THE POWER OF NO

Companies, big or small, lay off employees in Dubai these past few months. However, our company is the complete opposite of this scenario. They are hiring more staff instead. Guaranteed that there will be enough workforce in our department, I planned a 10-day leave on May to commemorate the first year death anniversary of my dad. The operations manager said she accepted my request but I should wait for the new employees. She said I should ask the admin manager too before I book the ticket.

Today, I saw our admin manager (which is very rare) so I asked her if I can request for the leave form. The conversations are as follows:
Admin: You are requesting for a leave?
Me: Yes but it's for May.
Admin: You can't take a leave.
Me: Why not?
Admin: Because you just took a leave.
Me: That's last year. It was an emergency leave. 14 days. I haven't fully consumed any annual leave.
Admin: No. I don't think you can take your leave.
Me: Uhhh....
Admin: *walks away*

At first, I felt bad. I am mad. I want to scream it out. She did not even ask me as to why am I requesting it. She didn't even ask how long will it be. She never opened her heart to fully comprehend the situation yet she closed it with such a harsh answer. A NO.

In reality, it's getting on my nerves. But I can't let that happen especially this week which is already rough and stressful. So I called my best friend, the Gift of the Gap. Okay, I will try to put my situation in her shoes. Maybe it's not a good timing and she's thinking of other stuff related to our company which is more important than my leave. Maybe she's having a bad day and that's just her initial reaction. Maybe she's just kidding. Maybe.... The list is endless.
 

Two letter word. NO.
Powerful. Deep. And simple.

It's a simple word. It's very easy to comprehend. But why is that we cannot use it properly? People are using it for the wrong ideas with its essence being trashed.

When it comes to our loved ones, we always say no to their small favors very easily. Our thinking is that, they will understand me because they know me. But when it comes to other people, we cannot say no because we want to be "in" or we want to portray a different version of ourselves since they don't know us yet. Sounds familiar? The examples of wrong usage are endless. Our norm (and stupidity) of saying 'no' is infinite. The ideology of how it is being used is so wrong that we cannot notice its impact. Why?

We have to be reminded that we have choices. These choices are the answers to the things that we can't control...

Yes.
Yes to commitments, to dreams, to achieving goals, to success of everyone, to love, to adventure, to "YOLO", to the life ahead of us.

Maybe.
Maybe we can do something. Maybe there's another way. Maybe we can check it first. Maybe it's not the right time. Maybe there's something better.

No.
No to the things and words that hurts you, me, and other people.
No to the ideas that kills the passion, integrity, and principles of this society.
No to the toxic people and relationships that hold us back to realize that we deserve better.
No to everything that is not helping us to be a better person.
No to the wrong ways of this world.

We have a choice of what to use.
And that simple choice can change something... maybe someone's life or someone's way of living. Who knows? One day you will realize, that maybe it's time to change YOU.

MY OWN SHADES OF GREY

Whenever the word grey is brought up to the table, it's either the color or Fifty Shades of Grey. But some can comprehend that it's a different kind of thing. A thing that either makes your life miserable or makes your life confused.

What is a Grey Area? According to Wiktionary, it is a topic that is not clearly one thing or the other, that is open to interpretation. In some articles pertaining to relationships, the grey areas is where the two persons kept the other one at bay.

But the world with grey areas are not only for relationships. In the past, I kept some people at bay too. But I kept all stuff in there too. Career opportunities, friendships, family, spirituality, emotional growth, anxiety, depression. From my main prioritize in life up to how I feel about myself. I put it there. I hide it.  

It's 2016. I don't want to hide it anymore. It's time for me to overcome these stuff, one by one. Let's start with one issue that I have (or I still have)...

I am having difficulty sleeping at home (still on going yes it's been 8 months now) because of bed bugs and we all know that not sleeping properly may lead to some effects. Every article in the internet says, if you lack sleep, you intend to eat more and thus it will make you gain weight. I know that's true because I gained weight whenever I pull an all night-er session during high school days or college days.

Nowadays, I am stressed for a fact that I am not gaining weight. I am not sure if it's because of lack of sleep or maybe out of depression or maybe because of metabolism details, but I am dropping sizes.

This week was hell again. The longest time that I can sleep without waking up (or bed bugs bites) is 3 hours. The rest will be an hour and an hour and an hour. During the day, I still eat properly. I try not to worry. But over a week, I've dropped a size again. My basis is my uniform because it just fits so perfect. I would know if I gain weight or lose weight if I felt the difference. Yesterday, it was loose. I was like, maybe I am just sexy today (*pun intended) but today, it is way more loose again. Like literally loose.

My friends back in the Philippines were shocked as to how thin I was before leaving on 2014. They said I am so thin. And I know that I lose more. And friends call me the skinny one now.

As you can see, this is all new to me. You might say that I should not stress myself for a change that only happened for just a week or you can scold me and say just move out. But I know for a fact that I really lost weight for over two years. If I will weigh myself, the numbers might say I'm underweight.

No, eating more to gain weight is not as easy as it sounds. I've eaten more than my weight can imagine. So it makes me worry more. Anxiety over weight is one thing of my grey areas and there's so much more.....

AROUND THE WORLD IN GLOBAL VILLAGE

When I was in college, I worked once in a theme park in the Philippines as a summer job. It is known as Enchanted Kingdom which is located in Southern part of the metro, in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. I've been there for 2 and a half months and it's one of my happiest part-time job I have (apart from McDonald's). That experience made me love parks. Theme parks to be specific became very close to my heart.

Summer Job 2011

In Dubai, there's one theme park (fully operating) that I've always wanted to visit ever since I arrived here. It is called Global Village which is located in Dubailand. We took the public transportation by bus from Union Metro Station. One way costs 10 AED and the entrance fee costs 15 AED. We went there at exactly 4 pm and the park is open until 12 midnight.

The park consists of pavilions of different countries showcasing products and crafts from the country of origin. Replicas of famous landmarks were built and products were imported to be sold here.

Replicas of Big Ben, Leaning Tower of Pisa and Colosseum or Flavian Ampitheater

Chinese Gazebo

African Pavilion

This pavilion is my favorite and it deserves a special mention. The products are all authentic. Every craft and art and all products were new to my eyes (not that I've never seen anything like that) because you cannot find these in big malls of Dubai. The song playing in the background was an African one (that's one thing for sure) and there are people standing outside the pavilion wearing native costumes of their country.

What I love about it is that I felt their pride of their country. Here in Dubai, a lot of Africans were paid really low. They weren't treated that nice. But here, they are all happy. Their face shows their love to their origin. Being patriotic. Patriotism. Yes. Despite of all their struggles in their country, here they were, full of pride and saying, I CAME FROM AFRICA. I LOVE AFRICA. Salute to these people!

Crafts and stuff from Africans

 The second pavilion I liked is Japan's. Anime is from Japan and I am so happy to see some collection! Yes it is not complete and very limited, but still, it's so hard to find these stuff here in Dubai. I found a small stuffed toy of Chopper and it broke my heart that I didn't bought it. It's too expensive for me! LOL. #byechopper

Collectibles

You can find two Japanese friends in the farthest stall of the pavilion. One guy and one girl. I am not sure if they are a couple but they look good together. Haha. Anyway, they are offering this service where you can try wearing Yukata (Kimono is the elegant one, more expensive and traditional one with the bow at the back where Yukata is more casual) and they will take a picture of you for 10 AED. They will give you a print out of this picture. You can also add a background of Japan for 30 AED if I am not mistaken. And no, this is not the picture they took. I look so silly there.

I am able to try Yukata too! Look at the face! Mission accomplished!

Yukata, the casual style form of Kimono

Each pavilion offers short performances (groups, bands, individual) of any kind of entertainment they have. I remember the band from Iran playing a happy 'bandari' music. I saw dance performance in India's pavilion with a Punjabi group as well. A traditional dance was performed of my 'kabayan' in the pavilion of Philippines.

Syrian Performers on Main Stage

There's a small part of the park with rides for kids and adults. They have a huge Ferris Wheel called Wheel of the World for 30 AED. It doesn't move that fast unlike the others and you won't feel scared up high. The aerial view of the whole park is fantastic.

Wheel of the World

Aerial view of Global Village

It was tiring but fun. I felt like I'm a kid again. And it's a feeling that everyone would like to go back to once in a while. Though I was a little bit sad that I was not able to buy Chopper and I wasn't able to play those games with huge stuffed toys as prizes, but surely, I'm gonna come back.

So long Global Village! I'm gonna come back sooner or later!

EXTRA MILE: A SECRET RECIPE OF SUCCESS

A Syrian guy with an Indonesian wife (I guess) asked for a dummy ticket for CGK - BEY flight. What I know is that we can issue these dummy tickets as long as the original tickets are refundable. So I gathered all the information and their preference for the said tickets.

Before making any booking, I called one of my boss for his go signal about this tickets. He told me that this dummy tickets are risky and that I should not give it. I asked him why and he cannot give me a valid (and logical reason) so I kept asking him of what I should I offer instead. Then he told me, "JUST DON'T. I WILL JUST GIVE YOU SALES TODAY FOR YOU TO STOP."

I was like... woah! EXCUSE ME?! I told him straight away that that was so rude of him. It's totally inappropriate. The boss told me then why do I kept asking if he already said so. I told him that I was just fishing out for options of how can I help this guy. And right away I told him I don't need any information from him any more, thanked him and cut the line.

I just explained to the Syrian guy that we can't issue the tickets on that cities. But I feel so bad because I know we can. In return, I just gave him a booking reservation for free which he truly appreciates it. For him, I was so kind. For me, I am disappointed that I can't go beyond my boss' orders.

(c) myservicefirst.com

What is Customer Service? Why do people cut it back even if they know they can do it?

I've been in a customer service-oriented industry since I was 16. Been in fast food chains, theme park, call center - directory assistance, hotel, and now in the travel industry. Customer service is meeting clients' expectations. Giving them what they need. As easy as that.

However, there's a thing called 'Extra Mile'. I have learned this from my training when I was in McDonald's. It was a great strategy. People will be happy of your customer service but people will love you from your extra mile. People will never forget what you did for them. It keeps the business rolling. If employees must always remember that, I think superiors and bosses must embrace it. Because if not, there's no point of being in a Customer Service Industry.

At the end of the day, I am disappointed because what I learned throughout the years was just a failure because of a boss' orders. An underdog employee like me? What can I do anyway?

A DAY TRIP TO ABU DHABI : SHEIKH ZAYED GRAND MOSQUE

One friend of mine from Couchsurfing is in Dubai right now for his vacation with his friend. One of their plans is to visit the Grand Mosque which is in Abu Dhabi. And since I haven't been there, I asked them if they can arrange this visit on a Saturday so that I can come with them. Lo and behold, my wish is granted and after so many months, I finally got the chance to visit the Grand Mosque! 1 goal down for this year!

We took the bust E100 from Al Ghubaiba Bus Station and it took nearly 2-3 hours of travel from Bur Dubai to Abu Dhabi Bus Station. A round trip bus ticket costs 50 AED. We arrived at around 3 PM and went straight to Al Wahda Mall before heading straight to the mosque.

Before entering the mosque property lot, the security at the gate asked us to stop because my hair was not covered. I covered it with my scarf (good thing I brought it with me). Then there's a small tent as an entrance where I was asked to put the abaya as my body cover.  Wearing an abaya is one thing that I would really like to experience even once in my entire life. The Islamic culture is really interesting. Okay don't freak out. I'm not about to convert to Islam. I just appreciate it.

My friends went to their ablution and prayer while I roam around and be as a happy tourist as I can. 

I ran out of words more when I entered the main area. The beauty is overwhelming. The art itself is magnificent. This is one of my inspirations to go to Iran.

Chandeliers

Zoomed in.

From ceiling, chandelier and wall art... intricate details.

Even the pillars itself are not left unattended

I had so much fun and if I will get another chance to go back to the mosque with less crowd, I would like to go again. Happy tourist today!

PinayHakawati gets to visit the Grand Mosque in abaya. Goal achieved!

NEW YEAR, NEW ME, NEW GOALS

Happy New Year! 

It's the time of the year where everything is fresh and new! Last year might not be one of the best years of my life, but it's over. It's already in the past. So right now, I should focus on planning and claiming to be waaaay moreee HAPPY this year! And for me to maximize my time here in Dubai (Inshallah), I've decided to come up with a list of my own goals (SMART goals).

These smart goals, once achieved and accomplished, will have it's own post here in my blog. And so here it is and let me try my best to fulfill these goals before the year ends!

Travel, Sports & Adventure - UAE
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Global Village
Walking Tour - Old Dubai
Arsekal Avenue
Ferrari World
Ski Dubai
Jebel Jais
Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi
Iceland Waterpark
Motiongate Dubai (still under construction)
Oman Musandam
Practice ice skating in Dubai Ice Rink (Dubai Mall) and in Hyatt Regency
Try paddle board around Burj Al Arab
Attend one Yacht Party

Travel - outside UAE 
Hike one mountain/volcano
Visit one town outside Luzon
Travel to one Asian Country
Try Couchsurfing as a GUEST

Road to Financial Freedom
Be debt free
Create a solid emergency fund
Help our small convenience store in the Philippines to grow bigger
Buy 1 22k carat gold as an investment
Buy the gold arrow ring or a necklace with the arrow pendant
Open an account in mutual funds 

Personal Growth
Land in my dream job/company
Learn how to do make up professionally
Learn how to wear good heels

How about you? What are some of your goals for this year? Let me know and maybe I can add it to my list! Good luck to everyone!