3 years down, ????? to go!!!

3 years.

Wow.

Time sure does fly by. I guess I'm not a new-bee anymore. For Dubai people, it's once you cross the 3-year mark that one can respect you as a person that "knows" Dubai, ha ha.

I just read my "2 years down, ??? to go." As I said last time, it is good to have these blog things because you can go back and reflect on where you were at THIS exact time last year! I sounded quite happy! Not to say I'm not now, but I was quite upbeat! It's funny, in Chicago one year kinda melds into the other one, but in Dubai, one year is VERY drastic and dramatic, LOTS of things happened this year, so here goes. I'll give a similar synopsis as last time.... :-):

Living:
Yes, STILL love where I live and of course want to stay here, BUT Dubai is Dubai and the rent this year (well, for my renewal March 1st) went up 15%!!!!! EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!! I keep complaining then here about how some people had their rent go up 30%+. Ouch! I got the notice after a nice month away and right away my BP went up and has stayed up. It's a LOT and going to eat up a LOT of my salary... and annoyingly, there goes my attempt at savings, again. Why not move, you ask? Well, in Dubai it's actually in your favor to be a "long-term" tenant because they can only increase it so much. When you're new, with prices nowadays, I would almost be paying 1/4 more for this same apt. PLUS, there is nothing around my "old' price range (when I first signed on). Deposits have gone up and the cost of moving is a big chunk and even if you are paying less for an apt, say if air con isn't included (which mine is now), then it literally is almost the same... especially when you add the moving costs, etc.  Soo..... sigh, kinda feel "stuck." I live in a FAB location, really great! For me it is most important to be close to work, and I'm about 15ish min away - again, FAB! Soo..... I'm hoping for some miracle that it will go down once I actually re-sign for a year. In actuality, I'm "underpaying" considering my area, so was questioning about talking to management, but I think I would TOTALLY regret NOT doing anything. Miracles can happen (ha!). The rumors are the market is coming down a bit, so I will wait a month, and then try and negotiate. This is one of the hardest parts of living here, they don't do 2-year contracts so every year you have this high BP in anticipation. But that aside, most of my friends live in this area and I really do love it!

Work:
Ahh.... how things can change. Last year at this time my previous "poison" manager was taking a 1-year study leave. In the meantime, we got a VERY good Xmas present in that she officially RESIGNED! Rumor has it that she just said she was going to stay on to get her bonus without really intending to (grrrr. This doesn't surprise me) AND that because she sucked and the people here don't like confrontation, they basically just didn't renew her visa... which is a passive way of letting her go (that's how they do things around here). Alas, who cares? Ding dong the witch is dead. Can I just say its been COMPLETELY 180 degrees BETTER! My new manager, is SERIOUSLY awesome and a GREAT person and manager! Not like someone else I know, she seeks and encourages TEAMWORK and is open to new ideas and us being involved in things (whereas the previous one took all the credit and was too bitchy to even give ideas to because she would just be demeaning about it). It's been really great! THEN, it's a long story, but she had to take some leave time and then I took over as a temporary manager! So that was a new experience for me. I have to say it was a bit stressful, but I did like it. I learned a few things about myself and definitely things I need to improve on if I ever want to take that route (especially when it comes down to decision making). So I would say now, title aside, I could almost be referred to as an assistant manager. Which actually is fine by me because I have quite a high patient load and like the patient care aspect of things. Being manager you have to deal with soo many petty admin things, phew!

So earlier in the year was kinda sucky because we were mega short-staffed and super busy and working crazy hours and extra hours. Then it all went downhill (meaning relaxed and easy) with Ramadan,to more being slow and relaxed, and now it is busy, but in a good way (we hired someone new, so we're all good now).

THEN, another thing that happened when I was on my Stan trip was that we changed management again! We're now part of this new charity organization and... it looks promising. I REALLY hope things go as they say, because as I've said MANY times about people here, they REALLY over-sell and over-promise, but apparently it seems we have this "open" budget to not only expand the clinic but also to expand our department. All I want them is to expand my salary so I can pay my rent! Hahah! We also have a couple of new doctors, soo.... things are looking up. I STILL do miss the 'hey day' when I first came, we really had such a great medical staff with brilliant docs, very up and coming clinic, and it's amazing how fast that crashed last year when everyone left and now it's more or less steady and coming up again. It's good we've been around for awhile and have repeat customers. Actually, that's another good thing to point out, Being that I've been there for 3 years (well, work anniversary is Oct 30th), I have patients that have come back or referred friends and family. That's always a nice compliment!

Career:
Well, hopefully this one bite me in the butt if it's NOT accredited in the States, but (per recent blog) I spent a month in Portugal to get my COMT (Certificate of Orthopedic Manual Therapy!). It's a great career growth opportunity for me. And it was a FANTASTIC learning experience and it really has changed how I evaluate patients. I also did a course through this same company early in the year, and it was also brilliant. So .... education is ALWAYS a worthwhile investment and I am mentally prepared if it is NOT accredited in the States (I REALLY hope that won't be the case) a, I did learn a lot and that was worth it enough. I am bettering the lives of people through my new techniques and skills, that's worth it enough for me. This is probably the biggest accomplishment I've done thus far! Probably since I've graduated!

Dubai Life/Friends:
As can be with anything, the people you are around can make or break your happiness. I have to say this last year I really found some BFF's that are positive, fun, athletic, smart people. Well, I was friends with them before, but this past year we got closer. Even last year we did "family" Xmas, as we will again this year, which makes holiday times much easier. BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT, again, what did I say about Dubai? It's all about change. Well, one of my closest friends got a job offer in Singapore, so she moved this summer. Wah wah. THEN, my other close friend decided it was time for him to leave Dubai and he, as awesome as it sounds, is taking a 1 to 2 year sabbatical to travel around Nepal and India, take some mountaineering courses and what have you, and then open up a B&B in the mountains and run hiking, mountain trekking, etc tours. Can I just say amazing?!! As much as I will miss him, I am super happy for him. THEN the husband of this couple company's had major shifting, re-organization, etc, and he just got made redundant :-( If he doesn't find a job before the contract/visa ends, they may go back to the UK. THEN this other couple, the wife resigned herself and now the hubby is looking for jobs elsewhere, maybe UK as well. WTF?! I know!!!! Soo... those are pretty much ALL my BFF's and am super sad. Having good people in your life in a foreign place can make your time here, and now that they are all leaving...... ohh... we'll see. I know, I know, I can always make new friends, but it's not the same!!

Besides that, just costs are going up and even with that, there are soo many more people here now. You can tell by the traffic. One is the economic crisis worldwide, then there are the Middle Eastern conflicts, Dubai is a fairly safe place. And of course there is the famous Expo2020 and all the construction and development that is happening for that. All and all, as I say, Dubai life here moves on, and moves quickly!!!

Travel:
This year, I have to say, I even surprised myself. I realized I had 70+ days off (including weekends) and visited 11 countries.... paid days off. 1st it as 10 days in Serbia and Greece, then it was about 30 for my Stan trip (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan). THEN it was about 35 days for my quick weekend to Paris, then the month in Portugal (including a trip to Sevilla, Spain) for the study course, finishing off in Lisbon. Ahhh-mazing!!! The 1st half of the year was just so stressful with work and being over-worked, but then come my Serbia/Greece trip, and it's been like vacation ever since! Ramadan, then I went to the Stan's, then was back for a couple of weeks, and then was off for another month. Life is good! This is the one thing that would NEEEEVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR happen in the States!!!!!!

Health/Fitness and Exercise:
Well well well, this probably had the most UP and the the most DOWN. The winter season, October to February, I will almost go as far to say I was in the best shape of my life. NOT only was I SUPER fit, feeling good with some lost weight, but was genuinely happy! It's great when you feel so good and just excel at all the sports you partake in. My running was great, my swimming was great, my yoga felt good, my spin class was powerful, everything just awesome!!! The BEST thing was that I REALLY dedicated myself to the Dubai marathon. I mean, I sacrificed social life a bit, BUT ran my BEST time... a time I would NEVER even dream of, 3:38:01!!! So it qualified me for Boston, which is something every runner dreams of. THEN that ended, and....  I don't know if I maybe over-worked myself then, but I took the conscious decision to literally get fat and lazy. Ha! I thought, "well, now it's off season, I was sooo strict with my diet and exercise, let me live a little." Hmm..... I know, not too smart. It started with the Dubai Tennis which again, BEST EXPERIENCE EVER to work with the ATP players, and then it went downhill. So I wasn't really running, then decided to do a 10km run with my group... totally feeling heavy and gross and out of shape. So.... of course I started getting back pain during that run, got laterally shifted again, and had a flashback to my 1st traumatic low back pain experience 2 years prior. Got a MRI, now besides L4-L5, had bulges in L5-S1 with more degeneration and dehydration, blah blah blah. I'm not going to lie, it totally depressed me. I decided to take a break from running for the summer and just do boring stuff like elliptical and swimming. So, I admit, I think because running has been my life for so long, I developed a negative attitude towards my prognosis and did what many people do when they are not feeling up to spirits - eat. I wasn't that that bad, was somewhat conscious, but was kinda 1/2'assing workingout and when I was on my trips, I didn't hold back. So what happened, since my PEAK fitness in January/February I am a good 10lb heavier. Ouch. Probably 5lbs from my normal weight, I call the previous my "nazi training weight." Of course that is not good for the spine so now after I went through that and then all of a sudden had an attitude makeover about my health and fitness, am back to eating how I did before - gluten free, dairy free, and sugar free. I've just been doing it 2 weeks since I've been back, and I can totally tell the difference! My mood is steady and nice, I'm not bloated or puffy (I can always tell in my face) and.... feel really good!!!

BUT.... I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo incredibly out of shape and weak now, its not even funny. I really have a LOT of work to do before Boston marathon in April. A LOT! First it's been hard to adjust to the hot and humid weather, 2nd, like I said, I just let myself go for like 6 months and have NO strength in my body. Running has just been sooooooooooo incredibly slow. As before when I got just do a 10km without even thinking about it, now I'm really struggling to run without walking for like 45 minutes. It is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo depressing! I'm really trying to be optimistic and just need to stay focused. I'm easing into it, don't want to jump into things and risk being injured, but it's going soo slooooooooooooowly! Also feel just twisted and torqued when I run, not even and steady and strong as before. I know (I hope) it will all get better and it will soon be "easy" just to run, but nowwww, phew!!

Extra-Curricular:
Well, I know last year's blog I talked a lot about my new discovery of cooking and how great it is, etc. Well, umm..... umm..... I've kinda resorted to the simpler side of things, which again comes down to non-cooking. Some habits just don't die! For breakfast I have a juice (yesssssssssssssss, still love juicing and blending!), lunch I have a salad (so I alternate weekly between eggs (which is recent from my trip to Portugal), quinoa, and tuna). Then "dinner," well, I don't even call it that because it's more or less a snack, have been having my chia pudding.

Soo... hmm.. now that I think about, I don't think I added anything new this year! Oh! Just remembered, I tried to learn Russian a bit before my Stan trip. Ah ha! That's something!!!


Overall, last year I finished off saying how I would probably have a plan this time next year about my future. Well, it's still open. I really am still taking it a year at a time. To be honest, there are financial perks to being here 5 years, plus there are a few travel opportunities I want to take advantage of. I guess if this new management says what they say and develop and expand and I have more of a role in it, it may be worth staying for that opportunity. What would keep me here is a RAISE (hehe) and... I guess more leadership opportunities. Another factor that would keep me here or take me home is my parents health, which thank gaaawwd is good.

So 2014, I admit, although this is my Chinese year, the Year of the Horse, which I thought meant a FAB-U-LOUS year, it's had it's fair share of ups and downs. BUT then again, this is what makes life interesting and you grow from all these experiences. Being that I have professional and personal ties to injuries, it really was awakening how much attitude plays in the mix of things. When I was feeling down about the whole thing, I felt every little twinge and sensation in my back or butt. Then after my COMT course and the amazing professors being like "live your life, lose weight (well, in not so many words) and keep active and fit," I hardly even think about it or even notice it. I could always tell this with patients, the one who really believe in the fact they will get better compared to the ones that are like "I've had this forever, it won't change," but believe you me, attitude is a HUGE part of the healing process, our mental well-being has a huge way of manifesting itself physically.

Finishing on a positive note, I'm looking forward to seeing what this 4th year will bring. I have a few guests coming to visit already this year, one being one of my best friends from home, and next year will be USA-bound for the 1st time in 2.5 years at that point and will be home for my bday. And also, not to fall apart like I did last year, am planning on doing a trekking holiday in late summer, and then already have a trip planned for September, hehehe.

Then we'll see where I am this time next year! Stay tuned for "4 years down, ??? to go." And who knows, maybe I will have a number by then of how many years to go! Eeek!!! :-)

Portugal (and Spain) - COMT study course!

Remind me the next time I complain about something in Dubai or something about work, to think of the summer of 2014 when I had almost 75 days off. Yes, that's correct. More than 2 months! How did it happen? I still don't know, but I won't complain! Well, it started with a big o change over in our HR, and long story short, they messed up my annual leave and basically gave me 40 days for the year. Feeling like I have a conscious, I even wrote them that they were incorrect, but alas, 40 days kept showing up on my statement. Even my manager knew about it and she was like, "hey, you did what you could do and .. just take it for what it is!" You don't have to tell me twice! So along came:

10 days  - Serbia and Greece
30 days - the Central Asia trip
35 days - Paris, Portugal, and Spain

Well, to be fair, my Portugal trip was actually a "work study" and I got 10 paid days for that. They didn't give a penny for the course, so hey, I took the days off and appreciated the extra 10 days of Study Leave.

What is this "work study?" you ask? Well, to make a long story short, last year I took this course that was by an AWESOME instructor and he facilitates a Certificate of Orthopedic Manual Therapy (COMT) from Curtin University to this company called Formaterapia in Portugal - basically to have a better location for this course. This Certificate is looked highly upon in the States and it is a big time and money investment and takes more than a year. So back then I thought of doing it, pack it all in a month and see a bit of Europe. Fast forward to Sept 2014, and here we are! Thanks to Manual Concepts, passed the exam and am a COMT! Yay!

Overall, I had both the main instructors before, and they are sooo amazing and awesome. Although much of it was similar to that previous course I took, I don't think I digested too much before because it was really too much information. Now it was very well paced and very well progressed, so I digested a lot more and understand it a lot more. The month went by super quick and although much of the focus was on the spine, the other stuff was good too. Their were about 25 of us, more than 1/2 came from Italy, these young new grads that had lots of energy and a thirst for knowledge. Then there were a few Irish, a UK, myself and 2 colleagues from Dubai, 1 German, 2 Canadians, and 1 Portuguese. A good mix! So although we were serious about our studies, we still had fun! Especially after we all passed the exam:

The first day above....

Then the weeks following below, a lot more friendly!

So although that was the purpose of my trip, took advantage of the location and did as much internal traveling as I could. The BEST part was.... a visit from my sister! After gallivanting around Europe for a couple of months, she came to me happy.... but broke, ha ha! 

Out of our activities around Villamoura (where the course was held), one day we did a Catamaran boat tour along the Algarve coast, and then the next day we went to Faro, which had the beautiful "deserted island."

Pria de Infanta, a "secret" sculpture that a local that happened to be sitting next to us told us about. Even the guides from the Catamaran didn't know about it!

The next weekend went around the more historical areas of the Algarve region, Silves (the old Moorish capital), 

To Monchique, the highest point in Algarve;

To Cape Saint Vincent, the most southwesterly point of Europe, "the end of the world,"

I'm pointing to America!!!

Finally, to Lagos, 

Can't forget about Villamoura! Here are some pics from there:

Do you see how I was calling this a "working" holiday? hehe. Very touristy and not "real" Portugal, meaning it is a newer and nice city, it was by the beach and that itself was awesome!!

So the last full weekend, I couldn't resist the opportunity to drive a measly 2 hours to go to ... Sevilla, Spain! My sister and pretty much everyone I know is always talking about how great it is, and after going there, I would definitely agree! We spent 1 full day there, and I looooooved every minute of it!

Below are pics from the Sevilla Cathedral, the LARGEST Gothic Cathedral in the world AND the 3rd largest Church IN THE WORLD!!!! I have been to an ample amount of cathedrals in my life, and this I really have to say was the most impressive. It was really amazing!! And funny enough, we arrived on World Tourism day, so our 8 euro fee got waved. Ha!

The burial of Christopher Colombus

Then it was off to the Plaza de Espana... just in time for the rain, but just the amount of time to do a slooooow walk through it, the rain came and went:

Below: Case de la Guitarra - can I say BEST FLAMENCO EVER!!! I'm totally serious! Flamenco originated in Sevilla, and of course we had to see one. We literally stumbled across this and decided to go. I am soo happy we did because it was a BIG highlight. I've seen some flamenco in my life, but really, this was breathtaking and amazing. Not only did the guitarist remind me of my brother, BUT he was amazing and the flamenco dancer - WOW! I've NEVER seen that much passion. WOW! Between gawking between her hands and feet and body movements to his guitar playing to a clapper/singer tha amazingly all coordinated together, I think my mouth was open the whole time in awe. Simple AMAZING!!!

Then after tapas for lunch, we finished off with paella for dinner, yum!

A nice sign we saw as we were leaving, "life is made of small moments." So true!!

Then finally, the last weekend, as we were leaving from Lisbon, we spent a little over a day there:

1st impressions, lots of look-alikes to other world structures! Such as this and Brazil's statue of Christ and....

The 25th of April suspension bridge, very similar to San Francisco's bridge!

The most delicious codfish cake EVER!!!! Portugal is known for its codfish, and although I tried it in various occasions, I have to say it wasn't my favorite. But this was!!

Another view of the 25th of April bridge, aka San Francisco bridge in Lisbon, Portugal

The below pics of the Castillo Sao Jorge was simple amazing, we got there just in time for sunset, and it truly was breathtaking. I think I took 23048320942309 pictures, and these are just a few - that don't even do it justice! 

Lisbon had some really nice graffiti! 

Ah ha, finally tried the famous Porto wine. It was umm.... an acquired taste, haha :-) 

A nice farewell to my time in Portugal (Iberia - Spain and Portugal) - the Lisbon marathon! It was an end here and alluding to my new beginning - my next trip will be in April... for the Boston marathon!