Seems like the inconvenient truth is rearing its head this side of the US of late. I was driving home today from work only to be greeted by fierce grey blue clouds looming over the apartments on the Sri Wangsaria hill. Hoping the weather would hold up just a teeny weeny bit longer, I sped up just a little entering the main road off Damansara.

In vain, it would seem. In less than 30 seconds, the sky practically started hailing raindrops on my car. One minute later, it looked like the 40 days of flood had begun. Visibility was extremely low. Still, yours truly drove the usual way home without much of a glitch.

But oh no, that's not where the story ends.

Arriving behind a jeep at the last set of traffic lights I normally stop at en route to home, I waited a few seconds before the lights flashed green.

But the jeep didn't go.

A few seconds passed. It still didn't budge.

I got impatient, admittedly, and honked a little urgently, wondering how someone could miss the 3 bright green lights flashing in front.

Next thing I knew, a huge 6 metre branch comes crashing down directly in front of the jeep, narrowly missing its bonnet, but completely blocking one side of the road altogether. For a split second earlier, I had happened to look up and saw in horror as side of the tree sway violently and gave way. Three cars, including me, had to reverse and drive over to the opposite lane just to get around it.

It only dawned on me moments later, that had that jeep actually moved on time, I doubt I would've escaped the falling branch. I actually felt a lil sheepish for honking earlier, although I had to wonder if the driver in the jeep in front of me thought I had done that as a warning sign. The chain of events in those mere moments all seemed to happen like it was perfectly choreographed to avoid disaster. I drove straight down and made a detour to BV instead, running a red light in the way, because I simply did not want to stop like a sitting duck under the boulevard of trees along that road that somehow seemed to turn into potential freak accident objects. Sigh. I don't think I'll ever look at those angsana trees along Jalan Ara the same way again after that.


On a lighter note, I managed to spend a rendezvous dinner with Nat nd Eug over at TY, despite having dined alone just merely 2 hours earlier at Fish & Co. (For the record, I had a lousy shitake mushroom with purportedly fusion sauce. Meh, Japanese mushrooms and 'western' cream do not a fusion sauce make. Go Delicious for better pasta).

Anyway, halfway through the meal my phone rings. I check the screen, which was flashing my buddy/boss Jon's number. Answering it, I heard a stranger's voice greet me instead.

Now if you are aware of how noisy TY is at dinner time, then you'll understand why I couldn't make out half of whatever the person on the other line was saying. But he seemed to know exactly who I was, and was even asking about a project that I was due to hand in today, if there was any way I could pass the artwork to him. Presuming it to be the sticker production dude, I mumbled something about having placed the files in a CD and leaving it on my other boss Stuart's table before leaving; to which he then asked if it would fit in an email. I then began to explain that I presumed Stuart would return for the CD later that day, to which he obviously did not.

A few incoherent sentences later, I gave up trying to understand what else he was trying to say to me, and told him to give me a valid email address so I could email him the pictures, which he agreed, although with a puzzled tone, and promptly hung up. I went back to dinner feeling just a lil relieved and accomplished at having dealt with a situation under less-than-peaceful surroundings.

Ten minutes later, I get the expected sms on my phone. When I opened it, I was surprised to see Stuart's email address from his phone.

It then hit me in the face like a sack of potatoes. I was talking to Stuart all the while.

I'm such an idiot. I know he wont live this down in the office tomorrow. Lol.