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| Of Life and Cabin CrewsThe most frivolous mistake I committed in life would be that - following the mainstream crowd might not always be a good idea or a right decision. It was a huge regret I could never sleep well for over a year. I'd like to keep my story short.
I was a doing a Diploma in design in my early tertiary days, albeit having zero passion for design (or rather anything in life). My grades couldn't get me anywhere besides engineering but I chose not to proceed with it as Mathematics weren't my forte. I somehow conveniently ended up with my next available choice and it was none other than design. The next best thing you could have expected, I loathed my drawing blocks and the paint brushes because I felt unimportant and that I was not doing anything constructive. I managed to scrape through with zero passion and I was awarded with a useless piece of paper qualification - the Diploma. There came my next phase in life, compulsory national service - serving the military for two disgusting years. Instead of being out there carving a niche in my academia or career, I was out in the forest digging trenches, like the other unfortunate male citizens.
Being caught in a typical high powered Asian culture, the paper chase was deemed to be the only "right" thing to do for a better life. Two years of suffering in the military gone by just like that and I proceeded with the mainstream because it was considered the "wisest" thing to do - to pursue a bachelor's degree in university. That was the time I figured I was back on the right track and made the "right" decision so I ended up enrolling in a three-year Bachelor's Degree programme in Economics and Finance offered by an established and renowned Australian university. The thing in my mind was afterall, everybody was pursuing a university degree, it was the only right thing to do. It was a major switch for me, a total culture shock because instead of holding paint brushes and drawing blocks, I was back to my calculators and doing accounting once more. I started from scratch but never had issues with the examinations. I had so much fire in me and I worked hard even during my vacation breaks in established banks and government investment companies until I met my other half more than a year ago - who turned out to be a cabin crew for the best airline in the world.
Being with her meant I was exposed to everything of her job and before long, I knew everything about the industry inside out. It was right from the roster planning to the aircraft fleets, configurations, specifications, meal services and even the IATA country codes were behind my fingertips. I knew everything about their linked flights or turnaround flights, their 4-sector flights, their layovers, their residences, their staff numbers, their basic wages and allowances and just about everything a cabin crew should know.
This ceased the fire in me because I realised I was just about like the majority who blindly pursue a further education and I might either end up in the fresh graduate's unemployment statistics or end up getting a job with wages way inferior to that of a cabin crew, doing monotonous stuffs all day long with neverending overtimes. For a male in that airline, he could bag anything between three to five grand per month including allowances. The kind of money I see really screws my brain up all the time. A typical four-day Europe flight allowance would be equivalent to that of a month's wages for a bus captain here. The money keeps rolling in, right from the allowances to the gratuities and to the bonuses. You get to globe-trott all, enjoy the finest food and sights in life and you get to visit places people could only dream all their lives. An average salary of three to five grand per month is pretty good for those who don't even have a basic diploma I reckon.
The wise and thrifty ones would work for some five years, have an accumulated savings of a six-figure sum - the hundred grand mark. Some would purchase a private apartment and rent it out, quit flying and live on the yields from the rentals, brilliant isn't it? They eat good food all the time, branded bags and all they wouldn't mind splurging their entire allowance from a Europe flight just to get another costly designer bag from Milan. Their pictures are sprawled all over facebook from country A to Z. They lead the kind of high and glamourous life and this often makes me wonder, did I make the right decision of pursuing a university education?. The minority of brilliant ones joined the airlines after they graduated and they began their wondrous lives they could ever imagine of and some were hooked to the sweet wages and lifestyle they had difficulties in tendering their resignation even though they no longer had interests in their job. The more intelligent ones remained loyal to the airline and worked for them for their entire lives. I see the people in their mid-forties to fifties still in the airline as in-flight supervisors. I pretty much expect their basic and allowances to rake up an average of eight to nine grand per month, way too good for an uncle who only has GCE 'O' Levels qualification. I figured that would even make some pilots, the first officers that is, to be in the same situation as myself, which is to wonder why did they ever chose to painstakingly fly the aircraft and be held responsible for the many lives when a cabin crew's in-flight supervisors wages is nowhere inferior (except in annual bonuses).
The fire in me ceased but despite skipping 90 percent of the lectures and doing self-study all the time, I managed to breeze through my first two years of studies without much hassle with some couple of distinctions. I am struggling now, especially when I am at the maximum level of both macro and microeconomics, there's no better way to console myself and tell myself I would not die from the graphs. For all you know even if I graduated, I might be unemployed or even so employed, having minimum wages and maximum brain-spoiling plus daily overtimes, the crews on the other hand, having the best time in their lives and earning way more than me. I'm in my final year and my final phase and quitting was never an option because I have to finish up what I have started. I have plans when I graduate, probably becoming a cabin crew myself, or seek employment in the financial district in London because to live is to travel and I live to travel.
I feel really unsettled.
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| Still AliveIt has been long...
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| December then, February nowIt was in December when I monitored the prices for return air tickets to certain destinations in Europe. I would say that the average price for a return air ticket to most destinations in Europe would range between SGD$1500 to SGD$2100, inclusive of taxes and fuel surcharges depending on the airlines. An example of the prices in December were SGD$1400+ for a return ticket to London or SGD$1700+ to Rome/Milan by Thai Airways. Frankfurt was also made possible by China Eastern Airlines for SGD$1451.
I was comparing the prices for Singapore Airlines to other airlines. Of course, for the excellent comfort and service offered by Singapore Airlines, it was of no surprise that a typical return ticket to Europe would range anywhere between SGD$1900+ to SGD$2200. For me, I would label it would be of an average of SGD$2000 for a return air ticket to anywhere in Europe by Singapore Airlines and any prices below that would be considered a bargain. There were also pretty good airlines like British Airways or Qantas which offered a return ticket for around SGD$1700 to SGD$1800.
I could only travel with Singapore Airlines because my girl would getting her air ticket at zero cost by using her annual staff privilege ticket. It was undeniable that I was attracted to the better pricing offered by other airlines but it made no sense for her to fork out for a full price ticket (which was cheaper than Singapore Airlines) by travelling on other airlines together with me as there I get to save around SGD$600 to SGD$700, there she would spend an additional of SGD$1400 and it would come to square-one.
Initially, tickets to Rome/Milan were priced at around SGD$1900+ by Singapore Airlines but I wasn't able to to get a return flight under a week's time due to their flight frequency. Rome only had flights on alternate days whilst Milan had flights on a daily basis so Milan was appropriate. However, the accommodation in Milan would range between SGD$700-SGD$1300 for a night's stay so imagine a week's stay there - it would cost an aircraft's Rolls Royce Trent engine. Rome was ommited due to the frequency of flights and Milan was too ommited, due to the hefty accomodation charges.
There came plan two for our vacation, London or Paris. She flies to London at least once every month and has been to Paris for a couple of times so I could not make a one-stop destination because it would be unfair for her that she would be just visiting Paris all again.
I booked a return A380 flight to London by Singapore Airlines and Eurostar's High-Speed rail from London's St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord station. We chose London-Paris over a London-Brussels (Belgium) because she knows I was all too keen to appreciate the Eiffel Tower. The duration for a bullet-train from London to Paris would take around 2 hours, probably faster than a budget carrier like Ryanair or Easyjet because of the time wastage for check-in/out and airport transfers. For Eurostar, it was around SGD$250 per person for a return trip from London to Paris. However, I was lucky to be booking during the promotional season for Eurostar and I managed to get a return ticket for SGD$215 inclusive of a night's accomodation in Central Paris.
Not to digress, I forked out SGD$2050 for a return ticket to London by Singapore Airlines but there came January when airline companies decided to do mad slashing in their prices. Of course, I would be entitled to cancel my ticket and get a full refund less SGD$75 administrative charges but that wasn't the point. The point was that I could not travel on any other airlines as mentioned above because it would defeat its purpose.
There came the first promotion which lasted for a week - Singapore Airlines.
For Europe, it was around SGD$1200 to SGD$1400 for a return ticket to certain destinations in Europe - London, Paris, Frankfurt, Moscow by Singapore Airlines. Whatever happened to their average SGD$2000 per return ticket like how I paid SGD$2050 for it? There were clauses of course, and it requires a minimum two travellers per booking. I randomly clicked on Paris and it was SGD$2406 inclusive of taxes for two return tickets which makes SGD$1203 per person! Paris was SGD$2004 for a single return ticket in December so look how the prices plummered. I was thinking to cancel my air ticket and re-book them but it was too late as I only found out on the very last day of the promotion.
There came the second shock in no more than a week later - Air Asia.
Asia's budget carrier Air Asia had a new route out of Asia - a return ticket to London for SGD$800+ inclusive of taxes. It was no-frills budget so I would not further comment on it.
The "last-but-not-least" shock was again, a week later - Air France.
It was Air France next and they had their Valentine's promotional return air tickets to certain destinations in Europe - London, Paris, Barcelona, Milan for around SGD$1300 to SGD$1500, all inclusive of taxes. It was really reasonable at such prices by a pretty good airline on the same tier with British Airways or Qantas but I think I wouldn't want delve further because my heart would ache.
I would depart on the 6th February and I hope -
1. I would enjoy my vacation with her;
2. Airline companies would stop further slashing their prices.
Meanhwhile, do have a great Lunar New Year and a sweet Valentine's 2009. I have more or less ceased blogging because there's nothing happy or delightful to write about in my life. What you see are merely facades; my life, my relationship and all. I haven't been happy all my life, especially in the past half-a-decade and I'm turning 26, getting old.
Goodbye.
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Intoxicated FridayI was at the airport to pick her up when she returned from AKL last Thursday. I always made it a point to receive her whenever she is back from her flights not because I have to, but rather I have always been eager to see her. There came Friday and I was contemplating if we should head to o' bar but just could not come up with a decision until it was made by flipping of a coin. That decision proved fatal because I was well-wasted by the alcohol at the club some couple of hours later. It was the first time in nearly over a decade I went beyond my limits in relation to the speed of alcohol consumption and the amount of intake because it was a rare sight to see me real drunk or even puke because I would cease drinking whenever the effect comes and have always made the point to never to throw up. I couldn't really remember how I got back to her place because it was vague (as I was really highly intoxicated and throwing up) and all I know was that she took care of me real well this time around with her heart. I have not much recollections about it but I figured she removed my shoes when I was slumped half-dead on her bed, gave me water, wiped my face with a wet cloth and sat right next to me when I was really suffering from all that puking effect. I remembered I did blabber several nonsensical stuffs but also knew for this time, she gave in and acknowledged to all of my drunken words. I guessed I ended up that drunk because I was upset over some issues which surfaced in the recent, and that we were always bickering over the slightest disagreements. This is one of the sweetest relationships I've ever had but I am afraid it may not last. She has left for TPE-night stop on sunday and I would be at the airport again later to receive her. Her upcoming flight to BOM would be fine but it's just the 4-sector phobia (of her DXB-DME some months ago) that hits me again because she would be bound for a 4-sector TPE-LAX by the end of this week. I really hope everything goes well and it wouldn't create another dent in our relationship. Altogether with the case of the ex and all, I would just leave it to fate and come what may.
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| Tiring WeekIt has been five consecutive days since I last saw home and I am back in my room once again. It has been a tiring week for me because girl was terribly ill for a couple of days right after I recovered from mine so it was my turn to look after her. It all began when I picked her up from the airport on Wednesday afternoon when she returned from a short flight from SYD. She complained that she was having a slight fever and I proceeded to take her to the doctor. As she missed her FRA flight, her roster was slightly messed up and SYD replaced it and the following day of standby was also disrupted when she was re-scheduled for NRT instead. Right on that very day she was bound to leave for NRT, she fell so ill she was unable to walk so I brought her to a doctor again and it took her three full days to recover. Because of that, her Saturday turnaround to DAC was disrupted and replaced by a two-day PVG/SHA so off she went an hour ago. I hope she is all well and chirpy now because seeing her ill makes my heart ache.
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