Still Here. Starting Over.
Today I submitted the documents on the new joiners checklist. Now I’m just waiting for the work permit and employment visa to come through. Tomorrow is May — I’m hoping I can start working next week.
Here’s the catch though: I’ll be at the head office for two weeks, and it’s on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Not exactly public transport-friendly. So I’ll have to wake up early and make the commute because I don’t have a place to stay in another Emirate — plus, I have cats.
I’m a bit excited and curious about what my future co-workers will be like. I don’t mind a heavy workload as long as the environment is healthy and not toxic. My focus is simple: give my best, and finish the 2-year contract.
Honestly, I’m still a bit traumatized from my last company. I was only there for three months before getting terminated for not meeting expectations. Half of it was on me — I’ll own that. I’m good at writing, but managing social media accounts is a different story. Taking videos? Not my thing. I thought I was just going to write, but it turned out I was a one-man band in marketing. I had a team, but they were all outsourced.
Looking back, maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Maybe God gave me those three months just to survive and cover my basics while something better was being lined up.
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My journey here in Dubai isn’t done. I’m planning to stay until 2030 — though honestly, who knows what happens next. I’ll keep my writing gig on the side while holding down my day job. I’m praying this one goes well and that I actually get to finish the full two years. The UAE job market isn’t exactly stable right now, so I have to be practical.
I’m not ready to go home for good yet. I have debts to pay, no savings to speak of, and my cats’ relocation fee isn’t going to pay itself. Besides, I’ve spent half my life in Dubai. This city is familiar. Leaving for good means leaving on my own terms — debts cleared, savings built, financial stability earned.
My mother’s offering me a business back home, but I’m not ready to settle. I want to enjoy this chapter. I’m starting over, and I want to do it right.
Also — it’s just really easy to travel abroad from here, and I’m not ready to give that up either.
Here’s the version of my life I’m working toward: ordinary employee by day, premium ghostwriter by night. The kind where my ghostwriting income eventually triples my day job salary. No waiting around for a raise — I’m building my own salary increment.
And even when the side hustle outgrows the day job, I’ll keep showing up to work. Not just for the paycheck, but for the people. To sharpen my social skills, widen my network, stay in the world.
That’s the script I’ve written for myself.
Hopefully, things go better from here. This is a new beginning.
