Rest In Peace, Mel

Last Saturday, I received a call from a friend I haven't been in contact with for a long time. Strangely, he sounded relieved after confirming my name. Apparently he heard that I got into a car accident on Friday night and passed away. I was really freaked out. He insisted that it was a Melissa of our batch, and I reminded him that there were three of us at that time - an Indian Mel, a Chinese Mel, and then me.

Shortly after that, my fiance's friends called him to check if he was doing okay. I wondered if it was a rumour at first, so I logged into Yahoo! to pass on the message that I'm okay, and it could possibly be someone else. Not long after that my friend confirmed that it was the other girl that I knew, Melissa Tjen.

It was an awkward feeling. Although we were of the same batch and we had talked a few times before we graduated, she left enough impression that she was an absolutely sweet person. Life was too short for her, but God loved her more.

Rest in Peace, Mel.

--- What I read today ---

How the Blogsphere Changed Us
from MyGamersBlog.com

Apr 28, 2008 at 06:21 AM

Most people do not know how significant is the Internet to us. Let me give you an idea on how much it contributed (at least from my point of view) to me. Fall of A Government Facebook Memorial 1. Building a Nation Malaysia has always been known to suppress it's people from critisizing back at the country's government. What other channel to complain and to voice out our dissatisfaction other than the Internet? Hundreds of bloggers are in Malaysia have large followings who would like to find out what were hidden from them in the newspaper reports. The more the people find out about the truth, the more they believe the government is not doing its best and wanted to change. Thus last election saw Malaysia as the first country in the world which political scene was shaken because of the internet. The internet nearly changed the government. Five states fell to the opposition and the rulling party barely have half of th parliment represented. The ruling government tried to follow the internet savvy opposition and have ministers and representatives start their own blog. It is kinda late, but they are trying to catch up. We will see how it end up soon. A year from now, the blogs would most probably be collecting webdusts. 2. Facebook Memorial On Sunday, I attended a funeral of a friend from my unversity days. It's been a while since I've seen her but she was close to my other friends. The tragic news of her demise was actually spread through facebook and Yahoo Messenger. Apparently her brother who has access to her contacts have been using her profile in facebook to send out notices and post updates on the funeral for her friends. Being a popular girl, the gathering at her wake was huge. She was a Chinese Muslim and the huge turnout at the mosque for her prayers and burial of her non-muslim friends overwhelm the numbers of Muslims in the mosque by 4:1! Her facebook page is now a memorial with friends posting Condolences and also recalling her best memories. Melissa Tjen - RIP (1982-2008)