Just recently, Manny Pacquio conquered the boxing ring again beating Miguel Cotto via a 12th round techinical knock out to become the first fighter in boxing history to win 7 world title in different weight divisions.
Just recently too, Efren Penaflorida won the hearts of the world over which won him the CNN Hero of the Year Award. However, unlike Pacman, Paqcquio's nickname, Efren's winning was not well publicized among the common Filipino masses, which is such a waste because his is a story that can inspire the littlest hero among us.
And today, we are front page here in a UAE national newspaper... why? Because of an infamous act of magnanimous level... election-related killing of almost 20+ reporters in one shooting at the south part of the Philippines. The world is saying they have not seen killing of media people of this level.
We cover the world dailies with different news... some victorious, some shameful. I just hope we do it more for the first reason...
11.25.2009
11.11.2009
Curtain Call
Still reeling from the harsh effects of recession, expats from Dubai are finding it hard to move on. Newspapers say that the economy is now improving, that more jobs will be created in the next months, that banks are now confident again to lend, etc. But all these maybe are just a spin doctor's campaign to manage the crisis. I guess, Dubai is doing its curtain call...
Every week, my prayer list always has "job-seekers". Many are long time, many are just recent. The feeling of paranoia is just so daunting that even the most stable man may find himself with emotions he is not familiar with.
Gathering from the various stories of people in the workforce like me, I can only say that truly, this recession has revealed the ugly face of consumerism/ capitalism. And what is that? The name itself says it. At the end of the day, it is money that really counts, and not the relationsips, not the human resources and not the skills. Many owners are turning into growling hungry tigers, who want the people under them to be turned into tigers as well, and threaten the people to do this, or else... The threat of "a lot of people are lining up for your post" is just so fiece, and so cold. Looking back, I think many of the employee empowerment programs were just a lie, a social blitz campaign to get all the brains it needed, just to be thrown away so easily when useless. Redundancy is such a convenient excuse for many companies.
This is the very cycle of the world that we are in that we fed ourselves with. More people spending, more jobs, more spending, more jobs... Vicious cycle. Cut it somewhere and you have recession. The good side is, we are back-to-the-basics.
There are a few laudable exemptions who have kept its corporate virtues and I really do admire them and these are the companies worth cutting paycheck for.
Every week, my prayer list always has "job-seekers". Many are long time, many are just recent. The feeling of paranoia is just so daunting that even the most stable man may find himself with emotions he is not familiar with.
Gathering from the various stories of people in the workforce like me, I can only say that truly, this recession has revealed the ugly face of consumerism/ capitalism. And what is that? The name itself says it. At the end of the day, it is money that really counts, and not the relationsips, not the human resources and not the skills. Many owners are turning into growling hungry tigers, who want the people under them to be turned into tigers as well, and threaten the people to do this, or else... The threat of "a lot of people are lining up for your post" is just so fiece, and so cold. Looking back, I think many of the employee empowerment programs were just a lie, a social blitz campaign to get all the brains it needed, just to be thrown away so easily when useless. Redundancy is such a convenient excuse for many companies.
This is the very cycle of the world that we are in that we fed ourselves with. More people spending, more jobs, more spending, more jobs... Vicious cycle. Cut it somewhere and you have recession. The good side is, we are back-to-the-basics.
There are a few laudable exemptions who have kept its corporate virtues and I really do admire them and these are the companies worth cutting paycheck for.
11.06.2009
Fujairah, Baby!
Hubby and I, with another friend couple went to this one weekend getaway that I thought was just going to be like the rest. But I was wrong! Our trip to Fujairah was one trip that will be part of my list of memorables in UAE.
I packed so quickly for this trip the night before. There was less thinking, as hubby has been brushing off his spontaneity to me so strongly! I do not know what's gonna happen. All I know was that we'd stay overnight somewhere in Fujaira, and that hubby and friend will be playing tennis, while me and friend's wife will play... you guess it right, ball girls. Hehe. We did for a couple of minutes only, because we realized that we are distracting them more than helping them.
What was so nice about it? The destination? Not only, coz it starts with the journey itself. You will know that you are leaving dubai when you already see on the road these orange sand, and some camels ;) And a few kilometers more, you will get into this place where lots of carpets are sold. A pit stop. After that, we continued with the long drive (actually, just 2 hours total) and we're now amazed by the rocky mountains that replaced the sandy views!
When we got to this really nice Rotana hotel, we checked-in into a room where the balcony faces the... beach! I can hear the sound of the waves as it splashes to the shore! YOu will also know you're not in dubai anymore when there are no cranes nor construction in sight, which is really really relieving.
We had buffet dinner at the hotel restaurant and boy, was I so full at the end of the day! Selections were good and obviously this is the start of the peak season as reflected by the number of guests that evening.
The morning sun kissed my cheeks as we went down and headed to the beach as hubby did a second tennis match. He does not love tennis that much, really. I did snorkelling at the seashore and man was I impressed that I saw schools of fish at that shallow water! Later, we headed to the real snorkelling as part of the hotel perks! Great! This is my second time. We went to Snoopy Island and there, with snorkelling masks on and my flippers, I jumped onto the water and was transported into the magical world of "under the sea". I just loved looking at how these fish and other sea creatures swim around in packs or alone. I saw this rock-like fish, this beautiful blue-green huge fish, and others. I should say snorkelling is definitely one of my newest fave activities. The first time I did this at Maldives, I was just awed by the wonderful world down under.
On our way home to dubai, we did a side trip to the wadi wurayah. The trip to the destination was awesome, as we were driving thru this stony, rocky road, making my heart thump strongly at times as hubby drives across these huge rocks! However, the destination was not at all amazing. Maybe we went there when the pools are still dry. There were so many graffiti and trash. Hope guests will help in keeping it clean. The government has proclamed it as a protected area, and I hope that it will be restored soon.
Then we headed to the carpet place where lots of carpets stores line up the road. After haggling, we bought this nice long carpet for a cheap price that is now happily placed in our room ;)
After a seemingly longer trip back to dubai, as soon as we hit Dubai Bypass road, my heart sank...the adventure is over, and we are back to reality.
I packed so quickly for this trip the night before. There was less thinking, as hubby has been brushing off his spontaneity to me so strongly! I do not know what's gonna happen. All I know was that we'd stay overnight somewhere in Fujaira, and that hubby and friend will be playing tennis, while me and friend's wife will play... you guess it right, ball girls. Hehe. We did for a couple of minutes only, because we realized that we are distracting them more than helping them.
What was so nice about it? The destination? Not only, coz it starts with the journey itself. You will know that you are leaving dubai when you already see on the road these orange sand, and some camels ;) And a few kilometers more, you will get into this place where lots of carpets are sold. A pit stop. After that, we continued with the long drive (actually, just 2 hours total) and we're now amazed by the rocky mountains that replaced the sandy views!
When we got to this really nice Rotana hotel, we checked-in into a room where the balcony faces the... beach! I can hear the sound of the waves as it splashes to the shore! YOu will also know you're not in dubai anymore when there are no cranes nor construction in sight, which is really really relieving.
We had buffet dinner at the hotel restaurant and boy, was I so full at the end of the day! Selections were good and obviously this is the start of the peak season as reflected by the number of guests that evening.
The morning sun kissed my cheeks as we went down and headed to the beach as hubby did a second tennis match. He does not love tennis that much, really. I did snorkelling at the seashore and man was I impressed that I saw schools of fish at that shallow water! Later, we headed to the real snorkelling as part of the hotel perks! Great! This is my second time. We went to Snoopy Island and there, with snorkelling masks on and my flippers, I jumped onto the water and was transported into the magical world of "under the sea". I just loved looking at how these fish and other sea creatures swim around in packs or alone. I saw this rock-like fish, this beautiful blue-green huge fish, and others. I should say snorkelling is definitely one of my newest fave activities. The first time I did this at Maldives, I was just awed by the wonderful world down under.
On our way home to dubai, we did a side trip to the wadi wurayah. The trip to the destination was awesome, as we were driving thru this stony, rocky road, making my heart thump strongly at times as hubby drives across these huge rocks! However, the destination was not at all amazing. Maybe we went there when the pools are still dry. There were so many graffiti and trash. Hope guests will help in keeping it clean. The government has proclamed it as a protected area, and I hope that it will be restored soon.
Then we headed to the carpet place where lots of carpets stores line up the road. After haggling, we bought this nice long carpet for a cheap price that is now happily placed in our room ;)
After a seemingly longer trip back to dubai, as soon as we hit Dubai Bypass road, my heart sank...the adventure is over, and we are back to reality.
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