u/bloopity99

I always enjoyed studying engineering, I was top of my class in a very competitive college, I have 3 years of experience post grad overall, first year post grad I was a researcher for the same university, water resources related. I enjoyed it very much but the pay was criminally low. Then I spent the following 2 years as a site engineer because I really needed the money and research wasn’t paying that much

I cannot put into words how much I dislike my current job, I don’t feel like I’m an engineer anymore, there’s nothing intellectually stimulating about my current job, basically my day consists of walking around and making sure the formwork is aligned correctly and check the reinforcement against shop drawing, or make sure things like painting and tiling are done properly, just the most boring and mindless tasks imaginable ( I don’t know if it’s common in other countries, but in my country civil engineers are also expected to watch over the finishing and fitting out)

I feel stuck, I don’t want to live like this anymore. the money isn’t that good either. I don’t think I can get any job that isn’t civil engineering related because I don’t have much skills outside of engineering. Is going back to academia a good idea at this point? What about water or geotechnical engineering, are they more technical?

Climbing up the ladder in construction doesn’t seem appealing because all of my seniors are mainly dealing with construction management issues like logistics and how to save money by getting the cheapest possible subcontractor etc, I’m looking for something more technically inclined

My job involves spending tons of time under the sun, I’m suffering from bad burning in my thighs. i’ve tried looking but anti-chafing sticks are hard to find in UAE

what other products/measures can I use? is baby powder a good idea? I’ve seen some locals recommend it but google says it’s a bad idea and can lead to fungal problems lol

i’ve tried every single medicated shampoo, MCT C8 oil, squalane oil, anti fungal creams, etc

Nizoral gets rid of the flaking but the white patches on my scalp are really stubborn, i shave my head very short so it’s very apparent to other people and it looks disgusting

Hydrocortisone solutions work but obviously I can’t use them long term

No gatekeeping, let’s share our favourites

I will start: Canada Dry Cream Soda, the best soda in UAE

I’m saying this as a native Arabic speaker it is seriously jarring

One time I went to a bank and I asked whether the teller spoke Arabic (he was egyptian, I thought he looked south asian), he got seriously offended, started making passive aggressive comments “I speak chinese ching chong!”, giving me death stares for the entire time.

Fast forward to this week, I got an internal move in my company and was switched to another office, one of my new colleagues got extremely offended because I asked whether he spoke arabic before addressing him (it was my first time seeing him and our company is 90% non arabs!), he got really angry and wouldn’t speak to me at all, giving me the silent treatment like I insulted his mother

Wtf is the issue? I learned to ask whether people spoke arabic because I ran into embarrassing situations of assuming people are arab and proceeding to speak arabic with them unprompted, this is a very diverse country why is it wrong to ask people about their language???

I’m thinking of calling in sick tomorrow, 6 months into this job and have only taken sick leave for 1 day. My attendance record is perfect otherwise.

Is 2 days in 6 months considered too much in UAE? I’m just seriously mentally burned out and need the extra day of rest

I’m really tempted by the steam sale, I’m not touching 13-2 and LR since I heard these have major technical issues, but base FF13 is supposed to be good with the right mods.

Bonus points if it ends decisively and unambiguously (2 of the 3 become a couple)

More bonus points if it’s a shoujo/josei

Not necessarily sugar-free, I imagine these will taste bitter. I want something sweet but also a bit nutty, nutella tastes like pure sugar.

We get a maximum of 1200 AED for the two way ticket (doesn’t cover 25% of the cost for my flight lol) + the leave money is paid *after* rejoining

Is this common? not even going to ask about legality bc I’m pretty sure this is not legal as per the law but this is the UAE where no employer respects the law

What’s the optimal order to experience the series

Also, speaking of OG FF7, which version is best? I read some complaints about the steam version IIRC

and what about the side games like Crisis Core?

I swear prices have jumped almost 50-60% vs pre war, it’s ridiculous

This is just a guess/estimate, does anyone have actual numbers? It’s a shame we don’t have extensive inflation tracking like most countries bc the govt wants to maintain the “Habibi come to dubai” perfect image.

Did any independent person or researcher make some kind of numerical analysis?

My workday is 10 hours and for me it’s 20-80 split of real work to fake work on avg, maybe 30-70 on a busy day.

3 hours of actual intense work is like the maximum I would do on a busy day, rest is spent scrolling on my phone and pretending to look busy.

I wish we were honest about how much work we do, so we could scroll in peace without looking over your shoulder. even top management are pretending to be busy most of the time.

I work 60 hours (10 hoursx6 days), every waking hour from Monday to saturday is spent preparing for work, commuting to work, at work, commuting back from work, winding down after work (showering etc)

By the time I finished showering in the evening i’m too knackered to do anything, I just hit the bed like a hibernating bear

Sundays are spent doing laundry, cleaning my room, doing meal prep, making up for lost sleep etc

Maybe there’s no real solution to my problem so consider this a vent post, but I don’t know what to do or how much longer I can keep on like this.

Unfortunately due to the current situation and job market, I cannot resign and look for a more forgiving job, I’m holding onto my current job for dear life.

Anyone else feeling like this? How do you cope?

It’s mango season apparently and I’m seeing a dozen types of indian mangoes in every big supermarket

which ones should I look out for?

I work at a middle sized construction firm in Dubai, we had to put 3 projects worth a total of 500m AED on hold

Layoffs are going like crazy, everyone at the company is currently sweating bullets, it’s not looking good.

Iran and US don’t even look close to any sort of deal so I’m not expecting any breakthrough soon

How about you? how’s your situation and how cooked is our industry ?

I’ve always been a cotton boxer briefs guy but they’re not suitable for UAE summers at all, it’s like wearing a wet sponge down there, i just feel gross and sticky all day.

I want something moisture wicking but also has to be soft and comfortable enough, any recs for certain materials or brands?

I’m working 60-70 hours a week in a very miserable environment right now, the work load is insane, the pay is very little, and the personalities I work with are all vicious.

Unfortunately leaving isn’t an option, at least for now. I don’t want to dwell on it but I’m a refugee with little options rn

How can I stop or at least minimise the amount of misery seeping into other areas of my life due to my job? I feel like I can’t even enjoy any of my hobbies anymore, even meeting friends doesn’t bring me any joy anymore.

I want to build up my mental resilience a little bit and make work affect me less emotionally, any tips?