Normally I’m pretty careful. For example, I have never lost a handphone before. I only lost my wallet once when I was a kid (with $8 inside, which was a lot of money in those days, especially to a kid). Oh, and I lost my bluetooth earpiece, but that was because I was pissed-drunk, so that doesn’t count.

I also have a habit of separating important stuff out from not-so-important ones, and making sure I have a duplicate/backup sets of important stuff. Just in case. For example, I have 2x EZlink cards, put in 2 different locations. I have 2 sets of important keys – main door and gate key – and they are also put at 2 different locations on my body. I also have a $10 note separated from the wallet and put into the case carrying my spare/backup EZlink card. Yeah I drove my ex-gf crazy because I always had so much stuff to take out from the various pockets at the end of the day to put on the dresser. She would always tell me to consolidate everything so it’s easier and more convenient.

Nah, if I ever lose that 1 convenient consolidated item, I’d lose EVERYTHING. I’d be stranded.

That also explains why I am still somewhat resistant to getting a PDA phone. My PDA is my Palm TX, my phone is my Nokia E51. If I ever lose one, or one breaks down, I can still use the other. Contact lists are synchronised across both devices, as well as on my office laptop and home PC.

Yesterday, I got careless and lost my “carrying case” which contained an EZlink card, my backup $10, and a host of stamping cards for places like Starbucks and what-nots. Oh yes, it also contained a POSB Passcard. For those who don’t know what a “Passcard” is, it’s NOT an ATM card. It’s also not NETS-aware. It was a revolutionary card at the time (15 years ago maybe?) where that 1 single card replaced the entire POSB Passbook. In other words, I don’t have a POSB passbook – the card WAS my passbook. With it, I could, in theory, go to the bank to make withdrawals and deposits. So in essence, I always had my passbook with me.

I headed to the POSB bank to report the loss and make a new one. The plan was to wake up really early today and go, to avoid the long queue. Well, when I first opened my eyes today, it was already almost lunchtime. Nevermind, I went to the bank anyway.

After spending 1 hour in the queue, I got to the counter. Conversation went like this:

Me – “Hi, I lost the POSB Passcard yesterday. Need to report the loss and make a new one”
CS – “Sir, that card is obsolete! You can do everything by AXS and Internet banking today. We don’t have any machines that can read that card anymore, except those inside the bank here at our counters”
Me – “Oh… so that means I don’t need one now?”
CS – “Yes sir, whoever picked up your passcard can’t do a thing with it because still need your PIN, if he can find a machine out there that can read the card. If he came to a branch, he would still be needed to produce his I/C to verify he’s the authorised holder of the card.”
Me – “What about cash deposit machines?”
CS – “Sir, those use your ATM card, not the passcard”

Oh right. Damn.

Me – “Ok, I wanna get a new ATM card then. My current one is old and worn”.

So, yeah I “upgraded” my old silver-coloured ATM card to the new blue POSB one. That 1 hour in the queue had to be worth something!