If you live in Dubai, you have at least one item from Ikea in your household (or you have tried a bite of the famous AED5 hotdog bun). You’re not a true blue UAE expat if you haven’t been to the blue box at all, or graced the cover of their annual catalog.
Nixon and Jenny Borbe and kids, residents of Sharjah, happily posing for Ikea souvenir catalog
And you might never ever have to put another Ikea product in your balikbayan box again because their biggest store is opening in our homeland.
Here are some facts about this groundbreaking milestone:
Biggest in the world Covering a total land area of 65,000 square meters, the 2-level complex will be equivalent to 150 full basketball courts. It will be located at SM Mall of Asia grounds. This size also covers the store’s warehouse, e-commerce facility, and integrated call center.
The store will be linked to the mall through direct walkways, making it super accessible to mall-goers. Among its 422 stores across the world, Manila’s will be the biggest.
“We will open an Ikea store to give millions of Filipinos easy access to a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low almost everyone will be able to afford them”
Opening by end of 2020 Although there’s no date yet of its groundbreaking, it is targeted to finish construction by end of 2020. So by that time, many Filipinos will have their old furniture broken.
9000 products There will be around 9,000 well-designed, functional home furnishing products that can help Filipinos make everyday life at home a little better. All at an affordable price.
There are more than 50 room settings where you can touch and test the furniture. 500+ new job opportunities More jobs for everyone. On top of spin-off jobs, the company is set to hire at least 500 personnel within the Philippines. Check this careers page or follow them in LinkedIn to get updated.
So you better start practicing your assembly and disassembly skills okay.
Business partnership Ikea is also looking for local suppliers for food (Hotdogs, ehem!), security, housekeeping, printing, and other services.
Ikea Playroom While you’re busy shopping, you can leave the kids to a supervised soft play area.
Online store If you are overwhelmed by its gigantic size, don’t worry as they will also launch an online store, ikea.ph. And will deliver across the Greater Manila Area.
A jeepney delivery? Lol, why not 🙂
You know what I’m sure of? People battling out the right pronunciation of Ikea. So, for the record, ist is, “ee-kay-uh.”
And you know what else? There’s gonna be long queue at the entrance everyday, not only because of the volume of people, but because manong guard will be inspecting all your bags before getting inside. Hmmm…
One of the most influential motivational speaker today, author of Start With Whyand Leaders Eat Last, and 3 other powerful books, will be lecturing Dubai.
Simon Sinek will share the stage with these equally positively influential forces:
John Maxwell Leadership Expert, Best-selling author, coach
Angela Ahrendts Senior Vice President of Retail, Apple
Sheila Heen Triad Consulting Group Founder Harvard Law School Faculty
Danny Meyer Restaurateur, TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People
Strive Masiyiwa Founder, Econet Group Philantropist
The website though mentioned that lineup is still subject to change.
UPDATE: The site also mentioned that “A selection of these speakers will be presented at the Dubai GLS by videocast.”
Happening on 2nd February 2019, Saturday, at Gloria Hotel, The Global Leadership Summit Dubai features FRESH, ACTIONABLE and INSPIRING LEADERSHIP CONTENT from world-class lecturers.
Simon is one of the inspiring speakers I look up to. His audio books are great companion while driving. His video Millennials in the Workplace is one of the most viral video content this year.
Tickets for early bird buyers cost AED 200 (until Nov 30) or AED 250 (until Dec 31); and AED 300-350 for regular price.
After opening several stores in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Sharjah and Ajman, Jollibee launches the first Filipino restaurant in a food truck concept in Dubai. The truck called, “Jollibee on Wheels,” is located at Dubai Marina promenade, where the community is dominated by non-Filipinos.
This presents a great opportunity to introduce the taste we love to other nationalities – especially these days many people are more curious to experience what’s in a food truck than what’s in a typical restaurant.
Spotify finally enters the Middle East and North Africa region offering free and premium subscriptions.
Basic functions like playing music are totally free. But you can choose to upgrade to premium for AED 19.99 per month for better audio quality, offline listening and an ads-free experience.
For those who are new to Spotify, here’s what you can do:
Choose what you want to listen to with Browse and Search
Get recommendations from personalized features
Create your own playlist – library of music (artists and albums)
See what friends, artists and celebrities listen to
Stay free. The audio quality of the free version is not bad at all. The ads are not that intrusive as well.
What does it mean for OFWs?
If you are a big follower of Filipino music like me, this is big for us.
These days, artists are releasing their new singles on Spotify ahead of Youtube, Facebook or even radio – especially the budding indie musicians. With Spotify, we have quicker access to these new music and EPs.
Top Filipino artists of this generation such as Ben&Ben, Autotelic, IV of Spades and Moira lead the way.
If audio book is your thing, there are also interesting podcasts like my favorite Simon Sinek.
Here’s some of what I’ve been listening to and exploring lately:
Spotify also gives us access to key milestones in the industry such as this remastered edition of Ultraelectromagneticpop digital release:
According to an article from Daily Dot, data use depends on the quality you are streaming from.
Normal quality- 96 kilobits, which lets you stream 40 megabytes per hour
High quality- 160 kilobits, which lets you stream 70 megabytes per hour
Extreme quality- 302 kilobits, which lets you stream 150 megabytes per hour
Automatic quality- this option configures your streaming quality based on your connection
These rates are not fixed. Spotify remembers songs you previously listened to, or caches them, so you won’t use as much data the next time you play them.
And, unlike Youtube, you can keep playing music while switching to different apps.
It is the group’s first time to perform in Dubai or anywhere else than the Philippines. Here’s what they had to say about the show, the crowd and their music:
It’s great to know that the simple activities I do at work allows me to stay fit and become healthier.
All of us spend more than half our day in the office – most of our lives actually, so it is just fair to make our body feel good when we’re in the workplace.
Dubai Fitness Challenge inspires me everyday to take small practical changes that bring big results. This program, happening on Octobe 26 to November 24, aims to turn Dubai into the most active city in the world. There’s a month-long calendar of exciting events. DFC is all about motivating and involving Dubai’s residents to commit to 30 minutes of continuous exercise a day for 30 days.
But if you are “TOO BUSY” and can’t allocate 30 minutes for it everyday, check our my list below. These are my recent health and fitness routines that helps me keep that zest, happiness and mental power at work. You can do them too.
GET PHYSICAL
1. Stand up and move from your workstation If some can have cigarette breaks and caffeine lovers have coffee breaks, why not have an exercise break?
Here’s what you can do:
1.1. Staircase walk. Climb up at the fire exit staircase. I do 100 steps up and down every 2 hours, 2nd floor to 6th floor. It only takes 2 minutes to complete one round. It’s not just plain walk – I use it to ignite thought processes too.
1.2 Outdoor walk. In cooler months, stroll around the work vicinity few hours after lunch, not only to burn calories, but also to unwind and de-stress with fresh air under the sun.
1.3 10 squats every hour. That’s a total of 80 squats a day – do you think it will not do good to your body? If you can’t do it in your cubicle, go to the washroom.
If you really can’t leave your place, thy these stretching exercises you can do at your desk:
I’ve heard one fitness guru (forgot the name) saying, if you exercise before going to office but spend more than two hours sitting, your workout is negated. 2. Do not use lifts If you’re only going 1 – 2 floor levels up, use the stairs. Your body will thank you.
3. Park few blocks away from your building If you have no parking space in the building, park about a block or 2 away so you’ll have to take extra few minutes walk to your office.
The Daniel Plan encourages us to move more than we do yesterday.
WATCH YOUR DIET
3. Drink 2-3 liters of water at work We don’t usually drink too much at home, so make it a habit to consume 2 to 3 liters of water at work. Have a 1L bottle (or other measurable tumbler) so you could count your intake. Yes it will make you pee more often, but you can do it along with your hourly stretching breaks.
Hydration also saves us from headache attacks from work-related stress.
4. Munch on nuts and dried fruits for your snacks If you can’t avoid snacking, replace your chips and cookies with almonds, cashew nuts, walnuts or dried figs, prunes or fresh fruits. You don’t have to deprive yourself of eating. Just replace the junk with the right food.
5. Have healthy and light lunches If you eat breakfast like a king, you can lunch like a prince. Gradually change your diet.
I used to bring “rice cooker” at work. I’m an extra rice guy. I started the change by replacing it with brown rice and with quinoa until I learned and managed not to have rice at all – very non-Filipino you’d say.
Salads don’t have to be boring. My wife is good at adding life to salads. She mixes it with grilled chicken or beef, prawns or fish in it. It’s not costly if prepared at home.
6. Avoid, or at least limit coffee and sodas Coffee is the staple office hot beverage everywhere. It is believed to keep us alert and battle sleepiness. But it can cause you to crash hard later on. If you have dependency on coffee, time to moderate a bit.
7. Wash your hands often Did you know that your computer keyboard have hundreds of times more bacteria than the toilet seat? Your mobile phone too. So it is advisable to wash your hands before and after food. Keep a hand sanitizer at your desk for that in between snacks.
Wash when you reach office – especially if you’re taking public transport – the hand rails of the bus and metro is the favorite hangout of virus and bacteria.
DEALING WITH WORK
8. Work ergonomically Your posture, your seat and the way you position your devices – especially the height of your monitor towards your eyes – play a significant part in reducing your body strain. It is essential to feel comfortable at work.
9. Manage stress Work-related stress is unavoidable. But it pays to know yourself and know your limits. Say no if you have to. If you let stress into your body, you’ll start getting headaches that will soon grow into sickness. Ans when your sick, your fitness habits stop.
Take a nap to recharge.
SOCIALIZE
10. Have a team or a buddy Having partners in crime at work who shares the same health and fitness goals with you is truly helpful in keeping on track. Look for somebody who will tap you in case that sugar cravings come along. Somebody who’ll walk with you outdoors and who’ll agree not to use the elevator. Somebody who’ll share a salad with you.
Also, conversations with like-minded people develops your emotional and mental health further. Two are better than one.
It helps to set health and fitness goals to get yourself that extra push to make these 10 a habit.
Depth is subjective. I think the film was intentionally not done to be too profound, and neither flat. The movie aimed to connect to most of the real life situation of ex-lovers, and it’s a huge success. As Carlo said, this could be everyone’s story.
Here’s more of our review of Exes Baggage Middle East version, using the simplest and fewest words :). Also featuring the Q&A with Angelica and Carlo.
Another family day out, another great moment created. For a family like ours who loves the outdoors and long walks, it is important to feel comfortable all the time while sporting the simplest casual look. I’m happy to influence my family with a style that values function over form.
Aya fancies the graphic lights on her Crocband clog. And we love the extra softness and even lighter feel of our Literide.
Raqz who is 6 months pregnant now finds it really comfortable to wear for longer strolls indoor and outdoor.
Durability is one of the many features you can find with Crocs. It’s okay to pay more for something that you can wear for a longer time. It saves you money.
Watch our little one as she finds what fits her style:
What does it feel like to stay in the world’s tallest hotel? You’re just up there. Literally.
Veiled in golden facade and shimmering lobby, I was surprised to learn this is just a 4-star hotel. But after we experienced the rooms, I knew why.
Don’t get wrong. It’s not bad at all. Our room at 72nd level is very spacious. Like a typical hotel-apartment, it’s complete with a big fridge, electric stove, microwave and a kitchen cupboard with utensils.
At few times they are slow, but service is good.
The pool and the view is amazing.
Since they are boasting of a prestige Guinness World Record, they could have done some things better – like the breakfast.
At the end of the day, your experience depends on your idea of having fun regardless of what or where you are anyway.
Anyway, here’s the rest of our experience in my daughter’s vlog:
