07.07.07

They say this date comes only once in a century. But actually all dates only happen once. Every moment that has passed will never come back. That is why every second of the day is special. So what is your memory on this special date? Well, mine is quite exciting to me because at 7.07 am that day I was traveling on a super fast crew boat to an offshore platform off the coast of Sabah. I was on a day visit to the platform to do a review on some offshore pipelines – those big cylindrical pieces of metal that carry so much of oil and gas from beneath the surface of the Earth through the bottom of the sea down to an oil/gas terminal on the mainland. We don’t see them that much because they are usually either lying deep in the ocean or buried a few feet beneath our feet. They are mostly invisible but are indeed lifelines for the oil and gas industry. I’d say they are everything that a politician is not - silent, low profile, unglamorous but yet do their job in the most efficient way.

Many people grabbed the opportunity to hold important events on this date. Couples tie the knots. Expecting mothers pray for their babies to come out. Punters queuing up for hours to buy the number only to be told that somebody else already bought it. It’s funny why some people are so obsessed with numbers. I remember almost 19 years ago when it seemed like half of the world’s Chinese got married on 8.8.88. Supermarkets held super sales with items selling from as high as RM8888.88 to as low as RM8.88. I was still a student then. Didn’t really have money to go on shopping spree.

On a different note, people in the UK were remembering their 7/7 bombing in London 2 years ago. Security was tightened, as there were fears of another attack on the second anniversary of the deadly underground terrorist attack. Again, it’s funny why they think the terrorist would choose to attack again on the same date, when any thinking man would figure out that their potential victims would be most alert! If the terrorists were somehow connected to al-Qaeda, why would they choose a date of attack that coincides with an anniversary according to the Christian calendar, something, which I assume, is the last thing for them to follow. If they do celebrate anniversaries and somehow plan to attack again on the same date, I would assume they would use the lunar calendar instead. The terrorists might be using weapons made by the West, or technologies developed by the Infidels, but most probably they don’t give a damn about the Western anniversaries or calendar system.

I think it’s just us being human. We like parties and celebration. And this seventh day of the seventh month in the seventh year of the millennium is another excuse for us to celebrate. Punters loved it because they felt lucky that day. Capitalists embraced it for the profits and terrorists chose the date for reasons known only to them. The rest of us liked it simply because it was easy to remember. I wonder what reasons we can come up with to welcome 08.08.08 next year. Till then, keep celebrating!

Miri
12-07-07