Enjoying myself in Ticolandia!

Pura vida! Ticolandia is called by all costarican people (Los Ticos), means our own country COSTA RICA! However, we name it in diferent ways such as, La Tiquicia, Ticolandia. Because we are TICOS!!! Oh eh oh eh oh eh oh eh...ticos ticos~~~hahahaha this is so funny! So us! I am very proud of being costarican, our unique identity, our uncomparable tradition. I always recommend my colleagues and friends to come to Costa Rica for tourism, as you can find different patern of joy spending your holiday, either going for mountain side or ocean area, you can always have a big time without enforcing it.

2 days left before going back to Dubai, i have started feeling nostalgic and wish i could stay longer, though i have JED and DEL flights right after my leave and having a hard time to swap it! On the DEL flight i will be the only male crew thus a big barrier to swap flights or days off, because i can only swap with male crew!!! what a rule~anyway, this is flight attendant's life. I cant wait to get over these turn arounds and go to Vienna at the end of month for a short break! Seriously, i am tired of this pathetic roster! Please give me a nice one next time okay! (Voice up! Like me, hard working crew with stunning performance, doesnt deserve this kind of roster!) Ahhhhhhhhhh~~~~~

Going home for 8 days! My b'day is coming up~

Surprisely, i managed to swap my bombai flight for 2 days off so make my leave a bit longer though. People ask me how i swapped it? well...of course not free! Is my first time paying money to someone to do the flight for me! So actually after the second day SEP recurrent exam i am flying back home in the midnight. This time i purchased zed ticket with LH (Lufthansa), really looking forward to experience their service and hopefully get upgraded for busienss class~hehehe... My journey is routed thourgh Frankfurt and then down to Miamia, 5 hrs boring waiting, American Airline flight back to San Jose! Quite exciting this time, because my b'day is coming on the 21st~dont ask my age! LOL... let's have a big party then!

Now, updating the previous journey to cape town, south africa...

Finally did Cape Town flight on the 8th, but wondering why they way back the entire passenger profile changed completely, full of indian people and 154 special meals requests, all of them in group and without any previous notice to our cabin crew, they swapped their seats as crazy, therefore caused a big delay on delivering our special meals and also delaying the normal meal delivery...wondering why there are so many people like swapping seats and love standing in the aisle during boarding phase...dont they see more passengers are coming through the cabin with big luggages? and most of them pass up and down of the aisle just trying to swap seats among. Seriously, we had a hard time on the way back...with 2 hot meal services, again never seen that much special meals before, i think we should introduce either hindu meal or asian vegetarian meal on certain high demand routes not only for indian flights...anyway this is all about the drame i had on this 9 hrs flight to South Africa~

As now it is winter time in the south ephemeral, the temperature was quite nice around 15 degrees, and blue sky, the only place i went to was the water front harbour, having a great food and local wine! short stay in cape town not much can do, last time i already did the sightseeing thing, so i didnt want to go out with rest of the new crew for touristing. Had a great manicure session close to hotel, was the first time i got all my nails polished! look really nice and healthy!

The worst roster of the year!!! updated version...

May reserve month...
Got 3 turn arounds and 1 long layover ONLY!!! what the hell is going with reserve month! really not equally distributed the flights to people, some got rosters some didnt like me and having shit turn arounds. my performance is always good but why i deserve this kind of shit roster? this is really not nice at all~

3 turn arounds are: AMD india, DAC bangladesh, and MAA india...lol full of india and long turn arounds...

1 long layover is BKK SYD, 8 days trip to Thailand and Sydney Australia...well i cant complain about it, i love both cities and during this lovely trip i was the galley operator throughout the flight~flew with 4 very junior crew was a bit challenging and the other two never took galley before so i too initiative to manage the galley for the 6 sectors flight...was the first time taking galley for such a long journey, but was a nice experience plus nice performance report was arised too hehehehe...

June "roaster":
06.01-06.05 RSV (actually being given days off only~lol)
06.06-06.07 Days off
06.08-06.10 Cape Town, South Africa
06.11 Day off
06.12-13 Jeddah turn around (not bad but full in a 2 class config, 777-300ER)
06.13-14 Kuwait turn around (short flight only about an hour and 15 mins, we served hot meal!!!! this is so crazy~was like a war delivering and collecting trays at the same time, no tea coffee, basically everything was in a rush! only giving them sandwish is more than enough!)
06.15-06.16 SEP recurrent exams!!! (Study a lot~)
06.17-06.25 Leave...going back home COSTA RICA! PURA VIDA! 21st is my b'day!!! wohoooooo~
06.26-27 Jeddah turn around...another one!!! why?????
06.27-28 Delhi, India...omg~what a roster!
06.29 Day off
06.30-07.01 Vienna, Austria! again...one of my favourite city!

As you can see, this is the worst roster i have received so far! Group 3 we are buttom bid group but still come on! all ppl i know from group 3 our roster are really really bad...full of turn arounds and only couple layovers! my total flying hours are 51 something...poorest ever! Trying everyday to swap for any layover even Lagos...crying :((~~~~~

Keep discovering...

Joke on the plane

Joke 1:
Let me see if I can remember this conversation verbatim.
One day before the flight began and as passengers were boarding, the cutest little old woman tugged on my suit jacket."Hi there", I said. "Excuse me, sir?" She said. "Why aren't you in the cockpit?" I looked at her puzzled."Why would I be in the cockpit?" I asked. She looked back at me as if she just lost her puppy. "Aren't you a pilot?"I smiled at her. "No Mam, I'm a Flight Attendant." "Oh!" she said. "You mean a Stewardess?" "No." I replied. "A flight Attendant. Same thing, we just don't use that term much anymore.""Oh", she said again. "In that case I'll take a coke, no ice."I laughed. "I'll began beverage service as soon as we get to 10,000 Feet. I promise, you'll be the first person I serve."

Joke 2:
As soon as we finished delivering the menu in the cabin...minutes later...Ding~ (call bell!) from seat 42C, Me: Yes madam, how may I help you? Pax A: Yes, can I order my meal now? I want Okra Sambar (indian vegetarian) and my husband wants Curry fish! Me: Madam, we will be serving the meal from the front to the back so there is no need to order meal in anticipation! Moral-Aircraft is a public transportation not a restaurant!

Joke 3:
Helga is a woman pilot working for a well-known airline...
Anyway, one day Helga boarded the plane and was sitting in the cockpit with the door open. A man climbed onto the plane and was just taking his seat when he looked up and saw Helga. She saw that his face turned a shade of green and she heard him say to the air steward, 'Blimey, is that a woman I see in the cockpit?' Waiting a while Helga then heard the man say, 'Well, I suppose it's alright as long as they don't let her touch anything.'

More jokes will come to my mind as I fly more...

Osaka and Kyoto in 28 hours! wohoooo...

My favourite destination...JAPAN! Despite of japanses passengers are very nice and easy to deal with, as they always demonstrate japanese culture and courtesy throughout the flight, featuring the "red eye" flight (midnight departure) much much easier~ After my London flight, i got 2 Osaka flights in a row, from 19-21 and 25-27 of May. Unfortunately, majority of cherry blossoms had gone but still some left behind the hotel but also some in Kyoto! This time Osaka weather was great to start my planned journey to Kyoto, 35 minutes by train (express one! but not Shin Kan Sen) from Osaka station, the good thing is the free hotel shuttle taking us to Osaka Station every 20 minutes. The train fare is 540 yen each way which was not okay not expensive at all.

Picture below, was taken in Monday morning, peak hour in Osaka Station! ppl walking like ants...FAST but ORGANIZED! If you dont respect the right line to go up or down, you could die under their feet!

Now, you can see these 3 Geishas walking on the streets near Kiyomizu Temple, you can always see them slowing walking down to the street! is real not a show! Such a good contrast to the modern life in Japan!

Now Kiyomizu-dera photo show~

Kiyomizu Temple, 清水寺 (built in 778, rebuilt in 1633), one of the must see sights in Japan and specially in this historical city Kyoto (京都), the antic capital in Japan but nowadays is Tokyo. Kiyomizu means clear water or pure water, you can always find those nature fountains with different meanings, to obtain blessings, love, luck, protection, such as amults can be purchased to bring home for more interests. Of course, I had to get some hehehe...one is actually now hanging on my door! Also i found a big charm walking in surounding area in Kiyomizu-Dera, is the streets with bunches of shops and local restaurants! Such a nice trip in Kyoto, beyond the words! Missing the red bean soup, those tempting japanses pickles! I brough some to Dubai but still eating them little by little...so yummy!! Also bought a Samurai sword which caused me 2 custom security checks in Osaka Kansai International Airport and back here in Dubai, even was just an imitation not a real one, but still had to go through that tedious process. That gorgeous sword cost me only 7500 yen! what a nice deal~the tip is you have to visit several shops and check their prices, sometimes the nice deal is just next to you! Those japanses people are nice to talk to, most of times credit card can be used!

The second trip wasnt much to do as the weather was aweful, next day was raining the whole day and quite cold, and my jetlag had started to claim for sleep...yawn!! Even though i still woke up around 10 o'clock in the morning to go to the charming city Kyoto again, but this time not to visit temples but shopping!!! guess what...bought so many skin care products, some for me, some for my mom! such as moisturizers, hand cream, masks, lotions...etc. Com'on! you cant miss going to those cosmetic shops and buy those skin care products, they are so good and at a good price! 10000 yen was gone in that afternoon~~~but with a good harvest of cosmetic things! the aircraft cabin is extremely dry, therefore, taking care of our skin has become a daily task! Keep my face and hand moisturized all the time throughout the flight, even during our rest time! I found DHC and Shisheldo UNO very useful and handy to bring on board with me, moreover, they are working great on my skin, has got my skin improved and prevent being dehydrated. Some crew joked at me, saying i have more "stuff" than girls! LOL....it is so necesary to carry those items with me!

Japanese cusine!

Tofu lunch! so tender and delicious!

My small toilet pouch comes with MUJI non-alcoholic sanitizer, L'occitane hand cream, nail cutis conditioner (hahaha...my nail cutis suxxxxx so dry! looks aweful if i dont start using this nice product), DHC face gel (moisturizer), hair gel for retouching. That's all~do you think that is too much for a flight attendant to carry in the cabin bag? Naaaaaaaahhhh, dont get me wrong. Leave your comment any good tip to care of our skin please be generous to share them please!

Attention cabin crew! Swine flu~~~~~

As we all realized from different medias, tv, newspapers or radio, currently there is a outbreak viral virus called Swine flu spreading around the world starting from Mexico! Our job as cabin crew obviously needs to be taken care of by all possible preventive measures, however, our company has implemented a contigency plan to avoid and protect our working enviroment.

Should we wear surgical mask to avoid being infected? Wearing masks on the plane working with passengers sounds weird to everyone, but if the flu keeps spreading over the world we will have to apply this type of preventive measure. Just be careful for now, wash your hands often after dealing with customers towels, used items and meal trays, as they may contain important viral virus! Thus, we should be using hand sanitizer or wash our hands for 15 seconds with soaps and dry them with clean tissues. We do not want to see any of our colleagues being infected because of our inevitable duties. Keep sanitizer handy and do not fly if you have any similar symptoms related to swine flu, such as high fever, caughing, lack of appetite, tireness etc please call sick instead of coming to the plane and spread your virus to the rest of the crew on board. Even though the influenza is not a killer desease but if your inmuse system is quite low and weak, then your life is at risk!

Sincerely all flight attendants shall pay attention to the current swine flu situation since the alert frmo WHO has arised to 5, henceforward, everyone should be looking after each other and be safe and healthy flying to every cornor of the planet!

14 days in Costa Rica...sweet home!

As I requested 10 days leave plus 5 days off they gave me...so in total i got 2 weeks exact time to spend my holidays with my family and friends back home. Had a great time with all my friends and they did spend their vacation with me as well, we went to Manuel Antonio beach and clubbing...also did a canopy trip with my friend Josue such a nice guy to spend time with.

This time i did not fly with Emirates back to Costa Rica, instead, I chosed Delta Airlines because they fly from Dubai to Atlanta and then Atlanta to San Jose, which is quite similar as my usual routing via Houston. The idea came along with the Houston flight is always full and the passengers are not americans...and so on. So I wanted to try other airlines also to find out how do they do in an ultra long haul flight! But Delta Airlines has absolutely nothing to compre with Emirates~we are the best for my opinion! Delta offered 2 meals, each one with 2 choices, always chicken or pasta, and prior our landing to Atlanta, we were served a veggie Pizza as it was a breakfast time! So pathetic...i couldnt believe the ameican airlines are that lean and mean to customers, poor meal tray with no presentation, and they set up a table with some sandwishes, chocolates, water and cokes during the flight which was okay for me. BUT yes serve yourselves! They rarely come to the cabin with round drinks, when they did, was only water! Another thing to highlight about Delta is that their cabin crew are OLD and literally OLD! I can tell their media age is around 45-50 years old! One of them, seems to be the senior, she has been working for Delta for about 39 years! My gosh~~~which means she must be over 60 already! and still doing this kind of UL flight. However the fact is that only senior flight stewardesses can obtain this kind of long haul flights...compare to the short flight between Atlanta and Costa Rica, the crew were mixed, young and old...

The good thing about this trip with Delta is an upgrade to Business Class on both flights between Atlanta and San Jose Costa Rica! What a surprise! Unfortunately, between Dubai and Atlanta all business classes were fully booked therefore they could not put me in business class! Their seats in economy class are aweful and old, unconfortable, cant recline too much, narrow seat, cheap blanket, the in flight entertainment system was just okay, that was when i started missing our ICE!!! but was a great experience to try other airlines service and observe how other cabin crew interact each other. Emirates is Emirates, Delta is way behind us! Cheers~ and thank you for offering Business Class!

Thinking to bring my dad and mom to Dubai in summer, but is gonna be so hot, maybe will take them to Japan as well! yeah~ Osaka trip detail is coming up soon, stay tunned!