Changing Lives » Coincidence

Details of My Fire Accident in Thailand

Ian Selvarajah — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 02:04:00 +0000

Those of you who have me on Facebook, might have guessed from my status a few weeks ago that I had an incident in Thailand. The main picture for this entry was going to be the picture my friend took about 10-15mins after the accident, but some people found it a little gross and preferred a warning. So, instead of the pic automatically showing up, please click here to see it.

FAQ

Were you in that big club fire in Bangkok??
Nope. This happened at a big new year’s beach party in Koh Phangan

What happened?
We noticed some people were having trouble starting a bonfire and being a nice person, I offered to help out. It ended up being quite big. I was a little too close to the fire when someone accidentally bumped into me and I fell in. I jumped back up within a split second, brushed the embers (and my first layer of skin) off, but the damage was already done: 1st and 2nd degree burns in a split second!

Were you alone?
Thank God I was not. I had 2 amazing volunteers from Nepal that were with me and who took great care of me. Craig was the one holding my arm up while the doctors peeled the skin off during the treatment; I probably couldn’t have gone through that on my own! Craig and Moose- thanks again for everything!!!

That must have hurt like hell!?
The burn itself wasn’t that bad, probably due to the shock and the adrenaline. The doc mentioned that I lost about 8%-9% skin surface area and usually at 10% people tend to go into shock, so I was probably just on the borderline.

The treatment afterward was absolutely excruciating!! I believe it was on the third day when the pain was so bad that I was actually gritting my teeth and almost screaming in pain. Craig told me after the fact that he was staying strong for me, but that it was really too much to watch.

Are you smiling while they’re peeling off your skin in the pic?!
Although I was trying to maintain my good humour and smile, I think it’s more of a wince from the pain as the soot, sand and skin came off.

What was going through your mind when this happened?
Honestly – although it was pretty bad, I’m very quick to turn a negative into a positive, so I was immediately thanking God that it wasn’t worse, that my face was fine, that I wasn’t alone and figured that in the worst case, if it scars, then it’d be time to get that sleeve tattoo!

Is it going to scar?
According to the docs, I should hopefully get the colour back in about 4 months and it might leave some marks for a few years, but gradually, most of it should be back to normal.

The good news it that the doctors (and nurses) in Thailand and Nepal did a great job and everyone here says it’s healing up very well. Here are some pictures from exactly a month later when most of the skin has come back. If you’re wondering why my arm is shiny, my uncle (also a doctor) recommended I put olive oil on the arm to help with the [risk of] scarring. Yes, I’m also using vitamin E cream!

Proverbs 16:9 – The Right Place at the Right Time

Ian Selvarajah — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:36:00 +0000

“The Step” Flickr Photo by * Cishore ?

“The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.”
-Proverbs 16:9 (NAV)

Do you ever have those moments when you wonder what’s going on with your life? If you’re really doing what you’re supposed to be doing? If you’re meeting your goals in a timely manner? If you’re in the right place? I have these moments of reflection every once in a while. They also seem more frequent as I get older, but something always seems to happen that reminds me that “What’s meant to be, is meant to be.”

One sunny summer morning, after being on my current project for about 2 weeks, my mind started wandering again. That afternoon, I went to see someone and I noticed that among the clutter of Post-its, comic strips, notes and other random stuff on his cubicle wall, he had a calendar that caught my eye. This calendar had a Bible verse for each month and in this case, the month was June; my birth month. I take it you can guess what verse was displayed for “my” month.

Despite things not really going my way, [coincidentally] coming across this verse served to remind that I was, indeed, exactly where I was supposed to be...

Interesting Coincidence This Afternoon

Ian Selvarajah — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:07:00 +0000

Isn’t it strange how sometimes someone you’ve just met can provide valuable advice and speak to you as if you’ve known each other for years?

I have a couple of examples of this, but they just announced that my plane is boarding. I’ll be back…

Finally Got My Hands on a Nintendo Wii!

Ian Selvarajah — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:21:00 +0000

Over the Christmas holidays my sister told me that one of her friends had bought a Nintendo Wii for $320 and that he managed to sell it on Ebay for $450. As Christmas got closer, the price of Wiis on Ebay had shot up closer to $700 for the basic package.

About 2 weeks before Xmas I went to have a look for Wiis on Ebay because I was curious. I did a local search so I could find one nearby. I ended up finding one that was “hardly used” being sold by a gentleman who lived about 10mins away from our place. The bidding was at $350 and the auction was ending in about 5 hours. I checked with Liza and she was willing to split the cost with me up to $400.

I went back a little less than 5 hours later and the bidding was at $390. I waited until there was about 5 seconds left and bid $400. I unexpectedly (it had been a while) got the confirmation screen! I quickly confirmed and won the auction at $400 CAD with 1 second to spare…

Here’s the best part- I was willing to pay up to $500 because of all the accessories that came with it and the fact that it’s next to impossible to find it in stores! So, for $400 we got: The Wii, 2 extra remotes, Wii Play, Madden NFL ’08, Guitar Hero 3 and an Intec carrying case. Total value of: ~$600!

I went home for the first time in about a month this weekend and I’m hooked! This is by far the best deal I’ve ever gotten on Ebay! Have you gotten any good Ebay deals?

What do YOU Love?

Ian Selvarajah — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 04:28:00 +0000

Here’s a funny coincidence that happened a couple of months ago. I swear, I don’t make this stuff up!!

I was sitting in the airport when an attractive young lady walked by me with a top that said: “I love my boyfriend”. I smiled to myself as this girl was ~~well endowed~~ ~~well shaped~~ very pretty and this was a clever way to avert being hit on. Here comes the best part…

Within 3 to 5 minutes of this lady walking by, an overweight gentleman, who’s stomach was hanging out of the bottom of his t shirt, walked by. HIS t shirt said: “I love fried chicken”. I almost burst out laughing thinking: “I bet you do!!” and because the complete opposite of this guy just walked by! Well, I suppose the cute girl might love fried chicken too, but probably not as much as this guy!

What would your TShirt say?

I think I’d want mine to say “I love lamp”. 10 points to whoever can tell me what that’s from!

My First Celebrity Sighting

Ian Selvarajah — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 23:35:00 +0000

I wish it had been someone cooler…ah well!

I was going down to the lobby to meet my friend for supper. As I was about to step out of the elevator a gentleman stepped in and almost ran into me. As I looked up with a “Wtf?!” kinda’ look on my face (I hate when people do things like that: wait for people to get out of elevators, buses, subways before you get on!!!) I suddenly realized who it was. By this point I probably had an even bigger “WTF?!!?!” look on my face.

The girl at the front desk had seen me do a double-take as I left the elevator and she said: “Yup, that was him.”. I laughed and said: “Well, that’s why I decided it was best that I didn’t shake his hand! I hope he’s not staying on the first floor. I’d like to get some sleep tonight!!”. Everyone in the general area started cracking up.

If it had been someone else I probably would have stopped and asked for an autograph. I just got in from supper and the girl at the front desk said that he’s gone to sign autographs and there are well over 400 people there. Apparently some people consider him a legend. The celebrity I saw was none other than our buddy…

Ron Jeremy

SAP Sales and Distribution Academy

Ian Selvarajah — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 05:04:00 +0000

I’ve been in Toronto for the last 2 weeks at the SAP Sales and Distribution academy. I have a week in Montreal and then I’ll be heading back for another 2 weeks this Sunday to complete the course. Immediately after the course I will write the certification exam after which I’ll be an SAP certified consultant! It’s pretty much a 12+ week course crammed into a 4 week intensive.

The course is actually very very very interesting, but there is SOO much to learn/remember in a very short time period! I was hired for my Sales/Distribution experience at IKEA and what’s cool now is that I’m even putting to use things I learned back when I worked in a warehouse when I was 14!

I was glad when I saw it was a small class (only 6 of us) because I knew we would get really personalized attention. However, I got a little nervous when I found out that the other 5 students all have 5-10 years of SAP experience! As always, a potentially difficult situation has turned to my advantage: not only am I getting personalized attention from the instructor, but the other students are helping me a lot as well! For instance, when I ask a question and I get a response someone will say: “Hey, why don’t you show him xyz, it might make it clearer!”. Once again, it turns out I’m blessed! Wish me luck for the exam!!

Is YOUR Name Ian?

Ian Selvarajah — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 04:12:00 +0000

I attended a debate this evening (more on that later if I have time) and ran into one of my sisters’ friends. She was speaking to a guy when I walked up, so I politely waited. She saw me and said: “Hey Ian! How’s it going!?”

- Your name is Ian?!, said the guy who was speaking to her
- Yes…?
- No way…crazy.
- [Trying to figure out why this is crazy] …Is YOUR name Ian?
- Ha ha, no, but I know you.
- Mmm…I don’t think so…?
- Yup, I went to Emmanuel [my high school] and I graduated with you guys.
- I REALLY don’t think so.
- Well, no, I left 2 years before grade 11.

I normally never forget a face, but I had to look at him for a good 10 seconds before I finally figured out who he was! It was, in fact, one of my friends from high school who I hadn’t seen for over 10 years! Very random…but cool! I’m probably going to meet up with him for a drink to catch up.

Why Did I Choose this Lane?

Ian Selvarajah — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 02:07:00 +0000

Canadian American Border/Customs Area
On Saturday afternoon I drove down to the States with my parents to do some shopping. You’re normally allowed a certain amount of goods that each person can bring in without paying any taxes and we had purchased a few hundred dollars worth of stuff. We drove back late and night and when we reached the customs area there were 2 open lanes. I chose the lane on the left.

I don’t normally do this, but yesterday for some reason (probably because I explained the double-slit experiment to someone the day before), I thought to myself: “I wonder why I chose this lane and not the other one?” While waiting in the customs queue, I noticed that the hand handing back the passports appeared to be feminine so I was glad that at the very least I had chosen the lane with the female agent (I’ll explain why this is a good thing another time).

As I reached the counter, the girl took the passports and asked us the usual questions. We were honest and told her the amounts that we had purchased. She then proceeded to explain that if you don’t stay at least 24 hours you have to pay taxes and that clothes are taxed at 17%! Here’s where it gets good… The customs agent in the lane on the left coincidentally/luckily happened to be an old coworker of mine that I hadn’t seen for a few years and she remembered me! I’ll let you guess how much tax I had to pay… She did, however, tell me to be careful for next time.

This is another post/situation that I’m going to end by saying: “What are the odds?”

When "Bad" Things Happen…

Ian Selvarajah — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 06:17:00 +0000

Talking about free will, God’s plans and Darwin‘s comment about fatal car accidents, I thought about an incident that happened to me back in May 2003.

It’s a common misconception that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. I know there’s a term in psychology for this, but I can’t remember it now. We’ve all seen terrible things happen to good people and great things happen to bad people. People often ask: If there is a God, why is there so much bad in the world? I like to think that there’s a reason for everything good or [seemingly] bad. It all depends on your perspective. Here’s my story:

About 3 years ago, I was ~~studying~~ cramming for an exam with a couple of girls about 2 hours before we were going to write. We eventually decided we would drive over to the school and study there. I had my car and they had theirs. They left before me so I started off following them down the road. At one point, I changed lanes, passed them and was now driving in front of them.

As I drove along without a care in the world, out of the corner of my eye I suddenly noticed that a car (in the opposing lane) was making a left turn into my lane without looking. I realized I didn’t have my seatbelt on (not smart.), so I gripped the steering wheel tightly, pushed myself as far back into my seat as possible and slammed the breaks. CRASH!!

My car after my first accident. It obviously wasn’t my fault, so the insurance covered it.

I got shaken around a bit, but I knew I was fine. I checked my head (that had hit the side window) to see if I was bleeding or anything. Once the smoke cleared, I looked around. The impact of the crash had caused the car to spin out, the back hit and my car had been pushed about 3 feet onto the sidewalk. I looked out and less than 5 feet away from my front bumper stood a little old lady …she was trembling.

I got out of the car and the two girls (driving behind me) had already come running out. One of them was crying. The first words that came out of my mouth were: “Whoa. I’m glad that wasn’t you guys.” She looked at me stunned and gave me a big hug. I walked over to make sure the old lady was OK and then sat on the sidewalk and continued studying until the cops came. A few weeks later, one of the girls came and said: “Do you remember the first thing you said was that you were glad it wasn’t us? Why did you say that!? I thought that was amazingly selfless!”

I’m not sure if it was selfless, but as you may know, I’m a very logical and rational person, so this was my thought process the second I got out of my car: IF they were still driving in front of me, they would have been the ones to get hit and the situation could have been far more different:

The car she was driving (a Toyota Tercel) was MUCH smaller and lighter than mine; it would have definitely been pushed much further onto the sidewalk and that old lady may have not seen another day.
Assuming she had slightly slower reflexes than me, the car would have smashed into the driver’s side door.
There were 2 of them in the smaller car, thus more chances of either of them getting hurt.

Yes, all these things crossed my mind within those first few seconds and I thought: “Thank God it was me and not them.”

The story ends on an even better note because since I was not at fault in the accident, the insurance paid to get my car back in top shape (even better than it was pre-accident). Oh, I also aced that exam!

Before I finish, please keep in mind that I realize that “bad” is a very relative term. I’ve led a pretty comfortable life and I’m aware that other people have gone through MUCH worse life circumstances than I have. However, I also know people who live much more comfortable lives than I do and still complain regularly. The question to ask yourself is:

When “bad” things happen, how quick are you to stop freaking out, take a step back, try to see the bigger picture and come up with a positive perspective of the situation?