Identity Crisis

I now officially proclaim myself as Jin Doe.

Don't ask me who I am and where I came from, because my identity is now a mystery. I didn't say that myself; the banks did. Every bank I went to had trouble reading my thumbprint with the Mykad reader device. Couldn't even open a new account with Public Bank last month- until I drove home to bring my passport and birth certificate. So my IC is defunct. Also my identity.

What happened, you ask? Well, blame it on the harsh chemicals that we all use for cleaning. It could've been the detergent, dishwashing liquid, laundry cleanser- or all three. Whatever it was, it cleaned so well that even my identity has been wiped off.

As a concerned and responsible citizen, I went to Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara to see what can be done. Hey, it's no joke losing your thumbprints- I'd have trouble withdrawing money, getting through immigrations, even getting my dead body identified if something happened to me!

The lady at the JPN was really professional- she said she'd check my Mykad first to see if the chip had malfunctioned. Nope, OK lagi, she said. Then she checked my thumbprints. Again and again. Yep, goners indeed. The only saving grace is that there's still some inkling of markings on my left thumb, but they were so poor most banks couldn't pick it up. Still, the canggih device at JPN could trace my entire history, from my first IC till this third one. She even showed me the monitor, where I saw my progression from a young teen to a young lady to a mid-aged old bird.

So how now, I asked? Tak boleh buat apa, Puan (Can't do anything about it, Ma'am). If you ever get into trouble, just go to the nearest JPN counter and ask for a print out of your Mykad. What if I was overseas? Hmmm...even she had no answer, except to say I should keep out of trouble then.

Keep out of trouble, huh? What's life without some excitement?

Next stop- to see a dermatologist. Would be interesting to see what a skin specialist has to say. Will I be cured? Or will I stay Jin Doe for the rest of my life?

To think babies start developing their thumbprints when they are a feotus of 4 or 5 months. So now I'm back to feotal stage. Perhaps this is a sign that I should start life afresh, at this tender age of 40? Develop a new set of thumbprints. And a brand new identity.

Everybody has a story to tell

I'm a late starter. Have always been.

When Father brought home our first computer in the 1980s, I hardly looked at it. While the rest of the family pored over the new toy and eventually found multiple uses of it (Big Bro went on to become a computer expert, Younger sis 1 and 2, Younger Bro, even Ah Yi played games on it), I viewed it with contempt and happily joined Grandma as the only two people who were IT-illiterate.

When the rest of the world are already into the wonders of the internet, I had my babies and started my family, first with two, and later 4 kids. At the age of 30 when everyone else were already IT-savvy, only then did I start to learn how to use the computer.

And when e-buddy Krista first told me about this exciting new thing called blogging in the early 2000, I hardly took notice.

Only now, as the decade comes to an end, I starting my own blog, after numerous requests from various quarters. Late by many years, as usual. But better late than never, I'm sure.

With so many stories to tell, I hardly know where to begin! And with another 1001 things competing for my time, I'm not sure if this blog will be active. But at least I've tried.

So stay with this Ah Moi, as the stories unravel. If nothing else, I hope my stories will move you to laugh, cry, frown, think...or drop me an email in utter disgust.

That's what good stories are for, aren't they?