MarkLisao.com - The Online Blog

Ilonggo in the Bus

2005-01-30T10:01:00.000+04:00

It's saturday once again, the second day of my weekly long holiday. People in my shoes might find it very rewarding since I start my weekend halfday of thursday up to saturday and that's a precious 2 1/2 days of quality R&R (*Rest and Relaxation). I should have been taking photos and practice photography if the company camera have not been busted. I give this credit to some ingrate 'instance' that partook in my big pie of generosity. Resilience has still its rewards in times of difficulties and being open hearted is a requisite to being just.

Anyway, today, I went to Deira city center alone. I enjoy solitude most especially when travelling but it should have been more fun if I'm with Tsik. As usual Dubai's premier shopping destination this DSF(Dubai Shopping Festival) is packed with people of many different nationalities. Everyone shops but I did not. If all people in that place were put in the blender to make the biggest human shake(this is sick!) it would be nice to imagine what it would yield. The point to this metaphor is - diversity is so overwhemling! DSF is so tempting and if I had only more than enough disposable dow I'd must have bagged all the things my folks desire and ship it right away to Mabuhay! Land. If I trace the store I've visited since entrance that would be Magrudy's, The cool optical shop that sells Oakleys and Ray Bans, Plugins Electronics(my playground), Another Computer Shop, Jacky's (Electronic Store), Kite (another electronic store), another cool store that sells cameras and lenses. Other stores I've went to that are also part of my vested interest are: Timberland, a phat clothes store, Virgin Records(almost, I'm an mp3 pirate), Carrefour(has it all), BoorJer King, a store that sells luxury items and 6 to 8 gold and diamond shops. Almost everytime I go to City Center this is my habitual route. This is the only time that I've realized that. I pray that someday I could bring my family and Tsik and all families I owe to this great place Dubai, the land of Gold and Shawarma.

As I went home I waited for the bus for 20 mins. and when I got onboard the ambiance was too noisy. I guess I've heard some Urdu, Malayalam, Arabic, Filipino, English, Farsi, Thai and other languages people utter but what I'm happy about is there are some folks at the back of the bus speaking Ilonggo. This is the sweet language I've been yearning to hear in Dubai. Though some loud mouthed people who sound like ___ in orchestra the proud ilonggo dudes were the best of them and I was smiling in their nonsense humour. Even in Dubai the tikalons still manage to tikal which is the true trademark of the dudes at the back of the bus. They don't call them ilonggo for nothing and I'm proud to be one.

More than seven months have passed and I can say that things unmanageable can still be fixed at least. This is relative to all aspects in my life I can think of. If I were to evaluate this as good progression, yes it is and the wonderful fact about this is that I did it alone.

Chicharon is my Destiny

2005-01-13T09:27:00.000+04:00

Good news for us today since the boss who is out of the country declared that we can go home by 5 p.m. This means I'll have more time watching T.V. and do things on my leisure time. Some new channel came up just two weeks ago(Ch. 33- One T.V.) and it's like HBO and Star Movies combined and best of all it's free. Usually when the time I get home I watch Dharma and Greg and it all goes up to 9:30 P.M. of watching T.V. since I've been deprived of it for about 6 months. Another good news for me is that some Chicharon('Pork Skin') has arrived from Manila brought by my roommate. Actually me and my Tsik girlfriend both love chicharon. It goes something like if a boy and a girl have theme song me and Tsik also have our theme food which is the Mighty Chicharon. Two years ago I was hospitalized because of kidney trouble due to excessive salt and MSG, but still I eat chicharon. I always loved chicharon since high school and even more on college. I remember the days when me and my super friend Paolo used to frequently drop by the school canteen on breaktime to have a chicharon and coke break. This leads me to conclude that chicharon unites people. Chicharon rules!

Look, A Camel!

2005-01-12T10:25:00.000+04:00

I've been tryi'n photography since two weeks but hadn't that much results yet since I came up with the idea of doing programming stuff again on my new blog. I guess the cold makes me too much lazy that I don't update my blog nor finish up my new website and it ai'nt a bad excuse because like animals do, I also hibernate.

The other week, I came to heritage village to practice shooting on things, I mean taking pictures. They say that the more you shoot, the more you develop your photographic eye. I guest this suggests your eye on photography improves in a much better perspective than the usual wherein you shoot for necessity without considering the basic technicalities of optimizing your camera to take god looking pictures. Dubai is loaded with numerous subjects and places suitable for photoraphy. Natural lighting is excellent most especially near sundown since it intensifies Dubai's desert theme and it wouldn't be complete without the camel. As I have noticed, camels are also like carabaos. They execute at your command and a national icon of a country but unlike carabaos, camels thrive on dry land. If it would be possible to breed both camel and carabao that would be one of the greatest achievement in genetics ever! As expected the result would be a brown long neck carabao with fur.Cool.

Post Holiday Stuff

2005-01-03T09:34:00.000+04:00

I've never slept normally in the past few days maybe because of the cold weather I'm not used to. Though it's pretty comfortable to sleep at night since it'cold, I'm still not used to the temperature. Christmas was nice, the New Year was cool and all we did was eat and eat. I'm at my aunt's place at the New Year and it's so wonderful to spend time with my only relatives here in Dubai. Though the holidays might be not be as lively here in the Middle East, I still managed to feel at home since 'mingling' with my titos and titas would give a quite good relief during these holiday homesickness. Yes, I feel homesick sometimes but still, work and interest keeps me preoccupied that keeps me well-survived.

I blame myself on not updating this blog nor finishing up my own site since the past few days have been spent studying Digital Photography. I guess this will be my new-found interest I'm willing to invest my time because I find it very rewarding. And it's not only that. It's also encouraging to learn the art since me and my friends share the same interest and it allows me to go places here in Dubai with very good subjects. I might as well take pictures of Burj Al Arab, Madinat Jumeirah and the Hatta Desert in the future if I had the equipment. As for now, I've got some spare time during work to do almost nothing. I hope we all don't get so much burden when the boss comes.

My First Macro Shot

2004-12-27T10:41:00.000+04:00

Posted above is my 256 MB Flash Drive shot through Konika Minolta's DImage 7i 5 Mpx Semi-SLR Digital Camera. This is my first Macro Shot.

Quote of the day

2004-12-21T10:15:00.000+04:00

Contrariwise,
if it was so, it might be;
and if it were so, it would be;
but as it isn't, it ain't.
That's logic.
--Lewis Carroll

Weather You like It Or Not

2004-12-19T09:21:00.000+04:00

Since then, the tempearature here in Dubai is freezingly cold and because of this I could hardly adjust. Even in mid afternoon it's still chilling though the sun is out. Walking outside the afternoon heat even feels cold brought by the west wind and it feels so good. It's even warmer inside the malls compared outside where I can take shelter for minutes because I'm not really used to this new weather. It's my first time to experience the coming of winter outside my home country. I've thought the best thing to do during the weekends is go to the park, take a walk and go fishing but I had no one to accompany me since everyone have their own preoccupations. Though I had myself busy these days because of programming my new website, I had some portions of it finished on time that's why I had some spare time to sleep and do almost nothing. Christmas is coming already that's why I have to consider cutting costs because I have to. I just wish that If I had the money I'd return back home in the Philippines and celebrate Christmas with my family. If I've been in the Emirates Group that idea wouldn't be that vague.:(

My Credit Card Application

2004-12-15T09:16:00.000+04:00

Some people's head are hard to crack. This is my story of one rotten credit card agent who pissed me of a few months ago. Anyway, he did a little remorse. As my retaliation, I've emailed this message GulfBankers hoping it will be forwrded to the Banks's Credit Card Division. My little story goes like this:

I am an applicant of ______'s credit card in Dubai, UAE and I have this complain regarding _______'s credit card marketing division, _______ marketing in particular . Since I've called them up this September to apply for a credit card I was surprised by their swift response and their agents were calling me inhesistantly to get me as their account and they were pushing me so much on my application and one of them proudly offered to secure my bank statement on which they will take care personally, which later on didn't materialize. These people were too insisting that they would acquire my papers even office hours which is quite disturbing. Upon this, they promised a 7 working day approval of my application. A week passed by and I haven't received any response from these people and if I hadn't called them up I wouldn't have known that one of my requirements had a minor discrepancy. When I started to inquire regarding the problem, this agent HAMAD __ started to utter insulting phrases like "...YOU SHOULD HAVE USED YOUR COMMON SENSE..." and bragged that he worked before in a bank that's why I shouldn't question any technicalities of my credit card application. I found it so insulting since prefessionalism wasn't practiced here the fact that he is affiliated with a reputed institution and yet this behavior of his can be compared to an uneducated, disrespectful, ill-bred zoo animal. Because of this incident, I've decided to apply to another credit card company. I called up this guy again to return back my papers and he responded that he doesn't have a car and mentioned too many alibi and not only that he also uttered unreasonable intrusive responses.

I am writing this email so that anyone may consider forwarding this message to the one concerned from ________ to make some action regarding this abusive agent. If you tolerate this individual please consider preserving your good reputation since there might be the same individuals like me who have the same problem with your personnel who fail to speak up. I assume we are all professionals here working with proper respect and descent attitude. We belong to an educated society where business and professionalism thrives. If we pursue in keeping this state we should be vigilant against moral degradation and not keep stained image caused by some ill-bred individuals.

2004-12-14T10:13:00.000+04:00

Today, I've just made this logo for a trading company. Other logos I have are on the following link:

www.marklisao.com/files/ml_logos01.zip

Meteor Gardennnn

2004-12-13T09:22:00.000+04:00

I have just recently browsed through my old files since I found this one. It's the great picture reggie I've edited in Photoshop a few months ago. It reminds me of Meteor Garden and I call this masterpiece 'Dreamy Reggie'.

Sleep Eye Cover

2004-12-12T09:12:00.000+04:00

Under my bed I found a nice dusty sleep eye cover. Lately, since I found this nifty old stuff, my sleep just got a little better. Beside from the cold winter weather, the nice little thing I found helped me sleep since my eyes never had the chance to see even the faintest light at night and because of this all goes well till I sleep. Now, I've just realized that some things cheap saves lives like me who is an insomniac. The irony here is that some people spend millions in research and development and also as well as acquiring high technology military equipment used for modern warfare like night vision goggles, yet individuals get their lives ruined because of this. As I've realized, people should sometimes get themselves blinded from the 'unnecessary things' in life and focus instead on the simple things because some life's essential aren't brought out of complexity. As for me, the only factors I seem to feel needed in a godd night's sleep is the emptiness of mind and a good eye cover.

My Boy Scout Attitude

2004-12-09T09:49:00.000+04:00

I'm getting ready my portfolio and also as well my cv for any abrupt changes here at office. I hope it will be an easy transition if ever there is any incoming trouble in the future. Sometimes things come unanticipated and like a thief in the night that robs you of your possession or say like a catastrophie that turns things upside down. Anyway, I'm quite confident that I'll be able to make it at this point of time. If someone's going to ask me what ordeal I am into now, I'd probably answer that it is quite a long story. Life's like that. It ain't fair but I try to handle things so I don't get wasted because of others' folly.

Collecting old stuff

2004-12-05T16:29:00.000+04:00

Today, I collected my past works since I'll be needing them If someone would ask for my portfolio. It consists of my past web designs and also as well as logos i've vectorized lately. Though now I'm much into ASP and CSS scripting, my current designs in comparison to the past I've mae before are far more improved. I think adequate exposure much more in this country U.A.E wherein everything you see is a good source of design inspiration.

Yesterday afternoon, I went to IKEA - a one-stop home furnishing shop inside Deira City Center. I bought a small wooden side table so i can use it to put things so my room wouldn't be so crowded. It's my first time to buy such item knowing that I' not that interested in home furniture. I liked the item because it's made of unfurnished pine wood and it can be made compact to save space by folding it diagonally. Although it was heavy to carry from the store to home, I patiently carried it without riding a taxi but rather, I rode the bus. I didn't mind the load I carried since it was cold then and I approximately reached home around 6:30 P.M. This is just one of my days here in the U.A.E., I bought some wood and took it home by public bus. Nothing significant but this story made it to my blog. Boring.

<% Reponse.Write "I can code." %>

2004-12-01T08:35:00.000+04:00

My blogger software is almost halfway done. I had it on a CSS and XHTML template and ASP and SQL as backend. I hope it will pay off soon as I start to test online. I have this big problem on the server's system's regional settings wherein the date I acquire from my database aren't that of the same which makes my program spit out undesirable results. I'll try today to give it a fix or I may just have to overhaul date algorithms I've already made. What's good in ASP is that you can test it offline provided that you set up IIS on your local machine. Just tell IIS where your virtual folder is and you can run scripts even on my laptop which is running even on WinXP Home Edition. Thanks to Pippo Mares on his tutorial on cracking WinXp Home Edition to run IIS. This method is currently published on governmentsecurity.org. So, people having this problem read the article and give it a shot.

Weather Fever

2004-11-30T10:33:00.000+04:00

For two days I have this on-off fever during the afternoon and nighttime. I guess it's because of the changing weather. In the morning I'd bathe in chilling water but I already got used to it and also at night the temperature in Dubai Media City is damn cold coupled by gentle winds that carry along the cold chill. This is winter time in Dubai and I've already asked several people that this is just 'preliminary' temperature and it's nothing compared to the 'actual' chill in the middle of winter in January or February. I'm not really used to this temperature change since I came form a tropical country where the wheather revolves around summer and rain seasons. At night I'd open the terrace's sliding door so we can save on electricity that is without airconditioning. I thought I'll never get sick because I try to take care of my body all the time by eating right. So, I might as well bear with minor discomforts today and at least if I'm not feeling very well, my concentration is very good. I don't know the explanation for this but I've noticed that the progress of programming the backend Content Management System (CMS) of my blog is developed at a faster pace compared to the time I'm perfectly well. My advice for people who need to squeeze that extra juice from their brains and at the same time kick fever is to take 500mg of paracetamol to block the pain producing prostaglandin that irritates the sensitive nerve endings of our body which really has no proven explanation but for me it's one good placebo that motivates me.

Strolling bank street

2004-11-29T08:53:00.000+04:00

Last night while going to Bur Juman I strolled around Bank Street. Bank street it was because Citibank, Dubai National Bank, Standard Chartered and the rest stood there. Walking around that area reminds me of the day when I first set foot in Dubai and it was quite a good experience because you can really feel that you are really abroad. When I felt hungry I bought some shawarma and ate alone at the bus stop. The place was quite not busy that night and I just watched passing cars while eating. It feels lonely when you were in my shoes and I just realized that I'd be in this situation just what I've thought before in the past. I've always imagined myself before that I'd be alone in a foreign land taking my lone adventure and feeling estranged thriving with other people whom I don't know. It is supposed to be that way because it has to be and it is what I've dreamed of before. That's why when I feel lonely I just immerse myself with the things that really makes other people home sick and it's quite an irony for me because I appreciate it since it only happens to me for quite a while in my life. I'm glad I've been given a chance to be on my own and experience total independence in a foreign land.

The night ended me going home and walking opposite Bank Street and I felt the place was already cold and the lights weren't that bright. The street hadn't much pedestrians on it and I walked the clear area alone. This is just one of the days when I feel isolated and it feels so badly good.

Basta diver, sweet lover. God knows judas not pay. Barya lang po sa umaga.

2004-11-17T09:06:00.000+04:00

My boss has asked me today to get a driver's license. I have no choice but to do it. Anyway, it's nice to have a car since it's a good chance for me to roam around UAE without getting on the damn bus which smell like ___. The problem is that if I have to take the car then I have to fetch and take my officemates home which is quite a hassle because some of us live on far areas then I have to drive much more longer then take the long traffic which is very annoying and not to mention Sharjah where cars ravel like snails. I guess it's my responsibility because I'm the only one in the office who has a working Visa and capable of driving. Well, as the saying goes: "Someone has to do it." Thank God I was expecting for Jeff, my friend officemate to have his Visa considered by the boss because I'm definitely and absolutely positive that he is aa thumbs up employee in the eyes of our boss and I owe him a lot of teaching me new things in web design and development. Sometimes things should work as "give and take" without knowing because it has to be. It has not to be that we owe anyone or vice versa but rather we should act in the virtue of giving. True giving is not necessarily for the sake of self gratitude but being selfless.

Rainstorm Hailstorm

2004-11-16T09:05:00.000+04:00

It rained hard tonight and I haven't noticed that it was already pouring not just water but small bits of ice. Although I haven't seen hail before I haven't noticed that it was already ice because I've closed the terrace's door and tried to sleep early. Betchy my little girl dudette friend and Emily her sistor told me beforehand that it is pouring ice outside and I really did'nt believe them and I bet my life ice would come to desert Dubai. It was only early in the morning when I talked about Jeff about the rainstorm and he mentioned that hail hit them. Bad for me because I really wanted to see ice come out from the sky, and I missed it and I have to wait again till next year until storm comes. It was cold in the morning and since then temperature has dropped here in Dubai because its already the start of the winter season. It's my first time to experience winter in another country and I've asked everybody how's the coming winter and I'm quite excited because I'll have to wear thick clothes just like on western countries. Since the start of December I've not turned on the airconditioner obviously because its cold and even the water I use to take a bath is cold but I start to get use to it because I take a bath whatever it takes and at all cost before going to office not unlike the others who smell worse than dogs. These people should be isolate so they wouldn't pollute the office and its their damn responsibility not to smell shit.

Umm Al Quwain

2004-11-14T09:19:00.000+04:00

Satwa, Dubai. After I woke up at around 9 in the morning and it's a holiday(Eid Al Fitr-the end of the Muslim Ramadan), uncle John called me up so we could go swimming at Dreamland resort going to Ras Al Kaimah. We will meet at tita's house in AL Baraha. As usual I took a car lift, my favorite mode of transportation when I'm in a hurry. So, together with my relatives here in Dubai, on we went to Dreamland. It was an hour trip and there you culd see the bare desert, passing through Sharjah, the industrial area and an emirate of Dubai, and also Ajman where my uncle John works. It's cool travelling with all the desertland around and if I had the chance to have a serious desert Safari in dune buggy i'd do so. As we travel around near Umm Al Quwain I've noticed that the desert was somewhat like compared to the one I've seen in the movies in a Las Vegas scenery and I've also seen an abandoned cargo plane hanging beside the road retiring from its fying glory. It's like Con Air! If I haven't decided to go with my titos and titas then I'd be sleeping the whole day then. I guess trying something out you perceive as tiring might pay off at the end.

At dreamland, we took all slides and the best one is the spiral slide where you descend in a half tube structure travelling at a fast speed. I never imagined myself daring to slide because back in the Philippines I never tried being a daredevil like riding the killer rides at Laguna's Enchanted Kingdom. If I took my girlfriend with me to dreamland then she'd probably play around the whole day and slide to death at the 9 storey high water lubricated butt friction slide fearlessly. That will be her happiest day in her life because she is like Indiana Jones when it comes to killer rides. On all the slides I've tried at the park that was the only slide I never dared to slide because I know the day after I'll surely regret doing something stupid and I wouldn't want to die in Dubai for the reasonof just falling off from a stupid water slide. That's why when someone invites me to Wild Wadi with 30% off I'd definitely weigh the consequences. I'm not so adventurous when it comes to killer rides but If you compete against me on eating chili you are not match for me.

At night around 6 p.m. we went to a desert marsh to hunt for crabs land still in Umm Al Quwain. It was an isolated area and the environment can be compared to the waters in the movie "Wild Things". It's cool because you can find marsh in the middle of the desert. For the first time in my life this is the day I have set foot on murky waters with green algae and mangroves around just like in the wild and the ecosystem was so wild that you can find species of crabs, squids and fishes on the shallow waters. Me and my uncles brought water resistant flashlights and spears and moved along the waters on which floating algae was around which made my itchy and the texture of the soil I'm stepping on was so slippery because of the algae and the worse thing is that it was very dark and the only light source were the moon and the stars and the flashlights. I could never imagine of all places in the UAE I was there hunting for crabs on harsh waters with my foot already bruised because I frequently slip on algae and step on the sharp rocks beneath. But being adventurous pays off. We caught a few crabs and I never worried about sea snakes and poisonous fishes and I consider this one of the best adventures I had. Until now my legs are itchy and I'm nursing this wonderful blister on my left foot. I really love going with my relatives because when I came here in UAE they taught me how to fish and now hunt crabs and I value a lot all our outings.

Photos this day are posted at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/marklph003/album?.dir=bd38
. I should have taken more photos if my camera was only water proof. Anyway, those are the only ones I've got.

Boom boom in the Arabo hole!

2004-11-12T11:06:00.000+04:00

Last night we played counterstrike at Karama near Lamcy Center and too bad for me I wasn't in a good condition that night because of this terrible headache everytime my migraine strikes. It was a good fight 3 on 3 and my performance wasn't that acceptable compared to the previous fight we had 2 weeks ago which can be considered beginner's luck=). My companions were so equally good that each player had frags by almost the same amount. Though my frags were increasing but on the other hand, number of deaths still exceed my frags. A few practive might do me good and I'd probably excel in assault style of playing because I've noticed that my frags came from close quarter combats and I just got unlucky because all the others were damn good snipers themselves. Though counterstrike is old school, it's one good means to have commaraderie virtually but also as well in the real world. Fire in the Hole!

Why the 3D didn't crack the shell

2004-11-11T11:04:00.000+04:00

We had this unfinishd project with company dealing with Digital Satellite Receivers and it took us 2 nights of overtime to partially finish the job. Though the job is majorly handled by the 3D Animators they needed me and Jeff's help- the 2D Graphic Artists to do photo manipulation on some angles that will be covered on the advertisement. Due to the ineffective project handling our expense, I guess overshot since it's been more than 1 month of producing this advertisement and the client was so meticulous and arbitrary when it comes to judging the overall outcome of some scenes. They haven't realized that revising a scene takes mor than a hundred frames of rendering to be trashed out then it will be modelled, composited ten rendered again to get the desired scene. Rendering takes too much time and processing power that's why we bought 2 new machines on whom we assembled weeks ago to make things fast. I might suggest to our 3D Animator that he should know what really the clients wants and not insist on what he had in mind. Our Animator is skillfully good in the technical aspect of handling 3D Studio Max, Combustion and Adobe Premier. He was so good that he modelled in careful detail a satellite dish and a space satellite which looked similar to NASA's blueprints=) Yeah, literally it's true. The model was excellent, the lighting was good but the content didn't match what the client really wanted. So, the lesson for this ordeal is to give what the client wants and work practically by setting aside project contents that might be heavy ont he effort. Burning your back nor sleeping less than an hour to finish a project isn't worth it.

Web Scripts Ahoy!

2004-11-10T11:02:00.000+04:00

I'm programming the content management of my new blog site in ASP. It's such a good thing to study a few code snippets from the net because it's my only means of review thought I've made CMS in the past and a few handy small web-based applications, it's worth giving a try to refer to some what good programmer's have done lately in ASP scripting. I might as well try programmng in VB too because there's adequate spare time to lose. I'm glad my enthusiasm on programming is back after struggling with learning to design effectively and it's like a 'skill overhaul' I had but it's good because you improve yourself on the process and hone some old skills you have. My goal is to do a web application dealing with the following : A complete blogging Contentent Management System, A picture Gallery, Web-based File Explorer System, and a Forum. It will be complete in at least 2 months and I hope my time at night wouldn't be consumed by watching TV because I have to work these things out to add up to my portfolio.

My Sixth Month

2004-11-07T09:20:00.000+04:00

Today is my sixth month here in the UAE. I remembered the night when I left Davao I couldn't sleep and last night I didn't sleep too because I watched too much dvd movies. Now I realize that some things happen too fast that I might not have noticed. From a life I've grown up back home to my new life up here in Dubai, I succesfully made a glorious transition which I consider an achievement. It's fulfilling to live a life now that it has a new direction since I worked very hard to adjust, be strong and most of all be conditional to God. I've heard numerous people quit and go back home and I fully understand their condition most especially when they have a wife and children and even single people too. But now I still don't understand why my attitude of working abroad and living on your own is entirely opposite to what I had a few years back because I thought then that I wouldn't survive on a foreign land and I'll get homesick and degrade. I guess some things aren't what they are, not until you are into it then you can conclude. I don't even worry that I'll be back home a year from now. My roommate says that it's quite long because lucky him, he'll be having his 1 month vacation this december and he had already bought boxes of 'pasalubong' for his folks. I think I have been very busy working and concentrating on learning new programming languages and web design methods that's why I have this good diversion and also, arguing with stupid people back in the office which is a good exercise for me to be a fluent English speaker and writing 'cool' things about them that improves more my English grammar.

On the other hand, when if I had the chance to be a leader of a nation, definitely I'd like to be Shaik Zayed. I've read more about him today on the Internet and I give him more than 5 Stars! Try this link to know more about him http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheik_Zayed. I hope people may understand his importance not only in building the UAE but also as well as an exemplary leader.

Last night I stay awoke until morning and I just sat by our terrace and watched the sky. This is what I do every night when I have nothing to do nor if I don't fall asleep early. The outside is a nice place at night, so solemn and cold. But what I'm really after is that I don't think of anything during this time. Seeing the the vast emptiness of the open frees up my mind. When I'm already awake, I may be bothered of some things difficult that I anticipate but I just leave them fate and I guess we'll see what happens when we get there.

Newfound Blessings

2004-11-05T09:19:00.000+04:00

I went to church early this morning by 9:00. This time I took a 'carlift' and I had this Pakistani driver whom I dealt with 10 Dirhams from home to church. As we got near St. Mary's Church he asked me that he might have a problem with the police or something to do with parking and I really don't understand what he meant but I'm sure our conversation would end up me-paying more than our arranged fee. He thought that I was a gullible newbie in Dubai that's why he managed to take advantage by asking more. As usual my fool-proof instinct made me decide tha I get off the car and pay his stupid money. I got off in the middle of the street and good thing it was traffic that's why I can jump off without the car moving because I dont want to argue with some useless scum bag because of his dumbwitted talent of asking money from people with an unjustified condition.

I got to church and it was full. This time I prayed that God will facilitate and organize everything and me doing my part because I'm asking Him of something and I wanted to follow up if were still cool. Being conditional as others may perceive is not good. But when I make a deal with God 100% conditional. I always do my part when I ask something because it has to be. I've noticed that everything I have here in Dubai is more than I expected.

First, I became more independent than a stray cat and I rarely miss home and my loved ones back in the Philippines and I don't know why. I guess God wanted me to focus on more important and critical things that I should give attention. I just feel secure that my loved ones are in good condition and they are all happy but If any problem back home will arise I will surely be bothered.

Second, my sleep has improved. I'm not sure what made me better but I guess it's the less stress I experience. Stress is majorly mental-less mental stress, the more improved physical condition you have. Third, I have a god Job and a kind Boss. I really got want I what I always wanted to do and most of all I have good Filipino friends back in the office. Since in the past I wanted to design and code for the web but I'm ever willing to give up my interest because my real passion in line with practicality in order to attain long term financial security is to have a business of my own. I always take it seriously when I am given a big responsibility and I sacrifice a lot to preserve people's trust and when failure is about to be at hand I always plan for a good fallback even though I cant imagine myself going through it because proving myself is all I care and also as well for the benefit of the future.

Third, one good proof God is watching me on ccd surveillance camera is that He did'nt allow me to cook, wash and iron my clothes because He knew that I do badly on that but I'm doing my part to learn. God is really good and he sees even these small things that people may perceive as insignificant but actually it's really a big deal for me. For example, if I cook too badly I'll be feeding on Shawarma on my entire stay here in UAE because it's the only food I appreciate besides it has vegetable and meat and it's cheap. But isn't that depressing? And if I wash and iron my clothes too badly I'd dress crumpled paper going to work. But it's ok with because some people back in Media City dress even more badly and some of them look like walking curtains and it's really true.

Fourth, I'm blessed with a new home. In here I have good accomodation and the people here treat me like a part of their family. I don't cook, wash nor iron my clothes and best of all the food is absolutely great.

Holiday Bore

2004-11-04T09:18:00.000+04:00

This is the second day I haven't got work since UAE declared a national holiday for the death of Shaik Zayed for 3 days. The succeding days will be my day off so I have 4 days of continuous holiday this week. I guess the following week will be the end of Ramadan and its three days of no work again. The UAE is very strict on all companies and institutions with regards to the compliance of ceasing their activities when important events occur. As expected, the whole lazy day was spent sleeping and watching pirated dvd movies. I don't understand why I get hungry for short hourly interval when I am not doing anything. Being idle makes me lazy and it's hard to get a good jumpstart to resume normal activities when you have long weekends like today. I still havent started coding my new blogger software on which I am to install on a paid server I've got since April.

I was thinking lately if I could teach web graphics on Filipino Computer Club. Their founder asked me to participate and be part of them and I definitely accept her favor because I'd like to do something of benefit to my kababayan who are willing to learn specific topics in Information Technlogy. I went to the Philippine embassy where FCC (Filipino Computer Club) is housed and it's like more than 200 people back there in one day sitting and listening to lectures of teacher-volunteers. I was suprised by their number and if they get me to teach in front I'd probably die instantly in shame. It's like old and experienced people will be my critics but I'm ready to answer any question in my defense. Maybe next year I'd be starting to teach if there will be a slot available.

A Tribute to Shaik Zayed

2004-11-03T09:26:00.000+04:00

Today U.A.E mourns for the demise of one of its greatest leader - Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Shaikh Zayed is a great nation-builder, and the 'unifier' of Arab nations which perhaps the status of this great country wouldn't be possible because of his exemplified leadership. I may not know this great man very well but it is his leadership that I am so amazed since in a short period of time, the federation he has moulded has become to be one of the most progressive nation amidst many barriers and he is a good example in such a way that he advocated his life on the principles on whe he believed and defended throughout his life. I've read about him today and the best traits I've found out about him is his commaraderie among other Arab Nations and his openness to change and development brought by the outside world. My admiration rests on these two values since they are great factors among progressive nations which are the following: the ability to strenghten its ties among its people which is a prerequisite to national unity and the other is the ability to adapt to change brought about by the outside world. 'The only constant thing in this world is change'and I absolutely agree that the UAE has done a good job on that through Shaikh Zayed. The 'openness' of this great country to the world is manifested through its flourishing economy since multinational investors and the influx of high value investments brought the UAE more than to it's potential. In behalf of my fellow expatriates, I attribute our prosperity and almost everything we cherish in the UAE to this great leader, and also our chance to work in this nation.

It's pretty hard to imagine building a nation with only a few resources originating from an underdeveloped desert land to a flourishing greenery with its pasture in the form of rapid economic development and a well conserved environment. The status of this country's environment is such an irony to the fact that this desert nation has managed to populate its dry, rugged terrain with lush green vegetation and while on the other hand, countries blessed with natural greenery and abundant rain forests havent't managed to take good care of their rich asset and besides this, they exploit their main asset. The other issue is the fact that a modern country possessing one of the best infrastructures and investments can be be raised up from sand while others still havent manifested improvement in their pace of development despite of its rich natural resources. UAE's considered main asset is its oil but for me its the people. In my opinion, it's through manpower and effective leadership that moves this country'economy since eventhough with resources may be at hand but the lack of the ability to mould these resources into new infrastructures that facilitate growth and increased potential for future development, everything can be wasted and all things rest on the hand of its leader but it's always the people that shape up their future.

I hope this would be a moving example to my home country. I believe that my country is blessed with all the necessary resources for sustaining itself and its people. But because of these unjust structures in the society, we are left plagued with poverty, corruption and underdevelopment. Solving these problems is such a long discusssion and are probably rooted out in the past. But it's always not too late to start again. I don't mean to be too idealistic but this is the idea what every Filipino citizen might agree. They say that change is constant in this world. So why don't our government wake up and change for the better. I wouldn't rest my future's fate in the UAE if I haven't believed that this nation has in store for an expatriate like me but now i've realized that I firmly believe in the capability of this country's government and it really makes a huge mark in its difference compared to my home country's administration.

People have messaged me during the last few days how it is to live 'up here' in the UAE. I tell you it's a struggle at first because it is natural to adjust in a new country. But I tell you everyday life here is going for the better because of the fact that you learn to realize some differences between the things that you've grown up to believe and the things accustomed in here. The trick is to focus more on personal skills and acquire them by all means not for your own benefit but using it as a weapon act something good against the the weakness of others for their own benefit. Being 'self-wealthy' in terms of experience and interpersonanal, academic or technical skills is both an asset and a responsibility. I hope we all can be selfless when we return to our home country and share the blessing we have.

It is good to reflect that a leader through the cooperation of his people can build a powerful nation out of sand and it is their principles that brings them up. And what makes them hold on? - their ambition.

217.164.72.115

2004-11-02T09:59:00.000+04:00

I'm wondering today who you are. A swift email for me might do you good.

Fast Design Conclusion

2004-10-24T09:31:00.000+04:00

I finished 2 print ads today with 3 designs and I guess that's the fastest I've done since I've been working. Normally it goes like 2 to 3 printed materials in 4 days or more than a week. Now I know one good technique on designing which has been my problem the past few days that's why writing this journal has been delayed. A good initial procedure on designing is gathering first all resources relevant to the project, planning then follows. Since text content is the "meat" of a printed project, these things should be positioned first on the main layout and all other graphic enhancements shall conform and be developed upon the placement of text. I call it "content-centric" technique. The core of every design is always the message it should deliver and all elements involved in an artwork shall support this message. All the rest lies on good looking presentation which varies according to the designer's technique. All these are arbitrary if you don't have a fixed goal in approaching this method of creating artwork but all the time, strong emotional outpour or a good inspiration yields stunning visual presentations. This is my say on designing graphics. My approach might be partly wrong but I managed to solve this ordeal through this well-thought conclusion.

I'm glad today google has traced all linkages associated with my name. I've tried searching on it with the key words: "Mark Lisao" and "Mark Dubai"
and it's very fast to spit out results all relevant to my query. Google is my sisig on the internet. This search engine excels highly against its copycats but it's the only one that sizzles.

Barney The Coder

2004-10-23T09:29:00.000+04:00

I had this overtime at office today. I should have been staying home and enjoying watching dvd together with my friends here at home. I'm quite glad I'm staying with Mr. Gerry's family and after almost two months of staying in his home here in Satwa, I never felt indifferent because everyone is treating me like I'm part of the family. It's really heart-warming when someone else calls you his nephew in front of his friends even though youré not. That's geniune goodwill. My new friends here are girls. Actually they're Gerry's daughters, one is 10 years old and the other I guess 6. They treat me like their elder brother and it's nice to have new sisters younger than me and when I come home in the evening it's nice to mingle with these cool kids. Sometimes when I'm writing these posts they are playing at my bed and would ask me what I'm writing. I would then reply it's my homework. They ask too many questions and a good explanation comes always handy for these young people. Wherever I go, it seems that young people tend to get close to me and I'm also comfortable with that. If I weren't a web developer, I should have been barney or sesame street and I would greatly excel on that.

Design Conflict

2004-10-21T09:28:00.000+04:00

Cross browser scripting with css is really a headache. I am to update this blogger's template but the final one I made in Internet Explorer is a mess when viewed in Mozilla ForeFox. I guess I have to review some more site examples utilizing css. The bad thing about scripting in css is that you have to consider every browser's capability in handling it and sometimes some problems I've encountered are not reasonable enough to yield errors given you've wrote well-structured code.

Office work is drowning me today because I'm always stuck with one project that lacks resources. It's pretty hard to attain quick output especially when the job demands too much creative work. Sometimes I don't understand why it would take such a long time to finish a project which makes me feel that I'm getting old? I think the problem is when I almost finish a job I don't get satisfied and I'll redo it over and over again. It's like today I like my design and tommorrow it needs revision and so on and so forth until I start again from scratch. I really don't agree with the idea concerning tackling projects as my fellow Iranian oworker told me before that quantity is better than quality.

I came across this great saying: " The idea is the machine that makes the art." Nice thought. On my 2 years of design work beginning from the Philippines, there are only two classifications of graphic designers I may consider. One is the subjective or the technical designer and the other is the creative designer. Most studies mention that creative thoughts are made up by the right brain and it's really hard to come up with artwork if you are subjective enough and I'm quite sure the output is terribly awful. Most programmers I know have crappy websites since they really have no taste for design. In my job, I always come across with this problem that's why I'm writing this so that my boss may understand upon reading this post. I say that I'm in the midst of being technical and creative. This issue occupies my mind occasionally because I push really myself very hard when it concerns work.

The Purple Effect

2004-10-20T09:12:00.000+04:00

I really can't design today and I have been working on a single project that I really really can't make up my mind because I feel incapacitated when I work on color purple. My boss likes purple and I also love purple but with a decreases percentage on the Magenta so it will be blue. It's a small deal but I had this problem for months now since most of the printed projects we've made are in purple! I hope someone will email me on how to solve this problem.

Right now I'm working in my room and I miss my family and girlfriend. My laptop is getting hot underneath and I have to wait till 11+ to have my companion get back from office and bring me shawarma. What I really like in this accomodation of mine are the phrases like: "Mark kain na!", "Kumain ka na ba Mark?", "Mark dito ka umupo, kain na tayo", "Mark, bakit hindi mo kinain to'ng salad", "Nagustuhan mo ba baon mo, Mark, Kinain mo ba lahat?", "Mark hati tayo dito". I've tried horse shampoo for two days now I can see that my hair is stiff like horsey. It should not be the effect but I like it. Filipinos here at office and at home are asking me about that horsey shampoo and I don't know why they are so into it. That's what good about Filipinos from the lacto-drink to the coconut oil and now horsey shampoo, we are so herbal. I have one good suggestion and this might be the next in-thing. They say that the Indians put cobra oil on their head and wouldn't wash it for days so it would look greasy and shiny. I haven't tried it becuase it's like putting shit on top of your head and my boss won't let me work again. But they say it's effective.

To Cocoy Pana - salamat sa email. I am so touched!

Why Dubai?

2004-10-20T09:11:00.000+04:00

I was thinking lately why I got here in Dubai. Movies and news documentaries intesify so much lives of OFWs which primarily alienates people back home from the real life back here. In my opinion, it seems that the media focuses too much on the hardships of my Filipino 'expats' to sell some story that's why the perception of working in the Middle East isn't that rewarding and luxurious compared to the United States or the European countries. Actually that's the truth but here are some major reasons why I'm here in U.A.E. :

1. UAE is an open city wherein rules governing VISAs isn't that hard to attain unlike the United States

2. There is a consistent demand in IT Professionals since Tech companies are sprouting in a rapid rate and Multinational ones are rooting their headquarters in the Free-Zone area where I work. Obviously it's a strategic location for companies like Microsoft, AMD, Oracle, Sun, CNN, Reuters and etc. since they won't have to shell out millions on tax and it's 100% ownership.

3. And yes I don't pay tax too.

4. I have relatives to back me up.

5. Cost of living is relatively cheap- bringing home 4 bagfull at least and sometimes excessive food supplies for a month at the cost of 1/12 of your salary can justify it. You might also consider gluttony. Food here is no problem but as to accomodation if you ain't clever nor resourceful, you'll probably end up sharing a room with 3 to 6 companions. Lucky for me I share with only one friend and I don't cook nor wash and iron my clothes since I pay for it. That's the the life!

5. I love diversity. Dealing with caucasians, arabs, hispanics, and scumbags is quite a learning experience. It really makes me proud to be a Filipino here in Dubai because in here my opinions are respected and materialized. Filipinos here have earned a good reputation in the field of I.T since magaling ang pinoy maghanap ng lusot sa anumang gusot unlike the others, they die trying. That's the truth and everytime I feel offended when others put me down because of my race I get so furious in the inside and I feel like sticking a knife into someone's throat. I've been into that and I really argue as if I won't be kicked out of the country and I don't care because no shithead will put a Filipino down since they don't have the credibility.

6. Being here makes a home buddy like me more rigid and battle ready. On a place where the culture isn't relevant to your own and the people have diverse customs and attitude you'll really feel like an unwanted house cat thrown away from a sack into a far place you'll surely won't get back. It's really like that and I'm not exaggerating and I've heard a lot of Filipinos returning home because they miss their family and stuff like that.

Making hard decisions coming from your own and being willing to stand for it is really worth it. I have been into much trouble but winning is a really hard fight to struggle. And to the person who insult my Filipino Food ngekngek mo! My baon is Karekare and Beef steak at least 6 times a month and you call that inedible. It's nothing compared to your hemorrhoidal food. Adios!

The Arabian Job

2004-10-18T09:23:00.000+04:00

This is the usual day for me- designing web and print ads for some companies and today, my manager listed all the tasks me and my fellow worker Jeff have to accomplish during the week. Print ads are the majority of our tasks today and I know we will both have a hard time to materialize these things because of the limited resources given to us. The problem with these clients is that they don't make up their minds early and we really don't know what we have to produce. They don't give any materials about their company and you have to invent their damn company profile and stuff like that. Language barrier is really a pressure on this case.

Above is the picture of a desperate employee looking for resources for his project.I have to look for references on designs of existing materials I've got from GITEX(see Oct. 5 entry). It's pretty hard to work from scratch but if you've got the right resource and adios! you'll hit straight bull's eye. The only thing rewarding on this kind of job where client's visual preference is always a crucial factor are the compliments you get from them since these people totally rely on your creative talent and these are not just the ordinary companies but rather the BIG ones. A few months back I've designed artworks for Iran's International Airport's indoor and outdoor trivisions and digital displays and also as well graphics for Tehran's public transport system. My boss is pretty good in getting these contracts since they looooooohve the Iran government. As far I can remember, when I was still 3 feet my mother commented about my drawings which look worse than chicken scratch and it was really depressing since it was the only talent I had and besides that I'm not athletic like the others. But I knew that my car drawing with square wheels will take me somewhere else. Thanks to Khan2x Isturis for inspiring me to draw when we were still on the 5th grade. He's like the Michael Jackson of Basketball!#$%???

I trust Mr. Einstein's words and I say it works pretty well. It's something like this : "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."

CSS - Cascading Style Sh_t!

2004-10-16T09:34:00.000+04:00

I just spent the whole day today creating a new template for this blogger/webpage or whatever. I'm utilizing css (cascading stylesheets) for my site layout. Anyway, css are scripts you employ on webpages wherein you can specify style definitions of a site to display text and images with total control and improved visual enhancements supported by most browsers(*this is my term). CSS is very extensible and when coupled with XML they make a powerful tandem in syndicating web content from rss feeds. In short, what I mentioned above are like accessories for your website to make you and
your site visitors happy boys and girls. I hope people can appreciate the importance of CSS since all sites like your Yahoo! or Hotmail email providers use it. It's not just CSS but a lot of scripts like Javascript, VBScript, C#, JSP, PHP, SQL, XML, DHTML, PERL, Python, Java and many more that attribute to most of the sites on the Internet today. It's like employing at least two of these scripts (including HTML) on a dynamc site. Now I use five of these in making sites excluding design softwares which I usually work most of the time. A tip for aspiring designers: 'On designing websites: Anything in excess is garbage!'.

Family Matter

2004-10-15T09:32:00.000+04:00

Today I went to my Tita's home in Deira to visit them and also as well meet my another tita from Davao, whom of course is the wife of my uncle John. I quite find my cousin Mitchell unusual today since she now 'mingles' with me because in the past few months she was like an untamed kitty whom you cannot even hug and play with. Her pic is posted above. Anyway, I'm glad I got now 3 polo shirts sent by my daddy and mommy. The color was quite analogous and guess what it's orange. Here in Dubai the Arabo people love orange. They like it too much that their websites, buildings and offices are orange. Now I can blend.

All of my titas and titos went to bowling today since we haven't got anywhere to go since it's Ramadan. There's no food and drinks served in shops which are closed the whole day. When I got home, I reorganized my closet which before looks like a safari and now it still looks the same except now I know where to pull out my underwear. I'm glad there's no overtime work for tommorow since the boss is out of the country and next week I guess the boss will be out again in Vienna. Yeah, next week, in the afternoon me and my officemates will be enjoying total relaxation under the sun for 45 mins. along the fountain under the palm trees after lunch without further interruption. People start to mingle with my fellows including non Pinoys since we Filipinos are damn good clowns and it's quite ironical these people some kind of look up on us-"just a little". I guess non-Filipino humour is not good kabab. =)

Bad Sleep

2004-10-14T09:30:00.000+04:00

My whole day was spent nursing this bad bodyache because I had this terrible sleep last night. This is strike 2 this month. I had insomnia again. My roommate is so amazed with me since I act more alert than a security guard at night. Having insomnia makes me very restless and my mind is so somewhat preoccupied with unnecessary things I don't intetionally think. It's just like that and I guess having this illness would't take overnight to just perish. But statistics are quite good since I have lesser sleepless nights in this accomodation of mine. Someone told me chamomile tea and melatonin would do the job.

The temperature is dropping down a bit here in Dubai and the fog is great in Sheik Zayed road. Ramadan is about to start too. They say that it's bad to eat and drink in public.Good thing my officemate reminded me since I eat shawarma while on a long walk going back to my flat. Here in Dubai I learned to eat green chili and pickles bundled along with a good shawarma. It has become my favorite. Our secretary says that when it comes to food I always compete with Indians because I barely eat anything. Dubai is also home of the most dangerous foods in the world since if you don't know what your'e eating you'll probably end up in hospital vomiting and getting sick. There's too much spice in here. I don't understand why majority of Filipinos here can't stand Indian and Persian food. They say it's very spicy, sour and smoking hot but I like it. In my office I have this good buddy giving me sour plumes, kiwi fruit, salad, odd looking fruits, Indian crackers and anything nice to eat and because of that I give a favor in return by teaching Photoshop. Teaching people can also be good since you get free food and that's they call free trade.

Out Of My Line

2004-10-13T09:28:00.000+04:00

It's good to relate with people in line with your field sometimes since you have this chance to exchange ideas and look up on far how they went and achieved in life. Actually I haven't fully pursued my line of study which is Industrial Engineering since I can't ignore my passion and skills on computers. It's nice to hear from your colleagues that you share the same mindset on which I only thought I was the only one different from the pack. Right now, my batchmates are successful in their fields and I guess they have taken IE so seriously. We've grown up so fast and as far I can remember we were just solving problems in calculus and mechanics back in college and now everyone's so indulged into their career or raising their families. And why did I had this different mindset after finishing college? - I guess it's because I'm not quite contented with my degree and I wanted to pursue Information Technology studies. I just wanted to create real world internet applications which was quite uncommon in my province in Davao where you could rarely find this kind of job. Good thing my parents supported me on my interest since my father was always been an open minded person and wanted to send me abroad where I can flourish. The fact that I had reasonable and supportive parents makes me one of the happiest web developer on earth.I give a Yipee! on that.

I think everyone's unique and if you perceive yourself as unconventional and nonconformist that would make you special. In case youré blessed with this brilliant mind and superior talent then youré super super special. Overachievers are special too with egg but if you've got the will and talent then you'd probably be a six figgy yuppie sipping brewed coffee. A mind is a terrible thing to waste so I try to learn as I can.

I Rule

2004-10-12T10:13:00.000+04:00

Four essentials to survive abroad:

1. Always think to gain advantage and believe in yourself.
2. Never get sick.
3. Don't let others put you down.
4. Pray and save.

Most of the time you have to use your common sense and logic to get want you want like finding a job since everyone is flocking on this place to find a living. Everyone else is competitive and aggressive but a Filipino equipped only with wits and cleverness is most likely to survive except if you lose your will. What I really dislike about this place is that stupid aspirants are trying so hard making more assholes of themselves. These 'aspirants' get the job because of their arrogance on their unproven skills and yet when it comes to actual performance they tend to be very lazy, mediocre and "sipsip" and what's really shitty is that they depend on you and sometimes steal your work. Yeah, and they get the big booty- High Salary. Poor Filipino. It's like that, I always keep resilient and observe maximum tolerance but when I fight back I really fight back more punishing than the Ten Plagues of Egypt. Sometimes others may see me here as kind but never relate kindness with weakness and that's a very big mistake. Behind my back is always an iron fist ready to kick ass.

And one thing, drink milk because it's good for your body because a day of absence in work costs a lot.

En Route To Office

2004-10-11T09:29:00.000+04:00

Follow my route to the office. I have posted pics I've captured on my way to the office. The people back home requested me to send them pictures what it is like here in Dubai like what my room looks like, the everyday people whom I deal with, my office and anything Dubai. Right now I live in Satwa, a section in Dubai much closer to Internet and Media City where I work. It's quite acccessible in this area but what I really don't like most are scumbags(*email me about what these people are=)) languishing around the place. The place where I work is like a small functional city in Dubai's Free Zone where Microsoft, HP, Sun Microsystems, etc. headquarters stand. It is the only place in Dubai where companies are 100% owned by foreigners without local partnership and also 100% tax free. The link is here. All images are arranged in sequential order.

Flash Versus Content

2004-10-10T09:00:00.000+04:00

I'm quite preoccupied with work again today. I was aiming to practice more on macromedia flash but I have'nt touched it yest since I was designing this LG trivision™ for Iran. It's quite a disadvantage not to acquire 'professional level skills' on flash since its needed as part of a web developer's 'profitability' most especially here in the middle east where clients value more importance on graphics rather than website content. Here in Dubai, flashy websites do always sell sometimes compromising the site's overall aesthetics and most of all content. I don't quite like this idea since I'm a coder and I love ASP by heart on which I have laid some time to master. Web programming is nice and ends up to only a single result which can be accomplished with different kinds of approach unquestionable by client tastes and preferences and its not a matter whether the site's either purple or orange nor it has flying text with alpha transition. I'm teaching my roommate Jonathan some Photoshop basics and tricks and he learns quite fast. I might me a good teacher, I guess.

The Pantry

2004-10-07T14:10:00.000+04:00

Today, I had this great lunch with my officemates and a fellow employee on the other office. We have this small pantry in the corner of our office about 4-6 square meters and just imagine fitting in 7 people in it trying to eat. This was a feast for me since we had Filipino and Indian food on the table and 3 races having lunch. One good thing that bonds us here in my place is our commaraderie. Everyone treats each other as if we are of the same race and I guess it's only in our office. It's quite an advantage being one of the clowns because you gain more and more friends

Getting home expecting something is quite unusual for me since I'm quite enthusiastic in using my new laptop. For years I have been dreaming to have this device but since I cannot afford then I have just to envy others of their nice shiny mobile machines. It's quite gratifying to have such thing you really deserve for and spent countless days to earn it. I guess I have to work harder for the much more bigger expense on which I myself only know.

Same Same

2004-10-07T10:22:00.000+04:00

As the people here say it - "same-same" which means "the same" or repeating. My blog for today goes something like this.

I'm quite tired of work today and it seems that the everyday mundane tasks now starts to bore me. I mean everyday - I come to office by chartered bus, pass by Sheik Zayed road and by the way, I've never seen so much fog in my life, walk by the long hallway in coming to my office, read the newspaper, read emails and so on.. If I were in Davao right now, the same thing happens also. It seems things in life comes always consistent to me and even the slightest change in my routine counts so much.

Anyway, I'm looking for a free wi-fi hotspot here around the city. I don't wanna spend a couple of bucks for coffee since I have this trouble sleping at night. I've seen these white guys with internet on their nice mobile machines so not I try.

GITEX, World Trade Center, Dubai

2004-10-05T20:00:00.000+04:00

Today is GITEX day at the world trade center Dubai, the major IT convention in the middle east. And guess what Reza my friend is taking us there for the whole day all company expense. I have made a photo album just for this event in Yahoo so its worth checking it out - photos.yahoo.com/marklph003. It's my first time to participate in this kind of grandeus event and I am so stunned of the technology here in the Middle East compared to my country. As expected the industry giants Oracle, Microsoft, Sun and etc. have their kick-ass stands worth checking out but what stunned me much is Apple's corner where I had the chance to feel the Apple G5- the most sophisticated computing machine I have ever seen.

I'm quite glad I was there because it has been my life long dream to be in this kind of event where I have this chance to meet different kinds of people of different backgrounds of different nationalities. Just imagine yourself surrounded by intimidating executive caucasians and businessmen and also as well as hardcore computer enthusiasts hanging around at wi-fi hotspots and industry leaders promoting flaghsip products of their multinational companies just like in the movies=)

I kind of treated myself today so I bought a laptop at the airport expo. The price really hurts but its worth it. It's an HP DV1000. I overshot my budget today. Thats' me - I'm so thrift at everything but when I spend I really spend.

4 Lbs. Not Obvious

2004-10-05T09:32:00.000+04:00

After 4 months of UAE here I am gaining 4 more pounds. Do I look fat?

New People Coming In

2004-10-03T11:00:00.000+04:00

I havent's slept the whole night because of this fever I had since yesterday. My room mate had it also but I'm sure he started it. Good news for today since our newly hired marketing staff have reported to office. One is Filipino and the other Iranian. Now the office is much more livelier. As of today there are three Iranians including our manager, 4 Filipinos and two Indians. In the production department, each of us are good clowns and this makes me look after each day of work aside from my woderful job as a web developer. I thank God for putting me in this good disposition.

The Usual Payday Result

2004-10-02T17:19:00.000+04:00

Everything seems fine today except it was too hot in the morning. I woke up on time and went to Church and paid my monthly payment for my flat since it was payday. As usual I did some groceries today and bought some milk and my favorite Yougourt. The afternoon was quite a bore and I only watched a dvd movie and slept a little. I guess I needed a little stretch but since I left the Philippines I never did some exercise. I was an avid jogger back then months ago and I jog with my friend and we would jog through this great golf course near our place.

Life is quite mundane here in Dubai most especially when your goal is to save money for your future. Some things are quite similar here in the Philippines - warm and friendly Filipinos, the food, the weather. Everythings great!

Roaming Around City Centre

2004-10-01T11:00:00.000+04:00

I went today with my officemates at Deira City Center and we ate lunch and enjoyed much of the time observing people of different nationalities bearing different lifestyles and with unique appearances. After a few minutes of strolling, we went for a little grocery. I'm glad we had such good time together since it's the first time we went out in months of confinement in the office and what's nice is that I'm going along with whom I consider my good friends in Dubai not only in the office but also as well as outside work. I guess the most constant thing among a pack is being comfortable with each other and setting aside each individual differences.

Chow Time

2004-09-30T18:56:00.000+04:00

One good thing about working in Dubai is that you have this chance to be with different people of different nationalities. And what's the advantage of that? - Each one has their unique flavor and since I'm adventurous when it comes to food, today I'll try Indian Chapati paired with some cottage cheese and some kind of "paneer mutter". By the way, I'm with my friend officemate Sreejit.I've tried Arabian, Iranian, and everything weird I could eat. One day i had this odd looking pizza food I brought from the grocery and bad thing i ended up getting sick for hours. I guess some spice or too much spice is kinda bad.

Upgrade Stuff

2004-09-29T10:38:00.000+04:00

My pc got upgraded today thanks to my kind boss she considered my request. I'll be using these to design graphic intensive projects. Our 3D workstation got busted 2 days ago and I hope no one will blame since I reformatted it 2 days ago. The guy on the pic is Reza, our managing director's bro. I feel bad today because I haven't received an update regarding my credit card application. I hope it will be approved soon.

Me today

2004-09-28T09:52:00.000+04:00

This is me today 4 months after I left the Philippines. As of today I'm very thankful because I have this great accomodation where I can have good sleep and most of all the food is great. Lucky for me I don't have to cook and wash clothes since they're included on my monthly payment for my flat. So far my sleep is ok and I rarely feel homesick because I'm preoccupied with my job all the time and I've got no other concerns except work and work. So far I have no problem yet on my job since I really love what I do except for some minor problems that sometimes arise between my coworker.

One good value I've learned here in Dubai is to deal effectively with different kinds of people with diverse personalities. At all means, you have to respect each others' differences to have a good and professional relationship with them. But still I'm firm in my belief that being a Filipino is one damn good race to be proud of.

Making my tasks

2004-09-26T14:18:00.000+04:00

Today I'm making this great storyboard for a television commercial in 3D. You can can view it in here. I'm not quite good with this but I have to 'improvise' some story telling skills to get this job done.

One thing that bothers me much today is that my boss cancelled cash transfer starting this month from the company's account to our payroll accounts. What do you think is the reason for this? I smell something wrong but I'm pretty quite sure I'm going to get paid since everyone knows our boss is kind and understanding. Maybe there's just some problems I don't seem to know yet.

I'm planning to post some good pics on this blog starting tomorrow. I almost did today but unfortunately I left the stupid dock back home. So expect some pics tomorrow.

I'm sure it ain't crap

2004-09-25T12:57:00.000+04:00

At last my own darn blog. I'm sure this ain't crap since. I'm really not into writing journals on the net or stuff but I'll try. The main reason for this one is my life here in Dubai revolves around work and life at home, that's why there's nothing much more interesting on these topics besides dealing with new stuff I learn on my job or new people I meet. Anyway, I'm Mark, people call me Mark Lisao back in my place. I work as a web developer here in Dubai Media city for 4 months now. That's it for today.

My Shitty Officemate

2004-09-25T12:34:00.000+04:00

Ah, as my Title says :".. killer blog". I guess this entry will mean what I'm sayi'n. This shitty officemate of mine - an Indian 3D animator tries out my patience today. As production(making a 3d animation) protocol for common sense, you have to have a script first before you start modelling. And guess what, he's trying to work the other way around. I think some people are playing moron or they're just really morons. And what's inacceptable besides this is that they blame other people for their folly. This kind of character if his is too inacceptable for me especially his arrogance. Anyway this guy is still new and I have to know his ouput before he "messes" us up. I'll try to adjust for now before I start to retaliate a bit.