It's off to work I go

The last week has been full of transitional family adjustments as I get back to work. I have enjoyed the last few months so much, especially being able to have so much time with Leo and Robbie before they go back home to New Zealand in July. I will always be grateful for this time. However, I've always worked and when I really started to crave employment, I put on my sympathetic face and asked the boys how they felt about me going back to work.

"Go back to work, Mum", they told me briskly, "you're kind of grumpy when you're always at home".

Well, the first week has seen an even grumpier mother as I struggle to get the boys and myself out the door by 6.30. And it's been really cold and wintry. However after the first few days we are getting better. And I have the able assistance of Dina, who now works four hours a day with us and looks after the house and the boys when they come home from school. What luxury.

The Sidra project is going to be an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Sidra Medical and Research Centre has the biggest endowment in health history, and is aiming to be a world-best service for women and children. It is an amazing feeling working in a health service where money is not an issue. The project is well-resourced and the Sidra team has been tasked with finding and implementing best practice in both clinical practice and technology.

Here are a couple of architect drawings of how Sidra will look when it is finished.

Margie

Margie, my beloved sister came to stay over Christmas and New Year. It was an exceptionally busy time, very sociable with lots of events - it almost made up for not being at home for Christmas. We had 20 people around for Christmas brunch, and got out to see things we hadn't seen before like Sheikh Faisal's museum - a private museum full of priceless Islamic art and artifacts, fossils, and old cars, with an oryx farm close by. The oryx is the national animal of Qatar, like a big gazelle.



Here's a picture of Margie trying on the traditional gutra and agool for size, when we shopped at the souq for traditional clothes for her son Joshua, who is 12.
Here we are at Nando's with lemon and mint juice - looks lurid and tastes lovely. The oddest meal we found while she was here was at a little local cafe next to our local service station. We had been out and about and there was no food to feed the boys after school, so we guiltily thought we'd better buy something to take home with us to feed them. To our delight we found a meal called "Doha Dum Dum", which we ordered. While we were waiting inside in great anticipation, we also saw under the extensive juice menu two mystery drinks - one called "Computer" and one called "Rolex" juice. We didn't order those. The meal turned out to be club sandwiches and salad vegetables. That wee cafe gets first prize for imaginative food branding.

The other place which really caught Margie's imagination was the animal souq. It's a saleyards filled with camels, goats and donkeys. Occasionally when I drive around there I look out my drivers window in the traffic and see a donkey standing on the back of a ute, surveying the inside of my car.

Margie's trip came to an end all too quickly. I loved the feeling of utter familiarity and comfort that you have with someone you adore and have known for ever; the feeling you miss when you are surrounded by people who are all new to you, who you don't have a long history with.

Wet Weather and Potholes the size of Moon Craters

City experiences a complete wet day Monday, January 14, 2008-->Web posted at: 1/14/2008 4:26:14

Source ::: The Peninsula

DOHA • Windshield wipers moved rhythmically like metronomes yesterday as the city was hit by the first major rain of the season. The rain fluctuated between heavy to a nagging drizzle with a few small breaks in-between. The sky remained a forbidding slate-grey throughout the day and turned a reddish hue in the evening due to the rain clouds.

Parts of the city, especially some of the inner roads, were flooded. The Mountazeh area saw near knee-deep water and several vehicles' packed up as water crept into engine blocks. People could be seen pushing stalled vehicles as the four-wheel drives had a field day.

Pedestrians had to keep a watchful eye out on puddles and worse, inconsiderate drivers insisting on driving through flooded streets at speed kicking up spumes of water. On occasion, pedestrians got drenched as did other vehicles.

Another hazard for motorists was the many potholes covered by water. Some of these are the size of moon craters and many a driver ran afoul to these axle-breakers. Schoolchildren could be seen bundled up in raincoats and woolies as they made their way into school premises. Hooded jackets were all the rage among adults.

The municipalities pressed water pumps into action throughout the country. In total, water pumping vehicles made 1,000 trips throughout the day in Doha and work was going on through the night.

The Department of Meteorology said yesterday the rains will continue until Tuesday, following which there will be strong winds which will bring the minimum temperature down to 10 degrees Celsius from Wednesday. Wind speeds yesterday ranged between 17 to 25 knots.
For today, the Met has also warned of strong winds and rough seas offshore. Yesterday was relatively warm with high humidity of 75 per cent, a Met official said.

There were reports of traffic snarls caused by malfunctioning traffic lights. However, the Accident and Emergency Department of Hamad General Hospital said there was no increase in the number of patients brought in due to traffic accidents.

There were a few minor fender-benders on the city streets. Qatar Telecom (Qtel) said there was no disturbance in its network due to rain. Flight activity at Doha International Airport was also normal.