Monday Morning Traffic!

Monday! Argh! At least the weather was dull, so one dis not feel too much of a Monday blues having to be tied indoors at work. But one thing I could do without on this fine Monday was getting stuck in traffic first thing in the morning. Unfortunately that was what happened this morning. I got stuck again at the Duta flyover into the new Istana Negara. This was starting to become my pet rant. I now wish that a public transport service was able to take me to work everyday.

Even though I got into work well in time, I must say, the amount of time I wasted in traffic was a hell of a lot. UMMC was not exactly people friendly as far as public transportation were concerned. Yes, much was made about the bus service from the Universiti LRT station, but one would still have to wait for the bus. If only there was a direct service into UMMC by tram, a lot of problem could have been solved. We could have cut down the number of cars into the carpark at the hospital for a start. Not only it would benefit the patients and staffs, visiting the place would also be much easier.

I thought, one of the main emphasis in face-lifting UMMC might not be just new buildings and more car park spaces, we should have been planning for the long term. These extra car park spaces might be good for the next five years or so, but eventually, a more long-term strategy were needed. Trust me, an LRT station right next door. Would this make too many people, specifically those who might be up to no good turning up at the hospital? That argument was rather lame. Especially at a hospital where security was only taken seriously very recently - only in the last months that the staffs were assigned smart cards to access the doors to the wards and the main entrance at off hours.

Well. Long term solution for the traffic situation was definitely needed. Getting in and out of the hospital was slowly becoming a drag, and not just for the reluctant patients.

Of Flooding

We often hear scary stories about flash flooding in the middle of KL town. Yes, it was getting less frequent with the advent of the SMART tunnel, but it was still an issue after heavy downpour. And one such downpour happened this morning.

Luckily the rain abated by 10 am. The main areas where it was still a problem was around Jalan Duta-Semantan intersection as well as Brickfields between KL Sentral and Bukit Persekutuan. I was caught at one of thses points before, and it was so bad that I would avoid these spots everytime it threatened to rain. And I must say the recurring theme at these places were constructions and road building. Bracing myself again this morning.

Rather Quiet

First day of school holidays today. As usual, the traffic going into work was predictably lighter than normal. That was great. Rather than spending almost 45 minutes in my journey into UMMC, it was only 25 minutes today. It would have been faster if it was not for AZRB still messing about with the fly-over on Jalan Duta leading into the new Istana Negara. It was supposed to be ready before the end of 2010. It was now close to June. It looked like it would take at least another couple of months before everything sorted out. But I digress.

The main Suria KLCC foyerMy boys running around the hallway at Alpha Angle. As I said, it was rather empty.Heading back home in the afternoon, I stopped at KLCC to deposit some cheques. I was expecting the crowd to be bigger there, but instead, it was surprisingly quiet. Later, when I went out to do the groceries, Jaya Jusco at Alpha Angle, it was quiet there as well. Maybe everybody took the opportunity to head back to kampung. This must be what KL was like back in the 80s. Traffic was much lighter, and the pace of life would have been much more manageable.

Jam at the DUKE. Like how?

I was stuck on my way in. Was a bit late. Found out that there was a car stalled on the left lane. There you go!

Managed to reach work in time to continue the ward round though. Then I realised that the meting I was planning to attend in Hospital Ampang was actually in the morning rather than the afternoon. Quick ward round, then a quick getout!

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At Afiq's Party in Subang Jaya

Afiq is the son our Kak Nona, Anita's cousin. The family are very fond of Idlan and Irfan and they insisted that we come. Surely we did. Even though it involved driving back to Gombak to pick them up then turning back to Subang Jaya for it.

 

It was raining heavily that evening and traffic was a pain. We arrived there late. Just after 8.30 but the party has not started proper yet. There were games as usual and cakes. Unfortunately no Ronald McDonald! I'm standing in protest! That was unacceptable! Hehehe!

We stayed until after 10.30 chatting but I was getting tired at the end. It has been a long day for me personally. It started with an early morning phonecall to replace Imran for the morning session of the Final MB resit exam. I then rushed straight to clinic, then Sembahyang. There were a couple of emergencies in the ward which I had to attend to after before catching a quick bite. The a ward round, a couple of referrals and a meeting with one of the Pharmaceutical Manager about an article I wrote for them recently.

That took me to 5 pm, and I have yet to visit my uncle who is being admitted for an operation this coming Monday. After meeting him briefly, I drove in the heavy rain back to Gombak and then turned back after a quick shower to the party. We spent last night at my in-laws as we all will be staying there today as Anita took her daytrip.