You've Got A Mail

Koh Tat Liang and Izatul Irene. Those names can still be vividly remembered in my memory till now. They are my long-lost pen-pal friends whom I used to spend once a week writing to them. And about 1 week plus or so, I would have received replies from them. Writing letters is one of my childhood memories that I wish I could do it in my teenhood (or adulthood ^^) life now.

Of course E.M.A.I.L. is not something uncommon in my growing up process. Since da age of 16 (1999), many of my communication were done via emails. One reason 4 sure, that’s how my highschool-ex (first love kononnya!!! Gediks!!) and I expressed and professed our feelings and affections. It’s the safest way. In my country back then, having an affair while schooling is an offence n subjected to humiliated consequences. Not only you be summoned by the disciplinary board, but you’ll be made “known” to da whole universe during school assembly. I guess our teachers forget the basic rights being human – Right to Love and To Be Loved. Ah well…

Now, with Friendster -> MySpace -> Facebook -> Twitter, I guess it makes me missing my childhood time even more.*

Sidenote: Another childhood memory of mine, - collecting coins after every purchase at the school canteen just to make a “secret” mission call to someone xxxx. And 1 minute call costs more than f…ing RM2. Kids nowadays just sending SMS, SNS, what more with Whatsapp and Kakaotalk. Sigh They don’t know da meaning of sacrifices in love as much as we do. LOL.

I have the feelings that I really want to write letters to my dearest friends but knowing their circumstances, I doubt that they would reply me in the same manner. I agreed – FB is most reliable and fastest. But I just feel something is unusual. My hands are no longer moving, crafting the sentences but merely running my fingers, clicking here and there (I found the keyboard clicking sound could be annoying at times). I miss erasing the erred spellings – blowing the dust away – wiping the paper to make it clean to re-write.

Having pen pals is something extraordinary back then. Cuz no one would want to write for another few weeks of reply. But I guess the temptation and patience of waiting make it more special and rewarding. The eagerness to check your mailbox daily, the smile that you portrayed when seeing your name written on the envelope – how much I missed those feelings. Now, no further motivation of waiting a reply. True, it’s the borderless world they say. “Global Village”, as the pro-globalism agents claim.

I guess this is the world I’m living in now. No turning back as everything is fast-phased and looking forward. But there is this lil part in me that wont change fast. As much as I try to be modern and sophisticated, classics (in some aspects) still best to define me!

PS: I don’t know what more could I missed in 20 years from now…

Yours sincerely,

Zokhri