Dubai: My New Home

Sh*t happens and so are the good things. After 11 months of hibernation i'm back to the game.  I relocated to Dubai in May for a job offer from one of their government hospitals. My past job as i recall was daunting and challenging physically and mentally, but it prepared me for this one. My experience in the kingdom gave me the balls to take the biggest risk of my time.
Dubai feels familiar, the food, the people, the place, the weather and the workplace except for its Newyork manque skyline and yes the bills. lol. Again i'm starting over from scratch and leaving my hopes to the abyss. I am becoming more optimistic than i was before.

The year that was 2011

Life in the desert is kind of funny, I do my job during the day and sleep my head off at night, six sunrises and sunsets a week which is equals to a bundle of parathas, a bowlful of beef masala and a cholesterol-rich kitchen food everyday of the week. Fridays are an exception, I can get to prepare a decent filipino food and get out with my buddies to the city center. Somehow, for a time I literally smelled like spices from india because i am eating the same diet as they do, thanks to my malayalam friends. Along the road I've seen Islam up close five times a day and two seasons a year. I made acquaintances, built friendship and more importantly learned from them despite our disparities in color, beliefs and way of living. Finding love in this side of the world was daunting because of the rules but having it, is sweet and comforting at the same time.

I left during mid-June and finally bid my farewell. I took a month long vacation with family. After that, hell broke loose and every single thing didn't go as planned. That was a downtime for my system and i almost burned out but seasons do pass and all that happened succumbed me to achieve even greater things. I will never forget the best and worst times yet, the year that was 2011.

Homecoming with my Bro's family

June 23-July 24, 2011

MANILA
stayed at prince plaza 2
went to shabu2, burgos st. and around greenbelt
went to Bulacan

CEBU
week long vacation, stayed at Day's and Allure
massage at Bellavista and Banyan
Imperial Palace (lovely waterpark and excellent buffet)
Tambuli Beach
The Terraces
AAs BBQ
Sutukil Mactan Shrine (Taklobo Experience)

DAVAO
Island Hopping at Talikud
Paradise Island
Jack's Ridge
food trip
Eden Nature Park
Abreeza
DCLA
Durian all you can

BUTUAN
stayed at rosewood
HCCB Hospital
Amontay Beach, Nasipit
Jurassic Beach (ridiculously remote) 1 hr. rough road drive from the main highway
lomi and inasal at weegol's

2010 and Beyond

My last weekend dinner at Ilonggos.

I was on duty on my 2nd Christmas in the desert!

My cousin's wedding anniversary at Baher Villas.

Filipino Party at Al-mojil Compound

In Phantom Menace, Anakin Skywalker takes Padme to their home because of a huge sandstorm. The photo above is reminiscent to that same scene in the movie. Me, up in our building's rooftop during a storm. lol

My "Cardiothoracic Team" minus Derek and Sheena! From left,
Bindu- our in-charge, good teacher, considerate, straight forward and fun to be with
Reyvien- the rookie and my partner in eating
Cecil- opinionated, persistent, smart and open-minded
Hemanth- our perfusionist, a good conversationalist, very diplomatic and knowledgeable
Hamza- a.k.a. "papsie", anes. tech., full of wisdom and experience, a funny "baba", highly skillful
I learned a lot from this extra-ordinary bunch!

The bald "Trifecta". My flatmates at Cell#404 Earl and Robert.

The "old gang". Top(L-R) Jeleinee, Mike, Fernie, Usman, Mustafa, Me, Eric, Rexie. Front (L-R) Wengie, Zhang, Novey, Fritzie, Rosalyn, Naheed, Roxanne, Derick, Cecil, Jances

November outing at King Fahad University Beach, together with some Almana staff from LTC and KFU.

Eid Holiday at Zara Village Compound with my O.R. family. This place is exclusively located in the middle of Aziziyah area of Al-Khobar. The compound is the accommodation of BIE staff, the guys who are the powerhouse of Saudi Arabia's Airforce. Most expats who live here are from Australia, UK and South Africa. This place is indeed a verdant oasis in the center of the desert, where you can enjoy a pitcher of beer which is known to be "haram"(unlawful) to drink in the KINGDOM. The best part of the compound is the swimming pool!

Cardiac Surgery Club of Eastern Province Meeting @ Holiday Inn (Khobar & Dammam Staff)

TGIF

thanks... it's friday, again i'm getting my one day off. this morning i went to tamimi market to buy some stuff, did my laundry, threw some moldy stale food on the fridge, brushed-up my room for a fix. now i can strech my muscles and rest a bit. tomorrow will be another day......

at the end of the rope

it's funny how complacent i was when i started working as a theatre staff, in the wee hours of my morning shift i sat on the couch at the changing room while taking my tea. inside the operating theatre there is a different world where doctors and nurses get their dose of adrenaline from the sound of drilling, reaming and sawing bones. for months i have been bogging down because i am hesitant on what i was doing, clueless on what my job demands from me. after undergoing tons of stress and sometimes getting silly criticisms, i reached the end of my rope and luckily i started to get the hang of it and stood on a better vantage point. as one of my colleague said, "Don't put s**t on what you eat".

Random Images

Here are some pics from the past months of not having posted on this corner. Just keeping pace with you all. This are the things you might have missed...

Adrenaline-packed all-terrain vehicle ride with my colleagues at Al-Aziziyah during hajj holiday. Unfortunate enough for one fellow who fell down and had his arm broken.

Inside Saudi Aramco compound in Dhahran, the world's largest oil company.

MOH Exam day in Dammam.


Fishing at Prince Sultan's Resthouse in Khobar



With our supervisor

Ortho Theatre staff eating "Khabsa" (grilled persian chicken with biryani or bukhari rice) which have been a tradition whenever there is an occassion.