Till Next Time, Embraer.

Two days ago, Aug 21, was my last day to operate Embraer 170 as I am about to have my transition training for the Airbus 330 aircraft, in addition to the Boeing and other Airbus aircrafts I also usually fly. It is like dropping off the E70 for the A330. I am not really this kind of emotional when it comes to changes in work, but you know that feeling when you have to leave something that never did hurt you in any way. It's more like giving up a nice and sturdy chair you loved for the promise of a soft and pretty couch. I can be more emotional than that, I must say.

 

I wanted to keep this on record because I never want to forget how my last day for E70 was. It was a fast JED-EJH-JED roundtrip and God listened to my prayer to give us a good crew. From the cockpit crew to us in the cabin, everything went so smoothly, this was one of the rare flights where you never felt as if you're working. Takeoff and landing were perfect. I even asked my flying partner again and again if she noticed it too because takeoff and landing on an Embraer 170 can mostly be harsh as it is such a small aircraft, fighting the wind with a small body as it has would sometimes mean grabbing the airsickness bag.

 

Service in E70 is always a breeze. That is why I loved this aircraft so much. With 60 passengers in the Guest Class and 6 in the Business Class, you don't have to break a finger if everyone would ask for everything. Only in this aircraft that I won't get annoyed for every "Ding" from the passenger call button. Yes, I can be very grumpy when I'm hell tired. :)

 

Another thing I liked about E70 is the crew complement, it only needs 3 flight attendants for a full crew. The Purser, and the other two flight attendants. And as for me who flies with a flying partner, it feels like we're the bosses of our own office, hehehe... but in a good way, of course. And for our last flight for this aircraft, me and my flying partner were just so thankful that we were given a wonderful purser, who never minds whether we took almost a thousand pictures as remembrance.

 

I may never get to operate this aircraft again in exchange of another, but I will never forget how E70 made things easier for me. It may have been the smallest aircraft I have operated but it got the highest of my respect.

 

Masalama, Embraer.. till my next DHD flight with you.

 

Erikka (my flying partner) and Me!

 

That Woman

I've come across one Korean song and got touched by its lyrics.

Translated in English. :)

"That Woman"

                                                                      Baek Ji Young

A woman loves you.

The woman loves you wholeheartedly.

She follows you around like a shadow every day.

She smiles but is actually crying.

How much longer do I just have to look at you, alone.

This love that came like wind,

This love that is like a shit,

If I continue this, will you love me?

Just come a little nearer

just a little bit.

Please don’t step back

I, the one who loves you,

is still next to you.

That woman is crying.

That woman is very shy

So she learnt how to smile

Her heart is so full of tear,

She can't even share her story with

her best friend

That's why, that woman

loved you

Cause you were so like her

another fool.

yet another fool

Please give me a hug before you leave me

I want to be loved, dear.

That's all I wanted

She shouts, just in her heart

just in her heart.

No one can hear her

but that woman is still next you

Do you know that

I am that woman?

You don't do you?

Because you are just a fool.

how much

how much longer

Do I have to love you like this

This love that is like a fool

This love that is like a beggar

would you love me?

That woman, who loves you

is still next you and she is still crying.

It's Okay Not To Be Okay.

This is it I guess. This makes me a superhero. Breaking my bones after saving someone from a fall then reanimate myself by nothing but myself, deal with it. When you love, you get hurt and yes, it is a choice.

PLEASE. Flush the toilet.

Every job has its own dirty side. And as for mine, it's the toilet. 

It is never in our job descriptions to clean the toilet. But we are always reminded to keep it tidy, which boils down to the same action of what else, of cleaning it. Honestly, I could care less about it. I can never open that lavatory door and save myself from the shock of seeing the end result of what you have eaten. But being seated to a jumpseat next to the toilet, I can't stand it. I just have to clean it! I just freakingly have to clean it!

Here's what a flush button looks like in aircraft lavatories aka toilets:

Located in the upper right hand of the toilet bowl is the flush button. Yes it is flat, but pressing it makes the flush work. It is not touchscreen, for heaven's sake, press it. Sometimes, passengers would say that it is not working. Well, with all due respect, it DOES work. Each and every flight, we do this pre-flight check and that includes the toilets. So we know for sure that the flush is working.

And a helpful reminder, the orange button near the mirror is not a flush button. It is the Flight Attendant Call Button which is used in emergencies like if you need some help whilst inside the lavatory. Accidentally pressing that button (sometimes mistaken as a flush) only makes us open the door even if it is locked, making yourselves exposed to us while your pants are down. Geez.

So the next time you board an aircraft, do your flight attendant some favor. Please flush the toilet.

My First Birthday 33,000 Feet Above Sea Level

I don't want to forget the details of my first ever birthday in the skies so I am taking record of it. I know most flight attendants have a list of their own, so here's mine!

July 30, 2012

I operated Flight Number SV 1903 and 1902, Riyadh-Taif and then back again.

Aircraft Operated: Airbus 320

Position Taken: R1 - which was quite a shock since I was forced to take it, as no senior would want to during that time. But then as the flight went on, I indeed enjoyed being R1, and would definitely love to take it again given the chance. :)

Days before that, I met Amira, a beautiful, sweet and funny fellow flight attendant who had the same flight schedule like mine, so I was with her from July 28 until the 31st. By the way she is Egyptian.

Amira and me before the flight

This girl Amira is such a sweetie. In the morning of my birthday, she ordered from the hotel room service for an Egyptian breakfast for me. She wanted me to try Om Ali, a buttery, milky, sweet soup-like breakfast prepared with different kinds of nuts. I love love love it! :) Well, yes I love anything sweet but this is special. I would like to show how it looks like but I'm sorry I finished the whole stuff right before thinking of taking a picture of it.. haha.. :) Thanks to folkmann.ca, here's a picture of it's goodness:

Warmed in the oven until the outside turns brown, but sweet and soooo creamy inside. Hmmm.. :)

I enjoyed the whole day as everyone was so nice. From the cockpit crew with whom I got the chance to serve, to every single crew in the cabin, all of them were so nice, we worked altogether harmoniously.

**********************************************************************************

Another surprise took my heart away when I finally reached my flat after my flight schedule. My close friend Erikka, who is more like a sister to me, brought out the child in me with this "New Year Cake", as I call it.. This was the first time I had a cake complete with fireworks!! :)

Erikka and me

Erikka and me, and some of our few close friends here had been through a lot. From Day One of application for this airline until now and until the end, we only have each other here as family. **Grouphugggggg**.

**********************************************************************************

Over the distance, a lot of my friends also extended their love and birthday greetings and wishes, which I am so thankful for. Mkaye and Eds, thank you for having that Starbucks Moment "with me" though I was not there physically.

I don't know if the rest of my birthdays will always be spent on the skies, but definitely I will never forget this first one. :) Thank you Lord for my good friends and for adding another year in my life.

My "Type" of Sunday

Having a job far from home is a very difficult thing that you have to go through everyday. And it can be even harder if we are talking about being hundreds and hundreds of miles apart, which gives you an option of being home only once in every few months.

Ever since I got this opportunity of having the job that will change our lives, I had to accept the sad truth that I will be missing a lot of things and people with whom I come to know as components of my daily life. I miss the waiting shed where I used to stay in at the corner of our nearby street, I miss the rain that gets me soaked up in my corporate attire even before I reach the office, I miss the sari-sari store where I buy my guilty pleasures of Marty's. Above all, I miss our church.

I am a 4th Watcher, (PMCC 4th Watch), a Born-again Christian in easier terms. Every Sunday, in Worship, we partake in the Holy Communion as a remembrance of Christ's suffering for the redemption of our souls and as a covenant between God and us. So when I started to live here in Jeddah, one of my biggest concerns is not being able to partake in that fundamental activity which really breaks my heart big time.

But God moves in our lives and that He keeps us able to think of ways for us to fulfill His will. One of my closest friends in the church has been continuously communicating with me, well, for moral support and of course, for spritual advises. He is an Elder in the church and he really wanted to help me out in having my communion over geographic distance. He then came up with an idea of officiating the communion through, guess what, the Internet.

In the situation that I am in, it is the best idea anyone can ever think of and I am really very thankful of having a friend helping me out to fulfill my duties as a Christian. I managed to open only one window in my desktop (and I demanded myself of this for me to have my focus), I prayed before everything else and I asked God to please bless this communion as this is going to be my first in the world wide web.

Skype was not very helpful at that time so we opened up a chat to have it done. I prepared my Bible, a small piece of bread and a small glass of grape sap. And through the authority that is vested upon him, he officiated the communion.

Officiating this communion is not that easy I must say. Because before proceeding, we need to be apprised first of the Word of God, and Alvin (my Elder friend) has to type and type contiuously in the chat as if he was talking to me personally while deliberating. And me on the other hand, needed to type my response. Ok, it isn't hard to type, right? But doing this is a bit unusual. 

After taking the communion and our prayer, he made me sing the Doxology, and I tell you, I really felt as if I am there at our church standing and singing my heart out. I almost cried. I thank the Lord for making me capable of this and for Alvin, for he was sent by God not only to be my friend, but also as a warrior of faith reaching out to me over the distance.

God never sleeps to make sure we take our breaths, what is a single act from us to show Him that we acknowledge?

Indulge with Strawberry and White Chocolate with Avon Naturals

I guess most girls are smitten with sweetness and softness and everything that comes with it. So there needs no explanation why I came to love this new shower gel and body lotion from Avon.

                                 Strawberry and White Chocolate Shower Gel and Body Lotion

Every time I use these I feel nothing but sweetness and softness and indulgence that lasts. :) Night time is the perfect time to bathe and nourish in these as the scent calms the senses and makes you imagine you're sleeping in a field of strawberries! I just love these two so much that I will be buying again and again, that I am sure of.

* Shower Gel

The shower gel smells so good and it really leaves the skin so soft after rinsing. I use this with a pouf and lather gently in circular motion all over my body. It never strips the skin of its moisture and for people with normal skin, I guess applying lotion after bath is not necessary as this is very moisturizing.

* Body Lotion

Like the shower gel, this body lotion smells equally as good. It gives the skin that needed moisture and gives such a velvety feeling that lasts for hours.

I am glad that my best friend introduced this to me. :) She really knows how to catch my heart. If you have a chance to grab these treats, please do not hesitate, give it a shot right away. I believe Avon offers this on sale for I think a few bucks over a hundred pesos each (I'm sorry I forgot).

And don't worry, ants will not eat you while you're sleeping. :)