A Week Winding Down, Slowly

Please click the photo above to play the daily videoThe weekend was visible on the horizon today, close enough to notice, not close enough to relax into properly — that particular stretch of the week where you can feel the finish line without being anywhere near it. Sleep hadn't cooperated the night before, the sort of restless night that doesn't announce itself with anything dramatic, just leaves you a touch slower than usual and mildly resentful of the alarm. Not the ideal preparation for a working day, but rarely is.

As it turned out, the day met that tiredness halfway — clinic came in lighter than planned, which on a morning running short on sleep felt less like luck and more like the schedule doing the sensible thing on your behalf. Fewer patients than braced for, fewer decisions demanded before the coffee had fully done its job. Small mercies, but the sort worth clocking when they show up.

The afternoon picked up the slack, procedures filling the hours after lunch with the kind of focused, hands-on work that has a way of sharpening you up regardless of how the night before went — there's something about a task that requires actual attention that tiredness quietly steps aside for. Paperwork followed once the procedures were done, the unglamorous tail end of most working days, dispatched without much ceremony because by that point there wasn't much ceremony left in the tank.

Home arrived to a house mid-errand — Anita off to physio just as the door opened, which is one of those small scheduling overlaps that says more about a normal week than any single event could. Everyone quietly getting on with their own maintenance, in their own direction, crossing paths only briefly at the doorway.

The evening had one fixed point worth building around: the season finale of Silo, which had clearly been keeping its excitement in reserve for exactly this occasion. Finales carry a particular pressure — too much to resolve, too little time to do it in — but this one seemed determined to earn the anticipation rather than merely cash it in, and for a Friday-adjacent evening, that's about as good a use of a couch as any.

Later, another meeting with the Hands of Heritage team, the project quietly becoming a fixture of the week rather than an occasional appearance on it. There's a comfortable rhythm setting in now, the kind that comes from repetition rather than novelty — less "another meeting," more "the next bit of the same thing," which is exactly how these things ought to feel once they're properly under way.

So: a rough night redeemed by a forgiving clinic, procedures that asked for focus and got it, a finale that delivered, and a project steadily finding its shape. Not a dramatic day, but a satisfying one — the sort that makes the actual weekend, whenever it arrives, feel entirely earned.

The Towns of Malaya

While walking around town on the last day of my Raya break, I stopped at Ruang by Medan Pasar. The place held a small exhibit that week and it was an interesting one.

Ruang was nicely located at this junctionThe address in case you were asking ...A respite from the hot weather outside ...It was about the old towns of Malaya filled with topographical photos of major towns in Malay Peninsular before Merdeka. Some really fascinating find here.

Yes, there were not too many items. But those on display were worth a look ...It really made you appreciate what Malaysia was about ...The old Seberang PeraiThere were some featuring Seberang Perai as well. Apparently, a book containing all the exhibits would be launched soon. So far, I had not find any details. Soon I hope ...

#ExpoNegaraku Part 1

After catching an early lunch during my weekend break, I decided to walk around town a bit. There was no real plan. And I didn't even know about the ExpoNegaraku until I stumbled across it at Dataran Merdeka.

After turning around the corner I realised that there were plenty of people walking along. The road towards Jalan Raja was cordoned off. I then saw a row of food trucks. Something must be happening. When I turned towards Dataran Merdeka I soon learned that there were a few domes which housed the expo.

Time to go in.

It was hosted by Kementerian Penerangan and it showcased the urban developments going on around KL. The exhibits as I mentioned were houses in domes erected for the occasion right in the middle of the Dataran. There were 5 domes all together, each with a theme. The first Dome had a long queue heading, so I naturally gave that a miss.

Continued in part 2 ...

The iPhone X Camera

I take my phone everywhere and being an avid photographer, the most accessible phone I had most often were my mobile phone. Over the years I had been carrying many phones and the decision on which phone I chose to buy had how good the camera was being one of the top point of consideration.

The original iPhone did not have a good camera. Back then, the best camera phone I had used was the Nokia N73. Despite only having a 3.2MP camera, the Zeiss optics it carried made for some really great photographs. That sort of crystallised on me the idea that a camera phone may be enough for everyday snapping.

Then came the iPhone 4. For the iOS platform, it showed that Apple was taking photography seriously. A few Android phones then entered the picture with the HTC One being one of my early favourites. In early 2015, I discovered the Nokia 930. It had on it the best camera I had ever seen. And till this day, I could argue that it was still a capable shooter despite being almost 4 years old.

Now, my second phone was the Huawei P10 Plus. With its Leica optics, the photos especially the monochrome were just amazing. I still took it around during weekends as I shot around town. But now, I have a new contender for the best camera phone. The iPhone X.

Right off the bat, there was something natural about the photos. There were some element of over processing from the camera but they weren't as obvious as the Samsung. The photos did not over saturated and at low ISO, they appeared realistic. The focusing was
snappy and there were plenty of third-party apps for post-production of our snaps.

Last weekend, I took the phone out for a spin around Bukit Bintang to capture the Xmas decorations. I was practically blown away. The photos were much better than I expected. Coupled with its capability to capture 4K videos at 60fps, the camera feature is a winner.

In terms of monochrome snaps, it still lacked behind the Huawei. But for sheer overall joy, Apple clearly had the right formula here. Just for the camera alone, it was definitely an upgrade from my iPhone 7 Plus, although I do understand that the iPhone 8 use the same camera module as the X although with a narrower telephoto second sensor.

I'm definitely looking forward to more snaps from the phone...

Flowers of Frasers

The nice cool mountain air and plenty of sunshine and rain certainly made Frasers Hill a heaven for flowers. Even the whole shrubs thrived here.

Around the Smokehouse, there used to be plenty of flowers in the garden. There weren't many this time around and I decided to explore the town for more.

Nice...