Remembering Oh-Eight…
After twenty days since 2009 showed up, there are a lot of things I have to be thankful for about the year past. It’s been 12 months of ups and downs, a roller coaster of emotions. New thing discovered, disappearances of old friends and introduction of new ones. I can’t really say Oh-Eight has been amazing but the relative quietness has been a welcome sight.
On the dance and music scene, I got introduced to hardstyle music and the dance, a scene you’d never want to see me perform, was something I got addicted to early last year. I thought there wasn’t anything that could top techno, I was proven wrong and the energy it brings, revitalizing. I also fell out of grace with music from Japan. Oh-Eight brought in Koharu and the rest of the girls, their addictiveness factor was like a sugar high and they are must on my daily playlist.
The first half of Oh-Eight also ushered a new era in my life as I moved to a new job. As reluctant as I was to move out of Stargate, I finally decided to call it a day from my multi-positioned job. On March 8, I moved to Tawam Hospital as a User Support staff which had me moving on a more onsite job. It wasn’t really about moving from my previous job but it was more of moving locale. Being so comfortable in Dubai for more than 13 years was one thing but I know had to actually move in Al Ain, roughly 150 km from the city I used to call home. A change of environment for a more quiet life, same old job and an increase of 500 AED on my salary, definitely worth it when I say that I have 2 days off, 40 days worth of leave, medical benefits, gym facilities and getting to work with more than 1000 people. Oh and I forgot to mention it was a government facility and working hours from 7AM to 3PM. I’d be giving up partying in Dubai and the likes but I think it’s time for me to be in a more relaxed atmosphere.
My overall Al Ain experience was not so tragic. Although I had to sleep on my first night without a blanket, I also had the pressure of finding a place to stay within a one month period or else get forcefully expelled from Tawam accommodation quarters. I did find a place to stay and had a horrible time doing so. Had my first experience staying with people I hardly knew. Not the best of places to stay but it was an eye opener and at the same time a loud victorious cry of independence.
I lost a few friends and gained new ones. As promiscuous as I am, it’s pretty cool that there are friends who open up to me in such a way. Unfortunately, these are the people who pretty much are undecided how to move forward with my antics. I did gain new ones as well and regardless, I used my charms to actually get my message that I am a playful SOB. Being in Al Ain and with nurses actually encouraged me to be a bit more natural with my approach. A disarming smile should be accompanied with an unpredictable sense of humor is a must and thankfully a weapon of choice in the 21st century.
On the anime scene, I was re-introduced to Initial D by my friend Khaled and also got to experience the rebirth of two other legends in the field of Japanimation. Evangelion Rebuild is a small part of a revitalized retelling of Neon Genesis Evangelion with an alternate ending to be shown in the future. And then there is the never ending Macross saga, Macross Frontier which carried concepts of the original. It paid homage all of the Macross series in its own way and establishes its own love triangle and the battle of protoculture. I had so much fun watching it and it was worthy of a sequel especially when 2008 rendition Ai Oboete Imasu ka? (Do You Remember Love?) was played. Awesome isn’t enough to describe the feeling you get when you hear it. If you think you’ve seen it all, this was spine tingling.
This year also brought in the economic recession. This brought a lot of negative vibes and the shockwave of events was felt throughout the world. Without banks being able to lend money, everyone held onto their money with closed fists. Jobs were lost left and right, unfortunately, my father was a victim of this economic downturn. My father lost his job late last year because of lack of projects. Despite the downturn, my father was still optimistic and a week after his entrenchment, he was able to land a job in Indonesia with better salary. Thank goodness that God always opens a window when he closes a door. It has always been like this, God really watches over my family. It’s an end of a legacy and it is going to be my brother and sister leading the charge. To some extent I do feel sad and somehow I lost a little sense of security. This is the opportunity that Marlon and Myra pray to happen, independence. Although it sounds good on paper, it’s a bit difficult because I always saw us as a cohesive unit. I guess we’ll now be the typical OFW family.
I’ll end this Oh-Eight memoir with my Oh-Nine shout out… “This is Ten percent luck, Twenty percent skills; Fifteen percent concentrated Power of Will. Five percent Pleasure, Fifty Percent Pain and a Hundred Percent reason to remember my name.“