Poignant

In clinic to day - the last one before my long break - a stewardess patient came to see me. She worked for MAS, and had been doing so for almost a couple of decades.

After going through her medical issues, she sat down and started to cry. Apparently the whole organisation had been feeling the strain. Some of her colleagues had left MAS to join other airlines with better perks. But she had been with MAS for so long and find that starting afresh was not an option.

The morale had been low for some time. The last time they received a bonus was about 7 years back. With the two devastating event this year, the spirit had gone rock bottom. But she felt that there had been a groundswell of support from fellow Malaysians, but conceded that it may have been too late. MAS would be struggling to carry on as it was.

Luckily she was my last patient and we spent some time chatting. A few of her friends had taken leaves due to anxiety, leaving her having to work during the Raya period. She didn't mind that, but felt it may be time to leave MAS as well. The put it bluntly, the problem with MAS was deep-rooted, and she was hoping that the two incidents, as painful as it was, may be the turning point for the whole organisation.

A wished her the best of luck, and on a personal level, I had always been a supporter of MAS. The moment I stepped into an MAS cabin at Heathrow, I felt that I was already home. I was sure plenty others who spent a big chunk of their time abroad felt the same way.

Back to Gombak

The packing was done, and it was time to shift again. Raya would be the day after tomorrow. I plan to spent some time today doing a bit of shopping with Anita. Will then be stopping by at my Mum to see what was going on. Anita and the kids had gone earlier with our driver, and I had to stop at the apartment to bring over some tit bits to bring home as well.

Anita also left for a couple of bags for me to carry home as well as my boys' pillows.

All tidied upBut the balcony needs a mop. The haze was not kind ...And it was hazy today ...Something I wouldn't miss. Idlan's easy room ...

Some shopping needed to be done later in the day, and Anita would be joining me for that. Looked like it was going to be a long day. Hopefully the traffic would be kind ....

Walk at Sungai Wang

Anita got her wish yesterday. I took the afternoon off to drive her to Sungai Wang. She wanted to buy some clothes there, as well as having a walk at Metrojaya there.

The place was surprisingly quiet even though the drive into the area was terrible. Combination of heavy traffic and roadwork was not kind.

Anita managed to get her stuff, while I walked around at Low Yat having a quick look around. Items of interest? The Sony RX100 mk 3 and the Samsung Note Pro. The Note had a very high resolution and the combination of portability, a slick keyboard cover as well as LTE as an option did strike my fancy. But my main issue was it running Android. For some reason, I wouldn't trust it for word processor as yet - yes, I use my iPad for word processing nowadays, with my trusty Logitech folio keyboard cover. And my iPad ran at LTE speed - most of the time.

Suffice to say, I didn't buy anything. I didn't plan to shop any way and I was not in the mood for clothes.

Maybe I should was until the Surface 3 Pro arrived before giving portable computing another look. It would be from Microsoft after all. But rumour had it that the version in Malaysia would be all wifi only. A shame.

Broken

But it had served me well. Very well. But it looked like I would have to buy another one.

Not exactly talking about a new phone here, but the power pack for my iPhone. The one I had been using since September last year had finally had it after one too many drops. So, I the bottom part of my phone was left exposed, and it needed replacing.

The pack I had been using - since my iPhone 4 days, had been the Mophie Juice Pack Plus. It had the biggest capacity - but the bulkiest - and able to give an extra full charge at the flip of a switch. The other advantage was it allowed me to charge my phone using a Micro USB connector, which was the same as my BlackBerry and Nexus 7. Made carrying a charger for trips that much easier.

What was left ...It also gave a decent all round protection for my phone - as you could tell, it needed protection. I had been very happy with it.

So, I would endeavour to head to a Mac accessory shop later and see what I can pick up. Maybe I would by the Air or Helium variety. Smaller but less capacity.

It Was Getting Quiet

I finally felt it today after a whole week of heavy traffic. The traffic had been relentless, and I was lucky that we stayed at the apartment since Monday. I didn't think I was able to cope driving in and out of Gombak to Subang everyday other wise.

It was jammed up morning, afternoon and even at night. It was non-stop. But after the Friday prayers today, things had gone rather quiet. Maybe people had started trickling back to kampung. I was able to get to Bangsar VIllage to buy stuff for berbuka without much hassle today.

It was jammed in the morning.... and the afternoonTonight, we decided to stay in. We would be moving back to Gombak tomorrow for Raya. Then the Penang trip before coming back to the apartment the week after. And the quiet won't stay the same for long ....