CROSSROADS (PART DEUX)
me : eh, i got an offer to work in dubai la
friend: that’s great! so are you going?
me: i don’t know yet
friend: what did you parents say? are they ok with it? (i had this question asked by at least 5 of my friends)
‘ok with it’ would be an understatement. my parents are practically SHOVING me to go to dubai (allow me to illustrate my point – after i had my second interview for this job, my dad gave me a ‘belajar bahasa arab’ book for me to read. yes, 'shoving' would be the appropriate word. and talk about pressure!) frankly speaking, i wish that my parents could be a little less enthusiastic about this. i don't seem to be able to trace any remote feeling that they are going to miss me (which makes me feel a little bit sad and unappreciated). i can understand that they want the best for me. on the surface, going to dubai will benefit me tremendously – economic-wise and experience-wise. and i know that they want to be proud of me, to be able to brag about me (biasala... mak bapak...) to the neighbours and relatives. i mean, i am glad that i can make them be proud of me. but i just wish that i can see an inkling of worry-ness in them about me being away.
truth be told, it was my dad who told me about the job vacancy. it came out in nst a couple of months ago. you see, after joining my current company in may, i have sworn to myself that i would not even touch the recruitments section of the newspaper for at least another two years. i was getting worried of the expanding list of former employers in my CV. so the not-touching-the-recruitments-section was a control measure on my part. but unfortunately (or fortunately) i didn’t make my dad to do the same thing. i was back in ipoh for the weekend one day when my dad handed me a piece of newspaper cut-out. it was the job advertisement “tak interested?” he casually asked. and i jokingly replied “laa… nak suruh tukar kerja lagi ke?” “try your luck la. it will be good for you”
i brought the newspaper cut-out back to kl. but in the midst of work and surfing plu sites (eheh..), it kinda slipped my mind. well, not really. i don’t forget stuff easily. i just refuse to do them early. i was actually planning to send out my application via email on the closing date when i was suddenly asked to attend a meeting somewhere in KLIA on that day. and it lasted the whole day. so i didn't manage to send the application. as expected, my dad called later that night to check whether i’ve sent the application or not. all i could do was to give a sheepish “tak sempat la bapak...eheh”. he didn’t show any disappointment but i could sense that he was a teeny bit disappointed.
a few weeks after that, i learned that an ex-colleague of mine went for the interview but didn’t get it. i genuinely felt sorry for her but at the same time the fact that she did not get it suddenly made the job more appealing. so i asked her to ask the recruitment agency whether they still accept new applications even though it had passed the closing date. she agreed to help me (albeit reluctantly) and it turned out that they were still accepting new applications. and the rest, is history. (oh yeah, remind me to treat her something nice ok? come to think of it, i owe her big time for this. she must have felt lousy when i told her that i got the offer).
to tell you the truth. i’m scared. i’m scared of not being able to fit in. i’m not very good at making new friends. especially with guys. and i think in dubai, a significant majority of the working population are men. i know for a fact that everyone in my department there are men. i just don’t feel very comfortable in a male-dominated environment. only a few type of guys can click with me well. if i don't find any... i am going to live a very lonely life there (not that i am not familiar with being lonely... but this would bring it to a whole new level). and plus, i don’t really have a thing for arab guys... (guess no pull factor there huh ;P)
and i’m also scared that i would hate the job. that i would find it so unbearable that it makes me just want to go home. but i don’t want to do that. i may have a reputation as a job-hopper, but not a quitter. but what if things go beyond my maximum tolerance level?
guess i will find out soon enough, eh?
p.s.: i actually emailed my would-be manager saying that i needed a bit more time to think about the offer. i promised to provide him with an answer by sunday. right now, i’m still indecisive. but i have the feeling that i will take up the offer... best ke blogging from dubai? eheh...
friend: that’s great! so are you going?
me: i don’t know yet
friend: what did you parents say? are they ok with it? (i had this question asked by at least 5 of my friends)
‘ok with it’ would be an understatement. my parents are practically SHOVING me to go to dubai (allow me to illustrate my point – after i had my second interview for this job, my dad gave me a ‘belajar bahasa arab’ book for me to read. yes, 'shoving' would be the appropriate word. and talk about pressure!) frankly speaking, i wish that my parents could be a little less enthusiastic about this. i don't seem to be able to trace any remote feeling that they are going to miss me (which makes me feel a little bit sad and unappreciated). i can understand that they want the best for me. on the surface, going to dubai will benefit me tremendously – economic-wise and experience-wise. and i know that they want to be proud of me, to be able to brag about me (biasala... mak bapak...) to the neighbours and relatives. i mean, i am glad that i can make them be proud of me. but i just wish that i can see an inkling of worry-ness in them about me being away.
truth be told, it was my dad who told me about the job vacancy. it came out in nst a couple of months ago. you see, after joining my current company in may, i have sworn to myself that i would not even touch the recruitments section of the newspaper for at least another two years. i was getting worried of the expanding list of former employers in my CV. so the not-touching-the-recruitments-section was a control measure on my part. but unfortunately (or fortunately) i didn’t make my dad to do the same thing. i was back in ipoh for the weekend one day when my dad handed me a piece of newspaper cut-out. it was the job advertisement “tak interested?” he casually asked. and i jokingly replied “laa… nak suruh tukar kerja lagi ke?” “try your luck la. it will be good for you”
i brought the newspaper cut-out back to kl. but in the midst of work and surfing plu sites (eheh..), it kinda slipped my mind. well, not really. i don’t forget stuff easily. i just refuse to do them early. i was actually planning to send out my application via email on the closing date when i was suddenly asked to attend a meeting somewhere in KLIA on that day. and it lasted the whole day. so i didn't manage to send the application. as expected, my dad called later that night to check whether i’ve sent the application or not. all i could do was to give a sheepish “tak sempat la bapak...eheh”. he didn’t show any disappointment but i could sense that he was a teeny bit disappointed.
a few weeks after that, i learned that an ex-colleague of mine went for the interview but didn’t get it. i genuinely felt sorry for her but at the same time the fact that she did not get it suddenly made the job more appealing. so i asked her to ask the recruitment agency whether they still accept new applications even though it had passed the closing date. she agreed to help me (albeit reluctantly) and it turned out that they were still accepting new applications. and the rest, is history. (oh yeah, remind me to treat her something nice ok? come to think of it, i owe her big time for this. she must have felt lousy when i told her that i got the offer).
to tell you the truth. i’m scared. i’m scared of not being able to fit in. i’m not very good at making new friends. especially with guys. and i think in dubai, a significant majority of the working population are men. i know for a fact that everyone in my department there are men. i just don’t feel very comfortable in a male-dominated environment. only a few type of guys can click with me well. if i don't find any... i am going to live a very lonely life there (not that i am not familiar with being lonely... but this would bring it to a whole new level). and plus, i don’t really have a thing for arab guys... (guess no pull factor there huh ;P)
and i’m also scared that i would hate the job. that i would find it so unbearable that it makes me just want to go home. but i don’t want to do that. i may have a reputation as a job-hopper, but not a quitter. but what if things go beyond my maximum tolerance level?
guess i will find out soon enough, eh?
p.s.: i actually emailed my would-be manager saying that i needed a bit more time to think about the offer. i promised to provide him with an answer by sunday. right now, i’m still indecisive. but i have the feeling that i will take up the offer... best ke blogging from dubai? eheh...
posted by aiskrem_potong at
5:26 AM
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