I dreamed of being an illegal immigrant in Hong Kong, dressed in disarray with hair pinned up in a dishevel state. I lugged around in one hand a fake China-made bag full of daily necessities and clothing obviously packed in haste, the end of a trouser hanging out of the half zipped bag. In my other hand holds a huge blue/red striped plastic bag containing the few pots and pans i have, the noisy clanking attracting people’s stare.

The dream is very strange in a sense it’s not horribly scary but somehow left me in a state of recklessness and discomfort. Besides a desperate urge to migrate out of Malaysia, i don’t have an extra fondness towards Hong Kong nor any favor of China fakes. So why Hong Kong of all places? I don’t know. All i know is i pray hard i’ll never fall into poverty or have to carry anything heavier than a designer Burberry handbag or a Coach tote for that matter.

Oddly even when i woke up this morning my arms and legs ached as if i had been pumping irons in the gym. For a minute i am glad i work at home thus there’s no need for me to drag my sore body to out of bed too soon. Nonetheless, i had a feeling that it’s definitely not going to be an ordinary day today.

First thing i do every morning is to turn on the bathroom lights and brush my teeth. Then almost mindlessly i’ll hit the power button on my faithful laptop. This morning is no different but i was greeted by a feed update written by Kelvin. It caught me by surprise. It must be a joke right? But April Fool is long over.
 

Kelvin Chow may you RIP the King of Pop, Michael Jackson
4 hours ago · Comment · Like

But it wasn’t a joke at all. The King of Pop had passed away this morning.

Today had indeed proven not to be an ordinary day.

My initial thought was “Oh, not another suicide? Damn!”. It’s not my purpose of being judgmental and unfair but with all the things going on with Micheal Jackson, his almost grotesque-like face, the legal proceedings with him getting sued like for the umpteenth times and his on and off comeback concert in the planning, it is easily for anyone to dismiss his death as a suicide attempt. Hell, if he was me and i was him, i would be in a suicidal state.
 

I only found out much later in the morning, after tuning into the local radio station that he died of suspected cardiac arrest. May he rest in peace.

It’s funny to recall the people making fun of MJ’s plastic nose and his affair and fondness of kids are the same people who are now deeply affected by his death. I am guilty as charge. I too often say not the kindest things about the King of Pop in the past. But that’s humans nature for you, we are mean and superficial and we are quick to pass judgment on others mistake.

Be that as it may, i and many others still remain an avid fan of MJ. The dozens of uncountable wishes in facebook alone is evident of MJ’s iconic influence. As of 3 pm today, there are already 255,886 fans who had signed the online virtual Memorial for Michael Jackson. By tonight the figure would be amazingly tripled (at least).

You see, I grew up listening to MJ’s music. Many afternoons after school was spent rocking to ‘Beat It’, “I’m Bad”, “Thriller” and “Billie Jean”. In fact, i knew and still know the lyrics by heart.

I vividly remember the year was 1996 and i was in form 2 when MJ staged a concert in KL. Everyone in school was in a frenzy, ecstatic over this chance of a life time to watch the King. I was utterly devastated that i did not get to go because apparently my parents didn’t believed in life after school then.

Nevertheless, friends of mine got to go and they spent the whole week before the concert preparing for it, binoculars and all. On the night of the concert i locked myself in the room, blasted MJ’s music from the tape player and sang my heart out. The next day, i spent the whole day in school eating up to friends’ experience, making sure nothing was left out.

It’s amazing that many years after his last album and amidst his scandalous and highly publicized life, he still have and is still gaining fans all over. That is how timeless his music is. He is veritably an international legend.

And as i rummage through my old dusty box full of ancient cassettes, i am in despair that i can’t find my MJ album. I am going to the record store these weekend for a new one.