Decisions

i just wanna share with you a different take on the wisdom of God on crossroads that we encounter... it helped me, and it just might be of use to you too.

"The wisdom God gives is not necessarily information on how to get out of trouble but rather insight on how to learn from one's difficulties (see also Proverbs 29:15). It is not more information about how to avoid times of testing but instead a new perspective on trials. The wisdom of God begins with a genuine reverence for the Almighty (see "the fear of the Lord" in Ps. 111:10; Prov. 9:10) and a steadfast confidence that God controls all circumstances, guiding them to His good purposes (Rom. 8:28)."

Up Close and Personal

i think i got this inquisitive bone from my dad... i do not normally pass up opportunties to meet with people, either old friends or new alike. i consider every encounter a big opportunity and a privilege. i am always curious to know how God has dealt wonderfully with them, either in good or bad times. i get excited with people the way some get excited with fashion, with cars, with gadgets, with sports, with investments. i ask a lot. i learn a lot. i see precious souls within. sometimes i confuse them a lot too, or they confuse me back. then, at the end of each meeting, it's like i'm living ten new lives...

lately, i've been going to different small get togethers. each one is unique in its own. i've met so many wonderful people who has touched my life in one way or another. some i did not have a good start with, but we ended up well anyways. some were hard nuts to crack. dubai, being a melting pot of cultures, will open your eyes to different point of views and i celebrate the diversity of it all! they have different stories to tell about their lives here, about struggles, about victories, about life-changing moments and the ever-present roadblocks! i am even surprised to know that those who seemed to appear having a problem-free life, are actually a testimony of "peace in the midst of storm"!

and what struck me also are the stories of seemingly "random acts of kindess" which we often hold back because of past pains and mere laziness. it's really true that God works thru us in answering prayers of others. so do not hold back that thought of sending sms to comfort someone, or stopping and entertaining a directionally-challenged person, or simply popping up "hey how are you?" to a friend, or thinking of giving food to someone, or even saying the long-delayed "pls forgive me" to a hurt person...


i realized it's really equally blessing to go out of your comfort zones and try to start a conversation, which in the end may turn to something up close and personal...

Grass is Greener

many times, it takes another person to point us to appreciate what we already have.

i met some friends from london, who had their one week vacation here in dubai. even before we finished our dinner, i have a pretty much clear picture of how unlikable london is. not that they are discouraging me from staying in london (i do not have plans anyways), but i guess, it is just pouring their hearts out as part of their "vacation". they kept comparing london to dubai. but the thing is, they see london in a microscopic lens, and they saw dubai in a macroscopic one. so, it's not a fair judgement at all! it's not comparing apples to apples.

then last friday, i had lunch with other girlfriends. talks about work tales, and worse, work woes! i told them "i think i'm liking these kinds of lunches coz it makes me appreciate my work more" ;) of course, it is too bad that it is at their expense!

but it all led me to confirm more this ever-pervasive disease of "grass is greener on the other side of the fence". always is, and will always be... and the antidote? Read Phil 4:11-13


"11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Touch and Go

" Hold on tight'
Cause life is touch and go
It's sink and swim, But never doubt
If you're out on a limb
I'll get the call
To break your fall
I'll never leave you
Even when life
Is touch and go
Or hit and run
We'll never break
If we take it as one
I'm here to stay,
I pray you know
I'll never touch
I'll never touch and go"

so goes a famous 1980's love song... recently, i've had more than my share of encounters of people coming in and going out of my life. that's what so unique about my expatriate life experience here in dubai. the only permanent thing is change. even friends come and go (well, some just physically, coz there are a few gems i've kept until today)... jobs come and go.... opportunities come and go... men come and go...

but if you look at it at half-full glass perspective, it has made me appreciate and treasure each moment more, knowing that "life is touch and go"... and more importantly, it has made me clung to Him more and surrender to Him more, whom i can count on when "life is touch and go"...

Eureka!

It is most famously attributed to the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes; he reportedly proclaimed, "Eureka!" when he stepped into a bath and noticed that the water level rose – he suddenly understood that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged. This meant that the volume of irregular objects could be calculated with precision, a previously intractable problem. He is said to have been so eager to share his realisation that he leapt out of his bathtub and ran through the streets of Syracuse naked.

Well, i am no archimedes, but i had the same "enlightenment" when i was doing just a very ordinary thing -- writing a response letter to a friend. you see, months before this, i had in mind tons of questions that has been nagging me, and somehow putting me in that hanging scenario. i kept all these questions at bay, thinking i'd deal with it when i have the time. so while writing a letter to a friend... composing answer to his question... i just realized that i had been answering my life questions already! in an instant, a light bulb lighted up, and i pushed back my laptop, thought for a while and the big picture just snapped right into my face! it's like the whole thing fell into the right place! i immediately called mano and recalled to her my 'eureka' moment! oh, it's very liberating indeed!

there will be times in your life when answers to pressing major questions do not come in big packages. you maybe just doing the most mundane things, when God flashes the answer! just make sure you are not tooooo busy nor toooo blinded to read His words ;)

The Customer is Always Right

i've always worked in a service-oriented industry, so it is common for me to handle customer concerns, or worse, complaints. but did i tell you that customers here in the UAE is a far-cry from what i've been accustomed to in the philippines?


1. "where's the manager?" that's always the question whenever our staff encounters problematic customers. they would not deal with the lowlies, but rather only with the decision-makers. i guess this is a european influence, or maybe, they are born with this assertiveness.


2. "no Filipini, i need arabic" ok, here's when they bluntly tell you i do not like to talk to you, period! that's when our emirati employee comes in handy. and this is the time when i get frustrated with my arabic skills, although really, even if i know how to speak the language, they want someone from their own race.


3. "why before, they always allowed my son to ride here, and now no?" (yes, that broken english) this rational for insisting their kids to go to our rides even if the kid does not meet height restriction has been so infamous that we already learned the antidote: "sir, we are very strict with this safety rule given to us by the manufacturers to avoid accidents. so tell me who's the ride operator who allowed you this, and i will fire him immediately." almost all the time, they cannot point a person. really! but then, i'd give them a plus point for trying soooo hard just to let their kids into our rides :)


4. "i came all the way from oman just to get these free rides!" there's really nothing wrong with this statement, except that they are asking for redemption of free ride vouchers which are two months expired! yes, they have a talent in switching the burden on you. this is when a certain level of judgement call is needed among our managers.

just yesterday, my operations manager called for SOS. we had a very angry customer and insist on talking to his superior. i ushered him to come to my office. i let him vent out his complaints and then i stated my side, which is the same as what my manager said. he became more furious, insisting on allowing his child on a ride, breaking the height restriction rule which is a cardinal sin for us! and since he sensed i will not allow that to happen, he then accused us of inconsistent implementation of rules depending on our mood. he ended up asking for my name, to which i gladly gave my business card, and telling me that he will call the owner to complain about this. i told him "sir, it is perfectly ok as it is your right. once again i apologize for the inconvenience we have caused you. " he said to me to stop apologizing, saying that i ruined his life and his child's enjoyment, and went out of my office and he said "f**k you!"

my operations manager apologized that he had to elevate that seemingly simple concern to me. i told him that any given day i'd take in a hundred of this kind of complaint, rather than one accident just because we've given in to this safety restriction.

well, all in a day's work....

Interviews

it's that time again of the year when we line up people for interviews as part of our staffing program. in front of me are CVs of 5 shortlisted applicants--- in manila. yes, i've conducted interviews of people in manila thru internet. this is how we've been doing things for the past years.

there's much lost when you interview via conference call, even if there's webcam. the eye contact, the involuntary gestures which means a lot to an interviewer, and the curve of the lips when they smile, their attire, the sweaty palms, the train of thoughts when the line gets so choppy, etc.... so these aspects, we have to leave in the able hands of our manile agency who shortlists for us.

as i interview them, i've to up my antenna in terms of other aspects in liue of the personal connection. so i am more conscious of their wordings, their stammerings, and the consistency of their answers after numerous rewordings of the questions.

i love asking them the perennial question of "what makes you the best candidate for the position". i love the resolve, the self-salestalk, the promises which i know would be broken someday. there are times too that i learn a lot from their experience, and from the industry the've worked on. you just don't realize the valuable information the interviewer gets from all of these ;)

more often than not though, i am the one who gets lost in the interview, specially when they start telling their tales when i ask them "why would you like to come here to the UAE". i know it would always be financial reason, but the reason of their lack of finance varies from pole to pole, and that's what would usually captivate my ears! i would be drawn to stories of big families trying to make both ends meet, to candidates left to fend for their own, to hate tales of being victimized by swindlers and fraudulent agencies, etc.

my filipino boss has always been asked to get staff from other nationalities, especially when the partners know that we are having problems with our pinoy staff not finishing their contracts. but he has kept with his policy of "one filipino staff coming here, means one less needy family in our country". very noble, yet most would forget that and the other bold statements they have said during the interview, a few months after......

Loving the Long History

i brought my pair of shoes to Minutes to fix the sole. i got a look that says "hey lady, why don't you buy a new pair?". i just blankly stared back at him.... i love my shoes, even if it really looks worn and torn after years of loyal service. it's my fave shoes-- tangerine color, right 2-inch heel and it's just sooo comfy ;)


i bought a pair of jeans last 2002, and until now, it is what i wear for special ocassions... i have a purse given to me by riza's mom years back, which is now already faded and really old, but i haven't changed it since... my bible has been with me since 93 given by my bro, and i wouldn't trade it for anything newer... i've this red tops i bought in HK last 98 which until now i wear for casual ocassions...

unlike most people, when i've new things, i do not take care of it so much more than i would an old stuff. i am not very 'new' fanatic, you know the kind most people usually are when they have new bags, new shoes, new things, new phone, new gadgets, treating it like it's so fragile, so immaculate... i don't freak out when it gets dirtied. actually the more i'd want it to be dirtied, crumpled, faded... weird huh?

there's something about old stuff that endears me. i like the worn-torn look. i like the old yucky smell. i like the signs of the years weathering the storms. i like the scratches... maybe it's the long history we've had together. or maybe i'm just typically sentimental...

Alias

i started with season 3 last year-- the best season i must say! and i am hooked since then. i was so into the story revolving sydney who was back into the CIA but had severe memory loss specially of her past two years. and the first person that she saw? agent vaughn! cute ;) i learned from mano (who's the real avid alias girl) was that before season 2 ended, their love story really blossomed, but as usual, it went ka-poof! and that's why there is season 3 to keep all of us glued to the boobtube. the not-so-cute part is --- he is now married--- to a CIA officer! hmmm... very interesting twist and really keeps you at the edge of your seat..

so i watched season 3 almost non-stop (of course i gotta go to work as a break, hehe). it is about that love triagle, mysteries, espionage at its best and so much more in between. it is a well written plot and well written screenplay. i even borrow some of the lines which i use whenever it suits the situation (oh, yes, even during our ManCom sessions). it taught me also how to do the delegation thing, the interrogation sequences and most importantly, the separation of professional from personal life. tough! and after that, i of course moved on to season 1 and 2 (mixed up sequence? haha), and now i'm into the last part of season 4...

i like sydney's being the master of disguises. she's so cool in so many of the personas she's done. she has been a nerd, a nurse, a teacher, a bimbo, an argentinian, an american, european, etc. and speaking various languages! cool! and the coolest part is her fighting skills. i love jen!

i love the other characters as well-- they seemed to be cut to a T! jack bristow, the ever irritating arvin sloane, and another of my fave, nadia, sydney's sister. she's also great and really gorgeous to boot!

each charater has its own flavor and kick, especially the antagonists. oh, you'll really abhor them, and even dream about them!

so, when evenings allow me 2 hours of tv watching-- i go for my Alias dose! watch it and see what i'm talking about!