March Update

So, I’m lagging again with my posts because I got busy with something – with work. Yes, I am now officially employed. I am indeed shifting to the administrative field as I find it really hard to get an IT-related job here. When I get the chance though, I’ll make a shift again.

After posting an ad, I got a few replies, mostly from people who simply want chatmates or friends and there’s one who wanted to fool me (again!) to paying some registration fees for a job in UK (take note, I got calls from him too). Don’t worry, I did not believe him right from the start. For your info, he’s very very unprofessional – the way he writes, the way he copies and pastes random data from the web to answer my questions, especially technical ones. When he’s running out of phone load, he would ask me to call him back, reasoning he’s got a bad signal and when I didn’t call, he’d call me again. He’d give me deadlines to pay for the registration fee if I was interested to get the superficially nice offer and every time I missed it, he would tell me he’d extend another more day. hehe. I ended up our exchange of emails with a “slap” reply, much like telling him that I knew all along and that I wish he’d stop his foolishness (this, because I’m afraid others were deceived or will be deceived).

Anyways, one of the response to my ad is the invitation to join the company I am working for. At least, one of them is a legitimate employer.

I am working from 9am-2pm then 5pm-8pm. That means, very less time for me to be at home and tickle my keyboard. I’ve got things to say about work but let me hold it off.  I’m just glad I’m working again after quite some time.

And oh, it’s raining in the UAE for 4 straight days now.  Somewhat like Annie’s Song (…like a storm (rain) in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean…you fill up my senses, come fill me again). And I’m so happy that it rained (the thought of UAE summer scares me) although I have to cross flooded streets, experience heavy traffic jams and find it very difficult to get a taxi.  The roads in the emirate where I am residing have no drainage (they probably thought it’s not gonna rain in the dessert).  And so, they hire people to take the water out of the road every after downpour!

so not funny joke

Husband was looking tired when he got home.  We ate dinner and then agreed that we go out & buy ube halaya for dessert.   While I was cleaning the kitchen, he went to our room.  He was lying in bed when I came in.  I asked,  “Do you want me to go and get us ube halaya? I know you’re tired…. “  He said, “Honey, I’m dying.”

Silence. 

Tears running.

erasing myself from the list

Don’t say, “I only took a little amount from you” when you don’t know how much it means to the person you’re talking to. That little amount, for all you know, is all that he’s got!

Okay, this is a shame, but i am writing this anyway. Last March 2, I wrote about recruitment agencies taking money from desperate unemployed individuals. I said, I refused to pay. I lied. The truth is, I paid. I allowed myself to be fooled. The agent did her talk well. I got deceived. I allowed myself. I was knowledgeable about the matter before I went to their office and yet, I ended up opening my wallet and handing over 50% of what was inside my wallet. Maybe, it’s how desperate I was to get a job.  Everything went so fast.

When I left the office though, I wanted to take my money back. I knew then that I was fooled. But then I was up to giving it a try. The promise was very appealing.  I chose to give them the benefit of the doubt.

The amount wasn’t so big. But I couldn’t afford to think that I let myself be fooled, that I enlisted myself to their foolish people list. And it bothered me. It wasn’t big. But I am not the person who throws his money for nothing just because it ain’t big. It wasn’t big. But it was something to me, especially now, that I don’t have a job.

I was told I’d get the job-100% and that I’d receive a call from their office in 2 days. I gave them a week. I didn’t receive any call.  So, I barged in (something like that). I came to get my money back. They did not fulfill their promise and I half-emptied my wallet for it.

I took a video of the way they do business. Alarmed, the agent called a man for help and then I was called to get inside the manager’s office. They wanted the video deleted. I demanded for my money as trade off. They wanted me to do their request first and promised to return my money after my performance of their request. I asked for the other way around. But then, I ended up doing their request first.

I deleted the video. They handed 50% of my money. I complained that they promised to give my money back-100%. A guy said, “there was no written agreement about that”. I said, “Is that how you are? Is that how you do business? You fool people? You tell lies to get what you want? because they are not written anyway?” He said, “Yes, that’s the way it is. Everyone is doing that.” I said, “No, not everyone. At least, not me!”

They bragged about how big the salary is for an IT position and that they were gonna call me for that and yet, because I acted weird, they’re not doing business with me anymore. And I said, “I am not interested in doing business with you, either!”

The guy bragged about a lot of things and then asked a Filipina staff to translate/relay everything to me and I said, “No need for translation, sir. I understood everything!”

I made my exit and was happy with what I did. At least, I was deleted from their foolish people list.

P.S.

(1) The Filipina staff said, “Ituloy mo, ang galing ng ginawa mo!” (Go on, you’re doing great!) in the middle of the fight (word). Meaning….

(2) Sshhh… Don’t tell anyone. This shames me. Don’t tell hubby. He doesn’t know I did enlist myself. He doesn’t have to know I was being brave to undo my stupidity.

things i couldn’t do for you

there are things i want so much for you, but can’t get for you.

there are dreams i want so much for you, but can’t realize for you.

if you don’t want them yourself, they will never be yours.

they remain. things. dreams. mine. for you.

a parent to his child,

a coach to his player,

a teacher to his student,

there are limits to what they can do.

jobhunting, now, a pain

I’ve been jobhunting for more than a month already. I have a few job offers but are so not tempting (not even 10% tempting). But honestly, I’m wondering if I could ever get a descent-paying job here with the crisis/es that’s going on. Of course, wondering around the street, coming inside office to office, knocking doors, handing out/sending CVs, receiving calls, returning/giving calls, meeting a few employer prospects, surfing the net, posting my CV, etc… caused me to doubt. Will I ever? Will we (jobless people) ever?

Yesterday, I had 3 appointments for a possible job acquisition.

First Appointment. I went to Dubai in the morning to find for myself what kind of job was waiting for me. I received a call from a certain Romeo (Filipino) and he told me to come without disclosing the position I was gonna be in. I came, I thought it was gonna be something good. BUT guess what? I was to become a Field Underwriter. Now, that is so flavorful. Tempting, but what is it really? Well, nothing but an Insurance Sales Agent. I’d have to walk around the streets, meet people, push myself to them, insist that they get themselves life insurances, etc. etc. etc. Earning money without borders. (^_^) How sweet is the sound of that? Earnings will solely be the commission. No basic salary. I have nothing against insurances, in fact, I have mine. But this is so not the type of job I want right now. Was asked to come back for 9 more days for training. NO, WAY!

Second & Third Appointment. In the afternoon, I went for two more appointments. Both are headhunting agencies, located very near each other. Their business? They collect your CV, pretend to read it, talk about the job you can possibly get, talk about the offer, get a thick piece of application form (they call Security Form), tell you that you are 95% hired and then collect AED100 (around USD25). If you’re not giving them the money, they are not gonna proceed with endorsing your application. And you have to give the money right there and then, but if you don’t have with you AED100, you can hand them AED50/AED40. How is that?

Ah, okay. NEVER MIND.

I damaged my boots further by walking for about an hour, hurt my feet, consumed a good amount for taxi and bus rides, for all these….

Oh, by the way, I was riding a taxi for my afternoon appointments. I had a map and the address with me. I told the driver to make a left-turn and he made a U-turn. We ended up in a wrong place. I told him, he was supposed to make a left-turn and not a U-turn. He stopped, got angry (his eyes were red in anger). He was, talking (maybe cursing), in Urdu (Pakistan language) and sign language. He made me go out and pay him AED10. I was scared of him. There was only a single lady near us (30 feet away). The rest are cars parked and cars running in maximum speed. This should make it obvious to you what I did – I kicked his ass and slammed the door! I wish. Most taxi drivers here don’t know places, you must know exactly your way or you’ll end up in misery. And most of them, are, by nature, mean (sorry to say this).

I guess what I wanted to say are:

I could feel the crises that’s happening globally. It used to be so easy finding a job. I used to believe my job experiences/skills were solid enough. Now’s a lot different. I could feel it. I am feeling it. And there are second thoughts about waiting for the right job and/or the right offer or temporarily settling for less because I hold zero clues to when this waiting will be over. And I get to talk to a lot of jobless individuals every time I come for job appointments. It was no ordinary thing in the UAE. Now, it is. It used to be a fact happening in third world countries like mine, but now….

People(most) in here can be so mean and hard. Like I said, they don’t have the word “please” in their vocab.

Headhunters can be fooling you to get an amount from you. Their main business is not that of placing you but of receiving AED100 everyday from every jobless individuals who are desperate to get a job soonest (just as they promise).

And so, my jobhunting goes on.