Silka Maytower Kuala Lumpur

Posted in Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

Melaka had a long weekend just before the recent school holidays. So I drafted an itinerary for a short trip to Kuala Lumpur. I specifically chose Silka Maytower due to our planned activities. I booked a Deluxe-Triple Room with breakfast included for a 4D3N stay. The total was RM 726.75 plus taxes. There is parking on-site with a flat rate applied to in house guests. The room was spacious and breakfast options were OK. There wasn’t a lavish spread but it was enough to fuel our day. The hotel is walking distance to India Street, Jakel and SOGO. If you’re willing to walk further, you can reach Petaling Street by foot.

There’s a gym and a swimming pool as well at the hotel. I loved the pool. The depth was just over 1m. It was really clean as well with great aesthetics. I did not get to go to the gym but my husband managed to snap a few photos there. Guests need to tap their access cards to use the elevators. So, I was thrilled when we were given 2 cards. The fridge was functioning and thankfully, there is a hairdryer. I was in near anguish when I thought there were none until my daughter discovered it in the drawers near the beverage counter.

The hairdryer has played an important part of my marital life. I did not own one during my single years because I did not think it was necessary. Everything changed after I got married cause girls just need to dry their hair fast before putting on the hijab. Furthermore, it was only later that I learned that if you blowdry your hair, it makes your hair more silky smooth and protects the scalp from fungal growth that could lead to dandruff.

Anyway, the main objective of the stay was to visit the Bank Negara Museum and KLCC. I was thinking of bringing my daughter around KL on the transit trains. Our hotel is located close to them stations. However, my husband does not seem to be up for it and prefers to travel in his car. So, I’d probably do it with my daughter at another time later. Apart from the two places mentioned earlier, we also made a visit to Zoo Negara. All this I will write about in my next post.

Disappointing aircon service

Posted in Everyday Life by

I am a person who is very particular with my time. And others. The clinic opening times start at 8am. I would be at my desk usually by 745am. In the afternoon, I would return after lunch hour at 2PM by the dot. Latest at 205PM depending on the traffic heading towards my workplace. The respect towards time extends to family occasions, school reunions, appointments and such. Of course, living in Malaysia, I still need to accommodate those who follows the Malaysian time. However, the most I could tolerate is 30 minutes late. After that, usually my internal punctual Hulk would start fuming.

I requested an aircon service recently. I asked if the company did weekend services. They said they do. And so I made an appointment for 2PM. One week in advance. I sent the location of my house via Whatsapp the day before as a form of reminder that we have an appointment the next day.

The day came.

I was already in my hijab by 2pm. At 230pm, there was no sign of them coming. So, I sent a Whatsapp asking if they are coming after all. They said they are ‘on the way’. Being the husnuzon person that I am, knowing that traffic can be wild over the weekend, I gave them the grace of time for another 30 minutes. An hour passed and there was still no sign. Sarcasm took over. I asked them, ‘on the way dari Siam ke?’ They arrived promptly after that.

The employees were a lady and a man. They sauntered into the house without an apology for being late. I was beginning to doubt if they actually knew what they were doing because of all the servicemen that has come to my home, none of them needed to take my blinders off. Yet, they had to take my blinders off. I was still being kind and let them be. Because maybe they needed this experience to be better at their job. It took them nearly 90 minutes to service ONE AIRCONDITIONER. The airconditioner was making noises as they were assembling the unit and they kept fiddling with the screwdriver to GOD KNOWS WHAT! Then they tried to blame the previous servicemen. Excuse me, the unit wasn’t making any sounds before you guys came. On top of that, I caught them VAPING inside my house!! While working!!! IN MY HOUSE, WE DON’T SMOKE OR VAPE!!

My inner Hulk could not take it anymore. I was still able to remain civil and calm. I did not raise my voice and told the lady grimly, “tutup je balik benda tu, saya rasa awak tak tahu awak buat apa. Saya bayar awak untuk servis yang awak dah buat”. They reassembled the unit. They preferred QR as a method of payment. I asked for a receipt or invoice. They could not provide it on the spot. The lady said Monday. I gave them time till next Tuesday. Let’s see if they could follow up on that. If they fail to do so, I am going to make a formal complaint.

For not providing an invoice.

For being late.

For vaping in a customer’s house.

Enough

Posted in Ponderings & Personal Development by

If you live below your means, you will learn to appreciate the simple things in life. Above all, you are preventing yourself from being caught in the never-ending chase for euphoria. If you are able to attain it all, what is stopping you from going beyond? I mean, have you ever come across a movie or real-life event that made you ask, “She has everything; why is she taking drugs?”

When I was a child, eating out at KFC was considered a rare treat. Now that I have kids, having KFC is probably just another dinner meal on a day that this mummy doesn’t feel like cooking. Thus, there is this pressure to go for something more extravagant than KFC to celebrate special occasions. Or perhaps, that would be a time to go back to being simple. Preparing home-cooked meals, serving potlucks and organizing parties at home.

Having life as a pensioner in mind, I am heading in the direction of that. Simple. Not necessarily minimalistic and bland. But living with enough.

Bicycle nightmare

Posted in Creative Writing by

The nightmare felt real. The pain of losing a child was palpable.

This is another one of those dream diaries. I had this impression that I was staying in this big mansion with my family and that we were hosting our relatives at our home for a big event. Perhaps it was a wedding; I was not sure. But everyone came and stayed for the night. Some curled up in their sleeping bags in the living room. The elders were more rested on the big beds we had in the rooms.

The day was bustling with a lot of activities around food prep and decorations. It was a merry atmosphere! Towards the end of the day, all the young kids in the family wanted to go cycling. And this is where things began to go wrong.

There were at least 20 kids on their bikes with at least one respective parent tagging along from behind. The kids wanted to explore the small city, which was puzzling at the same time. This city that I was living in was like Chongqing. Can you imagine the maze-like features of this famous city? I mistakenly tailed a niece who looked just like my daughter from behind, and it was only later that I discovered that it was not her.

Since it was a large group, separated by the bends in the city, I wasn’t really sure if the other adults were aware that my daughter would be cycling with them or worse, separated from her cousins and other adults. Alarm bells started to ring as I frantically tried to call every parent that I know of who joined this cycling excursion. Panic set in as one by one the parents I called were saying that my daughter was not with them. There were a few whom I couldn’t get in touch with. Probably had their phones on silent, or they were busy cycling.

My chest felt heavy. I was clutching for breath. I was tired. Racing around on my bike. Crazy thoughts of finding her hurt or worse, dead were invading my mind. The pain of losing her felt real and palpable. I think it was when I wanted to scream her name that woke me up. And boy, I was relieved. My hands were right on my chest, clutching tight in despair. I had to catch my breath while staring at the blank ceiling. It’s been a while since I felt the emotions of fear. Especially the fear of losing someone. The intense emotions died down as I saw my daughter sleeping soundly in her bed. Alhamdulillah, it was just a dream.