Dubai Summer Random + Ramadan #6

I myself cannot believe that it is already my 6th Ramadan here. 6th!! AND, as I've said pretty much every year, BEST TIME OF THE YEAR!!!! OMG, I can't even tell you how AWESOME it is to be here for Ramadan. Okay, some may find the not eating or drinking in public a bit inconvenient, BUT helloooooooooooo? Working less hours is THE BEST!!!! This year is even MORE awesome!!! So the funny thing is with yet another change in management, I've found that when we've had Western management, we work fewer hours, then Arabic management, we work more. So when I first came we had 6-hour shifts, then it went to 7-hour shifts with the Arabic management, and now it is 6 again with Western management. But, dare I say 6 and not 4?! FOUR!!!! Loooooooong story short, when what about to say was proposed, you should have heard the anger and shock. What was proposed was one shift from 10am to 4 pm (awesome) and then... another shift from, get this, 8pm to MIDNIGHT!!!!! WTF!!?!!?!! There are sooooooooo many things wrong with that, I could go on for hours. BUUUUUT then when I thought about it, we were basically cleared to ONLY work 4 hours instead of 6 because of the "inconvenience" of these late night hours. So I was basically the first one to sign up, ha ha. The first week of Ramadan I did the 10am-4pm because it was the week before Comrades and I desperately prize my sleep and rest, but now that I am back and on this 8pm to midnight shift, I HAVE THE WHOLE DAY FREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! Okay, my body clock IS used to seriously going to bed at 9:30pm to 10pm THE LATEST, so am a bit yawny towards the later hours, buuuuuuuuut it's been okay so far now that I have NOTHING TO DO! Meaning, exercise or training!!!!!!!! IT IS THE BEST THING EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! I literally have a list of "Ramadan Things to Do," hence the floods of blogs coming, but oddly, am so distracted with silly things that I'm not getting to them. Nice to have social catch-ups when I can, and gasp, am staying up past 10pm for them! hahah.Time will tell, still a couple of weeks to go. Working 4 hours and getting paid for what would be regularly 9 hours is purely MAGICAL!!!!! Even the other day went to see a matinee movie, just beacuse I could!!!! How have I been keeping busy? Have up'd my swimming to 3x/week. Joined a super yoga studio, Urban Yoga, and am literally going every day if not twice a day (got an unlimited package), and just FINALLY cleaning, organizing, 'detoxing,' as I like to call it.

It's bliss I tell you, PURE BLISS! Am sooooooo happy and relaxed!!!

Soo.... here are some Random Summer Things I've been up to:

More bday celebrations (not for me)! Celebrated my Dubai mom's bday at our fave Kitchen 6 at Marriot Marquis with our fave chef Ramesh (who seriously knows us, haha):

Culture! Saw an old time fave, Mary Poppins, at the Dubai Opera House:

Also, later in the summer saw La Perle, a phenomenal show!!! Too much going on, and the choreography and scenery is absolutely ahh-mazing! They literally had a waterfall go onto the "stage" and then the floor was all wet and few minutes later, all dry again!!! Too too ahhh-mazing and picts don't at all do it justice. Near the bottom they had motorcycles in that little round cage thing going round and around, the body and what it can do - never ceases to amaze me!!! 

Me giving a talk!  I gave a lecture on "Scapular Dyskinesia and the Sporting Shoulder. "On a side note, I am NOT a fan of public speaking, okay, am quite fearful of it, so these things are never easy. I had given a similar topic a good 4 years ago (can't believe it), but really tweaked and revamped the topic. It was promoted to all of HealthCare City and even some colleagues from afar came (how did they find out? haha), so that was a bit nerve-racking. I think there were almost 40 people in attendance? Eek! BUT I think it went okay and was sooo glad to get it over with, phew! And he he, had to finish with a Comrades slide (yes, I know, I'm obsessed!). As can be seen, I did the mistake of 'hiding' behind the podium (darn it, can't help it!), BUT REALLY tried to be good and not read from the slides and look into the audience, etc. 

Hehe, notice the Comrades finale logo, couldn't help it and yes, am obsessed! 

Relief! Over!

The Dubai Creek Striders Annual Peacock Run! Basically, when the different 'groups' merge to meet and greet other runners you won't normally run with. The slowest group gets a prize, ha ha. So you all run together and it's a fun experience. I had a REALLY funny group, this go-get-'em runner that seriously had a plan on how to strategize the run (I reminded him it was a FUN run) , this poor soul who wasn't that fit and literally, the go-getter physically was almost dragging him along the 10km course, and it was just too too funny. Some good laughs and a good bonding experience.

 I'm there somewhere in the back (a real Where's Waldo? haha).

Random (Summer) Family: Well,  I wasn't physically there for these GREAT things to happen, but my little (well, he's 26 now!) cousin Zoky not only graduated medical school, hurraaaahhh! BUT he also got.... MARRIED!!!!! Sooo exciting!!! The graduation celebrations were happening and my brother George and my uncle, aunt and cousin Alex were of course there, but then it was "sprung" on them that it was also a wedding celebration! Reminds me of my parents and when they did that to their friends! Am super happy for them!!!! 

Random: I got my own treatment room at work! This is more due to some remodeling going on. To be honest, I miss our 'team' room because we all get along and we have a lot of laughs and fun. It is nice though to have my own room to not carry things with me and also have been playing some nice classical music in the background. It helps relax me and the patient.

Social!

• Our DCS social! Almost didn't recognize my fellow runners not sweaty and in sports kit!!! I can say we clean up nice!! And hehe, couldn't help it, wore my medal (as did some of the other ladies!)! And noooo, our running chum "the kid" we call him, real name Partha, won the award I'm holding. Right before the pic he thrust that me, which I immediately thrust back at him, and then we had a bit of a tug of war and he said he wanted me to hold it, to represent him for our 'Comrades' pic (bless him, he took the day off from work on Sunday and literally, was blowing up FB with updates), so what could I do? Needless to say, everyone is congratulating me but I didn't do anything! Haha, kind of funny :-)

• Had our annual Iftar catch-up hosted by my lovely Turkish friend Fatos, oh so generous and an ahhh-mazing cool! Also with Busra and Amihan and new addition Aslin (also Turkish). So here we have just us and then our 3 years in a row getting together for Iftar:

• Bday celebrations for Louise (did a random selfie and Duncan also with his gigantic beer, lol). Was a typical VERY expensive Dubai lunch (not even brunch and note to self, not again! Too $$). 

                                                  

                                          

                                        

• Neil M's goodbye party, sniff sniff. Ahh.. that's one of the tough things about Dubai, good good GOOD people leaving. A super great guy, but he and his family are relocating back to Australia. He will be missed! 

• And, well, this is more exciting for me than anyone else, buuuuuuuuut after years and years of me talking about it, I FINALLY learned to make soup! Yes, it is quite silly and actually, a bit embarassing as you think about it, but there is a story behind it! As many are aware, I'm Balkan and grew up on soup, I loooooove soup and had it all seasons in Chicago. When I came here, when one summer I was going through my typical cooking phase (only happens in the summer apparently) , my friend gave me some kind of super organic broccoli soup recipe. Well, this soup somehow took me 2 hours to make. Yes, it was delicious with baked almonds, etc, buuuut... 2 hours? Anyone I told was flabbergasted as was I that soup could take so long. As I am a newbee 'cook' and really follow instructions to the T, I thought maybe I was so slow because my first time, etc. So I tried again. And again 2 hours. NYET! That was the end of that (although I do have to say it was totally and utterly delicious). So fast forward, gosh, probably 4 years, my dear friend Brinda invited me over and showed me the simple way to make soup. So although we were chatting, we made 3 different soups (mushroom and sweet potato x2, raw and cooked) in a couple of hours. Then ... ON MY OWN (gasp!) did prep, cook, and clean-up all in an hour (AND made my morning veggie juice and lunch (double and triple gasp). Soo... SUCCESS!!!! AND found out a key yummy ingredient, zaatar! Always liked it and never realized it is the same as thyme, which is healthy, but the version here in the Arab world is called thyme. Delish! Sooo... I know this isn't excited to all, but considering I eat the same meals throughout the week, umm.. years, having a change is GOOD! 

Activities!

• Did an unlimited yoga package at Urban Yoga (and am still continuing) and somehow managed 25 sessions in a month! Phew! Now am backing down to 1-2x/week. Also doing swimming twice a week, running 2-3 times a week (have NOT budged over +/- 15 km and loving it), gym stuffs, stair climber machine.... and I think that's it!! And, yes, even though a good 40 degrees with over 40% humidity, am still running outside with my fave DCS!

Although made a vow to not balloon over the summer as usual (still put on 2 kg, wah!), am doing for the first time, Dubai Sports World and interval training!! Actually, a SUPER set up and good to do something different (and it literally is on my way home). Too bad after all these endurance runs realize how much speed I've lost, but hey ho, will work at it!

Even got in the Gulf News! Am in back, the blue tank :-) 

Catch ups! 

Claire, James, and I at a new favorite, Rove Hotel, the Daily (which conveniently is right across the street from me and has become a new post-run hang-out place!)

The Comrades clan AND a few other runners for a simple Aches and Pains party

Brinda, Nathalie and I at.... well, the Rove Hotel again! I did say it was a favorite! 

Caterina and I catching up at a nice healthy restaurant :-) 

• Pics of summer bdays at work, Vijay and Alaa and then again Alaa and Siona. I HEART my team!! 

And then Alaa again with Siona as Alaa's bday coincided with Vijay's BIG 4-0:

Education and Other!

• It's so nice to have time to... pleasure read! Relax!  Have time to do continuing education online courses for physio, reading about mindfulness/meditation stuffs, which is quite interesting, and just reviewing things I've learned that haven't had time to review (again, physio stuffs because I love it!).  Also took a super Hip course with Benoy Matthews and he shared lots of good info and materials.

• Have had some super catch-ups with my awesome friend Smriti at our fave place Saladadicious, she is a beautiful person inside and out, and.... very spiritual and almost psychic -  we had some fun reading some tarot cards and "color" cards:

Also more eats, had an Indian dosa, yumm... reminded me of my Kerala backpacking days and also, look at such a fancy hot chocolate presentation! Only in Dubai....

And finally, look at my new car! Hahaha, I WISH!!! A super generous friend not only let me sit in his Aston Martin, but also take a twirl around the parking lot, he he :-) 

And.... ta da! Random bits and pits of my Summer in Dubai!