Wednesday, February 27, 2008

you think you've known all these?

Now, let me put this scenario into a flight to Bangkok. In around 2 hours you have to do so so so many things.

On-ground duties:

• preparing all amenities, magz, newspaper, meals, toiletries, menu, toys, towel, headset, etc (different work position does different things).


• check the workability of the video, reading lights, etc.


• check cabin security and cleanliness.


• prepare for boarding

• extra care to Meet and Assist passengers


• extra care to mother with infants or children (infant seatbelt, bassinet, baby kit, child order, baby meal, etc)


• take note of your 'priority' passengers


• etc...

• towel distribution and collection


• cabin check for safety and security


• etc...

Now... let me tell you some stories about cabin check for safety and security.

• How many of you actually watch the safety video?


• How many of you think that you've already known what is the content of the video?


• How many of you actually do the things that were mentioned 100% (without being reminded by the crew)?


• How many of you ever try to think of the reasons behind the 'for safety reason' phrase?


• How many of you think you'll be fine and know what to do during emergency? or maybe you take it for granted that you can't possibly be the unlucky ones?

A pregnant lady was upset when I tried to collect her headset during our preparation for landing.
Why do you have to collect the headset?
Mam, it is for safety reason that I have to collect all headsets
Safety reason...safety reason... what safety reason?
Mam, in case of emergency or evacuation, you may trip over your headset wire or it may fly around and hurt yourself or other passenger... (before I even finished, she was already annoyed and pissed thinking that I was trying to make her 'lose face'. The westerners behind her were surprised and looked in disbelief *muahaha.I did not even mention that she may miss the 'evacuation command' if she's wearing her headsets)
(shouting) You know what.... JUST TAKE IT!
So I took it and continued collecting my headsets.

An educated, trendy lady sat on the very first row where there are no storage in front of them (usually they can put small bags under the seat in front of them). I politely asked to assist her to stow her bag on the overhead compartment. However, during our preparation for landing, the bag was back on her lap.
Mam, let me help you to stow your bag on the overhead compartment.
Why do I have to put it there?
Mam, for safety reason your bag has to be stowed on top *refering to the fact that she does not have any sufficient storagen space in front of her.
What safety reason?
In case of depressurisation (means the aircraft just 'falls' down to a certain level) or emergency, your bag won't fly all over *and may injure herself or other pax (I did not even mention the fact that she won't be able to do her 'bracing' position during emergency)....
I don't think so!

Well...in these cases, I have to refrain myself from 'challenging' the passengers to avoid further matters. If only I work at other companies, maybe I can easily reply: "Oh yeah, let's see if you can be a heroine and hold your bag tightly still during emergency," or "I don't give a damn on your own safety or life, but the other passengers may not necessarily agree on you risking theirs too." - evil laugh....muahahahhaa

You see... We, the crew, are not doing all the so-called safety measures just for the sake of being seen doing something about it. They serve a purpose, whether you like or not, whether you ever think about it or not. It is not like we have a thousand years on our hands to do all our duties. We are on constant battle with time and doing this safety check really means a lot to us.

The next time you're on board, think again on why you have to switch off your electrical devices, put your sit up-right, stow your tray table, put your foot rest up, fasten your seat belt, put your window shades up and stow your bag properly under the seat in front of you!!

Have you found the answers???

Nevertheless, stop being a pain in the a** passenger... I am just trying to help.

Sorry peeps... sometimes it is just so frustrating :(
especially when the passengers really show me some attitude or faces
I am a human too!

Labels: inside-out stories, WoRk

Posted by Ddee at 12:37 AM

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Monday, February 25, 2008

map as proof

To enlighten you on Terence's and my achievement... let me show you the route that we took on our 2nd day in Rome.

Labels: IdLe MoM3nt, WoRk

Posted by Ddee at 9:20 PM

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Saturday, February 23, 2008

rome isn't built in a day

At least for now.

But they are unavoidable when you are in their country of origin, don't you think so?

So.... Italian pizza, pasta and gelato are a MUST when we were in Rome :)

And all of them come in big sizes!!

We did not spend any time to explore this piazza. We just rushed to our main destination.

Welcome you... the famous Colosseum!

Colosseum
- Built during the Flavi family reign, also called Anfiteatro Flavio.
- A vast amphitheatre with seating for over 55,000 that was designed as a horse racing circuit or an arena for animal fighting and gladitorial battles
- There is a saying in Rome: "If the Colosseum stands, Rome stands; if Rome stands, the world stands."

The battlefield (cavea) in under restoration (left bottom of the pic) and underneath was used to keep the animals. They used a pull-ey system (like an elevator) to bring up the animal to the arena

Underneath the arena (see this in JUMPER, the movie!)
Colosseum was closed for 3 days to accommodate the shooting of Jumper *cool

The Arch of Constantine and Titus
- next to the Colosseum

We tried to cut short our way back to the drop-off point by passing Areo di Tito. After some confusion, we managed to get our way through and reach just in time :)

And so we walked for around 20mins to an Italian restaurant recommended by Jeremy.

Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain)
- Designed by Nicola Salvi for Pope Clemente XII, it was completed in the second half of the 1700s
- The statues in the centre represent Neptune supported by Tritons on either side while rococo-style Poli Palace provides the perfect backdrop.
- Tradition has it that throwing a coin over your left shoulder into the fountain guarantees a swift return to Rome

Day 2
Equipped with just a map, Terence and I went sight-seeing around the city. I have to say we're proud of our achievement. We found some places which are not even reflected in the map and can safely say that we conquer the centra area.

Esquilino Hill
- One of the oldest sites of Roman civilization that is famous for housing some of the oldest curches in Christian history
- Savour the town's view from the hill

Barberini Square and Fountain of Triton
- Built by Barberini family




Via Veneto
- The symbol of Roman dolce vita or sweet life, which characterized the city in 1960s thanks to the street's famous luxury hotels and historical cafes



- Commissioned by Marcus Agrippa, restored by Domitian, and subsequently rebuilt by Hadrian (who added the dome), The Pantheon was turned into a church in the early 7th century by Pope Boniface IV

San Pietro Basilica (San Peter Basilica)
Only one word: MAGNIFICENT!!

Random shots!!!

Labels: ArOund The WoRld, HaPpiNesS

Posted by Ddee at 11:54 PM

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Sunday, February 17, 2008

Visit Taiwan 2008

Woopz...my apology for the late posting on my second Taipei trip.

The flight was smooth except the early morning transport that did not pick me up and caused me some stress in the morning. The condo guards must have pitied me standing on the roadside worrying over the stoopid transport added with super busy phone numbers. What a day to start!!

How do you know when you've done a great job on board?
When you're having a Probationary status, been flying for less than 2 months and yet suddenly two of your leading stewardess (higher rank) asked whether you were an ex-crew before. Fly me to the moon....you know what it means :) *hahahaha...should have had my check on this flight ugh...

I finally got to meet Nick and Ruby (my AIESEC friends) again. They wondered what I wanted to do in Taipei since I've been there before...

so... this was what I want!!

Labels: ArOund The WoRld, FRi3nD$, PaRty

Posted by Ddee at 10:14 PM

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home = food

After a long-tiring day (or days) at work, it feels really good to have a 'home' and feel at 'home' indeed.

So far the five of us have been coping well with each other. We drew up basic rules, house-cleaning schedule and so on. Guests have been giving us positive feedback of our place... so yeah, come and visit us more often *hoho.


In addition, with 3 nationalities under one roof, we get to learn other culture and yeah... taste different food too. Coupled that with our travelling frequency *hoho... we really savour world's food. From Indonesia, Chinese, Hungary, Philippines and more to come...

Labels: FooDie, IdLe MoM3nt

Posted by Ddee at 9:59 PM

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Friday, February 15, 2008

hope you'd do fine

Dearie...

I know it hurts...

and no words can console you right now...

that's why I choose to keep silent...

but time heals...

just be strong!

Love ya :)

Labels: Emo~, ShOuT~

Posted by Ddee at 1:15 AM

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Monday, February 11, 2008

taipei n rome...here i come

1. Taipei *again* on 15-15th Feb
   Hey peeps...see you there ok. I am excited to meet my ol' @ friends there. We haven't meet for over a year or two. It's gonna be so much fun wandering around with the locals :)
   
2. 2. Rome on 19-23rd Feb *I am back Rome!
   - So.... am trying to SOS Uncle Google for his assistance now. Heaven's sake...anyone's help is welcomed!!
   - Any recommendation aside from the usual St.Peter, Colosseum, Trevi fountain and so on.
   - Hm...is EUR 100 enough for 3 days?? argh...I can hear the spell: broke broke broke
   - What type of transportation is best for a tourist like me?? *grin..haha
   

Colosseum in the evening
*am expecting a crazy bunch of crew whom I can take plenty of pics with muahahaha

I am calling for an S.O.S and S.O.S and S.O.S here...


Awh...if the plan goes accordingly, I am gonna meet Ratna and Lina *my ol' housemates in Penang* in Sydney. Better come down to the hotel and meet me there yaaa...hahaha


And ah Pheebs..am so gonna scold you for not meeting us when you dropped by in Singapore!!

Er...remember the Korea trip...remember the Namdaemun gate *Korea's #1 National treasure?? Won told me last night that it was burnt by yet an identified person *I assume it's a HE. My God... such a waste of history and cultural preservation!! shoo...shoo....go away

Ugh...suddenly this post is just so random and confusing.


Anyway... have a great Rat year....cit cit cit...

Labels: Cr*p, WoRk

Posted by Ddee at 6:27 PM

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Saturday, February 09, 2008

#1 karaoke in Singapore

Saturday Karaoke Fever!!

• Over 6 hours of karaoke


• 4 bedroom-auditioner consisting of Zam, Nophie, Jacky and Ddee *muahaha


• 4 big glasses of drinks


• 6 toilet visits


• A whole afternoon of endless priceless fun and crazy dances


• Cost: S$20,-

Yummy....hahaha when's the next one? Anyone wanna join?

Labels: HaPpiNesS

Posted by Ddee at 10:47 PM

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Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Gong Xi Fa Cai

ps: Ge ge, jie jie.... brotha sista.... abang kakak.... koko ceceh.... where is my angpao ar??

Labels: GreeTingZ

Posted by Ddee at 11:33 PM

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A Slice of Life!

STORIES - The Old Man and His Shoe

One day an old man boarded a bus. As he was going up the steps, one of his shoes slipped off. The door closed and the bus moved off so he was unable to retrieve it. The old man calmly took off his other shoe and threw it out of the window.

A young man on the bus saw what happened, and could not help going up to the old man and asking, "I noticed what you did, sir. Why did you throw out your other shoe?"

The old man promptly replied, "So that whoever finds them will be able to use them."

The old man in the story understood a fundamental philosophy for life - do not hold on to something simply for the sake of possessing it or because you do not wish others to have it. We lose things all the time. The loss may seem to us grievous and unjust initially, but loss only happens so that positive changes can occur in our lives. We should not always assume that losing something is bad, because if things do not shift, we'll never become better people or experience better things. That's not to say of course that we only lose "bad" things; it simply means that in order for us to mature emotionally and spiritually, and for us to contribute to the world, the interchange between loss and gain is necessary.

Like the old man in the story, we have to learn to let go. The world had decided that it was time for the old man to lose his shoe. Maybe this happened to add momentum to a series of events leading to a better pair of shoes for the old man. Maybe the search for another pair of shoes would lead the old man to a great benefactor. Maybe the world decided that someone else needed the shoes more.

Whatever the reason, we can't avoid losing things. The old man understood this. One of his shoes had gone out of his reach. The remaining shoe would not have been much help to him, but it would be a cherished gift to a homeless person desperately in need of protection from the ground. Hoarding possessions does nothing to make us or the world better. We all have to decide constantly if some things or people have run their course in our lives or would be better off with others. We then have to muster the courage to give them away.

WRITTEN BY EUGENE LOH
938LIVE, a station of MediaCorp Radio.

Labels: A Slice of Live

Posted by Ddee at 11:07 PM

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Monday, February 04, 2008

sappy saddy teary

"She had me at my worst.

You had me at my best.

And you threw all away."

~Popoy, One More Chance *Filipino movie


ugh..........deep -__-'

Labels: Excerpts

Posted by Ddee at 11:57 PM

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Sunday, February 03, 2008

dubai...oh... dubai...

Hahaha...finally, a new country to add to my list and the first new country for this year *yeah yeah...throwing confetti :)

It was a great stand-by called up. Means that I was on stand-by status, they can call me up to do any flights on that particular time. The last few times I was given turnaround flights. Meaning that we fly to a nearby country (like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, etc) and come back on the same day. Usually we transit for an hour before we depart back to Singapore. In this an hour, we prepare for the next flights.... the meal, drinks, newspaper, magazine, headset, toiletries, etc. So I was really really glad when they gave me Dubai *hahaha. Apparently, as I found out later, a crew reported sick due to food poisoning in Dubai, so I flew there as a passenger and operated as a crew on my way back to Singapore. We call this 'paxing' *a new term to learn.

I love paxing....coz we actually receive about the same allowance, but just half of the working hours allowance. But hey.... I do not have to work, I am given food on board, I can watch movie, read magazine, play games, etc. Love it!!

But you know what...something happened in Dubai (GMT+4, 4 hours behind Singapore).
01.15am: Touched-down in Dubai International Airport.
02.37am: Finally left the airport for the hotel.
02.50am: Reached the hotel.
I was supposed to check on my 'crew team' with whom I would be flying back with. The hotel staff couldnt find them *I was worried here. So, I decided to take my room key first. Arghhhh to my surprise, my name was not in the list. they did not reserve a room for me at all. They missed my name coz usually there are only 15 crew *I was an extra in this case.

Hohoho....I was like: owkay...so where should I sleep then???
The hotel tried to check with another hotel..it was FULLY-booked too. Oh Bozhe Moi!!!

My big supervisor fortunately assisted me throughout the process, he was really nice and calm. He accompanied me while the hotel tried to make arrangements. After some time... calling here and there, the hotel managed to get a room at the Intercontinental Hotel which is further away from this hotel. And I was to stay there alone by myself. How scary it was!

It's alright then. The driver drove me there and on our way he mentioned he doesn't really know where the hotel is. I was ..."OH MY, don't kid me. This is not funny at all." I was just too tired to play with him. We reached the hotel...and guess what?? It took me 30mins to confirm my room. When I checked with the staff *again, after waiting for quite some time under their slow service and lack of efficiency*, he told me that he was still on the phone with the booker to reserve my room. OH MAN...... I just couldn't believe it.

In the end, I slept at 5am (Spore time: 9am) and woke up at 8am. Jet lag jet lag...stoopid jet lag. But the hotel was really really awesome!!! The best hotel I've seen thus far...WOW WOW WOW!! What an experience.... -___-'' I was so worried and frustrated over the whole thing. Thank goodness the hotel was superb and I can have breakfast for free hehehe.

What blessings in disguise!

See....see....see...

Well, being awake at 8am was not my intention. So, I washed up and then went down for a breakfast. From bakery products, meat, noodles, dimsum to sushi... yummy... I had them all!!

Later, I took a cab down to the crew's hotel and went to Jumeirah beach with another 2 stewardess. In Dubai, it is like highway everywhere. So, where ever you go... they have to make a big loop at the highway... dang!! Wasting fuel and money and time.

I was here!!

The three of us had a fabulous time together. It was so fun coz we can act the way we are. We sang, danced, joked around and took many pics :) Love it. We purposely went to the Burj Al Arab hotel to take pics too. Have you received any email on this hotel before? It is all gold inside. But we couldnt get in coz we're not their guests, so we were pretty happy with just taking pics outside.

Labels: ArOund The WoRld

Posted by Ddee at 4:28 PM

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Friday, February 01, 2008

stoopid flood

Dang....dang....dang....


Jakarta is in a HUGE mess, flood is everywhere. The airport was closed down for some time, the highways were buried under water... and my home-sweet home is now having that unwelcomed guest.

So sickening.... it has never entered my house before, literally. The most was just at the front yard where I found a dead fish before. Now, the water level is up to thigh and the electricity was cut. My parents and bro are still there....shietttt..... *huhuhuhu

Pic courtesy of Kompas.com

Wondering how tomorrow will be... coz it's already at waist level on the streets. Please...

For all the flood victims, be strong and take a good care of yourself ok!

For the government, isn't it another IMPORTANT sign to even start planning on a better city planning and management?

For everyone else, start taking good care of the mother earth *if you haven't done so* and keep up the great job *if you've started to do so*... your lives, your next generation's lives and your next next generation's lives lay on your hand.

We all can make a difference!!

Labels: Emo~, ShOuT~

Posted by Ddee at 11:20 PM

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