January 1, 2008

Happy New Year’s everyone!

    Our New Year’s Eve started out with a problem…a big wet one. Turns out we have had a leaking pipe for some time. Upon returning home on the 26th from our Christmas celebration I noticed a spot on the stairway wall and pointed it out to RD. Neither of us had seen it before but we didn’t know what it was. A few days later it was growing, by the 30th we had both decided it was a leak and after checking around we found an even bigger wet spot on the wall in the maids quarters and water steadily dripping from the ceiling in the maids quarters bathroom…not good. I went in search of some maintenance guys who promptly came over and turned off the water in the guest bathroom.
    The next morning it was still dripping even with the water turned off. After several hours of poking around in our plumbing they found the leak in a wall beside the sink in the guest bedroom. We now have a big hole in our wall (which they promise to fix on New Year’s Day) but the flow of water through our walls seems to have been fixed.
    Glenda (the PT from Canada) brought over her patient names, phone numbers and charts…apparently they are all waiting anxiously for me to call them. Unfortunately our shipment (with my treatment table) will not arrive until January 3rd and then it will be 2-3 weeks before it will clear customs. We are all sad that we did not get a chance to get to know one another better but we do plan to stay in touch.
    For New Year’s we went back down to the Four Seasons and spent the evening with John and Eve. Good food, good company, funny hats and balloon stomping at midnight!
    It’s New Year’s Day and poor RD had to haul his fanny out of bed bright and early this morning and give a presentation to the other doc’s. I don’t know how he did it. I am certainly feeling the after affects of last nights revelry…
    It’s 3PM and no maintenance guys to fix my wall…they must have been partying as well! I have spent most of today trying to put a website together to “house and distribute” my journal as well as RD’s journal and assorted photo’s. Hope to have it up and running soon.

January 3, 2008

    Our shipment is supposed to hit the port today…as they say around here “Inshallah”, or “God Willing”, which is really a polite way of saying they haven’t got a clue but they are hoping. I am hoping that the same karma that’s been following us will kick in and we won’t have to wait the full three weeks before we can get our stuff. I already had a call from one of Glenda’s patients looking for an appointment. I explained I was waiting for a shipment with my treatment table in it and would call her as soon as I had it in my possession…having been through the same thing when she arrived here she totally understood.
    The masonry guys came yesterday to fix the hole in the guest bathroom wall, they did such a good job I asked them to fix a loose floor tile in the upstairs hallway. When I came home later that day they had indeed done a wonderful job of fixing the floor tile, unfortunately they used charcoal gray grout while the rest of the floor is done in pale gray grout…what used to be an annoyance now sticks out like a sore thumb. It should be interesting trying to explain to them that although it was a job well done, it is the wrong color and needs to be redone. Oh the trials and tribulations of a “kept” woman…
    Last night we had “Hammour” a local “Jack” type fish. RD did it with a green curry sauce and it was excellent…he is “Chef-Boy-RD” in any language it appears.
    The Qatar ExxonMobile Open Tennis Tournament is going on now (we are going tomorrow afternoon with the COO and his wife). There is not a single name on the list that I recognize and none are American but it should be fun none the less. Most of the participants seem to be from the Eurasian continent, none from North or South America or Africa. The purse is over a million dollars! There is a Qatar Fencing Grand Prix the 18th-20th and the Qatar Masters Golf Tournament is the 24th-28th, these are all free! No loss of things to do around here! Their Olympic Committee vision…”To become a leading nation in bringing the World together through sport”… I’d say they are doing a good job of it. 
    RD worked until 8 tonight so I went to the Fruit & Vegetable Souq and the Fish Souq on my own this evening. There were table after table of fruit and vegetable vendors all calling to me to come and buy their vegetables because they were the best, it was pretty overwhelming. I finally settled on the one that had the best looking corn on the cob and the freshest looking herbs. The herb selection is not exactly typical…they had clover and geranium leaves…what on earth do you make with those? (I did have tea the other night with sage leaves floating in it and it was delightful). The Fish Souq was open but had very few fish left, I was told you have to come earlier in the day (they open at 5AM…you won’t be seeing me there at that time but I think I could manage 8AM). I bought two 20 inch tuna for 15 QR and for another 5 QR they gutted them and sliced them into steaks for me ($5.49 total).

January 6, 2008

    The tennis tournament was fun. I’ve never been to one before so it took a few minutes to figure out the scoring but after that it was great. Tennis fans are the most polite “rowdy” fans I’ve ever seen. They clap their hands and shout their favorite players name, especially if he’s about to win a set, but as soon as he steps up to the line to serve you can hear a pin drop. I found out the reason there are no Americans here is because there is a bigger tournament going on in Australia at the same time.
    I just confirmed it, our shipment has arrived! The man I spoke with said something about paperwork and then 3-4 days for customs, hopefully that means we will get our things next week! Yeah! I bought new living room furniture last night, which will be delivered tomorrow and the next day (from 3 different locations). The maintenance guys came and moved my God awful (but oh so appreciated) current living room furniture and TV up to the “office. It actually looks pretty good up there. The living room looks better already and it’s empty! Things are really starting to come together. The cable guy is coming on Wednesday…just in time for football play-offs!!!
    I have been looking at rugs, what an education that has been! Where did the wool come from on the sheep? His neck or his belly? Vegetable dye or commercial dye? Wool vs. silk? How many knots are there per square inch? I found the most fabulous antique one from Afghanistan, it’s 1.5 meters x 2 meters and is 50 years old. I took RD with me and he talked the guy down from 4000 QR ($1100) to 3000 QR ($824) it will look spectacular in the bedroom. I totally suck at bartering…they tell me the price, I say OK and hand them the money.

January 7, 2008

    We woke up this AM to 16 mph winds, 52F, and about 100 yards of visibility due to the dust in the air. We had to turn the windshield wipers on to get the dust off the window. As I was driving RD to work I was coughing…I can’t imagine working outside in this stuff. Everything is covered with an even thicker layer of dust than usual.

January 8, 2008

    I’ve decided our good karma does not extend to the “villa”. We woke up this AM to no water. They are up on my roof now fixing the problem. We actually woke up much earlier. RD decided he wanted to watch the Orange Bowl live over the internet (at 5:30AM) but our current connection is so slow it wouldn’t come through so he came back to bed. Hopefully by next week we can get our own internet set up (we’re tapping into the unsecured wireless from the clubhouse).
    Today they delivered the rest of our furniture. It looks amazing…now if my art work would just get here! I still need a coffee table but I know exactly what I want so I just have to track down the guy who sells them. It’s an antique carved door from Afghanistan that has been covered with glass and legs put on it, it is fabulous and definitely coming home to the states with us. Aside from the coffee table I have done a couch, a chaise, two chairs, a foyer table, small 4 chair dining set for the kitchen, 2 office chairs and a corner desk for about $5000 and its good stuff!
    This afternoon, while I was having lunch with Eve, I got a call from the cable guy wanting to come at noon. I can say this about the service in this country, they are on time or want to come early, never late. I told them we had to stick to our scheduled time at 2:00 because I was at lunch. At 1:45, when I got home, they were sitting outside waiting for me. Then we had a little excitement…when they plugged in the TV it caught on fire! I walked over to the clubhouse and brought a manager back who authorized a replacement TV for us from storage. We now have sports, news, movies and even a few TV series…how civilized!
    Yeah!!!!! RD got the “letter” he needed to get his permit to buy alcohol. Since your permit is based on your salary (you can spend up to 10% of your salary each month) he had to get a letter from the hospital to go with his RP (resident permit) stating his monthly salary. We fully stocked a bar, including 14 bottles of wine and a case of beer and only spent 25% of our monthly allotment! They obviously have no idea how much alcohol is a reasonable amount!
    We tried a Mexican restaurant tonight at the Intercontinental Hotel…not the best but not the worst I’ve ever had…I think we were just in the mood for a Margarita!

January 10, 2008

    This morning we woke up to “too much water” as opposed to the “no water” situation we had a few days ago. For some reason the washer filled up with water (while turned off) and overflowed onto the kitchen floor. Once more I have to go round up the maintenance guys…they must be getting tired of me by now!
    RD took the car today so I am just hanging out at home, which has allowed me to get pictures onto the website. I was finally able to get one in the Image Gallery but I think the problem is our internet connection is too weak so I came up with plan “B”. I created albums online so when you go to the Photo’s page or the Family page, all you have to do is click on the link and you will be sent to a slideshow! I was so proud of myself for figuring that one out!
    Also I spoke with a neighbor who has a housekeeper come 3 days a week. Turns out one of the other people she works for is leaving the country so she has two days free starting the end of this month! My good karma has not entirely abandoned me… I will have her Sunday and Wednesday afternoons for 3 hours for about $52 a week. With all the dust around here the floors really need to be mopped twice a week so that will be great.
    It appears we will get our Chevy Trail Blazer on Sunday…then we need to start looking for a second vehicle because this one car thing is not working for me. Or maybe I’ll get lucky and win one! The Malls all have these drawings with prizes of merchandise and Grand Prizes of cars. With all the furniture we just bought we have about 300 entry forms to fill out! I feel the writer’s cramp coming on already…

January 11, 2008

    We woke up this morning to pouring rain! It feels so strange after a month of sunshine. RD decided after his morning workout that he wanted a big “weekend” breakfast. We decided to try the Marriot as we had not been there yet. What a serendipitous choice! Turns out they have a brunch every Friday that is an absolutely incredible gastronomical globe trot. As you walk in they hand you a glass of hot pomegranate juice, yummy. Then, as you are led to your table, they explain the different “stations”. I started with Thai, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. I then moved on to Indian and Mexican, finishing with French and Arabic for desert. I skipped the whole Mediterranean… Unfortunately, I think I found the 4 pounds I had lost. We were only there 2 ½ hours…we did not eat another thing the rest of the day.
    Driving post-rain shower is an experience. Luckily the roads are not that busy on Fridays. The roundabouts are all slightly slanted to the inside, there are no drains…as you can imagine this is a problem. On top of that, the standing water is full of all the dirt and dust that has been accumulating on the roads since the last rainfall (probably 10 months ago since they only get 3” a year and all of that in January and February). Trying to stay out of the inside lane is the obvious answer but that doesn’t always work. They are calling for more rain on Sunday (first day of the work week) which means the roads will really be a mess and crowded to boot…sounds like a good day to stay home.

January 12, 2008

    First thing this morning the maintenance guys showed up with a new washing machine. While they were here I asked one of them if I could paint the walls different than white and he said he would bring me a color chip booklet to pick out what I wanted. All we have to do is buy the paint…they will paint it for free! 
    Eve picked me up at 10 AM and took me to the Gold Souq. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Shop after shop filled with gemstone beads, loose gemstones waiting to be set and jewelry already made into individual pieces or elaborate sets. It’s a bit overwhelming. At first glance they all seem to be the same, making it hard to decide which shop to walk into first. Then something will catch your eye and draw you in. Once you are inside they start pulling out strand after strand of gemstones that just seem to get more fabulous as each one comes out. I feel an expensive habit coming on… RD met the two of us for lunch (for some reason he didn’t want to go shopping…what’s wrong with him?!)
    Monday should be a big day…we are supposed to get our shipment at 1:00 (I’m not holding my breath) and after RD gets off work we should be able to pick up our vehicle (again, not holding my breath).
    I stayed up until 3:00 AM watching the Green Bay Packers slaughter the Seattle Seahawks live. I would have had to stay up until 4:30 to see the Patriots play Jacksonville but since we all knew ahead of time how that game was going to turn out it didn’t seem worth it.

January 14, 2008

    Yeah!!! Our shipment finally arrived! It was like Christmas…I had forgotten what all I had packed. Of course as soon as RD got home (after I had unpacked every box) he tells me there is a chance we may be moving to a compound closer to the hospital, which would be good in several ways. We wouldn’t have to cross Salwa Road (a major cross town road that is packed during rush hour), and at the other compound they each have a private pool in their backyard.

January 17, 2008

    On our way to pick up our vehicle last night we were finally “initiated” into Doha. The vehicle in front of us decided at the last second that they were not going to be able to make it through the intersection before the light turned and slammed on their brake. RD slammed on his brake and slid to within about a millimeter of their back bumper. We had just turned to look at each other and say “whew, that was a close one” when WHAM someone slammed into the back of us pushing us into the car in front of us. It was all very civilized. The group in front was a group of Indian business men on their way to the airport to catch a flight back to India and the gentleman behind us (driving a very nice BMW I might add) was Lebanese. It took about an hour for the police to show up. So the guys just stood around shooting the breeze and smoking cigarettes (I stayed in the car). You can’t just exchange information and drive away here. If you don’t have a police report you can’t get the car fixed. Unfortunately, the dispatch had sent a real police officer (the kind toting AK-47’s) instead of a traffic officer and he was not pleased. He gave the Lebanese guy a 1000QR fine and told us all we had to go to some office today to pick up the paperwork. My neck is a bit cranky this morning but not as bad as I expected it to be. Of course I came home and immediately put Kinesio-Tape on it and then laid down on my tennis balls (at the back of my head), at the same time I did some work on my TMJ, Hard Palate, and Sphenoid because when we were hit I clenched my teeth so hard I was scared I had broke another tooth. Thank God I have a few tricks up my sleeve!
    I started seeing patients (one yesterday, one today). I know it doesn’t seem like much but it’s a start! It was really nice getting back to “work”. I didn’t realize how much I had missed that interaction. (And I have to support my new jewelry habit…)
    This morning I met up with Deborah, the “acting” COO’s wife (she had to come get me because of the accident) and we went out for coffee and a breakfast pastry. Then she took me to “the green door”. It’s not really called that but that’s how everyone knows it because the front gate is painted bright Kelly green. If you don’t know where it is you would never find it. It’s one of those hidden treasures you pass on to new ex-pats as they arrive. It is room after room in an old villa packed with antiques from India, and the Arabian Gulf region. It was wonderful! I bought a fabulous coffee table, a small side table and a solid brass pot to sit on the coffee table…I can’t wait to go back! I have a feeling our shipment going back is going to be a lot bigger than our shipment coming over…
    After RD got home from work we finally took off to pick up our vehicle … from there we took off to return the (wrecked) rental car. That’s when hell froze over…I got to the rental place…no RD, I waited a half hour…no RD, I drove to the hospital…no RD, I drove home… no RD. Finally, 1 ½ hours later he calls and the two words no other living human on the planet have ever heard fell from his lips…I’m lost.

January 19, 2008

    I am now officially the chauffeur. RD prefers me to do the driving but he just can’t help himself when it comes to back seat driving! Today I went back to the “Green Door” and took RD with me because I decided the coffee table I picked out was a bit too small and I wanted his input on a larger one. Well, he makes me look like a shopping whimp! We ended up getting a bigger coffee table, a huge wooden swing to use as a room divider, 2 chairs, a trunk, 2 more brass pots, and 3 fabric wall hangings!

January 20, 2008

    The delivery from the Green Door arrived today (except the coffee table, they are still cleaning it up as it is a bit rustic). Even without it the living room looks fabulous…Now all I need to do is get this place painted, and get the art hung.

January 23, 2008

    Today I went back to pay Ghassan (the owner of the Green Door). This is the only place I have ever been where they will deliver furniture to you and not worry about when they are getting paid! As I was sitting there drinking tea and eating little pastries I mentioned that I liked a local dessert called Om Ali. Next thing I know Ghassan is on the phone ordering Om Ali from the Ramada (which he claims has the best in town) and planning a Bar-B-Q at his house that night. Around here a Bar-B-Q is a whole different thing than a couple of steaks or burgers thrown on the grill. They had chicken kebabs, beef kebabs, beef kofta, lamb chops, leg of lamb…and the list goes on…it was like walking into a buffet at a large hotel! We ate for hours! I am never going to lose weight over here…Oh, and the Om Ali was the best I’ve tasted.

January 25, 2008

    We went to the Doha Golf Club today to watch the first round of the Master’s Golf Tournament. I haven’t been to a Golf Tournament since Tiger Woods was a toddler but it was fun just the same. All I remember from my golfing days is “chip for show, putt for dough”, and that was evident today. The ones who did the best on the green did the best on the hole.
    The Intercontinental Hotel was on our way home so of course we had to stop and check out their Friday buffet. Not bad but not nearly as good as the one at the Marriot.
    Only saw one client last week but next week I have five. Yesterday I finally found perforated, printer-friendly business cards that I am going to print up as appointment cards. I found them in an art supply store after looking in about six office supply stores, go figure. It’s like a scavenger hunt without clues when you are trying to find things around here. They even gave me the name of a place where I can get a stamp made (it seems nothing is “official” around here without a stamp on it so I need one for the invoices I will be giving out to clients). Making up the business cards on Microsoft Publisher was interesting as well. The paper over here is metric so the business cards are 3.54” x 2.05”. That only took me about a half hour to figure out!
    Q-Tel, the phone company, finally came and hooked up our landline. They said it would be two or three days before the internet would be hooked up…Lord only knows why they couldn’t do them both at the same time.

January 27, 2008
 
    Finally got most of the art work hung…of course, that couldn't be easy either. The walls are concrete, which means we had to drill holes for the nails. The smallest concrete drill bit is 3 times as big as the nails so we had to roll up bits of duck tape and stuff them in the holes and then nail into that. You get real creative when presented with problems on a daily basis.
    This morning I had to be at the hospital for one of their drivers to take me to the equivalent of the national health department where all foreigners have to have a chest x-ray and blood draw prior to getting a resident permit (RP). The vast majority (on the women's side) were domestic workers from India and the Philippines. There were obviously women who were herding big groups of maids through and would push in front on me and I'd get stuck behind a whole group before I got wise to that. In the room that they were doing chest x-rays I watched as they did one woman after another, pressing her face up against the machine but not wiping it down in between. When it was my turn I asked for a tissue (there was no way I was putting my face where those other faces had been pressed) and the woman went and got an alcohol wipe…the other women apparently didn't know to ask and they weren't offering because they do about a 1000 women a day. I was a bit worried about the blood draw (since I usually pass out and fall out of the chair) but it was completely painless (they obviously have plenty of practice). That whole process took 1 ½ hours and that was even with me being brought in the back door and sent to the front of the line to get checked in! Then when I got back to the hospital they had to draw more blood to test my blood type…why they couldn't do that with the other blood I can't imagine. Now I have to wait about a week to get fingerprinted and then hopefully I will get my RP. We are stuck here in the country until I get through this process, if I leave in the middle I have to start all over. 
    This evening we went to a piano recital by Mariana Izman from Holland. The first half of the evening's program was Bach, followed by Debussy after the intermission and an encore of Ravel…she was amazing. It was like watching a hummingbird do a ballet on the keys.
 
January 30, 2008
 
    The coffee table finally arrived and it is just as fabulous as I thought it was. I am so bringing it home with me. It was a little nerve wracking to watch them cutting the legs down to coffee table height with a hand saw but it turned out just fine. I'm using the table legs as candle holders for big pillar candles. They also came yesterday afternoon and measured the walls so they could order the paint for my accent walls.
    This AM I had to go and get finger printed…very state-of-the-art, all computerized. I should get my RP sometime next week. Once that is done we can start to travel. We have started to plan our first vacation…to Vietnam in March, I've heard it's beautiful and RD is ready to go back in a more positive light.