Deep thinking while driving is bad for your eyesight

The new semester 2010 starts today at the Open University Malaysia (OUM). My teaching slot this time is allocated from 3.30pm to 6.30pm. I looked at the watch. It was already 2.35pm. Must rush to the City Campus, like, now! I don’t want to be late for the first seminar. Oh! Hey! The fuel tank was empty! Great! Just great!

So, with the speed of a hurricane, I drove the car to the fuel station, filled in the tank, and headed towards OUM. After about five minutes drive, I came upon an accident scene. The badly wrecked car has been removed to the side of the road but the scene was terrible. I wondered if the driver (and perhaps the passengers) was alright. Judging from the car condition, he has a slim chance of coming out unscratched. It made me shiver to think of sudden death caused by road accidents. It’s like you’re not given any last minute notice. It’s like an ugly punishment…

The accident scene was still haunting me when I got into the Touch‘n’Go lane at Kajang toll.

I hastily retrieved the smartcard from the front compartment and hit the electronic card reader. Normally I will hear a ‘beep’ sound to indicate that the transaction is successful (or that the card has been read). The automatic lane barrier or the flap gate will then be lifted up and I can continue my journey. However, this time, no matter how many times I waved and touched and up to one point, knock the card reader, the magical beep didn’t realise at all…! Nothing happened. Tak terangkat pun palang tol ni, pehal? Oh! No! This could not be happening to me. I took a peep at the side mirror and saw that cars were forming a long queue behind me and that created bigger panic in me. Could it be possible that I don’t have sufficient balance in the smartcard?

Ala Kassim…Mati la mak macam ni..!

For a few seconds, my head was blank. I wish I could turn my car invisible and reappear in front of my house. That would solve the problem. Next time I’ll consider installing a special car seat that could be ejected and !!puff!! ......here I land somewhere far away from the toll. But for now, what must I do? How do I face this humiliation?

Hey, wait a second. There’s a “panic button” that stucked drivers like me can press when they need help. The intercom, of course! Okay, I’ll call someone for help. Stay calm, do not overreact. Where’s the button…

Ahh.. there it is.. Eh, this looks just like…..

ARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!

I have just realized that actually I did not wave my card at the electronic card reader, instead, I repeatedly waved and touched it on the intercom speaker right next to the reader…!! No wonder it's not working. Ayoyo, malunyer aku!!! Gosh! Where was I just now, at the planet of the apes? When returned to reality, I touched the smartcard on the reader and !!puff!! , this time the lane barrier lifted up.

So magic...!

Hurry, Ati…! Make a move…

Ceh!! So malu….!!!