Merepek

For the past 2 weeks or so, it has been raining practically everyday, mostly starting in mid-afternoons. My, oh my, it really pours; accompanied with frighteningly loud thunderclaps and spectacular lightning flashes. A couple of times, while driving from PJ (which at that particular moment was blistering hot and sunny) and heading to another destination, midway through, the rain would start pelting down in huge drops followed by torrents within minutes. Before you know it, water would then overflow the drains and cover parts of the roads and very quickly, you would have flash-floods. I had been caught in quite a nasty flash floods many years ago and my car died on me then. Just like a drenched cat, I stood helplessly in the dirty swirling waters which reached up to mid-calf and all kinds of horrible thoughts ran through my mind – electric current? snakes? rats?, etc…. Aitelyu, it was not funny at all and since then, I have a phobia of being caught in flash-floods. Case in point - last Friday, I had a 3.00pm appointment in the Jalan Sultan Ismail vicinity followed with another one at Menara TA One. When the skies broke at about 2.30pm, I actually called up the receptionist at both places to ask if their carparks are proned to floods. Their response was like, “Huhhhh? Tak ada lah!” See, what antlophobia does to me?

Many a time, I have to make the unpleasant call to postpone my appointment and to quickly find the first turning to head back to base. I hate to do this because it is not easy fixing up an appointment but then, I reasoned, it would be foolish to drive through semi-flooded roads and be like an hour late, and consequently presenting a poor picture of myself. This, definitely is a big NO-NO. With a heavy heart, I’d dial my client’s number, explain my predicament and apologise. And I have found that courtesy begets courtesy; my client would readily grant me another appointment.

With the rains, the haze is gone and we can breathe easy again. Weather is much cooler and comfortable and I feel real good – can eat better, can sleep better, can think better, can bla, bla, bla…...better.

Please GOD, I pray for rain but dowan flash floods. Kam Siah Chay-Chay.