Dear Diary,
There was a freaky earthquake that just happened here. It was a small one. But it was freaky nevertheless, for the reasons I shall tell you later on.
You see, I didn’t want to disturb the others who were already sleeping here, so I switched off all the lights at the living room, where I’ve been, and switched on the dimmer lights. The setting was actually quite perfect for mystery or horror scenes, but I grew used to it after a while. After all, those things are fake, aren’t they?
So I continued typing e-mail mesages that I haven’t managed to reply after a while. While doing so, I sensed that something was amiss. The dogs behind our house kept on barking, and I turned to take a look at the wall clock hanging nearby.
To my horror, the pendulum hanging to it was bobbing around slightly! You see, the pendulum had not been working for the longest time, and Dad had given up fixing it. And anyway the wall clock is an electronic one, so the pendulum is actually there as a decoration.
To be honest with you, Diary, I almost cried then. I’ve chosen not to believe ghosts since I was in the Secondary School, but this time it almost made me believe one more time.
But luckily, Diary, I came with a logical explanation to it. There must have been an earthquake! I almost called out for Mum, but I realised that she, as well as everyone else in the house, was already sleeping. And I thought that it was a small one, and that it would eventually pass, so I continued typing my e-mails.
However, my attention was divided between typing the e-mail and watching the wall clock’s pendulum bob. I was dreading it to stop, but it wouldn’t! The earthquake lasted a little while more. And suddenly it stopped.
So, Diary, I went online to check with my online friends whether any of them experienced the same thing as I did. But unfortunately, only one of my Indonesian friends was, and he didn’t feel the earthquake. He’s staying in Jakarta, which, I suppose, should be further away from the epicentre of the earthquake.
And then it came again… The biggest aftershock I felt. This time, I could really feel the seat I was on shaking with each vibration of the ground. And then again, as sudden as it had started, it stopped again!
So, dear Diary, I decided to make a log of this, and started talking to you.
There has not been any more aftershocks since the latest, biggest one.
Did I tell you that I’m pretty scared of earthquakes? I think it’s because of the unpredictable nature of it… It can suddenly come, and then before you know it, you’re buried under the rubbles of what used to be your house. The same goes with other natural disasters like flooding and others, but there’s something else about earthquakes that I know I’m scared of, but don’t what.
But then, Diary, who would know what would happen to you, right? I might be talking to you today, but tomorrow… Who knows what would happen to me?
Oh yeah, Diary, maybe I should tell you about my plans on coming back to Singapore. I should be coming back to Singapore on the 3rd of March. That’s my current, tentative plan. Of course, should any of my friends inform me that the ‘A’ Level Results are released on an earlier date, I would then change my ticket again.
I should be coming back to Singapore, and stay together with an Indonesian scholar friend. We should be there for a week or two, before returning to Indonesia for another short period of break, before we start our university term.
Now that reminds me that I haven’t written the essays I would need to submit to apply for the NUS and NTU ASEAN scholarships. I’ve got to do them soon, otherwise I won’t have time to edit them.
Oh, Diary, I think I should end here. Otherwise Grandma will wake up and scold me for staying up until so late into the night. Or maybe I’ll just finish my downloads before disconnecting and retiring into bed.
Until next time!
Yours truly,
bcc
