I’ll probably always remember the 2^nd day of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Not because of the Games itself, but for something that happened to me personally.

It was something that I can say has shaken me, mentally.

On 09.08.08, I, Benjamin Yeo Ee Seng, had been involved in my first ever accident as a licensed driver. For the record my driving license is still valid until November 23^rd of this year.

I, Benjamin Y.E.S., at around 8 pm, the night when the whole Miri had a blackout, knocked a Ford Ranger from behind with my mother’s Kancil. I guess you should have a good guess of the outcome.

The damage was not that bad though. The guy had a dented bumper and I had my front area half-f*cked. I’m thankful I made it safely to dinner. The guy was cool, so we settled it there and then that no payments or compensation were needed.

While I am thankful that nothing happened to me seriously or no serious damaged happened, I was still asking God why that happened.

Today we had replacement classes for Raya, so I went to school on a Saturday morning. But I went extra early, around 5.50am. I have never ever driven off from home/work or wherever that early. I was early because I was doing a favour to drive Nancy and a fellow trainee to SK Senadin.

At school, I had no lessons to teach because my class was involved with a health talk. After that I was on duty to watch the students as they go about having fun at the simple demo by the Police, Fire Dept and Army. I even went on after my ‘shift’.

I also did something, something that I myself would not expect of myself. I finally talked to the pretty young teacher.

When school was over, I helped a teacher reversed her car from a difficult position.

I went off to have lunch, without breaking any traffic rules, and paid every single cent required of me.

I went back to my hostel, and knocked myself off to sleep.

I woke up and the electricity was out, so I thought I’d get out of that. But soon found out it was the whole city in darkness.

I can’t recall doing any wrong actions etc. So I asked God, why, at a time when I’m borrowing money from my parents as our August allowance is held up, when I am going through a physically and mentally tiring period, did He allowed the accident to happen.

But I then realised, everything could easily been very different. It could be some Ah Bengs in an outrageously pimped car with heavily tinted windows that had I knocked. And you know Ah Bengs don’t take shit from people who are not Ah Bengs. So it could have been a violent scene that followed the accident. Yeah, those punks would have ended up in the hospital.

Or worse, it might have been a fatal accident where this post would not have been written.

So God, I am grateful everything’s alright. Come to think of it, my knocked up wallet is already that bad. I mean, my finances are already on a deficit. The only hurt I have is a bruised ego. I now have an accident on my personal driving ‘record’.