“In one hundred meters, make a U-turn…”
something most Waze users hear with some regularity
Greetings sports fans!
So, by now you’ve kind of figured out that this is Walski’s new blog, a sort of second lease of live for the old myAsylum blog that’s pretty much been abandoned since February 2014. Just over seven year ago.
For those of you who know him personally, Walski hasn’t been in the wilderness per se, as far as an online presence goes. He’s been busy doing other things in real life and pretty much didn’t have time to write as much as he used to. In the meantime, myAsylum has been posting sporadically via Facebook, and of course, Walski’s other venting channel, Twitter.
And he’s done his fair share of writing, albeit about things completely non-political and non-socio related (i.e. work)… long story short, things have been relatively good in Walski’s life. It’s just that there are only 24 hours in a day, and sometimes real life has to take priority.
Be that as it may, Walski’s decided to blog again. And what better time to start when we’re right smack in the first pandemic mankind has seen in close to a century, right?
As Walski writes this, we’re almost at the end of MCO 3.0 – aka Full Movement Control Order (FMCO) – which come June 15 will be extended by an additional 14 days until June 28, 2021. The FMCO is almost like the original recipe MCO instituted last year beginning March 2020, with a few tweaks here and there, and the allowance of manufacturing and other “essential” businesses to operate.
And as we have been seeing with some regularity, the SOPs associated with this round of MCO were once again subjected to some U-turns. But that’s been the story of SOPs for the past year – implement, then retract. Walski does not want, however, to get into the nitty gritty of the countless U-turns we’ve seen. Simply because it’s TIRING.
Be that as it may, here we are… COVID-19 has been with us for over 18 months, and thus far, like the houseguest who’s overstayed their welcome, isn’t showing any signs of leaving. In fact, the death toll to-date for 2021 has just breached 1,000 today – and that’s just over 6 months into the year, making it 3,884 casualties in total.
On the political front, the Sheraton Coup Government is still in charge, but this week the YDPA called all the party heads for a pow-wow, to be followed by a Conference of Rulers meeting this coming Wednesday, June 16. In theory, the current Administrative Emergency (read: No Parliament) will end in August, so Walski reckons this big time meet will decide whether or not there will be an extension once the Emergency order expires.
Perhaps the biggest news that’s emerged from this week is Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, Malaysia’s two-time heavyweight political champion former Prime Minister, proposing the institution of an NOC (National Operations Council) to govern instead of the Cabinet. And no surprise has proposed his own good self to lead it. You can read more about it here (via The Malay Mail). The NOC proposed would be similar to the one that ran the nation back in 1969 post-May 13. The latest news on this today is that Dr. M is proposing an alternative name for it: National Rehabilitation Council (via The Malay Mail).
So, Walski reckons after the Council of Rulers meeting next week we’ll know what to look forward to next…
In the meantime, Walski still hasn’t gotten his vaccination date yet. He tried to sign up for the Astra Zaneca jab when it was offered on a first-come first-serve basis the second time around, but the massive glitch experienced on the registration site meant that “computer said, NO“. So, it’s back to the regular waiting list… which seems to not be moving fast enough for his liking. Incidentally, Walski registered on May 6, just over a month ago – and as of a minute ago, still no appointment set yet. And so we wait… some more.
And so there you have it… stuck at home for the most part. The only saving grace is that the Internet works and there’s a lot to read online, and a lot of other online work to do – not just this new blog, but also working on the business website. In other words, Walski is keeping himself occupied.
He wishes that the art business is what’s keeping him occupied more, but with the overall business environment really sucky at the moment, there’s not a lot to look forward to on that front. The good news is that we no longer run a physical gallery space, meaning no monthly rental to worry about; which is a good thing. The bad news is that business is excruciatingly slow, and selling online isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Too bad Walski isn’t selling tudung or other articles of typical consumer wants. But that’s another story for another posting.
Hope you folks take good care, and stay safe always…
Bye for now.
myAsylum 