Exactly a week, ago my ex-roommate from our Bachelor days came over to Terengganu. She and a couple of other friends had made arrangements to enjoy the sand and sun at Lang Tengah Island.

So we met for dinner in town, after which J and I went to a shop selling mobile phones. Apparently, one of J’s friends knows the boss of the shop, so he said he could get any phone from that shop for an additional RM50 discount or something. So we went to the shop. Plus the fact that there are not many choices in town, OK? Both in terms of shops selling mobile phones AND phone models, OK?

Anyway, I had the salesman retrieve the Samsung E530, E730 and another model I cannot remember from the display case. Maybe it did not catch my attention as much as the E530 and E730 did.

When I was busy trying to figure out by myself the differences between the 3 phones, I overheard the following:

“What time are you closing today?” J asked.

“Soon la. At about 9:30pm to 10pm. Wanna watch World Cup la. But boss said cannot close shop too early,” the salesman replied.

“Ouh? You wanna close shop and then go watch World Cup?”

“Of course! You don’t watch it?”

“Ehm.. Don’t really have time to follow all matches closely la. What’s the score now?”

“The last I saw, it was 1-0. Now, I’m not so sure.” He signalled to the other salesman to go to the back of the shop, where the TV was located, to check the current score.

And I was like, “Hello, can one minute pass by without anybody mentioning anything related to the World Cup?”

“Hhehe, no,” J said, smiling cunningly.

Speaking of which, Aunty Lilian also blogged about a similar situation. In fact, I read her post, which reminded me of my own encounter with people who have the word “World Cup” hanging sooo loosely by their mouths *winks*

Ouh, in case you are wondering, no, I did not get myself a new phone. But I left the shop with a clearer picture of what kind of phone I am looking for *smiles*

The news article about the comatose NS girl who died on June 11 got me thinking. About the poor girl. And about any other sick trainees and how badly the trainers treated them. In case you have not read about it, here:

Comatose NS girl dies, viral infection the cause

MALACCA: A national service trainee, who went into a coma after suffering a series of fits and seizures on May 28, died at the Malacca Hospital yesterday.

Doctors at the hospital said S. Theresa Paulin, 17, died of viral infection.

Mej Mohd Nasir Tumin, commandant of Kem Karisma in Kuala Pilah, where the teenager was based, said she first showed signs of having fits during an afternoon physical training session on May 22.

He said she almost collapsed but a trainer at the camp helped to give her medical treatment and she was referred to a local polyclinic the following day.

Theresa was reported to experience epileptic attacks at the polyclinic and had to be warded at the Kuala Pilah Hospital for observation.

Two doctors at the hospital certified that the trainee suffered a number of fits and seizures and needed continuous assessment and treatment.

They also ruled that she was no longer fit to undergo further training.

Theresa was discharged from the hospital at 6pm on May 26 and sent home at 9.15pm the same day.

The fits and seizures, however, did not stop and she was rushed to the Malacca Hospital on May 28, where she was placed in the intensive care unit. She died without regaining consciousness.

NS Council chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said he would request both the Kuala Pilah and Malacca Hospitals to submit their reports to the NS Training Department.

Forget about the oh-so-innocent stories you heard from your neighbour’s cousin sister’s boyfriend’s classmate. Or that from your teachers. Because trust me, it is not as good as you think it is.

My cousin sister from Ipoh was sent to the NS camp in Lumut not too long ago. She fell sick during one of those days and she was bitten by some kind of insects, but my uncle was NOT allowed to take her to the doctor. My cousin had to participate in all the trainings just like any other trainees, eventhough she was unwell.

During the 1-week Qing Ming break, my cousin went home, was taken to the doctor and spent the entire week in bed. And at the end of the break, she was sent back to the camp, and she brought along all her unfinished medicines with her.

No prizes for correctly guessing what the trainers did to her. Yes, they confiscated her medicines and she was coughing like somebody who had been infected by tuberculosis or something. Those NS trainers had no mercy. My uncle, who is a civil servant, requested several times to take his daughter to the doctor but all his requests were rejected.

My cousin sister had already completed her training and we thank God that she did not suffer major illnesses.

I used to support the NS trainings very much. In fact, there was a time when I so wanted to register to be a NS trainer. But not now. I have lost all hope and faith in the NS after reading about trainees who were raped in the camp, and about a trainee who broke his neck and died after being side-kicked by a fellow trainee, and about a trainee who was beaten up by 3 other trainees following an argument which stemmed from one of them splashing water on him.

Yes, your child could very well be a well brought-up kid but do you know about other peoples’ children? Your teenager could be the always-smiling-no-beating-other-people-up kind of person but how sure are you that his “always smiling” act would not provoke any anger in other peoples’ teenagers? Your child may not be the one to start a fight, but can you stop other peoples’ children from picking on your child?! Youngsters today are so unpredictable, they get angered over little things like who gets the TV remote control *shrugs*