PhotoFriday: Gray

Part of a blueprint

An experimental e-zine, Blue Print Review, published one of my posts in their latest issue.

Doro, the editor, saw my blog through PhotoFiday.com (have recently started posting there again after a very looong time). She emailed me and said that she's interested in using 'Dubai Driving'. Extremely flattered, I immediately said 'Yes'. My nonsensical mutterings have found redemption! LOL!

A few days later, Blueprint Review Issue 12 came out.

Celebrating Philippine Indepence Day in the UAE

Once again, the UPAA-UAE celebrated the Philippine Independence Day with the Filipino community in the UAE. We gave out free Unilever and Bihon products (courtesy of members Albert and Jess) and sold the first UPAA-UAE t-shirt.

Phil Ambassador Libran Cabactulan talked about the current amnesty the government is offering and how it works and later, other performers offered their talents. From the Phil showbiz scene were Dominic Ochoa, Jaya, Arnel Iganacio and Rachel Anne Go. The St. Mary's choir lent their lovely voices to the celebrations, the Phil Dance Club performed and we, the UPAA-UAE members had Zeena (hehehe). Zeena slipped on Liwanag Iskandal's visit visa shoes again and made the crowd laugh and applaud with her misadventures.


The video is from a distance but the audio is very clear.

* Will post photo links later.

Meeting a real Himalayan Yogi master

Wednesday, I was given an assignment. A talk on meditation was being held by Bharat Thakur, a living Himalayan Yogi master whose been featured in Time Asia among other publications.

I arranged for a pictorial/interview and met up with him just before his talk. He's still young, about 40 if he guesses correctly (he said he's not sure because his parents has already left this earth when he got back from the mountains; he was taken by his master at the age of four). While waiting for him, I asked the Yoga teacher, his student of five years, if there's a protocol on addressing a yogi master. He said no, Barhat's very down to earth. A minute or so later the master came in and I found out for myself that he is exactly as his student described, very approachable and down to earth.

Went to work, interviewed him while the photographer snapped away... There were no instant revelations for me, but I did appreciate a lot of things from him -- the science that goes into his teachings, his acute business sense, his easy approach to life, his passion to promote yoga and his wide, out-of-the-box treatment to this discipline.

He's a non-conformist. He drinks and smokes occasionally, he has a Bollywood actress for a fiance, he eats meat (not pork though), and he earns a helluvalotofmoneyinUSD a year. But he's only doing what his master told him to do, to go out and teach. He wants to spread the word of yoga and he is doing so, successfully so. His services do not come cheap, but in his studios, he would like to see a steady decline in the tuition. He doesn't need the money anymore so why charge more, is his reason.

I hope I can reach that point some time in this life: not need money and give it away in one form or another. Yes, I did not experience any instant revelations, but I definitely got a lot of reminders and lessons.

Bowling pins

Recently, I've been more morbid than usual, and yes it is with Dubai driving. When I drive, I often shudder at the thought of bowling pins. People here often walk on the sides of roads carelessly, not the sidewalks mind you, the sides of the road, like being hit by a car is not even a possibility in this world. Aside from that, you'd often find them crossing the road in very risky areas and sometimes, it feels like a game of hit and miss. You try to miss the swerving car in front of you and the guy running across the road and the next guy a few feet away who's also running to the other side (Let's not talk about the people who take their sweet time crossing, or those who run but once they are two or three feet away from the curb would slow down as if they won't be hit on that lane, and causes quite an irritation because you'd have to break suddenly and risk being rear-ended by the car on your back.).

In Dubai Investment Park (DIP), especially at night, the construction workers would be roaming about, to where I don't know. They would either be sitting on the sides, on the patches of grass or walking at the sides of the roads in groups of twos or threes. It can get really dark inside DIP. My office is located in the industrial area and there's not much street lamps there -- and of course the thought of bowling pins would pop up in my mind. I've seen this quite regularly, as regularly as I stay back to get ahead of my never-ending work.

Anyway... why did I bring this up now? Because of a very sad news. Yesterday, three Filipinos were hit like bowling bowl pins by a 4x4 driven by a 19-year old Emirati in Al Ain. They just came from Church and they were hit as they were crossing the road. Story from 7Days:

Dubai - Family destroyed
Last Updated : Sunday 17 Jun, 2007

Dubai - A woman who lost her two sons and her daughter-in-law in an accident as they walked home from a church service has been admitted to a psychiatric ward of a hospital overcome with grief. The Filipina mother, Elvira de San Jose, was informed of the death of her children shortly after Thursday night’s accident in Al Ain.

She was told that her sons JR, 20, Emmanuel, 22 and his wife Sharmaine, 22, had all been fatally injured in the town after being struck by a speeding vehicle. The three were returning from mass when a 4x4 vehicle ran into them as they crossed the road. Police are investigating the speed at which the car was being driven at at the time of the collision.

The 19-year-old Emirati driver is being treated in hospital for injuries and is currently under police guard. He had only recently obtained his driving licence, sources confirmed. A friend of the Filipino family told 7DAYS: “The mother has shown some suicidal tendencies so they are currently trying to calm her down in hospital. She was heard telling the nurses on duty, 'What shall I do with my life now that my children are all gone?' She is not well at the moment.”

A woman who shared accommodation with the bereaved mother said yesterday: “They were a really nice and pleasant family. The youngest boy had only recently arrived in the country on a visit visa and was looking for jobs here. It is terrible news for everyone.” The Philippine Embassy is now ensuring that the necessary documentation is processed in order to proceed with the repatriation of the bodies, according to Libran Cabactulan, Philippine Ambassador to the UAE.

He said: “Our officers from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration have visited the mother at the hospital. We will inform the relatives in Manila through our foreign affairs department. We will likewise work on the victims' compensation following this incident.”

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Let's pray for their souls and pray too, that God gives the mom enough strength to survive this.

Photofriday: Active

Dubai traffic

Unbelievable. I left the office yesterday at quarter to 5pm. In the one hour I was driving from Dubai Investments Park to Garhoud, I saw three car accidents happen near me.

First was when I was on the roundabout from Emirates Road turning to Al Khail Road. This white car on my right was suddenly hit on the left back bumper by a car coming from Emirates road.

Second, on Al Khail road near Rashidiya, this lady in a small blue car was on the fast lane and I was behind her. I was thinking of overtaking her because she was going a bit slow for the fast lane, but I saw some signs up ahead so I decided not to overtake because I might miss my exit. A few seconds later, she was banged up against the wall, her right front bumper was dented and two other vehicles stopped in front of her.

Third, I was already near Garhoud. This Pakistani guy (I can tell because of his clothes) was trying to change to my lane, he swerved to it. But the traffic was at a stop and his position was just wrong. So I went on, bypassed the nose of his car to follow the car ahead of me because I could because there was lots of space to my left. When the traffic allowed him to move, he swerved again and overtook me. I honked and for the first time, I was able to make Sam honk loud coz he almost hit me. After my lane, he quickly changed lanes again and moved to the left. Then he saw he couldn't fit, and swerved again back into my lane. But this time, he swerved before a truck who just started moving because our line just started moving. Then wham! He was hit right smack on his right side. As I passed them, he got of his car and was going to the truck driver's door, as if it was the latter's mistake. If I had time, I would testify that it was HIS fault. It was so his fault.

Today, I left the office at 5.30pm because I had a 7.30 event. Passed two accidents -- I think in both cases, the one behind bumped the one in front. Man, what is happening to Dubai traffic? It's a good thing we're not really plagued by terrorists here, the drivers on the road are enough hazards!

As I got to Diyafa (I had to go home first to change, the event was a 'dress to impress' thingy and the VIP guest is Arabic Singer Elissa), I came upon this car with his hazard lights on. Since he looked like was about to move away, I just waited behind him. An Indian woman came out of the right passenger door and called somebody to the side. The car kept moving away, to the second lane to the left. She tried to go back to it, but the car kept moving. It was already becoming quite comical at this point. Then another Indian lady came from the sidewalk, she was motioning to whoever it was inside the car - who ignored them because the car kept moving. The second woman run to the driver's side and got in!!! In seconds, she got the car back to the side parking area. Huwwwhhhat? Who was driving the car? I was already too amazed, bewildered and surprised to actually try and look at the car as I passed it.

Man! These drivers are terrorists on the road!

FEAR

It's a mind set. Think you can do anything and you can. You will.

I've been taking wall climbing lessons, last Thursday was my second and I haven't really let go of the fear to let go. Dhyann, the instructor, keeps telling me to just push with my legs and reach up, I won't fall. Of course I won't fall, I'm safely attached to a harness. But my fingers were so tired, I'm not confident of pushing upwards if my hands are not firmly grasping a handhold, and I guess, the main reasonis, I'm simply afraid to fall.

I remember when we used to do this in Manila, I told my friends that maybe, the first we should do is fall. Because in falling, we let go of the fear -- we realized that it was actually fun to be swinging around, attached only to that harness and rope. But why, with this insight, am I still afraid? It's only the second lesson. I know I'll get over this again, as I did before.

The Battle at Kruger

Simply amazing! (if the file is not showing up, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM)

That young in the middle of a tug of war between five lions and a crocodile! But with sheer determination to live and parents who were smart enough to call the whole herd to their rescue, he got away, reportedly with very little injuries.

Things to ponder, and do

The universe is always conspiring against Sam - everytime I have her washed, the winds will bring tons of sand that night so that she will be covered the next day. See? This cyclone in Oman is one huge conspiracy against Sam. It's been said that this is the worst hurricane the region has seen in 60 years! Scary isn't it? I felt the wind forcing Sam to swerve on the roads yesterday and today.

Self improvement
I sat in on a life workshop last Saturday by Dave Crane. It was about three hours and Dave basically talked about how he helps others and he also showed us videos to emphasize his points. For instance he said, if you don't take a chance, you will never know. He said about 90% of people do not leave their jobs because they think there is nothing else for them. But how would you know if you don't take that first step out? He also said that there is always enough for everybody, if you just go out and take it. If your plans do not see fruition, the ones that you envisioned, don't call it a mistake. You don't make mistakes. It was simply a result that you did not want. Look at it and learn from it. Then you will be able to make the right steps next time to achieve what you want in life. If you were not accepted in a job, go back to them and ask why and learn from it.

He also walked us through an excecise that created "anchors" for us. Moments, places, memories that we felt good. I went back to the mountains of the Philippines: the panoramic views, the light blue sky, the evergreen mountainside and the light, cool breeze. Dave said that we should always invoke this "anchor" when we feel bad.

I remembered that back when I was in college, I had such an anchor. It was the PETA acting workshop I took that summer before I started in UPLB. Everytime things would feel scary, overwhelming or depressing, I would remember our classes, the exercises, the exposure trips, the people, our final showcase, I'd bring out pictures and I would feel "anchored" -- happy, safe, if not, at least leveled. I guess I lost that vision throughout the years. It feels good to be reminded of it. Now, I'm trying to remember other anchors, and I find, that memories I couldn't visit before are now "safe", even to be considered as "anchors". It feels good.

The law of attraction
Think you have money and it will come to you. Think you have a good job and you'll get a good job. Think that the right guy will come and he will come. That's the law of attraction. If you release positive energy, more positive energy will come to you. If you think you will be successful, you will be successful. And the same goes when you think negative energies... so let go of negative feelings and negative thoughts. Focus on the positive and achieve everything you ever wanted. This is also The Secret in the book by the same title. Your energy attract things to you.

In a way, I think this has always applied to me when it comes to money. I've always thought that money is not a problem (even when things go bad). One way or another I will have money -- either from projects I did before that were delayed in payment, or a new project will come up. And that enforcees my positive thinking that I will not have money problems for long, that, I believe, is what brought me extra money or just enough money whenever I needed it. Cos it does happen to me. Often.

But in other parts of my life, I let negativity rule. In my love life, in my relationship with some relatives, sometimes, even in my job. And making that negativity rise to the surface makes me sink into a depressive haze. I used to go to work like a zombie, cos I know there was no bigger picture and I couldn't do anything about it -- but I shouldn't have let that thought overcome me. Because it defeated my own efforts to improve the situation; I was taking steps but my attitude was making it slow and labored, till I decided enough was enough. I need change.

Life coaching
Working on a self improvement article, I spoke with Beryl Comar a life coach in Dubai who used to be a school counsellor. She has this tips for being happy:
- Have a clear vision of what you want
- Determine your values (is it money? family? career?)
- Don't spend time on things you don't value
- Find a mentor, a person who has achieved what you want in life and model your life after him/her
- Ask questions - ask CEOs or your mentor howhe/she did it, don't think you know all the answers
- Continue learning
- Be optimistic
- Be courageous - don't be afraid to be different
- Be resilient.

Suggestion
I've been listening to two podcasts I downloaded when I first got my ipod: think optimistically and think like a millionaire (mythoughtcoach.com). Well, it seems to be working. Email me why ;)

Photofriday: Reflected

Ajman reflection