SEPT 3 — I don't mind if people call me "crazy".
The world is insane; I think we are all a little twisted in our own small ways because if you think too much about how nothing really makes sense in this world besides mathematics, a straightjacket is in your future.
One thing that always raises my hackles is Malaysians blocking people's gates.
Last Sunday night I got into a screaming match with my neighbour who decided to gaslight me for being upset that his guests blocked both my gate doors.
He called me crazy, that he felt unlucky to "have a neighbour like you".
Same bro, why don't you move out first then?
It's strange to me that on the road where I live people keep parking in front of my gate but not my neighbours'.
Naively I thought if my housemate and I painted our balcony so it looked less dingy, people would stop mistaking my rental for a crack den.
Even before I was a cancer patient I would argue with people who blocked my gate, admonishing them for trapping me inside my house should an emergency happen.
Instead of being remorseful the reaction I get is sheer derision.
When I told a man that his blocking my gate would mean he'd be blocking an ambulance for me, a cancer patient, he started laughing.
Honestly I was just flabbergasted that people could be this selfish.
Their excuse for blocking my gate and not even having the courtesy to ask if they could park in front of my house was that there was a funeral.
I didn't get the memo that it's fine to inconvenience your neighbours just because you think whatever you have going on matters more than access to an ambulance.
At KL General Hospital the other day I witnessed an ambulance being stuck within the compound, hemmed in by cars.
What must have it been like I wonder to be so near yet so far?
To be at the hospital but blocked from seeing doctors because cars are blocking you (not that the cars could have done anything as there was nowhere for them to go)?
I'm a lot stronger now and my legs aren't as shaky, but I am always aware that I am one slip away from a bad fall and one bad medicine reaction from a trip to the emergency department.
My friend thinks I'm cavalier as I don't seem to be worried or overly concerned about my fragility.
In truth I am always monitoring my health data, pre-planning commuting routes, going over what to do in case the worst happens.
Yet I know no matter how much I think I am prepared, that might not be enough.
My throat is hoarse from shouting at my neighbour but what hurts more is the unabashed self-centredness.
Why is it their problem, these strange men posited, should we block your gate?
"The road isn't yours," my neighbour argued.
"It's still an offence to block my gate," I told him and after a lot of shouting and non-apologies I said if his guests continued blocking my gate I would just call the police.
It doesn't feel good to be this angry.
Of all the things cancer patients don't need, it's stress.
Is it really too much to ask that people not block other people's house gates to ensure the way is clear for emergencies?
Why is parking your car wherever you please more important than my peace of mind in case I need an ambulance?
The Americans have a strange fixation for justifying their guns and I think Malaysians are just as brainwashed about their cars.
Like a friend of mine was proud about parking his four-wheel drive car on top of pavements without thinking about the damage he did to it or that he would block the pavement for pedestrians.
Your car doesn't have more rights than a person does and if you forget your humanity to prioritise your parking, maybe you need to think about why you care more about things than you do people.
One day, bro, it could be you desperately needing an ambulance but your crazy neighbour has stolen the precious time you needed to get to the hospital.
Or maybe, just maybe, don't be an ass about parking your car.
