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.

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Thursday, April 27, 2006

subliminal?

for two consecutive nights, at last, we were able to watch the six-in-one horror dvds i brought from the philippines. i was looking for it along the stalls of malls, tiangges, and illegal vendors during my vacation there.

it was the japanese version of the ring (ringu) and its sequels.

i'm not that scared anymore since i knew where sadako will appear and her antics... but still it haunts me. last night, we went for the hollywood version of ju-on, the grudge. after some booze and finishing the movie, i went to my bunk and slept. then the weird dream came into view.

as far as i can remember, it was my the day of departure going to dubai (or is it manila) and i almost late for the flight. when almost near to the airport i suddenly remember that i don't have my passport with me. i packed everything except for that document. i called up mom thru my cellphone and asked for my passport. unfortunately, she's busy at shopping and cannot be disturbed... wow.

when i arrived to the airport counter, i asked the guy for my "aunt" who works at the immigration if she's duty today. he told me that she's on her way out to see me (huh?). upon seeing her she was carrying a lot of shopping bags from boutiques and rushing to talk to me.

"go to the airline counter and tell that i'm your aunt even without your passport. i will take care of things," she said.

and so i did what she've told me. upon approaching the desk, the counter guy stopped me and told that the plane has already left and my ticket is not booked for that flight (wtf?!). i inquired on how did that happened.

"**** air flights are all open flights and there's no booking." (WHAAAT?!)

weird.
discoursed by jeff @ 7:21 PM  |  2 comment(s)  |  permalink

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

shared living

it is not uncommon for middle-class to low-earning expats who share their villas, flats and rooms to other people here in uae. due to the high cost of rents with low salary, people tend to accomodation sharing. as for an example, me and my roomies live in an approximate of a 22sq m area studio flat with rent of dhs24,000 for a year (it may change upon renewal this june) which can be paid in quarterly basis. there are others which are more expensive than ours with a less space at a higher price. a bachelor with a salary of dhs5k+ can rent by himself in a room of a flat or villa but most likely his earnings will go to rent and bills.

this comes down to share with other people to cut costs. as of now, we're just only five (plus one for an orphaned pinoy who was duped in going here) in a room. btw, it is rare to mix people living in a certain room with different nationalities. due to different cultures and habits, people tend to live with their fellow kabayans instead. now, let's see some of the pros and cons of having a bedspace living:

the more, the merrier. more people live in a room or flat will reduce the cost like rent and other bills per person. in some cases, more people living together can enjoy better especially during day-off for a videoke, booze or just a foodtrip. the sad part are overcrowding and no privacy.

privacy. since landlords and the municipality wont allow partitions in some flats, only curtains, cupboards or your blanket can offer you protection and space. most of the time i have experienced, my other roomies inviting guests to our place at late night for a little booze can cause distraction and weariness. sometimes, even told to both roomies and guests, it can't be avoided.

what's yours can be mine. i admit that i borrow things from my roomies without permission but not to the extent of abusing it. imagine someone's using your toothbrush, razor or socks... some people are just uncontented of what they have or don't have.
discoursed by jeff @ 9:06 AM  |  3 comment(s)  |  permalink

Monday, April 24, 2006

captain nemo


shutter speed: 1/80 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 200, focal length: 255mm, manual setting using ef 75-300mm f/4-5.6 zoom lens

a payloader truck driver on a nearby construction site at sheikh zayed road.
discoursed by jeff @ 4:59 PM  |  2 comment(s)  |  permalink

Saturday, April 22, 2006

road to satwa

i'm brewing up a new layout for tdc and the new photoblog... for now, see our past adventures.

paint it black

shutter speed: 1/320 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 200, focal length: 27mm, manual setting

local baker getting khubz (arabic bread) from the stone oven

shutter speed: 1/30 sec, aperture: f/3.5, iso: 400, focal length: 18mm, manual setting

finished product

shutter speed: 1/30 sec, aperture: f/3.5, iso: 400, focal length: 18mm, manual setting

i'm still fighting my demons and angels which is the best layout for me...
discoursed by jeff @ 4:41 PM  |  2 comment(s)  |  permalink

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

21st street

it's been a while i haven't walked around the streets of satwa. if it weren't jon's car wrecked, i'll probably didn't get these. i present you the daily life of the 21st street.

talking about a soccer match wherein argentina won by one point

shutter speed: 1/60 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 200, focal length: 18mm, manual setting

pakistani father hanging around the front door

shutter speed: 1/80 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 200, focal length: 35mm, manual setting

"beckham"

shutter speed: 1/40 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 200, focal length: 18mm, manual setting

i'm still having a hard time deciding on my new layout for the photoblog. i prefer to be hand in hand with the present one...

the worst client working on the design is me.
discoursed by jeff @ 9:17 AM  |  2 comment(s)  |  permalink

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

(un)holy weekend

even in the season of lent, there's work. last friday my friends and i went to mirdiff for a photoshoot of an arab baby boy and his parents. it was my first time to do the serious baby shoot-out. we were able to think of concepts similar to anne geddes shots. unfortunately, we were forbidden to post it on the internet. it was a tiring 8-hour photoshoot with seven different themes.

saturday is still a regular office day in dubai.

on easter sunday, good thing that christians in our office were declared a day-off. in the evening though we had another portrait photo session compromised of an emirati lady (which most of the shots and poses i like to shoot at), a local businessman, an geeky-type animator and a jolly composer/musician. same last friday, only the musician was allowed to be posted.

the musician

shutter speed: 1/15 sec, aperture: f/4, iso: 400, focal length: 21mm, manual setting using tripod mount

while in the session where everyone's celebrating easter, i'm mourning for the departure of the external flash.

ma'salama
discoursed by jeff @ 9:47 AM  |  0 comment(s)  |  permalink

Thursday, April 13, 2006

in spirit of...

...the lenten season, i'll be going ahead of him to the "land of the dead" and hopefully will rise again together...

see you in easter.
discoursed by jeff @ 2:41 PM  |  0 comment(s)  |  permalink

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

my julia

pic after the swimming lessons


today's my daughter's birthday, julia. she's already a grown up kid... after all the years passed...

happy birthday my darling. daddy loves you.
discoursed by jeff @ 11:23 AM  |  4 comment(s)  |  permalink

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

digital portfolio


shutter speed: 1/25 sec, aperture: f/4, iso: 200, focal length: 22mm, manual setting with tripod

at last, i finally made my book-type portfolio. if it weren't for the job interview i was having, i would be still procastinating. featured in this document are some of my works from the past till present.

go see my works (PDF - 3mb) and tell me if i'm worth hiring for.

Note: adobe acrobat reader must be installed in your machine to view it.
discoursed by jeff @ 1:59 PM  |  10 comment(s)  |  permalink

Sunday, April 09, 2006

rainmaker


shutter speed: 1/100 sec, aperture: f/5, iso: 400, focal length: 28mm, manual setting using external flash

i offer you... rain.

it's my first time experiment taking photographs with moving water. we turned our bathroom into a makeshift studio using dark blanket, flourescent lighting and slow shower drip. no pp work done except resizing, frame and sig.
discoursed by jeff @ 2:10 PM  |  0 comment(s)  |  permalink

Saturday, April 08, 2006

opportunity?


shutter speed: 1/200 sec, aperture: f/11, iso: 100, focal length: 18mm, manual setting

"out of the void, there's still an opportunity in the urban jungle. will you go out from the darkness?"

taken from my apartment's window. have a nice weekend everyone.
discoursed by jeff @ 8:53 AM  |  0 comment(s)  |  permalink

Friday, April 07, 2006

d-day

day 3
alas, it was time for me to go back to the real world. to some, they're too excited to go back to uae but to me it was already a routine. my flight was in the evening since there's only one flight per day at aria air. good thing there still time to snap some pics.

rise and shine... and missed the sunrise.

shutter speed: 1/500 sec, aperture: f/4.5, iso: 100, focal length: 28mm, manual setting

kodakan at the beach

shutter speed: 1/160 sec, aperture: f/10, iso: 100, focal length: 105mm, manual setting using ef 75-300mm lens

abdulla, the employee of the month

shutter speed: 1/10 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 100, focal length: 55mm, manual setting

dangsilog

shutter speed: 1/20 sec, aperture: f/5, iso: 400, focal length: 18mm, manual setting using external flash

the pics are too many to post and it came to my mind that i'll separate it into journal and photoblog. do you think it's a good idea?

what do you think?
discoursed by jeff @ 3:50 PM  |  2 comment(s)  |  permalink

Thursday, April 06, 2006

night life

day 2 - evening
the first timers in kish were clueless on where to go and what to do aside from shisha nights and so i acted as a tour guide.

before the window shop, we went to a local resto to order some dinner at an affordable price. with the price of dhs7.50, you can eat a serving for two of beef kebab, long grain rice with butter, and grilled tomato. the "tourists" where overwhelmed with the big servings and wasn't able to finish it all.

we went for stroll afterwards and visited the malls (there are lot of small malls in one street) and did a little window shopping. when we headed back to our hotel, i noticed that the bowling and recreation center is already built (because last time it wasn't) and decided to check it out.

the place was neat with 10-12 lanes of bowling plus billiard and snooker tables on the next floor. the price for bowling: dhs80 an hour... nah...

and decided for billiards instead for dhs30 an hour.

big break

shutter speed: 1/8 sec, aperture: f/9, iso: 800, focal length: 18mm, manual setting using external flash

right corner pocket... (sumakay ka pa)

shutter speed: 1/50 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 800, focal length: 55mm, manual setting using external flash


everything was fun but it would be better if we had booze in our hands...
discoursed by jeff @ 8:44 AM  |  0 comment(s)  |  permalink

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

bike ride

day 2
after i got my visa in the afternoon, one of my roomies asked me to go out. we decided to tour on a bike. you can rent bicycles on designated bike stations for dhs5 each per hour. they are different types of bikes but we chose the mountain bike since we're going outside the bike road.

there are designated two lane bike roads around kish island. it usually situated near the shore. the roads are well lit (by seeing a lot of lightposts on the sides), paved and well-guided. if you have the energy, you can tour around the island in a day seeing different sights. unfortunately for us, we're not physically fit for the task. we just covered one fourth of the island's bike path.


shutter speed: 1/1600 sec, aperture: f/7.1, iso: 200, focal length: 80mm, manual setting using ef 75-300mm lens

one of the abandoned structures

shutter speed: 1/640 sec, aperture: f/7.1, iso: 200, focal length: 24mm, manual setting

good... they're taking a bath!

shutter speed: 1/800 sec, aperture: f/7.1, iso: 200, focal length: 85mm, manual setting using ef 75-300mm lens

abandoned

shutter speed: 1/800 sec, aperture: f/7.1, iso: 200, focal length: 125mm, manual setting using ef 75-300mm lens

pose with the local workers

shutter speed: 1/500 sec, aperture: f/8, iso: 200, focal length: 22mm, manual setting

while on travel, i accidentally broke the bike stand. good thing when i returned to the owner and told to what happened, he just ignored. in return i gave him pictures. we went back to the hotel, have some snack, shower then rest for the evening walk.

more...
discoursed by jeff @ 9:14 AM  |  4 comment(s)  |  permalink

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

the fool

day 1
the frequent flyer is back in me and it's time for another visa run. my flight going to kish from dubai was in the evening to a new chartered flight. this was the seventh time going back to that island. after waiting for hours at the airport, i've met a few of fellow kababayans who were going the same place. the usual talks were on how many times you've been in kish, what type of visas your getting when you're there, and how long you've been in uae. some people are confident and proud that they've stayed for months and knew the process already of going there. others... afraid and tense on what will happen to them. it's like you're on a mission to exile waiting for repatriation.

aria air has a new chartered flight from dubai to kish and i was booked on that airline. my expectations was it sucks after the delay of flight, waiting for two hours then boarding to 50-seater, twin-turboprop fokker plane. however, the smell of interiors was much better and the packaging of "snack" is ok. we went up to the skies, eat the snack then land. it was just a forty-five minute flight. upon arrival at the airport, things were the same once again with the long queues, harassment of taxicabs and shuttle bus drivers on which hotel to stay, and of course, bedbugs.

2-star (no stars for me) hotel with sharing bunks

shutter speed: 1/30 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 400, focal length: 18mm, manual setting with external flash

after we found a place to stay, we went out for a little night out... shisha. shisha is a water pipe with flavored tobacco smoked and puffed. it cost only five dirhams and it lasts for an hour or two depending on how many "jam" with it. the usual uae experience and hangups were discussed once again on the shisha place.

usual hangout during the evening... shisha.

shutter speed: 1/20 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 200, focal length: 18mm, manual setting with external flash

i listened to it over and over again and had enough of those stories. im not going to go for details but i have to give one advice though... don't believe in everything what people say about the good and easy life here if you don't want to be an april fool's day for the rest of your stay.
discoursed by jeff @ 11:39 AM  |  2 comment(s)  |  permalink

Monday, April 03, 2006

three and out


shutter speed: 1/20 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 400, focal length: 52mm, manual setting with external flash

i was out for three days... stories for each day (and pics) will be posted soon. back to normal once again.
discoursed by jeff @ 9:43 AM  |  1 comment(s)  |  permalink