Readers are sure to wonder why I put that sad emoticon next to the title of this entry. Dear readers, I am going to tell you in a moment. But first, I must share some very important bit of news. In fact, this is a once-in-a-lifetime change that is occurring in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: their weekend is now changed from Thursday-Friday to Friday-Saturday with immediate effect. This means that we will now enjoy weekly offs on Friday and Saturday. This is in keeping with banking on-off days in the rest of the Arab World, and the need to synchronise their business days with neighboring as well as globally relevant countries.
As a direct consequence of this, we will have an extended weekend this time, with three days of off for specialists and senior staff. The OPD will resume, not on Saturday, but on Sunday!
Okay, so we had yet another barbecue session yesterday, i.e. on Tuesday evening. This time, the tab was on me, as I was treating a few doctors on my clearing the Part 2 MRCPCH examinations. I purchased two sealed packets of chicken drumsticks and marinated them with salt and black pepper (this gives just a mild pungency to the dish - that is just enough for the Arab palate); I also prepared a salad with cucumber, tomatoes, olive oil and lettuce leaves (finely chopped). This time, since I was the host, I also brought water, a packet of plastic plates (disposable), tissue paper and Arabian bread (khubbs). Dr. Measser brought with him some more serving items, tea, some wood for the barbecue (I had also taken some wood with me) and assorted items like some cutlery, his barbecue instruments (see one of those things in action in my previous barbecue posts).
Let me now come to the title of this entry. The unnerving event of the day was that after I had returned from the hospital after work, I was called back to the hospital by the resident to see a patient. When I left my house to walk to the car, I discovered, to my utter horror, that someone or the other had broken the rear windshield of my car! I kept staring at the damage, unable to believe that someone would like to attack such an old car.
I attended to the patient, then went to the police station and registered a complaint against persons unknown for damaging my windshield. Thereafter, I went to a car repairs shop - the guy there usually fixes sun-control films over cars. I asked him if he had a sheet of plastic that could be put on the rear window to prevent unforeseen repeat violence on my car and unforced entry. He said he did; accordingly, after my acquiescence on the monetary transaction (SR 50), he attached a large plastic to occlude my rear window. This should be okay for the time being, as I would be visiting T'aif in a few days, when I could get a new glass fitted into the car.
Thus, as I stated in the title, everyday something new in the Kingdom.
As a direct consequence of this, we will have an extended weekend this time, with three days of off for specialists and senior staff. The OPD will resume, not on Saturday, but on Sunday!
Okay, so we had yet another barbecue session yesterday, i.e. on Tuesday evening. This time, the tab was on me, as I was treating a few doctors on my clearing the Part 2 MRCPCH examinations. I purchased two sealed packets of chicken drumsticks and marinated them with salt and black pepper (this gives just a mild pungency to the dish - that is just enough for the Arab palate); I also prepared a salad with cucumber, tomatoes, olive oil and lettuce leaves (finely chopped). This time, since I was the host, I also brought water, a packet of plastic plates (disposable), tissue paper and Arabian bread (khubbs). Dr. Measser brought with him some more serving items, tea, some wood for the barbecue (I had also taken some wood with me) and assorted items like some cutlery, his barbecue instruments (see one of those things in action in my previous barbecue posts).
Let me now come to the title of this entry. The unnerving event of the day was that after I had returned from the hospital after work, I was called back to the hospital by the resident to see a patient. When I left my house to walk to the car, I discovered, to my utter horror, that someone or the other had broken the rear windshield of my car! I kept staring at the damage, unable to believe that someone would like to attack such an old car.
I attended to the patient, then went to the police station and registered a complaint against persons unknown for damaging my windshield. Thereafter, I went to a car repairs shop - the guy there usually fixes sun-control films over cars. I asked him if he had a sheet of plastic that could be put on the rear window to prevent unforeseen repeat violence on my car and unforced entry. He said he did; accordingly, after my acquiescence on the monetary transaction (SR 50), he attached a large plastic to occlude my rear window. This should be okay for the time being, as I would be visiting T'aif in a few days, when I could get a new glass fitted into the car.
Thus, as I stated in the title, everyday something new in the Kingdom.
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