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!

New look? New look!

Well' since I'm tired of that Spider-Man look on my blog before, I thought of changing it to this one. It's kinda bit on the weird side, since the colors may be a bit of an eyesore, but I'll use this template for a while... while I'm thinking of a better look. Hope you like it - not that my blog is being read by a lot of people.

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.

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…)

The irregularities of public transport

Wow I never realized I’d let week pass by without posting a blog entry. I immersed myself at work, keeping myself busy with reviewing things and at the same time enjoying what I do. Yesterday though was a hassle, not because of work, but due to the time I spent waiting for a bus to go home. Imagine this: I went out at exactly 5:10pm, so I may be able to catch the 5:30pm bus (I still have to walk a long way to the bus stop). To my surprise, not even one bus (that passes through my home) came by… and it’s already pass 7pm. Wow! I never imagined to wait that long! Finally, I just decided to walk, thinking I would arrive at my destination faster than any vehicles around… (Even if you got on a bus, intense traffic will still cost you more time). This is the only thing I hate about this place, the irregularity of public transport. The RTA said they would want people to consider alternate modes of transport, but how can people adjust to that scheme if we would spend hours just waiting for a bus. Now, they’ve tried reasoning that the Dubai Metro is on its way to becoming a reality… but that is still a few years away. Additionally, I can now take a tour of the city free with every bus ride. Why? Due to the enormous detours the bus has to take. I mean, why is everyone in a hurry to develop this city? They want Dubai to be a major tourist destination in the Middle East, they keep populating this place. *Sigh* I just wish something could be done immediately.

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.

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...

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.

Long time no post

It's been a while since I've posted here. What's new with me? I recently bought the extended version of Spider-Man 2. Aptly titled Spider-Man 2.1. At first I was hesitant in buying this release, who can stop the impulse of a Spider-Man movie fan? I went home and watched the extended cut. To my surprise, it is a whole new edit of the film, inserted with funny moments specifically from Jameson, the Bugle's editor. This is a great buy, which makes me even more excited for Spider-Man 3. I already have a lot of Spider-Man DVD's, only the Superbits would complete this package.

Tuliro

Tuliro, I don't know how to say it in English. Tuliro (in my best possible attempt to explain) means confused... in a way. I was listening to this song by Sponge Cola (by the way, they rock!) and thought that this is what I have been feeling the whole time. While their song tackles more on love, mine is somewhat a bit of both. Wah! Enough of that, at least I have gotten myself over of that feeling I had the other day. Now I can continue drooling over Spider-Man and all other stuff. Haha. I am reborn… (in a non PBB-style Keanna-like way). :-)

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).

First Post

Best. Post. Ever.

Switching from Friendster Blogs to Blogger.

Will it be worth it? I think so.