Early Start

So, all excited for the nothing's visa interview, I actually woke up earlier than usual, extra early I meant. Caught up with the news while waiting for the boys to get up - the were having their end of year exams this week.

So, since I had cancelled the morning clinic, I had extra time to myself. After sending the boys away to school, we went on to KLCC for breakfast. The embassy was located close by, and while I was away at the embassy, Anita would be hanging around at Suria.

So, I'm all set ..... more on my Atlanta trip here.

To the Embassy

Yes, if everything goes well, I will be attending the American Society of Haematology Scientific Meeting scheduled for December in Atlanta, Georgia. Things had been arranged, and I would be attending an interview at the embassy tomorrow morning.

Tickets, passport, hotel bookings, conference pass, and sponsor confirmation were already in the bag. And the last thing I needed to sort out was the 2 by 2 inches photograph for the visa. And that was taken earlier at Bangsar Village. I was glad that the moment I mentioned that the photos were US visas, the lady behind the counter knew exactly what I meant.

I have cancelled the morning clinic, and I would be doing a later rounds than usual tomorrow. The driver would be taking me there, so, I did not have to worry about parking and transport. I picked up a 10 am slot so as not to rush in during the peak traffic hours. Hopefully things could be sorted out in time so that I could be at the hospital before noon.

I really didn't know what to expect, so, I just brought with me all my documents and hope for the best ......

More on my Atlanta trip here.

Sandy Hit SJ

It was not exactly that, but quite close. It suddenly became dark during lunch, and the next thing I knew, it was torrential. I happened to be at Sunway Pyramid, having had lunch there, and the half a kilometre drive back to clinic took almost half an hour due to the weather.

I swear that some area would be taking on water soon. It didn't take much for KL to be flooded lately. And Kelang was becoming notorious. And sure enough, a quick glance in the new confirmed that a few villages there were flooded after just a couple of hours heavy rain.

Site Was Down?

I woke up this morning to an email from my blog server, SquareSpace. Their server in the middle of Manhattan was flooded overnight, due to Sandy. Ne'er thought that thousands of miles away, I was feeling the brunt of it.

The power to the server were patchy and as a precaution, the node was powered down. The site was expected to be down for a few hours until the issue with backup power were sorted out. From what I gathered, it didn't take them too long to get that organised.

When I checked the traffic details, it was clear that the numbers were down. It didn't matter however, as the status of my blog was not at the top of my priorities looking at the devastation in New York. By the afternoon, service was resumed and the blog was back up, running as usual ....

Post Call Blues

Post call had always been a mixed bag for me. I have been a doctor for 15 years now, but there was no hiding that bit of elation when you knew that your call was over. Slight change though in private practice as you were still in direct charge of the patients you admitted, but at least you could sort of like predict why the next time your phone ring. And you knew that it would less likely be from the Emergency Room.

So, the call last night was OK. Most of the admission came during a more sociable hours. One ICU admission, but the patient was pretty stable once there. But I still felt that lack of sleep come the afternoon after. At least there was no clinic this afternoon, and I was doing some paperwork, as well reading up on the latest gossips and news.

It looked like it was going to rain soon. And that would mean horrendous traffic jam again. I couldn't go to the hospital any earlier than 3pm as the road I used would pass in front of Sri KL, and there would be rows of parents picking up their children just after three. The traffic? Forget it. These affluent folks were really bad when it came to being gracious on the road. In fact, they tended to be the worst …..

So, I had to wait for a while at the apartment before I drove back. I think it would take me an hour and a half to finish the rounds later. With a bit of luck, I would reach Gombak before Maghrib. And then dinner, and a bit of sleep hopefully.