Year One

Today, May 7th, 2008 marks my first year here in the UAE. What have I accomplished so far?! A LOT! I work in a magazine where everyone knows me. I just got promoted and got a salary increase. Now every press conference being held must bear my name in their invite list. Life has never been better. I have caring friends, good colleagues and a family that loves me. What more could I ask for? I never though one year ago I'd be in a position like this. Let's celebrate!

Work, Home and Sleep

Wah! Work has been hard these past few days, with deadlines and pending reviews all over. Good thing Irish (PC Magazine's Staff Writer) is there to join me in my days when I (err, I mean We) get wacky. It's hard to find true people in this place, and I'm glad I found friends like her (Insert WooHooHoo comment here).

My grandparents recently wenk to the Philippines last weekend. They sure have missed 'Pinas' since they've spend the entire Christmas season in the United Kingdom. Dropping them off to the airport made me feel a little envious of everyone leaving, which made realize that it's almost time for me to plan my first vacation back home since entering the crazy world of being an OFW.

Which leads me to another random thought: Why in the world people from other countries mistake this place (Dubai, UAE) as a place of war? Sometimes people just assume places in general. With all the ongoing war and violence in neighboring countries here in the gulf, people always assume the entire Middle East is in that status - which is not. A thought comes to mind when my cousin asked me if there are terrorists here in Dubai or if I have met Bin Laden... It;s Dubai, people... Not Afganistan. For pete's sake, read a map... It isn't that hard to understand. Lastly, Dubai is not a country ok? It's a city/emirate... and it's part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

I can't wait to go home. I have lots of errands to finish when I get there and when I'm finally done, my time's up and I have to go back. Sometimes I'd wish that if only I had the same salary and position back in the Philippines, it would be much better... But I guess you can't have it all.

Even though I left the call center business because I can't get much sleep. I still deprived of sleep working here - waking up at 4:50am and sleeping at 10pm. Well, as I said, you can't have it all.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone! I can't believe 2007 is almost over! But I must say, this is one of my favorite years. Never have I accomplished so much things this year. I finally decided to leave my call center job (which is no offense, I really hated), I found a job abroad that I really, really loved. I'm finally on track and somewhat know what I want in the future. Thanks to my Tita, who pulled all the stops to help me on each step I take. Thanks to my 'tatay' and 'nanay', who have given me all the guidance that I will ever need. Thanks to my family, which somehow became the sole reason why I'm doing all of these. Thanks to my barkada (ANI!) which never forgot me even we were far apart. Raissa, Beans, Noel, Nat, Onch, FJ, Bebang, Shayne and Foxy. Thanks to Densie, who has always been there for me. To Jeah, even though we're continents apart, still lets me feel the comfort of having a true friend. To Glai, whose mystery still bedazzles me, thanks for the great advices. And to everyone, just a simple 'Thank You' from me means a big thing to you. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 2008, bring it on!

Winter

I never knew Dubai had winters. Well, technically it doesn't snow. But still the season is getting pretty cold... even in the afternoon. This picture was taken when I was on my way to work. It's actually a chilly 19 degrees! At least it's a good thing. I was thinking if i was back in the Philippines, christmas lights were already lined up on the streets, with 'parols' everywhere. I'm definitely missing the Christmas spirit from here. I just hope my holidays (and my birthday) would be okay. Happy Holidays!

In general

This quotation is one of those funny lines made my friends. He was actually meaning to start his sentence with “In general” but somehow ended up writing “Imburnal (Sewage canal)”. Ah, those were the college days.

However, I asked myself the question; “In general”… what do I feel right now? It’s like answering a better part of an interview. Well, working here was a blast. I had fun meeting a WHOLE lot of wonderful people. But besides that, I still miss home. I know some of you may say that I have a wonderful opportunity here. But it seems for the last 4 months I’ve been missing home so terribly. I guess it’s too early to tell right now what I feel. Probably I’ll just spend these next few months looking blankly at my computer screen and decide if all of these would ultimately be worth it. Others may say that you really have to sacrifice everything but I guess I’m really not that patient. “Blame it on the milkman” as they say.

What a week!

I know it’s not yet the weekend but I am now actually very tired and can’t wait for Friday! Last week my grandparents came here in Dubai for a short vacation before going on a 3-month stay at the UK. It was great seeing them again.

For the past week we’ve been constantly on the move, going to malls and eating out, treating ‘tatay’ and ’nanay’ for a quick trip around the city. But it was tiring. Now that everything seems to be back to normal, I am now feeling tired and sleepy due to last week’s hectic ‘agenda’…

I wanna sleep… (Insert yawning emoticon here…)

Frustrations and pressures

Did you ever get that feeling that everything you do is always wrong? Or that every itsy bitsy tiny mistake you make seems to be something that you committed serious? Well, it was a weird weekend for me.

I don’t know, but for some reason I got scolded a lot. There was a time when I was just sitting down to eat, and then I was told that I didn’t get the water for drinking. After that, I was told that how am I going to survive living by myself if I can’t even get a bottle of water. Shocked that I am, I tried to explain, but I thought explaining myself would only make matters worse.

Another was when we were buying groceries. The moment we came back, I just turned on the TV. Just tried to see what’s on it (as most people do). Again I was told that here I am again trying to watch TV when I should be helping with the unpacking of the groceries. Well, actually I am going to help, and I just turned on the TV. Guess that was a big mistake.

Since then, Every move I make is a careful one. Awkward as it sounds, I am now actually afraid. I don’t know what happened; probably I was just caught in one of its mood swings…

Also, I might add. Once you’ve committed a mistake or did something really, really, wrong (for them at least). People would make it a point to remind you of that mistake every day. Even if you say that you actually did not do anything wrong, you can’t defend yourself, because you didn’t say anything. In the first place if you actually said something and started defending yourself… It’s not worth it. You’ll only be able to hear more scolding.

And then probably days after, when you finally get the guts to say it, just to be open and honest… Dismissal is only what you’ll get. You’ll either be told again that you are too sensitive… saying that it was only a small thing and you should probably dismiss it or be scolded again yet for another reason you can’t seem to understand.

So now you can get a grasp of what I feel right now. I’m not mad, just shocked that despite doing my best and trying to suppress my feelings (I’m feeling very homesick), I guess that just isn’t enough… and probably you know now why I don’t tell such things… Pressures really arise when people expect so much from you. You have to try and let them see you can do it… even if you really, really, can’t.

Long time

Whew! It's been a long time since my last post. I think I enjoyed work too much, hehe. Work was very good. Though the only bad thing is I had to endure hours of waiting at the bus stop and the heavy traffic. But it's okay, I know everything will be well worth it.

By the way, I saw this new Transformers TV Spot. $#!+! That is one kick-ass trailer! I'll be waiting in line when it shows here.

Finally

Finally! After a month of job hunting, I finally landed a job that I definitely love. "Junior Reviewer" for PC Magazine (Middle East), I love that sound. Now I have a chance to prove myself on what I'm worth, and eventually start my career here in the UAE. Adjusting was a bit hard, as I have to mingle with different races in my workplace. But it’s ok, as I never had trouble ‘socializing’ with others anyway. Now, all I've got to do is find a place where I could stay (traffic here is TOO MUCH). Well, wish me luck. Somehow, Switchfoot’s “Dancing in the Moonlight” comes to mind.

The word ‘VAGUE’

The past week has been hectic. Job interviews from different companies, running errands, answering calls from here and there. It was definitely tiring but fortunately rewarding. As all of these events are happening, the inevitable happened: The PC crashed and won’t start (This thing caused delays in posting my blog entries so… sorry). Luckily, I was able to repair it, hehe. Piece of cake. Well now that we’ve gotten that out, many of you now wonder the significance of my blog entry title. Vague, as Webster puts it as ‘not clearly defined, grasped, or understood’. This is what I have been feeling for the last week. Even in my job interviews and some current discussions with my peers, I always include that word. Maybe what I’m feeling at the moment literally speaks out on every word that I say. To be honest (and I know who’s reading this), there are times when I think if all of this was worth it. Well now I can absolutely say it is. And even if I have said this for a couple of times already, I still marvel at this place’ awesome landscapes. So l took my camera with me and took a couple of shots (I’ll give the link when I’ve uploaded the pictures). I got to finally see the Burj Al Arab, currently the tallest hotel in the world. I saw a LOT of hotels, from the Hilton to the Fairmont, this place is overflowing with luxurious hotels that line up the shores of Dubai. I finally got to see the palm islands, though it’s much better to see it from a tall place. This truly is the ‘Manhattan’ of the East. The following day I got to go back to the Mall of the Emirates. It was huge; I now get to admire the place more… and seeing that Ski Dubai literally sends me ‘chills’ all throughout the time. I finally got the chance to see Ocean’s Thirteen (review after this post) and see some stunning gadgets and electronics… Probably I should do a post on my most wanted gizmos. Hehe. The day ended with us driving back to the hotel and now I am eating my cheesecake. Hmm, cheesecake… Ah, that’s why I’m gaining a few pounds these days. What a ‘vague’ thing to ponder. See? I’m using that word again!

Beat the heat.

This is a tiring Tuesday. I accompanied my Aunt in applying at Sheikh Zayed Road (kinda like Ayala Avenue in the Philippines), while also trying to score my luck in landing a job here. It was my first time here, so I was somewhat excited, so excited that I didn't let the summer heat get into me... yet. We went from building to building submitting CV's to different offices. We ended up going up the Emirates Towers going from offices to offices from every floor to submit our CV's. The highest of which is the 51st floor. I never went that high in a building before. I even get my ears popping from the increase in pressure inside the elevator. I seem to like it here. I wish the time would come when I would just be wearing my business suit, talk around on the phone all while walking along this road, never minding the heat.

After that we had the chance to go to the Mall of the Emirates, it was big. Though I never had the chance to see the mall in its entirety, at least I got the chance to see it. I also got the chance to glance upon the Ski Dubai, the largest in door ski resort in Dubai. Even if I never went inside (I just got to see it through a window), it somehow made me forget the heat outside. Wow, these people really know how to amaze me. Imagine, snow in the middle east. What would they think about next? From man made islands to snow resorts to floating hotels, this city never fails to amuse me. I definitely like it here. I also saw a lot of DVD stores, but never got the chance to see them. Ah well, there's always a second time. I do hope that time may come around sooner than I think.

It's 4pm and we had to go home, but before I left I got a free sample of CK's new fragrance IN2U. I kinda like it. Wish I'd be able to buy it... Haha. I arrived back at 5pm. It was a great experience. I hope the next time I'd be back I would be able to buy all those things I have been drooling for the past weeks. Hehe. Cheers everyone...

In a foreign land

Well, I just arrived here in Dubai yesterday. It was tiring, the flight was quite long and I had to wait 4 hours from the HK International Airport. Though the good thing is that I was able to see the airport. Since this is my first time to travel, I was really excited. So excited that I never got to sleep inside the plane. Now I'm here in Dubai. Work is my priority while being here, though I can't help but marvel at this city's landscapes. It is so clean (as Monica puts it), hardly any garbage to be seen (unlike the Philippines). I do hope I get a job soon. I'm excited to explore this whole new world (sounds familiar?). Cheers guys! I'll definitely be missing the Philippines.

Random things

I still can't get over Spider-Man 3. While Part 2 is still the best for me, this is one of the best movies I've seen this year. And now that I’ve seen the film I’ve waited for 3 years, my whole going to Dubai thing is starting to sink in. I feel somewhat depressed; I’ll be leaving a lot here when I go there. I will surely miss everything I’ve had here in the Philippines. But still, I’m excited, this is something new for me. I get to life out my life and start something new. As I have always prayed, I do hope everything falls in its right place.

Last night was also the time I get to bond once more with my (ex) co-workers. They were great, and they have been a big part of my life as I entered the world of call centers (though I say to myself I won’t go to any call center anymore… graveyard shifts almost killed me). We watched Spider-Man (for the 3rd time for me… hehe) and had a late dinner. Great people, I’ll surely miss them. I have pictures uploaded in my Flickr albums.

By the way, I've also change my blog title from 'In the realm of random thought' to 'Realms of random thought'. Just wanted to keep it short and simple.

"That would be kidney stones..."

Wow, I thought that I have fully recovered from my kidney stones. Wrong, so I thought. Last night was the most painful 7 hours of my life. I was experiencing pain in my lower abdomen. While my doctor said that painkillers would help ease the pain, it didn’t. I do hope I get well soon, and for good. I wouldn’t want experiencing this again when I get to Dubai. As of now, I’m keeping my fingers crossed so this wouldn’t happen again.

Reminiscing the old days

Last night I went to a party of my best friend Densie. While there was a lot to attend to, my other good friend Glai and I went into serious talk about our lives. How we’ve changed since the days we were together in high school and how we have matured all these years, with each one realizing how our antics were simply child-like during those days (with Densie commenting that we still do act childish… hehe). The night went on with Glai and me eating a surprisingly amount of food (yes!). And when the time finally came when the 3 of us get to talk, a lot were recognized. We talked about how change can mean sacrifices for each of us, and that these sacrifices will be for the best for each of us. And when Densie pulled our old grade school yearbook, a lot of old incidences also came into mind. Immediately, I realized also other friends that I also missed. From my childhood friends Danilo, Nico, Chris and Rach, and high school barkadas (Jeah, Nikki, Pie) these are people in my lives are definitely not worth forgetting. With our stories verging from pearl coolers, to my sister’s issues, to betrayal, this is definitely one discussion we will remember. One lack I forgot to do was eat some of Densie’s Black Forest cake, I forgot how incredibly luscious that dessert is. The night ended very happily, I do hope I get to see them one more time before I leave. This is one part of my part I would never forget.

HELP Wanted

Someone who can change me. I. Am. Very. Frustrated.

Shockingly, someone like me who does not do drugs, who does not go on late night illegal escapades, who defines QUIET time as being at home alone, IS apparently still THAT NOT good enough for my peers.

How I wish I could change myself that quick so only I could please them.

SHIT!

Confused

I. Am. Confused.

And I do not know why. Confused may probably be not the right word to describe this feeling I've been having. Suddenly there is this feeling of uneasiness in me since last week.

Probably because there is some part of me that wishes I could be someone who people can look up to. And I want to be in that position very badly. It may still be a long way for me, but I somehow envy persons who reached the top of their goals at an early age.

This is just passive. This is just for now. I do hope this felling will fade away (weird song plays in head).