Risking life everyday

I will be off to another assignment again. Back to Jakarta. And this time it will be for the longest time I am ever going to have - 2 months and possible extension to 3 ...unless I have to fly back on emergency case again like my wisdom toothache 2 months ago. I really hope the rest of the wisdom teeth will just stay there as they are now, forever, without any problems.

As usual, visa application is needed and it'll be faster I do it on my own. I am so fed up and at the same time scared of the crime rates in major towns here now that I have to remove my necklace before I've decided to go to the embassy (for the 10th time or so I believe). I used to get stare on my necklace at LCCT airport. Regardless whether people would think of it, real or fake...for my own safety, it's best that I remove it. Father was robbed recently by an Indian fellow with a parang knife, jumped out of nowhere on his bike. Mother was chased by another Indian with a big stick aiming for her necklace. Both incidents happened just within less than 0.2KM radius of our used-to-be so peaceful and safe neighbourhood in Penang! If this can happen in my beautiful Penang... the possibility of it happening in PJ/KL is 100x more!! I am not exaggerating but if it never happens, it doesn't mean things are safe. Better take 500% precaution all the times!

So there was I was, parked at Wisma Time as usual. I resent parking near the Embassy or illegally along the road..so the only choice is for me to walk 10 minutes under the HOT SUN from my car to the Embassy, crossing some roads, passing by some construction areas, with lots of taxi touts, Indonesians, locals calling me, asking me if I wanted to take photo, need taxi, blah blah blah. I pretended that I was either poor Indonesian maid going over to get my working permit renewal or some poor local who was going to get some passport stuff done. I always try to give people impression that I am stupid or poor, to be safe. In another words, appear less interesting as much as possible, to avoid attention, in places where I feel unsafe. Today the police called me when I walked past their booth but I pretended that I was deaf and just continued on. In my mind, I just wanted to get the process done, get my passport and go home asap! It was freaking hot and my sunblock application has its timer ticking away..... SPF25.. :P

Then at this guard booth where I have to hand in my IC to take the visitor pass, there was this fat male in front of me sneezing so loud and using his hands to wipe off his *stuff*.... ewwwwwww.... I usually wouldn't feel disgusted at this but because of the recent H1N1 virus alert, it just doubled, tripled my fear! I had actually disregard the dangers of epidemic because it has never happened or shown its "face" in my life but after today, I will remind myself that if it never happens, it doesn't mean it is not there! Just like the robbery, snatch-theft and all the other crimes that are so rampant nowadays...(I should say nowayears!!!), I should be more cautious and be self-prepared. Okay, back to the sneezing part, I gave the guy a one-kind look, to tell him using my face and eyes that "if you're sick, please stay at home or at least have the courtesy to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze, hellooooo!!" and he seemed aware of it. I tried to take a step back but I didn't! I wonder why I didn't. I just stood there about 3 feet away from him. Maybe out of respect -- I didn't want him to feel that bad, making a whoo-hah out of the whole scenario. In my mind a question came, "Why am I risking my life for my company?" With the disease now categorised as pandemic and where everyone is advised to stay local and don't travel, we are risking our lives, to work for the company, to make sure everything is still running. I really salute all my teammates who are out there working on projects, scattered around the world. I've just labelled them, virus bombers (instead of suicide bombers because H1N1 is yet fatal). We go out, potentially could bring back the virus and *kaboom* the local people ;)

The H1N1 can be simply everywhere, not just in the flight or in affected countries but in the mini-market, in the office, in the restaurants, in kopitiams, just everywhere. What we can do now is to eat well, eat right to boost our immune system and stay healthy all the time, hopefully reducing our chances in contracting the virus. In these times, I really admire Singapore for what it is doing to control the outbreak. A company that I know was instructed to get disinfectants and face masks ready. Dettol is bought to clean up door knobs or to wash hands just in case the office is visited by some potentially infected strangers. Office is instructed not to allow anyone in, if possible. Foreigners from affected countries are rejected by companies to come for work if possible. Singapore knows that once someone is quarantined, the whole business will be affected. When no one is helping us, we have to help ourselves. Remember, when it doesn't happen to you (yet), it doesn't mean it will never be. And this applies not just to H1N1, it's in everything that we do in our lives. Better be paranoid than being foolish.

So this Sunday, when I am in the flight, I hope everything will go smooth. It's all for the little money that I have to earn in order to risk continuing this life.

Take good care.