Olympic Centennial Park

One of the things I knew about Atlanta before my trip there was the fact that it was the host for the Centennial Olympics back in 1996. Personally, the game should have been held in Athens, to mark the 100 years since the first modern games were held, but Atlanta managed to pip through on the last bid. Being a sentimental, it should have been in Greece, but hey, I do not make the rules.

So, I was looking forward to some legacy of the games, but all I got was the Centennial Park, which to be honest was a lot smaller than I imagined it would be. It was also the site for the Olympic bombing which killed two people during the games.

It was a nice grass field with a few monuments surrounding it, but in itself, it was nothing special. But the tiles which made up the footway caught my eye. They all have names of donors written on them, which were mainly people of the city. They must have lent their money to the project and had their names immortalised in the park.

There was also a small fountain made up of the five rings of the Olympics located in the centre of the park. I walked by this every morning from my hotel to the Congress Center.

In the evening, the park was transformed somewhat with the lightings wing erected, celebrating winter and Christmas. Unfortunately they don't get much snow in this part of the US, but the brown leaf from the tree contrasted well with the clear blue sky. It was quite a vista actually with the cool breeze that we had during my stay there. Since the weather is in the mild side, a skating rink was erected at the part of the park near the Georgia Aquarium.

More about my Atlanta trip here.

Glorious Morning

It was one of those smooth morning when the traffic was light and I was bathed in glorious sunshine. I arrived at the clinic early after sorting out the ward - managed to discharge most of my admission from the recent call.

And again, the sun was glorious. Made me sad that I had to work ….. but at least I got next week to look forward to when I had a trip planned for the boys and Anita down south ….

Three Calls

I was definitely showing my age. But to do three calls within a week and a half upon returning from the US was certainly tiring. The first call went OK since I was still riding on the adrenaline of the trip to Atlanta. But the fatigue hit me hard on the day right after my second day on call.

By the time I recovered, it was already time for another call. So, here I was, on Xmas day on a post call day attending a cousin's wedding. I then babysat my boys at my Mum's place at Bukit Antarabangsa while Anita had a couple of hours of shopping time with my sister, Julia. I was really feeling tired now .... But at least, the three calls were the ones due for me this month. My next on call day would be in more than two weeks time.

So, I was looking forward to a couple days of light clinics and rounds. I would be traveling down to Muar for another wedding after my Saturday morning clinic later this week. I really could do with some down time just with Anita and the kids. Let's drink to that then ....... And for some extra time to update my blogs.

More on my Atlanta trip here.

Wedding at Wardieburn

This particular aunt of mine finally received a daughter-in-law. A fee years back, his eldest son was engaged, but then wedding was called off at the last minute. His son had since got engaged again and InsyaAllah would be receiving another daughter-in-law some time next year.

Today, it was his younger son's wedding - well it was the reception today as the wedding proper was held a couple of weeks back. Understandably everybody was relieved and it was a happy occasion. My Mum especially got to meet her old friends and relatives after a number of years.

The wedding was held at Wardieburn Camp, not far from our Gombak place. It had lately becoming a popular venue for wedding despite the hall located inside a military base. It was kind of surreal since I was born into a military family, I always remembered the camps to be heavily guarded. I just couldn't get used to the sight of the guards on duty waving cars in without inspection. Time has certainly changed.

The ceremony was very well attended and by the time we left, there were still throngs of people parking their cars and queuing to get into the hall. With the restless children - NY two boys plus Julia's two girls - we had to leave rather early. But not before catching up with our relatives.

Post-call were never good days for me, but meeting my relatives and even teachers from my primary school in Kepala Batas soon certainly took the fatigue away. But now, I could do with some sleep ......

After-Lunch Mints

I wouldn't call this after dinner mints. In fact, it was quite the opposite. A durian pancake. After a hefty dinner. Take it at your own risk ......