Back in 2008...

I was dragged by my sister-in-law to attend a free Arabic course at the Eton Institute. This kept me busy while looking for work during Ramadan. It was a good introduction to the Arab culture and a good exposure for me too (Imagine being caught on TV after just living for a weeks here!) . Who would have thought that after 31 months, recession and all, I am still surviving in this amazing city?

See me and my groupmates (who later turned out to be my first non-Filipino friends in Dubai - both have left the country already) count in Arabic starting at 00:40. :) For me, this is where it all started. Enjoy! :-)

Strange Brew

My Chinese colleague Chen made me the strangest brew I have ever tasted.  Now I am not a fan of tea (or hot drinks in general) but of course I could not refuse.  After all, it isn't everyday that somebody makes tea for me.  I gave it a shot...

and regretted it after.  First of all, it looked something like jutes swimming in hot water.  This was supposed to be green tea, "Good for the health!" as Chen said.  It was green, sure, and it indeed tasted like it when the warm liquid touched my mouth.  It was a different story as soon as I swallowed the tea. The bitter taste started creeping in like ants crowding over a mountain of spilled sugar.  Blech!  I took another sip to give it another chance but it was no better than the first.  Ah well, at least I tried...and perhaps the same can be said with certain experiences and with certain people you come across in life.  We meet people who leave a bad taste in the mouth but we still give them another chance in the hope that the outcome this time will be different.  In the end, you realize that you just never really liked bitter.  You can only give yourself a pat on the back for having at least tried.

The Birds Are Falling

I'm going to try my hand at short entries with pictures for a change....

28 January 2011.  I was hurrying on my way to the metro station but I just had to stop and finally take a photo of this eye-catching graffiti.  It was one of those "artistic" shots that you so luckily stumble upon.  I wondered who made this given that a construction site would probably be the last place one would think of writing such a cryptic message on.  Interestingly enough, as soon as I reached the platform, the skies began to get dark and a thick cloud of sand covered the horizon.  It could very well have been an ominous sign to the unexpected sandstorm that lasted for about half an hour.  And perhaps that day, a few birds fell indeed.

My Thursday Surprise

Thursday led me to a small flower shop to buy a bouquet of flowers for a colleague who was leaving.  As soon as I entered, I knew something in me ticked.  I suddenly forgot that I was in the middle of a bustling commercial property.  Time stood still as I looked at rows and rows of pretty flowers in different colors, shapes and sizes.  A smile slowly formed.  I felt like Rosalinda*, in her flower shop.  My reverie was interrupted by a kabayan** who promptly asked how he could be of help.  I answered, albeit in a distracted mechanical manner, that I was looking to buy a bouquet.  Mr. Florist asked what her favorite color was and I told him I had no idea.  He then asked how I wanted the bouquet to look like.  My gaze shifted between looking at him helplessly and looking at the flowers in awe.  The roses, mums, lilies and hydrangeas all seemed to say, "Pick me!".  I was confused.  Forced to make a decision, I pointed at something blue, yellow, white, purple and green.  

While Kuya Florist was arranging the flowers I picked, I decided to make small talk.  I told him he was lucky because he is always surrounded by beauty.  I asked if it was easy to arrange flowers and he said it was.  I asked if he could teach me how to do different types of flower arrangement.  Kuya Florist said I could drop by after work or on Saturdays.  "Proomisssse?"  "Promise!"  I still couldn't take my eyes off the blue flowers.  I asked if they were artificially colored and he confirmed.  "Paborito mo ang blue, ano?"  (Blue is your favorite, right?).  He then decided to throw an extra flower for me and picked a blue rose (Good choice, Kuya!).  I beamed.


I then approached the owner who was manning the counter.  I told him I liked his shop and cheekily asked if I could learn flower arranging there and work on weekends there.  The owner was amused and said he would allow it but I won't have any salary.  I agreed and told him I would swing by one Saturday.  I was pleased with myself because I now have something new to do.


Kuya Florist approached me and showed the finished product.

After which, he handed me my special gift:  my very own blue rose. :)

I walked out of the shop feeling like a million bucks.  The blue rose seemed to catch everyone's attention and perhaps so did the mysterious smile pasted on my face.  I was the happiest girl in the world.


*Rosalinda was the name of the character (she sold flowers) that Thalia played in the hit Mexican telenovela of the same name.
**kabayan (aka kababayan) -  from the same country

Banana Chocnut* Smoothie

The sweltering heat forced me to unearth my dusty smoothie maker from the bowels of my boxes one summer day.  I had overripe bananas and Chocnut* waiting to be eaten.  My bottle of fresh milk seemed to be screaming "Drink me! Drink me!" when I opened the fridge.  Another eureka moment.  Banana Chocnut* Smoothie?  Why not?

It all starts with putting milk and some bananas in your smoothie maker or blender.

Pulse for a few seconds.

Add a few pieces of Chocnut.

Pulse again for a few seconds to mix everything together and voila, you now have your own homemade Banana Chocnut* Smoothie!

Reminds me of Jonah's Shakes in Boracay...mmmm... Dubai is no island paradise like Boracay but this is the closest I can probably get to having a taste of Philippine summer! :)

*Chocnut is a brand for a Pinoy sweet composed of chocolate and peanut.  There is nothing like it anywhere else in the world! :)

A Day In The Life of Receptionist Roma

Whoever said that the life of a receptionist is boring is wrong (though sometimes it can be, like today, hehe).  A cheeky girl thrown into a crazy bunch of office characters makes for a very interesting story.  Names, of course, will be changed to protect the true identities of the characters.

Binding 101

Roma has just finished binding docs for Mr. T.  Upon seeing them on the counter, he carefully inspects the reports and then quips, "You know I'm really annoyed by this."  He then proceeds to insert both ends of the comb rings in the little holes.  "You put them there so that the papers won't fall off."  I cheekily retort, "I wasn't a binding machine in my past life." and then smiled. (Read:  You hired a girl who doesn't do manual labor and has never touched a binding machine till she set foot on this strange land.  Haha!)

Last week, I was binding tons of documents again.  Mr. T walked past me and said, "Oooh, you're becoming an expert binder now."  I laughed.  (Who wouldn't be if you had a thousand pages to bind, hmmm?)  Mr. T:  "I used to bind lots of documents too, about 20-40 copies."  So that explains everything then.  I was learning binding techniques from the master himself.

Coffee Choices

Being a woman of many hats, I also moonlight as a coffee/tea girl (I hate this particular hat by the way, even more than being a human binding machine.).  Sometimes, however, making coffee can be fun, as you will see in the next story.

Director V:  Roma, can I have a cup of coffee please?

Roma:  A big one (regular black coffee) or  a small one (espresso)?

Director V:  I don't know, you surprise me.  

Director V's eyes then turn into slits and he gives me a winsome smile.  I wanted to pinch his chubby cheeks and unbutton his shirt.  But this goes on only in my mind.  Moral of the story:  Never tease the receptionist.  Bwahahaha!

Spelling Bee

A few weeks back, I was given the painful task of conducting callouts to contractors who were tendering for a major project.  If I'm lucky, I get to speak with a fellow Pinoy and assigning a schedule to them is a breeze.  The problem starts when I talk to people from the subcontinent.  Previous encounters have taught me that 1) they speak too fast that everything comes out garbled.  2) they don't listen.  3) and because they don't listen, they ask stupid questions and you have to repeat your spiel that they have been interrupting for the last minute or so.  Oh, and have I mentioned the accent?

Roma:  May I have the names of the persons joining the site visit?

Mr. X says the name in rapid fashion.  I only heard a person gargling what I presume to be the names I was asking for.  I roll my eyes and sigh.  Here..we..go..AGAIN!!!

Roma:  I'm sorry, could you spell that for me please?

Mr. X: yen - eee - yem ..........

Roma:  I'm sorry? (Dear Lord, what did he just spell?!?!?)

Mr. X:  Yen, yen, yen!  (Oooh, somebody's getting exasperated now!  Sir, the feeling is mutual!)

Roma: Yen for?  (OK, maybe if I try to sound like him, I would finally guess the letter?)

Mr. X:  Yen, yen, yen! (At this point, I was stabbing the paper with my pen...)

Eureka moment.

Roma:  Yen for November?  

Mr. X:  Yes, yes, yes!  (Ahhhh, ENNNNN!!! Grrr...)

Roma:  And the next letter is?

Mr. X:  Eee for apple.  (Okaaayyyy....)

Roma:  Oh, AAYYY for apple!  And then?

Mr. X:  Yem.

Roma:  Yem for mother?

Mr. X:  Yes, yes, yes!  (Ohmigoodness, I'm actually getting the hang of it!  Kill me now!)

In the almost two years that I've worked as a call centre agent for both US & UK markets, I have never been placed in a situation where you almost bled over a phonetic spelling.  Maybe I should practice spelling my name now.  Repeat after me:  YAR-OOO-YEM-EEE!

The Newest Bebe In The Family

About an hour ago, I finally received the most anticipated call.  It was my brother on the other line, telling me that his wife had already given birth!  My first question was, "Anong anak?"  My brother, whether he was teasing me or not, asked, "Anong ano?"  I asked in exasperation, "Is it a boy or a girl?!?!"  "Baby boy!"  I let out a little squeal of delight.  As if reading the next question on my mind, Kuya said, "He has a creamy white complexion like his mom but the "internal features" are from me."  Whoa, just an hour after the birth and he's already bragging.  Then he shares his relief over seeing his kid after a loooonnngg wait.  (Oh yeah, I've been anxiously waiting for news since last night and I was keeping my brother company by asking silly questions.)  Being the makulit that he is, he suddenly lowers his voice and tells me, "Don't tell our flatmates because I told them we had a dark-skinned baby girl".  I giggle like I had just heard the most wonderful secret.

I am very excited to see them!  I can't believe I am an auntie already and my mother is officially a granny!  Bwahahah!  It would be so much fun to tease her that she is already getting old - old enough to be called a lola! :)

And yes, I know someone will ask the inevitable about the other bebe - me.  Flashback to one of my conversations with Kuya.  Even before he got married, he has long wished for his kids to take after Leslie - to improve the race, he says.  Now that he has gotten his wish, the pressure is on me to produce tall kids.  He has this vision that the next generation should be tall and fair.  Hence he has this crazy dream for me that the man I should marry must be 6'2" and above.  Erm Kuya, that is literally a tall order!  And so we had a deal - I would raise his kids to be beauty queens and models and he would raise mine to be basketball players/athletes.  Such a riot our family would make!:)

Anyway, I have simpler wishes for our latest Bebe.  I wish that he will have chubby cheeks and a nice set of teeth.  (My brother and I are probably weird in that people are only able to believe we are siblings when we smile - the teeth is a giveaway but to the more observant it is also the naughty glint in our eyes.  That's also weird cos I have big deep-set eyes and he has chinky eyes.)  I wish that he will inherit his mom's penchant for dancing and his dad's skill and enthusiasm for sports.  I have no doubt that he will inherit the wit and intelligence of his parents (This is the auntie bragging now.)  I have also no doubt that he will be very makulit like his mom and dad and auntie (it runs in the family, you see).  I hope that he will be fiercely loyal like his parents, his aunties and uncles and his grandparents.  And I really, really wish he will grow up a charmer and win everyone's hearts (and not break any girls' - please don't take after your parents on this one!). :)  Heaven forbid you turn out to be right-handed or it will be difficult to teach you how to write! (My brother, his wife and I are all lefties.)

We are all happy that you have finally arrived, little bebe.  We will all work hard to give you the best life you can possibly have.  With your birth, we are given the precious opportunity to make your life a little more different and hopefully better than what we have.  Consider yourself lucky, kid, for you will be loved - a lot!  Oh, and be used to the lights and attention, honey.  Auntie's going to make you the family's latest celebrity (I can see millions of photos now!)! ;)