Toll phobia

I developed a fear recently. I am in fear when I approach a highway toll. Being in Malaysia, it is difficult to avoid a toll each time I drive. The non-toll roads are ‘designed’ to be so inconvenient or dangerous that you just don’t mind being insulted by the toll operator. I had that experience recently with a Litrak toll operator.

Since the increase of the toll rate by 60% lately, I had to give more coins instead of the usual RM1.00 note. As I was approaching the toll booth one lovely Friday evening, I searched frantically for the additional 60 cents. I stopped to pass the RM1.60 worth of coins to the toll operator. As I was about to drive off, I heard a ‘tuk’ sound. I stepped on the brakes instantaneously to check the cause of the sound. Then it dawn upon me that the toll operator threw a coin at me. The coin hit my car. I turned my head and asked whether she threw the coin at me. She replied sarcastically, “I got extra coins”. I realized that she threw a 1 cent coin because she didn’t want to accept the five 1 cent coins. I kept my cool and asked for her name. She just pointed at the signage with her name on it. I jotted her name and drove off to lodge a complaint at the Litrak office. Sadly, the ‘complaint office’ closed at 5pm.

It has been 3 weeks since the incident. I thought it is more convenient to ‘complain’ through a blog because a blog is open 24 hours, 7 days a week. In the meantime, I need help to overcome my new found phobia. Any good therapist out there?