So I tried to call home

And no one answered. This is my sad face. I needed to talk to someone back home. I called when it was early in the morning back home, but perhaps mom and dad were already off to work. DAD! I KNOW YOU READ THIS BLOG. CALL ME. I wanted to tell you all first but I guess I'll post it here instead.

So today to finalize my legal residency they force you to go to one of the hospitals for a medical examination to see that you are 'fit' to work here. Remember that this is the middle east and this is no typical hospital nor a typical evaluation. I left the school at 7:30 with one of the school's drivers. AFTER an insane white knuckle ride we finally got to the hospital. Now, I know these guys here drive bad because I've seen it with my own eyes and have been in taxis here. But this guy took the cake for bad driving. At one point to skip a light, he turned right, went down the road a bit, did a u turn, went to the light and made a right. All to avoid a red light. Now mind you, he accomplished all of this before the light turned so it did save us about 30 seconds, but it was the most fucked up move I've seen here yet. Wow. So anyway, we get to the hospital which is meant to serve the poorer people on the island, and man was it dirty. I really expected to see cockroaches. There were hundreds of Indians everywhere, and the place reeked of BO. Anyway, Abulla (the driver) and I rocket past the waiting lines of Indians, partly because I'm white, partly because they are familiar with the school, and partly because of what appeared to be small amounts of money changing hands. So first off, I go to a room where they take my blood pressure and vision. Herein lies the problem. Let me give you a little background about myself. I haven't had health insurance for years. And even when I did (in college) I have always been apprehensive about going to the doctor. I HATE blood, needles, the whole nine yards--just like my dad. I've avoided hospitals like the plague. I have, however, known that I have had high blood pressure for quite some time. I can feel my heart beating rapidly all the time, and I often have spells of dizziness and lightheadedness. So back to the hospital. I walk into this room and have my blood pressure taken. The reading? 189/101. Holy shit. I knew it was high, but that high? Wow. So before I had a chance to question him he told me to sit in a chair behind me where they conducted a vision screening, if you could call it that. The dude had a stick and hit a chart next to my head, and before I knew what was going on he had stamped OK on my papers. What I was supposed to do was look at a mirror directly across the room from me as he used the stick to point on the chart next to my head. He only gave me two letters to look at, the first I said "uhhh" to because I had no idea what was going on and the other was obviously an M. So of the two, I only answered one correctly but still got the OK from him. And the most fucked up part about the vision screening? They were all Ms in various forms. It was a chart full of nothing but W, M, E, and 3's. So after that I got escorted to the x-ray room where they quickly and half-assedly took a chest x-ray. From there, I had a meeting with a doctor to verify my fitness. I hear from the other teachers that they normally they rubber stamp you through this whole process. However, the doctor flipped when she saw my blood pressure score, and decided to take another herself. This time it was 190/100. I got a major scolding from her about my diet, fitness, etc. But the worst was about to happen. The final meeting to get the "fit to work in Bahrain" stamp was the final person I saw. This doctor flipped out as well about my blood pressure score and the fact that it runs in the family didn't calm him down either. After a stern, stern lecture he said the only reason that he was signing me off to be able to work here was because he didn't want me to lose my job. He said I should see a doctor immediately, and he's right. So I got back to the school, told Janet (the Principal) and she flipped, and she called the school doctor who also flipped. The school doctor did her own reading after I had calmed down and I still clocked in at 160/100. So now I have to meet with the school doc every morning to get a reading before school. And, I have an appointment with a cardiologist tomorrow after school. I imagine I'm going to have to undergo some serious lifestyle changes and perhaps some medication. I don't want to end up like my dad with a heart attack in my 30s. We will see what the verdict is tomorrow after the meeting. All I can tell you is that I am incredibly nervous, but I knew this day was inevitable. I need to get help before it's too late.