HIDING

- Meiko -


I don't know what to call this state I'm in. I feel like I'm in a big transparent plastic bubble all the time, I'm moving with time but I don't feel the interaction with anything around me. At the same time I'm nauseated as the bubble rolls and tumbles in its path. Like zorbing but without the fun.


Two weeks ago, my Dad's car got stolen, and last night, our house in Miri got broken into. The burglers waited for the right time to strike, the only evening that the house is unoccupied and they know what they're looking for. Fortunately Mom is a master in hiding things, the damage is minimal. The most valuable must be an antique Iban headgear and accessories she's been preciously keeping, handed down from generation to generation. But more importantly, nobody's hurt. I called her, I can sense her calm nerves faced with situations like this. It's amazing how she does that every time. When I asked her if she's OK, she said she's just fine and she just needs to go through everything to find out what else is missing. She doesn't waste time to mull around.


And yet, for me, something IS missing. The last week has been a blur. I sleep or am awake at odd hours. I'm in endless torpor. My first proper meal was Friday lunch. I don't know what I've been eating otherwise. Everything is falling in place beautifully but I'm not feeling it. Not as much as I should. Could it also be....guilt? Guilt that my Mom has to go through all that and I'm here, being on the other end of the spectrum, planets align for me?


I have to pry open and step out of this stupid bubble before I suffocate. The air is beginning to turn stale already.


I need my Swiss Army knife.


If only I can find it.  

PANIC

- The Smiths -


Drama on a Saturday afternoon!

Due to the after-effect of the drug that knocked me out for a good 8 hours last night and rendered me half conscious today, I'll let Nil tell the story. (I swear they use that stuff on elephants).

If it was another half an hour late, I'd be looking like Hitch after an anaphylactic reaction to shellfish.

Images of my throat cut open or poked with a pen to get some air in lingers.

But I mean, seriously, insect repellant? I was told by Nil and Ser who did some Googling that DEET was use in the military and agriculture.

It was scary when you are experiencing it, and it could be even more horrifying for friends and family members who are unsure how to react.

It's humorously portrayed in the movie as almost being a harmless incident but things could have been worse, and deadly. It looked too easy to just drive to the nearest pharmacy and down a bottle of Benadryl. Benadryl won't do any good in my case.

Always, always, let people around you aware what you're allergic to. Insist on not taking food that you're not supposed to take. Be careful when using / trying out anything that you're unfamiliar with, do a patch test.

It could save your life.

Me, I was lucky I have friends like Nil & Ser who did not think twice about abandoning the RM45/pax SkyTrex challenge before we even started and rushed me to the nearest clinic. Dr. Nadia at the ER was very kind and professional in handling my case.

Quite a scare but it was also a lesson, and something to look back at and laugh about that is our little Saturday afternoon misadventure.

The Boots bottle now remains sealed in a double plastic wrap in a Zip-Lock bag ready to be surrendered as evidence back to the owner, one fine day.

break