School's Off

My boys had been celebrating since the announcement were made around lunchtime that school would be closed both tomorrow and Tuesday. It looked like their weekend was extended to 4 four days courtesy of the haze.

It was pretty bad when I drove for my morning rounds at around 9, but it had brightened up considerably even since. In fact, Anita and I went out for dinner at the stalls earlier and it appeared to have improved a lot.

I felt sorry for the Ministry since as soon as they announced the school closure, the haze tended to improve. Last Sunday, it rained almost straight after the announcement. At the current rate, we might have bright blue sky tomorrow ....

Welcomed Rain

The recent haze was predicted to get worse and any patch of rain would certainly be welcomed as came with it would be a some fresh air and sunshine.

Wee, it did so on Monday when the sky was getting grey and the air had that smell of burnt soot. I was on call and managed to skip to the bank during lunch with Anita. School was closed, so the boys were at home, enjoying an extra few hours in bed.

While we were tucking in, suddenly we heard thunder and soon after the heaven opened. It poured heavily for a good half an hour and soon after, the air was noticeably cleaner.

But that did not last long. By the time I returned home for dinner before my evening round, visibly deteriorated again although not as bad as the first thing in the morning. But, those few hours of fresh air was a respite. Long it may stay that way ...

Staying In

The Monday call was a long one and it was great to be able to enjoy a midweek break. Wednesday would be Malaysia Day, a public holiday. I was able to get home after my Tuesday afternoonrounds and the good news was. the haze was improving slightly.

I took the chance to have an early dinner with Anita at Mid Valley, a really nice one before falling asleep in front of the TV as soon as I reached home.

Tomorrow morning would be a ward round morning as usual, but they are plenty of reasons to stay in after that.

The haze was one, but the planend "Red Shirt" march in town was threatening to cause tension on the street, and it was best to just observe it in front of the TV. We might spent some time at Bangsar Village since they had a program in store for Malaysia Day there. Probably worth a look.

A Hazy Outing

I had to settle some business in town and ended up walking in town in the worsening haze this afternoon. The API - Air Pollution Index - was around 120 in central KL at the time, well into the unhealthy range.

After the business was taken care of and a spot of lunch, I decided to have a quick walk towards Low Yat - none-the-less - to have a look at a few things. I brought my camera along to see how different the cityscape looked like.

Spare some thoughts to this working in this condition

I was walking without a mask and by the time I reached Low Yat, my throat had already felt the irritation. I stopped for a drink - indoors of course - before walking on. Had a look at a few items before returning back to Pavilion where I parked. There was an event by KakiSeni going on, plus other campaigns and roadshow taking place in the open. How I pity those sales people having to endure such elements.

By the time I drove home, it was already threatening to rain. The haze was still lingering thick after the rain was done and we decided it would be no school for both Idlan and Irfan tomorrow. Another day of havoc at home! We found out that other parents had also decided against bringing their children in due to the bad air quality. Should the situation deteriorates, even the school may be closed ...

T'was Getting Worse

If was bad at the start of the week before improving come Wednesday after an overnight rain. Unfortunately today, the haze had returned with a vengeance. Walking to the mosque for Friday Prayers today was pretty bad.

Good thing that I don't suffer much from cough, flu or eye irritation. But I could imagine that a host of people do. The smell along the corridor at the hospital was bad. Luckily our apartment was rather well insulated. We kept the windows and door all closed for today, and decided against going out for our customary Friday evening outing. Don't think that we would have enjoyed it.

It looked like there would be no photo outing this weekend unless the situation improved. The camera to be kept in the cupboard!