Buang...

It was just another day. The routine of waking up at 8am, washing up, read some news etc etc. Everything was just as usual & at 10am I set off for work. Travelled by the usual route that is Lornie Road into PIE exit Jurong Town Hall road towards Teban Gardens. Traffic was smooth & I wasn't speeding. As I was approaching the traffic junction at Science Centre, I saw the lights turn greenn. There weren't many cars waiting to move off & the distance between the cars wwas quite wide so I slowed down a little & tried to maneuvere between them.

Suddenly I smacked into the side mirror of the car on my right & I lost control of my bike & slammed into the taxi on my left before I dropped my bike & landed on all four. Funny but the 1st thing that came to mind was "Damn it! How much is it gona cost me this time?" At that precise moment the least of my worries was suffering any injuries. I slowly stood up & tried to pick up my bike. The driver of the 1st car together with the cab driver helped me. Once my ride was up, I told them to wait while I pushed my bike to the kerb. Once I mounted it on main stand I walked back towards them while reaching for my wallet. Nope, I wasn't gona make any compensation at that moment. Instead I fished my namecard out & handed 1 to each of them. I was deeply apologetic over this as I realise the 1st car I hit was a brand new Volvo. The mirror was still intact but the glass was dangling outside. The catch holding onto it had broken off.

The driver of the Volvo was a kind man. The 1st thing he said was "Are you ok? Are you injured? Is your bike alright?" Instead of replying to his question, I told him how sorry I was & that I was willing to cover the expenses for the repairs. I told him to call me as it wasn't that appropriate to hold a discussion in the middle of the road. The cabbie wasn't that friendly though. He grumbled on about how dangerous I was riding & that his mirror was spoilt too. I knew I was in the wrong so I wasn't about to argue with him although I saw that his mirror was fine.

So the 2 of them drove off while I made my way back to my bike & checked on her injuries. Other than 2 scratches on the side fairing, there doesn't seem to be any other damage. I thank myself & whatever's up there that I wasn't going fast. The only weird looking thing was how distorted my front wheel looked. The wheel was facing straight ahead while the handle was tilted all the way to the right. But this was easy to rectify. I just clamped the front wheel with both my legs & forced the handlebar straight again.

Once that was done I quickly moved off. I wasn't exactly that proud to stay there & let the passerbys recognise my face or take down my license plate number...

The owner of the Volvo called me a few hours later & again the 1st thing he asked was my well-being & how was my bike. I assured him both my bike & I were fine & he went on to disclose the cost of repair on his car. It costs $600+ to replace that bloody side mirror! Can you believe it? It is a fucking ridiculous price to pay! But then again, it was my fault & I stated firmly that I ought to pay for it. He seemed to feel quite bad to have me pay $600+ for just a mirror. As he was about to hang up, I asked for his contact number but he declined my request. Instead he said he will call me when he collects his car.

My mind was in a blank for the rest of the day as I wondered whether to disclose the accident to my other half immediately or to wait till we met up at night. Since I was ok & there wasn't much damage caused to my bike, I chose not to inform her on the spot as I did not want to distract her from work.

I'm sure that is the right decision although she will not agree...