The Dubai Chronicles: Rebirth

about dxb chronicles

The saga of Jeff living in the City of Gold. Presently living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, unravel his journey throughout the city with memoirs and everyday life stories.

hard work for me, credit is to him

im really disappointed yesterday. i was rushed to do the job of one website, in whole, not in part with all those styles, themes, navigation and coordination with content and site reviews. i finished it in a nick of time and handed to the person who handled the uploading. by the time i checked the site online, somethin' changed. it's not an ego or anything but i think i deserved the single line there...

"...meta http-equiv=author name=jeff" instead, i saw his.

people now would believe he did it and i'll be the "copycat" here because of that fine little tag. now, how would i present this to my other future clients? would they believe i did it? yeah source files and methodology...hard to prove.

to save his humiliation. i will keep quiet, not broadcasting the site here. have mercy on his pathetic soul.

discoursed by jeff @ 1:33 PM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, January 29, 2005

finding _____________

what's with "finding" nowadays? first was finding forrester and finding nemo. now finding neverland... oh c'mon, can't think of any other word?

there are lot of synonyms for that... they can try seeking, hunting, searching, looking, scanning... errr okay it's getting way out of hand here...

anyway, its a good movie and johnny depp here is an old school blogger.

discoursed by jeff @ 8:33 AM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Friday, January 28, 2005

ratsky

i was so dead drunk last night. it took me for a whole day trying to eliminate my hangover. i even threw up on my bed...

we had a little visit to a new bar-disco in karama called ratsky's. i dunno if it is related to the bar in manila with the same name. the place was packed with pinoys and other expats. the band who performed was mediocre. waiters and waitresses were hovering like vultures to your table when they see your glass empty... hurrying to fill them up for you (reason i got drunk).

...no more beer for this lad.

discoursed by jeff @ 8:32 AM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, January 27, 2005

happy bday dad

i almost forgot my dad's birthday. i keep staring on the calendar and wondering when the salary will be... and i knew something about this date.

happy birthday daddy, i miss you, wherever you are...

...and there's no need for cellphone to call him. :)

discoursed by jeff @ 4:53 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

damage control

if you're designing a lot of marketing paraphernalia (web flash banners, posters and the like) then suddenly the venue of the event has been changed, it's a catastrophe on the designer's part. yeah, you can change a line or two but when you're tryint to load a 200mb print ad file, time and effort were wasted. my opinion, if the event is unsure of the venue or date, don't put it on the ads.. else just make it sure that's the event's going to be.

in other news, after years of having the old phone, it finally gave up on me. now, i have to wait till payday and get a new one...

...i'm "naked" without a phone.

discoursed by jeff @ 5:31 PM | 2 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

belated happy birthday cecille

i got the cd from mark yesterday via mike, an officemate of mine who now lives with my aunt in jaffliya. there was a party last friday and it was cecille's birthday. i dunno know who cecille is... japat just invited me and bob. as usual here are the pics...

a wannabe birthday celebrant who was excited to blow the candle.

class picture batch 2005

the real celebrant, cecille, is on the right. can't wait to eat the cake.

in other news, i've added an article in the etsetera section. i called it "fastlife". check it out.

discoursed by jeff @ 8:32 AM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Monday, January 24, 2005

bezier

what the heck is that title?

in the graphic design world it is a common term. bezier according to dictionary dot com (after frenchman pierre bezier from regie renault) is a collection of formulae for describing curved lines (bezier curve) and surfaces (bezier surface), first used in 1972 to model automobile surfaces. curves and surfaces are defined by a set of "control points" which can be moved interactively making bezier curves and surfaces convenient for interactive graphic design.

using the pen tool in illustrator (or whatever graphic design software you're using), it helps me to control the curves i wanted to be. before the modern computer age, i used to trace using tracing paper. now there's no need for paper.

...everything's easier now. just like the world in yer hands.

discoursed by jeff @ 5:28 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Sunday, January 23, 2005

angels are gone

finally, i made a new template for nikki. she asked me for a new design and as an exchange of good will to her, i removed the "angels in philly" theme template and replaced with a new one.

in other news, i broke the camera i've borrowed last thursday. i don't have the guts to tell this few days ago but i can't bear it to myself anymore. while we're on our way home from the newly constructed burjuman extension, we took the escalator down. i was fixing the tripod on my shoulder when the camera slipped through my hands. *bang* *blang* *blang* *blang*...it fell five feet down away from my position. i was shocked. not only that, i'm in deep trouble. the only good thing was the lens and body were not damaged but the not barrel. the front of it was chipped off. i checked everything from focusing, flash, timer settings and others settings, it was fine. now, i'm waiting to pay the damage...

damn!

)*#(&$)(#&)(#$&!!! i hate it when you take good care of stuffs then suddenly something went wrong. sorry mark for the trouble also. it was an accident.

discoursed by jeff @ 8:33 AM | 1 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, January 22, 2005

jerk it off

male species, you know how to prevent prostate cancer? jerk off regularly.

discoursed by jeff @ 1:03 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

back to work

after eid, there will be no more. it will be months before we're gonna experience another holiday.

yesterday's sched was amiss. we we're supposed to go out for photoshoot but it was cancelled. instead i did my household chores.

discoursed by jeff @ 1:19 AM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, January 20, 2005

framed up

last night's venture was exhausting. me, japs and bob went to dubai creek for our night shot spree. we were waiting for the fireworks display, unfortunately we waited in the wrong place. as soon as we got there...it's over. *bleargh*

after walking almost 2km stretch of dubai creek, we went to burjuman to visit some friends and also searched for a single guitar string. we circled to and fro looking for that string but to no avail. what a mall... so classy and yet not a single shop for musical instruments. *bleargh*

anyway, here were the shots i've made last night :

plus, i received the other pics from japat's cam during when we're at ana's place in garhoud. i called these pics... "Framed Up"

discoursed by jeff @ 10:04 PM | 2 comment(s) | permalink

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

pusacat-o

i got the pics from japat's camera yesterday. we had a little shooting spree when we're in garhoud two nights ago.

this norweigan _____ cat feels he/she's a model.

discoursed by jeff @ 1:57 PM | 1 comment(s) | permalink

eid ul adha

today is the beginning of eid ul adha, one of the festivals of muslims celebrate. it's a four day holiday but we (me and my other officemates) are working. *bleargh*

the only consolation to this ordeal is the rate for this day is doubled. it means that whoever came to the office, his salary this day is doubled. yey.

i didn't hitched with my transpo today. instead, i walked and took some pics. the weather was not nice this morning... a drizzle but still i managed to take some shots to practice my pathetic-desperate-wannabe model pose. please violent reactions are welcome. i have no company to assist me and so i relied on self-timer.

holding the emirates towers back...

wannabe diesel model ek ek look.

discoursed by jeff @ 9:45 AM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

italian stallion

i was lazy revising the missile project last night. instead, i watched rocky series. hehe... slugfest spree of rambo.

discoursed by jeff @ 8:34 AM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Monday, January 17, 2005

ana banana

things were heating up in the office... arguments here and there, revision of artworks for the nth time, catching up with the almost impossible deadlines and others. it reminded me of my past work in manila, the rush and pressure. i had few hours of sleep and i still managed to finish within the day's work.

last night, we had a little gathering to japat's friend place, ana, in garhoud. bob and i rendezvous with jmerts and japat at deira city centre before going to ana's place. she was introduced before and we're meeting with her again. her place is nice... relaxing and comfy. ana's (or i think japat) plan was to talk about of creating a band group with her daughter and at the same time talk about the upcoming branding of one beauty boutique establishment.

we played basketball, met new faces, played acoustic guitar and jammed, fooled around with bella (german sheperd pup), chit-chat, trashed skateboard, and ate the late night dinner. after eating, we headed back home around 1:30am courtesy of noel, a friend of ana...

..and i had trouble waking up this morning going to work.

discoursed by jeff @ 11:33 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Friday, January 14, 2005

reorganization

i'm running out of disk space. i have two 40 gigs of hard drives and yet it seems i can't delete them all... too valuable. while i scoured for the files, i found this one...

caught in the act

sweet eh? lol!

later in the evening i visited aris in karama to see my goddaughter(correct?). she's so cute. too bad i dont have the cam...

...and jack daniel was haunting me again.

discoursed by jeff @ 11:46 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

get busy

its been helluva busy week for me. one of the events is coming next month and other marketing materials were still being prepared. during daytime im doing some graphic design for print paraphernalia. i was told not to touch the web for now.

after office hours, im doin' my 'missile' jobs... i've been very busy and i have no choice but to keep on going else it's gonna be a waste...

...and i'm running out of clothes... haven't do my laundry for two weeks already.

discoursed by jeff @ 3:57 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Sunday, January 09, 2005

on my way home

i've been walking from the office to my place... and i got the chance to take night shots. here are some:

woman looking at the waterfalls in emirates towers

sheikh zayed road at night

i'm still fixing my gallery page. there are tons of pics we've taken for the past week and i have to crop, edit and reorganize them. maybe next week, if im not busy, i'll upload the new gallery page.

discoursed by jeff @ 11:40 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, January 08, 2005

stock photo

im getting somewhere in digital photography. my colleague, jon, asked me to take shots of our boss to serve as a stock photo for our marketing material. at first i was afraid to direct him where to go and what to do. he was a sport in doin' what i wished to do. kudos to you sir.

addendum: the upgraded version will be added next week. more photos and other stuffs. hope i don't get lazy.

discoursed by jeff @ 8:51 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Friday, January 07, 2005

the return of the madinat

there are so many things to take photos in madinat jumeirah. we decided to visit the place again but this time with jmerts. we stayed there for six hours and if my batteries weren't drained, we're still going for it. more pics soon.

in other news, last thursday, i made some food and store shots for the client near our place. it required only five pictures for newspaper ad or something. my very first client for photography and the charge was very cheap... only 30 dirhams per shot. buena mano.

smoothie shot

discoursed by jeff @ 11:50 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Wednesday, January 05, 2005

haze

the fog this morning was heavy. i didnt bring my jacket with me and trembled walking the streets going to office. i think today's fog was the heaviest i've seen...30 meters visibility at the most. it dissipated around eleven in the morning...

in other news... im giving away my 3 gmail invites. if you answer my question correctly, the first three people will get it. good luck!

question: what was the date did i received my 1st gmail invite?

hint: it's in my blog..

discoursed by jeff @ 5:35 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

the empty can that rattles the most

i was disturbed by my wife's message thru sms. she threatened me that if i didnt send any money on the 6th of january, she might not be able to talk to me anymore. that pissed me off...big time.

she knew what's happening that i'm still on a transition phase. i told her before that my compensation's going to be behind schedule, and yet, she keeps on blabbering. worst of all saying bad things.

instead of confronting this issue, i tried to find a solution : "pag ayaw, may dahilan. pag gusto may paraan."

i temporarily borrowed money from a reliable friend, promised the person to give it back by next week and sent little money back home. the empty container temporarily filled with something... less noise.

in other news, i got the project from one food store here in satwa. nothing big, just two poster designs and five or so photo shoots. i hope this kind of opportunity continues...

it's my year and it will be my break. optimism still rules.

discoursed by jeff @ 11:56 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Monday, January 03, 2005

2005

it's the year 2005... and so is this...

it reached the 2000 mark within six months. thanks for visiting guys!

discoursed by jeff @ 9:42 AM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

Sunday, January 02, 2005

wafi and madi

i started this year by practicing my photography. yesterday, japat and i planned that we're going out but no definite venue. so we walked around the streets... and decided to go to madinat jumeirah, an exquisite mall/hotel with a touch of arabic architecture. it's my first time going to madinat and its well worth visiting it.

inside, there were shops or souks that sells various cool novelty items and souvenirs. we didn't went there to shop... just took some photos.

here are some of the shots we've made :

jap's and the burj al arab

inside madinat jumeirah taking photo of a dhow

two days prior this shooting spree, we (mark, japs, me) went to wafi city, another mall near the grand hyatt. outside, it was designed as an ancient egyptian city with obelisks, sphynxs, pyramids and mummy statues. inside it was elegantly nice... too shy to walk around because the flooring was too shiny.

here are some photos we've taken:

roof designs of wafi city

ancient egyptian column designs near the parking area

if i managed to have a spare time, i'll update my gallery pages and hopefully the new look of the site. stay tuned.

discoursed by jeff @ 11:41 PM | 2 comment(s) | permalink

The Dubai Chronicles