Around the Globe: December 2007

Ola everyone! Ahihihi! Is it that obvious that I am getting lazy to blog? Honestly, I am getting lethargic. I don’t know how to create a good entry. I feel like my blog entries are getting duller than ever! However, I will still try my best to compose a decent and interesting entry.

Jakarta:

A lot of Indonesian crew wanted to swap my Jakarta for their Manila and other European flights; however, it was going to be the first time that I will be able to fly with my batch mate and good friend, Julia so I ended up not swapping with them. Just when the roster for November came out and we found out that we would be flying together, it made us look forward to the not so interesting Jakarta flight. Jakarta is almost like Manila flights, around 8 hours long, quiet and sleeping guests, not so much to do flight. The only difference for me is, when I have Manila I get to see family and friends; Jakarta, I sleep in the hotel and do nothing. LoL! Julia and I did not work in the same galley. She worked in the AFT and I was working in the FWD. Hence, we only got to chat once and for a while throughout the flight. Although Julia and I were freaking worn-out because of the flight, we went out straight away. We knew that if we went for a snooze that we would end up waking up in the middle of the night already! LoL! And so, Julia and I went to the mall to get some DVDs. It took us some time to find were the DVDs were located and when we finally did, we got stuck in the same stand for the next hour and half. They had everything Julia and I was looking for, TV series such as One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, Gilmore Girls, Will & Grace and a lot more. They also had new movies that I’ve been wanting to watch! I bought around 11 DVDs, Julia got more than 25! Talk about DVD shopping! LoL! When we got back to the hotel, wanting to unwind before going to bed, we decided to go for a dip in the swimming pool. When we got there, suddenly, Julia and I didn’t feel like swimming anymore so we just went to the wellness center or something like that. Whoa! It was wonderful! They had a Jacuzzi, a sauna and a steam room! Awesome! It only took 5 minutes in the Jacuzzi for me to feel the need to go to bed already! LoL! And just when I got back to my room, Zzzzzzzz!

The next day, we had free buffet breakfast. Julia and I met up with the other crew and stayed in the restaurant for about 2 hours. I love the selection that the restaurant has. So far, the best free breakfast buffet I’ve had here in Etihad. Right after breakfast, Elis, Julia and I went to our rooms, got a pillow and slept/relaxed beside the pool. The weather was not that great but it ok. Stayed by the pool for about 2 hours and we went back to our rooms to prepare for the flight going back to Abu Dhabi.

Breakfast Buffet

Elis . Me . Julia

Dehli:

My only comment on this flight! Que Horror! :o

The cancelled Manila flight:

For a couple of days, Abu Dhabi had serious problems with the weather change. Fog was very thick. You barely see anything in the road nor can you see the runway in the airport. For this reason, a lot of flights, incoming and outgoing, has been either cancelled or delayed. Some Etihad aircrafts even had to divert to other destinations. Fog here in Abu Dhabi usually clears out after an hour or two, but on the night of my Manila flight, it did not clear up until the next day. It was the worst fog Abu Dhabi Airport has ever had. We were suppose to take off by 2am but nothing was happening. I, together with 12 other flight mates, were stuck inside the aircraft until 5am. Due to legalities, we were not legal to operate that particular Manila flight anymore. We went back to the office and waited for another 3 hours doing nothing, and finally we were just sent home by the crew control. In replacement for the cancelled Manila flight, they gave me 3 days off standby. For the first 2 standbys they did not call me. On the third one, they changed it to Peshawar. Light load going and back so it was not that exhausting.

Manila on days off:

Going home on days off is such a big risk. Abu Dhabi to Manila was not a problem but Manila to Abu Dhabi was always a full/overbooked flight. Since I travel using ID90, means that I only pay 10% of the ticket fare, I am the first to be offloaded when the flight is full. In other words, I am the last priority to be given a seat. I almost did not want to go home. I wanted my parents to visit me here instead. But they couldn’t. I didn’t know they had other plans; they were going to Vietnam and Cambodia with their amigos and amigas! And because I was upset of the cancelled Manila flight, I gathered up my courage and went home anyways. My mom picked me up in the airport and straight away, we went to greenhills to meet up with my brother, Ahia Lemon and his wife, Vanessa. [Ahia means older brother in Chinese] We had dinner in Tender Bob’s. I missed my brother so much. It was our first time to see each other again since I left to work for Etihad. He was going back to our province that same night so we didn’t have much time to bond. But it was good enough, it was better than not seeing him at all. Oh, Ahia Lemon and Vanessa recently had a civil wedding, which I was not able to attend, and on January 18, they will be getting married in church. And I’m one of their bridesmaids. I’m really excited. Ahihihi! After saying goodbyes to my brother, again, my mom and I went straight home to get some rest.

Next day, when I woke up, my dad was there already. He just arrived from the province early that morning. My grandma was in Manila as well. She’s 92 and she still travels from one province to another. Whoa! :o I love her so much! She’s the best grandma ever! Seeing her makes me smile. Had breakfast with them at home and then off to POEA to get my exit clearance whatever. Then next went to DLSU-Taft, my Alma matter, well not really inside the school but beside it. I’m proud to say, I’ve finally got my Animoism shirt! “Reign Supreme, Animo Team!” And then I went to SM Mall of Asia. I had my hair cut and got some hair treatments. I feel so bad for my hair. They’ve been suffering from too much hairspray and hot water! After pampering my hair, I bought myself a new luggage. Something I would use on my days off. And then went back home to change for a night out with friends. Ahihihi! But first, I had to attend a family affair. A relative’s death anniversary. I saw cousins I haven’t seen for over a year. Tito Martin was there as well. He is a friend of the family. He used to be like a second dad to me and my siblings. He was a good friend of my parents. I’m happy that I was home for that occasion, a not so happy gathering, but it served as a reunion to us. After the dinner, I met up with my friends. My mom dropped me off at Joseph’s place near La Salle again. Waited for Teeney and King and then we went to greenbelt. First stop, Krokodile grill. Everybody knows that I hate beer but because I love Teeney, I drank a bottle of Red Horse with her. Originally, I was suppose to meet my Iskul Bukul friends but they were a no show! Buhoo! You guys suck! Only Teeney was present. King aka Carissa, Joseph and Gold, their siblings, had to leave early because they had classes the next day. So, I ended up being with Teeney’s friends. They were really nice, but the thing was, I felt so old with them. They were so young! My gosh! We went to Temple bar, danced for a while, had some more booze and before heading home, we went grabbed something from McDonalds. I got home around 4am in the morning and by 9am I was up already. I still had another day before going back to Abu Dhabi but I did not want to push my limit so I came into a decision to give one day leeway. And so I was back in Abu Dhabi, Saturday night, with nothing to do. Man, I could have still partied in Manila. LoL! I just went to Etihad’s clinic the next day and had my vaccination then for the rest of the day, I slept.

Teeney . Peaches . Silver . King . Gold

Teeney and I

Paris:

Throughout the month, my most awaited flight was the Paris flight. Recently, I’ve heard almost all the crew complain about having minimum rest in Paris. I was supposed to have the same schedule last month but they took it out and gave me Sydney instead. This month I got lucky. I got 24 hours layover in Paris. I was so excited that I bought a whole new outfit, including my most beloved Louis Vuitton bag. It was a night when we landed in Paris. We were staying in a hotel near the airport which was 30-45 minutes train ride away from the city. It was really cold when we arrived Paris. According to the captain, it was 8 degrees Celsius, but I doubt it. I’m sure it was cooler than that. I wanted to go out right away but everyone was feeling lazy, plus, our cabin manager warned us about taking the train during night time. He said that if we wanted to go to the city, it would be better if we took the taxi. Hell no, taxi would cost like 40 Euros! So, I let it pass. Went to my hotel room, slept like a baby until the next morning! Originally, I was suppose to go out with Gayle, a Singaporean a flew with just recently. However, she wasn’t feeling well so she ended up not going with me. Instead, I went out with Tosporn and Sherwin. Tosporn has been around Paris so he pretty much knows how the tube/metro/train thing goes. We got the whole day pass which allows us to go in and out of the metro and the city buses as well.

Our first stop, Arc de Triomphe. Speechless. It was right in the middle of the city. Well, not really but if you go on top. You’ll see Paris 360 degrees. Hay. I didn’t try it though, it was too expensive. Maybe when I’m with my special someone. Next is walking in Avenue des Champs Elysees. Shopping center of Paris. I was trying to avoid the nice stores but when I saw the LV building, I couldn’t stop myself. I just had to go in. I wanted to buy a wallet that matches my bag so I asked around. And yeah, I was successful, in controlling myself not to buy. LoL! Note to self: Save more money. Stop buying things. LoL! We had lunch in a café by the street. Yummy pasta. Walked and walked until we reached the bus stop. And because I had killer boots on, my feet were starting to ache. Took the bus going to the Eiffel Tower and as we were getting close to Eiffel Tower, I felt as if it was only a dream. I never thought I’d actually see it. It was too good to be true. All I could say was, WOW! It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. I was so thrilled to be there and seeing it. Surreal. I only had one thing missing with me, my special someone. Oh, it could have been perfect! Someday. After the Tour Effiel, we went back to Avenue des Champs Elysees and took a bus going to Musee du Louvre. Because the bus system in Paris is really confusing. We were dropped off a bit farther than we expected. We didn’t have much time left as well, so we were already in panic. We walked and walked and walked and after 15 minutes or so of walking , we finally reached the famous Da Vinci landmark, Musee du Louvre. I wanted to go in but to my surprise it was closed. Musee du Louvre is closed every Tuesday! Ugh! Of all the days in the week, it had to be close on the day I was there. Argh! Anyways, I still wanted to go to Notre Dame but my feet was giving up already, literally shaking and hurting so bad, and we didn’t have much time left as well. So, we went back to the hotel. Rest for about an hour. Then again, the most dreadful part, going back to Abu Dhabi. LoL!

Arc de Triomphe