Pep Montserrat for The National
Pep Montserrat for The National
Pep Montserrat for The National
Pep Montserrat for The National

Take this job - and love it


  • English
  • Arabic

I was 16 years old when my father sat me down. In a firm voice, he told me that as long as I studied, he would continue to support my needs. Should I decide against attending university, however, I would be expected to earn my own keep. My father is a first generation Pakistani immigrant to the United Kingdom; education, above monetary reward, has always been the purest aim of Britain's South Asian settlers. It was a valuable lesson in self-sufficiency: and in the following two decades I have thrown myself into the tumble dryer of the modern workplace.

My first brush with employment filled me with resignation almost immediately: I was asked by my father to wash his car, once a week. This task would net me 50 pence each time. Initially, I relished the task. Possession of his car keys dictated I could listen to music as I scrubbed. Yet as he handed me Dh15 after my first four weeks, waves of despair overcame me. I hastened to supplement my income with other work. I replied to an advertisement in a local newspaper and soon after began a paper round. Once a week I would load a satchel with 144 newspapers published by the local council. Neither rain, sleet nor snow was to prove detrimental to the mission - all 144 papers were delivered in one afternoon for a total wage of Dh6. My route brought me into contact with younger readers who were indifferent to The Glaswegian as well as those elderly souls who relied on it as their only window to the outside world.

I was 17 years of age, and facing three listless months of clear blue skies before my first year at university when I crossed to the garage opposite our family home, looking for work. The manager of the Esso station informed me his branch sought to employ a young forecourt attendant to offer customers a free oil check. The promotion carried a clever ruse: a free reading might stimulate sales of engine oil. I was hired at the rate of Dh15 an hour for five hours each day, six days a week. Oil sales rose by nearly 20 per cent and, after three months, I had saved enough money to pay for my first two terms at university and several driving lessons. My three months on the forecourt saw me progress to stock taking and, eventually, a stint manning the cash register. Each night, I would return home, pay in hand, my pockets bulging with tips.

And so it followed that each summer posed the same dilemma: dare I succumb to the monotony of inactivity, or the challenges of gainful employment? For two periods over as many years, I found work taking inventory at a large record store in Glasgow. For seven hours each day, I was rewarded in cash for helping count and catalogue compact discs, cassettes and records. My interest in music was already infinite - and my fellow employees acted like tutors, adding to my education: Bob Dylan, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and The Beach Boys were just a few of my discoveries during those months. In addition, the job allowed me to carefully note all the releases, mislaid or wrongly filed, I yearned to own. At the end of each week, the manager would grant me purchase of my wish-list at a discounted rate.

In my first year at university, I answered a newspaper advertisement seeking household goods salesmen. The job paid about Dh20 an hour, excluding a 20 per cent commission on all items sold. My catchment area included one of Glasgow's most privileged neighbourhoods. Once a week, borrowing my father's Toyota, I would drive to Whitecraigs, drop off around 100 catalogues - featuring everything from kitchen knives to bread bins and bathroom cleaners - and return a few days later to collect dozens of filled-in order forms. A minimal effort on my part would bring in a weekly wage averaging Dh600. In the evenings, I mowed lawns and trimmed hedges. On weekends, I worked at a DIY store, selling paint and wallpaper.

In my second year at university, I took the advice of a colleague and was given the job of delivery boy at a local pizzeria. The hours were arduous, 4pm to 2am. The uniform was of questionable taste - outsized red overalls with the store's name, Armando's Pizzeria, stencilled across the back. Our mode of transport was dangerously unreliable: a fleet of rusting and often temperamental mopeds. My bike had one headlight, no horn and was incapable of breaking a sweat over 30kph. I survived one collision, one attempted bike theft and innumerable insults from other teenagers.

The pay was an improvement, however, at Dh18 an hour, tips and a free pizza. The job was also my first introduction to an exclusively twenty-something male workforce. Between deliveries, the drivers would sit outside a tool shed, idly smoking cigarettes and listening to rock music, while complaining bitterly about meagre tips. To any passer-by, the sight must have resembled a scene from a Ken Loach movie.

In short, I found liberation and democracy within the confines of the workplace. Employment gave each day a narrative which could not be found sitting in my bedroom, listening to music. My hours at work were memorable for the humour and discussion involved. The interaction - and the awful reality that I might not always excel at what I set out to attempt - with my superiors proved invaluable. The economic benefits also paid for certain freedoms. And, over the next few years, I was able to travel extensively, escaping my Scottish orbit.

Throughout my adult life, I have only worked for private enterprises. Whether cleaning floors at a fast food takeaway in Glasgow, picking strawberries for farmers or working at newspapers, I am typical of the British post-war generation which views government jobs with a certain degree of disdain. The pay is often abysmal and the hours can be thankless. More tellingly, government organisations have conspicuous flaws which see them veer between paralysis, bureaucracy and inactivity. Private workforces, on the other hand, are driven by ambition and are endlessly refining and improving their services. No longer does the 1950s stereotype of the faceless corporation fit the mould - the private sector has, over the past 40 years, prompted a revolution in finance, construction, medicine, science and the arts.

I am not alone in my experiences: many of my friends have emerged from humble beginnings and sought the freedom of upward mobility. From parents who were labourers and construction workers has emerged a generation of diplomats and bankers. By any evaluation, all have prospered, expanding on the modest beginnings of their parents. Other acquaintances, however, opted for the dependability of family enterprise. Some regret breaking free of their obligations. Many find themselves facing the same daily chores as their parents. I was told, during my formative years, this was not an option that would be made available to me. I confess I did not understand my father's motives at the time. But in the future, I'll seek to pass on the same curriculum.

Burhan Wazir is Editor of The National on Saturday. He can be contacted at bwazir@thenational.ae

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

Liverpool’s fixtures until end of 2019

Saturday, November 30, Brighton (h)

Wednesday, December 4, Everton (h)

Saturday, December 7, Bournemouth (a)

Tuesday, December 10, Salzburg (a) CL

Saturday, December 14, Watford (h)

Tuesday, December 17, Aston Villa (a) League Cup

Wednesday, December 18, Club World Cup in Qatar

Saturday, December 21, Club World Cup in Qatar

Thursday, December 26, Leicester (a)

Sunday, December 29, Wolves (h)

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

Fanney Khan

Producer: T-Series, Anil Kapoor Productions, ROMP, Prerna Arora

Director: Atul Manjrekar

Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rajkummar Rao, Pihu Sand

Rating: 2/5 

Rafael Nadal's record at the MWTC

2009 Finalist

2010 Champion

Jan 2011 Champion

Dec 2011 Semi-finalist

Dec 2012 Did not play

Dec 2013 Semi-finalist

2015 Semi-finalist

Jan 2016 Champion

Dec 2016 Champion

2017 Did not play

 

Brief scoreline:

Liverpool 5

Keita 1', Mane 23', 66', Salah 45' 1, 83'

Huddersfield 0

Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books

 

 

SQUADS

Bangladesh (from): Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Taijul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadat Hossain, Abu Jayed

Afghanistan (from): Rashid Khan (capt), Ihsanullah Janat, Javid Ahmadi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Qais Ahmad, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Afsar Zazai, Shapoor Zadran

The National selections

Al Ain

5pm: Bolereau
5.30pm: Rich And Famous
6pm: Duc De Faust
6.30pm: Al Thoura​​​​​​​
7pm: AF Arrab​​​​​​​
7.30pm: Al Jazi​​​​​​​
8pm: Futoon

Jebel Ali

1.45pm: AF Kal Noor​​​​​​​
2.15pm: Galaxy Road
2.45pm: Dark Thunder
3.15pm: Inverleigh​​​​​​​
3.45pm: Bawaasil​​​​​​​
4.15pm: Initial
4.45pm: Tafaakhor

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

PROFILE

Name: Enhance Fitness 

Year started: 2018 

Based: UAE 

Employees: 200 

Amount raised: $3m 

Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors 

How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
  • Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
  • Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
  • Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
  • Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
  • Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
The Bio

Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees  (oats with chicken) is one of them

Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.

Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results

During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks

Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy

Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it

The%20specs
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ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Quentin%20Tarantino%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Uma%20Thurman%2C%20David%20Carradine%20and%20Michael%20Madsen%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%204.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE SQUAD

Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EProcessor%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Apple%20M3%2C%208-core%20CPU%2C%20up%20to%2010-core%20CPU%2C%2016-core%20Neural%20Engine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDisplay%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2013.6-inch%20Liquid%20Retina%2C%202560%20x%201664%2C%20224ppi%2C%20500%20nits%2C%20True%20Tone%2C%20wide%20colour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMemory%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%2F16%2F24GB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStorage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20256%2F512GB%20%2F%201%2F2TB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EI%2FO%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Thunderbolt%203%2FUSB-4%20(2)%2C%203.5mm%20audio%2C%20Touch%20ID%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EConnectivity%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wi-Fi%206E%2C%20Bluetooth%205.3%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2052.6Wh%20lithium-polymer%2C%20up%20to%2018%20hours%2C%20MagSafe%20charging%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECamera%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201080p%20FaceTime%20HD%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EVideo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Support%20for%20Apple%20ProRes%2C%20HDR%20with%20Dolby%20Vision%2C%20HDR10%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAudio%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204-speaker%20system%2C%20wide%20stereo%2C%20support%20for%20Dolby%20Atmos%2C%20Spatial%20Audio%20and%20dynamic%20head%20tracking%20(with%20AirPods)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EColours%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Midnight%2C%20silver%2C%20space%20grey%2C%20starlight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIn%20the%20box%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20MacBook%20Air%2C%2030W%2F35W%20dual-port%2F70w%20power%20adapter%2C%20USB-C-to-MagSafe%20cable%2C%202%20Apple%20stickers%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh4%2C599%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Royal Birkdale Golf Course

Location: Southport, Merseyside, England

Established: 1889

Type: Private

Total holes: 18

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm

Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km

Price: from Dh94,900

On sale: now

Normcore explained

Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.

How to increase your savings
  • Have a plan for your savings.
  • Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
  • Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
  • It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings. 

- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

 

 

Without Remorse

Directed by: Stefano Sollima

Starring: Michael B Jordan

4/5

Company Profile

Name: JustClean

Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries

Launch year: 2016

Number of employees: 130

Sector: online laundry service

Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding

Company%20Profile
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Seven tips from Emirates NBD

1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details

2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet

3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details

4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure

5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs  (one-time passwords) with third parties

6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies

7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately

The biog

Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages

Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”  

Favourite food: “I'm a vegetarian, so I can't get enough of salad.”

Favourite film:  “I love watching documentaries, and am fascinated by nature, animals, human anatomy. I love watching to learn!”

Best spot in the UAE: “I fell in love with Fujairah and anywhere outside the big cities, where I can get some peace and get a break from the busy lifestyle”

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young