31st of May

I think it is but fitting to write on the last day of May to remember both the good and not-so-good things about this month.


New month, new gameplan - workwise, that is.  The first day of this month ushered in my 3-days-in-Dubai-2-days-in-Abu-Dhabi routine.  I am now officially a 50% document controller for Al Bateen Wharf Project in Abu Dhabi and a 50% all-around admin support staff (among many other things) providing support for the 3 offices in the Middle East.  In short, I have to wake up at 5am, catch the "school bus" at 645am and report to work at 8ish am in Abu Dhabi.  The same routine applies going back to Dubai and depending on what time we leave the office and the traffic along that boring stretch of road, I should be home at 8pm at the latest.  Suffice it to say that the whole waking up and trying to sleep early the night before business could be daunting.  All this stress for nothing - I still end up doing Dubai stuff only because my whole team is on site and are hardly in the Abu Dhabi office.  Unfortunately, we have promised the Client that the whole team would be based there so 3 out of 5 have to suffer from this arrangement.    The good thing is at least I get to see more of Abu Dhabi (getting to work is like a sightseeing trip of T&T's projects both past and present) and it gives me an opportunity to get to know the people there.  Of course what makes this commute doubly exhausting is I have to speak in English so early in the morning, converse with the driver and stay awake the whole trip.   Eeeeekkk!


My brother visited Dubai again after almost a year (and that's the same amount of time that I haven't seen him).  He is now based in Oman, surrounded by sand and goats, he says.  I am happy to see him again though I found myself complaining to him today that it was not enough (after all, it was about 2 hours watching the movie and another 2 hours eating, walking and taking pictures).  Please refer to the previous blog entry for my thoughts on his visit.


I spent the next few weekends in the company of my flatmates and my roommate's visiting family.  It was another excuse for us to prepare a feast and of course, to take pictures.


May also marked the loss of two of my closest friends in Dubai.  Sadly, they were casualties to this dangerous game that Stranger and I continued to play for almost 3 years now.  It took a brief and unplanned conversation with one of them for me to breakdown.  All that hurt and frustration had to give at some point.  I may not have felt the impact in April when it all happened because Singapore turned out to be my saving grace.  However, that all came back in this conversation.  I still feel betrayed and hurt by someone's paranoid and selfish act.  Stranger may have saved himself from trouble but I lost two people whom he very well knew were very dear to me.  I had to give them up so they would not be dragged any further in this mess.  I still feel sad from time to time but there is absolutely nothing I can do.


And so it is in this somewhat unhappy state that John* happened to find me.  I think my roommate was a bit concerned about me being in the center of unfortunate events.  She thought of introducing me to their office newbie so at least somebody can show him around Dubai and I would have some form of distraction.  I was very skeptical to say the least but I showed up at Nando's for Ate.  Luckily, John, in his jetlag mode, was very chatty.  I could sense that we would click.  I think I have found another kindred spirit in my midst.  There was a relief in hearing that American accent all over again.  Before the night was over, he already got invited to the flat party the next evening.  It wasn't long before he won the flat over - he's just super game for anything:  karaoke, Pinoy food and later in the bar, drinking and dancing!  I concluded that my life in Dubai was just about to become a little bit more colorful.  


On Wednesday, we had dinner with his fellow newbie (oh, I was only up for a gelato - 3 scoops of it, hehe) in Al Dente.  The next evening, we watched Hangover 2 and had dinner at Burger King.  Friday night was spent with the Tiffin Club at Kisaku Restaurant in Deira where we met fellow food enthusiasts.  He seemed to enjoy the company of the group that it was my turn to get dragged for drinks at Belgian Beer Cafe in DFC.  It was good fun hanging out with a Filipino, 2 Americans, an Englishman and a Singaporean.  This clique looks promising - they are all warm and just open to trying things that Dubai has to offer.


May also had its share of domestic squabbles towards the end of the month.  Just last week, my roommate disrupted our sleep for two days in a row because he was so drunk!  That pissed me off and so I have decided to just keep my mouth shut and see how this all goes.  Two of the most important things here are my sleep and my food.  I am already trying my best to get decent sleep as it is and any further distractions can just drive me insane.  I ended up crying in the bathroom because the alarm would not stop ringing for about 30 minutes already and it was just a little before 6am on a Friday!  It also does not help that no one seems to care about buying food even though the supplies are already running low.  In addition, dinner would be served at 9pm, knowing fully well that I cannot eat that late.  I do not want to aggravate this "sleeping problem".  Sometimes I want to shout out of frustration but I decided to just cook for myself or eat very little at dinner.  I am still having trouble sleeping either way.  I might just resort to taking antihistamines again. :(


Still not getting very far, as far as tanning is concerned.  I bought tanning oil on a whim because I wanted a bit of color to my already-becoming-a-lighter-shade-of-brown skin.  I seriously don't understand how people can stay very long in the sun!  Perhaps I just need more patience but I must admit that there is a sense of freedom in wearing a two-piece swimsuit and basking in the sun away from the prying eyes of the public.  It's always good to tune out from time to time!


Fortunately, this month ends on a positive note.  After almost three years, I finally got a raise - not much, but it's still something.  At least my flight allowance now is AED3,000 as opposed to AED2,400 (Hello, Emirates?!?!).  Surprisingly, Her Highness partly made this possible!  She must have written a very good recommendation letter for it to get approved.  I shared the news to her and said thank you.  She told me that she always puts in a good word for me.  Well I never!  The most demanding woman in the office (who also happens to be the head of my project) is actually appreciating my work!!!   It's always good to know that I am doing something right.   


Today, I participated in a photo shoot for the Annual Review.  It's a good opportunity to be seen, I suppose, given that the theme is diversity.  We will probably be the first Pinoys to be seen in the company's global publication.  Perhaps I will finally get around to submitting my piece for the People Showcase in T2 (our company's intranet).  It's high time they put the spotlight on the admin staff!  It's time to put a face to the name and the voice of T&T's cheeky receptionist in Dubai.  These will probably be my legacy before I (hopefully) move on to my next adventure.


So what's in store for the month of June?  Rain?  Nah.  Rising temperatures, ideas for indoor activity, daydreaming about travel, more food adventures and bonding time with John* and the rest of the gang and hopefully more time for updating my blogs!  Oh, and I should finally be able to build the Burj Khalifa Lego model by then!!!