Inflight Conversation
You hear me saying this. But I'm thinking of THIS.
I'm (me), nice to meet you.
~I say it all the time. Not sure what's 'nice' anymore~
I'll be flying with you on this flight.
~Some one HAS TO, right?~
(To the compartment in-charge) We'll be working in the same compartment today.
~Ok, I see your face now~
(When holding the elevator door) I'll hold it, please go ahead.
~This will look so dumb in other places~
I'll confirm the special meal tags.
~I'm doing SOMETHING. And you?~
Let's have a good flight.
~Yah, no freaking Pax and crew that will do pointless things during service. Dream on.~
Any drinks for you?
~Just say something. I'll have it most of the time~
I'll be right back.
~Why can't you just order something from my cart here?? Crap~
I have these (2 choices) for this meal. May I know your preference?
~Just choose one. And make it fast~
Hot tea for anyone?
~Look, I only have 2 hands. So don't ask for other drinks when you see me passing HOT TEA!~
Entry documents for anyone?
~What? You're travelling overseas and you still don't know if you need the entry forms? Don't you at least try to read up a bit when planning the trip?~
...
Thank you for flying with us today!
~Yah yah. Just get your bags and butt off the plane. There's at least a hundred persons behind you. SO move it!~
Last Weekend Of This Year
People should just stay home during weekends. You can save the trouble of going to the town area, just to squeeze among other people, wait for the fitting rooms, restaurants, cashiers and even toilets.
Why make yourself go through all that when you can enjoy a much better evening during weekdays? The restaurant charges are lower too...
Ok, I'm starting to sound like a TV commercial.
Last weekend of 2006. Out for dinner with my best girls. But everybody seems to have a lot on their minds. Except me. Hmmm.
Why?
Why didn't you appear earlier?
Why didn't you call out to me?
Why didn't you tell me you'll like to stay?
Why did you agree to let go?
Why did you give me one last smile?
Why did you say it's all over when it's not?
Why didn't I find you sooner?
Why?
Last New York Flight, Maybe?
Leaving for my flight in 15 mintues' time. A weird feeling when I put on my uniform just now. This could very well be my last duty flight to New York. Will be spending Christmas Eve and Day there. Won't be able to shop as most shops will be closed. Hopefully I can bear the cold to Central Park.
A lot to think about, a lot to plan, and a lot of people I want to meet.
Looking at my current job from a very different point of view now.
~A little heart pain~
Off For Vacation!!
Going into the boarding gate now. Leaving for Bangkok and Pattaya for a 5-day vacation. Finally. Getting away...
Aquarians In Rank 1
Aquarians In Rank 2
Aquarians In Rank 3
Aquarians In Rank 4
Aquarians in Rank 5
FAQs
A short list of FAQs I get recently, due to me announcing I passed the final panel interview.
Q: So you quitting soon?
Q: How much are they paying you?
Q: You don't find it a waste to quit so soon meh??
Q: When will you start work?
Q: For which company?
Q: So the job of ~~~, what you do huh?
Answer:
I'm still waiting for the HR department of the new company to send me the relevant information regarding the contract and bond. First thing I'll need to do is to go through a medical checkup and let the results be processed and reported to the company. THEN, they'll call me back for the contract.
Training is scheduled to start either late-January of early-February. It'll last for about 7 to 8 months before the trainees get posted to their OJT locations. I'll be drawing a 'training pay' during that period and receive a lumpsum gratuity when it ends.
I won't regret quitting my current job for this new one, because flying in this airline is definitely not a good idea. I'll miss the cities I fly to regularly, the shopping, food, Chinese restaurants in New York City and TOP OF THE LIST-- Hyde Street Park in San Francisco.
Everyone will have to leave their job somehow; it's just WHEN and HOW.
The new job is a once-in-a lifetime chance. If I walk away now, there's no way I can return. Perhaps it'll make more sense for me to take up a job that's more service-related. Afterall, that's where my working experience are at. But walking down the other path that seems more dangerous and barrier-filled might bring me more satisfaction.
It's funny how life twists and turns...
Kawaii!!
Was walking around Haneda airport with RC and the Hong Kong-base crew after dinner and wandered into the bookstore. Found these 3 books with cute illustrations about the various situations a crew faces on flights. Love them!!
It's always at the time of departure that one would find the best treasures.
The Annual Scream-At-People Day
If you're someone from my company and reading this-- you might be wondering "How is it even possible to fail that test??" Ahem. I 'managed' to do it.
The paper test was done in the morning session, and I didn't score enough to clear the passing level. What did the instructors there do? Very simple-- stay in the classroom, study by myself, and retake the test in the afternoon at 4p.m.
What? Study for 5 hours just to retake the paper test? I asked if it's ok for me to study for an hour, clear the test during lunchtime, and join the group in the afternoon for the practical session.
NO... I MUST study until 4p.m....
(Vulgarities shooting out of my head...)
Cleared the test with full marks in the afternoon, and they scheduled me to return the next day for another try. (Yes, I must go through the whole test, discussion, video presentations... AGAIN the next day.)
Got back to the hotel, and it's a mad rush to call all parties involved--
--The Singapore office to tell them I failed and arrange for me to return home one day later... (nagging and 'light scolding' included)
--The Narita office to let them know I have to extend one more night at the hotel. (Cos the hotel will need 'authorised personnel' from my company to call them before they let me stay one more day.)
--My family... in case they don't see me when they go to the airport to pick me up on the scheduled day of return.)
What irked me was not that I failed the test; It was the inflexibilty of the whole company. It'll make more sense to let me clear everything in one day. But noooo... apparently they have STANDARDS and RULES to keep to. Yah. Rules that will only cost the company more money-- my hotel stay and outstation money in Japan.
Anyway, I got my extra night in Tokyo, and it's off to the test building the next day. Passed both the paper and practical test beautifully. ~Applause~
Thinking back, I'm so happy I got the extra day. I've gained so much more from my stay there alone.
--Being the only Singaporean crew there, I quickly made friends with the 2 Taiwanese and 2 Shanghai-base crew. Had a great time during group discussions and lunch. Also, 2 Caucasian pilots sat with us during lunch and it was just so much fun talking about the differents flights we take.
--I met with my batchgirl RC at Haneda airport, and a Hong Kong-base crew who was with her for their brush-up course joined in for dinner. Met 2 London-base crew in the same restuarant and everybody just ate and talked about living in the different cities.
--Finally had a chance to use my conversational Cantonese (with the Hong Kong-base crew). Hmmm. Guess my skills are not too bad. At least she could understand me most of the time. YESH!
--Took the bus from Haneda airport to Narita airport alone, and just took care of all stuff by myself. There's no seniors or classgirls for me to rely on, and that's a nice change.
Back in Singapore, and it's no surprise that the office dropped my next flight which was scheduled on the 11th. I'd have to go back to the office for 3 days, just to study the booklet (which I did for hours in Haneda), and retake the test.
It's just, dumb. Waste of time and money. Simply dumb.
But I'll get 10 days in Singapore, then leave for my Bangkok vacation on the 16th. Lots of time to plan what to buy and do there, and relax for the trip.
Life opened one big door for me when it slammed the window for me in Haneda: I passed my final panel interview on the 7th (after I got back on the 6th). And the new company will send me the employment information next week, and arrange for me to go for a medical checkup. Maybe it's a blessing to be in town this week afterall.
Please Say CONGRATS
A lot of stuff has happened since my last entry. Shall blog about it later.
Now, as promised, shall let you all know first hand---
I PASSED THE FINAL PANEL INTERVIEW!!!!
Big-Mouth In Action
For those of you who heard/read about me trying out for a new job-- here's what happened in detail:
I applied for the job via the company's online system on 16th November; got a call from their HR personnel on the 21st, scheduled for the initial computer aptitude test to be on the 22nd.
Before I got started on the actual aptitude test, there was a personality test which I had to take. It consisted of over 200 questions, and I simply had to rate how true they apply to me, on a scale of 1 to 5.
The Computer Aptitude TestConsisted of 16 sections, each section testing the candidate on certain scpects required for the job. Some were MCQ questions, some just needed numbers as answers. Time was limited for each section and there's a short break in-between sections. But once you start the entire test, you can't stop or hold it.
The Voice TestRead a simple phrase into a voice recorder. No difficult words or vocabulary to worry about. It's just words and numbers.
The HR personnel called me on the 28th, informing me that I've passed the aptitude test, and there's a panel interview on 1st December.
The Panel InterviewThere was a manager from the HR department, the deputy-something, and head of the department ready to knock us dead in the interview.
From what I recall during that 15-minute process:
Q: What is your current job and what do you do?
A: I'm a cabin crew, and basically I serve passengers onboard a flight and make sure that everything goes smoothly and adequately.
Q: Why did you apply for this job?
A: Right now, in this point of my life, I feel ready to take on a new challenge. And working for ~that place~ as a ~that job~ is one I'm most interested in.
Q: So, as a crew, I'm sure you've gone through training about what to do in emergencies. What do you do?
A: Well, first, I'll have to brace for impact, and then try to calm the screaming passengers down, check what's happened either in the aircraft or outside, double-confirm with my adjacent colleague, when all's ready and with the command from the cockpit, evacuate all passengers. When all's clear in the cabin, then I will leave the aircraft too.
Q: When you have doubts? What do you do?
A: You mean in emergency situations? (Yes.) The fastest way is to ask the crew nearest to you. That's so much better than me searching for my manuals.
Q: What if there's no one nearby, and you're all alone?
A: ... Well... Then it's all up to me. No matter what, the most important thing is to get all passengers out as quickly as possible. So I'll open the emergency exit and do the evacuation myself.
Q: How do you deal with difficult passengers?
A: (Wanted to say-- every flight... they piss me off...) For me, passengers are generally very nice but sometimes I do get Pax who drink too much and become a nuisance to others. When I see that someone is drinking a bit too much onboard, and starts talking very loudly, I'll stop supplying him liquor. He can request for it, but I won't give it to him.
Of course, I'll start off by telling him-- Sir, you might be drinking a little too much today. Perhaps it's time to take a break. If he insists or even uses vulgarities, I'll say something like this "I'm not going to serve you any more liquor and I mean it. If you continue to behave like this, you're just making a fool of yourself. I might have to report you to the cockpit and it's not a very nice thing then it happens."
I don't care if I'm a crew and he's a Pax who paid for the seat; he's endangering other pax's and my safety. Someone has to stop him before things get out of hand, I'm not afraid to do it. He can lodge a complaint afterwards against me, but I'll just deal with the later. What I have to do at that moment is to stop him.
Q: You've done that before?
A: Sure! Once in a while, we always get people who can't control their drinking onboard.
Q: How about difficult colleagues?
A: It's no point arguing with her on the spot about why she's not performing her duties as she should be. I'll just finish everything up for her-- get the whole job done ASAP. Afterwards, THEN I'll talk to her about the problem. It's just wasting mine, hers and the PAXs' time if I were to argue with her rightaway.
Other questions include:
-- You realise you WILL be taking a pay-cut if accepted. You still want this?
-- I'm not sure you know enough about this job to want it...
-- Do you have a clear idea of what the job consists of?
-- This job comes with a bond, but it doesn't mean that you CAN stay throughout the entire period because people do get cut off...
-- You have a degree, and could easily apply for any other job that pays higher in the market. Why this?
-- Don't you find it a pity to give up your current job?
Final question: How badly do you want the job?
... ...
By the end of the whole interview, I was mentally exhausted. The interviewers were not the kind that will smile and nod their heads occasionally to scknowledge what you've said. It's just question after question.
Oh, if the seniors in my current company heard what I said in the interview, I think they'll be rushing to shut my trap and throw me out the window. hahahahaha! Hey, the HR lady who attended to us mentioned that the interviewere will want to see candidates who
-- Have energy
-- Firm in their minds
-- Willing to commit entirely to this job
-- Exercise teamwork
So... I just went in there and became a bitch.
And I liked it. At least I can 'scold' my passengers...
Anyway, there were 5 candidates for the interview, and 3 of us got through to the final panel interview, which is scheduled for the 7th.
Hehehehehhehehe... very very lucky...
