Days 91, Tuesday, 14th and 92, Wednesday, 15th February, 2012

Before I go ahead with the descriptions of the two days captioned in the title, I would like my readers to read the summary of the entire three months' experience that I put in my just completed previous post. This will give you, dear readers, a bird's eye view of the entire experience I have had since I left India. I would also like you all to visit the other pages on this blog, which are of photographs of the Al Muweh Garden, some buildings, homes and other inanimate things I have "touched", and photos of people I have befriended here in this city. There is a post that described the send-off party we had to bid adieu to the Hospital Director Al Raad Saad Haarty.


Okay, so Tuesday was celebrated as the St. Valentine's day in most parts of the world, though, in Saudi Arabia, and in Al Muweh, especially, one would never know about it or its significance or its observation. I heard from some people that in India, 12th Feb is celebrated as "hug" day and the 13th as "kiss" day! How innovative and at the same time ridiculous can the present generation get. 


This was my OPD week, and I could have gone out and even taken leave to go to Ta'if etc. but did not do so as I would end up spending a lot of money, and that too, without any legitimate reason for going. Helping me to take this decision were Drs. Narendra and Shahid (although the latter had not yet landed here till the coming Thursday evening). Mostly, therefore, I did all the routine things that I do here in the Kingdom.


I am happy to report that I went back to my walking schedule within days of returning from my trip to Jeddah and Mecca. Gradually, I have added jogging to my repertoire, and as I write this, I am able to jog for at least 40-45 minutes continuously. In addition to my walk to and from the garden, I am therefore exercising for about 1.25 hours daily, which, in my own humble opinion, is pretty good, since I am able to almost reach my target heart rate. 


On Wednesday, I did not go back to the hospital after lunch and thus, began my weekend a little early.


That's about it for now ... do return to read more entries. Thank you. 

Inertia to write, and now, here I am

Days 53-55 have passed and I did not feel like writing. In a way, this is a prophecy come true. One of my friends had predicted that once I settled in, there would be nothing much to write about. However, here I am, and as I sit and think, I say - of course, there is a lot to write about. It's just that I wasn't inspired. Saturday, day 53, was the start of a new week; nothing much happened on this day. The only news is that as my partner Pediatrician went on a week's leave, I was left all alone to look after the OPD as well as the ER work and be on call for the entire week. The good news is that I barely had to go to the hospital 2 times over the entire last 3 days. As I write this on Wednesday evening (Day 56), I hope and pray that the evening ahead today and the entire day tomorrow continue to remain "quiet", and I don't get calls etc. to attend emergencies. 


As I did not cook much the last weekend, I made a few extra things over the next few days. On Saturday, I made fried potato bhaji; on Sunday, I prepared sandwiches. Nothing else after that so far. I still have food in the refrigerator. 


Dr. Niaz and I have kept up with the evening walk routine exactly as before. In fact, we haven't skipped even once. We regularly walk for about 70-75 minutes now. We leave about 5-10 minutes after the day's last prayer (Ishaa); we walk to the garden and then do a few perambulations inside it. Then, we walk out the other end, walk a further 200 mtrs or so, and then turn around to walk back home. It is a walk of about 3-3.5 km in all, and we do it in a bout 50 minutes or a little more. I hope that this helps me control my weight and bring me dividends in the form of better diabetes control as well. Dr. Niaz, who is only 38, already has diabetes and a fairly large belly. I am sure this routine will do him good as well.


A new surgeon has come to the hospital this week, a Dr. Muhammad Asadullah from Pakistan. He has been deputed to our hospital for a week. Originally from Pakistan (Multan), he has been in Saudi Arabia for over 7  years. He is a good soul, both religious and sporty. Dr. Niaz and he hail from the same region of Pakistan, and they have taken to each other like old friends. Not just the same region, they are also contemporaries in age and in their educational careers. 


Asad, as I call him, is a genuine person. He is fun to talk with and very easy-going by nature. On Monday evening, he joined the two of us (Dr. Niaz and I) for dinner at the local Pakistani restaurant (on the highway behind us).


The three days are already behind me as I write this. Yesterday, my Mobily 5 GB card subscription expired, and now, I have for myself, a 2 GB card that I can put inside the Mobily modem stick, bought for SR 35. I sure hope it gives me 2 GB, as I have no other way to confirm the usage limit on the new card before actually purchasing it and loading it on my modem stick.                                                              

Day 46, Saturday, 31st December 2011

Thank you, dear readers, for continuing to read my blog as you have been doing for a month and a half. For those who arrived late, do check out the earlier entries as there are many vignettes of information, thoughts and entertaining details of my arrival, stay and endurance in this country. 


Most of you will be reading this on the New Year's day, so may I wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2012! I had a stroke of luck yesterday. My ENT colleague, an Egyptian doctor by the name of Dr. Aala had to go to Ta'if for a dental consultation, and I jumped at the chance to go to Ta'if after the clinic hours. We left the hospital 1/2 an hour earlier in his Mercedes 300SE, and reached Ta'if by 5.40 p.m. opposite Ta'if's Heart Mall (Panda). I dropped off here and he proceeded to another part of the city to see the dentist. The few hours that I spent in the mall were refreshing; I had my first ever ice cream in Saudi Arabia (a vanilla softy) along with a few other small things like a strawberry slush, some candy and so on. Also took a home order of Al Baik's fish fillets and 2 chicken burgers from the McDonald's outlet. 


From Panda, I bought soup sachets, a box of mixed ginger garlic paste, a bag of frozen shrimps and some other odds and ends. I also roamed around the mall, waiting for Dr. Aala to return from the doctor's visit. The sight of crowds and lights and the hearing of the various sounds and noise in the mall perversely but surely entertained me  as I successfully made a New Year's Eve celebration out of a boring existence in Al Muweh.


I returned with Dr. Aala at around half past eleven. A great day indeed. Dr. Aala turned out to be a stable but fast driver (his average driving speed is about 120 kmph). During the return journey, he stopped at a place called SASCO to have a dinner consisting of fried chicken, french fries and a bottle of water with cheese and tomato ketchup to go with it. After the dinner, I must have fallen asleep, and I woke up when we were just reaching Al Muweh.


All in all, a nice day indeed.