The Morning After

Idlan's fever settled by the morning and he was back to his usual self by the time we had breakfast. Suffice to say, it was chaotic at breakfast, mainly due to the venue being ill-prepared for the number of hotel visitors coming down for the buffet. We arrived at around 9.00 which was relatively early judging from the commotion happening right afterward especially from the Middle East visitors. I will leave the rest to your imaginations.

The weather was gorgeous in the morning. The boys got their bubble guns out and started to spray the place with bubbles. The morning walk was really nice. We quickly got back up to the rooms, got our stuffs into the van and back down to the main lobby to hang around for a few more minutes, absorbing the fresh air and calm ambiance. Colmar was certainly magically on a sunny Sunday morning like it was earlier today. We then took a pleasant drive back down to KL, stopping by to visit an ill relative on the way back home. Idlan started to develop temperature again, so back to the medicines.

The boys were more settled in the afternoon, so myself and Anita took time to do some shopping and went to the bank to settle my credit cards bill and the lot. I then went to Low Yat, and my God, the place was hectic. I stopped over at the Apple store to pick up a charger for my Mac Air, but apart from that, the whole afternoon was a blur. Unwanted to have a closer look at the Nexus S but most of the vendors kept confusing it with Galaxy S. I gave up after half an hour trying before joining Anita with her shopping.

The boys were now being put to sleep while I was preparing my slides for next weekend's talk in Yangon. Suffice to say, it would be struggle to complete then by the morning, but at least I have got the idea about what to talk about. The photos from Colmar would have to wait for the time being.

Graduation

This morning, before attending the clinic, I went to Idlan school to attend his graduation. Well, kindergarten graduation. He wasn’t that excited initially, but not until he found out that he would be wearing a robe. We gathered at the school library to get them on. Fitted him smartly, with Irfan looking on from close by wondering what the fuss was all about.

Today was the last day of school for Seri Utama, and the last day for Idlan in kindergarten. Some of his friends, who had been with him for the last 3 years in kindie will be leaving for public school, so it was kind of a bitter sweet affair. Most of them was not able to continue because of school schedule. From next year, Idlan’s school times will start at 9 and finishes at 3.30 in the afternoon. We were lucky as Puan Anita will be her own boss and able to fit the time to fetch both Idlan and Irfan. We have also enrolled Idlan for Sekolah Ugama in the afternoon, 3 times a week from then on. I am sure, he will have his hands full.

Anita planned to join the rest of the parents for an impromptu gathering at a playground at Great Eastern Mall later in the afternoon. It will be the time for Idlan to say goodbye to his friends who will be leaving. A few will stay on however, and I am sure he will meet more friends.

Counseling Needed?

Irfan's handy work

While doing some last minute shopping last night, I sat Idlan around the Lego table. I then continued to do my chores. Idlan was sat there with Irfan building with the bricks. Irfan built himself what I thought was age-appropriate ‘tower’ stuff or what not. As for Idlan? Oh! My God! Such a nerd! “Idlan, this is not about separating the colours! And you want to be an architect when you grow up?” Shall with this space!

Idlan started offThe end product ..... Gosh!Should I be concerned about the building he will be designing in the future ..... may be that will be the future trend, you never know!

Idlan making pizza

As part of the school holiday activities, Marche at their the Curve outlet held a pizza-making workshop. We enrolled Idlan in. The workshop started just after lunch, ran for a couple of hours. The kids were thought about hygiene to start with. Everything, from apron to the dough were provided. All we had to do was turn up.

First, the dough need flattening! I kept asking him to do it mamak style but he refused to get in touch with his roots!I think he needs a stoolThere were about 12 of them in the group and I think Idlan was among the youngest. Few of them I am sure were already in standard 4 at least. They started off with just the base, then adding it the tomato paste and toppings of cheese and pineapple. Since Idlan was too small, he had to go onto a platform in order to reach the trimmings and put them on his pizza. Idlan was grinning all the way. After the pizza was prepared, all of them went into the oven. It took about 20 minutes to cook and the young chef took the time to mingle, take pictures and drink some juice to cool themselves down! Even though it was not exactly Hell's Kitchen, it was still pretty hard work for them. Eating time came next. Unfortunately we did not get to keep the cute little aprons. In the meantime, Irfan was sulking as he also wanted to join in. Unfortunately he is still too small.

Now comes the hard partThe staffs there were really friendly and I can tell they were really prepared for the event. It was held at the front entrance of the restaurant, in the shades by the main walkway. The instructions given were very appropriate to the young boys and girls. They were showed how to carry out the instructions. After everything was done, the participants were given a certificate, plus the recipe for the pizza they have just made.

... and it's ready!Irfan reviewing his brother's bakingAfter everything is done, it was back to Kung Fu time!All in all, it was a very well run event. There are other workshops coming on, but I don't think Idlan is keen to bake muffins. The pizza-making workshop is held on Monday, Thursday and Friday afternoons during the school holidays. It cost RM20 to register. Just Google for Marche or click here or here to find out a bit more. It was great fun, I would recommend it to other parents for sure. The slideshow for the workshop can be seen here.

At Prince Court most of the afternoon

091024.08, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

The picture above was taken yesterday when Idlan had his sketch done at AU2. I was really glad that he did not freak out when the crowd was building up.

My brother-in-law just arrived from Moscow on a business trip. Since lunch on Wednesday, he was down with diarrhoea. Unfortunately while he was there, getting medical attention was a big problem. He tried explaining to the local doctors, but unfortunately, their English was really sketchy. To make things worst, he was not keen to be admitted after hearing about the experienced his friends been through in hospitals there. He is not really keen to stay any longer than necessary in a foreign land.

He arrived in KLIA about 3 hours ago after a transit in Dubai. Even though he travelled business class, the journey had really took a toll on him. He had hardly eaten anything since the diarrhoea started and looking at him, he has easily lost 5kg. It’s good if losing weight is what you have in mind. What was ironic was he was due to be taken on a tour of Moscow before his flight. He was just keen to get the trip over and done with, so he just did the customary shot of the Red Square and Kremlin. He called me straight away when he arrived, obviously concerned. Traveller’s diarrhoea is not something to be taken lightly but he appears to be OK. What he probably need is a spot of rest and some drip. Since he is a Petronas employee, we decided to head to the shiny hospital that is the Prince Court. My initial impression, my God, this place is empty! He just gor himself checked out. They are giving him a couple of drips, then he should be able to go home on antibiotics. They are doing some panel of blood as well. He should be all right …. and I have a couple of hours to kill ….. Maybe I’ll go to KLCC for a coffee.

p/s: The blood results came back and his potassium was low from the diarrhoea and all. The doctors decided to admit him for some hydration. He needed the rest anyway, but as you can see from the pics, the place is more of a hotel than a hospital.