Morning Groceries

My first day of leave, and being the last day of Ramadan, groceries were on top of the list.

The local mall was opened at 10.30, and we were there at around 10.15. We were away by 11 and the crowd were only just building up. The parking lots were already filled and queue at the entrance into the car park was already long.

I could do with one of these ...What did we buy? A couple of trolley full of stuff .... Don't ask me what they were. I just pushed the trolley ... and foot up the bill.

Spring Clean

I was lucky that I didn't have to pick up the mop to do the cleaning. Our maid had one of her friends coming along, and the two of them merrily got the cleaning done.

And they were efficient. Our maid originally came to Malaysian almost 10 years ago as a private cleaner. But her income were a bit up and down. The agency she initially worked for had a change of management and the new boss had been short changing them.

She came to clean my Mum-in-law's house for almost a couple of years, getting to know us. Our children really liked her. She then decided to quit the agency, return to the Philippine, got her visa in order and came to work for me full time.

She still had friends doing freelance cleaning and when we needed a hand with cleaning, she would call them up. Great arrangement ...

Selamat Hari Raya

Monday, 28th July. After 29 days of Ramadan, it was time for celebration. I celebrated mostly because I was tired with the errands the day before, and being away from the hospital.

I couldn't sleep well last night. We spent the evening at my Mum's place, with my boys playing with their cousin. As usual, Idlan started to sneeze and wheeze later in the evening and only fallen asleep at around 1 am. Anita slept earlier since she had to do the preparations early in the morning.

At the MosqueTime for makan ....The obligatory family portraitThe boys were still in bed when I left for the morning Raya Prayers. But they were ready when I got back.

The customary family portraits ensued while waiting for my brother-in-law to turn up at around 10 am.

Then came my turn to visit my Mum. Luckily it was 10 minutes away. My boys again got over excited with their cousins.

The afternoon slowed down a bit. We ended up watching TV, waiting for Anita's cousin to come and visit their Aunty.

As usual, I over eaten again. Might have to start jogging tomorrow. Still waiting for dinner but not sure when that going to take place. I didn't have much space left in my belly. More plans tomorrow ....

To all my friends and colleague, Happy Hari Raya and Happy Holidays. Thanks for all the warm wishes through social media and texts. Time to chill out for a little bit.

Energy Boost

I know that's today was going to be one of those aggravated long days. So, right after sahur, I duly took my dose of steroids!

It was none other than the essence of chicken. It worked for me before. Hopefully it would again today!

FTW!!

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.