The nightmares of quarantine.

It is a different story for everyone. Isn't it?

Things have been rough. For everybody. The entire world is going through this rough patch together. The may the worst dip, in every circle, of this generation. The quarantine period isn't nice. Not to those living paycheck to paycheck, not to those who have growing businesses, or those who just went independent.
To be honest, it is hard to say if anyone is having a good time.
We do not know anyone's story. I feel the worst for my loved ones, though.

A few months back I decided to move back home in Dubai. Being an MD is tough. The work hours, the stress load, schooling was never easy, patients cases, the constant brainless suing, politics, but the worst is the constantly changing medical system and upgrades of licenses requirements and what not. The system, in short. That is the worst.

I made a run for it. The decision to go home in Dubai was to make it easier and streamline my path to further my career. Being a doctor anywhere is hard. But the fact that every country has a separate system with very little common ground, not in the science, but in the system is very annoying. I think this is what medical professionals hate the most but no one talks about it.

I didn't plan on staying or continuing in Dubai. It was home, basically a "respawn" point for me. I had plans to go to another country where I wanted to die serving patients till my last breath. Not many are aware about the issues with "visas", too.
Anyways, I worked my feet off and put my heart and soul into it until I was able to take the first step to make my dream come true.

The visa process was a nightmare. Just like every other process in the line of a medical professional. It took me a miracle to get the visa and required permissions. The day I got my visa, the same day the country I wanted to go was shutdown.

I was devastated. I was broken. I had risked my entire life and career for this day to take my visa and board the flight. I even had a ticket for the same day. I had multiple permissions, allocations, insurances, registrations, medical letters, approvals and what not. BUT ALL HAD A DEADLINE. Thats how the medical system is. And the airports were closed indefinitely. The very same day I got my visa and ticket. Wow.

I was almost stranded, lost and heartbroken in my own home. I am not happy right now, but I am pushing through.

Anyways, I didn't become jobless. I still am working "on-call" private shifts. Which is a blessing because it keeps my timebomb of a career ticking and keeps me away from the frontlines so that I can come back to my loved ones and not put them in risk.
Ah yes, did I mention that this career usually comes with no job security and is a timebomb? That means you can always become a layman just because the law in some country wont allow you to practice because a certain time period has passed.
Appreciate your doctor, please.

Of course, it still is tough. For everybody. Small businesses are being effected worldwide. People are feeling the pressure. My dad has his own business. In Dubai you have to be at your A game and top of everything to have your business running well. It is very competitive. A constant motivation to keep doing better.
But since everything here is so modern and excellent in its own space, my dad always has a tough tine catching up. You can blame the generation gap. Not only is it tough to go against young tycoons in a tough market, it is even tougher for an old man to learn about magnet leads and google analytics to up his business. He is still thriving and still trying his best. He has his business running for over a few decades.

Now with all this going around I can't imagine how tough it could be for someone in his place, elsewhere. Or someone who just may have been laid off. Or even worse who just went independent. Well, I know one thing. UAE being UAE will roll over these hardships and boom again. They really are very good at what they do and deserve all the credit.

When I am not at work I try to keep myself busy. I try to help around as much as I can. I also make sure I don't let myself run wild in my own thoughts.

I will highly recommend picking up something like udemy. Websites like those have been super helpful. I have started picking up a few different things to learn as well as spending a lot of time on youtube tutorials. Ebooks have become my bestfriends. I spend as much time as possible on exchanges and checking out other platforms. I think in these few days I have learnt the most about decentralization, cryptocurrency and blockchain. Everything has its plus sides.

All said and done, I only go out when absolutely necessary or to buy essentials. And whenever I go out I never forget to buy me my favorite pack of mixed nuts. It helps me from going nuts.