India on my mind

And so it goes: the bags are gradually filling up. I am allowed to carry 2 suit-cases of maximum 23 kg each, but already one is bursting at the seams. The second one is currently empty, but will get filled pretty quickly with books. Books of all kinds, since I am appearing for the MRCPCH exams from India, so I will be studying a lot in the final fortnight before the exams, which are on the 18th of January in Ahmedabad. I am now in the last few days, and will reach India a few hours into the new year. Hopefully. 

The news from all over the world continues to be so disappointing. No end in sight to the Syrian war. A third Malaysian origin plane goes missing. Saudi Arabia will post a deficit budget for the first time in many years, thanks to the slowing down of the petroleum-driven economy. The prospective Dubai employer has not agreed to revise my salary upwards, in spite of my request to do so. In the end, if no other offers are forthcoming, I will accept the offer from D M Healthcare and will probably apply for exit after I return to Saudi after my vacation. But nothing is sure for the time-being. Only time will tell.

My family back in Mumbai has been "warned" to give me a good welcome. They are reluctant, as I will probably reach home only late in the night (of the 31st)  - or, if you wish to see it another way, just at the onset of the new year. The first few weeks are going to be all about studies, but later, let me see where we go with the fun and the pleasure. 

Back here, Al Muwayh stays the same as always. A few new structures are getting erected, mostly Ground + 1 buildings which have space for 2-4 shops on the ground floor, and a few rooms for rent on the first floor. However, the buildings are made over several years, since the owners do not pay the workers consistently to create the full structure in a short space of time. My room-mate and colleague Dr. Mohd. Afzal is a picture of piety and simplicity. His co-operation and generally good behaviour has been inspiring to me. I have also learned from him how not to be "food-centered" as I usually am. He is happy to cook one dish every 3-4 days and have the same item for both lunch and dinner all the days till the vessel has been emptied! It is something I can never, ever do. 

I am now off any diets, and have put on the 2-3 kg that I had lost during my GM diet days in the previous few months. I am putting in about 3-5 hours of study each day now. My Skype sessions are now not as regular as before since the sense of urgency is missing from among my Skype group members who are NOT appearing with me in January.

Saw a few interesting movies last week. PK, starring Amir Khan, was average in the story, but was lifted to a little above average only thanks to the awesome acting by the Khan. The other movie I saw, The Interview, is a Hollywood movie that was in the news because its release around Christmas was blocked by hackers from North Korea, the country that is ridiculed in the movie.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading. I will next write after 3-4 days, and it will be from India.

Interesting stories from the last few months in a nutshell

Hi dear reader. I know many of you could not access Dayre, the application on which I blogged from June for three months, i.e. until August end. Hence, this post is a sort of summary of the things I did/experienced during these three months.

I was joined by a new Paediatrician from Kashmir India. His name: Dr. Mohd. Afzal Khan. He came around the last week of Ramadan, and within a week after Eid, we had to serve substitution duty in Zalm. The original plan was for me to go in the first week, and for Dr. Khan to go in the second week. Accordingly, I served my first week and returned to Al Muwayh on the coming Sunday, while Dr. Afzal reached Zalm to do his share of the two-week locum. Unfortunately, the director at Zalm refused him to return after his week was up, as, according to him, the Muderiya in Taif had been unable to find anyone else to replace him. (The Zalm Paediatricians were both not available: Dr. Hany went on his annual vacation, while Dr. Hamza, the other pediatrician went on emergency leave as he underwent back surgery for a severe disc problem.)

Dr. Afzal did six weeks in Zalm, and only returned after that. He was really bored there, as Zalm is an even smaller village than Al Muwayh, and if you search my blog, you will find that I have done several substitution duties there in 2012 and early 2013. 

In any case, it is only after Dr. Afzal returned that I was able to go to Jeddah to give my DHA exams, about which I have written in an earlier entry this month. In Jeddah, I sold off my old Toyota Corolla, and bought a 2010 Blue Hyundai Accent. The three days I spent in Jeddah were quite unique, in that I had the company of a Pakistani taxi driver Tanveer Malik; the latter stayed with me for 1 1/2 days, taking me to the exam center and back to my hotel, driving me with my car to the car market. 

After this, I had to again go to Jeddah to join the MRCPCH Clinical Training course at the King Abdul Aziz University Hospital from the 11th to the 14th of September 2014. This time, I drove in my "new" car, and the experience of driving in a properly air-conditioned car was really enjoyable. I stayed in a small hotel (Hotel Imtiaz) in the Al Naseem area of Jeddah which abuts the way to the university hospital, and is also close to the Bani Malik area of Jeddah. This hotel gave me a single room for just SR 100 per night, and I was therefore able to save some cash! However, I did a lot of shopping at a nearby mall (Danube) on the King Abdullah Road. Danube Mall is fantastic! The range of items available here is phenomenal. In addition to the hundreds of varieties available here, they also have a lot of imported stuff such as organic foods, chocolates, teas, coffees, biscuits, snacks, chips, etc. etc. These items are specially highlighted as "Imported" items on the shelves, and their prices are more than the other items sold by the side. 

I should also describe one more thing: during the six weeks that Dr. Afzal was in Zalm, the nurses in Al Muwayh organised a string of parties for one event or the other; they organised a send-off party for Dr. Tariq, our Syrian general Surgeon who has now been transferred to Taif and been promoted as a Thoracic surgeon.

Cakes and pastries for Dr. Tariq's party

Food and pizzas for the same party

Dr. Tariq

Then, there was a huge birthday party for one of the nurses, Virginita Camaro, who turned 54 on 1st July. This was a very well-organised function, and I did participate in the party by sending her a gift, and by being sent food in a special plate to eat in the hospital.

The invitation card for sister Virginita's birthday party

The message inside the card

The front of the wish card

The back of the wish card

The third was a baby shower for sister ____ who is expecting a baby in November. This unique party was preceded by all the invitees being given a blank card with lines to fill in as "advice for the baby". There was stuff like "Don't forget ....", "Always love ..." etc. I filled my card with a lot of nice lines for the baby.

The fourth party was a joint birthday party organised for four nurses who had birthdays in August, among them my good friends Sisters Maui Rogelio and Jocia Villaveurte (I know, simple last names, na?!!). Although I was not directly invited, they did send me food the next morning. Apparently, this was a very funky party as well if eye-witnesses are to be believed.

Yet another party was held to give a warm send off to the girls who work in the hospital in a subordinate capacity. These girls have apparently completed their tenure, but they have been asked to continue till replacement is available. There are 13 of them, and  they are all my good friends, esp. sister Kathy, Sandy, Maze, Estella and Armalyn. Once again, I participated vicariously - food was sent for me in the hospital! 

In addition to this string of parties, there were a few other things that took place ... but of these, in my next post. Thank you for reading.

Returning after a 3-month hiatus

It's been a drowsy three months. I was blogging on the Dayre platform since the first of June, and when their experimental period ended on the 31st of August, I sort of wondered whether that was a better platform to work on, or whether I should return to Blogger. Blogger won, obviously, since here I am, ready to write here. 

So, what happened during these three months? Nothing earth-shaking, but a lot of smaller things. Between the 13th of June and the 29th, I spent two weeks in India. During these 18 days, I was in Bangalore for 5 days, attending a training course for MRCPCH Final exam, which I was hoping to give in India in September. The remaining 10-odd days that I spent with my family in India were memorable as always. 

After this, I returned to Al Muwayh. The locum doctor who was working in my hospital during my absence was the Pediatrician from Zalm, one Dr. Hamza, an Egyptian guy. He stayed on for nine more days, and then, after he left, I was all by myself without a relief/holiday for about one more month. Then, during Ramadan, a new Pediatrician joined me in Al Muwayh. He was Dr. Mohd Afzal Khan from Kashmir India. A few years older than me, Dr. Afzal came as a harbinger of my luck turning. He came to live with me in my house. I found him non-intrusive, and very, very, cooperative in all respects. I gave back my love and respect for him in equal measure. 

After about 8 days of his arrival, Ramadan ended and Shawwal began. A few days down the line, we got a message from the Muderiya that one of us would have to go to Zalm on substitute duty, as their other pediatrician was proceeding on leave. We promised to serve one week each, and asked Dr. Shehab to inform his counterpart in Zalm. He did so, but when the second week ended, Zalm did not release Dr. Afazal, who remained there for 4 1/2 more weeks before he was released from Zalm. (I had already served the first week, and the problem started in and from the second week, when they stopped his return.)

Dr. returned to Al Muwayh in the first week of September. After this, I left for a brief holiday in the second week, reaching Jeddah to attend a MRCPCH training program under the aegis of the kind staff of the King Abdulaziz University Hospital's Clinical Skills center (CSC), and the supervision and guidance of a team of doctors led by Dr. Mohammad Jawwad, FRCPCH. The course ran for four days, from the 11th of September until today evening. I stayed in the Al Naseem area, from where the University was less than 10 minutes away by road. 

Earlier, I had come to Jeddah for a few days to appear for the Dubai Health Authority exams - an exam that I passed! In the interim, I also received an offer of employment from a UAE based hospital group. Thus, it appears that my dream of shifting to the UAE may turn out to be real! 

In India, my family patiently went through their hectic lives as my home's living room and the kids' room was thoroughly renovated. As I write this, I was informed by my daughter that the renovation work has just got over and my house now wears a fresh look.

There are so many more things to share, but I shall return again tomorrow with the next installment. Until then, good bye!