Sandy Hit SJ

It was not exactly that, but quite close. It suddenly became dark during lunch, and the next thing I knew, it was torrential. I happened to be at Sunway Pyramid, having had lunch there, and the half a kilometre drive back to clinic took almost half an hour due to the weather.

I swear that some area would be taking on water soon. It didn't take much for KL to be flooded lately. And Kelang was becoming notorious. And sure enough, a quick glance in the new confirmed that a few villages there were flooded after just a couple of hours heavy rain.

The New Viaduct

Saw this now famous photo from yesterday afternoon on the Interweb. Unfortunately I couldn't tell who I should credit it to. But I was caught behind this. I was halfway up the ramp when I had to stop and turn back. It was pouring down yesterday, and I planned to escape early as Tuesdays were supposed to be my free afternoon.

It was sunny until about 2 pm. And then the it became suddenly dark and heavens opened. And it was torrential! I managed to get things sorted out and was about to leave the hospital at 4, when the road started to become waterlogged.

I made a U-turn to go up the ramp to join NKVE, when I had to stop halfway up. Apparently some poor soul had his car caught in the water, and despite efforts to free him up, the engine stalled.

A few makeshift traffic wardens the helped clear the traffic for us to reverse back onto the main road, and put up signs to stop people from entering the ramp.

For the last week, since it started raining heavily in the afternoon, that stretch of the bridge had been clogged with water. It was due to the rubbish wing strewn onto the road, and blocking the drainage. But it was still funny to see the ramp tubes into a viaduct!

I hope that the MPSJ folks would clear the drain fast as that stretch was one o the main artery road feeding into either the NKVE or Federal Highway. As for me, I better not take that ramp the next time it rained .....

Last Six Months

Yes. It has been six months since I was offered to join Sime Darby, and plenty of things had happened. I also filled my tax return today, and suffice to say, I'm broke!

Things had certainly picked up in the last three months, and even my Mum complained that I hardly came around as frequently. The new apartment also came in handy, as I didn't have to travel all the way to Gombak every time I was called to the hospital.

Alhamdulillah, six months certainly flew by in double quick time, and only recently that I started to understand the philosophy of private practice. Managing expectations seemed to be as important as having good clinical acumen. But, as I said all along, I must not complaint ....

A Hot One

The commute to the mosque this afternoon was especially hard with the bright sunshine. Good thing that I finished my last patient just after noon and had the time to have lunch.

I couldn't resist the glass of air kelapa as soon as I reached the mosque. As expected, the queue was longer than normal.

Time to switch off and listen to what the khatib has to say. Not another political sermon I hope as I am expecting something about the coming Valentine's Day. Wait and listen!

The Friday Sermon

It is not often that I blog about religion, or what my thoughts on religion for that matter. But I felt that I had to today. Why? Because I was a touch upset. I was upset with the Friday sermon today.

On Friday afternoons, I usually walk the 1.5 km from my clinic to a nearby mosque. And the the weather today was especially nice. The sun was shining brightly, but it was breezy. Perfect. I arrived there early enough to buy a glass of fresh coconut drinks at the stalls by the mosque car park. A long queue but well worth it. Especially in the sunshine.

Made my way into the mosque, and then it was time for the sermon. Before the athan, there were a few announcements made by the mosque committee. Essentially thanking the visitors for the money donated during the prayers especially on Fridays. What the money was used for - for good courses of course. Helping out new converts, helping out with deaths in the community etc. The gentleman also mentioned that some of it were used to service the mosque, which was fine. After all, the mosque was one of the unique ones, which is fully air-conditioned.

Then the sermon started. And it was about giving. In the latter part, the khatib - the gentleman giving the sermon - touched about how much one should give. But he overstepped the line when he insisted that all of us should strive to at least donate RM10 each - "duet merah supaya seining orang masjid nak kira" - so that counting the donation would be easy! Wow! You need more air-cond units? The congregation started looking at each other literally, and some were even shaking their heads!

For some reason, I was upset. I tended to give more that what was required, but now I felt that they had no rights to tell us how much to give. Is it a toll? Was kinda ironic especially when they mentioned about the air-conditioning as I never get to enter the prayer halls proper since the place were packed to the brim!

I just felt that the Mosque Committee were a touch insensitive. I know that they had a important role to play in the community, and I applaud them for that. But please don't insist on me paying for it, as if it is a fixed charge. Especially not after mentioning that the place is fully air-conditioned and all ……