Wednesday, December 31, 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

The nature of my work demands more time and focus, as year 2008 is about to exit. Yearly reports are to be prioritized and must be given an on-hand attention.

I’ve been very busy for the past few days, but today, I think I am much busier. I have to cope up with all these year-end problems – from receiving complaints from our tenants to computation of their dues as they are going to say goodbye from our apartments they rented less than a year ago. Their farewell is the result of the most discussed recession not just in Dubai but in other parts of the world as well.

But in spite of this hectic schedule, I have to remind myself to welcome the Year 2009. I am not certain what is in store for me in the New Year, but I am sure that something new will happen. Well, I am really hoping for good fortunes. A new year brings new life, new career, new opportunities, and new challenges. On the contrary, it may also offer things which we less expected. For sure we don’t like bad things dominating us. But as far as we have great faith in Him, everything will turn out better. I believe that by constantly attracting good and positive things into our lives, we could have a happy and wonderful life. This is a proven secret of those successful icons. Hope to have it too.

To everyone, regardless of your religion, kind, industry and location, happy New Year! Happy year of the OX!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

How do I celerate my Christmas?

Christmas is fast approaching. While most Christians are busy wrapping of gifts for their love ones, others seem motionless. But, I don’t think this year’s Christmas is going to be celebrated with extravagance. Well, for the rich people who are not affected with the world economic crisis that started in America, their Christmas will be memorable.

I used to celebrate Christmas with my families. When I was just a kid, my father had explained that Christmas is the only celebration that each Christian must participate. And that all members of the family must be together at least on the eve of December 24 for the Noche Buena. Christmas is not just a mere celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas has always been part of our lives. Above those red calendar events, Christmas is in our hearts and wherever we go its spirit is always present.

Now that I am away with my families, my Christmas had never been the same. Though Christmas is acknowledged in Muslim cities like Dubai, the government has no mandate to proclaim it as one of the non-working holidays. So my Christmas will be a regular day. What’s my program? I hope to attend mass on the 24th and have Noche Buena with my flat mates. And on the morning of 25th, take a bath to freshen myself from hang-over (if any) and head for work. What else I can do? My host is an Islam country. I respect it and as a law-abiding expatriate, it’s my responsibility to follow its rule. You, how will you celebrate your Christmas?
Christmas tree in Saint Mary Catholic church, Oud Metha, Dubai.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

I feel sorry for Bush..

Have you heard the news about the Shoe Attacker and Mr. Bush? Hearing this news made me feel sorry for the President. Please don’t condemn me for showing this sympathy to him. It’s not because we have the same religion and the man who did an act which the Iraqi people tagged as “Barbaric act” is an Islam believer. Although he has gained support from the Arab world where he is considered a “Hero” still I personally don’t agree with him. Why?
Let us consider this point which the Journalist might neglect. First, he is a Journalist. He must not forget that being a journalist, he has to abide the professional code of ethics or the canons of journalism. He should have memorized and understood by heart the preamble of the code of ethics that states:

“Public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility.

The Radio-Television News Directors Association, an organization exclusively centered on electronic journalism, maintains a code of ethics centering on -- public trust, truthfulness, fairness, integrity, independence and accountability.”

At all times, he must be independent and impartial. He was in the conference as a professional journalist – to cover the event and report it to the public fairly. He is not a mere spectator. He must separate his “being a journalist identity” from his personal identity. Okay, personally he was bursting with hard emotions and ill-feelings with the President. But he must set aside his personal emotions because he attended the conference as a journalist and not as anybody (whoever he is).

I understand he could not keep his anger anymore . But throwing a pair of shoes to the outgoing President is disrespect. And I believe we should have basic respect to all our leaders in the country whether they are evil or angel.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Water, where did you come from?

Seems like a swimmig pool, right? But it's not. What you actually see is not a swimming pool, nor a river. What's your wild guess? A sea? No. No. No.


These are the few photos I captured last Tuesday on my way to our office in Barsha. You may wonder why I post these pictures. These are only normal pictures. Pictures that do not worth a thousand dollar. Pictures which are not done by the pros.

Well, it's up to you then. We all have different perspective in life. How we are going too see things differs from one another. But for me these pictures worth more than I could think.

Considering that I come from a tropical country. A country mostly visited by typhoons and floods. A country surrounded and divided by waters. Let me say, I miss to see ordinary things in Dubai. Rain for instance is considered to be an extra-ordinary thing here in the Emirates.

So, upon seeing the flooded streets after a continuous raining of about 3 hours, these were what happened next. Water was everywhere. The dainage overflowed.

As I took these pictures from my Samsung mobile, I remembered the movie "Water world". I don't want to exaggerate things but as I said I'm here in the desert where rain is not ordinary.

I am certain when I go back to my country I will also miss this mess.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

What else you can do in the desert?

If malling, shopping, going to bars and disco houses, etcetera, etcetera, are tiring and expensive lifestyle in Dubai, why don't you try something cheap? Try to enjoy the lukewarm water in the beaches. Or if you don't find peace in the seashores, go and take yourself in the forest and mountains, play hide-and-seek with your lover, friends or with the forest creatures. Aside from being away from the congested city, you can be more closer to the mother nature. Wait, I must be wrong. Dubai does not have forest to play hide-and-seek.
What I mean is, invite your friends for a desert safari. Winter is the best time to befriend the desert. Just spend AED 160.00 and there you go, enjoying the excitement, the furious and breath-taking safari you can only play on the the sand.

But that's not all. You are free in the desert. You can do anything you like.



From playing with the sand.

Eating your favorite junk food with your suitor.

Dicovering your suitor's phobia.

Or just a plain picture taking with desert eagles.

What fun could there be more in the desert? Try it.

Risking depositor's money

I would like to thank my very good friend Louie Clam for her email. I received it this morning. She was once my officemate in PIRB back then and now she is connected with Waterfront Cebu. She used to be my most trusted friend. I guess all is well with her now that she found her new home. I hope she will soon realize her dream to work here in Dubai. How soon? When the right time come.

Anyway, I was bothered by her email. She told me that PCRB was on the headline with Sun Star Cebu – declaring a bank holiday. What is a bank holiday by the way? Not all depositors have a good understanding of what this means. Bank holiday would mean, the bank celebrates a foundation or fiesta or the bank closes permanently. These were the only visible options. I have made my assessment. How about you?

I am concern with PCRB, with its people who had been my officemates. This was my first duty after I graduated college. But I am more concern with the depositors. They have entrusted their money for safekeeping hoping that it will be usable in times of difficulties, in times when they need to pay for their children’s tuition. What will happen to them now? For those who deposited more than 250,000 pesos, they must be in despair. The insurance is willing to pay only up to 250,000 pesos. For small depositors, they can get all their money back. But the procedure is tight. They have to wait at least three months before they will be settled. The central bank will investigate the bank and if proven to be not capable to resume its operation, it will be put under the custody of PDIC.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

What's wrong with my Smart Buddy?

I’ve been thankful to Smart buddy. Since then, I enjoyed using its roaming services here in Dubai. My family back home can text me anytime with the cheapest cost of USD .02083 per message or if they subscribed to unlimited text they could text me without limit by just paying about USD .625. That’s a big saving for my family and friends who want to get connected with me…haha

However, sometimes it gives me a kick on my ass. Every other 3 months I have to add credit on my account otherwise the service will become inactive like what happens today.

It’s a normal thing for me to check my roaming every now and then to see if there were messages from the Philippines. My brother is texting me every day from sunset to sunrise. But today none of the messages I expected from him flew to my inbox. I wonder why. He must be very busy with his accounting class. No way. He owns his time and he used to text me every achievement he has received, everyday disappointment he has faced, all his worries in studies, all his illusions, all his sleepless nights, all the current news. He even used to text me to ask for the procedures of cooking my own version of Pork Sinigang which he like most.

I was upset. I had lot of things in my mind. Maybe he left his mobile at home. Maybe he has no enough load balance on his account. Or the worst, maybe his mobile had been stolen. I kept on ringing his phone. After a few minutes I received his message to my local account (Du) informing me that he had sent several messages since this morning.

I never realized that it’s been 3 months since he added credit to my account. My account might not receive messages because it’s not active anymore. Same thing had happened last September. So I asked him to top up a few amount. After a couple of minutes it’s back and my inbox overflowed with the pending messages.

This has always been a problem with smart roaming. If you failed to add credit to your account, then, expect disconnection without any notice. The worst part is that, you don't know how your credit disappear. You don't use it. To receive messages are completely free.

Rakrakan Fest 2008




The sad side story

I didn’t condemn Led Zeppelin Tuyay, the guitarist of rock band, Kamikazee, who was arrested at Dubai International Airport after the group arrived on Thursday for the Rakrakan Fest. Dubai Police charged him for illegal possession of marijuana. He missed the show but his band members played on without him along with other Filipino bands. A hearing is being scheduled this Monday. This is not a serious matter. Most bands, as known to everybody, for sure, engaged in using not just a leaf of Marijuana.

The happy side story

Thousands of fans gathered together to the Dubai Festival City on Friday to watch four of the Philippines’ biggest names in rock performed in what they called Rakrakan Fest 2008.

To my mental calculation, an estimated crowd of 16,000—double last year’s figure—gathering for a nostalgia-fest of sorts with Pupil, Kamikazee, The Dawn and Bamboo.

Ely Buendia, the front man of the Pupil opened the show at 6:30 pm. The audience demanded him to be more engaging but he refrained from addressing the audience in between the performance leaving his band mates to do the talking. Maybe he has not yet recovered for everything that happened to him in the past including the death of his mother.

Jay Contreras, the lead singer of Kamikazee came next with his usual animated self; talking to the crowd about his personal experiences in between performances.

The crowd roared with approval as the band sang hit songs Narda, Seksi! Seksi! (Sexy), Ambisyoso (Ambitious) and Chinelas (Slippers) among others.

Next came The Dawn, the longest surviving Filipino rock band and dubbed by many as the Rolling Stones of the Philippines. Of course there is no comparison as The Dawn, which rose to fame in the late 1980s, hasan entirely unique sound of its own.

Front man Jett Pangan thanked the crowd for the warm welcome, saying it was their first time to perform in Dubai.

Last but not the least came Bamboo. As expected, lead singer Bamboo Mañalac and the band sang their hit songs Noypi (street word for Pinoy, which is slang for Filipino), Tatsulok (Triangle) among others.

Mañalac did not disappoint with impressive vocals and some extra dance moves on stage. Fans also got more than what they paid for with Mañalac going off stage to mingle with the crowd up close and personal.

Congratulations to the bands. The show was indeed a hit.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

How stressed are you?

Try to have focus to the following pictures. What do you notice? Do you see some changes? Do the objects moving?

These pictures used to determine the level of stress we can handle. For some people they would attest that these objects are not moving. On the other hand some also would clear that these objects are really moving. Actually, these objects are perfectly not moving. What we actually see is just an optical illusion. If you see these objects are moving very slowly, these would mean you have a better ability to handle your stress. Allegedly criminals who were tested to focus on these objects found out that the objects are rapidly moving. On the contrary, kids and senior citizens claimed that these objects are not moving.

Test yourself...



Sunday, December 7, 2008

Why pay if there is free?

Sitting yourself down to do a bit of personal accounting has become a depressing hobby. The troubling world crisis and spiralling cost of living in Dubai is not lost on anyone, neither the financially crippling rents.

So when the newspapers tell us that more and more companies are lossing numbers of jobs each day, it's a bit of a kick in the teeth. Something that gives us reason to be panic and worried for the consequences ahead. Something that we must be at all times take a look on our finances.

Luckily, there are many ways to bring our finances under control than spending all the limits of our credit cards, and praying for Christmas bonuses or payrise. Why don't we have to plan for a budget? And first on the budget express is entertainment central. What are you paying to keep entertainment streaming into your homes at the moment? A satellite TV subscription, cinema tickets, DVD's...all these costs add up, when what we actually be paying is nothing.

Nowadays, entertainment is free if you want it to be. I'm not going to endorse an illegal peer-to-peer file sharing. This is much simpler. Dailymotion and Youtube are on top of my list. You missed to watch some of your favorite Indie Films and Dramas or wanted to see videos of award-winning Charice Pempengco? Visit Dailymotion and Youtube. Try also CBS website. On CBS you can watch all manner of TV program from prime time big hitters such as Big Brothers and CSI. So hurrah for CBS, but it does not stop there. Go to Joost, the free online TV provider. You'll have to download a program to watch it but that's free and gives you access to hundreds of channels with sports, movies, music and documentaries. And if gaming is your thing, you'll find no shortage of flash games online...some of them are utterly free. You have the options. Leave the house and pay to drive down the road to somewhere where you will be asked for even more money to be entertained temporarily? Or stay at home, be entertained for nothing and watch your purse bulging?

Saturday, December 6, 2008

THE FIGHT IS OVER!

It's over! The dream match has ended and Manny Pacquiao has won another big fight, beating the one of the greatest fighters he has faced. Pacquiao ended Oscar de la Hoya's dream of ending his career on a high note by stopping the Mexican-American in the ninth round. Oscar de la Hoya quit when he failed to answer the bell for the ninth round thus giving the Filipino fighter his biggest victory to date.
The fight started slowly with both fighters seemingly feeling each other first, trading light jabs. Manny was unusually tame for the start of this fight, not the usual aggressor that we're accustomed to. The Oscar de la Hoya starts to throw stronger punches, starting with the body, but fails to land most of them. Manny's quickness and defense looked in tip top shape at this point. With every jab de la Hoya tried, Manny Pacquiao responded.

As the fight wore on the aggression started, but only on one side. Manny Pacquiao began his relentless punches to the body, to the head, and Oscar de la Hoya seemed helpless in the flurry of blows that he was receiving. He tried to land his own jabs but weren't as successful as his Filipino foe. By the fifth round, Manny Pacquiao seemed to be landing his blows at will, still looking crisp and strong as when the fight started. Oscar de la Hoya, meanwhile, was looking slower, weaker. At this point, you could sense that only a knock would save him from losing this fight. He had to land a big one on Manny or else lose it in the decision, or be knocked out himself. Manny Pacquiao was wearing him down.

By the seventh and eight rounds, it was almost over. Oscar de la Hoya was almost finished, his legs are gone. At one point he tried a big blow on Pacquiao's body, landing it squarely. But Manny taunted him as if saying it was nothing, it didn't hurt. The Golden Boy was obviously near the end of his fight at this point. And when he failed to come out of his corner at the start of the ninth, that was it. The Golden Boy has quit!


Postscript: Here's a head-to-head analysis and prediction by Ring Online. I'm sure many of you will be interested in these stats.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Skills: Pacquiao evolved from a one-dimensional brawler into a very good boxer under the guidance of Freddie Roach. However, De La Hoya, even with his revolving-door approach to trainers over his career, has always been an extremely sound all-around boxer.
Edge: De La Hoya

Power: De La Hoya was once a devastating puncher but his power has diminished as he’s gone up in weight. Of course, he’s going down to 147 for the first time since 2001; he might have extra pop at welterweight. Pacquiao is not a one-punch KO artist but has always been powerful. However, at 147, he won’t be able to hurt De La Hoya.
Edge: De La Hoya

Speed: One thing Pacquiao’s opponents are often surprised by is his remarkable speed. Combine that with his tenacity and improving boxing ability and you get the best fighter in the world. De La Hoya has always been quick-handed; he’s just not as fast as Pacquiao, particularly at 35.
Edge: Pacquiao

Defense: Again, Pacquiao has improved significantly as a boxer. Still, he’s never been particularly difficult to hit. That can be attributed in good part to his aggressive fighting style. De La Hoya has always put a premium on safety, one reason he’s lasted so long in the sport. He knows how to avoid punches.
Edge: De La Hoya

Experience: Both fighters have been at the top of the sport for a generation of fighters, fighting in a combined 40 major world title fights (De La Hoya 29, Pacquiao 11). Nothing phases either one of them. De La Hoya gets a slight edge because he’s been a major player a bit longer.
Edge: De La Hoya

Chin: Neither fighter has been hurt many times. De La Hoya has been stung a few times by punches to his head but was never in serious danger. Only Bernard Hopkins has stopped him, with a body shot. Pacquiao was stopped twice early in his career but has taken some huge shots in his prime without a disastrous result.
Edge: De La Hoya

Conditioning: Freddie Roach, who has been around boxing for several decades, said he’s never seen a fighter train harder than Pacquiao. He could probably fight 20 rounds if he had to. De La Hoya has had periods in his career when he didn’t train as hard as he should have, which might explain his tendency to fade late in fights, but he seems to be extremely serious about this fight.
Edge: Pacquiao

Wear-and-tear: De La Hoya, 35, has never taken a beating but appears to have declined at least somewhat after 30 years of boxing. Pacquiao, 29, has been in many wars but seems to be as fresh as ever.
Edge: Pacquiao

Corner: Both trainers garner tremendous respect. Nacho Beristain has trained a number of champions from Mexico, making him a legend in his country. And Freddie Roach, too, has worked with many big-name champions. Clearly, he’s at the top of his game. Pacquiao gets the edge here because he’s worked long term with Roach; this is De La Hoya’s first fight with Beristain.
Edge: Pacquiao


Outcome: Ask yourself: What was your first reaction when you heard this fight would take place? Answer: Pacquiao is too small. That is the most-significant factor in the fight. Pacquiao will attack and land his share of punches. However, in the end, if De La Hoya fights a smart fight – stay outside, wrap Pacquiao up when he gets inside – he’ll wear the smaller man down.
Prediction: De La Hoya KO 10

Another Horrific Experience with Dubai taxi driver

Friday, December 5, 2008 – a day of my first ever driving class at Belhasa. By the way, at long last I received a phone call for my class schedule from this same rude customer service agent. Since that was my first day, I had to be punctual to impress my instructor. My house is 30-minutes away from Belhasa during Holidays (Fridays/Saturdays) and approximately 50 minutes during working days.

It was already 1:20 in the afternoon. I decided to hire a taxi so that I could reach Belhasa before my hands-on classes at 2:00 P.M. I spoke to the driver and gave him my destination. I asked him if he know the place and he perfectly confirmed. He was a talkative driver. He raised so many questions and introduced himself to me. He said he is more than ten (10) years in Dubai as a taxi driver. Okay, so much for the chatting…

We almost reached the last bridge near IKEA when I saw the road ahead being divided. I’ve passed this road before but I was not pretty sure which road to take, would it be right or left. To my surprise, he asked me which direction we should go. I did not respond because I was thinking he was just joking at me and I believed he knew every place in Dubai considering his tenure of service in the Metro Taxi.

He took the right side road that brought as to Garhoud, passing Wafi City and Al Wasl Hospital. Al Wasl Hospital was a very familiar place to me. I knew that Belhasa center is found behind it. Believing my instinct, I told the driver to stop but he insisted that he has to find an exit. We were five hundred meters away from Al Wasl Hospital but we did find an exit so I shouted him to stop. He dropped me off in the deserted place. After I paid him his very excellent services he sped away.

I walked towards Al Wasl Hospital trying to find an internal road that will probably take me to Belhasa. After 35 minutes of struggle I reached Belhasa 20 minutes late.

How many more idiot taxi drivers can we find in Dubai?

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Search for Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards

Surprisingly, when I opened my e-mail messages this morning, I saw a forwarded mail from top10pinoyexpatsblog Souls with the subject: Blog Awards Sponsoreship. As I went through the rest of the pages, I was able to acknowledge that this mail came from no less than Jebee Kenji Solis whose site (http://www.jbsolis.blogspot.com/) had been linked to mine without his permission. Well, I hope he had lot of understanding when other bloggers wished to link his site and wanted to be part of his work. He has an exemplary blog that used to attract readers, including me, who wished to be inspired.

I have not met this guy in person nor I have a clear overview about him. I only have a limited idea - that he is a chemical engineer who works in Saudi Arabia and the owner of Thoughtskoto blogsite. That's all. But whoever he is, I admired his work.

Recently, he is organizing the 2008 Top 10 Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards, a search for the outstanding blogsites across Asia and the Pacific, Middle East, Europe, Canada and the US with its official site at http://pinoyblogawards.blogspot.com/.

This is the screenshot of the 2008 Top 10 Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog.

To Kenji, from the bottom of my heart, congratulations for organizing such wonderful event and may the Almighty Father shower you with more thoughts and wisdom to enable you to continue your endeavour in giving the world of blogging a life beyond blogging. Should there be something I can help with, I am very much willing.





A LAZY TUESDAY

After I posted two articles yesterday, I decided to take a nap to refresh my mind. But my flat mates very noisy plus the television volume was set to 41. I could not get a nap even if I covered my ears with my two fingers. I wished these people will vanish and seize their day in the malls so that I could have what I prayed for. But, it was not a lucky day for me. How I wish there is no National Day. How I wish National Day falls on Friday. On the other hand, part of me was thankful for the celebration because it is one way of understanding the transformation of Dubai from sand to well-developed economy. With this celebration we will come to know that the UAE for the past 37 years keeps on making its way to be an economic center not only in the region but in the whole world in general.

My desires to solicit for a good nap was never been realized. Okay fine! Better luck next time. To ease myself from the dullness of the day, I was trying to figure out how I can make a better header for my blog. Here’s what I did. Out of the cotton buds I made the following designs:



I was not convinced with my own artworks. These do not give good impressions to my readers. And I do not find better reason to use even one of these. Anyway, what I did was just one way of making a lazy day looks productive.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

UAE PRESIDENT TALKS

The following is the full text of the Statement to the Nation made by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the 37th UAE National Day:

My brothers and sisters, since the last many years, we are living a new developmental boom which transformed UAE into an international trade and financial centre with all its meanings and connotations.

This development demands from us to safeguard this position well-fortified through building a solid regulatory structure, which will respond to the changes and conform to the global standards.

The backbone of any improvement of governance, its development as well as its protection from any form of wastage or excessiveness is a mechanism to place laws under the microscope of revision and modernization until they resonate in tune with the methodological development and new administrative technologies.

Here, it is imperative to emphasise the role the private sector presently plays, as well the integrative relation between the local and federal levels in any process of legislative modernization and development.

My brothers and sisters, the environment constituted one of the clearly defined major areas in every aspect of development. The concern for environment was an expression of our pristine national vision, not just an act of following the global concern in this regard. If we have made visible achievements in this field, then the issue of environment should continue to be a central one in our concerns, a prime axis of our work and an ultimate priority among our national priorities.

The protection of environment, the preservation of the natural wealth and its biodiversity, the promotion of our country as a safe and suitable place to live, to work and to bring up our future generations; all these should remain the unchangeable objectives of any federal environmental strategy or local programme of work.

My Brothers and Sisters, The march of our federation has crossed several milestones on the plain of the social and economic development, as it has built an institutional life on strong foundations.

As we continue the process of building our nation with the same power and determination, I look forward to receiving more participation from the people in this endeavour, with all faith in the importance of building an interactive relationship between the two poles of our political existence and the social pyramid.

With this faith, I am solicitous to continue to strengthen our democratic process and to develop it until we reach the aspired level of its participatory role.

My bothers and sisters, our achievements on the domestic level wouldn't have been possible without the prudent foreign policy our country had adopted. This policy contributed in providing the essentials of success in the march of our federation braving various challenges and dangers it had to encounter.

As we continue to work in the guidance of the principles of that prudent policy, and ensure our distinctive diplomatic presence at the regional and international forums in defence of our national choices and in support of the Arab issues, we put among the priorities of this policy, the endeavour to restore our rights in the three Islands, Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa.

To regain these rights, we adopt the peaceful alternative that is based on direct negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, international arbitration or referral of the case to the International Court of Justice. We have made a pre-commitment to accept the results of such arbitration whatever they may be.

When we keep alive our hopes that Iran will respond to our peaceful endeavour respecting the good-neighbour policy and the joint historical heritage, and protecting the mutual interests of both countries, it is sorrowful to see the Iranian actions with an aim of changing the landmarks of the islands and imposing its on will on them.

I assert that betting on its arbitrary occupation of the islands, or on our loss of hope at the end of the continued demand for our proven rights be established in the islands, is a betting which will lose in the end.

As we hope that Iran will revise its stance and accept our peaceful initiatives, we also wish that the Arab and international understanding of our stance will be a helpful factor to convince Iran to sit across the negotiations table for reaching a just settlement.

Brothers and sisters, we live in a region of long-lived crises. We are well aware of the fact that we can't isolate ourselves from the hardships and challenges going on in our Arab and regional neighbourhood. Thus, our interaction with our surroundings is a tax levied on us by our regional obligations and national duty.

Based on this understanding, we paid attention to the situations in the sisterly country of Iraq. As we hope that the improvement in the relative security marks the beginning of its exit from the whirlpool of violence, which it lived for several years, we have embarked upon helping the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people in several ways.

Among the major initiatives in this regard were the cancellation of the debt Iraq had to repay to UAE and the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries as an expression of our support to the process of bringing the peace back to Iraq, ultimately helping it to regain its role and national sovereignty, and to protect its freedom and the territorial integrity and the unity of people.

With respect to the Palestinian issue, we see that that the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian and Arab lands, is a threat to the security and stability of the entire region. We also believe that the failure in finding a just solution for this issue on the basis of the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with the Holy city of Jerusalem (Al-Quds) as its capital, will leave the region as a plunder for instability and a source of threat to the regional peace. We hope from the active international parties, especially the United States of America to exert more efforts to convince Israel to abandon its hostile policies and accept legitimate international resolutions.

With regard to Lebanon, we expressed our satisfaction over the positive domestic developments, which transformed to the reconciliation among various factions to elect a new president, to form a government and to begin a series of conciliatory initiatives among the Lebanese factions. I hope that Lebanon will regain its position as a centre of radiance and an exemplary model for coexistence of various political powers and religious denominations.

With regard to Sudan, I hope that the efforts for finding a viable solution for the difficult humanitarian situation in Darfur within the framework of preserving Sudan's freedom and unity will succeed.

I also hope that the efforts to save Somalia from the vortex of violence will gain more strength.
As I hail the achievements of the international cooperation on the plain of combating terrorism and drying its springs, I also believe that these efforts should continue and improve, not only with the military and security means, but also through the work for solving explosive issues, without leaving them for the terrorist groups to exploit for their private agendas which have nothing to do with the supreme interests of the region.

Based on our responsibility we paid attention to the humanitarian situations in several parts of the world. UAE's continuously growing initiatives in the field of charitable and humanitarian works became a basic component of our foreign activities. Apart from the emergency aid we provide to alleviate the sufferings of victims of natural disasters, calamities and crises, we worked for transforming UAE's charity activities into an institutional activity with an aim of making them more effective and sustainable.

My fellow citizens, If the deeds are measured by their results, then what we have achieved over the past years since the birth of our country was historic, exceptional and visible. O the children of our country, you created these achievements, uniting and united under the flag of the UAE.

On this day, I salute the officers, non-commissioned officers of our Armed forces and the Police directorates, as well as all the other security agencies for their sincerity and dedication and sacrifice in fulfilling their duties. I reassure them of my limitless trust in them, of my endeavour to develop their abilities and modernize their material, and to guarantee comprehensive care for them and for their families.

I never forget to express my appreciation and gratitude to those who reside among us, the citizens of sisterly and the friendly countries, for the role they play and the efforts they contribute.

I pray to Allah Almighty that He may bless us for all that He loves and grant us success in pursuing the march of progress and prosperity of our country.

I wish you many happy and prosperous returns of the day.

UAE CELEBRATES 37TH NATIONAL DAY

The sky is covered with thick gray clouds. A helicopter is making a great noise up in the sky circumnavigating Dubai. The roads are very quiet. Only cars decorated with colors red, white, green and black are freely speeding. Offices are closed. UAE flag is displayed everywhere. Today is a very special day. Today marks the UAE’s 37th National Day! Congratulations UAE!
I personally extend my deepest and warmest congratulations to the UAE in celebrating their National Day. I am green with envy to this people on their dedication and on how they are showing their nationalism and love to their country. UAE stands out among the rest of the countries in the whole world in commemorating their most significant national event.

As the UAE celebrates its big day, the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan said that he is determined to expand the UAE’s democratic experiment and build a legislative structure to safeguard its position as a global business and financial centre. He urged the Emiratis to consider the outstanding development of the past 37 years as an incentive to do more. He also said that the sense of satisfaction over what the UAE has gained should not be a reason to be complacent.

Sheikh Khalifa said there was a need to introduce a legislative framework to preserve the UAE's traditions and culture. He uttered that the distinguished position the UAE attained in the world, based on its openness and the spirit of tolerance has had its price, reflected in the demographic imbalance. He called for a comprehensive vision to create a balance between the country's social and economic development. He said the UAE leadership is looking forward to expanding public participation in the political process, aimed at building strong state institutions.

Monday, December 1, 2008

The plight of real estate agents in Dubai

I was saddened by the headline of the newspapers today. I know even before that the Economy of Dubai like any other cities of the world is also at its downturn stage. Some real estate companies were issuing NoC’s to their employees and advised them to look for new job prospects. But today’s news is horrifying. The Government-owned property giant Nakheel has begun to cut 500 jobs in the real estate sector since the industry’s slowdown. I don’t expect Nakheel, the developer of man-made palm islands, in spite of its being a giant leader of real estate industry has felt the need to axe its workforce. Nakheel tops the list of big project owners in the UAE with $98 billion (Dh360.44 billion) worth of projects according to the world media Dubai, the organizer of Big 5 Exhibition. Nakheel's biggest projects include Palm Deira, the World, Dubai Waterfront and Nakheel Harbour and Tower development.

What will happen to these 500 jobless individuals? Find a new job in same field where most of the companies are on the retrenchment period? Be prepared to enter into another field of industry where they luck or no experience? Or return to their home country and start again?

Pity for those real estate agents who don’t know other jobs, their work is at risk. Pity for those real estate developers and investors, they lose their ROI. But I am not afraid that my co-Filipinos may become unwaged because I know for a fact that they are flexible and whatever new challenges ahead they will be able to cope up.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

A part of all you earn is yours to keep!

It was cold and dark when I reached home yesterday. My aunt had been ringing me up so many times as a sign that the table is ready for dinner. That was an unusual time for me to be home. I used to come home between 6:10 to 6:30 in the evening. But last night, I was not able to get a lift on time. Our carlift arrived 20 minutes late and the road was very congested. There was a car accident in the roundabout going to Deira. One Mercedes Benz hit the Ford Focus that made the latter bumped on the edge of the roundabout.
As I opened the gate my attention was caught by a strange thing lying on the ground. It was dark and the outside light was still swithched off to keep our flat unnoticed by the DM people. I was curious so I bent down to get the thing and inspected it. I was disappointed to find out that it was just a book - a thin, yellow pocket book of 300 pages to my estimate. I thought I could stumble on something significant enough. Books, magazines, pocketbooks, newspapers are daily trashes the street cleaners in Dubai complain everyday. To them, these are all unrecyclable materials that give them nothing but headaches. Not even one company in Dubai buys used papers for reuse unlike in some parts of the world where used papers are collected and processed into new materials.
But as I read the title of the book I felt a bit of curiosity. So I took it with me. After our dinner I gave a glimpse of its foreword and continued on chapter I. I did not exactly know what happened, the book cover was not that good but the contents were very interesting. It was a story about the Babylonians, the rich people in the ancient times. This book reveals the secret on how the King acquired wealth, how his money earn more and more. The only secret which he heartily followed and wanted to share to his children, to his grand and great grand children is this: A part of all you earn is yours to keep! On this principle, he elaborated that at least one-tenth of our income must be saved before anything else. One-tenth and this must be strictly followed. This must be set aside and must be used wisely so that this will earn a profit.
As I finished reading the first chapter, I examined myself. How many years have I wasted? I've been earning but did not try to save like the Babylonians. If I did apply the principle of the Babylonians as my mother told me when I was young maybe I have a fat purse now. But what else can I do? Time had passed. But it's not yet too late. Considering the condition of the world economy which is about to collapse, it must be imperative for us to exactly inculcate into our minds the teachings of the Babylonians. Save first.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Dubai – A new Home for QE2

At long last, Queen Elizabeth 2 has found a home in Dubai. The QE2 left Southampton for her final voyage on November 11, sailing past Portugal, Italy, Malta and Egypt, finally turning her bows towards Dubai. Residents gave their respect to the QE2 as she arrived on the Port Rashid and welcomed by the Vice President of the UAE and Prime Minister of Dubai, His Royal Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The Queen Elizabeth 2 History

- 1964 - A contract to build the QE2 was signed between Cunard and the John Brown Shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland.
- 1967 - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II christens the luxury ocean liner
- 1969 - The QE2 sets sail for her maiden voyage
- 1970 - The ship crosses the Atlantic Ocean in a record time of three days, 20 hours and 42 minutes
- 1975 - Her first World Cruise starts from Southampton
- 1979 - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II makes first official visit to the UAE, meeting with Shaikh Rashid, where she inaugurates new Municipality building.
- 1982 - The QE2 is requisitioned by the British Government to act as a floating hospital and troopship during the Falklands campaign
- 1990 - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first reigning monarch to sail on a commercial liner alongside passengers
- 2002 - The ship becomes the first to complete 5 million nautical miles
- 2008 - The QE2 is given a royal welcome in Dubai - her new home.

Finding a new home

To my readers, I feel sorry for what had happened to my blog in http://www.ruphestimate.i.ph/. Maybe for the meantime I have to leave it. Today onwards, http://www.ruphestimate.blogspot.com/ is now the official new home for all my posts. This is because, I have encountered a lot of problems with my operating system (vista) which is not compatible with other internet add-ons. Rest assured, I will do everything to give my best. Godspeed!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

My Point is...

The issue of the State-of-the Nation Address of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo whether it brings new hope to the Filipino people or not has suddenly dropped to the point of nowhere.

The President must be thankful to this man-made tragedy in Mindanao, where killing is normal since the beginning. Muslim versus Christian, MILF versus Philippine Army. The President is now free from the prejudiced anti-government Filipinos who are trying to discredit her. Should the President be happy with this? The WAR in Mindanao is not just a simple headache to her which can be easily cured by a piece of a pain reliever. Mindanao’s plight is a malignant cancer to the President. Her order to crash all MILF, all those terrorists, all those anti-government can’t be forcefully implemented. The enemies are brutal and suicidal. They are more powerful and posses better fighting scheme. The Philippine army can’t by all means destroy them, unless they will also annihilate the enemies’ shelter – the people, the common masses who are most affected by this war.

We, the Filipino overseas are in sympathy to the President. She must be mourning the untimely death of her army and of our innocent brothers and sisters who are killed in Mindanao. But at any rate, we are a little bit happy because the value of peso to dollar is at its surprising rate. The $1:P45.25 dollar-peso ratio gives us some reason to smile. This rate means, we can send more Peso to the Philippines - to give healthy living to our families.

It’s just my point.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Unreliable recruitment agencies in Dubai

For Filipinos who are entering Dubai through visit visa, I would like to remind you that it is not easy to get a job here. As what I’ve observed in our office alone, every time that we place advertisement in the classifieds, believe it or not, we are receiving thousands of applicants from different nationalities. This shows that there are multiples of visit visas flocking in Dubai just to search for job. I would say, for 10 applicants who are short listed and interviewed only 1 can join in the company. And what will happen to the rest who are unfortunate? Back to basic normal steps until they find a job or until they finally quit.
Being an open city, competition in Dubai is very healthy. We can see the presence of various nationalities like Filipino, Indian who has the highest number of expatriates not just in Dubai but in all Emirates, Lebanese, Syrian, Kenyan, Pakistani, Indonesian, African, Sudan and so much more competing for the same job. This scenario gives rise to, permit me to say, incompetent, unreliable and corrupt recruitment agencies. These firms have the same styles and strategies. They advertise in the newspaper as real employers giving their phone number to call for interested applicants. When the applicants attempted to call, they are attended by well-trained agents who introduce their nature of business in their most convincing manner. When the applicants are convinced they are directed to come to their office with their CV’s for review. Review for? They review the CV’s to check whether the applicants’ qualification and experiences suit (quote & quote) their (agencies) prospect employers requirement. But I tell you, believe me for God sake! All those who submitted their CV’s are all qualified. Nobody is rejected and declined. Here comes the next step. The “qualified” applicants are then asked to pay for (1) registration of $30.00; and (2) final interview fee of $30.00. The registration is non-refundable and is with official receipt. The final interview fee is refundable but without official receipt. But the good thing is you can have as many final interviews as you like. This is stupid! These agencies are stupid! How could I say this? I was once a victim of them. I, my 2 friends and a lot more had gone through with these corrupt practices of agencies. How many times did I and my 2 friends come to their offices for final interview where there were no actual interviews happening? How many phone calls did we make to follow up our applications where the agents just say “don’t call us, we will call you”? The question is, when will they call us? Next day? Next week? Next month? Or the day our 60-day visit visa expires? Watch out. Nobody from the agencies will call you after you have registered and paid. And if you asked them to return the final interview fee because you were not called for it, and because that’s the condition, they will simply say, “okay, please bring the original receipt to our office and we will refund your money”. Gotcha! Had they issue a receipt for the final interview fee?

IS DUBAI STILL A GOOD PLACE TO WORK?

Hi guys! I’ve been here in Dubai for 2 years now. Most of my friends in the Philippines are dreaming to work here in Dubai because they are thinking that Dubai will give them what they want in life. I am not discouraging you guys from coming here. It’s your choice. But let me give you some glimpse of the working environment in Dubai , its system and labor policies. Here it goes.Losing your job is never nice, but in Dubai it’s a particularly horrible experience – especially if you’re an expat.
The root of the horror is that both residency and the right to work for expats working in Dubai ’s finance industry are dependent on sponsorship by the employer. If you’re laid off, this goes up in smoke and you have 30 days to leave the country, unless a new employer takes you on.
In reality, unless your departure is particularly acrimonious, a firm will typically extend the visa for three months after your actual departure to allow your time to find another job.
With international banks shipping bankers out to the Middle East , a serious talent shortage in financial services in the region and a desperate need for expat expertise, if you’re fired it’s unlikely you’ll find yourself out of work for too long.
One way to sidestep reliance on employers is to invest in certain types of freehold property. Some people are choosing to get sponsorship through property and bypassing the employer, because it makes it easier to change jobs.
What if you lose your job and find yourself shipped out of the country 30 days later?Western nationals may return to the UAE afterwards on a visit visa, obtainable on entry, if they cannot find new employment in the country within 30 days. This is what is locally referred to as ‘the visa run’. Visit visas last for 30 days and can be renewed an indefinite number of times at present.
Job hopping is rife within the UAE financial sector, and expats have been given an extra helping hand with this by relaxed employment law.
In the past, expatriates would commonly stay for three-year assignments and then return home. Many are now choosing to move on more quickly to other positions in the region.
But you needn’t worry too much about being thrown out on your ear. If you really destined to be here, you will.

What lesson can we learn from Missouri?

Guys, have you even been to America? If yes, for sure you know that each state has a nickname. The Americans are very proud of this, and most of them happily sport the moniker on their car license plates. Many of these nicknames seem to make perfect sense. For instance, California, which is home to the gold rush of the mid-19th century, is called The Golden State. Florida, the southernmost mainland state, is called The Sunshine State.

Other states resemble natural or manmade wonders – Arizona is The Grand Canyon State, while South Dakota is Mount Rushmore State. Some are simple; you would not get a prize for knowing that New York was The Empire State. Others however, are contradictory; Wyoming is known as either The Equality State or The Cowboy State. Still more are immeasurable. Why Missouri is called The Show Me State?

If you travel to Missouri to ask this question, certainly you will met with a variety of stories about heroic local politicians and miner’s strikes, all with reference to the skeptical nature of the state’s denizens.

A Missourian, it is said, does not believe anything without proof. This maybe the reason why it has one of the highest percentage rates of smokers in the USA.

All this brings us to a more serious point. Barely a day goes by when we are not bombarded with people telling us that our planet is in trouble. Most think it’s entirely our own fault, others think it’s a natural climate cycle. But we can all agree that burning fossil fuels (oil, coal, gas, etc.) is a dirty, wasteful, expensive and negligent way to generate electricity.

All of us, that is, except for the residents of the Show Me State, who need proof. As a result, a two-horse town called Rock Port, Missouri, has become the first community in the US to be powered exclusively by wind. The “city” (another American idiosyncrasy: it has 1,300 residents) erected four wind turbines, predicted to generate 16 million kilowatt hours of power each year.

Since Rock Port only uses about 13 million kW, it’s free to sell the other three million to the state’s joint municipal utilities, and hopes to freeze power prices for the next quarter century – good news for residents and businesses, not to mention whoever pays the bill for the town’s only traffic signal. The turbines may be a blot on the landscape, but this is a state with half a McDonald’s logo in pride of place in its largest city.

Missouri has been shown. It has become a believer in sustainable, clean power from a natural resource. And if somewhere with a reputation for stubborn incredibility can be persuaded, why is it taking the rest of us so long? Missouri is teaching us.

EMBRACING NIGHTLIFE IN DUBAI

PHILIPPINES, being a democratic country, blesses its people the full freedom to live. Filipinos have all the rights. They can do whatever they want. They can eat and drink whatever they like. And if they felt they are being deceived by the President, they can call for impeachment! Remember what happened to President Estrada? To some, Filipinos are nothing but arrogant and stupid people who love freedom no matter what it takes. But for the few, Filipinos are law abiding citizens. They might neglect and ignore their national laws but when it comes to the laws of the other countries they give them their due respect.

I can still clearly recall the first day I arrived in Dubai. That was summer, way back 2006. The air-condition unit in my cousin’s room was not functioning well. I could not keep myself but to perspire. Thinking that I could bring my body temperature to normal, I went outside the house wearing only a short (pants). I used to do this when I was in the Philippines. Meanwhile, my cousin’s friend approached me. With a voice of authority, he was explaining to me that what I did was a “no-no” in this city. It was absolutely prohibited and if the police caught me I would surely end up in jail. This sounds exaggerating but this is the truth.

Dubai is one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and is one of the country’s main cities. Sometimes it’s called “Dubai City”. A Distinguished city of the Emirates, it was incorporated (from a mere town into an emirate) on December 2, 1971. Dubai is a home of 2.2M people (according to 2008 survey) from different parts of the world comprising of 42.3% Indian, 17% Emirati, 13.3% Pakistani, 9.1% Arab (other), 7.5% Bangladeshi and 10.8% others.

Dubai has a diverse and multicultural society. The city’s cultural imprint as a small, ethnically homogenous pearling community was changed with the arrival of other ethnic groups and nationals – first by the Iranians in the early 1900s, and later by the Indians and Pakistanis in the 1960s. Despite the diversity of the population, only minor and infrequent episodes of ethnic tensions, primarily between expatriates, have been reported in the city.

Because Islam is the official religion and norms of Dubai, certain laws are strictly implemented to protect and preserve its culture against its expatriates. For instance, there is a special law governing the consumption of liquor and use of cigarettes. In spite of these laws, Dubai still has its best nightlife. As a matter of fact, the New York Times listed Dubai as its travel choice for partying in 2008. Clubs and bars are open until 2:00 o’clock in the morning where you can dance, drink and smoke freely. But take note. These clubs and bars are mostly found in hotels only due to the laws on liquor. And no one below 21 year-old is allowed. Unlike in the Philippines, overnight party in parks is not permitted.

BUHAY OFW SA DUBAI

Pamilya
It’s an undeniable fact na mahirap talaga ang buhay dito sa Dubai. Kikita ka nga ng medyo malaki pero matataas naman ang mga bilihin dito. Kung hindi lang dahil sa pamilyang naiwan sa Pinas, siguro walang mgtitiyaga dito. Paano nga ba mabubuhay ang pamilyang sa‘yo lang umaasa? Saan kukuha ng pang-tuition si Junior? Saan kukuha ng pera si Inay para pambili ng NFA? Sino ang susuporta kay mister na pitong taon ng naghihirap sa kanyang ubo? Eh, ‘yung pampakasal sa girlfriend mo? Kailangan makapag-ipon para naman medyo grande ‘yung kasal.
Ang daming umaasa sa‘yo. Noon kung hindi ka nilalapitan ng mga kapatid o pinsan mo, ngayon panay ang tawag sa‘yo. Panay ang paramdam. Ang daming dahilan. Kesyo, may sakit daw ang anak. Inaatake daw ng high blood ang bayaw mo at kailangang dalhin sa hospital. Manganganak daw ang hipag mo sa susunod na buwan. Bayaran na daw ng motor na hinuhulugan ng bilas mo at walang pambayad kasi kinulang ‘yung kita sa pamamasada. Sangkatutak na reklamo. Walang katapusang problema. Ngayon ‘pag hindi mo naman pinagbigyan sasabihin sa ‘yong ang takaw-takaw mo. Nakapunta ka lang sa Dubai nakalimot kana sa amin! Ang sarap sakalin, diba? Noong nasa Pinas ka pa, may nagawa ba ang mga taong ito sa ‘yo? Pinahiram ka ba nila ng pera noong papunta ka dito? Kilala mo ba itong si pinsan mo na ngayon lang nagpakilala sa’yo? Ano ka ba, bangko?
Hay naku! Paano mo nga ba mababayaran ‘yong inutang mo sa five six makatuntong ka lang ng Dubai? Buong araw buong gabi Pilipinas ang inisip mo. Tuwing sweldo takbo ka kaagad sa bangko para lang sa Saint Philippines (read: sent to Philippines). Dahil sa Pilipinas di ka man lang nakapag-ipon. Kaya nga gustuhin mo mang magbakasyon pagkatapos ng dalawang taon, hindi pa rin pwede. Pagdating mo pa lang ng airport buong barangay na ang sasalubong sa ‘yo. Pagdating sa bahay magpi-fiesta ka pa. Ang mahal mahal pa ng bilihin sa Pinas. Tiyak na isang lingo pa lang ubos na ang baon mo. Hay, magtiis ka na lang sa lungkot. Siguro habambuhay ka na dito. Magtiis ka na lang di sila (pamilya sa Pinas) makita sa personal.
Minsan nagdu-duda ka sa Pinas. May mga time kasi na tumatawag si Inay. ‘Wag lang daw kayong mag-alala sa kanila at maayos na man daw ang buhay nila. Nakabili na daw siya ng yero para sa bubong na sinalanta ng nagdaang bagyong Frank. Eto naman kasi si Frank ang tindi ng hagupit. At si Junior ang ganda-ganda daw ng grades, palagi daw first honor. Ang kapatid ko namang babae na si Mahinhin 4th year na daw sa college at magtatapos na sa kursong Nursing. Nakakatuwang marinig ang mga balitang ganito. Kahit papaano nagamit pala sa wasto ang perang padala. Pero paano kung ang binabalita sa‘yo ay lahat kasinungalingan? Paano kung ilang taon na pala si Junior sa grade one dahil sa pagiging bulakbol? Paano kung wala palang naipundar ang pera mong pinagkatiwala sa pamilya mo? Paano kung hindi na pala makapagtapos ng college si Mahinhin dahil nabuntis na ng boyfriend niya? Diba parang walang silbi din ang pangingibang bansa mo? Napakasakit isipin lalo na pag nabalitaan mong si mister ay sumakabilang bahay na. At ang perang padala mo ay pinanggastos niya sa kumare mo at ang mga anak mo ay wala man lang makakain.
Syota
Ito naman si Girlfriend grabe kung magselos. Diba niya alam na ang lungkot dito sa Dubai? Sabi nga ng mga beterano na dito may espiritu daw na gumagala dito. At ang espitung ito ay ang espiritu ng kalungkutan. Kaya pala may reason si Gilfriend na magalit kay boyfriend. Nasapian pala ito ng masamang espiritu at nakalimot na magtext kay Girlfriend at kung magtext man “wrong send” pa. Para pala sana kay girlfriend no. 2 ‘yon. Paliwanag naman ni boyfriend, inaasawa lng niya si Girlfriend no. 2 dito. Hanggang dito lang naman daw ‘to sa Dubai. Pag-uwi daw niya sa Pinas siya naman daw ang pakakasalan. ‘Yan naman pala. Hayaan mo na lang Girlfriend no. 1 si boyfriend mo. Nalulungkot lang siya dito. Kaya lang niya inaasawa si Girlfriend no. 2 para may mag-alaga sa kanya. May tagalaba. May tagaluto. Pero paano kung gagawin din ni Girlfriend ang ginagawa ni boyfriend? Paano kung nakikipagdate na rin si Girlfriend no. 1 sa best friend ni boyfriend? Ano ang tawag nito, pasensyahan? Sino nga ba ang dapat masisisi? Si boyfriend na nasalinan lang ng masamang espiritu o si girlfriend na gusto ding makalimot kay boyfriend?
Multiple partners
Uso kaya ang tawag nito? Sabi ng asawa mo may amnesya ka na daw kasi nakalimutan mo na siya. Ang lambing-lambing mo pa daw noong bago ka pa dito. Bawat lingo ka daw tumatawag sa kanya. Pero ano nga ba ang nangyari sa’yo ngayon? Bakit ba kung tuwing tumatawag ka sa kanya palagi kang galit? Minumura mo pa siya. Sinabihan mo pa s’yang mukhang pera. Bakit mo sinabi ‘yon? Totoo nga bang may amnesya ka o dahil lang yan sa bago mong asawa dito? Normal lang na makalimutan mo ang isang taong di mo palaging nakikita at nakakausap lalung-lalo na kung may kinahihibangan ka nang iba. Mapalalaki man o mapababae kung gusto mong mag-asawa dito simpleng simple lang. Kadalasan (sana hindi lahat) pag tinatanong mo si babae o si lalaki sa marital status niya sasabihin lang sa ‘yong hiwalay na, single parent or di kaya patay na ang asawa. Eh, sino ba naman ang dapat maging partner ni widow diba si widower? Basta’t magkaintindihan lang sila kahit walang pag-ibig at manunumpang magtanaw ng responsibilidad sa bawat isa, hala bira! Ayaw mo pa makaka-save ka ng upa sa bahay. Dalawa na kayong magbayad sa upa mong AED 500/- na single bed. O di kaya aakuhin na ni lalaki ang bayad. May purpose din diba? Pero kawawa naman ang mga asawa sa Pinas. Eh, paliwanag naman ng iba, kailangan pa ba daw uuwi sa Pinas para lang umihi? Hayan na. Gusto lang palang umihi. Kaya pala halos tatlo ang asawa sa Dubai. Ang tanong sino nga ba ang original pag tatlo ang asawa mo? Tiyak na silang tatlo ang magki-claim na orginal. Kung sino ang may hawak ng marriage contract (authenticated) siya ‘yong may karapatang magsabi na original. Ito naman si lalaki para lang nagpapalit ng brief kung magpapalit ng asawa.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Babala sa mga OFW sa Dubai

Kung iniisip mo ngayon na lumipat ng trabaho saan mang parte dito sa United Arab Emirates, babala lang po, hindi ganyan ka simple ang proseso ng pagta-transfer ng visa o pag-iissue ng bagong visa at labour card.
Pero ang prosesong ito ay likas na simple at pinahihirap lang ng Public Relations Officer (PRO) sa dati at bago mong employer.
Kailangan mong mabasa at mabigyan pansin ang anumang nakasaad sa kontrata na pinirmahan mo para alam mo kung ano ang mga limitasyon sa pagkuha ng bagong employer.
Ilan sa mga nakasaad sa kontrata ang pagkawalang bisa ng iyong karapatan na lumipat sa ibang employer kung hindi pa natatapos ang dalawang taon.
Sa pagta-transfer ng visa, kailangan ng bagong employer ang pahintulot ng iyong nakaraang employer, pagkatapos makuha ang pahintulot ng Ministry of Labour. Ang residence visa ay kadalasang ini-issue sa loob ng tatlong taon, maliban sa Free Zone areas na pwedeng mai-transfer ang visa kahit anong oras. Pero, kailangan pa rin ng dating employer na mag-issue ng NOC (no objection certificate) sa bagong employer. Ang NOC ay pwedeng sinusulat sa wikang Arabic at lalagdaan ng local sponsor.
Kung ang visa mo ay hindi sa Free Zone Kailangan muna itong i-cancel bago pa man makakuha ng panibagong visa.
Kailangan mo ring lumagda sa kasulatan na nagsasaad ng ban sa loob ng anim na buwan. Ang ban na ito ay pwedeng mapawalang bisa lamang kung ang dati mong employer ay mag-issue ng NOC.
Kung ang non-free zone visa ay pinawalang bisa, ang bagong employer ay magbabayad ng fine para sa nalalabing visa kung ang nasabing visa ay hindi pa natatapos. Ang mga expats na Masters at PhD holders ay pwedeng makapagpalit ng employer kahit anong oras at kahit ilang ulit sa loob ng isang taon. Ang mga Bachelors degree holders or its equivalent ay pinapayagan lang magpalit ng bagong employer ng dalawang bisis sa loob ng dalawang taon. Ang ibang kategorya na may mababang kwalipikasyon ay pinapayagan lamang magpalit ng trabaho ng isang bisis sa loob ng kanilang employment at kailangang nakapagtapos ng tatlong taon sa kanilang kasalukuyang employer.
Kung ikaw ay may pag-aalinlangan sa mga regulasyon ng visa at nagnanais na lumipat ng trabaho, makiusap ka sa iyong PRO sa kompanyang lilipatan mo.

MY UNLUCKY DAY

Got a bad day today! My previous blogs in www.ruphestimate.i.ph encountered some technical problems. I have decided to move here in google as this is a reliable host. Anyway, in the next few days I will transfer my articles and write-ups here in this site. Hope guys, you still keep visiting my site.