SKM visits us with her daughter, Sam's cousin PuiHoong, they know so little about Kuching, and our life here. Sam and I agree earlier to host them, and host them generously - Sean collects them from the airport and bring them to dinner at the club. They will stay at Sean's place, good for him - it helps to get the place in order. He is still missing bits and pieces: a book shelf here, and painting there, proper crockery for entertaining, and so forth.
All good lessons to learn.
3 of our young architects took time to talk about their work, about how lines on pair turn into built projects. They did well, showing clearly, from experience, from lessons learnt along the way. I listen in and add a word here and there, but I mostly learned as well: that they have been thinking, recording their work flow, that there are certain lessons that they want to share; about taking extra time to get things done right, about growing people, about personal growth.
Sean mentioned that our biggest project might be the alumni which we are continuing to build, if we are not speaking about built architecture. I think that's a nice thought...
Later that day, I go to No. 40 and start cooking lunch. The office folks start arriving at 1pm, Fiona's parents were the guests of honour, her uncle from Lawas join us. Her father is very complimentary about our work culture, I hear it, I'm glad but I don't dwell on it - it's a ongoing process. We cook, and eat and drink until dinner time after which we pack up and go home. To eat Az's bubur kacang hijau cooked by his mom, with santan and gula apong - it's a bit too sweet and too rich for me but I really appreciate this young man's effort to contribute. Especially because his family is not well to do, and he still makes an effort. Sean says he often orders the cheapest lunch, I make up my mind - next week, I'll try and cook one pot lunches, and size it for more than 1 person. So that I can tell him 'there's lunch if you want it' - he deserves that.
We are eating two cakes in the office pantry, a cheese one and a pistachio mille-feuille. Two birthdays - George and Fiona - Sam referred to our birthday girl as a 'kaixin quo', and she is right; a bright spark, intelligent and caring. I recall a text conversation on the eve of her departure from our office for further studies in Tsinghua Uni; she used a Chinese idiom to describe our parting 天下無不散的筵席 (tiān xià wú bù sàn de yán xí), which translates to "there are no banquets in the world that do not end".
Several years later, she returned, and the banquet continues..
We present the school design without much fanfare, I hope Brother Robert is able to put it past the school board. Emil has questions and comments, let's see how we can answer them and appease him. The engineer Anthony called the design 'elegant' which I think is a fitting description.
Sam sits next to me after seeing the SEDC folks about our appointment, she'll be stationed next to me in the office starting today.
Let's see if we can get our UPKJ registration this week.
On Monday, I mentioned to Freddie that I would love to have the housing project signed up, and our registration to bid for government projects approved before my birthday. At 3pm, this afternoon, I receive a text from F asking me to collect a Letter of Intent for the housing project. This would lead to our appointment eventually, so Freddie says that my KPI is partly achieved.
Sam will follow up with F.
We have a good meeting with Bala, he is earnest and sharp thinking - I think we will enjoy working with his team. We complete the design report for the school and send it off, after which Sam and I go for a swim at PD - I think the quiet courtyard and cold water of the pool, it is a nice place to end the work day. Sean says that in the future, he will have us over for dinners, I can imagine that we will go over earlier for a swim first before waltzing in with a bottle of wine and enjoy his cooking.
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It looks likely now that I can simply draw, and draw and there will be people who can interpret and execute these plans and ideas. The past few days in KL has proven this method can work, although with the new team members, it is harder to lock in ideas, whereas with the seasoned members - I simply have to talk and they can come close to the intended outcome. At other times when the outcome is mis-read or missed, the results can also be useful - proffering another perspective which I had not thought of.
530 a.m. Walking to the KLCC, I listen to John Wilson speaking to the painter, Frank Auerbach who in his 80s still paints daily. Not for the whole day but a few hours daily. It gives me an idea about what else to occupy myself with, when the architecture doesn't need me as much. Something creative, something I can do on my own to express myself, with encouragement and review from my peers, something new yet related to my interests and skills and something that I might be able to earn some income from. The final chapter of a creative life. Painting, I thought - abstracts from street scenes and architecture. Maybe some figures...
I'll start soon, as I turn 61.
I bring Sam to meet Naz and Jennifer over breakfast, he and Sam hit it off - both are chatty with stories to tell about children and aging parents. One cannot help be stricken by Sam when she chooses to turn on the charm.
After the heavy breakfast - we head off for my review; the doctor appears happy with my ankles. He says that they are healing nicely - I wonder how can things heal overnight. Perhaps they do if you use PRP (platelet rich plasma) to promote healing, he prescribe 6 weeks of active rest (maybe no squash or tennis) but anything else is fine. He got serious when he talked about the high BP, he reads me well - he knows I'll try and 'heal' myself but he reasons that given my regime now - there is not much else I can do to lower my blood pressure. And that perhaps the reason is genetic and if I want longevity, (he thinks that I am a candidate for sudden death if I don't do something about this) I should go on medication.
After seeing the GP, I am officially taking medication for my hypertension (an ARB which helps to dilate the blood vessels and reduce the load on my heart) In the evening, we have a long and crowded dinner with PH and his family, GL, JM, SL, Sarah Lim (who says that she needed the comfort which comes with our company). After dinner, and the first dose of Valsartan - my BP is 125/76
Today is the first time I have ever been in a hospital as a patient; we arrive at 1 p.m., and wait to be admitted. I change into the gown and wait. There is a lot of waiting. Finally I am lying down in the hospital bed, and waiting. At 5pm, I am wheeled into the OT - I recall chatting to Dr. Thomas, the anesthetist and admiring how comfortable they were making me; warm air is pumped into my gown, I am given a soft gel pack to rest my chin on (I am in a prone position). There is a grumble about how high my blood pressure is, but before I can give it more thought - I must have gone under because the next thing I recall is waking up with a dizzy head, in front of the observation bay. At the back of my mind, I remember that we have a dinner date with Laila, Yasmin, and Ileana - Sam has been in touch with them - dinner is postponed. PH is very kind, he drops by to have dinner with SA, and later to send us back to the apartment. I cannot feel my ankles nor my heels, no pain nor twinges just some discomfort.
Tomorrow, I have to return for a review session with Dr. Rajesh, and to see the GP about my blood pressure.
I go for an early morning walk ahead of a full day of trials and tribulations. I am due to be assessed by good Dr. Rajesh, who will see if something can be done with my ankles. After which, we have a family dinner with the usual culprits - at the Kingdom Palace, which is good as I find myself looking forward more and more to the food rather than the company.
Dr. Rajesh talks about the 3 bones that form my ankle, and how one of the joints has been immoblised which forced the tendons to over compensate and work inefficiently, causing chronic pain. He schedules a procedure to fix this situation, it takes place tomorrow (Friday). It would require me to be sedated, it will take about an hour and I should be as good as new. I'm relieved, and though this would be my time in a hospital and am also looking forward to painful walking.
Dinner is excellent, the company lives up to my expectation; SKM is sharp and funny, she's the main reason I show up, FIL relates stories about his healing, I don't pay attention to my SIL, Sydney is warning up to us after all these years and PC, he has his problems - I do feel for him.
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| I decide that directors birthday should celebrated with a long lunch which lasts until dinner |
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| I have a team in the office, not at home, I am a team of one |
Tomorrow - I ll start the day earlier and go for a walk and then cycle to work. 5 a.m. out the door, wear slippers if lazy to wear shoes. one hour later return to shower and go to the gym or the office if there is another physical activity later that day.
Favourite places with my favourite person - g despite all the exciting new things and people whom we enjoyed meeting on this trip - the ones that come immediately are the ones I share with Sam. Whether it is a place, like the new Anzac Memorial where she made a bouquet for me, when I was looking for sticks to make into drawing tools, or National Art Gallery where we often spent our university Sundays. Often it is the impromptu pauses along our journey 'aimless wandering' that are the confirms how much our thoughts and feelings; to save the chilli from her Spicy Magarita to cook with dinner that night, and you made me a bouquet when I was simply for sticks to sketch with.
