Poignant

In clinic to day - the last one before my long break - a stewardess patient came to see me. She worked for MAS, and had been doing so for almost a couple of decades.

After going through her medical issues, she sat down and started to cry. Apparently the whole organisation had been feeling the strain. Some of her colleagues had left MAS to join other airlines with better perks. But she had been with MAS for so long and find that starting afresh was not an option.

The morale had been low for some time. The last time they received a bonus was about 7 years back. With the two devastating event this year, the spirit had gone rock bottom. But she felt that there had been a groundswell of support from fellow Malaysians, but conceded that it may have been too late. MAS would be struggling to carry on as it was.

Luckily she was my last patient and we spent some time chatting. A few of her friends had taken leaves due to anxiety, leaving her having to work during the Raya period. She didn't mind that, but felt it may be time to leave MAS as well. The put it bluntly, the problem with MAS was deep-rooted, and she was hoping that the two incidents, as painful as it was, may be the turning point for the whole organisation.

A wished her the best of luck, and on a personal level, I had always been a supporter of MAS. The moment I stepped into an MAS cabin at Heathrow, I felt that I was already home. I was sure plenty others who spent a big chunk of their time abroad felt the same way.

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 .....

Back to Work

First day back to work after the protracted weekend and I was on call today. The last call - of four - during this Ramadan. The next one would be in the middle of next month.

Slow start, seeing my patients in the ward before setting off to Park City. Just finished off the clinic there - the last patient just called to reschedule - and an ICU referral, and it was time to dump my stuff at the apartment before heading back to Subang for an afternoon clinic and start of the call.

Looks like there's going to be some construction going on ...Anita would be dropping by with food for berbuka later. I've already stocked in for sahur, and tomorrow would be my weekly no-clinic day. Hopefully the call would be kind to my weary body - both physically and mentally. ‎

Busy Weekend

I had planed for a long weekend from tomorrow, but it looked like I would have to drive up to Penang after clinic. My Uncle was in ICU, and his condition did not look very clever. My Mum was already there, so I plan to head up there and pick my Mum up on the way back.

So, for this evening, we would still go out for our customary Friday evening outing. Will be catching some dinner after berbuka, and maybe do a bit of shopping.

I'd probably drive back on Sunday afternoon if things were OK in Penang. I should arrive back in KL just in time for the World Cup Final with Anita. As it stood at the moment, I'd better enjoy any free time I had. There would not be much over the weekend I was afraid ...

Football Time. Finally.

Done with the admissions and now time to enjoy some football. The second half of Argentina versus Belgium to be more specific. Maybe with a bit of food as I didn't have anything at the apartment for sahur later.

The game so far had been a cagey affair. This would be the first of the night. Netherlands would be playing later this morning.

The admissions had been ok so far, and hopefully I could have a nice night sleep with a quick morning round to follow. I had to visit my brother in law who was admitted at Hospital Ampang for an abscess. Looked like he may need an operation.

I might as well get this game over and done with before returning to the apartment. ‎