Emirates ID

Meron na akong Emirates ID. Natanggap ko kangina – pinadala by courrier. Isa't kalahating buwan matapos akong mag-apply. Ano kayang maitutulong nito sa akin?

Actually, meron nang kaunting naitulong. Nasulat ko ang “Kanta ng Paghihintay” dahil dito.

Kasama ko si Jovi at Dayan sa pag-a-apply sa Al Barsha Center. Alas dose ng gabi kami pumunta roon noong 17 November 2008, pero hindi pa rin kami ang nauna sa pila. Numbers 10, 11 and 12 lang kami. Habang nakapila kami ni Jovi at natutulog si Dayan sa kotse, naglalaro sa isip ko ang mga linyang naging unang talata ng kanta.

Ito'y isang gabi ng paghihintay.
Hindi ako inaantok.
Ito'y isang gabi ng paghihintay.
Hindi ako mahihimbing.
Magbibilang ng bituin.
Kung gusto mo ay sumabay.
Ito'y isang gabi ng paghihintay.

Alas siete y media ng umaga nang papasukin kami. 150 lamang daw ang pinapasok. Marami pa ring naiwan. Pagkatapos ng dalawang oras, tapos na ang application procedure na may kasamang kaunting interview, fingerprinting at pagkuha ng litrato.

Dumiretso kami sa Noodle Bowl sa Al Diafa pagkatapos at kumain. Doon kami nakakita ng dyaryong 7 Days na ang headline ay “Deadline Extended”. Ok. Basta kami ay tapos na.

Yun namang kanta, natapos ang pagsulat ng lyrics 3 days later. Ito palang si Jovi at Dayan ay nagpla-planong pakasal nitong December. Kaya sa ikalawang talata, naging romantic nang todo ang kanta.

Ito'y isang taon ng pananabik.
Kay tagal nag-aasam.
Ito'y isang taon ng pananabik.
Kay tagal humihiling.
na di lubhang maninimdim.
at di lubhang maiinip.
Ito'y isang taon ng pananabik.

Sa huling talata ay mai-imagine mo ang isang rock star, kasama ang kanyang banda, na nagpe-perform sa harap ng libu-libong Pinoy sa Rakrakan sa Dubai.

Ito'y isang kanta ng paghihintay -
sa titik ay kinakapos.
Ito'y isang kanta ng paghihintay
sa tiempo ng pusong sabik.
Dito ka lang at makinig.
Kung gusto mo ay sumabay.
Ito'y isang kanta ng paghihintay.

Ako yon. Pag wala na kasing mapasukang trabaho sa construction dito dahil sa global crisis, ipu-pursue ko ang matagal ko nang pangarap na . . .

Na na na na na na.
Iilang oras na.

. . . na maging rock star. Pwera biro.

Round-about Drift.

This is a little similar to the world famous Tokyo Drift (from the movie of a different name, HA!). They are both exciting to do and very illegal. Speed junkies are more likely users of this addictive thrill-ride.

However, there are several distinctions to keep them apart; One major difference is that in the latter, you may hit a wall or a column; while the former, you would likely hit another car. Another is that the latter is world famous, and the former is infamously UAE. He3!!!

I don’t usually do this Drift. But unfortunately, I am an occasional doer of the former. And no, I will not whine about it now and tell you my horrifiying car accident details, nor do I intend to soliciting some pity and consolation from you and tell me in-return that I was wrongfully wronged (what?) and violated. Well my friend, we will come to that, but at least not just yet. He3!

Anyway, it’s not my fault!!!! He3!!!!

A drift is a slide of the vehicle perpendicular to the intended direction. Since a round-about is, very good, it is round, and it is more likely that the vehicle inside is induced to drift.

Aside for the physical attributes of a round-about, there is the psychological aura it gives those who enter it. The drivers in that area unexplainably tend to suddenly suffer from acute stupidity, road rage or recklessness. It is like the mysterious Bermuda triangle in some ways, but the round-about is not a triangle (DUH???). Iodized salt please……

Lighting strikes twice, maybe not in the same place, but in the same circumstances. One was at the round-about near the Etisalat Bur Dubai business center, the other was near the Shindagha Tunnel, both in Dubai. What could be wrong? Why do they keep hitting me?

Is my tower of sticks done yet? Not quite.

Funny thing is that there are hundreds of round-about in Al Ain, and no Round-about Drifting has (and I hope, ever will) ever happened. Maybe the problem is the drivers in Dubai are crazy. Good thing I’m transferred to a different place already. He3! Safe!

Also, this bunch of liars driving around this country is causing insufferable harm to other innocent people (like me) on the road. They could tell lies to the investigating police and over-turn the verdict and give you the red copy instead (i.e. the “judgment”, or the police report, yani, you are at-fault while the green copy is the opposite), so you better be on your toes.

Swinging around the round-about at 80 Km/H is quite fun. It is like you’re riding in a roller-coaster ride (uh, redundant again). You should try it yourself sometime. He3!

However, this round-about drift has a major hassle because after doing it, and thereafter get caught, you have to visit the nearest police station to give statements about your demented fun that went wrong. Darn! Those involved in this drift, like the other kind of drift, includes hefty fines and maybe a few black points. kaliwali! A morsel of advise from a junkie like me, just be careful next time and try not to get caught.

My Tower of sticks is done. I’m finished here. You can do anything you want with it. Bring it tumbling down to the ground for all I care. It doesn't matter to me anymore.

Now, we ride baby!

Maui had moved-on.

It happens sometimes without you consciously knowing it that you have to move on and look for yourself out there.

Who? The girl in the picture is who? Ah yes! Partly yes, since she had moved-on in someway or another, but I am not referring to her specifically in this article. Sorry guys, no scoop about her.

It is the apparel that had moved-on, so to speak. Unclear? Let me expound upon this theory.

Flashback!!!!!!!!!

High school, Junior year. The t-shirt brand was the coolest thing so far!! Good thing someone gave me a gift of it that’s why I’m very proud and happy. And I saw a couple of my friends; this was how the conversation went:

Oiey! Nice shirt!
Thanks (am smiling smugly).
Lemmi’ see that tag (he quickly went to the tag at the back of the collar of the shirt). Eih? (Something disappointed him, I wonder.).
How about your tag (the nosey one to the other friend)? He looked. Ooah! Very nice man!
And I also looked at it myself, he is right. The tag indicates that my friend's shirt is original.

The color, texture, and quality of textile, everything looks great. After the faux pax, I gave an inconspicuous glace to my shirt, suddenly it looked pale in comparison. Shucks! I was given a fake, (PEKE PALA!). I was very disappointed. I dunno’ which case is worse, wearing a fake, or not knowing it is a fake. Duh? Ashamed and defeated as I was, I slowly slipped out-of-reach, out-of-sight, and into the background.

Damn! I did not wear that shirt ever again.

Stop. Back to the Future!!!!!!

Here, in the land of sand and oil, after a number of years, I saw this brand of t-shirt again inside a mall. Hah! Payback time! Now I can buy 10 original shirts if I want to. Huh! We’ll see. This time, I would be wearing ORIGINALS! Bwahahaha!!!! Then I began to browse the shirts in display. The problem presented itself in an undeniable way. The designs are way-out-there and above me. Yani, the shirts could be too colorful; maybe the color scheme is “different”; I cannot finger it. The layout and also the arrangement does not speak to me, does not communicate to me. Lastly, the figures/drawings that I expected to see in this brand (a shark in tees and shorts holding a surf board) of shirt is not anymore present there. There is something huge missing, something lacking. I cannot believe it. I am holding the very same brand of t-shirt of high school days, here in my hands, but somehow it is not it, it has dissappeared. I had a feeling that I lost something forever. My nostalgia was dashed into smithereens!

Something had happened. And it hit me, hit me hard. Remember the theory I mentioned earlier? That Maui had moved-on. The answer is, maybe yes. But I recon, that I myself had moved-on also. Not in the same way more likely. And the world had moved-on.
Good grief! I’m getting older faster than I thought.

bow-tie bow!

I bought a printed blue bow-tie in the Mall of the Emirates ages ago. Not the clip-on stuff mind you, but the mature and dignified self-tie tie-type (pardon for the double redundancy, he3!). I used to fancy myself wearing that thing around my neck walking around the party, looking smart and preppy, just like suave actors in the movies. Wicked!

I tried to tie it once, but I was not satisfied with how the finish product looked like. Maybe I did a lousy job in doing-the-knot. Also, I am not used to it. Have you seen a Filipino wearing a bow-tie? Guess not. Another maybe is that it is cultural. I have no roots for it and most (99.5%) of all the “Kabayan” I know are not “in” with the bow-tie thing. So, what the H, I am different from the rest of the potatoes, and I will show it with my unique-”kamote” bow-tie. Bow!

The actual effort is an “extra challenge”. It is like Hercules wrestling Hydra’s heads. It was very difficult to manage and my arms were sore doing the loops-and-turns. Why is it here? Where is that A-Hole? It is supposed to be here. Even though I had instructional print-out sheets of How-to-tie-a-bow-tie-you-idiot, pasted on the wall near the mirror, I am “sotong” (confused) already. In spite of these, the end-result is not very encouraging (to put it lightly). But it looked more like shoe laces of a 4-year old that went awry. B@#$H! So, I decided to put-away the damn thing, well, at least for the time being.

Then suddenly, like a phoenix rising up from the ashes, I resurrected my bow-tie from the abyss of obscurity last night. Something mysterious happened. I cannot explain it, but with some serious effort, that gorgeous bow-tie is now nicely fastened around my neck, complementing my simple handsome self (note: adverse reactions are not permitted). Indeed, practice makes perfect.

Chill!!!!

A Different Taste

My brother-in-law just celebrated his birthday in a nice fine dining restaurant inside SM annex in Pasig. I have discovered that although the restaurant is serving a unique spaghetti and pizza, the owner is not italian nor an america born citizen but a filipino who used to have his business in US and open up a branch in the Philippines...below is the narration of the restaurant origin...




The foods we have feasted...







And some of the famous guest staring on us while we are chomping...



This can be a challenge to our balikbayans or returning OFW...why not try opening up a restaurant serving foods with a foreign taste...like chopsuey, in Dubai...or my favorite chicken recipe...

NOSEBLEEDDOTCOM

“Nose bleed!!”

Medically speaking, Epistaxis is defined as bleeding from the nose. Minor injury to the nose is a common cause. This may be an injury to your nose, or may be due to nose picking. People with blocked noses blow them very hard and this may start bleeding. Infections such as the common cold make the vessels more likely to bleed.

(Siyet!!! Ingles yun ha… NOSE BLEED!!!! TISSUE! TISSUE! TISSUE!!)

However, there is another common cause of a nosebleed (iyung tipong magdurugo talaga ang ilong mo sa hirap!). The following are the “nosebleed” collection that I have gathered around:

Case 1:
I was in the gym one evening when two kabayan ladies came in fully geared up with short-shorts, tank top and rubber shoes and headed to the 2 treadmills beside me. Kabayan 1 set up her ipod and started walking on the treadmill while kabayan 2 was just standing and with arched eyebrows seriously staring on her mobile.

Ten minutes passed by when kabayan 2 noticed her friend and asked:

Kabayan 1: Hoy, ano ba? Bakit seryoso ka jan?
Kabayan 2: Teka lang sandali, nag-iisip pa ako kung paano ko sasabihin…
Kabayan 1: (Sensing that her dear friend is in a dilemma, became eager to help) E, ano ba ang gusto mo kasing sabihin na di mo masabi sabi?
Kabayan 2: Gusto ko sanang sabihin sa kanya na gusto kong ilaglag ang lakad ko para makaatend nang bertdey nya.
Kabayan 1: Eh di sabihin mo, “you want to DROP YOUR WALK to attend the bertday party” (inday, ganito na lang ba, “I want to cancel my previous appointment?” malaglag ka sa kinalalakaran mo, sigue ka!)
Kabayan 2: Ay oo nga, ‘no!! (ay oo nga, eto pa ang isa!)

(NOSE BLEED!!!! TISSUE! TISSUE! TISSUE!!)

Case 2:
On day three of my Hong Kong vacation with some friends, our next stop is Hong Kong DISNEYLAND RESORT (Yehey!!!). We were the first group that was picked up by the tour guide which was good coz we could get the front seats. However, in our dismay there were personal belongings on the seats indicating that it is already occupied by somebody else. So we just settled on the seats directly behind it.

Second group that was picked up were a group of kabayans (approx. 15 pax in total). They were headed by a middle aged woman whom they refer to as “Ma’am”.

As “Ma’am” got in the bus, she stopped beside the 4 empty front seats, and commented “OH, somebody still sitting there already!” (Ano un ma’am? Maybe it should be, “oh, somebody had taken this seat already?”) then headed at the back of the bus.

(Si Ma’am talaga, NOSE BLEED!!!! TISSUE! TISSUE! TISSUE!!)

Case 3:
Still on the tour bus heading to Disneyland, the tour guide was doing her usual stuff. Informing us about the location of restaurants, Cinderella castle, schedule of the fireworks and that Disneyland City Hall gives gifts to guests who are celebrating their birthdays that day. Then she asked the group if anyone is celebrating his/her birthday.

A very excited high pitched voice came from a kabayan at the back of the bus saying, “Me! Me! Todey is my bertday!”

The tour guide congratulated her and advised her to go to Disneyland City Hall to be able to claim a free gift by simply presenting her passport.

Then the excited high pitched voice became a disappointed high pitched voice saying “Aaayyy… I donut hab my passport!”

The tour guide also disappointed, asked her why she did not bring her passport with her. And she replied on her high pitched voice, “you did not TELLED us, eh….” (Asus ka! ”you haven’t told us?”)

(Wwwaaahhhhh!!! )
(Si kabayan, NOSE BLEED!!!! TISSUE! TISSUE! TISSUE!!)

Case 4:
I was enjoying and feasting my eyes on the awesome sceneries outside on our way to China, when suddenly I heard a high pitched shout coming from the back of the bus that ended my tranquility saying,

AAAHHHH!! ITS FALL!!! ITS FALL!!! (oi! baka naman, “aahh!! It fell!!! It fell!!!)

Then came a big bottle of mineral water rolling to the front of the bus.

(Si kabayan na naman, NOSE BLEED!!!! TISSUE! TISSUE! TISSUE!!)

Case 5:
We were in IKEA one afternoon looking for some stuff for the house when we chanced upon a kabayan sales lady and her European customer.

European Customer: Excuse me miss. Could you please tell me where I can find an ice maker?

Kabayan Sales Lady: “ICE MAKER? Ah you mean the maker of yelo!!!” (Huat? Di ba tagalog ang yelo? Pa-sosyal ka pa inday!)

(NOSE BLEED!!!! TISSUE! TISSUE! TISSUE!!)


Case 6:
This is the best of them all!!!

Quote

Dear All Good morning, I would like to thank all the staff committee members for giving us the help during
Last week (Kailan ba talaga? Noong isang linggo pa o kasalukuyan?) , we pasted in their office (Ano ito? Cut and paste?) in cargo village
Really it was a very good opportunity to meet and to work with another part of XYZ team and i would give a special thanks for the persons i didn’t say good by to them yesterday (Sana lang naintindihan ninyo iyun, o baka naman gusto nyo na ng tissue?)have a good day see you soon Very Best Regards AIDA

Unquote

(Si Aida Ferchichi, NOSE BLEED!!!! TISSUE! TISSUE! TISSUE!! Parang naubos na tissue ko ah!)

So far, exposure to these nose bleeding circumstances can cause mild nasal hemorrhage. If symptoms persists, insult your doctor.

Bubble has busted!

It started in the US, where the property sector fell to the ground in flames. Then, from some reason or another, in the UK and Europe, banks suddenly fell like flies. Across the Atlantic, large banks in the US filed for bankruptcy. The American Congress is deliberating for a huge economic bail-out for main industries that are gravely hit by the onslaught of the recession. Consequently, the rest of the world was in a scramble, looking for cover from the economic fall-out.

Some said that there were signs that a recession is ahead. Politicians and economic managers somehow, according to their ulterior motives, ignored these signs, or rather, brushed it under the rug.

Like a tsunami, it hit the coasts of far-away regions and swept away billions upon billions of dollars, reducing the coastline into a damaged and impoverished wasteland.

Lo and behold, Dubai is the beach-head of the UAE, splendid, high and rich as it is, crumbled to the ground, breaking into pieces, severely maligned by this global catastrophe. Hundreds of expatriates were immediately laid-off in this great city alone. The economic implications are staggering in magnitude. All sectors are affected, one way or another, in more ways than another. No one is safe now.

Dubai is hardest hit of all the emirates in the UAE because it is more exposed in the global financial market. An anomaly in the worldwide trading system has serious, and now, as we are presently experiencing it, have negative repercussions here. Experts say that we are in an unprecedented downward spiral towards global financial collapse, and no one can predict when the recession will last.

None in this once proud city, do not know someone who were recently re-trenched or worse, downright fired. Hiring in companies is stopped. Job contacts were suspended indefinitely. Some people may estimate it to 97% of all projects in Dubai are either on-hold, shelved, stopped, cancelled or a variation thereof. The construction industry is literally in a stand-still.

Traders are now demanding for small change unlike before, it is easily forgiven. Credit cards were relaxed in their payment collection whereas now, a few days of delay would warrant you to be threatened with incarceration. Banks now are very stringent in the approval of personal loans, or worse, as the gossip grapevine suggests, they are not lending at all. Accommodation annual rentals may not go up, but landlords demand 100% payment instead.

Where to find money in this cash bereft city?

The bad times are undeniably and unmistakably here.

Is this the very end of the “Dubai Dream”? Maybe it is.

Of all the worries going around, one thing is for certain. The dream of Dubai that was, the wonder that sparked imagination, and the glittering thing that attracted countless many is all but no more. The financial plague consumed it. The bleak reality has set in. The bubble has busted and we can do nothing about it.