Last night, I got a chance to talk to one of my closest friend here in Dubai, Boy. It’s been quite sometime since we had this kind of conversation. The last one I remember was last year before he flew back to Manila for his annual vacation. Anyways, talking to Boy is really something that I miss of him. He is truly a gifted conversationalist, particularly of note is his cunning way of making dull subjects and senseless topics come as something so enlivening, interesting, funny, dramatic and everything else in between. Last night was no exception. Aside from our personal issues, we talked about how life has been with regards to our families, friends, our jobs, our aspirations and so many other things that just popped out of our brilliant heads.
It’s been almost half year since I got back from my vacation but sad to say, it was only last night that we got to spend time together. Though barely few important events had happen in our lives in the past months, there are countless stories and intriguing insights about the people and things around us that needs to be tackled. Nope, we were not just wasting time feasting on somebody else lives, we know that everything that happens in our surrounding has an implications on all of us hence they deserve to be analyzed so that we make can our own individual stand.
And so our agenda has reached as high as the sky down to the diminishing value of OFWs' salaries due to the appreciating peso. We talked about how things have changed here in Dubai, how a couple of years ago jobs have sprouted like wild mushroom and how you could get a job with a fake resume. We recalled how hard it was to find a taxi and how expensive flats / villas were. We remembered the mass exodus of Filipinos beginning in 2005 and how Dubai has literally been transformed as little Philippines in the Middle East.
We also talked about our respective jobs, how we were getting along with our everyday routines. I am already one and a half year old in my job and naturally I am beginning to feel the boredom and the insignificance of doing the same thing over. Boy has been here for more than four and when I asked him if he has any plans of looking for another company as he is very much qualified and able to fetch a position with a better pay, he said he’s still happy with was he’s doing and he’s enjoying every second of it. There were times though that he felt upset and exploited by his work load but nevertheless at the end of the day he said it’s bearable and he still got more rooms to grow in the company ( a noble man indeed!).
One thing so funny about Boy is, whenever he knows of someone of lower qualifications getting a better and overpaid job than his, he will always complain why some has to be more blessed and lucky. He would always sigh why can’t it be fair, for example, the External Auditors in their company were recruited from other country and were being paid big bucks, considering that their jobs were relatively easy and what more, they were so young and some have yet to finish their degree. There’s one more, one of his friend who just used to open billing envelopes has landed a job whose salary is three times bigger than his. I clearly understand his sentiment though I know that it was never meant. Boy is a grateful person, he is contented with what he has endowed with. It’s all for the sake of light and funny conversation.
Of course, our set of friends could never be missed in our palate of discussion. Likewise, I have not seen many of them since I got back. So a little update was made to me. Its sad to know that in this small city where you could hardly find true friends, the people who are supposed to gel with you, are now bounded by their individual choices like family, work and personal matters. Though work is really the main reason why we are here, it takes a toll on what is supposed to be the time to bond, relax and feel like you have never left home.
We could have shared more to each other but time is getting late. Boy is full of stories to tell. Nothing has changed. He seems to be unaffected by whatever good or bad things that’s going around him. Good to know. I took the taxi right from the shed where we loitered and chat. It was quarter before midnight.
It’s been almost half year since I got back from my vacation but sad to say, it was only last night that we got to spend time together. Though barely few important events had happen in our lives in the past months, there are countless stories and intriguing insights about the people and things around us that needs to be tackled. Nope, we were not just wasting time feasting on somebody else lives, we know that everything that happens in our surrounding has an implications on all of us hence they deserve to be analyzed so that we make can our own individual stand.
And so our agenda has reached as high as the sky down to the diminishing value of OFWs' salaries due to the appreciating peso. We talked about how things have changed here in Dubai, how a couple of years ago jobs have sprouted like wild mushroom and how you could get a job with a fake resume. We recalled how hard it was to find a taxi and how expensive flats / villas were. We remembered the mass exodus of Filipinos beginning in 2005 and how Dubai has literally been transformed as little Philippines in the Middle East.
We also talked about our respective jobs, how we were getting along with our everyday routines. I am already one and a half year old in my job and naturally I am beginning to feel the boredom and the insignificance of doing the same thing over. Boy has been here for more than four and when I asked him if he has any plans of looking for another company as he is very much qualified and able to fetch a position with a better pay, he said he’s still happy with was he’s doing and he’s enjoying every second of it. There were times though that he felt upset and exploited by his work load but nevertheless at the end of the day he said it’s bearable and he still got more rooms to grow in the company ( a noble man indeed!).
One thing so funny about Boy is, whenever he knows of someone of lower qualifications getting a better and overpaid job than his, he will always complain why some has to be more blessed and lucky. He would always sigh why can’t it be fair, for example, the External Auditors in their company were recruited from other country and were being paid big bucks, considering that their jobs were relatively easy and what more, they were so young and some have yet to finish their degree. There’s one more, one of his friend who just used to open billing envelopes has landed a job whose salary is three times bigger than his. I clearly understand his sentiment though I know that it was never meant. Boy is a grateful person, he is contented with what he has endowed with. It’s all for the sake of light and funny conversation.
Of course, our set of friends could never be missed in our palate of discussion. Likewise, I have not seen many of them since I got back. So a little update was made to me. Its sad to know that in this small city where you could hardly find true friends, the people who are supposed to gel with you, are now bounded by their individual choices like family, work and personal matters. Though work is really the main reason why we are here, it takes a toll on what is supposed to be the time to bond, relax and feel like you have never left home.
We could have shared more to each other but time is getting late. Boy is full of stories to tell. Nothing has changed. He seems to be unaffected by whatever good or bad things that’s going around him. Good to know. I took the taxi right from the shed where we loitered and chat. It was quarter before midnight.
i miss such a conversation with a friend.
ReplyDeletetime to set up a dinner and coffee with a good one. =)