May 4, 2013: One month since my return

I had always thought I would write daily in my blog, but down the months, this habit degenerated into 1-2 monthly posts. With the decline in posting, my page views, comments, ad revenues, etc. have also seen a downturn, and so has my ranking among active blogs! I have no apologies to offer, but a sincere explanation: I have been really busy with my studies! Since I wrote last over here, I have completed the question data-bank on the online practice site, and am revising the questions since the past few days.

My progress is slow, but I am slowly getting there. It has been a relief to me that my co-pediatrician has co-operated so much with me. For the last 14 days, I was "on-call", and as a result, I was able to put in many more hours of study than I possibly could had I been in the OPD at the hospital. True, I had to attend some emergency and off-hours calls, but these were few and far-between. As a result, I was able to sit in the doctors' room and really read/study during the duty hours.

I have been shirking most of my other routines. My house isn't as clean as before, I am cooking only intermittently, my washing of clothes is running behind schedule, I am not ironing my own clothes ... in short, it is a mess. But it is worth it, since I am hoping to clear the Part 2 exams at first attempt.

Al Muwayh saw an unique natural phenomenon when it rained consecutively for 4 evenings from last Saturday to the next Tuesday. The weather was stormy, with a lot of sand billowing about. My car's windshield, rear-view glass and window glasses were covered with sand each morning, and I had to clean the sand off with dry cloth. Locals tell me that they haven't seen or heard of so many rain-filled days in the entire history of Al Muwayh (which is more than 40 years old)! I have heard that it has rained equally heavily in most parts of southern and western Saudi Arabia, and even places in the north and north-east such as Riyadh has witnessed rainfall. Is this a sign of changing climate or is it just a flash in the pan? Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, Hannah received her appointment letter and is now happy as she will draw a monthly salary that is quite respectable. Inas continues doing what she is already doing at the Juice salon and Nishrin is also doing her work as usual.

Mom was admitted to Noor Hospital in Mumbai last fortnight for a pneumonia. Thankfully, she has improved and is now recuperating at home.

That's all for now ... please pray for my success in the examinations. Feel free to comment in the box below.