Well, it's one of those weeks again. A week where it's raining projects and you have 4 team members that are either a) on holiday b) on sick leave or c) in training
A week where you look at your watch and realise it's 6PM already and think "where has the day gone?"
But then you let out a sigh of relief because now, you can actually finally start getting some uninterrupted work done!
A week where you don't even think of a thing called timesheets, because spending 5 minutes filling them out means 5 minutes taken away from an already maxed out day.
But it's all good. I know that in a couple of weeks, it'll go back to being semi-normal. Plus, I've gotten good at not letting hectic weeks affect me anymore...No more stressing out about deadlines (as much as this is humanely possible. A little bit of stress is good to get everyone out of procrastination mode).
When I started work a few years ago, whenever I'd get worked up and stressed out, one of my very wise ex-bosses used to tell me something I'll always remember: no one is bleeding, no one is dying, you are not saving lives, so keep things in perspective.
Obviously, if you are a doctor and you are reading this, please note that this does not apply to you!
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9 comments:
Oh man, you are as busy as I am!
Here we are at 9:30pm at night, at home, but on the phone to our US colleagues who have no concept of time on the other side of the world when they're all at work!
And naughty me is scanning the blogs while we talk - it's called multi-tasking! lol
BTW - your time stamp in your blog is totally wrong! The date's ok though. Unless you have it set for Montreal! :-)
Hehe....talk about multitasking!
Luckily all my clients are in Dubai, so no odd-hour phone calls for me...although if they call me on my cell and I happen to be home (or out with friends), I simply don't pick up :)
And not sure what you mean about the time stamp? They seem to be fine on my computer.
Is anyone else experiencing this issue?
Okay so I have been reading this blog for quite a while now and it’s amusing I have to say. However, you are kind of freaking me out, I have a really decent job offer in Dubai, which I do not really love in the first place.
Now, with a couple of friends already left, plus, a bunch planning to leave either to Canada or Down Under, I feel like swimming against the current. I mean I really enjoy reading this blog but now I think of Dubai as Traffic, Ever increasing rent, work timetable from hell!
Now though I am not really fond of going to Dubai, the package is good, plus, well I’m from leb, its getting kind of shaky in here so idk.
aaaanyways what I wanted to get to , Is it really THAT bad over there ???
Bob - it's not that bad, but it's not that great either. If you're the kind of person that can be happy anywhere, you'll be fine. If you're the kind of person that cannot bear the general frustrations of life and being powerless to solve them, you might want to stay away. Dubai has more than its fair share at present.
The main problem most existing expats are facing is disillusionment: things are continually worsening for them (traffic, salary, rent). For new expats, it might not be such an issue - they never knew the "good old days" so won't miss them.
Bob, like SD said, it's NOT all that bad. I still find Dubai to be much more relaxed than Canada.
Work hours are long yes, but it could be just the industry I work in. Plus, I think it becomes a vicious cycle for people to stay late in the office. They get used to it and they keep doing it. And in my case, the workload is very cyclical. Some weeks are crazy busy, and others are normal busy.
Traffic...well, you work around it. I live 10 minutes away from work and it's gotten SO much better since they opened up a couple of new roads. And I avoid going into Deira and Bur Dubai as much as I can :) But if you live in Sharjah and work in Media City, then be prepared to stock up on some good music CD's for your car :)
As for soaring rents. Well, yes, they are a reality we all have to face. A few years ago, Dubai was the land of opportunity. You came here and had a good salary, low rents (or a house provided to you by your company), a car, your kids' education paid for by the company, etc. This is no longer the case. So as long as you come here knowing this, you should be OK.
One thing I find lacking in this place is charm, soul, warmth...But in terms of a lifestyle, you have it all. You can ski, go to the beach, go to clubs and bars and restaurants, go shopping, practice whatever sport you want, go to concerts and other events...
All in all, again, like SD said, if you are a person who goes with the flow and adapts to new situations well, then Dubai is not all that bad :)
Thank you both for the feedback,
Thing is i will be working in DIC, incharge of a CRM software regional office, so basically i know i would have the infamous timetable from hell, and i know that i will be facing long traffic hours if not on the road i know the entrance to DIC will be a pain, and i will no way consider waking up at ungodly hours early in the morning to get from sharjah to DIC. I have been to Dubai far too many times but i never "lived" there, which is abit diff. And i know that it will not really be a ski trip more like, lets go to the mall to ski as opposed to going to Faraya and sleeping over and doing it all in the morning, and it wont be like Beirut with the "charm" it has but even in here it don't feel the same =\ so yeah i might opt for the "Fast lane" kinna life after all.
Once again, thanks for a great blog and for the advices dxbSS & Sdxb
DS! It was great talking to you! I wish I called prior to going to Media City. That's ok, we'll have time for that, soon hopefully ;)
Yes, Dubai does lack the charm and warmth but on the other hand, the standards of living are pretty high, much better than Lebanon. Long work hours are a good sign of productivity and Yes DS, it's also the industry!!!! and it's the case everywhere.
Bob, I strongly recommend moving there.After visiting last week, it kinda felt like the meeting point of the east and west and to me, that was comforting. It will be living in the "fast Lane" but trust me, living in the states is way faster and sressful than Dubai.
Well my point is Lebanon does not have the charm no more, trust me, going through last year all you had was the charm of going through one whole week with no bomb going off, or like the charm of guessing when will the next one will be, i do sound very horrible, but we actually had bets =\, anyways thanks all for the advices, some time from now, if i do move there, i will come back to this post and write some stuff :)
It'd definitely an exciting time to be in Dubai. Lots of stuff happening. New projects, new buildings, new roads, new people coming to live here every day. It's a city in full construction, which is a unique thing to experience.
I just look at my company, and I can safely say that after a year there, I am one of the "old-timers"! There's a new face walking in the office every single week, and we have run out of space to put people's desks!
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