Weddings

Like (probably) any other woman out there, I have to say that I love weddings.
In my case, there’s something about seeing two people stand up in front of loved ones and affirm their life-long devotion to each other.
The thing is, sometimes, I tend to get so caught up in witnessing a marriage, I get too comfortable with the surroundings and scatter my things around the area so much so that getting sorted before leaving is like a treasure hunt.
So you can probably say that I had it coming when the last event that I attended— within the closed doors of a ballroom in a four-star establishment in the heart of Kuala Lumpur— is where my phone got swiped. And the beauty is it happened right under my nose.
In the whole circus that took place afterwards, I had the privilege of listening to four different versions of what happened with the CCTV recording for the ballroom.
It went from “No, there was nothing seen being taken from the table” to “The ballroom was so dark, nothing could have been seen” to “The organisers asked that the CCTV be turned off so there’s nothing we can do” and the best (and last one) “ There aren’t any CCTV cameras in the ballroom”.
It was a heart-breaking end to what should have a memorable occasion for a dear friend and his wife.
To avoid such a thing— be it theft of phone or handbag itself— from happening, practise these steps:

1. Avoid carrying your IC, large amounts of cash, credit cards or other valuables to the wedding or reception.
2. For ladies, only have the bare necessities (loose change, keys) in your evening bag while attending the event.
3. If at point you feel the need to leave your evening bag at the table, tell a friend and get them to look after it.
4. Phones like iPhone and Blackberry have ways of being tracked so if you own either one of these products, make sure you note down the serial number of the phone and leave it at home. Phones like Nokia, however, once stolen cannot be recovered.
5. Make sure that everything in your phone is backed up with your phone provider. This can be done for a nominal sum per month. And in the occasion that your phone does get swiped and cannot be recovered, all your contacts are already on the SIM when you get a new chip.