New Look IKANO

When I first returned from the UK, one of the first mall I went to visit was Ikano Power Centre. It was brand new back then. Just opened. The mall opposite, The Curve have yet to be opened. IKEA was only just being planned.

It was a stand alone mall but with Harvey Norman and other anchor tenants, they were doing well. They also had a very good food court on the top floor - which has since been replaced with Toys'r'Us. Since it was by the highway - NKVE and LDP was not that busy back then - getting there and back was convenient. Parking spaces were also aplenty.

Inside the new flagship Harvey-Norman store

Over the years they had many changes but none were as drastic as from the beginning of the year. The mall had been closed for a good part of a year now and was just reopened before Xmas. A major departure from what it used to look like.

Now, Harvey Norman expanded to a couple of floors. The whole of lower ground on one side was occupied by Ben' groceries shop. Cold Storage had moved out. The place also looked cleaner and brighter.

The many eateries on the lower ground floor remained opened, and on the evening that we went to visit, it was packed. Looked like it was a change for the better ...

Today's Prayers

Normally I would finish my Friday morning clinic at around 1, and ended having to rush to the mosque. I prefer to walk since the parking was atrocious and driving in and out of the parking lot was a nightmare. Sometimes, I was lucky to get a lift from colleagues who were on the way back.

Last week, the walk was tinged with haze, and by the time I reached the hospital for lunch and afternoon rounds, my eyes were red.

Today I was lucky since my clinic finished just after noon, and I was able to get my stuff into the car, changed into a sandal and started walking. I reached the mosque - located just under a kilometer away - after about 15 minutes, and went for a quick lunch at the stalls there.

It was a Ramly burger this week, with some really nice juice. The haze was also not too bad and the weather was overcast. A nice afternoon for a walk.

The ramp going up to the ladies' section. It's opened to males today as it was Friday.The main hallBut the reason for the entry was not about the walk, but for the renovation that had been taking place at my local mosque in the last year. Before Ramadan, about half of the section was closed and most of the Jemaah had to pray under a shed in the middle of the sun. That was trying!

If I was early, I tend to get a space inside the main hall, airconditioned and sleep-inducing. Now, the renovations were almost complete, and the outer halls are now very confortable to stay at. And the ladies section had a ramp going upstairs for the disabled. Since I was early, it would be in the main hall this week .....

Renovation Next Door

Finally the deal for the house next door was done. The new owner happened to be an old Cardiologist colleague from my UMMC days. He had since left for private practice at about the same time as I did.

He bought the house and proceeded to do a wholesale renovation of the old house. Once completed, I suspect it would look unrecognisable to the old owner.

I suspect that he might raise another floor to the house .... We shall see ...

More Clear-out

The last bit of stuff were finally taken out from my room at UMMC. I did that last Sunday morning - when nobody were around. There plenty of garbage needed clearing in the end.

The corridor from my officeCareful out there. Seen at the third floor corridor. The second door walkway had been blocked.New coat of paint at Pasar Siti Khadijah. Yes, it was purple.The Academic Staff carpark was empty. This being a Sunday.As planned, I did not bump into anybody at all in the morning. UMMC as usual was having renovations again. This time, they were doing up Pasar Siti Khadijah - a new coat of paint and a new ceiling. It was fungus-laden anyhow and was in need replacing - badly ….

Ancient stuffs

Walking towards my ward fom my office, I passed through the newly refurbished Microbiology Department. They were clearly in the process of clearing up their cupboards and left stacks of old documents and files along the passageway. I was surprises that it went way back to the opening of the Hospital. Since there were no omputers back then or even if they do, they were sensible enough to keep hard copies, there were rows of them.

Which brought me to a thought. In the age when we were trying to move towards paperless invironment, are we covered should the paper trails go missing. Imagine if the results were so important that varification was needed, can we survive just by using te computers? Will they be pemissible in court of law? Scary thought eh?