Let It Snow!

It's my first day here in Dubai and up to now, I haven't adjusted yet to the four-hour time difference. My body clock is still running on Philippine time, which is 2:49am right now so I'm already feeling sleepy even though it's just 10:49pm here in Dubai.

This is a very tiring day, not just because of the jet lag, but because we've spent an hour and a half skiing. Yes, you heard that right. SKIING IN DUBAI! Who would have thought that a Middle Eastern country would have snow. Well, it's artificial snow, but still! Yeah, we were pretty excited to go down the mountain of snow, but after falling countless times, we all just wanted the session to end. We were such pathetic skiers that kids were already beating us down the slope. Waley kami sa mga batang yun. Haha!

The ski slope

Ski gear on!

"Professional" skiers

Trying to ski

Epic fail

So now, my legs and muscles are already screaming in pain. And to think this is just Day 1 of my 15-day training here in Dubai. Hay, 14 more days to go.

Goodbye Philippines...

... and hello Dubai!

Hindi yan ang hotel ko. Asa naman ako. Haha!

I'll be leaving for Dubai tomorrow and will stay there for two weeks. This would be my first time to travel abroad alone and my first time to go to a country not located in Southeast Asia. Excited na nga ako eh! Although I have to admit, I'm a bit scared because I don't know what to expect when I'm there. I'm also going to miss my family, my dog and of course, Mox. But I'm really looking forward to all the trials and triumphs that this new adventure will bring. Ajah! :)

And since I'll be out of the country until the end of the month, I decided to make a move now on my wedding preparations. And so, I will meet with one of my prospective photographers later! Wish me luck. :)

Weekend Love

This must have been one of, if not, the busiest weekend ever! So read at your own risk because this will be one LONG blog entry. Haha!

THURSDAY
Since our team follows Dubai time, our workweek ends on Thursdays. So to celebrate the weekend and Jerhmie's birthday, we went to Music Match in Ortigas Home Depot to eat, drink and sing our hearts out. Kami na ang mga addict sa videoke! This was my first time to go out with my new officemates so I was pretty excited to just relax and have fun with them.

This was my first time in almost 10 months to go out and drink with office friends. Di na nga ako sanay uminom eh. But what I missed more than the drinking itself is the camaraderie between colleagues that these office gimiks seem to inspire. I'd never thought I would experience that again, but last Thursday's videoke nightout proved me wrong. :)  

FRIDAY
Despite having only three hours of sleep and a mild hangover from last night's videoke gimik, I still went to The Wedding Library's Weddings & Debuts 2012 bridal fair at Megatrade Halls 1 to 3 to meet prospective suppliers and of course get some more fliers! :)

One thing is for sure, the bridal fair is definitely one of the biggest events that I've attended so far. It took me almost three hours to go around each and every booth. I even had a list of all the exhibitors just to check whether I passed by all of them. Ang bigat na tuloy ng bag ko sa sobrang dami ng brochures at fliers. But all in all, it was worth it because I saw a lot of different suppliers and I had a free make-up trial with Monique Cruz of Natural Glow Makeup, which was perfect because I got a date with Mox later in the evening. Nakalibreng makeup pa tuloy ako para sa date. Too bad, I didn't have a picture of my face before and after the trial. But rest assured, maganda pa rin naman ako. Hahaha!

In other news, Mox and I finally had our Valentine's date at Cafe Juanita. It's a little cafe near Kapitolyo in Pasig that serves Filipino and Japanese dishes. We ordered bagnet, buro (a vegetable dish) and garlic pepper squid. The ambience was homey and at the same time romantic, and the food was delicious, although we quickly became full after drinking too much mango shake and water because the garlic pepper squid was so spicy. It was also a bit pricey—our bill reached more than a thousand pesos for just the two of us—but overall it can still be a great dating place.

 

 

Yummy bagnet :)

Mox also gave me a flower as a gift, but I was more giddy over his usual greeting card because he finally wrote a more kilig-inducing message than his "Mahal na mahal kita beh mwah simple lang!" note that he always write. Naks, nagiging romantiko na siya. Haha!

SATURDAY
I accompanied my best friend, my fiance and some friends to watch the Liv5 concert in Trinoma. It featured five pop-punk bands from the U.S.: The Ready Set, A+ Dropouts, The Summer Set, Forever The Sickest Kids and A Rocket To The Moon. I started listening to pop punk because of my best friend's influence, but I was not familiar with all the bands that played, except for A Rocket To The Moon. Dinaig pa nga ako ng mga high school kids dun kasi mas alam pa nila ang mga kanta kesa sa akin.

A funny sidenote: We didn't have tickets for the concert so we were just standing outside the venue, trying to catch a glimpse of the bands at the big TV screen. Suddenly, an event organizer asked us if we want to go in and watch for free, so of course we agreed! Naawa siguro sa amin kasi kami lang nagtiyagang maghintay at manuod sa labas. Haha!

The concert lasted for four hours and ended at around 9pm. Then we spent almost two hours walking around Trinoma, searching for a place to eat. Because it was almost 11pm, most of the restaurants were already closing. Good thing, KFC was still open so we were still able to grab some dinner before heading home. We even took advantage of KFC's photobooth since there are only a few people left. Napuno ata namin yung buong screen nila ng mga pictures namin. Camwhore na camwhore. Haha! Too bad, we couldn't get a copy of our pictures. Booooo!

Overall, it was a great but tiring weekend. Next week, it will probably be even more tiring because Mox and I will try to squeeze in two food tasting sessions into our schedule. Excited na akong mabusog. :)

First Day Jitters

Today is my last day as an unemployed bum because starting tomorrow, I will work as a technical writer for Emerson. This is my fourth job since I've started working in 2008 but I'm still not used to the feeling of starting again at the bottom of the employment chain.

Even though I have been working for four years now, I still feel like a fresh grad whenever I'm hired to a new company. It's as if everything that I have learned as an employee disappears during my first day. There are so many what-ifs crowding my mind right now. What if I won't be able to fit in with my colleagues? What if the job is so boring that I would spend the whole day watching the clock and wishing it's time to go home? What if I won't be able to cope with the workload? What if I suck as a technical writer that my manager has no choice but to fire me? Call me paranoid, but the anxiety is killing me.

Honestly, I want this job to be my last. I'm tired of going to interviews, of the anxiety of waiting if you're hired and the disappointment if you're not. I know there is no perfect employer, but I want to find one that would give me reasons to stay with them for 10 years and more. A lot is riding on my success on this new endeavor. I am now seriously preparing for my future—saving up for our wedding and our life after that—so I definitely need all the cash and benefits that I can get from this. Haha.

I'm just worried about adjusting with the culture and the people in my new company. I guess I was traumatized by my previous job, where most of the people are almost 20 years older than me. Can you imagine how quiet it was in our office? I was lonely during my whole stay there, with only a handful of friends to talk to. It was a miracle that I stayed there for as long as I did (9 months, my shortest employment stint yet). Now I'm scared that the same thing would happen to me in my new job, that the generation gap would be too wide to bridge. The only difference now is that if ever I get fed up with my job, I wouldn't have the luxury to resign then and there, what with the impending wedding and all. So if all else fails, I guess I just have to accept it and do everything I can to be comfortable in my new environment.

Still, I hope everything would work out for the best. I know this would be difficult at first. I know that it would be awkward in my first day at work because I would still be the meek and shy new girl. But I know that I will get through it and soon, everything will fall into place. So here's to the beginning of a new chapter in my work life. It's time to face the adventures that this new endeavor will bring. Aja! :)