E.T.

In case you're picturing extra-terrestrial beings from Steven Spielberg's movie, forget it! This "E.T" stands for "Encounter Tribute". And here's the story behind it...

It was last Friday after work when I had to catch a bus to KL Sentral to ride home on KTM. As I made my way to the bus-stop, a mild swear word slipped off the corners of my mouth when I saw the bus whisked past me. Drat, I'll have to wait another half an hour then. Suddenly, I saw Joan and her classmate and like an excited 5 year old kid, I literally bounced towards them. Apparently, the bus that whisked past me was so full that no passengers could board it. At least, that's consolation for my ears as it would now seem unfair to say that I've missed the bus. It seemed that both the girls were heading for KL Sentral as well and we agreed to try to catch a taxi instead.

Some of the taxi drivers didn't bother to stop because (we guessed) they were rushing home to 'buka puasa' (break fast). Still, that violates the law that says that taxi drivers have to accept passengers without refusal. So much for the law... Anyway, we saw another one coming and it stopped for a lady before us. I took the chance and approached her, asking if she, by any chance, was heading for KL Sentral. And yes! The 4 of us finally agreed to an equal split.

Now, there were some papers lying on the backseat, displaying tributes to the late PM's wife. And this lady stranger started talking to us, telling us how hard Pak Lah was going in to take in the news of his beloved wife passing away. She spoke of the moral support Datin Seri Endon had provided to Pak Lah and the bonding she had with her family i.e. children, not forgetting her contributions to the nation like the batik and kebaya which she popularized.

When we finally reached KL Sentral, we're pleasantly surprised that each person only had to pay RM1.30, which is 20 sen cheaper than the bus ride, and more comfortable and faster too! And from there, we went our own way, once more strangers.

And that was the end of my brief "Encounter Tribute" a.k.a. "E.T."...