't freak out ah... we just got banged on the highway...". It was only after I hung up when the fact that we got involved in a car accident sunk in and that was when I started to feel the panic and anxiety. My heart was beating non-stop. I slipped into a daze.
The PLUS people came soon enough, directed the traffic so that all the cars involved in the accident could move left onto the emergency lane. That was only when I came down from the car and stood way inside of the road shoulder where no cars should be able to hit us. Traffic was slow. When I saw the car that hit us from behind, I cringed. It was a Proton Wira, badly damaged at the front and rear due to the strong impact. Compared to the three Hondas in front of it and the Honda Civic (old model) that banged it from behind, it was a wreck and I saw it leaking.
The thought that I would be driving a Proton Wira back to Kampar the following me disturbed me so much that I began to weep uncontrollably. What if the car I'm driving got hit from behind too? Would I die? I know I'm driving one and I shouldn't be complaining, but it dawned on me that the quality of our local cars are really like what they call "Milo tins" - so really fragile. And the braking system... the fact that the three Hondas managed to brake in time but not the Wira said it all. As for the old Civic, its front bumper was still intact apart from a slightly dented upwards bonnet and dents on the front.
The adults did whatever they were supposed to do while I walked up and down, taking photos (I don't want to upload them because I don't want to traumatize myself again when I read back this post) of the cars and jotting down car number plates. The Wira's front and rear were so wrecked that I could only get its car registration number from its road tax. The old Civic driver hopped onto someone's car and took off to goodness-knows-where after the verbal "settlement", but the drivers of Civic 1 and Civic 2 as well as my dad declined the offers of some tow truck companies or workshop staff to repair the cars or whatsoever. Instead, since all the front three cars could still start and be driven, we all drove to the police headquarters in Seremban. Except for the Wira driver who came later because his car had to be towed away.
Thankfully though, there were no injuries nor death. In other words, only money flew away. Thank Buddha.
The process of police report-making took more than 2 hours, which also displayed to me how efficient our police force is. During the wait which I was still trembling in fear, I made phone calls to my friends and cried my lungs out. I was so scared and helpless. I didn't want to trouble my dad or 大姑 because they were troubled enough already, that's why I called my friends.
As my dad's insurance company told him to bring the car back to Ipoh for damage assessment before sending it to a local authorized workshop and the fact that the car can still be driven albeit not so fast anymore (because we didn't know if it's damaged inside or not) for safety reasons, we decided to proceed with the original plan of dropping my aunt and cousin in KL and head back to Ipoh. We took the wrong exit at the Seremban toll and headed south instead. Exited at the next toll and took the southbound exit again before finally getting it right at the third exit.
We dropped my aunt and cousin at my 四姑's place, where her husband - an engineering expert in cars and stuff - helped us check the car which boot couldn't close back after opening to unload some stuff. He cleverly fastened the bonnet and boot with metal wires so that the dents wouldn't cause either one to suddenly flap up because if it did, visual would be totally blocked and I don't want to imagine the rest.
We started journey from my paternal grandmother's house at 3+pm. The accident really took a lot of time but my dad and I managed to reach Ipoh at 1.30am, safe and sound.
On hindsight though, perhaps it was the ancestors whom we prayed to in the morning who were looking after us from above. Really have to thank them for their blessings that I'm only mentally and not physically traumatized. And I'm really thankful that my cousin and I put on our rear seatbelts. When the law on rear seatbelt was enforced, I only put on rear seatbelts for the sake of not getting summonses. But that day, it saved us from being flung forward and a possible injury or even death. Therefore from that day onwards, I will advocate the fastening of rear seatbelts not because of wanting to save that RM300, but it really does save lives.
Even though it has been a few days, the thought/mention of this incident still makes me tear, tremble or palpitate. It's so hard to get over it, especially the two or three days after the incident, where those scenes will flash by if my mind is blank. When I drove back to Kampar alone on Monday, I was pretty scared but I declined my parents' suggestion of accompanying me back because it would tire my dad even more, especially after the ordeal. Thankfully, Molly called and talked to me (I was on handsfree) throughout the slow drive back. The phone call sure calmed me a lot.
For the time being, I cannot take anymore scares/shocks. Even when someone threw me a paper aeroplane when I was concentrating on jotting my minutes in the meeting the other day, I sprang up and could only muster a fierce stare while trying so hard inside to ease my suffocating heart.
It was tough on me, especially at the time when the stress of uni stuff is peaking. =(
It was my first time being involved in a car accident. And it was my dad's first time too, after his experience on the road for more than 30 years. I think it will haunt me from time to time because we always exert so much care and caution while driving but we still end up getting banged. But, like what everyone said, 人没事就好 (the most important thing is that everyone is fine).
And oh, this incident fortified my principle of buying an imported car when I'm rich. But before I reach that level, my dad will never never never ever let me buy a Perodua Viva anymore. He was already very against my idea of getting a Viva when I go out to work (because it's the cheapest car to pay) before anything happened because he disliked it for its small and unstable size. He prefers more sturdy cars like the Myvi ($_$) or car with boots like the Proton Saga so that if *touch wood* anything happens, at least the boot can absorb part of the impact first before reaching the rear passengers. And the accident gave him all the more reasons to
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To all the insignificant beings up/down there, please bless me with more strength to continue my current journey which will end soon. I will try to hang on as much as I could. Thank you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment