Fitting In

So, it had been close to a week since we stayed at the apartment. The place had turned into a mess, especially in Irfan's room cum play room. He had his game console there plus Idlan had his Lego bits all over the place. Luckily our maid came along with us. She had to do all the tidying up.

The boys seemed to be enjoying their rooms, and from tomorrow, their school holidays would officially start. They would be off for a month, and I was expecting more mayhem to follow.

Since the boys have their Quran class this afternoon, I would be heading back to Gombak this afternoon for Berbuka. Since I would be off tomorrow until Sunday, I might just leave a bit early this afternoon after the rounds were done.

Lumut Trip Cancelled

Nope! It wasn't my fault. I did not plan it. The MPV was in the garage for the weekend for some major work. Cost us a bomb and we were glad to get the van back on Monday in time for the planned trip to Lumut on Tuesday. I would be left behind since I would be on call a couple of days this week. So, everything was fine at the beginning of the day, apart from Anita suffering from a slight sniffles. Even the boys went to bed early in order to get an early start for the drive.

At around noon, as I was finishing my morning clinic and waiting for admission at the Doctor's Lounge before lunch, I got a call from Anita. An hour out, and Tanjung Malim,smoke started coming from the engine and the temperature gauge went up. The stopped the car at a lay by and called in the mechanics and tow. But they would only be able to tow to the nearest highway exit. We would have to pay extra to get the van back to KL and the tow truck was too small to fit everyone in. Plus, there were no taxis at the lay by.

I got one of my colleagues to cover - thanks Nor Liza - and drove from Subang to Tanjung Malim and drove everybody back to KL. Our driver decided to drive the van slowly back to KL, and he everybody, including the van made it back to Gombak in one piece.

The van went straight back to the garage, and guess what? Everything checked out fine! Strange. The van did not give any problem on the drive back to KL not when the mechanic stressed the engine later.

Sadly, the trip was already cancelled, and I was on call, so the boys had to spend the time in KL. Not sure what the plan was for today. My mother-in-law might take a drive down to the apartment in Port Dickson instead. Anita was not feeling too excited to go as she was still carrying a cold. Idlan especially was disappointed. Had to make plans for tonight I think …..

The Drive Down

I arrived home from my clinic at 2 pm to learn that our immediate neighbour passed away after a recent battle with cancer. Anita visited the widow earlier, but the body was still on the way from the hospital via the mosque. Anita was occupied the whole morning before making preparations for the drive down to Port Dickson.

We finally got things in order to leave after 3 pm. Fearing the traffic, we decided to detour via KLIA, down to the town of Sepang which would be only be about half an hour away from PD. Unfortunately, here was where my plans went to pots.

The route was jammed up due to some some construction works. And after 45 minutes, driving along a 3 km stretch, we had enough and turned back, via Bandar Enstek towards Labu. The turn added an extra hour to the journey, and we managed to finally check in at around quarter past 6.

I was worried that we would get delayed further, as even the second route we took also had some construction going on. If not form that, I was sure that we would have been able to reach PD earlier. This was not helped by the fact that all the traffic lights were red when we got by.

And of course, off went their clothes as the first order of business was to head straight into the pool. Splash away!

They finally emerged out of the freezing water at around 8, when it was already dark outside. Room service came next, and the boys spent the rest of the evening holed up in the cosy hotel room, watching TV, and tucked into their beds playing their iPads.

Rumour has it that they wanted to get up early tomorrow morning to have another dip.

Slideshow of the stay here

CNY Looming

Kuala Lumpur's traffic was definitely getting lighter as more city dwellers headed home for the Chinese New Year. The drive into work today had been smooth, but I was lucky that I set off early. I was already in the ward before 8am. So, when I started my clinic just after 9, I was surprised when I looked out of my window. There was a long tailback heading towards Ara Damansara and Subang Airport.

According to one of the patients, there had been an accident on the road heading to the airport. There was a car which managed to jump the central divider, ending up on the opposite lane. A smash ensued and traffic had built up ever since, clogging up the Federal Highway both towards PJ and Shah Alan. The road had yet to clear until about noon.

The drive back was a bit smoother though as most of the traffic were heading on the opposite direction. I'll be on call tomorrow, and I wasn't really sure what to expect on the admission front. I was due for a quiet on call by the way ....

To the Apartment

It took us a while to get the packing done. And then, there was the small matter of dinner and groceries for the apartment. The baggage was still in the van, and it would take at least another half an hour of unpacking before we could settle down.

The boys took their time to finish their dinner, so we decided to split up. Anita went to sort the groceries out. By the time we were done, it was close to 10pm. Luckily our apartment was only 10 minutes away.

After a bit of heavy lifting, we unpacked and about to settle down. I need a shower .....