New Year Lunch

The New Year started with a great win for United last night. Although it was only Middlesborough, the manner in which we came from behind to clinch the match in the final 5 minutes was reminiscent of the Ferguson era. And it was fitting as the great Sir was in the stands celebrating his 75th birthday.

The ward round came next after which I drove straight into town to sort my monthly credit card payment. I was surprised to see the new addition to Pavilion had already been opened. Now, you could walk straight from the new extension called "Connection" via an underground tunnel to Fahrenheit across the road. Great plan. If only another extension could be made straight to the new MRT line. That would really take the cake!

Waiting for my orderQuite and calmOn my way back to my car, I stopped for lunch at one of the Arab cafe there, watching people passing by in the great weather. Not a bad spot. Before I leave, I took the chance to explore the new extension, which I would blog about soon. Suffice to say, I did more exploration than I planned. Since I had already booked a trip for the haircut with the boys later, I couldn't hang around for too long.

I was lucky that I came to Pavilion early as the carpark was really packed at the time I was leaving with a long queue forming outside. I guessed everybody was up for some shopping ....

Reflecting on 2016

Another year has passed. And it had been a busy one.

Milestones? Idlan sat for his UPSR, and then changed school. We finally sorted out the renovations for the apartment as well as selling off our house in Taman Cemerlang. It had been a full year and it had passed on really fast.

I started the year with the sad passing of a dear senior colleague, Arwah Dr Ahmad Kamal. He was missed until this day, and many more days to come.

The hospital also went through a transformation of sort, with the implementation of the new EMR system, which was a mixed bag. It at times slowed down my work process, and well as can be helpful as some time. The system still needed tweaking and it would take a long time before a satisfactory work process could be found.

We had a couple of nice family trips this year. To Langkawi in April and then later to Fraser's Hill after Idlan's UPSR.

I have not had any real plans yet for 2017. It looked like the start would be busy, and after the long stretch of work recently, I was looking forward for a few days off in the middle of January. I may take some time to recharge then .... and may be able to do a bit more reflection ... Happy 2017!

Merry Holidays

Coming towards the end of the year, my clinics were still full and my calls were coming thick and fast. I wished that I had more time off but that will come after the new year.

After finishing a review on a patient earlier, I decided to just take a few minutes off to reflect and have a cup of coffee. The house was stripped for the renovations and the boys were keeping themselves occupied at home. Things were kind of hectic at the moment.

Still I was grateful for 2016 for it had given me plenty. Hopefully the next couple of days could afford me with some rest as I would be on call again on Tuesday ....

The Renovation has Started

After moving into the apartment three years ago, we finally got our act together and settled for a renovation. Anita had a few ideas and managed to engage an interior decorator that suited her taste. So, the first day of renovation was today!

Cue the dust and the noise, it looked like this will go on for another month, in phases. We started out with the main living area first. By the end, the whole apartment including the maid's room would be transformed.

Hopefully everything would be ready before Irfan's birthday in February just in case he wanted a party.

Anita was under stress at the moment as the maid would be away for Xmas. The renovation would also be on hold during the holidays which gave us some respite. We might have to spend some time away from the apartment when our master bedroom were being upgraded. Hopefully that would be in a couple of weeks time ....

Have a Drink Up There

It has been a tough day, both physically and emotionally for me today. One of my patient passed on and I could still remember her request from Tuesday morning for some macchiato and ice cream. It was a poignant afternoon after she passed on. She had been a good patient and a wonderful human being. I was not able to help her towards the end and had referred her on to a colleague in Singapore.

The treatment over there also did not work out despite her having a good go at it. She got weaker overnight and was in a great deal of pain. The analgesia allowed her some respite and by this morning, she was only responding to pain. I do not believe that she suffered at the end.

After settling her, the next thing I wanted to do was to get some macchiato. Promptly went there with a colleague and just reminisced. Cheers ....