Thoughts of my job

After 1.5yrs of working, I want to share how I feel towards myself, my life and my experience.

I am indeed proud of myself to be in this job, and from outsider's view: the job is easy, fun and the perks are so interesting plus ur friends get jealous when u travel to their dream places.

BUT.

When I started this job, (during the training period) I feel very depress + stressful and the courses are so intensive. At that moment, I can't wait to quit. It doesn't feels easy at all. We have SO MUCH things to memorize. But things got easier after few months, when I get a hang of it and after knowing what qualities leaders are looking for, what person u will meet and how difficult can things get.

I don't want to elaborate about the job itself.  But what I've experienced & learnt.

I've learnt ALOT from this job.
Respecting seniors, Initiative, Helpful, Grateful. Humble. Firm
People around me are usually much older. Married, with kids and the topics they usually share are marriage, families, cars, houses, and most of the times we talk about our job. Be mindful that they are just ur colleagues. NOT FRIENDS.

 We don't work with the same people on each flight and we are always imagining what kind of colleagues we are working with. This is Singapore, Asia, where hierarchy/status is always the most important, and I really hate it. When I started this job, I am scared of working with scary (seniors) colleagues -if you have heard abt the past of this job.
I mean, people our generations are not used to respecting seniors as much as the past.

I say 100 times 'Sorry' and 'Thank you' and it becomes part of me. (Even at a slightest thing.)
People appreciate it a lot when they hear this and some seniors will feel that you are rude if you didnt say thank you to them - for helping you to hold a tray for you or picking up a rubbish at ur working zone.

As for me, I am quite lucky to meet all the nice colleagues....I met nasty ones before but not that often.
They are really nice just that u don't really know them well.... and u get really excited when u fly with ur buddies. It's so hard to swop flights. :(


Things I have never done it at home & I have done it in the air is cleaning toilets.
Not literally cleaning but wiping dry and replenishing toilet rolls etc .
Helping mothers to carry their newborn as well as clearing vomits that people threw up.

Although this job doesn't makes us smarter in terms of education, this job gives a wide experience that we can never have it on ground. Experiencing different interesting culture, people, food and experiencing jet lag every 2 weeks. and the experience of feeling glamorous when we don our uniform.
We get to travel around, and we usually do not have much time to go out to cover the whole city so we gave up our beauty sleep and went out exploring new places.
We get to experience minimal sleeping time which can be horrible too. I don't really go out in certain countries anymore. Used to be very enthusiastic but now...I prefer to lie on my bed to relax. lol UNLESS It's states or some other europe places which I have never been before (which excites me)
My record was nearly 40hrs without sleep. X.X

Just one word to describe- shag

I often miss local food too...Too much of potatoes and pastas can be sick.
Sometimes cup noodles are the best choice when u need comfort food.  hahaha

BUT. I really love some food from some countries!!!
Pizzas from Italy are the best.
My favourite pasta is frm Frankfurt!
I love breakfast in America - and cheesecake factory as well. So many to list.
Ok. Let's stop talking about food.

......................................................

What about families & friends?
Families are always there for you but friends.........
Slowly u get to see ur friends drifting away from you because you are often 4-8 days away from home.
and your 1-2 days off in Singapore are so precious that u just wanna catch up on ur sleep / meet your partner / do your own stuff.
Sometimes u can't even get off to attend ur friend's wedding or birthday. What is weekend too? I am always not in singapore during weekends :'( which makes me drift even further away from my friends.
- This makes me wanna quit my job more.

Also, they won't have the habit of asking u out as they will think 'you wont be in singapore anyway'.
(The reason why we have lesser friends when we are getting old.)

I am saying this because I can feel it, and it is quite sad. They don't understand...they only enjoy the souvenirs u bought overseas or they just approach u to get some branded stuff for them. (not meant to be sarcastic but true)
We only chat in whatsapp or other social networking platforms but it's different from meeting and catching up.

Sigh.
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As a Singaporean myself,
I feel that Singaporeans are the most difficult passengers to handle, because they always have this 'proud' face and they get angsty easily.....Singaporeans love biscuits/milo/cup noodles/ green tea......shall not say more.
You guys know urself.


Sometimes I love this job because some passengers are unexceptionally nice. A small compliment brings a smile to me, and means a lot to me. They are the ones that keep you going, not ur colleagues.
I even add some passengers on my facebook! (But we don't meet.)
And once I received a call in a hotel room........from a pax
which freaked me out. The hotel staff didnt protect my privacy!!! Of course I did not meet that particular person. lol
Well, some pax can be nasty which makes u so irritated that you wanna scream at them. But u only can smile /apologize/ empathize and walk away.



I wonder... Will I miss flying when I quit?
The answer is definitely yes.
And  I wonder again... where will I be in 2 years time?

6:49 AM ·