A week later: Purchases, MRCPCH and third anniversary in KSA

The last week has been largely uneventful. Other than the usual duties, there were two significant events that occurred. I received two items that I had purchased on an internet market-place in this part of the world (see this); these two items are a 2 TB external hard drive (Western Digital, for approximately INR 7500) and an Alba brand ladies' wrist watch (for INR 6800). The drive is great for storing the hundreds of movies and videos that have accumulated on my laptop. It replaces my earlier 500 GB WD drive that I forgot to bring back with me from India where I had taken it on my last vacation. 

The other thing that unnerved me is that the new music system that I had installed in my new car was stolen by persons unknown from inside on the night of Thursday last. The thief/thieves broke the small triangular glass at the rear, accessed the door lock to open it and then made good with the system. I have had to fix a small piece of laminate to close off the gap temporarily and will affix a new piece of glass when I next go to Taif.

By the way, I did go to Taif once for a single morning. It was on a Tuesday, and the purpose was to meet Mr. Ali Asmari, our liaison officer at the Taif Muderiya; I was to get my new contract, submit some papers of my colleague Dr. Afzal, who is still waiting for his iqama so that he can go back to Kashmir to help his family rehabilitate after the massive floods that have almost destroyed his home back in Srinagar. Ali, in his own turn, handed over several things to me to give to my colleagues (both doctors and nurses) back in Al Muwayh. The visit also allowed me to send my application to the UK for the MRCPCH exams in India in January 2015.

This means that if my application gets accepted this time, I should be appearing for the final installment of my MRCPCH certificate early next year! And if I clear those exams ... but well, let's leave that for another day.

On the 13th of October, it was also 20th of Dhulhajj, the last month of the Islamic calendar. The date is significant because it marks the completion of THREE YEARS of my stay and work in the Kingdom!

Thus, the fourth year has begun. My salary has gone up by a small amount of about a thousand Riyals. But, as my readers know, this date also marks the beginning of the end of my Saudi innings. I am likely to complete my MRCPCH, then look for a job in the UAE, and then resign from here. I request my readers to pray for me and help me reach my goals!

Thank you for reading this, and may Allah bring happiness and cheer in your lives as you move towards the Festive season.

A mix of good and bad news ... as usual

I must begin with the good news: I have recovered my car! 

How did it happen? On Monday, I received a call from one of the doctors working in our hospital ER. His name: Dr. Effat. He told me that one of our ambulance drivers had called him to tell him that my car had been spotted by him in the desert about 15-20 km away from Al Muwayh, just off the main highway that goes to Ta'if. I did not believe him at first, but I called up the driver myself (a Saudi by the name Nawaf). He spoke in Arabic, and I could not really understand what he was saying. However, I surmised that he wanted me to go to the local police station and ....(I could not understand the rest). I requested him to pick me up from in front of my residence to take me to the station. He agreed, and was there to pick me up within the next few minutes. From what I learned from him, and later from my conversations with the policemen, Nawaf saw my car off the highway about 1 hour before he called the ER doctor. He saw the car partly submerged in the sand. He then called up one of the policemen who was his friend. The police had then started off for the spot in the desert where the driver had seen the car, and they would, if all went well, bring the car back. 

I had some questions in my mind ... a whole lot of them, actually, but the uppermost was: they did not have the key, so how did they plan to open the car and bring it back to Al Muwayh. However, the police seemed quite confident, so I simply kept my mouth shut and sat amidst them like a non-person. After half an hour or so, Nawaf, too, left. I sat there for another 45 minutes, by which time it was nearing 9:00 p.m. I was feeling a bit worried, since over an hour had passed since I had reached the police station. However, to my relief, the policemen soon announced that my car had already arrived, and was being removed from its link to a police jeep that had towed it in. I rushed out to see my old car once again. I had never thought I would see it again! I soon learned that the thieves had stolen the battery of the car. We pushed the car (one of the cops and I) into a parking slot outside the police station. 

At that point, another cop from Al Muwayh who has recently befriended me through some work I helped him with in the hospital came up to me to congratulate me. He and I opened the hood, and then the trunk to take a look at what else was missing. The following things were missing: my shades, my hydraulic jack, some car tools like a spanner, a screw-driver, etc., a car mobile charger, some of my Hindi movie audio-cassettes, a front-glass sun-shade and one of the new tyres (they had replaced it with an old tyre). This cop then took me in his own car to a car-parts shop where we asked around for a battery. After searching for a battery at the right price, we finally got one, which we took back to my car to discover that it was the wrong sized battery (it was one that was bigger than the one we needed). So, he took me back to the shop, where we exchanged the battery for another one that was the right size. We then drove back to the car, placed the battery in its place, connected the wires, and checked to see if my car started. It did, almost instantly! 

I was pleased. I met with the senior policeman inside the station. He informed me that the car would have to stay with them overnight. They would take pictures and make out documents the next morning, after which my car would be handed over to me. My friendly cop then escorted me back to my home. I invited him in for a drink and dinner, but he refused. 

I got back my car the next day, as promised. I took it to the mechanic, who examined the machine etc. and pronounced that the car was good, with no major parts missing. The engine oil was intact as well, and the petrol was there too. The next thing I did was to get the old tyre out and replace it with a relatively better one that was inside my trunk (the stepney, of course). The next evening, I went to a car electrician to add an extra switch that will stay hidden. This switch, once turned off, will prevent any future thief from starting my car even if he has a master key. 

This, then, was the story of the return of my car.

On Wednesday, I received the bad news. The London office of RCPCH (Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health) informed me by email that my seat for the India exam was not granted to me, and I would have to wait for the next time. The reason for this was that as I stay outside India, they could not give me a high priority for the India exams. (This explanation I got from the London office when I placed a call to them the next day.) I was dejected, but realised I couldn't do anything for this. 

This, then was the mix of good and bad news I received last week. I hope you enjoyed this write-up.

Do leave your comments. Thank you.

P.S. I gave a small token of my appreciation to Nawaf, who found my car. It seemed like the fair thing to do.

Day 229, Saturday, 30th June 2012: To Jeddah

Readers of this blog  are probably astonished to realise that over the last seven days, I have travelled a lot: twice to T'aif, and once, to Jeddah. In fact, when I was chatting with the family, my daughter Inas asked me if I was working in the hospital at all! I explained that I could get leave on a day-to-day basis by exchanging six "call slips" for one holiday. Let me explain this further. When I am on "call", I am often asked to go to the hospital to see patients. Each time we do this, we are given a slip of paper with the signature of the ER in charge. In lieu of six such attendance slips, we are given the privilege of one day off. Of course, it also depends on whether or not your co-pediatrician agrees to look after your work in your absence. 

Thus it was that I remained in T'aif for two days last week in connection with my attempt to pass the driving licence exam (read my previous post about this, Days 225 and 226). I returned to Al Muwayh on Wednesday night, and did nothing much for the next two days, except reading and so on. Today, I hired a private taxi to first take me to T'aif, where I would attempt to pass the licence test once again ( I was already scheduled to go there today); later, I would go to Jeddah to submit my application for the MRCPCH examinations due in October. My taxi driver was Khalid, the same person whom I had hired for the trip to Al Wabah a fortnight ago. He came over to pick me up at half past five, and we set off shortly afterwards. About a km ahead of our starting point, his car's engine suddenly stopped. I waited while he patiently tinkered with the wires inside the hood. He explained that he had just gotten possession of the car a few days ago, and he was, in any case, planning to take it to T'aif for a complete overhaul of the electrical and wiring systems as the wires had become stiff and were likely to break.

After about ten minutes or so, he re-attempted to start the engine, and, to my utter relief, the car started. We drove warily, worried that the car would stall again over the next 180+ kilometers, but thankfully, it did not. We reached the licence place at about eight a.m. I paid him his fare and said good-bye to him. My second attempt to pass the licence exam bombed as well, as I could not drive smoothly around the circle. Dejected, I left the place, went to the Gazzaz taxi stand by a share-a-taxi (only SR 5/= for over 25 km of driving), and took a share-a-taxi to Jeddah. 

I reached Jeddah at about a quarter of one in the afternoon. I called up the MRCP office to get directions for the place, and arrived there about half an hour later. The "place" was the Department of Medicine" on the second floor of Building No 10 within the King Abdul Aziz University Hospital in Sulemaniya district of the city. The person who helped me fill the forms etc. was a Chinese named "Ching". I finished my work here and immediately left the premises. A professor of medicine gave me a ride to the nearest point where a taxi could be found. My driver this time was a Pakistani man who helped me reach a place called the Nirala Restaurant, a famous and reasonably priced Pakistani restaurant in downtown Jeddah. I ate Bhendi masala and tandoori chicken breast with tandoori roti and finished off my meal with a small container of "kheer". 

After this, I took another cab to "baab Mecca", and then, yet another one to go back to T'aif. From there, a dabbab finally brought me to the SAPTCO bus stand, and from there, I returned to Al Muwayh, reaching my home at about half past eight. The owner of the place where the bus stops for half an hour just 17 km from al Muwayh gave me a ride in his car to drop me to the hospital. 

I had a dinner of the food I had had at lunch in Nirala (I had parcelled half of the bhendi), and then retired for the night.

I was sad at not getting my driving licence, but also glad that I had taken the first step towards qualifying for the MRCPCH Part 1 examinations.