Saturday, December 12, 2009

Hmm Christmas

Two weeks before Christmas and I was already relaxing and just counting the days til Christmas. J and I have finished our Christmas shopping list, wrapped all the gifts, decorated our humble condo unit with decors... We're so ready for Christmas!

Anyway, I still have yet to find out how Christmas is here at Taguig since it's my first holiday season here in up and coming city, as compared to all my Christmases and New Years in our hometown in Navotas. But anyhow we don't really know when we'll Christmas together since we're pretty booked!

Christmas eve: We're closing the gasoline stations and heading to NAIA Terminal 3 to pick up J's sister who's coming home from Singapore.
Christmas day: We'll go home to Navotas to help out at home. At night we'll be at Terminal 1 to pick up Peggy.
26th: Bulacan for my maternal side's Christmas celebrations

See, the days before and after are booked!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Inventions I'm Grateful For

There are a couple of things off the top of my head that I could say I'm thankful to have been invented. Not the kind of thing wherein Twilight fanatics would gush, "thank God for Edward Cullen."

First off, the Internet. Oh yes, the world wide web. Everything seems to be at hand if you've got internet connection. From the days you spend hours trying to connect through dial-ups, to easy-breezy wifi connections, I still am grateful that some brainy people got to create the cyberworld. Without it, my mom would still tell me to browse through that unabridged Webster's dictionary whenever I don't know a word; or the yellow pages when you need to call some place: or wait through snail mail to get in correspondence with someone miles away; and of course the need to have a complete set of encyclopedias that always get outdated after sometime. Luckily enough for my generation, I could simply Google everything and even get translations online, find restaurants nearby and so on and so forth. Through the web, you get a gigantic amount of information, opinions and inputs. Say for example if a new phone comes out, and you're thinking about getting one, you'd have the liberty to Google it to know the specs, read about user's opinions, etc. Whereas decades ago, if you didn't know anyone using it yet, then you'd only have to trust the salesperson who's of course just trying to sales talk you into getting one!

Next up: dental braces. Who could have predicted that teeth could be rearranged? For people who didn't have dental alignment problems, they'd probably not appreciate the existence of dental braces fully. But for someone like me who went from bite 3 (lower teeth in front of upper teeth) to the normal bite 1, a lot has changed. It gave me a boost in confidence, not to mention that it also got rid of my lisp. If they had invented it centuries ago, then probably Mona Lisa isn't smiling without teeth showing, coz she wouldn't have that crooked teeth that she's trying to hide, according to dental experts. :)

Monday, September 28, 2009

Ondoy's Attack

On Friday night J and I were still planning to party on Saturday night somewhere in Ortigas. I picked J up from the office and went home as it started raining. No biggie. It always rains. When we got home (at the condo in Taguig) the winds started blowing really hard. Whenever it does, it made a howling sound as it passed through metals of the balconies. Pepper, on the other hand, looked so wary. Even when it's time to sleep, he wouldn't, and would just be close by. I fell asleep with my arm dangling from the bed just so he'd feel like he's beside somebody.

Saturday morning. Still raining. The balcony's so wet now, I got the feeling it must be flooding already. I tiptoed on the balcony to check if my car is still parked outside our building--or if it was already submerged somehow. Elmo (my car) is still okay. No signs of flood. But a lot of cars had already illegally parked. I knew something was wrong. We switch on the tube and tuned in to the news... Horrible.

We start calling people from Navotas. As I expected the phoneline was dead. I called up my mom and got a hold of her. They sounded so calm. They have electricity. Almost all of them are home, and the flood--like most high tide days--were just knee deep and didn't even reach our backyard. Hmm. Tolerable. Thankful.

Seaoil Merville calls up to stop operations. It was waist-deep already.

SMS started pouring in. I knew people must be worried about the flood capital Malabon-Navotas, seeing the one-storey flood in Pasig, Marikina and Rizal. I assure people we're okay. Then I started wondering, and worrying, about people I know who live/have their families in the said areas. Some of my friends are not in the Philippines and I'm sure they're worried sick about their family.

This post goes out to MM, who was in Manila but their home was flooded in QC. I'm glad you're okay now. And to Lyka and Precious, who are both away from home while in Japan and Korea, respectively, and whose family are still in danger. I am texting every hotline I see on the news to report your area. I know how it must feel being so helpless so far away.

And to everybody whose houses, cars and businesses (like in our case) was damaged by the floods, let us be thankful we are still alive. And let us pray for those who weren't able to make it, or are still waiting for help to arrive.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Passport Renewal

When I was still flying, I would shudder at the thought of renewing my passport in a few year's time. I was using my very first passport then, the one I applied for through a travel agency. I still had to go to DFA though for the personal appearance. I remember so vividly the queues under the scorching sun, the fixers who take advantage of people who know less of the processes, the owners of the photo studio who trick you into having your photo retaken and the general fear of pickpockets in such a crowded area.

Researching on it, I realized I could do it hassle-free through a travel agency again. But since they recently approved the machine readable passports (MRPs) one must still go for a personal appearance for renewal from the old school passport. Darn it.

A few weeks back, we chanced upon a Cebu Pacific seat sale and booked roundtrip tickets to Singapore. Grabbing the chance, I urged J to renew our passports together since I happen to have read through email that starting next year MRPs are required to travel. Be it true or not, my passport would still expire January of next year so it would be inevitable to have it renewed (and converted to MRP). CJ gave in and browsed through sites to gather more info on how to go about it.

Finally, we signed up for Passport Direct by Pilipinas Teleserv Inc. (www.passport.com.ph) for the renewal. The service worth P1,300 offered document pick-up, filing, scheduling for appearance appointment and delivery of passport. Though it may sound so worry-free I still was expecting the worst since I learned that some "appointments" don't actually mean a thing. *ahem US visa application* Sign up and pick up was a breeze if not for one thing: our dog chewed on my passport minutes before the pick up guy came.

The next day a Passport Direct agent called up to give me a heads up on possible delays caused by torn pages of my passport. There was nothing I could do but sigh and hope the filing goes through smoothly. Luckily after a working day we were informed about or appearance schedule day, so again I prepared for the worst.

We woke up at 5am and parked around DFA at 7:30. Hand in hand, we started walking along Libertad street from Roxas bou. One by one fixers started swarming telling you to do this and that, get this and that. We didn't stop walking and when we finally got near the gate I saw plastic chairs for people waiting for their turn. I uh-oh-ed for a moment til we noticed a guy wearing a Pilipinas Teleserv uniform holding out a placard to catch the attention of any Teleserv clients. We approached him and in we go, passing everybody else on queue. We were assisted all the way by these uniformed guys and they even have benches especially reserved for their clients (we had to wait coz the office starts at 8am). By 8:15 we were already back in our car wondering how to waste an entire day J filed a leave for.. :) I am so recommending this service to anyone especially my flight attendant friends!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

So many things

Mmmm. Such a very long time I haven't blogged. Things are way too different than my previous three years wherein I'd die without internet connection. So maybe just a few bits on what's up and new with me.

Well I'm still managing the gas station though I don't go there as often since the station sup is back from maternity leave. Side story, I got so mixed up whether or not the employer shall pay the employee the maternity benefit apart from what she's supposed to get from Social Security. Ohwell. I'm not very familiar with government stuff anyways.

We got me an individual healthcard (Medicard) account since I'm currently classified as self employed...or something like that. I miss having that Maxicare benefit I used to have with Asiana wherein I feel like it's okay even if I get sick. My wakeup call came during the time I thought I had the A-flu virus. Eee..scary. I seriously didn't go to work for a few days.

I finally got to meet up with two of my college friends, Lyka and Darylle, whom I haven't seen since Christmas season of last year. Hehe. We just had dinner at home and catching up. As for my highschool friends we were supposed to go to Enchanted Kingdom last weekend but it rained. And oh my J and I just booked for roundtrip tickets to Singapore on October! Finally... I'm gonna be on a plane and be a real passenger. My J's so excited to take a plane ride with an ex-flight attendant. Hahaha!

My J got me a new phone after I got her one. Haha. We so love our N97s allbeit difficult to use while driving. On the brighter side there's less texting while driving.

I'm so loving my car Elmo--'99 Honda Civic Vtec Vti in red. Got leather seat cover few months ago, replaced wiper blades and we're thinking of changing the tires. Beats me. At least I know how to open the hood and fill coolant and water in and check the oil. My trunk carries three liters of water, small bottles of brake fluid, automatic transmission fluid and engine oil. Super chilly a/c that I get headaches sometimes due to the cold. My brother absolutely loves the white headlights and signal lights. Wonder what else I could do to my car...

Our shih tzu Pepper is almost 8months old and we've already experienced him getting sick. Boy I felt like a mom worried sick about her child! Took him to the vet a couple of times and the vet prescribed meds for toddlers(!)and...YAKULT! Anyway he didn't like it that much so the vet suggested we give him yogurt since he need the good bacteria in his tummy. Seems strawberry yogurt is far yummier than cultured milk. :)

i'm currently job hunting and I couldn't figure out what job I'd like. Hehe. I don't have many luho in life. Or maybe just one: good food. I'm constantly on the search for good new restos... Suggest any?

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Dumbing Sensation

I feel incompetent and worthless. And it sucks even more when I don't know where all these are coming from. I'm scared when I don't have the answers, or when I'm unable to make the simplest decisions. Used to be that I'm this uber-confident person but right now I just feel plain dumb and stupid--that sometimes no matter how hard I try I just can't do things right. It feels as bad as when you get stuck at 2+2 and you're at a loss then out of nowhere a 7-year old pipes in, "four." That bad.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Guilty Innocent

Sometimes I get giddily scared. Gut feel says you have to hold this thing or it would go away. There was this one day I woke up and I thought that my J isn't completely honest and loyal with me. The logical me would tell me, it's just a thought; the paranoid in me would try to find out. In as much as it takes me sometime before I actually get suspicious on people, it takes me about the same amount of time to get my suspicions off someone. And I don't want to live on suspicions every day.

I get sad when my J thinks of me that way; maybe it's the same reason why I thought J isn't honest. Because the simplest things would tick J off, because the simplest things would mean so much worse than it actually is. I start to wonder that maybe that's the way J does it that's why it freaks im out that much..

It's tough living without trust, or not being trusted, for this matter. I feel low of myself; guilty unless proven otherwise. Should it not be innocent until proven otherwise?

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Toothache

I have a major toothache. Of all the aches in the world, I wouldn't want to have this. You know how it is, when you have a toothache, it's like you're paralized all over. My right cheek is bigger than my left. And I'm gonna see a dentist later. Hardly slept because I wake up to a piercing pain. Darn.

Saturday, May 09, 2009

I'm 23?!

A few weeks ago, I told Ella, my cousin, I don't like 23. I just don't. Doesn't sound right. I'd rather be 22, or 24... But it's inevitable. It's a bittersweet day.

I woke up to a bowl of yummy champorado with Alaska powdered milk on top, danggit on the side, bacon and my favorite sugarfree bread on another plate. A cup of UCC coffee and my breakfast was perfect. Headed off to work, where J prepared a blowout lunch for me and the rest of the Seaoil Merville crew: pansit bihon, lechon manok, rice, Pepsi and Red Ribbon cake from my Pepper, the shih tzu.

Got a surprise audit from somebody from Seaoil head office, hmmm. Timing. *sarcasm* Anyway, car shopping from all over QC area--EDSA, Mindanao and Visayas avenues. Crossing my fingers. Let you know when I get one. Hehe. I'm sooo excited...nuninuninu..

We were already exhausted when we picked up Pepper again from Merville and Friday night really slows traffic. We got home around 9-ish, changed and headed out for dinner. We don't want to gamble on the traffic so we stayed at Bonifacio High Street. Dinner and coffee.

It's 3am and I'm still replying to people who greeted me. Thanks everyone for remembering!

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Too Much Fuss

It's been over a month since I last posted anything. Oh well. Probably that's what happens when you don't get much idle time. Unlike I used to have when I still spend my days off in Seoul with nothing very much to do but stare at my laptop...

So what have I been up to, now that I'm no longer a flight attendant? Oh, by the way, to those people who sends me messages, thank you. I am honored to be a "role model" or "someone to look up to" or "someone who inspires" you. And to sassymonica who says my writings are "good for print"! Wow. :) And don't worry, to the girls who want to be a flight attendant in the future, maybe I'd write something on that sometime. And to Tin, I will blog about my reasons for quitting too.

I had a really good Holy Week (okay so this update is soo ten years ago), a couple of weeks of bum time, then started getting my ass to work. I am currently helping out with my workaholic J's business at Seaoil Merville in Paranaque (plugging!), as station-supervisor-and-everything-else. Haha. So my brain actually works. Geez. Thought it was already stuck or something.

You might be thinking, "from flying to petroleum?" It's nice to learn new things everyday, you know. I'm not a person who'd probably have her own business as I'm afraid to gamble on money so this is a very different learning experience from me. I went from choosing which scents to buy from Bath and Body Works to issuing half a million checks and making sure we don't go bankrupt. My concerns went from foreign exchange rates to oil price hikes. LOL.

+ + +

So my big question is...what's all the fuss on Martin Nievera's version of the national anthem at Manny Pacquiao's match last Sunday? I mean, hello? Watch Superbowl and you'll see all versions of the American national anthem; every singer would always give his/her own version. If they wanted what's on tape, why pay someone the money to sing what's exactly on tape? It's not like he made the song into hiphop or something... Seriously!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Earth Hour

So I'm pigging out the first two days of my bum life. But at least I did something worthwhile. We supported the Earth Hour! No lights for one whole hour, living on a candle! Good thing we were done having dinner then, otherwise it's gon' be dinner by candlelight. Haha. So, did you do the same?

Friday, March 27, 2009

48 Hours of Goodbyes

On my last flight from San Francisco to Seoul, I was giddily excited and weirdly smiling the entire twelve hours or so. The plane was half empty and the passengers were really nice. Or maybe, I was just on a high that nothing could actually annoy me. Two hours prior to landing I was surprised with thirteen glasses of champagne, a message from the manager and a card with notes from my all-Korean cabin crew workmates for the flight. A senior even called up the cockpit so I could come in and take pictures.

From the airport to the hotel, I was uncannily awake and I was tuned to my iPod and I kinda smiled remembering this might be the last time I'd ever ride the airport bus in Seoul. The smile reached the driver's seat. Checked in, I got my favorite room 406. Took my 'ref bag' and as soon as I got to my room, it all just sunk in.

I opened my bag and just stared at everything in it. It's time. I shall be packing one last time and soon enough, I'd be done living out of a suitcase. No more handwashing my laundry in the shallow sink, no more eating canned-microwave-heated food all the time, no more checking in on Creworld if my showup got delayed... And the list goes on.

Morning came and I was up at eight. Took a bath and headed to the office. I paid the tickets for my parents' US-UK trip, which by the way costed me around $1200, then went to see the overseas crew deputy general manager, Mr. Won. I didn't know what to say when he asked, "What can I do for you," I just handed him a piece of paper with something printed that I had drafted over two months ago.

"My resignation letter," I said to answer his questioning gaze.

We talked on what the problem was, and I was able to give my honest to goodness insight on how it was with Asiana, and what possible solutions they can give. I was surprised that I was delivering every line without bitterness or hatred. It was as if I was a third person and not at all the person affected by all the things I was talking about. I was calm, and I was speaking to him with grace, confidence and conviction. He must've asked me three times if it was my final decision and he would receive a very confident yes. If only he knew!

On my way back to the hotel, I felt like I was in transition. In Manila, on the day before I leave each month, I have what I call my transition period when I fall silent and I'm just watching everyone around me, trying to absorb "home" and preparing myself for another few weeks of broken English or possibly nobody to talk to all the time. But this time it was the other way around; the intake was for Korea. At one intersection, I glanced over to see the hotel where we stayed at during the training, and on the left was the supermarket where we gladly go to every weekend of it.

Soon as I arrive, I packed my stuff. We--Gillian, Cha, Kara and I--had samgyupsal for dinner. We hanged out at my room until now, and half past three in the morning, where we were joined by Jila, Precious and Kat too. I was able to see Ms Revi, Debbie, Denise and Gandy at the lounge and I was happy that they were able to see the happiness in me when I told them that I quit. "Twinkle in [her] eyes," as Ms Debs puts it.

----

I will be forever thankful to have been able to travel and see some of the most interesting places on earth, but most importantly I believe that my almost-three-years stay had made me stronger, more independent and matured in so many ways.

To my seniors, thank you for all the guidance, tutoring and help especially when we barely even knew what the galley even looks like.

Thank you--
Ms Kara and Kat, for spending the last night with me.
Ms Tonette, for making me realize that I have the option to quit and not wait til it may be too late. And that life will not end after Asiana; that it may actually start. You are one of my biggest influences on my decision. I am glad to have flown with you.

To my batchmates, I will so miss you. From training days, to church days, to everything. We've learned to depend on each other and without all of you we wouldn't have been able to survive the bulls**ts in flights, the scarcity of food, nor the times when we would get sick and homesick.

My special thanks--
Precious, my roomie. For being ever so honest and dependable. Alam mo na yun.
MM, for the insights I sometimes overlook but you never fail to present to me.
Gillian, from yosi breaks to, yes, sharing life stories.
Cha, the frankness on what to do and what nots.
Mica, for all the time that I've felt I found a true friend in you.
Jila, my churchmate, alam mo na yun.

To my nine batchmates no longer with Asiana, well welcome me to the club as your tenth member! Leona, Erika, Mara, Sebie, Anne, Bianca, Ate Jacq, Kat and Gab: I feel the excitement. I know you guys are happy with where you are now and I know you feel how I feel--that Asiana days would always be buried deep inside our hearts.

For the last time, sugohashutsumnida. Annyeonghi gyeshipsio. Safe flights always.

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Yet Again

It's a crazy, crazy and unexplainable time. One minute everything's okay, the next you have nothing.

When people get too shattered, all they have to do is drop things, go back to their comfort zone til they're well and ready enough to step out of it again and take the risks. I, for one, don't have this comfort zone anymore. It feels like my family treats me as a visitor and nothing more. My friends are still kinda in the dark and my best friend won't talk to me.

I'm lost. Yet again.

And now I'm sick, literally.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

One Word

From Abet. USING ONLY ONE WORD! It's not as easy as you might think! Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It's really hard to only use one word answers. Be sure to tag the person you received it from!

1. Where is your cell phone? ROOM
2. Your significant other? HARDWORKING
3. Your hair? UNTAME
4. Your mother? EMAILING
5. Your father? HOME
6. Your favorite thing? LAPTOP
7. Your dream last night? SCARY
8. Your favorite drink? COFFEE
9. Your dream/goal? MARRY
10. What room you are in? OFFICE
11. Your hobby? PHOTOS
12. Your fear? UNLOVED
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? SF
14. Where were you last night? MM'S
16. Muffins? HMM
17. Wish list item? NOTHING
18. Where you grew up? NAVOTAS
19. Last thing you did? URINALYSIS
20. What are you wearing? COAT
21. Your TV? HOTEL
22. Your pets? DEAD
23. Friends? GREAT
24. Your life? BETTER
25. Your mood? FINE
26. Missing someone? ALWAYS
28. Something you're not wearing? HAT
29. Your favorite store? H&M (one word ba to?)
30. Your favorite color? PURPLE
33. When is the last time you laughed? YESTERDAY
34. Last time you cried? MONTHS
35. Who will resend this? DUNNO
36. One place that I go to over and over? BAGUIO
37. One person who emails me regularly? MOM
38. My favorite place to eat? ANYWHERE
39. Why you participated in this survey? BORED
40. What are you doing tonight? PACK

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Mouthwatering

I was outside a coffee shop when this car (in gray) zoomed by. The lights turned red so it stopped a few meters away from me. /i checked it out like I was checking out the next person to date! Haha. It was... mouthwatering! LOL. Honda Civic Coupe. Nuninuninu....

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Stickers on Tabby


The Old English silver stickers that spelled out T-I-A on Tabby got lost so Tabby was nameless for quite sometime. Cha bought a pad of stickers and we used the leftovers. It stuck on so well that it didn't give me a chance to realign the T which as you may notice has its own direction... :) Cute!

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Nightmares

Geez it's Feb already. It was as if it was just the beginning of the year, but hey we're already done with one-twelfth of the year! It's been a crazy time for me, oh yea.

I had been having nightmares for quite sometime now and I've been having them lately more often than I used to. A week won't pass without a couple of nights when I'd just wake up feeling breathless and sweaty. In my dream, it would always be something like a dark alley and someone is running after me so I had to run the fastest that I can and all there was was a bright exit, much like if you were in a subway then you go find the end of the tunnel. I don't go to that exit of course, much to my conscious unconsciousness, for fear that that might be the end of life as I know it.

It's so difficult to wake up; in my dream I tell myself, "wake up, wake up!" I feel like screaming so that the sleeping me would wake up but no sound comes out. I feel so stiff but I'm running (weird huh?) and now I dread every single night and I won't go to bed unless I'm almost bumping into my laptop... I fly every flight like a zombie and it gives me terrible migraines...

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

On Twilight saga


So out of boredom, I stayed at a 24-hour coffee shop nearby the hotel yesterday for about four hours. One pretzel and two grande sized mocha latte mugs later, I've finished my fourth hardbound book of the Twilight saga, Breaking Dawn. What can I say, so much hype, so much hype. Stephenie Meyer, is...okay.

I watched the Twilight movie after I read the book, so as only to compare who I've imagined with who they casted for the roles, the way I did with The Da Vinci Code. Haha.
  • Bella - just right
  • Charlie - he's okay but I pictured someone a little chubbier
  • Edward - not as handsome as they had described in the book, but his acting perfectly suited him; would've casted Sean Faris if he could do the acting
  • Carlisle - I don't know who the actor was, but he suits the character
  • Esme - with Grey's Anatomy's Ava, hmm... I think she looks too plain for the role, I would've imagined something to the Nicole Kidman-ish elegance
  • Rosalie - a major disappointment; the book exudes her as someone so high up the pedestal in terms of beauty; should've been at least Elisha Cuthbert
  • Emmett - good casting
  • Jasper - he looks exactly as described in the book: he looks totally in shock most of the time; Seth Green would do exactly the same thing to me
  • Alice - perfect
  • Jacob - I couldn't say much about
  • Jessica - so highschool, like her character
  • Eric - I didn't know he was supposedly Asian
  • Mike - a little frail looking than I would've thought
  • Angela - I imagined she was white, sorry
  • James - he's okay-ish, the acting did it
And for the future semi-major roles, here's my imagination going on again...
  • Victoria - Alyssa Milano or something, the one in Twilight didn't really register in my head; she's that forgettable, or say, the one who played Jean Grey in The X-men movies
  • Jane - I can't imagine a pretty frail looking actress but then again, maybe Amy Adams can do this
  • The Volturi - I have no idea
  • Renesmee - a younger Abigail Breslin
  • Sam - I couldn't really imagine for those American Indian characters...
Oh well that's all for now. Til the next movie.

Monday, January 19, 2009

A plane crashes

I was aboard a bus the night (at least in Seoul) that the US Airways flight 1549 crashed morning in Hudson River. I was absently looking at the television on the bus when a submerged airplane came on. It perked me up--that being a big deal to my work. Of course, I didn't understand a single thing as the news was in Korean. As I got to my hotel room the first thing I did was browse the net for news. Pretty soon enough Jack, my batchmate/workmate, had already sent a news excerpt to our Yahoo! groups email.

As flight attendants, we should have had been worried, scared even, that planes go crashing. But instead we were like, "OMG that was so good!" We were trained to evacuate a water landing, that's right, but history shows that water landings aren't actually that survivable. Especially for big aircrafts, a water landing could mean disaster as most big planes would break in half if the landing isn't very much controlled. The plane had to glide like paper before it hits the water or else it break and simply crash. The plane on flight 1549 is relatively small, but the pilot and crew did an excellent job. Every other flight attendant is sure wishing now to be able to be as calm as the crew on that flight if it becomes our turn to do our evacuation procedures.

Kudos to the crew of flight 1549 and more power to US Airways. :)

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Getting on my nerves

It's really been difficult focusing on work lately. I dunno if it's just me or the fuckin' Korean culture is getting on my nerves again. Yesterday I flew and got blamed for something I didn't do, simply because they thought I did it cause none of them Koreans did it... or so they say they didn't.

Today I flew with an amazing set of crew... But the male Korean passengers on my flight were like the least likeable on earth. They treated us like a personal maid or a psychic who'd read their minds once they thought of something. Duh!

On the way back I went with a different team and flew as a passenger. Then I got blamed for whatever mistake that one of the juniors in my set of crew had done earlier. It got the manager upset and the junior on the flight where I was supposedly not even working even had the nerve to scold--no one else but--me. I'm pretty sure that had I been Korean, that junior won't even have the least confidence to tell me of "my" mistake; that of which I didn't even commit in the first place. She just got lucky that I had a good flight before she did that or else I would have retorted angrily with something condescending till she doesn't understand a single English word I'm saying!