Move over John, there's a new sales stud in the family!

       I hope your Ramadan has been cooler than mine...Between hospital procedures and hot days it's not been a fun June. The long hot Dubai summer has begun with temps most days climbing into the 120's, and no it's not a "dry" heat...Dubai sits on the Arabian Gulf, so it reminds me of summer in Florida times 3!
         I have now had two procedures on my legs at the hospital. In an attempt to reduce the swelling. The Orthopedic surgeon placed me in a reclining bed and attached a body suit to my lower body that squeezed the swelling out of my legs into my upper body.

Miserable patient

        So after this procedure they wrapped my legs with zinc bandages and game me strict orders, no showers for two weeks. Nothing better on a 128 degree day than no shower for two weeks. sigh, We bought baby wipes and I bath in the sink each morning. This Saturday I will have a new MRI done, and the surgeon thinks I will need surgery on my left leg to repair a damaged artery. So, hopefully I will be able to share a successful surgery and recovery story next blog.
         My better half has started working as a sales promoter selling perfume at Duty Free at the Dubai Airport. She works the graveyard shift from 11 pm until 7 am every night. She is working on my visa and insurance, so the cost to her employer is low so they  can pay better. Before incentive, she is making 3 times more than she has ever made before. I will say that she is so excited and her moodiness has virtually disappeared. If she sells 15 units of perfume she gets a nice bonus. On her first night she sold 1 bottle and came dragging in all depressed about how hard it was. I thought she might quit, not Rodz....she sucked it up and started selling a few more each night. She finally sold 15 last Thursday....She was so proud. Last night she sold 22 units and her bonus was more than her shift pay, now I am proud of my lil sales machine!

Success breakfast - 22 sold June 28

        Rodz celebrated her success with a 7:15AM breakfast in the employee dining area at Dubai Airport.

         Time for me to get some sleep, another long hot day tomorrow. If I don't check in earlier, I wish you all a happy 4th of July! Please keep me in your thoughts that all goes well at the hospital this Saturday....

Guess who turned 31 today....

      Greetings from a Ramadan celebrating scorching Dubai. You know its hot when at 830 in the morning its 108 degrees. Sadly, June just begins the heat wave....often in August the overnight lows stay above the 100 degree mark. The heat combined with Ramadan absolutely kills the restaurant business. As you may or may not know, during Ramadan the faithful Muslims fast during daylight hours. They don't eat, drink or even chew gum. From Sunrise till sunset nothing is suppose to pass their lips. In support of that almost all of the restaurants in this nation close during daylight hours. It's 30 days of sacrifice and respectful understanding. It's also a time when many westerners travel back to their home countries for a vacation.
        Speaking about westerners traveling home, our quest to get Rodz some kind of Visa to be able to travel freely back and forth to America has reached another road block. Fred received notification that our application has been deemed to be abandoned. Unfortunately, that means we will have to start the process all over again. I think its now time to hire an immigration attorney. Oh well, we will see what our future holds.
         Rodz was born on June 10, 1985...just about the time I graduated from college. She decided that for her 31st birthday she would get to have several days of celebrating.

Rodz 31st birthday dinner at Texas Roadhouse Dubai Mall

 

      On Tuesday, I was lucky enough to treat Rodz and her Dubai family (and anybody with a Philippine passport lol) to a steak dinner at my favorite Dubai dining spot, Texas Roadhouse.

Today, I gave her a thrill by taking her out to the business park and letting her practice driving for over an hour. No damage to my car, but an extremely happy Rodz made the attempt at pleasing her a huge success. She broke one of her three phones, so her last present will be a new phone (don't ask me) - and she wants a new IPhone 6. Its no wonder that we haven't saved any money yet on this trip in, hopefully by September, the saving will begin. Rodz new job at Duty Free at Dubai's airport is suppose to begin this coming week, so our financial house can begin to get in order.

       Speaking of getting things in order, my ankle unfortunately needs more help. My toe infection is seemingly healed, but my ankle is still as big as a grapefruit. I now have seen a specialist (vascular surgeon). Thankfully, I have excellent insurance. This week I am suppose to check into the hospital for some procedures to alleviate the swelling that I am experiencing. Of course, I will let you know. On the eye front, I am going to have one more laser procedure on my blood clotted right eye. Because of the blood in the back of my eye, that will take place in July. Let's hope that July will finally bring me good health.

       Time for bed, hope you are well, and having a cool summer....see you back here soon!