Weekend in Putrajaya - Day 1

Dessert in a spoon - put a new twist in the word dessert spoon, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

Unfortunately, due to the student exams and SIRIM audit in UMMC, my planned holidays were canceled. Instead, Anita booked a weekend getaway for us and her parents. After much deliberation, she decided on Pullman Putrajaya, a place we visited sometime in April.

Irfan redecorating the tableThe ceiling deco at b bistroIt is a brand new hotel, and as I can see during the stay, part of it were not yet opened. We stayed at one of the executive floors, but for the price we paid, I think the pricing was very steep. This was compensated however by the nice swimming pool and a sometime surprisingly resourceful staff. The room we stayed was advertised to have a lounge area, but it was essentially was a square room, with a settee and table as a study, plus a rather small toilet. There was no separation between the bed and the lounge. Worst still, the study table was smack in front of the TV.

Being a Friday, I can't escape from clinic especially with my Boss away in Beijing. Anita and the rest checked in first at around 2, and I only traveled after work. Traffic was rather tight and I only arrive there at around 8, starving of course. As soon as I reach there, we went for dinner at the 'b bistro'. There was a buffet, but the selection was forgettable. I ordered some salad and pasta - the healthy choice. The deco at the bistro was rather chic, with themed colour scheme - red and white - and tasteful cutlery. The ceiling decoration was also quite unique.

Daddy settling into some pasta.... and some starfruit juiceAs both Idlan and Irfan have already hit the pool earlier in the day, they were understandably tired. We settled in right after dinner.

Back in KL

We spend the weekend in Putrajaya as you probably would have realised from by tweets. We got back home today and I spent the evening sorting through the pix from the weekend. After finally getting everything organised much earlier, I thought I give it a rest since I wanted to chill rather than open my computer.

I managed to pick up the copy of Junk magazine, featuring the KLickr gang, although my face was not in there. I also recieved an email from Schmap confirming my pics has been included in the online guide. This is the link to the page here. Tomorrow, I will need to ask my Dean if that qualifies as a publication!

Since I got the pix sorted out, I will start blogging about it tomorrow. But at the meantime ... it's time to sleep!

Just a typical Wednesday

The S E is rather suspicious ... is it special edition or ... semalam?

A rather long day today, and it started quite badly. Enough to set me in a bad mood. I left my E71 at home. Luckily Irfan is going for his class today in Bangsar, so we got somebody to send over the phone to me. For the last 3 months, UMMC has given up the ghost on using beepers. We use personal handphone, but the major drawback to that is loss of privacy. Anybody can contact you if they get hold of your number and unless you are using a dedicated line for the hospital, you can't really switch the mobile off at night.

The other issue is the fact that if the hospital contacts you and you missed the call, you wont have a clue of who was it that tried to call you. The number on the phone screen is the switchboard's. A pain if you are on call because the nurses are not exactly on a habit of leaving messages.

During lunch, I left my stet

s at the cafe. I returned about 10 minutes later and it was gone. It was 5 years old however, and probably need upgrading. However to my surprise, the stets turned up at my ward. It happened that one of my Medical Officer eating at the next table picked it up and helped out her senile boss! Saved myself RM500 that! I'll buy her coffee tomorrow.

New lecture hall, but Mac incompatible

My room at A Famosa, Melaka, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

I replaced my colleague yesterday for a lecture and as usual, I was planning to use my MacBook Pro. Got everything ready, connected the Mac to the projector ... then walla! Nothing happens. What?

Fiddled around, tried another connection port, still no joy. Hmmm! Never had this problem and the old lecture hall were all accommodating. This being a brand new one really disappointed me. I'll make a note to sneak in one of these days and check the connection. Even the technician stared at me blankly when I asked if there has been any issues before.

Did the decent thing of converting the file into powerpoint and use the auditorium's computer. The slides came out all wonky, but that is better than nothing.

Adventure Saturday - Part 2

Irfan's venture at picture taking, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman. That's my hand that is still hurting after badminton tonight! I'm old!

After we were done with Sg Kanching, everyone felt peckish, especially yours truly. Since I have to go settle my credit card bill, we decided to head for Bukit Bintang. We reached Pavillion about 30 minutes after we left Sg Kanching.

Idlan enjoying his fried riceWhile Irfan couldn't care less ... he prefers golf instead!Idlan wanted his fix for MSG, so we had some sushi while the kids have their tappenyaki fried rice and miso. I then left for Bukit Bintang while Anita and the kids went shopping in Pavillion. I then realised that there is a new fountain built outside the main entrance towards Sg Wang. Boy, there were teenagers around congregating there, punks, goth and all. Identity crisis I thought! Kudo told me that I sounded like an old fart making comments like those on twitter. So I better shut up!

The new fountain outside PavillionWhen I returned, they were just about to take their seat at Godiva cafe. I ordered a hot black chocolate, and it was heavenly. It cost me RM16 for a pot, and it pours for 3+ cups. It was a bargain! I sipped every last drop. Idlan wanted some chocolates, and the waitress duly showed him around. It then dawned on me that a small piece of chocolate will set me back RM9.50 plus tax! Idlan happily picked 4! Argh!!!! But what my baby wants, my baby gets!

Chocoloate served on a platter .... Yummy!It was served on a plate, and Idlan just gulped them in one go and asked for more! We settled in the end for a box of chocolates for him to take home. Won't tell you how much that cost. He finished them all last night!

Today is Monday, back to work. A lot of things needed catching up,and I am due to give a lecture tomorrow morning. Anita was complaining that I a growing fat. So I decided to head out for the badminton session with my ex-Terendak boys. It was a mistake. My fingers flared up again and it is hurting even now. If it is still giving me grief in the next few days, I think I better get it checked out.