Winding Down

Another week before Raya and my clinic was getting less busy - I hope. There was no patient at Park City this morning, allowing me to browse the net and just basically chill for a couple of hours. Plenty of article needed perusing, and that was what I just did. Time for another blog entry as well.

Anita and the boys would be joining me at the apartment before Berbuka today hopefully. We plan to do a bit of decorating at Idlan's room. A bit of shuffling and all that. We also decided to trade rooms as I thought his room may be a bit too small for him in the long run. I also really like his room as a small studio. Nice view of the traffic coming down Bukit Pantai as well.

Even the corridor was eerie ...I still have a full clinic today and tomorrow, but hopefully as we get nearer to Raya, the clinic would also be less busy. Certainly the number of dengue cases were becoming more manageable after some hectic period of last three to four months.

Really looking forward for a bit of a break after what had been a busy six months. Will be in Penang also as planned after celebrating Raya in KL. Now that my reading was almost done, I would just be heading back to the apartment to catch the news I guess. Happy days .....

Pasar Malam

After spending the best part of an hour at the ICU talking to the nurses about my Uncle, I went straight to Kepala Batas. It was time for pasar malam. I just couldn't resist it. Being Saturday evening, the place was packed. It didn't help when I got there just after half past 6. The crowd were really in a rush to get their chopping done.

Didn't get to do a proper browsing. It was pretty much smash and grab, before rushing to Sungai Petani, arriving there just in time for berbuka.

It was undercooked. We had to cook again at home.Spent the rest of the evening catching up with the family gossip and talking about my Uncle. He remained critical, and the journey for him would be a long one. It also looked like he might have to be on dialysis at the rate he was going. Big challenges ahead.

After the talks died down, I really need to get some sleep - and catch the football a bit later on. It would be a subdued game with the two semifinal losers meeting for a third placing match. But still worth the watch ....

Shopping Before Ramadan

It was always a good idea to go for the Aidil Fitri shopping even before Ramadan begun. You tended to have the best choice - if not the best bargain - minus the hustle and bustle. You can take your time and have a drink or two while doing that which you can't in Ramadan. The crowd tended to be thinner too.

So, the weekend before Ramadan, I took a walk around Masjid India and Jalan Bunus, a must for the city dweller. All the Aidil Fitri wares were available there, if you could be bothered with the crowd and the traffic.

However, nowadays, the whole place had been turned into Mini Jakarta, as the majority of the vendors there at the stalls were foreigner. The locals could be seen trading inside Wisma Yakin and Semua House. The rest of the bazaars had been taken over. Not cool.

I was at Masjid India right after my walk from Central Market. It was just past noon when I arrived there, and the place was already teaming with the city dwellers. Everybody loved a bargain.

Since I have still got my wares from last year, I decided against doing any shopping. Those clothes old clothes were still good. I wonder if Puan Anita would be keen to come? ‎

Afternoon at Hospital Ampang

Often, I would be at Hospital Ampang to either deliver talks or attend a meeting. Today was the first time that I was there as a visitor. My brother-in-law developed an abscess which needing operating and he was admitted via the Casualty yesterday. Anita was with him all day sorting it out, while I was on call at Subang.

I must say that the experience was much better than she expected and my brother was given great care.

Finally, after my morning rounds, I went straight across town to Ampang, joined by Anita. It was about time that my brother was wheeled into the operation room. He was nervous.

Then, one of the House Officer recognised me. She said I used to teach her at UM. Always nice to know.

My brother-in-law waiting for his brotherMy brother was just being wheeled in. I had to go to the lobby as the phone signal at the operation theatre waiting room was a bit suspect. Being post-call, I was sure my phone would be ringing.

The operation should take under a couple of hours. My father and brother-in-law was also on the way in, and I would wait to fetch them from the lobby.

I still needed some rest after the busy night last night. I would probably be sleeping in the bench at the waiting area before long.

I must say that our experience thus far as a patient and family members had been great. Hopefully it would continue to stay as so. ‎

Our Turn

This was 30 minutes before berbuka

Every year, we had an evening which contribute for the breaking fast, or berbuka in Malay. The pseudo-Arab among us preferred the term iftar. Last evening was our turn. We ordered the food in while the Surau prepared the venue and the drinks.

It turned out that yesterday evening being a Friday night, the Surau was packed. We only ordered food for 250 people. About 300 turned up. Nightmare.

The children killing time before berbuka by wading the small pool before heading to the surauWe managed to get more rice but still it could've been more. The same happened for the post-Tarawikh feast, or moreh. We indexed some laksa, but towards the end, there was hardly anything left.

Heading back homeBetter up the preparation when we do it again next year then ...‎