Construction Wonders in Dubai

this is the architect's perspective of the Burj Dubai, the current tallest building in the world.

here's the vertical comparison of the skycrapers in the world

this is burj under construction, towering among all the other construction projects in dubai.

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here's another construction wonder--- Al Nakheel's The Palm-- not one, but three! Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira (biggest).

here's a closer look at one of the branches of the The Palm.

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and if Burj Dubai and The Palm are not enough, here's one more amazing project -- The World .

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Dubailand was conceptualized to be 'the' leisure and entertainment destination in the region. composed of numerous projects (some under construction, some under negotiation, some still on conceptual plans, while some are still in someone's imagination )

whew! and then there's the Metro Rail, and the underwater hotel, and the list goes on and on (just google it!)..... whatever Dubai is aiming for, one thing i admire with them is that they turn their visions into reality, amidst all the skepticisms and impossibilities.

Pure Madness

Posted last Feb 17, Gulf News

Abu Dhabi: Licence plate No 1 broke the world record as the most expensive, fetching a whopping Dh52.2 million in fierce bidding in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Saeed Al Khouri, 25, a businessman in Abu Dhabi, won the number plate after a furious contest in the final stages of the auction conducted at the Emirates Palace hotel.

He broke the record by paying more than double the previous record which went to plate No 5 that sold for Dh25.2 million and is owned by his cousin Talal Ali Mohammad Khouri, also a prominent businessman.

"The final value of the number plate auction exceeded our wildest hopes and dreams," said Abdullah Matar Al Mannaei, Managing Director of Emirates Auction, the official auctioneer for Code 5 distinguished number plate auctions, supported by the General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police.

"Today we set not just one, but two records," said Al Mannaie, adding that the auction - the sixth organised by Emirates Auction - attracted 750 participants and generated a record Dh89 million from the sale of 90 number plates.

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even if they say that the money generated will be used to establish a specialised hospital in Abu Dhabi for accident victims, i still think it is pure madness!

One Windy Day

it happenend last Feb 1. we were preparing to go to church. i saw from our room window that strong winds are gushing, fiercely bending date trees and other trees. we even heard the wind wistling thru the very small space between the window panes. but there was no rain.

still, mano and i braved the winds.

it was a long way from where we live to the church. and all throughout the trip, we witnessed how rainless typhoon can be as dangerous! sandstorm is what we call it here, as sand kept being whished thru the air, everywhere! it made the sky really grey and dim as well!

while on the freeway, i can feel the power of the wind... i recall typhoon days in the Philippines...

mano took some snapshots of this day...

Happy Anniversary Adventureland!

when i was walking up the escalator, and i heard the joyful screams of children and vibrations of the roller coaster, i knew i was close to the premises of Adventureland already! (as if i don't know! haha!) and there, the Customer Service booth greeting you, decorated with green and yellow balloons, bannering our "6th Anniversary!". oh, yeah, it's been that long!

i hear the all-too familiar noise of the game machines, the greetings of the cashiers, caught sight of the redemption booth that will definitely tantanlize any kid's appetite for toys! and the most familiar and eye-catching of all--- the roller coaster and train coaster appearing out of the facade running even above you as if saying 'hey, stop staring! come and have a ride!' what a way to give a glimpse of the thrill that's in store inside!

Adventureland is a brainchild of two great leisure and entertainment visionaries--- my bosses Glenn Figueroa (Filipino, who used to own Glico's), and Shahram Foroughi (Iranian-French). I've been working with them since... 2002! wow! and considering that my first handshake with them was for only 3 months! oh well, time flies when you're having fun! i've been into different departments -- food service, marketing, sales, business development, operations management, and now, general management. as i fondly say, i'm a jack-of-all trades, master of none! haha!

We hope to conquer dubai, abi dhabi, other GCC counties soon. This year, we will open Adventureland Morocco!

and of course, anniversaries are usually coupled with.... FOOD!!! even if we didn't have the usual buffet lunch, we still had fun just celebrating it even in a more modest way. and i love the cake too!

To our Adventureland family, past and present--- Happy Anniversary to US! Praise God for keeping us successful in this business for a long time! ;)

Flashback

it happened while i was driving to work this morning. scenes of my last year plans flashed back in my mind. normally that excites me. but now, it rubbed more strongly and painfully that many of those plans are now useless--- with the absence of my Tatay (dad). in between tears, i continued driving while my mind was busy rewinding...

last year, i planned on having a vacation in Boracay in April 08 with Nanay and Tatay, so that Tatay would be able to see the beauty of one of the most pristine beaches in the world. i'm sure he'd hesitate coz he'll think of the cost, but he'll give in to my charms. but now i am thinking of foregoing it for now...

last year, i bough a land in his home province in Quezon sold for a very cheap price, which really thrilled him! he has been talking to a lawyer for the documentation, even until 2 days before he passed away. he would have loved going to Quezon every now and then, making use of the land for coconut plantation or whatever he wished to do with it. but now i am thinking of just re-selling it...

last year, i planned on building a mini-studio for his paintings atop our garage where he could freely enjoy looking at his works of art. and yes, friends too when they pay us a visit. but now, i am thinking of revising that plan...

and the one very thing that brought me to sobbing was this:

last year, more than once did he ask Nanay when i'd finally have a BF... maybe he would already like to meet and know that someone he'd send off his daughter to; that someone who'd take care of me, instead of him....

and if the Lord wills, Tatay wouldn't be able to meet him anymore... and sadly, he will not be able to walk his only girl down the aisle... deep inside i know he's been waiting for that...


it took me a few more minutes after i parked to compose myself. by God's grace, things will be ok. i walked again to our office to face another day, trusting in Him that soon He will wipe my tears away...


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Prov 19:21 "Many plans are in a man's heart,But the counsel of the LORD will stand.

2 Cor 1:3-5 " Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."

A Sister, A Friend, A Confidante

i don't know why i am writing this now. but anyways, i do not need special reasons to, coz she herself is special enough... (naks!). i'm talking about Manoleth. to those who has been reading my blogs, maybe you are wondering who this 'mano' i refer to always.

we were dormates in college, in Yakal (UP Diliman) wayback in early 90's. but really, we were not close then. she has her own world. we only get together whenever our wing would have gimiks. we call ourselves WestWingOneGirls (WW1). we'd have a lot of group activities from sports fest, to movie nights, to dorm open house, etc. but the fact also that i am a bit (only a bit) older than her, made my circle of friend different from hers.

but things changed after college, when WW1 would always have reunions. we're a group of girls who branched out into different careers, living different kinds of interesting lives, had a bunch of love lives, some got married and some have wonderful have kids now...

last early 2005, when we had an opening in our sharjah office, i immediately thought of her since Nong, her fiance at that time (now they're happily married), was working in Oman. she said yes after a couple of thinking, and finally landed in UAE Nov 2005.

and since then, we've been inseparable. she's like the sister i've never had. she's the answer to my prayers-- i was praying at that time for another friend when Shey got married...

and for the two bonding years, she's been many personas to me:

she's a true friend-- definitely! always there, rain or shine, happy or sad, with dinero or nada dinero. also, will not tell you the things you want to hear, but the things you need to hear.

she's a confidante -- tucks in a lot of my secrets! and of couse, discourses with me when i cannot seem to make up my mind, specially about matters of the heart. she's got great sense between those ears, and has good humor when you needed one. she's not oh-too-serious, not too emotional, but does not take things very lightly as well. she's balanced, i should say.

she's my roommie -- sometimes we'd stay up late just talking and talking about anything under the sun! we'd talk about ourselves, our families, our plans, our works, etc. we do not seem to run out of topics to discuss especially now that we are involved together in many things!

she's my memory bank -- when my memory fails me (which usually happens), she's there to laugh about it first (what a friend! haha!) before she fills in the details.

she's a planner and a dreamer -- oh, we love to plan! but the good thing about her is that she's as fluid as water, as flexible as rubber -- so no hurt feelings if plans don't push thru. she just loves to write, plan, and write, and plan... we both love exploring life plans, and dream about many things...

she's a book reader --she's the person responsible for my current rave about reading. thanks mate! but the funny thing is, i'd end up finishing the books she buys, because she does not finish them at all. she said she'd like to read slowly coz she panics when she has no more book to read! wow! weird...

she's my pen-provider -- she's a pen stealer! haha! be careful with your pens, she has a weird fettish for that. good thing she has not taken any of mine, hahha! (or i just didn't notice? hmmm..)

she's my mind-reader -- finishes my sentence, and knows when i am bluffing. ugh, sometimes i hate that when she verbalizes what i am really thinking even if i've hidden it in my most non-chalant expression.

she's my travel-mate -- even if she really is lazy doing activities (believe me, sleep is equally interesting for her compared with leisure activities), she's been a great companion in qatar, germany and amsterdam... and soon, maldives!

she's my coffee-talk-mate -- oh yeah, she loves coffee!!! and the talks that comes with it. whether at hotel lobbies, at starbucks, or nescafe at home...

she's my movie-mate -- whether at the cinemas, or at home, we love watching movies. we go for the same genre such as romcoms, suspense and at some times, thinking movies. and she also introduced me to the world of TV series such as Friends, Prison Break, 24 and now Alias.

and best of all,

she's my sister -- not by human blood, but by blood of Christ! i praise God for this.

Thanks for being who you are in my life! Thanks for spicing up my stay in UAE! May God bless us with more years of friendship!

Election Blues

Kenya's disputed presidential election triggers an explosion of violence that has killed more than 275 people, including dozens burned alive as they sought refuge in a church. President Mwai Kibaki, newly inaugurated for a second term, calls for a meeting with his political opponents.

Kenya's leaders came under increasing pressure from the international community on Wednesday to end post-election violence that has resulted in the deaths of at least 250 people, including dozens who were burned alive as they sought refuge in a church. (NPR, Jan 2 2008)

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US. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, two of the Democratic Party candidates for the US presidency, have clashed in a debate before South Carolina's primary. Mr Obama accused Mrs Clinton of saying anything to get elected. On Sunday he had accused her husband Bill Clinton of making false statements about him. But Mrs Clinton said it was hard to debate with someone who never took responsibility for any vote he cast. (BBC News, Jan 22 2008) oh, and they are from the same party, huh?

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Lahore, Pakistan. Fearful of violence and deterred by confusion at polling stations, Pakistanis voted Monday in parliamentary elections that may fail to produce clear winners and could result in protracted post-election political skirmishing. A number of clashes among polling officials and voters resulted in 10 people killed and 70 wounded, according to Pakistani television channels.
Suppressed by fears of violence and vote rigging, turnout was low, which was expected to favor President Pervez Musharraf and the party that supports him, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q.

Within hours of the polls closing, however, several major defeats were reported for Musharraf's party, which some of his party workers took as a harbinger of bad news to come. Though no official results were yet announced, those parliamentary seats appeared to go instead to the Pakistan Muslim League-N, the opposition faction of the same party that supports the president's main rival, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. (International Herald Tribune, Feb
18 2008)

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the ugly heads of elections, elections... always been connected to violence, confusion, etc. unfortunately, it happens in my own country as well. oh well...

27 Dresses

here we are tortunring ourselves again... yes, we watched 27 Dresses days after valentine's, and we were surprisingly happy that we did. even a male friend, who's more of a fan of sci-fi and action flicks, did enjoy watching this chick flick.

katherine heigl's acting is very natural, and oh can she really get your sympathy without looking oh-so-pitiful. she's a refreshing version of julia roberts, sandra bullock and meg ryan-- my luminaries of the romcom genre.

and the story...i liked the twists in the plot, especially the time when george finally reciprocated her feelings--- only for her to find out from that, that he is not the one her heart beats for (dig it!). not because she found somethng bad or ugly about george. he actually remained very likable the whole story, unlike some predictable romcoms. it was just 'something'. and i like how her relationship with kevin doyle progressed. it wasn't forced nor unnatural. it can really happen ;) and i agree with her when she said that the best part of a wedding is this: when the bride walks up, all the people looks at her. but for her, she'd look at the groom and see a world of love in his eyes....

the director infuses humor in supposedly dramatic situations. it's fun without trivializing the events. and the comic timings of katherine and the other actors are good. really a feel-good movie for girlfriends (and boys alike!). and editing was good too. for me, there was no unnecessary scenes, and no unrelated scene sequencing.

and of course, the romeo (james hayden), the Commitments page reporter! honestly, he did not appeal to me at first. but when the character evolved, i ended up having another crush in the longgggg shortlisted (?) list. haha!

they ended up marrying each other, with the reporter and the subject of that infamous article "Always, always a Bridesmaid..." becoming the story/wedding of the year! and of course, she had 27 bridesmaids, wearing the 27 dresses/gows she collected! nice motiff! haha!

When the Heavens Talk...

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Sharjah: Heavy downpours in Sharjah since Monday evening have left many vehicles submerged in large puddles of water. The developing area of Al Nahada, Sharjah has been particularly affected. (Gulf News, Jan 15 2008)

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The heaviest snow in decades is continuing to cause chaos across China ahead of the busy Lunar New Year holiday, state media report. The snowstorms, which began on 10 January, are the worst for half a century and have affected nearly 80 million people across 14 provinces. Houses and agricultural land have been destroyed, leading to economic losses totalling 22.09bn yuan ($3bn, £1.5bn), the official news agency Xinhua said. (BBC News, Jan 24 2008)

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A section of Interstate 8, a highway that almost touches the Mexican border, remained closed Friday after a surprise winter storm hit Southern California. The California Highway Patrol said more than 500 cars and trucks were abandoned on the highway, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. About 300 people sheltered overnight in a casino and 100 at a fire station. (Gulf in the Media, feb 15 2008)

Formula for Love!

since it's love season, i'd share with you one thought-provoking statement Mano's hubby gave me...





one time, i was discussing with Mano if i'd behaved properly when i was talking to my crush, if my smile was ok, if what i said made sense, or if he'd talk to me again, or if he'd see me in a different light now. and you know us girls, talks like this would end up in a web of other topics, and we'd always end up not answering the basic questions.





she was online with her hubby. and i asked Mano to ask him his thought on this. he said:

"Naku, masyadong syentipik at analytical ang approach nyo. walang benepisyo dyan. basta pag pag-ibig, walang formula yan. kung ukol, bubukol." (tagalog)

"ohhh, you're approach is too scientific and analytical. there's no benefit in that. remember in love, there's no formula. if it will happen, it will happen! "





BANG!!! just a few words, compared to our 30-min talk, and i guess he pinned it down perfectly... i did not argue back after that. instead, i kept it in my heart. others consider it the X factor. i consider it the God's will factor ;)

Band of Brothers

i'm the only girl among the brood of 4. and the youngest to boot. so you can imagine how i grew up--- playing boys' games, acting like one of the guys--- until of course i became aware of my femininity in in high school.

it was not difficult for me living with them, for they never played antagonist roles in my life, even in my so called love life. i remember in high school, when i'm not yet home at 6pm and my father thinks danger beckons, he would usher all of my 3 brothers into the 3 different roads i might use going home (we live in a corner of intersecting streets), and each of them would report to him every so often.

they have their own special traits which i turn to depending on the situation. when i need someone for a deep talk, i turn to kuya andy. when i need someone to accompany me to gatherings, i turn to kuya atong. when i need someone to do errands for me, i turn to kuya raul, and so on and so forth...

i praise God for even if they had all sorts of boys' fights in the past (and it can really get physical, frequent and for the shallowest of reasons!!!), never has any of them planted any seed of anger, envy nor coldness. i saw the love-at-work when tatay passed away last january. the more i felt the importance of their uniqueness in the different roles they played during that period. i did not realize there was so much to be done when someone passes away! but with my brothers around, it was a cinch! i did not understand then, when friends tell me that i will have the real time to mourn after all these 'busyness" for the wake, burial, etc. and as usual, i loved the way they expressed their concern for each one of us, and especially to our Nanay... now, while i am away from home, they take turns taking care of her ;)

Ten Things I love about You

I know my Tatay will not hear this anymore, nevertheless, it's a good kind of emotional release to breakfree the thoughts i have in mind. So here goes the 10 things i love about you Tay:



(1) I love the way you kiss me on my forehead each time I leave the house, coupled with "Ingat (take care)"-- you never failed to do this for the past 33 years!



(2) I love the way you wake up even in the wee hours of the morning when i arrive home from any gathering, just to open the gate and guide me as i manouver the car inside the garage. never did i hear you complain even if i've awaken you from a deep sleep.



(3) I love how you indulge yourself deeply in subjects and activities you are very passionate about. i wonder where you find all the energy! i envy that, but there are times i'd find the over zealousness comical too-- i remember your deep-seated belief that everything can be cured by penicillin, then, medicol, then reflexology, then oxygen, and now, by virgin coconut oil ;)

(4) I love the way you put top priority on our education, and even on my nephew and nieces'. I'm amazed at your patience in teaching them even if you did not have to, even if you can make use of those hours for yourself. i'm sure they miss you now that exams are approaching...


(5) I love the way you leave small bits of food when we eat coz you are saving it for later, or for Nanay. few times it irritated me coz i know you will just leave it inside the fridge (and more often than not, it gets molded anyways). but i've come to accept that it is a reflection of your nature to think of others first before yourself, and i already find that sweet.


(6) I love the way you challenged me when i was figuring out the course i'd take in college. but as rebellious as i was, i did not give in to your desire that i'd be a nurse.


(7) I love the way you exemplified simple living. i owe it to you that even if there are points that we've been blessed to taste the high life, we'd always bounce back to simple, debt-free and stress-free living.


(8) I love the way you get excited about exploring new things, new places. Now i know where i got that inquisitive bone!


(9) I love the way you have instilled in my mind the paramount importance of honesty. i remembered when you spanked one of my brothers coz there was a P2.00 missing on the shelf. the means may not be justifiable, but the message definitely came across clearly.


(10) Lastly, i love the way you make me feel so young. for some reason, I seem to always appear 25 to you! i love you! ;) i just writing these makes me miss you more...

Parting Away and Reunions

isn't it ironic that we usually gather together when someone departs from this world? ....

this one event has brought me and my relatives together after quite a long time. some i've known long before, the others were mere acquaintances.


i've also seen people whom i haven't encountered for a long time, like my neighbors in sta.mesa where i spent the first 20 years of my life! it's so nice to see them again.


i also met most of my neighbors. since i am always away, i've very obscure images of them, much less their names... i guess vice versa holds true.


and then, as to my friends, even if that was not the kind of reunion i had in mind, i saw these different groups of friends i have, as far back as my elementary days, to high school, college and different companies i've worked with.

ironic as it may seem, i actually find it necessary that you see these people giving each member of our family the support we needed. they are like ministering angels, willing instruments of our merciful God. i've proven that at times of great loss, no amount of money can heal a broken soul. so invest on good relationships and friendships...