Posts Tagged ‘Life’

The trick

// May 23rd, 2009 // No Comments » // Laila's Randomness

In life, the trick is to find your niche.

And if you can’t find one, make one.

Blink?

// May 15th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogroll

I spend a lot of time focusing on my future. Planning it. Working toward it. But at some point, I started to realize that my life is happening now. Not after college. Not after I get a promotion. Right now. This is it. It’s here. Blink. And you’ll miss it.

Here’s to the future

// May 15th, 2009 // No Comments » // Laila's Randomness

When something begins, you generally have no idea how it’s going to end. We spend our whole lives worrying about the future. Planning for the future. Trying to predict the future. And figuring it out will somehow cushion the blow. But the future is always changing. The future is the home of our deepest fears. And our wildest hopes. But one thing is certain, when it finally reveals itself, the future is never the way we imagined it.

Life’s Tip

// May 12th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogroll

Even if you’re not sure where you’re headed, it helps to know you’re not going there alone. No one has all the answers & the best we can do is just apologize & let the past be the past. Other times we need to look to the future & know, even if we think we’ve seen it all, life can still surprise us & we can still surprise ourselves.

Life works its own mysterious ways

// May 6th, 2009 // No Comments » // Laila's Randomness

The great moments in life won’t necessarily means the things you do, they’ll also be the things that happen to you. And no, I’m not saying to take action to affect the outcome of your life. You have to take action. And you will. But never forget on any day, you can step out the front door and your whole life will change forever.

You see the universe has a plan, and that plan is always in motion. A butterfly flaps its wings or it starts to rain. It’s a scary thought but it’s also kind of wonderful. All these little parts of the machine, constantly working, making sure you end up where you’re supposed to be, exactly when you’re supposed to be there. The right place, at the right time.

Balance Sheet of Life

// April 30th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Blogroll

Our Birth is our Opening Balance!
Our Death is our Closing Balance!
Our Prejudiced Views are our Liabilities
Our Creative Ideas are our Assets

Heart is our Current Asset
Soul is our Fixed Asset
Brain is our Fixed Deposit
Thinking is our Current Account

Achievements are our Capital
Character & Morals, our Stock-in-Trade
Friends are our General Reserves
Values & Behavior are our Goodwill

Patience is our Interest Earned
Love is our Dividend
Children are our Bonus Issues
Education is Brands / Patents

Knowledge is our Investment
Experience is our Premium Account
The Aim is to Tally the Balance Sheet Accurately.
The Goal is to get the Best Presented Accounts Award.

My personal narrative

// February 1st, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Comedy, Family, University, Work

My story begins with my mother’s decision in settling down here and completed the immigration form since 1998 and was approved by June 2005. I felt that if Canada needed professionals from various backgrounds, why did it take 7 years to make that decision? We had lived in Dubai my entire life. I had pretty much moved to Dubai since I was 3 years old. My mother was a surgeon working in one of the well-known hospitals and my dad still is a Public Relations Officer owning his own business as well as working for the government. My younger sisters were still in high school and had found it difficult to leave their friends they’ve known since pre-school behind. As for me, I was working in Standard Chartered Bank as an Assistant Team Leader in the Auto Loans Collections department. Within 10 days of being approved, we had packed up all our necessary belongings and booked our flights. Next thing I remember was saying goodbye to my friends and colleagues at the airport on June 12, 2005. We arrived and had stayed with my uncle and his family in Mississauga, Ontario. My mom fell in love with Mississauga because of how convenient everything was and how residential the city was. My uncle had toured us around so I had a chance to see Toronto, Niagara Falls, the Casinos, etc. But as soon as it came to finding jobs, my parents especially had found it was very difficult to get accepted to a similar professional position that they have back home. My mom was not even allowed to work in any departments of the hospital without having any prior Canadian experience. My dad had applied everywhere and was not even telephoned back for an interview. My dad and I left after 10 days of arriving as I was getting homesick and depressed. I went back to work in the same bank and dad went back to work the next day we arrived. My mom would fill me in with the details of having to move out from my uncle’s house and getting an apartment near to my sister’s high school in Port Credit. They had struggled so much trying to find how to survive on a daily basis as they were not familiar with the places to go buy stuff they had needed for the home, or had no car to get there. They learned how to use the subway; Mississauga Transit as well as the Go Train/Bus to go to downtown Toronto. I had flown alone on March to celebrate my mother’s 40th birthday and she had told me it was nothing she had expected. She felt really sad about leaving Dubai, a place where we both call ‘home’. She had to start her nursing Master’s Degree all over again because it had been more than 10 years since she had taken the test. She needed to go to York University and pursue further education to be employed as a RN. My sisters were slowly adjusting to the life in Canada. They met kids their own age and were getting to know places and people. I went back to Dubai by the end of March and decided to move finally with my mother who needed my help in August 14, 2006. Experiencing exactly what she had warned me about was very challenging. I had to apply for a job and study high school credits since my university credits were not recognized in any colleges or universities here. I had to take English 12 and Math 12 again as well as other pre-requisites required. It was very tough and at times, I felt I just needed to go back home. But after seeing my mom suffer, doing so would make me a selfish person.  I still have great difficult establishing what I want to be here in Canada because of its very limited career prospects. I felt that my skills were withering and my finances were definitely tumbling. It does not seem to offer a common culture, a common language, or even a common protection under the law. It took me a year and a half to recognize my situation when I found out that I had already developed depression. Today Canada still has more problems than before such as racial segregation, low salaries among minorities and overly educated blue collar workers. I feel there are no real opportunities for newcomers. It is built on false hopes and dreams. By October 2006, I was lucky to get accepted in a similar job position at the Royal Bank of Canada working for the Visa department in Toronto. And now, I was also lucky to be accepted in the Banking & Wealth Management program in Sheridan Trafalgar campus and have friends from different places, which makes life a bit more exciting.