Fabulous end to the year

Almost at the end of this flight, my last for the year. It has been such a blessing to be rostered this flight at this time of the year.
I've got the most lovely set of crew and I wake up everyday quacking like a duck because I laughed too much the nights before, wtf right.

I revisited Fisherman's Wharf and of course, Pier 39.
Pier 39 was a shocking sight. As my colleagues and I walked closer and closer to the pier, the usual stench and noise that would have greeted us from a mile away were undetected.

The number of sea lions left at Pier 39, after last year's mysterious disappearance, were only a handful.

There were not many sea lions but look what I found instead!!!!

A panda at the pier!

SO CUTE RIGHT!!!!


This morning we went to party at Lan Kwai Fong. Hong Kong's party scene is so famous that until recently, my airline's crew who night-stopped there (i.e. last flight in, first flight out) would hit the clubs right after check-in, party party party, and then go back to shower and check out of the hotel at 6 a.m. This has since changed because the night-stopping crew are put up at the airport hotel, which is too far away.
For those of us who do the San Francisco flight, we stay at the very lively Tsimshatsui.

Anyway, with my crazy colleagues (4 and a half ladies), we went to this place called Beijing Club. Do not be fooled by its name. It plays R&B, hip hop with some house.
It was mad.
It is very expensive to party in HK we have come to realize, but it's worth it.... The crowd is good and TOO MANY EYE CANDY! The guys all come properly dressed up and most are at least average-looking. Many are overseas Chinese, and the locals who are there are those with too much money - at least, that's the case for those we came across tonight at our club.
It was really good fun and I can't wait to do another HK-SFO flight with fun girls like that and then hitting LKF again! :)

----------------------------------------------

On Christmas eve, I arrived in HK (on the way to San Francisco).
By the time we arrived at Kowloon, it was past midnight i.e. Christmas day. Roads to the hotel were blocked so we had to walk several streets to our hotel. It was quite an experience but luckily we didn't have to carry our own luggage. After checking in, a few of us went to a bar and had a very good time playing stupid games. I could barely sleep after that and managed to sleep only at 11 a.m. I think it was because I laughed too much -____-

That same day I went 16 hours backwards. I flew to San Francisco and still landed on Christmas day. With that I had the longest Christmas day of my life. In San Francisco, again I had so much fun... And as I sat in my room counting down the last minutes of my extended Christmas, I thought to myself how LUCKY I am to be where I am.

I didn't have to work hard to be where I am and yet I am having so much fun.
I'm sure someone in the Heavens made my roster such that this festive season, I get to fly to my favourite city and, on top of that, with fabulous people who will help me make the most out of this trip.
And the most ironic part?

The one person whom I know who dissed my job behind my back was/is suffering the very days that I was/am having so much fun.

He/she/you may not think much of my job, but at the moment I think it's the best job that I can have and most importantly, I'M HAVING SO MUCH FUN.

I wish you all a fabulous end to 2010 and a wonderful festive season :)

It's wonderful here any time of the year

Update: Somebody else's opinion of the people in this city:)

--------------------------------------------

As I summoned up this page to write about my day, Andy William's voice started playing in my head....

It's the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you "Be of good cheer"
It's the most wonderful time of the year

It is, isn't it?
It's Christmas, so festive, and SALES everywhere....

But guess what, San Francisco will always be San Francisco. It's always a good time here, regardless of season.
Boxing Day sale is not much to shout about but I still had a good day today.
For some reason, I found too many cute guys lurking around every corner of the block.
Several had a girl walking with them, others were alone or with friends, and because this is San Francisco, a few had another man with them.
Whatever it is, I always love a good eye candy and today I had them aplenty.
Not only that, I received so many smiles and hellos from strangers that I know without a doubt I'm back in San Francisco ♥. GAWD CAN I PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HAVE A CHANCE TO RESIDE HERE?

I've had many memorable shopping trips and shopping moments but today's is one of my tops.
I was on a hunt for a coat and to cut the long story short, I ended up at Saks which I almost always skip. I find Saks Fifth Avenue too difficult to navigate and the people in there (shoppers and assistants) too snobbish. I found the brand I was looking for, but I did not see my coat. As I waited for somebody to assist me, I grabbed one of those coats hanging on the rack to try. The next thing I knew, this OTT overjoyous overenthusiastic overloud sales assistant came and said I had to have the coat. I secretly found her to be extremely familiar but I kept quiet because I have never really shopped at Saks. And then guess what, she remembers me too!!! We traced back our encounter to Macy's more than a year ago. I mean, think of the number of people she's met and served! Again, I hardly shop at Macy's too so I remember very well what I bought that trip - my running gear :P

Now I have a coat on hold with her, and if I do get it, I'll be doing this flight for free. It's always like that! >:( I always work for free for my San Francisco flights.
If it's not for a pair of boots, it's for clothes and gadgets, or cosmetics (if I transit in Korea) or toiletries and er, more clothes.
The coat costs more than two months of the mortgage of my house. One coat.
Damn....!!!
The coat never goes on sale and (shit, this is the part that traps all women:) the price will increase soon.

........ =(
Decisions.

40 hours

'Tis the season to be jolly, to party, to get caught in a sea of humans.
Oh how my Christmas has been.
39 hours 30 minutes now, and still counting!
MY LONGEST CHRISTMAS EVER!

Grown up Christmas list

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Every man would have a friend
That right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list

Merry Christmas 2010

Waiting for my cabbie. He's got a punctured tyre so he'll be late.
Was playing with the phone when I noticed the date. 23/12 already????? The last time I noticed the date on my phone it was 17th.
Where did the last week go, hmmmm.

Going back to work tomorrow but not at all dreading it after a week's leave, in fact quite the opposite! To My Happy Place!

Also going to meet my girls tonight to exchange gifts. Trying out this Cuban restaurant so hope it's gonna be sehr gut!

This will probably be my last post before Christmas, so merry christmas everybody!

Shwarz

I'm at this point in my German lessons where I feel like giving up, so much.

As it is, that everything has a gender is tough enough to remember. Now I'm at the Adjectives chapter where the adjectives have a different ending depending on the gender of the noun, the article (definite/indefinite) AND the case (nominative/accusative/dative/genitive - something which, like the gender, does not exist in English) used before the noun. I don't get it! I DON'T! I don't see a pattern, and the explanations don't make any damn sense.

How to persevere?!?!


I could ignore all the gender and make them all neutral - after all, Mädchen, which means 'girls' is Neutral, whereas a fork is feminine. Where is the sense?
I could also ignore the cases. I'll just have to put up with the shocked look of a German when I tell him "My mother fed the cat", because he'll probably understand it as the cat had fed my mother instead.
Bah.

Realization

Wow.
I have just realised the kind of relationship I have with (Edit: many of) my guy friends.
We shamelessly make use of each other for advice on matters pertaining to the opposite sex.
I've not been on the phone for so long in a while, and I'm talking to the guys about their new love lives.
It's also almost the only thing I ever talk to my guy housemate about (I talk, he only listens).

Well it's not too bad a thing I suppose. When it comes to girls, the guys really should NEVER seek advice from their block-of-wood buddies. When it comes to guys, the girls don't get sugar-coated half-truths from the guy friends.

Holding the reign

One moon

I was studying on the bed when I took a 15 second break and my mind wandered off to exactly a month ago today.
And a stupid smile crept up my face. Anlynn, who was trying to sleep, caught it. She so wanted to wipe it off my face.

HAIH.

One of the best days of 2010 maybe.

Recovering

Been sick the last few days. Actually I haven't been feeling really well since Monday but I became pretty sick on Wednesday. Since I came home on Thursday, all I've been doing is sleeping and eating. I literally only wake up to eat, before falling back to sleep again.
This is how annual leave should be spent - re-energizing.
The strangest thing is that after waking up post-dinner earlier (only to tell Anlynn I'm hungry and I need supper), I started yawning again.
-__-

Tomorrow my family will be celebrating Winter Solstice in advance and this is the first time I'm home for it in years! It's the time when we eat 'tang yuan' (glutinous balls in soup) and have a reunion dinner.

Also, RICK DEES YOU SUCK. Your 2010 #1 is America's biggest white trash, gee!
I can't stand Ke$ha, she's annoying and she looks like she needs a good cleanup. Unfortunately she also has several songs that are currently on the radio stations' playlist right now oh save meeeeee.

The devil who lurks around your back

!#^*!@^*(!!!!! WHO IS THIS MATTHEW CHEE FROM MONASH AH?
Dared to bad mouth me to my housemate when they did a flight together recently.
WHO THE HELL IS HE? I don't even know him!!!!!

Autocorrect on iPhone

There's this website which consolidates some of the best typos as a result of the autocorrect function on the iPhone. A few really had me laughing out loud.

There are tonnes more, a damn good way to waste time.

Dear iPhone users, please don't be too quick to hit the Send button next time!

(this is a pretty sad mistake if you just got to know a girl
and wanted to complement on how she looked)

Done with one, another to go

Or is that still two more?


Two more days before I go home, and on Friday I'm going to go down to the HSBC office and demand a very good explanation from them regarding last Friday's incident.
I still can't believe they blocked my card just like that! Any other bank would have called the card holder and asked, "ARE YOU IN LONDON TRYING TO USE YOUR CARD?"
Over a 45 pound purchase. I still can't get over that.


By the way, I got my handbag back. The person who helped me out this time (also the one who replied to my email) is soooo nice, kudos to her. I was feeling QUITE alright about it but then now, after speaking to mum, I feel I might have to take the bag back to the store again.
Chanel says they will replace a new bag for me but because it's a seasonal piece and at the moment in Singapore, there are only two display pieces - both of which are scratched. They do not know how long before the new ones will get here. I can understand that. If you've had to buy a bag from Chanel, especially in Paris, you'll know how agonizing it is to wait for a bag you want and not knowing when the store will get THAT one you want.
With that, I took back my original bag (with the leather glued back nicely).
And after this incident, Chanel does not allow its trainee staff to deal with service and repairs anymore. GOOD.

What annoys me now is knowing that my bag has more adjoining leather at the chain than other bags. Some bags have 2, some have 3, mine has 4. I should change for another, shouldn't I?


p/s: I found a very funny website which I'm sure many of you iPhone users can relate to. Will make another post of that soon-ish. Must. Try. To. Sleep. Now. Two more hours to my flight!

I'm in an episode of Mad Men

Currently in the newest branch of PS Cafe in *secret location*. Too Pretty!!!
The interior's so quaint, and the bar area at the top floor is sooo nice! If not for my flight tomorrow VERY early morning, I'd stay here for a few drinks.
Right now they are playing blues, so forties!

WSL, we now have a new place to go to the next time you are back!

Is it me or is it the world?

!!!??!!!
And I thought it couldn't get any worse?

After 2 hours at Oxford Street, I was forced to return to the hotel.
Why? Because my card wouldn't swipe and I had busted 200 pounds in cash by then. I need to keep some for food tonight, and tomorrow.
I had cleared a large portion of my credit for the purchase of my bag last weekend so my limit should be released back to me.
So there is no reason why my card cannot be used.

Contacted mum, and mum called HSBC for me. Their excuse is so lame.
HSBC, in my eyes, has one of the best customer service for a bank but this time even I can't find excuses for them.
They said that because I was using my card in UK, they had to block it.

KISS MY FLAT ASS!

I've swiped my card here a million times before. Some lame-ass excuse this is! I come here almost every freaking month!
I've even swiped it in Paris for my handbag last week and they won't let a £45 transaction go through???
And hasn't their system noticed I've used my card on every continent, so to tell me their system let all that go and only to put up a red alert now is a bit lame?


HSBC will hear from me the moment I get back.
I swear they will.


Take home message of the day: Always go to Miss Selfridge FIRST (which I did). If I had gone there only after I've used up my cash and then my card gets rejected there, I promise HSBC it will hear thunders and crackers and all things nasty in the customer service office.

This better be the worst it can get

Preparing to go out shopping at Oxford Street and show Miss Selfridge, by proof of spending, how much I love it.

However, I can't seem to find my contact lenses and I think I might have left them in Singapore. I only have a spare pair of dailies, and that's for my return flight.
Then, I forgot my camera. I took it out because I had to declare it into Taipei (my last flight) and I thought it was way too much hassle, so I took it out of my luggage. And forgot to put it back :( Sorry, can't share the Christmas street lights at Oxford St. with you all.

And now, I discovered a big hole in my black stockings. I look like a skank :'(
(It's ok, I will wear a pair of leggings over it. I always wondered what the rationale of having a pair of leggings that I don't wear in my luggage was and now I know! I'm a genius.)

May this be all the badness there is in a day. Let it be all good for the rest of the day!

Edit: Ok, stepping out and realized, I FORGOT MY OYSTER CARD! Both my main and spare ones are in Singapore. FTS!

Singapore Chanel sucks balls

I'm serious! I'm fuming now.

Earlier this year, when I wanted to exchange a bag in Singapore, I was giving them a more expensive one for a cheaper one (back then, caviar was cheaper than lambskin). I had bought the lambskin bag in Milan and hence it was a lot cheaper than Singapore. The stupidest STUPIDEST stupidest customer service/company policy was that when I phoned all the way from Milan to Singapore to ask about the exchange (because Milan didn't have the caviar anymore and Singapore had several) they told me I had to top up the difference (Chanel Singapore "minus/-" Europe price). The difference is no joke, it was more than S$1500 because they assume that I got the detaxe whether or not I actually got it.
It didn't make sense because I was giving them a bag that was, in the boutique, a few hundred dollars more expensive for a cheaper one and yet I had to pay them a thousand and a half quid.

In the end I got the exchange done in London. The London staff were so helpful and it made me feel like a real customer. I mean, look, this isn't LeSport Sac. We're talking a lot of money, so at least show good customer care?

Today, they pissed me off again.

My new bag had this little piece of leather coming off. It was the leather bit that goes through the chain and it was the end bit. The gluing job was not done well I guess.
I had to take it all the way down to Chanel and then only to have a trainee come serve me (she had the trainee word on her nametag).

She said the stitching was not done well. I looked at her, wide-eyed. I asked her, "STITCHING? ARE YOU SURE?" There were no stitches. She insisted it was. I swear it wasn't but I didn't want to argue with her. She went away with my bag for a while and then came back and said it is the glue. Like wtf, it was obvious right from the start.
Then I asked for the name of the colour. I somehow did not get the name of the colour of my bag in Paris. She said it's beige (by the way, she pronounced it 'bitch'). Fuck I know it's beige but Chanel doesn't give "beige" to bags. There are way too many colours for this to just be called Beige. In fact, the classic colours are Black and Beige but that Beige is "Beige Claire".

I was a little pissed by now and I said, "That one there is Beige Claire. So what is this?"

She explained, "Oh, Bitch Claire is the name Chanel gives for this Bitch. (I really wonder who Claire is.) You know it's from Paris, so it's French. *my anger is rising, do you feel me?* This one is a darker shade so there is a French name for dark but I cannot remember it. What is it.... bitch... bitch.... bitch something I cannot remember I'm sorry."

I WAS SERIOUSLY DAMN TULAN BY NOW. What do you mean you are sorry you don't know? You don't know then go find out!!! Service line, hello? Designer boutique, hello???? I don't believe this kind of information is not passed on to her, and I'm effing sure it's information easily available to her.

She took my information and then she went away with my bag for ten royal minutes. I don't know what she did but she needed 10 minutes.

As I waited, I was watching another sales assistant attending to a Caucasian man. He had 3 bags with him and as he picked up one of those after another, she had IMPATIENCE written all over her face. Her posture, her eyes, her mouth, her breathing, everything just said, "Hurry up."

But please pity this poor man. He's a man. How is he to choose from all the bags that look alike!! In the end he left without buying and I applaud him. Shouldn't give a woman who's not giving him good service any commission.

Back to me - the trainee came back with another paper for me to sign, with details of the defect. But guess what, she failed to type down the most important details anyway so we had to write it with pen after that.
Then she asked me, "When did you buy the bag? I can tell it's quite new. I don't think there will be any charges for this."

I gave her a dagger stare. "I might get charged for this? Are you kidding me??"

I was thinking damn right you will charge me because I have yet to ask you to give me a one-for-one exchange and you wanna CHARGE me! It's one bloody week old!

Next she said, "So after this you go back please send us an email of the receipt."
I must have appeared like a bitch to her by now because I cannot be bothered with niceties anymore. I was damn pissed. "You never asked for my receipt did you? I have it here with me," and took my receipt out immediately.
She went away to make a copy of the receipt, and came back to irritate me further.

"So this is your number XXXX XXXX right? We will call you between 4-6 weeks to collect your bag."
"FOUR TO SIX WEEKS?"
"Yah, 4-6 weeks."

I walked out of the store, feeling cheated, puzzled and slightly pissed.

However as the minutes went by (I was going to Raffles Place to meet Julia to see our lawyer) I got more and more pissed.
WTF JUST HAPPENED TO ME?!?!?

My bag is one week old and then they take it back for 4-6 weeks.
The trainee staff has terrible product knowledge and terrible choice of words.
She didn't know the name of my bag - hello, it's seasonal. You're trying to sell this bag this season and you don't know what you are selling. WTF. She was unsure if I might be charged for the repair. She went away with my bag for 10 freaking minutes and never bothered to find out the name of the bag when she already couldn't pick it out from her brain.

The more I think about it the more cheesed off I get. Will call Chanel tomorrow and insist that I will not wait until the new year for the bag. Either they give me a one-for-one or they deliver it back to me.

A message to the weatherman

Dear Weatherman,

There's a blizzard going on in Europe right now. It's forced many airports across Europe to close at one point or other as ice on airplane wings formed almost immediately after de-icing. Runways were either too slippery or could not be cleared of snow in time for planes to take-off and land.

Now I have request.

It seems to me like the day temperature in London has been slowly going above zero these few days. Could you please plummet the temperatures to -8C or below, with some precipitation on the 10th night to the 13th ? That way I can stay in London for a few more days and the extended offdays I get in return will disrupt a turnaround flight just before my annual leave starts - consequently, my annual leave can start earlier too.

It will also help with my Vitamin M which, for the past 12 months, have been mysteriously deficient. That will be my Christmas wish for this year!
(Actually I wouldn't mind being stranded in San Francisco too later this month.)

Your kind consideration is much appreciated.

Yours truly,
M.M.

To own a Birkin

Hahaha my friend bought the cutest pup ever (looks like one of those battery-operated toy dogs I had when I was a kid) and named him Birkin. So cute right!

"I love my Birkin!" (duh)
"Where's my Birkin?"
"My Birkin is the love of my life."
and the possibilities are endless....

If you have money and you are dying to get your hands on one, let me know and I'll tell you where and how to get one. You know, that piece of leather, not the one that barks.

I have seen people try and try and try to just to get on the wait-list for X number of times and fail. Recently my colleagues who both own several Birkins (one owns X number of Birkins with matching wallets and another owns 5 Birkins) taught me how to get hold of one and in fact one of them was so close to making me put my name down... Cabin crew are natural swizzle sticks. So good at stirring the hearts of others.

You can be cool again

Learn this, and then show it to your friends. Your friends will think you are cool again! :D

Unbelievable Paper Transformer - These bloopers are hilarious

There was a mad rush on ground today as I took over the aircraft from the previous set of crew in Taipei. The chief had just announced over PA that passengers were boarding in 2 minutes and I had to rush to the back to get something. My skirt caught one of the seats (probably at the armrest or somewhere sharp) and I heard a loud tear. It wasn't the seams or anything, it sounded more like it tore at the fabric. However until now I can't seem to find the hole/tear. :S

I discovered an imperfection on my new handbag :(. Gotta go down to Orchard Road tomorrow, le sigh. Should really be cleaning up my room instead.

I LUV TAIPEI!

Mai dong xi, chi dong xi, mai dong xi, chi dong xi.... just like they promoted in the Visit Taiwan ad.
It's eat and shop and eat and shop.
Ate like a pig at Shilin Market. I had with me another steward who was visiting Taipei for the first time. Together with two other very senior crew, we ate ourselves silly. The crispy chicken chop is just out of this world!!!

After we ate, we shopped. Cheap clothings, cheap shoes. There was even a shop that was closing down and all shoes and (UGG-like) boots were going for about S$4.50 wtf.
As we shopped, we bought from the food stalls and ate again. Taipei, ever so vibrant, ever so fun!

Too bad, short stay. Too bad, tough flight!

ps: When I left at 1 a.m. the shops were still open! I left because I ran out of money :(

I wonder...

How come Boeing planes start with the 7-series?
Lucky number, perhaps?

(777 is one of Boeing's most popular/best-selling models to date)

McQueen scarf

I so dig the Alexander McQueen skull scarf.

I'll take one in grey with yellow skulls, please!


Oh wait, there's a problem. It's one hundred and fifty bloody pounds!

Bahhhh

Feeling a little lousy and angry at myself. Just came back from paying my credit card bill. What I brought back is far from enough to pay for my handbag (I hit withdrawal limit yesterday in Singapore). I feel that if I need more than one withdrawal to pay for one purchase then that's a bit too much. Exactly what I'm feeling now!

Gah!

New roster's out too. Boring boring boring.

31 years

Happy wedding anniversary mum and dad!!!

My dad did not properly plan out a gift for my mum for this date (he never learns!) and told me to get her something the day before I had to leave Paris. It was so stressful looking for something for her (mum doesn't settle) with the clock ticking - and the sun setting - while hopping from shop to shop in the cold.
Thank goodness he's got a decent budget.
She doesn't know she's getting something yet so hopefully she will be presently surprised when I'm home later :)

I brought back more instant soup from Paris this time. We Malaysians only know of Campbell's when it comes to instant soup. Campbells' sucks (the mushroom soup is so salty, and to dilute it the texture becomes all wrong)!! I now am so grateful to instant soups, especially those that already come with croutons.

Es tut mir leid

I lost the bet.
By 31 days.
THIRTY ONE DAYS!!!!

Christmas came early. Merry Christmas to me!

So close.....
But I had my reasons to.
1) This is not a classic colour i.e. once it sells out it's over.
2) There are rumours of another price increase between Dec-Feb. US prices just went up in November, making that the second huge price increase Stateside in the last 6 months.

There, now I've got my medium size.

Two more hours

Heart beating like mad.
I have to have it, I have to have it!

All you China tourists, hands off!!!


In other news, I came to Paris without my sunglasses to exchange T___________T

Solaris called me all the way from Paris last month to confirm the date I'm picking it up. And I ALWAYS have my sunnies in my luggage. Only that this time I didn't pack it because I was thinking to myself, "The whole of Europe is in a cold snap, it's dead gloomy, who needs to have sunglasses?" and with that I left it on my dresser. :'(

The other side of Mount Rushmore

One more flight

ONE MORE FLIGHT to go and I can truly look forward to my offdays.
It's been
* 8 days Dubai-Cairo;
* Ho Chi Minh city;
* one off-day;
* Jakarta;
* 5 days Paris.
16 days of work with only one off day in between. The 2nd of Dec cannot come sooner.

Meanwhile, it's snowing and freezing across Europe. Most cities are experiencing sub-zero temperatures this weekend.
Should I make that visit to Galleries LaFayette?? Does anybody know the Chanel Cruise colours already?? Harummpph. Everytime I ask a Chanel salesperson they'll tell me they don't know. Who are they kidding. I'm sure they've already seen pictures of the bags!

Maybe I should stay in my room and watch DeeVeeTeeFau (ok, that's DW-TV).

There's a rumbly in my tummy and it's not hunger. I hate it!

Also, I have a new Rolls Royce parked in my hall! Haha, that's my new luggage. It's not an Aston Martin (i.e. Delsey) but I suppose a Rolls Royce is good enough. It's a little bit smaller too but WHAT TO DO, NO MONEY TO BUY A RIMOWA (a.k.a. Bugatti Veyron)!


How strange is this - here I am in Singapore, waiting for my next flight. 200 km away my friend Alpha is having a drink with my mum and sister in my hometown. Doesn't get any stranger than this.

For the SPMer

Second best souvenir

The best ever souvenir from my travels is a Heineken bottle with my name on it, from Amsterdam.



This above is the second best. It's a copy of a well-known Egyptian art (and there's a story behind it). On the left is my name in hieroglyphs.
The best part is that this is drawn on papyrus. It's really special!

:D

Hur hur hur hur hur.

this is stupid. i was smiling to myself during take-off and landing today. And because it was a turnaround, that means 2 take-offs and 2 landings.

this IS stupid.

My girls, please whack some sense into me tonight... It's Il Lido night tonight!!! :D

RIP to the River Pike dead

I'm sorry about the River Pike mine disaster. Sorry to those who died, and sorry to those who have lost loved ones in the disaster.

I believe though that the rescuers have done all they could. Trying to get to them faster would have been impossible with the high level of explosive gases down there. Stop pointing fingers and let the dead rest in peace.

Post-Egyptian Trip Disorder

This was me before I went out on the second day in Cairo. I was mad excited and so happy.



While waiting for a phone call, I was bored and thus made this stupid picture, I laughed non-stop (alone, in my room) at how silly I looked.




This is how I feel right now. Looking back at the second photo, I wonder what is so funny about it that made me laugh 10 minutes.

Like a flower, it wilts

Back in Singapore after a week of being away.

My colleagues couldn't wait to land, looking forward to the next 3 off days. It's been long and it's been tiring.
Unfortunately for me, this was a flight I changed for and the other girl took away all my offdays from my original flight. I resume my original roster tomorrow and have to wake up at 4.30 a.m. to work again FML.

Being back here is like being back in reality. It's so sad to call this the reality rather than what I had a few days ago. The kind of excitement and the kind of rush that I felt only last weekend is all but gone. :(

To Cairo again soon?

All the fuss

My Cairo trip was worth all its fuss.

It is a major major MAJOR culture shock to be in that city. There are no rules, and like my Egyptian tour guide put it plainly in Hokkien, "Bo cheng hu (No governance)."

18 million live along the Nile river and hence population density is extremely high. Living conditions are bad but traffic is worse. One must have balls of steel to drive or even cross the roads there.

On the touch down day, my colleagues and I went to Giza to see the pyramids. It was magnificent. We had four camels and a horse (there were 9 of us) to take us there. The camel ride was an adventure in itself.

There were 9 pyramids there, 3 big (for the Kings) and 6 small ones for the princesses and queens.


The Sphinx was there too but I think the one in front of Sunway Pyramid is nicer LOL!

Whatever it is, it was still very magnificent. Imagine men building these thousands of years ago only during the flood season. Most were farmers who couldn't do any farming when there were floods so they were taken by the King to build the pyramids.


So much history!

After that we went for a river cruise on the Nile. There was a belly dancing show and buffet dinner. We got there pretty early so we went to the upper deck to take some pictures. I decided to pretend to jump into the Nile when one old Egyptian promptly ran to me and shouted at me, telling me I cannot jump into the river. TSK!



During the cruise, I pointed out to a pilot that the Grand Hyatt Cairo and Hyatt both look so grand by the river and how nice it'll be for The Company to put us there in future.

Not much longer after that he also pointed out to me little sailing yachts in the river. I thought those were very special because the Nile had mostly motorboats and other bigger ships which are basically just moving restaurants.

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT..... the next day I was taken to both the Grand Hyatt and a ride on one of those little yachts (not by the above-mentioned man, in case you were wondering)! Youpidou! It was very lovely. It was a day when I was given first class hospitality and hey, I ain't complaining.

Both days were simply amazing and full of fun. :)) I would love to go back there again but but but but.... the flight, to put it generally, is not your everyday flight. I know though I have unfinished business there - the museum! I haven't seen the mummies!
Somehow I already know I'll be going back there some time in the near future. :)))

Check your inbox!

wokay!

So the most exciting part of the flight is over, I can now sit down to deal with an email backlog.
If you've sent me one in the recent months, you can be sure that a reply is on its way :)

Whip my hair

I'm having a super trip :)

Fun set of crew and amazing sight-seeing and whoooo, the Nile! Hahaha, I'm lying. There's nothing about the Nile. I tried to jump into the Nile yesterday but a man came to stop me promptly.

Today is SHITIMSONERVOUS day. Just before I came down to the crew lounge to use the internet, I received a call and that made me do a stupid dance in my room a la Willow Smith in her 'Whip my hair' video.
Heart rate: Presto!

Trying to sleeeeeeep

It's 9 p.m. now and I've been up 2 hours. Really trying to make myself go back to sleep! Got a flight at 3 a.m., I MUST SLEEP NOW.....

There, the last good man on earth is rotten too

This is maddening!!!!

I swear just last week in Moscow I had thought to myself that there are indeed marriages in Hollywood that are not done in haste, not a sham (think Tom & Katie), and have a possibility to last forever. Then I thought again - wait, there's only one and that's Eva Longoria and Tony Parker's. I always thought they were really sweet and just a few weeks ago I still saw both of them together in pictures and Eva looked like a woman still very much in love.

THEN THE MAN CHEATS.

If a man can cheat on a wife who is the epitome of Hotness, then there's no more hope for the rest of us.

Argh, wait till my cousin hears of this and he'll definitely go, "I told you so." My cousin, a guy, was convincing myself and his own sister over dinner one day that ALL men will cheat at some point in their marriage.

As for Eva, You Go Girl!!!! Good on you for having nil tolerance on cheating husbands!!

:D

I'M SO EXCITED I WANNA CLIMB UP A TREE!!!

But there are no trees in Dubai. Hmm.

To add to your travel checklist

A stick.

Who are your engineers?

An incident happened again to a very unfortunate Australian airline yesterday. That would make it the 6th in 12 days?
After countless incidents in the recent few years, especially in the last fortnight, I cannot believe its CEO Mr. J* can still think the airline is still as safe as can be. WAKE UP!!! You need to change your engineering contractors!
*And he also needs to stop speaking for other companies like he's the CEO for them too. He's almost instructing the other companies to do this and that.

Even though the latest incident is more of pure bad luck than engineering fault, the airliner is in really bad press now.

One of The Company's service 'standards' is "be seen". Be seen doing something, even if you don't really mean to do it (i.e. somebody asks for a newspaper and you are DAMN sure you have already run out of it but you still say, "I might have run out of it but let me look again." Go to the toilet, rearrange a few stray hairs, come back, apologize and tell him what he didn't want to hear without seeing you try).

It's to save yourself, and in this case for the Australian airliner, its business. This is PR, my friend. Even if they think another engineering company might not be able to help with its troubles, I think its shareholders and passengers alike will feel better knowing that the company is indeed trying to solve the problem.

Dubai then Cairo

Dang, that's two nights in a row that I couldn't sleep well. Usually I need 12 hours of good rest before work but two nights' worth of lousy sleep will rear its ugly head when I do a 7-hour flight later. Thank goodness for the light load today... I suppose nobody's really travelling on Hari Raya Haji. It probably is a long weekend over at UAE hence not many business travellers going that way for now.

I'm blaming the insomnia on the luggage stress. Har har yeah right.
I decided to stop trying so hard to fall back to sleep at 6 a.m. because doing that was giving me a headache. Instead I woke up to watch videos on BBC and CNN on Prince William's engagement. Did you all see that look on his face when he said he wanted to show the romantic side of him? And the interviewer managed not to laugh? OK maybe because he's not a girl. But seriously, that's exactly how MY dad would have said it and the kind of look he would give too.... Hahaha, funny how I linked Prince William to my dad ^o)

Hopefully there'll be somebody interesting onboard to keep my energy levels up :D

WOOHOO!!! Visiting ancient Egypt, what a feeling ♫!

Coffee, Tea or my Hairy Legs?

Tuesday November 16, 2010

Link here.

Branson loses the bet, AirAsia prepares for flight with skirt-wearing billionaire

By SHAMSHUL FITRI

PETALING JAYA: It looks like Virgin Group boss Sir Richard Branson will be dressing up as an AirAsia stewardess after all for losing a bet with Lotus Racing team principal Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes over which of their teams would do better in the just-concluded Formula 1 season.

The two men had made a bet at the start of the season in March that the loser must serve as a “stewardess” on the winner’s airline.

Despite both teams failing to score any championship points throughout the season, Malaysian-backed Lotus Racing finished ahead of Virgin Racing in all but two races (in Italy and Singapore).

After the season’s final race at the sensational Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Lotus finished in 10th spot while Virgin finished last among the 12 teams.

Fernandes said: “It’s time for Richard to start preparing himself for some hard work ... and the likely pain of a pair of high heels!”

The date of the Kuala Lumpur-London AirAsia flight has yet to be set, but seats will be auctioned off and the money given to Branson’s chosen charity.

“We have agreed that we will run an online charity auction for the seats on the route to raise money for a charity of Richard’s choice and give fans of both teams the chance to be on the flight.

“The aim is to raise as much money as we can for a good cause ... So the discomfort Richard will have to go through will be worth as much as it possibly can be.”

Solaris

Sometimes it's better to pay a bit more for your sunglasses for a little bit of warranty.
I accidentally scratched the logo of my sunglasses.... I couldn't stand the look of it, so I went back to Solaris (which has many stores around the world) in Paris and requested for a new pair last month. They just called me (when the lady greeted me with "Bonjour!" I thought someone was playing a prank on me -____-) and told me the new pair is in store and ready to be collected!

Solaris' €25 warranty covers the most ridiculous of damages, including breaking the glasses through fault that's entirely your own (i.e. stepping on it), dropping into the toilet bowl and you never ever want to wear that pair again, minor/major scratches and so on, for a year. It's true that you can't strike a bargain like you'd do at your local optician and the warranty is another 25 euros, but when instances like the above happen you wish you had paid that little bit more.

Solaris' warranty allows you to have your glasses replaced in any of its stores worldwide.


Note: This is not an ad!

---------------------------------------------------------------

After a day of hunting for luggage, I am down to two:
1) A Samsonite that's on sale now that goes for $449. Has latches, has TSA lock but lacks depth.
2) A Delsey for $519 that has zipper but that's also Delsey's new zip that is apparently known to be the strongest in the industry - cut-proof. It's a double-zipper technology. The lady bent the hard-case 90 degrees. My heart almost stopped. What if it cracked?! But it didn't so that was her selling-point. Along with the zip. Is deep, as deep as my previous one.

Both are 29". Having seen what 29" is now I believe some idiot once lied to me about the size of my old luggage. My old one must have been a 32".
And together with foregoing latches, luggage companies are also foregoing the 32" size.
WHAT, MAN.

Argh this whole luggage shyte really dampened my day.

Better than real estate

I don't think I have ever known of anything that goes up in value as fast as LUGGAGE.

Less than 3 years ago, one can get a Delsey or Samsonite 29" hard-cover luggage with latches for under $300.
TODAY, none of these come under $600.

To make things worse, good luggage with latches are rarities now with more and more makers turning to zippers to make the luggage lighter.
Word of caution: Samsonite has confirmed that the zipper CAN be cut.

:'(

NO MONEYYYYYYY.

And now I'm slightly pissed at The Company for only giving us a measly amount for luggage replacement. I mean, The Other Company gives its crew Samsonite luggage!

It's this week!

*stress*
I've never been this stressed out over visiting a place.
Maybe it's not the place?

What if there's a language barrier. What if everything I expected turned out differently. What if it turns out bad and disappointing. What if it turns out damn good and I can't do anything about it.

How did I end up doing this again???

Crash course

No time to blog or do much else because must study intensively this weekend.
But got time to take a picture hahahahahehehehehahhahaa :D
*syok sendiri*

I give up

It's only been 2 hours and I'm giving up on Chrome already.

It's bad enough that I can't add search engines to the browser (at the top right corner) so I that I can switch between IMDB, Amazon, Wikipedia, Google, Gracenote, etc with just a drop-down menu, I have no access to RSS feeds without using a third party reader.

FYI, news is very important to me and I need access to it whenever I'm at the computer.

This sums it all up.

What a killjoy.

My day is ruined

Early in the morning and I have ruined my own day...

I have been so irritated by my Google Toolbar and Gmail notifier not working on my FF browser. Uninstalling and reinstalling didn't work for either so going by the advice of others facing the same problem, I deleted the FF browser to reinstall it, and then reinstalling all the other extensions from scratch.

THEN I REALIZED I FORGOT TO SAVE MY BOOKMARKS!!!!!

I wish I knew what I had in my bookmarks... I can only remember a few of what was there - probably a third of it were German language resources - but I can't remember what the rest were. =(

Lesson of the day: always update and import bookmarks to backup browser (i.e. Safari).

I am so mad today I'm not even going to reinstall FF!

The reason for never having left FF was because I was so dependent on some of the extensions. It's not the browser that makes me stick to it - it's what I can do to the browser (personalizing it) to make it work for me. I didn't like the official Gmail notifier by Google. I much preferred the unofficial one on FF. I was dependent on Foxytunes and I needed the Stumbleupon toolbar for boring days. As Chrome was new, its extensions were not as extensive ^o) as FF's. I just browsed through Chrome's extensions list and I think Chrome can become just as powerful a browser too. Verdict to be out soon :)

EDIT: I got my bookmarks back!!!! :-D Happy as a lark!

Wasted a day of my life

Do you know what is worse than watching a movie with no happy ending?
Watching a serial drama with no happy ending.
My 20 hours wasted. Really wasted in the truest sense of the word.

Rooting for this fishmonger like mad but still the lead actress ended up with the other guy (because the fishmonger gave up his own happiness for the happiness of the other two)....

Noch eine Woche

Gee, one more week!
>_<

I'm getting cold feet.
I don't know what to bring*, I don't know what to wear, I don't know what to say, I don't know what to do.
Just thinking about it makes me ill.

Ok I think my heart just reached 136 bpm.
In musical terms, my heart's playing at Allegro.



*suggestions so far range from champagne to frozen laksa hahahahahaha

It's humid and so I know I'm almost home

As I was checking out of the hotel yesterday, I saw two emails that made me so extremely happy.
Internet in Moscow is very expensive so I didn't pay for it (USD45 for 24 hours) and I only do quick checks whenever I'm in the hotel lobby (where the internet is free).

First email was from Evelyn. It's got to do with this incident.
A connection has been established (my passengers' neighbour goes to Evelyn!), the mystery has been solved and I think my passengers will be going to visit Dr. Chan real soon :)))

Second email was from somebody else. The contents are not exactly fabulous news but it's good enough for me!

Then came the shit part when I arrived in Singapore. I discovered that my beloved Delsey had been brutally hacked and murdered by the handlers at Moscow.
>:(
I've sent my luggage to repair several time before but I know this one is way beyond repair. There's a deep crack on the body and I'm gutted. Especially knowing that it's almost impossible to find a good luggage which does not come with ZIPPER these days. I mean what's the deal with having zips for check-in luggage? It's so unsafe! Even good brands now hardly make bags that rely 100% on latches. Unless of course, I fork out S$700 for a Rimowa, which I won't.
It's even more frustrating because I'm going home in a few hours and I do not have time to shop for a new luggage before my next flight - which is a long flight. I need a check-in luggage for that flight!
:(

I shall rant no more. A huge pile of laundry awaits.

CHAITAOKWAY

CRAVE CRAVE CRAVE!

I should already have had at least a plate of chai tao kway by now. Cannot wait to go back already. Shampoo is running out. Washing detergent also running out.
Luckily I brought washing detergent with me (because I brought gym gear this time). If I had not, then I'll have to recycle my undergarments inside-out, front-to-back by now. Hahaha, my stupid colleague was the one who taught me that disgusting idea so that we can wear one underpants four times. EwwWww.

Ich werde jetzt schlafen. Night night :)

Thank you for the free iPod

And the Kate Spade bag(s).

I'm stuck in Moscow. Suppose to have departed earlier today but due to unforeseen circumstances, my set of crew have been rescheduled to leave 2 days later.

Because of an hour's delay out of Singapore at the start of this flight pattern, we hit more than double for the hourly flight allowance. We were not suppose to have hit that but since we did, my new iPod has already been paid for by The Company.

And now this unexpected delay, two more days' allowance also means that the two Kate Spade bags I bought from the States have also been paid off! HUZZAH!

I may or may not put the second Kate Spade bag up for sale.... My heart tells me I don't love it. Hmm. Will keep ya'll posted if I'm letting it go. You might just get a good deal here.

------------------------------------------------------

I hate writing emails. Stuck at the same line for the past 30 minutes... help........

------------------------------------------------------

Happy belated birthday, William!! Sent you an SMS but not sure if you received it. Wishing you truckloads of success!!!

It didn't happen in Europe

but it happened in the States. Fuck the bag ban!

I also bought the Nano in a funky Orange. I like! (It's sisters with Anlynn's iPod, same funky colour.)

Now I will have to look for places that sell bands like these for the Nano for me to wear it as a watch - especially useful when I run.


Why am I running again??????

Men of age

Why do men who know they are charming choose to abuse it?

Why do men have to look at other women? I don't think women look at other men that much (?).

Why, even though from their mouths they tell you they like/love someone, the girls will be able to stand from afar and catch them sneaking a full body scan of another girl?

Why do successful men like much younger women?

Why are men not contented with having just one?

How long can a woman retain the interest of a successful charming man (before he moves on to his new secretary or a new business associate)?


There better come one damn good man to still give me faith in men.

A revisit to Moscow

Meant to post this up yesterday, but I forgot.

-------------------------------------------------------

The journey from Moscow's Domodedovo Airport to the city has always been long.
Most major cities have airports that are about 30 minutes away from the city centre (Singapore being an extreme exception). I don't know why Moscow decided to build Domodedovo so far away. Once it took the crew 3 hours to get back to the hotel during winter. Winter months are especially bad. Today it took us 1.5 hours, which is sort of the minimum expected anyway.
Most of the time the crew will sleep from the time they board the bus until we arrive at the hotel.

Due to the extreme lightload of my flight from Singapore to Moscow (shorter time required for both meal service), the crew were given extra hours to rest. Hence I wasn't too tired when we landed in Moscow. Instead of sleeping all the way to the hotel, I woke up after an hour.
I looked out the window and was suddenly reminded of the 4 weeks that I spent in Moscow in 2006. Anshii was working there then. Those were such happy times. Those were times when I was actually spoiled too. When I said I was hungry, food will appear within 15 minutes. When I saw it snow, I'll open up the windows to catch a few snowflakes to admire while the other person in the house freezes.

While Anshii worked on weekdays, I entertained myself with MTV, Channel [V], FTV and BBC entertainment. And Skynews too.
There are still songs and bands which until today, when I hear them, will remind me of the times in Moscow. Examples being The Kooks, The Feeling, and Justin Timberlake's My Love.
On weekends, Anshii and I would go shopping or meet up with her other expat colleagues. They are such cool people that I've actually met one of them after I started flying in his hometown of Mumbai.

Just when I was reminiscing those times, the bus drove past this shopping centre called Atrium. I don't remember the bus ever taking this route back to the hotel, so imagine my surprise - just when was recalling those days. Anshii took me to Atrium twice to buy toiletries and cosmetics. I believe we even went to the TGIF there once. As the bus passed the shopping centre slowly (traffic was really bad), I tried to take in as much of the building as possible. Then I saw a road sign which made me smile - Проспект Мирa, which is Prospect Mira, the place where I called home for a month!

As we went on, I saw more signs to Prospect Mira. We did eventually pass by it. Shortly after I arrived at my hotel, which was also the hotel that Anshii stayed in for several weeks before she found her place. The hotel is just 3 streets away from Prospect Meera. For dinner last night, we went to Il Patio at Olympic Plaza. It is our crew hangout, and it's also a restaurant that Anshii used to frequent with her colleagues because guess what, the Maersk office is in Olympic Plaza. It's strange how massive Moscow is, but here I am, back in the same places all over again. So nostalgic. Every trip to Moscow takes me back to Il Patio and Perikryestok, the supermarket which Anshii and I went to once every few days to stock up on water and other necessities. During those bitter cold evenings where temperature dropped to -15 Celcius, we would brave the wind just to get my breakfast for the next day while I curse at the cold silently (well, not always).

There are so many money changers near the hotel but I still always make the effort to walk an extra block to go back to the very money changer that I always changed with in 2006. This money changer is about 2-3 blocks from Anshii's old apartment. That shop still has the same orange signboard. That orange signboard is now almost hidden by two other signboards to its left and right - two new money changers that have popped up in the last year.

Too many times I have been tempted to walk back to Anshii's old block, just for the heck of it. And also to Stefan's, if I can still remember the way. Too many times I wanted to just trace back those steps that I walked but I've always been too timid to venture out alone in the big bad city of Moscow. Other times too it was just too cold to warrant the effort.

I wonder when I will ever get the chance to sit in a hall, chewing pretzels and have a game of bridge with Anshii, Francis, Gabby, Tonis, Tarek and Stefan again….

That Apple looks delicious

Very very very very very extremely tempted to get another iPod, the Nano this time for my runs. I can't take the Classic skipping on me anymore.

The Classic will forever follow me wherever I go. I need it for the big HDD space.
However, how many songs can actually qualify for working-out right? Kenny Loggins' For The First Time?
The Shuffle and Nano are good for sports because they use flash memory (they were and I believe they still are?) instead of HDD so it doesn't cause songs to skip when the player is shaken vigorously.
The Shuffle is ONLY $49 and only 2GB but I suppose that is enough to hold all the songs I need for running. However it does not sync with my Nike+ sensor. Is the syncing worth another $100 with the Nano (not inclusive of tax, gawd that is one thing I hate about buying things in the US...)?

Should I? Should I not? Anlynn, do you want to permanently lend me your Nano?

Most disgusting post ever

I don't think I've ever posted anything as disgusting as this Halloween costume.
Definitely one Halloween costume that I've never seen before.


EWWWWWWWW!

w.t.f.

I)

I always thought that it was over, he was single and she was just not over him.
When they got married, I tried so hard to convince myself, "His parents wanted it."

Now I see her saying some shit about long distance relationships DO last when it's with the right person, I need to re-evaluate everything and can officially tell the world I went out with a guy who was a major cheat.

FML.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

II)

First Nikolai, then Silvio. F!F!F!F!F!, it's happening to me again... and it's always in Moscow!!!

011110

As I tried to go back to sleep till 9 p.m., I couldn't get the chocolate raspberry cake from Via Del Corso (?) from Westfield, Sydney out of my mind.
It's like a drug! Craving for it. Major craving.

Monday

'Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I have been with a loose girl'.

The priest asks, 'Is that you, little Joey Pagano ?'

'Yes, Father, it is.'

'And who was the girl you were with?'

'I can't tell you, Father. I don't want to ruin her reputation'.

"Well, Joey, I'm sure to find out her name sooner or later so you may as well tell me now. Was it Tina Minetti?'

'I cannot say.'

'Was it Teresa Mazzarelli?'

'I'll never tell.'

'Was it Nina Capelli?'

'I'm sorry, but I cannot name her.'

'Was it Cathy Piriano?'

'My lips are sealed.'

'Was it Rosa DiAngelo, then?'

'Please, Father, I cannot tell you.'

The priest sighs in frustration.

'You're very tight lipped, and I admire that.

But you've sinned and have to atone. You cannot be an altar boy now for 4 months.. Now you go and behave yourself.'

Joey walks back to his pew, and his friend Franco slides over and whispers, 'What'd you get?'

'Four months vacation and five good leads.'

_______________________________________

9 days

Do you know how it feels to be going away from this island for 9 + 3* days?
Pure happiness!

*9 for flight, then touch down, back in Singapore for a few hours and then go home for 3 days.


I can't believe it. After much belt-tightening last month, I still spent $6000 last month, which is what, like RM15k? WTF WTF WTF. WHERE DID ALL THE MONEY GO?!?!?!?!!
>:((( I don't even have a car to pay for!

This is crazy, I don't see anything in particular that I bought which would have caused such a damage. I've been trying to trace where my money's going to for the last half a year but even as I try to consciously watch my spending, I'm still spending $6k. madness.

House doctor

Housemate just came back from flight. Saw me up this early and already showered. Told him I went for a run.
He looked at my other housemate puzzled.
Julia told him I started running again today.
I told him I think I look rounder.
His reply: "Must be the Nile syndrome."

LOL.

19 more days!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, boys and girls!
Should have been out tricking or treating last night but I crashed.
Operated a rough sector back to Singapore, where I had 15 infants onboard. My company's middle name must be Childcare.

My cousin from the US sent this email to me. It is so funny...

He sent a photo of his director dressed as Mr. Incredible (and flexing his muscles ok...).... Everyone in the office was dressed as a cartoon character.
What happened next was my cousin's director went up to him after a horrific realization:
"Christ, I have someone coming in for an interview and look at me.. I'm Mr. Incredible. Billy (my cousin's other manager) over there is coming in for the interview with me and look at him.. he's dressed like a pimp"..
Then they saw the candidate walk into the interview room. "Ah shit.. fuck it.. I'll suck it up and he'll just have to not laugh at me or he'll not get this job"


And there you have it. The interview went on but everyone struggled to keep a straight face. I honestly pity the poor candidate. What the hell was he suppose to think?!

For u 2 ponder

If actions are louder than words, then why is the pen mightier than the sword?

If tomato is a fruit, isn't ketchup a smoothie?

Why do noses run while feet smell?

If a person with multiple personalities threatened to commit suicide, is that considered a hostage situation?

23 more days!!!

Back to life, back to reality

Back in Singapore. The haze, the heat, the humidity, ugh!

It was great to be in Munich. I've never seen sooo many BMWs, Mercedes and Audis on the road. ALL taxis were either Mercs or BMWs. Every third car is an Audi/BMW/Benz. The rest were Volkswagons and the occasional Ford, Citroen and so on.

When I was on the famous Autobahn (highway) going back to Munich from Neuschwanstein (pictures will be up shortly, look out for that), cars were tearing up the highway on the outer lane. If I were to look to the other side of the road, it's almost impossible to identify ANY car travelling on the outer lane there because they'll just be gone in a second. If you didn't already know, the Autobahn has no maximum speed limit (a part of it, at least but for parts with speed limits, it's still higher than Malaysia's 110 km/h limit). Instead cars have to travel at a minimum speed of 60 km/h.

Munich was really pretty when I was there. The trees were of different shades of green, yellow, orange and brown. I don't think that in my 3 years of flying I have been to a city so pretty in Autumn.
From today onwards it will start snowing, so it's quite a good thing I left when I left. Light snow is wet and messy.

Back here to face the reality that is the tussle between us, the landlord and the house agent. I have 2 more days, I think, of peace. I will be in BP. When I come back from BP Julia will also be back from Moscow and that'll also be when we will have to meet the agent, engage a lawyer, get a new place, etc.

OH, in The Company's inflight entertainment system now is Boyzone's Back Again... No Matter What concert!! I first saw it on my Paris flight - this Kiwi uncle of about 50+ was watching it. He finished the entire show. Then on this flight, another middle-aged lady also saw it from start to finish. She was sitting at the last row of the forward cabin, just in front of my galley, so I just stood outside my galley (behind her seat) and watched together with her hahahaha.
Boyzone's not just for teeny-boppers, I can prove you that much!

It's free hugs day!

Was at Marienplatz today when I suddenly saw two girls with a cardboard each scream as they ran towards two other girls... It's like they found a long lost friend, and hugged.
(Marienplatz was VERY VERY crowded today with shoppers, locals and tourists alike.)
Then I saw that the cardboard was inscribed with the words "FREE HUGS".
I looked around and saw many others holding similar cardboards/placards and just giving out hugs to random people! It was strange, but it made me happy :)

And have you seen a more striking city hall than this?

Electrocardiograph

You know people say life is like a rollercoaster. We have our ups and downs and it usually comes in small waves. Like if you experience a series of good things now then you should also be prepared for shit to hit the fan and splattering all over your new gleaming hall.

The last 36 hours has been so full of ups and downs and they all come alternately within short periods of time that my ups and downs are starting to look like an ECG.

It all started when my housemate called me from Moscow at 12 p.m. on Wednesday. Normally, my phone would be on silent mode but for some reason I hadn't put it to silent the night before...
She threw the worst piece of news to me regarding some housing issues. Our agent's an ass who's giving us so much problems because the landlord is mad at him, which in turn makes him mad at us, and so apparently there's a court order to chase us out of the house. Long story short, after seeing the scanned copy of what he called a 'court order', it seems like it's just a lawyer's letter from the landlord's side to the house agent. Also seems to me like the landlord's mad at him, not us. Julia's gone for a 10-day flight, I'm here till next week... I hope I don't go back to a chained gate. I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL FREAK OUT.

As I tried unsuccessfully to go back to sleep, I checked my email and then saw an email that pulled my spirits right up again. If it weren't for that call from Julia I would have broken into a song. ♫

After that email I received another crappy SMS from Julia. Then upon consulting a few people I realized that things weren't so bad. At one point Julia and I even thought that the court order was a hoax (we hadn't seen anything then, we only heard from the house agent that there was one). That evening, just before leaving for flight, I opened my front door and saw this paper from Singapore Post asking us to collect a registered mail... addressed to The Tenant. FFFFFFFFFFK!
Felt like crap again.
Never mind.

Arrived in Munich, finally saw the scanned copy of the 'court order', didn't feel so bad again. Consulted Shien Wei and she's giving me a 50-50 kinda hope... Went out (Ich liebe dich, München ♥ ), came back and then saw another email that has now made me so excited I cannot wait for November to come :)))))
Yes, it's related to the email that almost made me break into a song.

Must stay calm...............................OMMMMMMMMMMMMM.........................




Ah I know reality will slap me in the face when I go back to Singapore, having to actually ensure that I have a roof over my head before anything else.