There's one lucky person who hit jackpot today... and it's not me.
This morning I woke up early to fix up my bike because of some wobbling that I kept experiencing whenever I went above 100kph on the highway. It was as if the bike was shaking it's head saying "no! no!" as soon as I reached that speed, and it keeps on wobbling and shaking its head and won't stop until I slow down. The culprits, as I found out, were loose spokes at the back wheel, meaning the wheels weren't actually turning around in a circle as the bike went. I was afraid that the head wobble might worsen and go into a deadly tank slapper if I didn't find out what's wrong with the bike and fix it quickly.
And so after making sure that the rear wheel spokes were all tight and aligned correctly, I put on my riding gear and strapped my bag at the rear of the bike and made sure that the bungee cords holding my bag were all tight and secure.
Vroooom!
Off I went down C5 towards South Superhighway. There was very little traffic and so I increased speed gradually until I got to 100kph. I felt for any telltale head wobble but there was none to speak of and so I quickly twisted the throttle and went faster to 120kph. The wind blast was great! The wind buffeted my body and whistled past my helmet but there was no wobble at all. The bike was so stable I could actually let go of the handlebars and the bike would coast along happily without complaining. I zoomed past the cars and the trucks and quickly rode through the bumpy service road towards Alabang.
As I was nearing my destination, I moved my arm towards the back of my bike to feel if my bag was still securely fastened.
Wala!
As in my bag wasn't there!
I looked at the back and all I saw were the bungee straps that were supposed to hold my bag in place.
Patay! Either my bag fell off somewhere along the way or someone snatched it while I was stopped. But then I remember that I only stopped once at the Sucat interchange when I waited for the traffic officer to signal me to proceed. Such is the beauty of riding a bike - from Pateros to Sucat it was non-stop all the way. Traffic was never a hindrance.
I quickly made a beeline and retraced my route back hoping that my bag just fell off somewhere and that no one had picked it up yet.
Anyway, long story short... I lost my bag.
I called my my cellphones (which were inside my bag) but the phones only rang. No one answered the phone. Maybe people saw the bag but they were afraid to touch it thinking there might be a bomb inside?
So I texted my phones and left a message there giving instructions to the finder to contact me if ever a good soul found my bag.
I'm still waiting... I just called up my phones again but the "subscriber could not be reached" anymore.
Tsk tsk.
That's one lucky fellow who got my bag.
I had my house keys in there also. Now, when it comes to securing the house, I'm one security freak. I had gone great lengths to secure my house since I often leave it unattended. Even a determined thief will have a hard time breaking in and entering the house. To get inside, I had to call up the caretaker of the house to destroy a window just so I could get in and retrieve my spare keys. (ok, ok, so sue me for leaving my spare keys inside the house and not depositing them somewhere safe outside.)
I now accept my loss. So here's my requiem piece for my phones. Goodbye XDAii, 6680 and 6150. Gone also are my pictures, my messages, my notes, my journal, and my contact list. Good thing I didn't have any provocative pictures in those phones, hehehe.
Oh well, life goes on. True, it's a painful loss. And call me stupid for being so careless. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Aaaarrghhh!
I'll try not to fret at this loss. But I would rather listen to the whisper, "The Lord is able to give thee much more than this."
Thank God I'm still alive to enjoy His blessings and I am grateful to Him for this experience. I still trust in Him... always.
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"And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this." (2 Chronicles 25:9)