It’s all about multi-tasking…ika nga ni Mando.
It has been said countless times that to survive life as an OFW, one must be well-versed in the art of multi-tasking, not only at work but at home.
Nowhere is this skill put to its utmost test than in Dubai where it is common to see someone – a flatmate, and we call him Mando – preparing to cook his dinner while still in his work dress-up and shoes soon after arriving home at, say, 8pm.
Once the pot heats up, he’d quickly run to his bed, pull out his laundry basket from underneath and head to the laundry room, still wearing his shoes. He then goes back to the kitchen and check his pot.
When finally everything is in place – the stew boiling in the pot and the laundry machine doing its thing – Mando returns to his bed and change, relax a bit and wait for the food to be done as well as his laundry.
By 10pm, Mando would be hanging around in the flat’s living area, having done hanging his fresh clothes in the clothesline and waiting for his turn for the “kabayo” to iron his shirt for the next day. There are about 20 of them in the flat, half of which are watching TV at the living area and about five taking turns with the kabayo.
Around 11pm, Mando checks his “baon” for the following day, keeps them in the ref and wash up.
Midnight and he is in bed with his laptop or iphone, chatting with friends.
By 2am he finally calls it a day and sleep. He will rise again at 6am and head to the shower (his turn is 6:15am and he has 15 minutes to get it all done), hit the metro by 7am and be at work before 8am for yet again another day in the life of the multi-tasking master.
