The Courage

"Courage is resistance to fear and mastery of fear --not the absence of fear."- Mark Twain

Going to Dubai
I am not a risk taker. I usually go on the safe side. I'd rather be on a comfort zone than take the road less traveled. Working abroad was never a part of my plan. I just want to be in a familiar place with familiar people around me. I can't even imagine myself being away with my family longer than a week back then. You will always find me rushing home during Saturday nights or Friday nights- TGIF! means no overtime in the office and a longer time to enjoy. Our province is located in the northern part of the country and it's about 2-3 hours ride from Manila (it depends on the traffic volume). I had to live in a boarding house during weekdays and enjoy home during weekends. I was okay with that kind of set-up.
But things have drastically changed when I decided to go out of my shell. Going to Dubai in Nov 2005 is the first ever major risk that I had willingly taken. It took a lot courage in me and great deal of self-convincing to finally take the plunge. Just like most kababayans here, i left my work in the Philippines and came here on a visit visa without a guaranteed work. Only full of hope and determination. Dubai made me very emotional and sensitive to almost every situation i got into. I literally cried a river here! Lucky me for I have good friends who had helped me adjust during my difficult times. Thank you so much friends -JC, ID & RD. I will be forever grateful to all you. :-). We've really gone a long way together. And now we're also growing! (note: addition to the family since then-baby MD of ID & RD and bf G of JC). But please don't pressure me to contribute another member of our family. lol.
I have no regrets for taking that big risk. For there's a truth in the saying ''without risk, there can be no reward''. And the reward I'm talking about is more than financial rewards. Nowadays, I am happily living and working in Dubai. I don't feel the guilt of not being physically present with my family in the Philippines. For wherever i am, they're always here in my heart & in my mind. They are my strength. I am brave today because of them.

Going Public Blogging
I used to keep a secret diary. Though I have sets of good friends who listen & could advise me well when i have problems, oftentimes, i couldn't express myself well. My friends would agree in unison that i am really a loud person under normal circumstances (w/c i consistently objected). But believe it or not, I couldn't talk when something's really wrong. And so I write.
This is my first ever public blog post. I was really hesitant to go public for so many reasons. I was afraid of the possibility that someone might get offended because of my own opinion. I was afraid my friends would treat me as 'persona non grata' if they found out that i blog about them. lol! (i'm exaggerating). No one knows that i am blogging except for one friend blogger who is kind enough to set-up my blog layout. Thank you SM for the nice lay-out! I also asked him to maintain my little anonymity in the blogosphere until such time when i am ready. I also do not intend to tell my friends & family about it- not just yet.
Despite all these hesitations, i'm still decided to give it a shot. It's like going face to face with my fears. I must admit I really, as in, really enjoy reading blogs (but anonymously). I regularly & religiously follow the blogs of some of my favorite bloggers. Yes i have favorite bloggers, they somehow inspired me and touched me with their life experiences & stories. They are making me smile at times. They are giving me a lot of things to ponder. Sometimes, i even feel i am strongly connected with them like i know them so well and as if they know me too (so weird!) They are four of them in no particular order- 1st is a male blogger in Dubai who also happens to be a good friend of mine, 2nd is a female blogger in Abu Dhabi which i described to be very informative, 3rd is male blogger from Australia which is an interesting and a feel-good blog if there's such term and the 4th is a male blogger from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which most often than not, i couldn't help but to just nod to his good opinions. I plan to properly acknowledge them here in my blog someday. I also want them to know how a big fan i am of their blogs. Creating this blog is also my way of appreciating all the bloggers that made me happy in their own little ways.

I would like to welcome you to my humble blog. I hope that anyone who might stumble here would enjoy reading this blog just how much I take pleasure reading blogs.


Note:
my pseudonym is ''animus'' which is a Latin word
meaning courage.