That time I almost lost ...

When I was working in Taiwan, I used to ride my 50 cc motorcycle (some would say it is a scooter) to my workplace. I named my vehicle "Little Blue" because these types of scooters are fondly known as "Little Sheep" and it was a reliable little blue scooter that was suitable for inner city travel.

It was a quick 10 minute commute to and from work so it wasn't too stressful on the roads most of the time. However, the city I was living in was notorious for some crazy motorcycle gangs that would come out at night, particularly after 9 pm. One day, I was working late so I was a bit worried I would run into the gang on my way home. I stopped at a red light and heard a low scuffy voice call out "Xiao jie! Xiao jie (Miss! MISS!)

I was too scared to turn my head or acknowledge the person who was trying to speak to me. I was worried that he was a gang member. I was praying that the light would quickly turn green so I could ride off. But it was still red. Again, he said "Miss!" Then he said, "Your mobile phone fell out of your bag!" I finally looked back and there was my Nokia phone on the ground! It had fallen out of my slingbag that had only a flimsy velcro. I was so lucky that nobody had run over it!

They don't make cell phones like they used to. I am sure if it had been an iPhone the screen would have cracked. I am very grateful to the man who told me about my phone and after that I was always careful to check that my phone is securely stored in my bag.

Another time, I had just got home from work and started chatting to my mom about my day. I was getting ready to go out again to get some food so I was rummaging through my bag to take out my wallet. It wasn't there! Where could it be, I thought? I must have left it in my office! "Must go back to check," I said.

As I was opening the door, the phone rang. My mom picked it up and said it was for me. "Hello, this is the security office. Someone found your wallet!" "What? I thought it was safe in my office." How lucky was I that a kind honest person brought it to the security guards on duty? The phone call came at just the right tome too since I would have panicked had I gone back to my office and found it wasn't there! I am so grateful that I was able to get the wallet back with everything still in it.

These two experiences taught me to be extra careful with my belongings.