As per The Simplicity Habit Website, in order not to feel stuck, you have to set new goals based on your new dreams.
I have fulfilled my dream of going abroad. So, I should find new dreams. As I look again at my Ghant Chart which I made in 2020, I realized I did not actually include career goals. I guess finding a fulfilling job was not as important as it is for me right now. Maybe I was too assuming that everything will just fall at the right place.
There is a lot of uncertainty for me this year, more than ever. I decided not to renew contracts so I will need to go home without any job waiting for me. It is anxiety inducing not knowing what's going to happen in the next months of my life.
If I there was no Covid, if I decided to renew contracts and If I have saved enough, the plan would have been going home for vacation as well as travelling to Korea.
Right now, I don't have any big dreams or plans. Also, the options I have on my mind at the moment are not actually based on dreams but just a product of what I feel is the most practical thing to do moving forward considering I am still bound against my responsibilities at home.
I am at the point in my life wherein I need to prepare for the next transition in my life and to prepare for a new beginning. I should be dreaming and making plans.
Right now tho, I keep wanting to live a simple, lowkey but fulfilled life. I want a job that I care about and willing to suffer, a job that is fit to my personality, that would be able to support me to achieve my other goals in life and that is for long term already.
I need to find another job ASAP. If I won't find one, the other aspects of my life will be forced to be on hold. My life is always bound to a job and my income. Anyway, for 2022, the following are just the most important for me:
I am extremely anxious right now. But, I will manifest that the miracles in my life will happen. Everything will fall in God's perfect plan, will and timing. This is why for this year my themes will be, Warrior Up and Reset 2022. Warrior up because I need to fight through all my anxious thoughts, my fears and the uncertainties that my decisions will bring to my life. Reset because, this year, I will be back to square one.
Happiness is not always found in big milestones. It is found in the little things too - a nice bath, a good rest, a good conversation, a good meal, a good sip of your favorite drink, a good photo, a good read, a good movie, listening to a good song & a short ride with a beautiful sky as backgroud. So, don't focus only on the big things -- milestones/breakthroughs in your career and life. You'll miss to enjoy the small moments.
Find joy in the simplest of things, pause, be fully present, appreciate where you are in your life and count life's abundance with a grateful heart.
Pursue things that spark joy and dwell on things that will empower you than disempower you. And remember that you are favored and wrapped in boundless grace by a merciful and loving creator.
5 things that sparked joy in my life recently:
1. A good read + lemon water
If You could See Me Now by Cecilia Ahern is magical. It has a simple plot but tugs right through the heart. It's a disney/pixar like story told in a book. Also, I love the characters. Elizabeth is very relatable, Luke is adorable and Ivan is a comfort. And, finishing a book after a long reading slump just feels amazing. Cheers to small wins.
2. A new haircut
I've never went to a salon here in UAE. At first, I opted not to go because of Covid so I would trim my hair by myself. Unexpectedly, I enjoyed it. It's an enjoyable past time for me now. I have never done this major cut though. But, I like it. Isn't it amusing how a simple haircut could empower you?
3. A soulful movie
Soul (2020) was a movie mentioned by Kris in their Growing Up with Ben and Kris podcast and the movie is acutally really good. I had many takeaways from the movie in terms of life, career and family. It is very relatable specially for the lost, frustrated and for the wanderers in search of passion and sparks.
4. A shower in the desert
It rarely rains here in UAE. You experience short rainshowers around 3-4 times a year only. Usually, when it rains, it indicates changing of seasons -- from summer to winter and vice versa. This rain is actually an artificial one. Though it is not natural and pretty short, I enjoyed it. Thankfully, it rained during my breaktime because I was able to enjoy it. I miss the cozy rainy days in PH.
Trivia: To create rainfalls, scientists here are doing cloud seeding and applying drone technology wherein they use drones to shoot electrical charges into the clouds prompting clouds to coalesce and produce water. They are creating these artificial rainfalls to beat the heat in the country because it is scorching hot here during summer.
Hi. I am Eurydice. I am currently working in a gas company in UAE. I've been based here for a year and a half now. I first came here from PH before the Covid lockdowns in March 2020. If anything, this journey has been a road to discovery.
I decided to make this new account because I wanted to share my journey as an overseas Chemical Engineer.
This platform is also an outlet for me to cope up with the stress of adulting. I am not good with words but I still want to write anyway. I am a tumblr buff ever since I discovered tumblr, first year of college. Also, I love journaling and writing my field notes and musings on this grand adventure called life. Hence, the name of this tumblr account (btw this is my 5th account).
This account is inspired by the Daykeeper, Hannah Pangilinan, Rowena Tsai and Paolo Coelho. I earnestly hope this account could spark joy and make a difference on the life of others.
Additionally, I would like for this account to be a space of Gratitude -- for the life I have now and the life ahead and a reminder for me to Live in the now.
Note 1: If you've forgotten the language of Gratitude, you'll never be on speaking terms with happiness. - Author Unknown.
Note 2: "...to try to live everyday as if I've diliberately come back to this one day to enjoy as if it was the full final day of my extraordinary, ordinary life" - About time, 2013.
Our Plant is a 10-12 minute ride from our accomodation. No traffic in our everyday route. Also, travel time is less compared to my previous work in the PH which takes me about an hour and a half. Btw, I was against the idea of renting a place and living near my workplace back in the PH. I had this mindset that it will be all work and no life when you're just living near your workplace. Also, it will feel like your sole purpose is to wake up to go to work. The thought was suffocating for me.
Though, it was all but a twisted idea. Because being near your workplace actually meant less travel time, less stress, more time and more life.
I was working on a 2 or 3 shifts rotation before (6am-6pm/6pm-6am & 6am-2pm/2pm-10pm/10pm-6am) because I was working in a manufacturing Plant that runs 24/7. I could have more time to rest and sleep if I chose to live near my workplace. It would have been a lot safer for me as well when going home.
I guess I also opted to go home before because going home to my family after a tiring duty was comforting and rejuvinating. That time as well, I knew I had to be home to be with my Mama especially that we just lost Papa. We needed each other. I felt like I can't be far away.
What a twist though because now, I ended being miles away from home and being here solely to work.
Anyways, I'm only on working on morning shifts now since I am not assigned on the Production area and our Plant timings is until 6pm only. The morning shift work and a short ride to work is actually doing good for my physical and mental well being. I don't have to catch up on sleep during the ride and I get to appreciate the view outside. Though, there is a different kind of excitement, experience and challenges that rotating shifts brings that I miss sometimes. I wonder if I could still manage a shifting schedule.
One of the adjustments I did living abroad is getting used of the currency. Whenever I spend, my mind is auto-converting Dirhams to Peso. In a way, it is helping me to make better decisions on my purchases and spend less. However, it can be detrimental since it prevents me on treating myself because it makes me feel guilty. But now that I am used to the common prices on the commodities here, I'm not always converting the prices.
Other than the above, there are other challenges living a broad like budgeting. For me, I try to keep on my budget as much as possible. I make a list on the things I need to buy in advance. However, I can't help sometimes to go beyond the budget with my groceries especially when there are new items I want to try for a change and especially when I get sick of my staple items. I daydream for the time when I could just add items on my cart as much as I want and not mind how much would it cost or if it's still on my budget. That would be wonderful.
I really enjoy doing groceries though it is tiring. But, meal planning is more tiring especially for me who easily gets sick of eating the same meal over and over again. If I could just eat the same meals for 5 days straight, meal planning as well as meal prep would be less of a problem. I can't though because I crave for variety of foods.
Indeed, there are many ordeals living abroad and with adulting life in general. But, it makes me glad knowing that through this journey, I am growing to be more independent and responsible. Also, my cooking skills is improving. I guess these are just some of my takeaways on these whole abroad journey.
What saddens me is hearing a lot of Filipinos here tagging the Philippines hopeless. Sure, the living conditions here are better than the Philippines. But, how can you tag the PH as hopeless when there's a lot of people who remain hopeful despite the harsh realities of life and who continue to fight despite the odds. I find it as sort of an insult for the people working hard in the Philippines and for the people living their best lives in the Philippines.
They compare how better it is here. However, I refuse to agree on that. I refuse to agree that earning well is everything -- money is everything because nothing else will be able to put food on your family's table.
I refuse to agree that there is no future in the Philippines. I didn't realize how passionate I am on matters of loving your own country. I don't know why, but I am challenged to prove wrong the people badmouthing my home.
I know it really comes down to ones values. For most, they value money more than anything. I can't really judge them since money is important on practical terms. But, I don't want to be conformed on that mindset.
I don't want to let down the Little Prince, in a way. I don't want to be obsessed with numbers like many adults are. With my experience now, it is engraved in me that "What is essential is invisible to the eye" (the Little Prince).
Though, many will disagree or be cynical about it. However, If I let that other people's values direct me, I might fail to find joy and balance in my life.
6 months to go before my journey ends here. It felt too far away when it was not yet final. But now that the endgame is certain, I felt the urgency of my uprooting. I am starting to think on the things I will be leaving behind, on the routine I will no longer be able to do when I leave, the things I would miss, the pieces that I will bring with me on my next transition and how the next months will unfold.
I do not know quite exactly how I feel. But the reality that my days here are numbered now brings me to a crossroad on how I should approach things and it begs the question to me
1.) If it is the right choice
2.) Whether it will lead me to where I should be or will it be another detour
3.) Will it jumpstart to the kind of life I intend to follow
4.) How much would it affect my family, financially
My journey here started with a dream. What once only a dream is now part of my life. I made it and that is enough.
Also, without my experience here, I will continue to look for happiness on the wrong things -- worldly satisfaction/big milestones (when I can draw satisfaction on the simple things). I will never embrace my yolk as a person (or life spark) nor realize the magnitude of my fear in losing another loved one and the need for me to be physically present in trying times.
I actually never intended to stay long considering my mother's age. I knew my stay here will be temporary only and I will be pursuing the next transition of my life after. I actually intended to stay here 4-5 years max. But, flow has changed and I am reseting early.
Now starts the long preparation of the goodbye that is soon to come and a preparation to the next transition.
However, I have encountered a striking question by Kuya Yayun in their podcast (Single and Searching -- For Home) about the prodigal son. His question was, if the prodigal son succeded, will he consider going back to the loving arms of his father?
I feel like I am the prodigal son at the moment. What if circumstances were different. Will I long to come home? Something I now ponder.
Leaving my family back home, leaving a perfectly stable job, a job I loved and did well, fun workmates and being in a foreign land is the price I had to pay for choosing to pursue my dream to work abroad.
This is the thing about life. We always have a price to pay for every choice we make and for the life we choose to live. Regardless of what prices we must pay, we must always have the courage to choose boldly. Only then things will open to us.
