A Little Bit Under the Weather

I’m a little bit under the weather (literally and figuratively).. I can blame it on the rise in temperature (from 50 to maybe 52 degrees Celsius). Or the drop in aircon temperature from 22 to 18 degrees Celsius. Or it could be a general malaise of the soul (a.k.a. homesickness). Or all of the above. Am too dizzy to think straight. Gotta get back to work though. [Sniffles sniffles.. Am not crying.. Am just sneezing like anything and my nose won't stop running. hehe =)] And i have a huge presentation comin' up tomorrow.. and my nose is still running... and running...

Keeping Up with the William & Joneses

Deafening Silence

The silence in the office is deafening. For a good couple of days, it was an awkward, uncomfortable silence that I could not seem to bear. But now that I’m into my 3^rd month of working in that beautiful office.. I am surprised that I’m liking the much-needed peace and quiet.. (in fact, I’m liking it a lot!). I am not exaggerating when I say that the only sounds we hear are our fast fingers tinkering away at the keyboard.. or the relentless clicking of the mouse (frantically trying to move some walls and ceilings using our autocadd programs).. the sporadic phone calls from clients, architects & suppliers, and the occasional “RRAAAJ” (our office teaboy being called by several Bosses). Oh.. and from to time, some screams from one boss to another. But nobody really minds them.. It’s actually part of their SCOPE OF WORK. We just had to learn how to deal with it. And I must say that we’re getting better at pretending not to hear their arguments. The tagalog phrase “Trabaho lang, walang personalan” takes on a whole new meaning now.

But aside from these seasonal strife, our workplace is still considered a fairly quiet one for most parts of the day.. And come to think of it.. it is through that silence that I can create all those wonderful and the not-so-wonderful designs (depending on the mood and the time of the day).

It is through that silence that I can literally listen to my body as my tummy gurgles to tell me that I am hungry.

It is through that silence that I can listen to my inner spirit telling me to take work easy.. and to enjoy everything that life brings me (whether be it good or bad)..

It is through that silence that I get to control my moods and my temper plus some bouts of irritation everytime something or someone (everybody knows who that is) gets in my nerves.

It is through that silence that I get to de-stress when the client… as well as the boss (actually, the “non-boss” who acts like a boss)… and not to mention, the officemates who “seasonally” breathe down my neck.

It is through that silence that I get to realize and admit my faults and mistakes as a designer. As well as my flaws as a person..

On that note, it is through that silence that I could easily catch myself from thinking negative thoughts.. from spiraling down (after thoughts of my “being no-good” start to creep in)… and for reminding myself that I should not be too hard on myself.

It is through that silence that makes me admit that I’ve still got sooo much to learn about sooo many things (work or non-work related).

It is through that silence that I appreciate my work as a designer... Telling myself how lucky I am to be where I am right now.

In the same breath, it is through that silence that I get to hear the chismis in the other room (no matter how soft their whispers are).. haha.

And it is through that silence that I get to muster all the energy to be able to talk incessantly right after work.. Through the evening.. And onto the stillness of the night…And right through the next morning while preparing breakfast..

But the moment we step into our own sacred creative spaces at 8-ish, silence begins once again. It is through that silence that I get to listen to my inner voice telling me how happy it is to be here and now.

Took some time to get used to this daily retreat into myself.. But my soul seems to be at home.

Best Dance Performance Ever

A live dance performance made my day today! Nope it was not in a huge amphitheater by some popular dance groups.. Nor was it performed with some hi-tech sound system. Truth is, I watched it only through my little webcam with choppy and static laptop speakers.

It was a dance performance by my little and uber-adorable one-year old niece Lois. She beautifully choreographed some sort of a ballet (or was it a fusion kind of dance?) to the tunes of “Doncha Wish” by Pussycat Dolls.. “My Hump” by Black Eyed Peas.. and the teeny weeny classical sounds produced by her “Winnie-the-Pooh” pushtoys. She donned a little pink shirt, white shorts and a pink furry headband that her Mom said Lois personally handpicked.

With all her might.. and with her biggest and cutest smile, she put her hands up high (which would only actually reach the top of her furry headband).. and then turned and turned and turned (like a professional ballerina). Then maybe after two or three turns, she paused… faced the webcam (mind you, her eye contact with the cam is just oh-so-perfect), and then swayed and waved her hands to the left, then right, then left again before making another series of turns. And boy-oh-boy (or should it be “girl-oh-girl”)… I must say that it is one of the most fabulous dances ever!

At this point, I applaused and commended her while saying… “WOW.. you are such a great dancer, Lois!” As if on cue.. she instantly pressed her musical toy and did her whole dance routine once again! And after this, I said.. “Wow.. that is one great dance!” To which she started all over again..

Her Mom and I realized that everytime I would mention the word “dance” or “dancer”.. it is her cue to be effortlessly cute and endearing again!

Needless to say, her dance performance made my otherwise normal day. I had to consciously stop myself from saying anything related to “dance” so she wouldn’t tire herself too much from doing a series of “performance level” dances all in a span of 15 minutes or so. After all, even the professional ballerinas need some rest from all those turning, sashaying and tiptoeing.

Oh gosh, just can’t wait to tune in to another wonderfully-Lois-choreographed dance show once again. Nothing beats this dance, by far. Kudos to you dear sweetie Lois-kee, for a great dance! (Wooopps.. not that word again!)

Happy Little Indian Tea Boy

Our world inside the office seemed to have stopped today. Not because our clients decided to run away… nor because our Big Boss was too exhausted or burnt-out to go to work.. But because our teaboy was on sick leave. Yes, our quiet and efficient little Indian teaboy named Raj.

Everybody today is a notch higher than the usual crankiness because nobody had any caffeine fix (of 2 or sometimes even more than 3 cups of daily coffee).

Everybody felt like dying out of thirst today… Nope, our water dispenser didn’t run out of water.. Everybody just got so used to having our glasses and coffee cups unnoticeably re-filled by Raj day in and day out..

I won’t be surprised if Raj is the lowest-paid in our office. But I am pretty sure that he is the most indispensable employee (…okay, maybe only a close second to our Big Boss).. And I can’t seem to agree or understand why he had to be the lowest- paid when he is in fact one of the most essential parts of William & Jones.

Raj is the first to arrive (an hour & a half earlier than the earliest employee in the office)… And the last to leave in the evening (to clean up after the mess of piled-up blueprints and worn-down floors). But you don’t hear him complaining about that. In fact, once I saw him at the hallway… smiling… and practically skipping and hopping too. And I can’t help but say.. “You look so happy, Raj.” To this, he replied in his sing-song little Indian boy voice… “I’m happy twenty-four-seven..”

It was just so refreshing to hear somebody say how happy he is even with one of the simplest jobs. And I must really commend him for that. Seeing him practically skipping and hopping is a constant reminder for me to also be happy 24-7 -- what with a job that I enjoy, a quiet and conducive-to-thinking office, a good Boss and happy officemates such as.. yes, you guessed it, Raj. And like Raj, we have more than enough reasons to be happy 24-7. :-)

Finding solace in the old streets of dubai

Egyptian princesses in Dubai