It was a week of firsts and another “My goodness, I am getting old” moment.
Last Monday, my son Owen was accepted by a local polytechnic to do his diploma in business studies. Owen, 18, will now head to the polytechnic’s hostel, where he will stay away from the family for the first time.
He is excited and apprehensive but cannot wait to begin a new phase of his life.
Another good news is that having the offer letter to study means that he can finally open a savings account.
The bad news is that the home minister and I have to fork out more money – but it is for a good cause.
It was a good thing we had invested in Maybank’s Yippie account when he was born. It matured last year, and we received a lump sum, which we set aside for his education.
Owen, staying on his own, means there would be a period of adjustment for him and my mother-in-law, who is used to having him around the house. Luckily, she has several younger grandchildren to keep her occupied.
Another first happened last Friday when my daughter Carra experienced her school’s sports day in a stadium.
Two years of the Covid-19 pandemic meant sports had to take a back seat, and while she had sports day when she was in Standard 1-6, it was at the school field.
Although she was not chosen for any events last week, she and two other schoolmates wanted to experience the day and cheer for their sports houses.
They were so excited, giggling and making up cheers as I drove them to the venue. They spent over four hours at the stadium and had a great time watching their friends dress up as mascots or compete.
Carra wanted to learn archery when she entered Form 1 and even signed up for the school club, but since 2020, had only shot arrows once.
It has been two years of online classes, learning the practical stuff, and when physical classes resumed, it was more about handling the equipment. So, her days of becoming a female Robin Hood are still far away!
Oh, in case you are wondering, today is the 900th day of our first Movement Control Order.
Time certainly flies!
CASES CONTINUE TO FALL
There were 15,796 Covid-19 cases in the past week, the lowest since June 18-24 (15,564). That brought the total to 4,787,308.
Last week, 20,326 patients beat the coronavirus, taking recoveries to 4,719,910.
The bad news is that there were 43 deaths, taking fatalities to 36,234.
Worldwide, there are 609,583,586 cases, and 6,501,648 fatalities.
GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE
Last Sunday, I withdrew cash from a Maybank ATM. Among the notes was a torn RM50 bill.
I tweeted about it, tagging Maybank to the post. The bank responded immediately.
The next day, I received several missed calls from an unknown number and a WhatsApp message from Maybank’s customer feedback and resolution management vice-president, Selva Raja Perumal, or Bob.
Bob was helpful and apologised on the bank’s behalf. He even volunteered to get someone to come to the office, but I decided to take a walk to the nearest branch on Thursday after lunch to exchange the note.
Most Malaysians complain about Malaysia’s horrible customer service culture, but this is the second time Maybank has earned “interest” by being quick and responsive.
Another good customer service came from Astro. I bought my mum an Oppo Pad Air for her 83rd birthday – a month late – but I could not install the Astrogo application on it, even though it is supposed to work on all newer tablets.
A quick message to a couple of friends put me in touch with the company’s customer service centre. The matter was resolved within 48 hours.
Mum can now watch her favourite programmes in bed, while the bigger screen makes reading the latest news a breeze.
WORLD’S OLDEST BASE JUMPER
Jamaluddin Ismail is not your typical 67-year-old, as he will be certified as the world’s oldest BASE (Building, Antenna, Span and Earth) jumper.
He will travel to Dubai next year – where he hopes to jump off Burj Khalifa – to accept his award.
On Aug 31, he was the first jumper off Kuantan’s latest landmark – Kuantan 188, the country’s second tallest tower standing at 180m – to celebrate Merdeka.
Jamaluddin will be in action at the Kuantan 188 International Extreme Challenge until tomorrow.
You can read more about him on this news website next week.
MEET THE ANCESTORS OF THOSE WHO HELPED SHAPE MALAYSIA
In the run-up to Malaysia Day on Sept 16, and just days after the country celebrated its 65th year of independence, comes a special event at Taman Tugu.
As part of its monthly ‘People Library’, tomorrow’s living books are sons, daughters, and grandchildren of those who helped form this great nation.
‘Living books’ are experts in their fields who relate their life experiences and share their knowledge of a particular subject.
At the same venue next week, there is Irama Merdeka, a community sing-along with the Philharmonic Society of Selangor from 8am to noon.
ONE PAN SAUSAGE PASTA
Here is a quick and easy pasta recipe that only requires one pan for an easy clean-up! Enjoy.
IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
I have always loved this song by Garth Brooks, although Ronan Keating’s version is more popular among the younger crowd.
Another version of this song was quite popular among government officials several years ago, but it feels only fitting that one of country music’s biggest stars gets an outing in this week’s Diary.
Until next week, stay safe.
