maxiewawa

Well I have a new hard drive but without all my accumulated photos. I guess I’ve learned a lesson! Always back up important things

You might have noticed that every time I went to get my computer repaired, something dramatic happened on the way home. This was no different.

As a chillingly dramatic conclusion to the saga: as Aika and I were walking to the DVD shop after leaving the repair centre, we saw a policeman and one other onlooker standing next to a stopped car and a crashed scooter. We noticed a man lying facedown, not moving. It was at a really busy intersection, where four (or more) directions of traffic intersect each other. We couldn’t be sure what happened, but it was clear that it happened only minutes before (no crowd had gathered) and that the man wasn’t moving, getting up any time soon, and probably wasn’t getting up at all.

I swore that no matter what, I’d always wear a helmet when riding a bike. I’d rather everyone look at me because I looked silly, than at my lifeless body.

The whole experience has been profound. I was overwrought about losing all my photos (they are irreplaceable!) but seeing the accident put everything into perspective. I can’t help thinking that at the exact same moment I was so disappointed to find out that I’d never see the photos I had taken again, some poor fool was zooming around Shanghai on his scooter, helmetless, and unaware of the fact that he was breathing his last breaths. Puts things into perspective.

But to take the edge off my dark mood, I got a nice surprise on Facebook. A friend that I haven’t seen for years, Caroline, put up some photos that she took during her time in Shanghai (2 years ago or so). I saw some faces I haven’t seen for a long time, and it brought back some memories.

So the moral of this story is, wear a helmet! And back up your photos!