First Days in New Company,A Farewell and Ghost Stories

OK, I know its hard to see the correlation between the three things mentioned in the title, but bear with me please ;)

After all, I am a bit feverish and am typing this under what seems to be much durress. I feel as though I've bee ran over by a pickup truck, smacked in the head with a titanium golf driver , crucified on a football goal post and had stones pelted on me and all while listening to a really bad rendition of "Unchained Melody" sung by a couple of ah beng/ah lians at Redbox that sounds more la "Ah Cheng Buey Loti" (Ah Cheng buys some bread) than Unchained Melody.OK, here goes, but do forgive the apparent lack of chronology on my part.

First up- My first day under new management.Hmm, it was ok I guess but I am still wary given that most employers only reveal the vampiric fangs after the first 3-4 months.But I feel I can adapt to this new environment and my girlfriend has been a constant source of energy to me.I feel the need to continue moving up in my career path for our future's sake.There is a theory in Indian astrology that rules, if the birthdates of the guy and the girl is suitable, both their careers etc skyrocket after they meet.

Now as a devout, Jesus-loving Catholic I am not supposed to really believe in all this la, but after meeting her, only three months back,my salary had increased very substantially..No joke.Sort of had two really good appraisals followed by pleasantly unexpected raises. And not to mention....the day where she accepted me as her other half, I struck a never before gotten minor Jackpot in Genting.Of course the bigger jackpot was that we got attached on that beautiful day.

Second up, the farewell of one of my colleagues who was also leaving for studies overseas.He entered the company together with me, we were of the same management trainee batch.Poor guy worked so hard he needed to shower at my place as it was too late... we hit a new destination for a change- Redbox karaoke.It was not a bad package really, 20 pax cover charge, plus 20 free buffet dinners, plus 8 jugs beer, fruit platters, tidbits, few bottles of sparkling fruit juice, tidbits and a 1kg cake, it set us back around RM 700.The room came complete with a large screen TV, a small screen TV, a kickass sound system and a Playstation with separate TV. So those who did not like the song currently being played (or the singer who was singing it) could opt to go play racing or something.[ pics to come]

Third up, was exhanging ghost stories over supper with collagues yesterday.Was really funny as there were so many versions that came out of the Karak highway ghost.The one I had heard, was there was a creature that clinged on a couple's car and started knocking the roof, and eventually the husband got down to check on it for a while and did not return.The wife inside the car heard louder bangs after about ten minutes and suddenly the police came and told her to get out of the car , and don't look back as she exited, but she did.....and here is where the versions get different.

1)She saw a Bigfoot like creature knocking the car roof with the husband's severed head
2)She saw a head with inner organs hanging out clinging on the roof
3)She saw her husband's headless body banging the roof with his own severed head.

Personally, not that I don't believe in ghosts or anything, but I think that

4)She saw the yellow Digi man clinging on for dear life and knocking on the roof to tell her to reload her phone as 12am expiry approaches.I think no 4 is the scariest of the 4 versions.And am I the only one who thinks the yellow digi man (or his cousin, the blue Danish telco guy in their latest ads) looks just like a man's private part with a condom slipped on?And the 'head' also in the same position....em, but I digress.

So there was this genuinely scary ghost story told by Mathan la. At least it seemed creepy to me.So it goes like this.One of his friends were using the NKVE and suddenly hears people whispering in Mandarin behind him, when he was ALONE in the car.(Don't ask me why all haunted roads are highways, and why ghosts don't favour normal kawasan perumahan roads)

So this dude calls his friend and his friend asks him "Yo, whats the noise?" and the first guy's shocked that the voices are transmittable and can be heard the other side.What was happening was whatever was being said in Cantonese by the two humans was being repeated in Mandarin by the two, um, guests.

So after some time (at this point one of our managers interrupts Mathan "If you suddenly go boo at this point, I WILL smack you) .Mathan did not go "Boo!" and the humans suddenly hit on an ingenious idea.They start talking in English, and for about five mins, no one spoke in the background.Happy with what they thought was a solution, they start yapping when the guy in the car suddely tells the friend on the line "Erm, can we talk back in Chinese?" And the friend on the line goes "Why?" and the first guy goes "Because they are suddenly staring at me...."

And at this point I had to make the 'wise' statement like "Oh I heard from somewhere that ghosts active hours are mostly from 12a-3am" And on came the torrent of ROTFL, and a kickass statement "Why ghosts also need sleep ah?"

But of all ghost stories I enjoyed the one my dad told me the most.Fresh from Penang, he was posted in Kelantan border and one night was driving one of his staff home when he remembered that this staff was really afraid of occultic stuff.So there was this story going on at one of the milestones by the road that every night a girl would be sitting there to woo unsuspecting drivers before she well, I guess kills them.So when they pass that area, my dad noticed that the guy was jittery and my dad saw nothing there.

But he slows his car down and pretends to look at the milestone.The guy starts to freak out.Then he turns to the guy and says "Ada perempuan cantik tengah duduk la, Mat nak tumpangkan dia tak?" And the guy covers his eyes and screams "Jalan Encik !! Tolong la jalan"

Then my dad goes. "Tapi mat , lawa la, bau pun macam bunga melur..." And the guy opens the car door and runs away into the darkness....

So I guess I know now where I inherited my evil streak :P

But this morning I went to work really groggy and still recovering from an overdose of Tom Jones and the Carpenters (from the karaoke) and ghost stories (from the night before) when I swear I thought I saw a ghost.I thought I saw an old man with a towel wrapped around his head sitting by the side of the road, with a kerosene lamp , and cold shivers ran down my spine...Closing my eyes and reopening them, the Misteri Nusantara was solved.Staring back at me, was a kerosene lamp belonging to a kenduri kahwin, and close by, a broken car seat with a Good Morning Towel hanging to dry.

Now you guys have a ghost story for KESAS as well o.O