Jan 22, 2019 Transit to SE Asia

Traveling on standby can be really stressful. I have to check different routes and try to find someone to give me the flight loads on the different airlines. I only get a seat on board if it hasn’t been sold to a passenger. A.k.a. if the flight sold out, I get stuck in whatever location I’m in. I decided to take the San Francisco flight to Singapore and then try to buy a ticket from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. I met a guy when I was hiking in Argentina who lives in KL and randomly messaged him on Instagram about my trip. Turns out he’s planning to go to Vietnam in February, so I’ll meet him in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and then continue on to Vietnam together. I really don’t have much of a plan besides just getting to KL. It’s a bit stressful.

Fortunately, I made it on board the flight from Orlando to San Francisco at 6 AM on Tuesday morning. Last seat!! After six hour flight and 2 hour layover the flight from San Francisco to Singapore it was wide open with 100 seats open. I got my own row!

For me that’s the jackpot. The flight attendants were excited I was a JetBlue flight attendant and took very good care of me. They even brought me first class dinner. This consisted of steak mashed potatoes vegetables ahi tuna and really good wine. I tried to lay down and sleep most of the flight and watched hotel Transylvania one and two, at mom’s suggestion.

I really need to figure out the rest of the details of my trip. I had planned to do research during my flight, but they increase the cost of the Wi-Fi to $40 for the 17 hour flight. I’ll just wait till I get there. Well, it would’ve been good if I had paid for the Wi-Fi and could have booked my next flight to Kuala Lumpur for tonight. We landed at 8 PM and I wasn’t able to make the reservation for the 9:30 PM flight.  That means I’ll be sleeping in the Singapore airport. Of all the airports I’ve ever been to, this is probably the best one to get stuck in. I paid US$20 for a shower, there were reclining chairs and so was able to take a nap. There is an outdoor sunflower garden, free movies, free game room. And just really cool stuff to see.  In the morning I’ll try to get on the 720
flight to Kuala Lumpur where my friend Ami will be meeting me.

$20 for a shower, totally worth it

Free leg massage

Sleeping: always bring an eye mask, pillow and blanket.

Agh Packing

You would think for someone who travels so much that I’d be better at packing. I’m not. Every time I go to a new destination I question my “trip appropriate” clothing.  I packed and unpacked like 3 times for this trip and finally decided Whatever, I’ll buy stuff I want when I get there.

There are already things I regret haha and I haven’t arrived.  I spoke to a friends daughter who has been traveling SE Asia for months. She said all of her nice clothing has been ruined and reminded me I can buy very cheap clothing if I need any.  So I packed as minimal as I could.  

Things i realize I’ve forgotten so far: headphones, headphone adapter for iPhone, sun screen, a long sleeved shirt, pajamas, the $200 cash I’d taken out for this trip (don’t worry mom, I stopped at the atm in sfo and got more), the iPad keyboard I bought Specifically for this trip.

I’m not really stressed about any of it though (well maybe the back up credit card I meant to bring aghhh). I think traveling so much has really made me more laid back about everything- it is what it is and if I Need something, I’ll figure out how to get it.

So far the trip is going well. Made my flights from mco to sfo to sin with no problem, even had my own row on this 17 hour flight!!

2019 Time to Blog Again

Well clearly I’m not a professional blogger, but when I travel, my friends often ask for more updates on what I’ve done and where I’ve gone. So I thought I’d start blogging again while I’m on this trip.

I’m going to Southeast Asia for almost 2 months. While working at JetBlue, I can take a month of personal leave. So I took the month of February off and I’ve always wanted to take a really long solo trip. The flight to get to Asia is so stinking long, staying less than a month seems like a waste. So ignore my previous blog posts, unless you’re interested in reading about my life at the beginning of my time of the flight attendant, and keep up with my day-to-day travel in Southeast Asia.

Thundersnow

Apparently, I missed the Thundersnow last night.  I'm highly disappointed.

http://www.weather.com/news/weather/video/cantore-and-wolf-in-thundersnow-during-winter-storm-neptune-in-massachusetts

February 14 - Happy V-Day

I was like 10th in line to get called today, so I ended up just staying in Boston.  I had so many grand plans to workout and do tax returns, but that didn't workout.  Instead, I cooked breakfast with Jennifer and then went shopping.  I had a few gift cards to Macy's and then coupons to Bath and Body Works and Yankee Candle.

We went downtown and did some day time shopping.  It was nice getting out of the house and Jen and I had a fun time.  It was super cold though!

On our way back through Fanueil Hall, there was a giant ice sculpture.  I made Jen take some coupley pictures with me, to which, she protested loudly.

Jen got called out to work a Bos-San Juan flight tonight, so we had to head home for her to get ready.  I seriously debated going with her.  I'm on call from 3am to 3pm tomorrow and the airport is closed until 4pm.  How pointless.  Well, tomorrow will be a great time to do tax returns and workout!  lol

Fanueil Hall area.  I couldn't quite capture the beauty on my phone.

Ice sculpture!!

So pretty.  This is a park overlooking Boston Harbor.

February 13 .... FRIDAY the 13th ahhhh

Ok, well Friday the 13th wasn't all that eventful.  After working 7 days a week for 3 weeks now, I was So Thankful to sleep in!  It was glorious.  I wasn't expecting the airline to keep me so busy, because we've been bored silly for months.  Then I start a part time job and 3 winter storms hit.  Awesome.

I was excited to spend some time in the snow here in Boston!  However, it's not that fun to play in the snow alone and no one else seems as excited about it as me.  What can I say, FL girl all the way through.

Around 2, I got Katie to come trekking with me.  We went to the "beach" by our house and had to make our own path through the snow.  We made it all the way to the ocean, which was completely frozen over!  I made a snow angle on the ocean!  (which my roommate from Ohio said was stupid and never to walk on the ice again... whoops) Then we had to crawl on all 4s to get back out of the park.  I May have thrown a few snowballs at Katie too... so 2 things marked off my list:  snowball fight and snow angel.

Katie in thigh high snow... a casual stroll through the park

 Snow angel on the ocean!!!

A boat literally frozen into the water.  I wanted to walk out to it, but katie said no.  That's the airport in the background.  I also wanted to walk to that, but....

This is the "water" and the Boston skyline and the airport to the left

Climbing out of the park

When we got back to the house, I jumped off our balcony into the snow.  I thought it was a farther jump.

The rest of the day, I enjoyed cooking and hanging out with my roomies.  It was so great to have a day off!!

And the job search begins

I originally wanted to do this job for a year and then go back to my career, but as you can tell from the many adventures I've had, there are substantial travel benefits to this job.  On a whole, the company treats us like crap - we can work up to 14 hours on a regular day, can receive reduced rest, are only paid for a small portion of the time we work, are regulated in every single way and then the company is not willing to help us out when we need it.  To them we are not people, we are machines.  We don't need time with our families, don't need time for sleep, grocery shopping, or laundry.  We live at the beck and call of the airline.  On top of it all, the pay is terrible.

So why am I staying another year?

1.  I love the job itself.  Dealing with passengers on the plane, for the most part, is very enjoyable.  Most people are scatterbrained when traveling, but besides that are pleasant.

2.  I travel very cheaply to anywhere around the world... and last minute.  I can show up at the airport and jump on a flight at any time, as long as there are seats.

3.  I get 12 days off a month.  That equates to an extra week off compared to a traditional company.

However, I've decided that I'll find a new, full time, professional job by the end of 2015.  Sounds easy enough, right?  Well, it's incredibly overwhelming.  I know the characteristics of a job I want and I know some characteristics that I don't want, but specifics... I have no idea.

Walking away from a job where I travel anywhere, anytime for free/cheap, skip security, and get extra perks from flight attendants is very difficult, so if I'm going to make this jump, it has to be for the right position.  I'm open to any industry and any type of work, so long as it fits my requirements.

Here's what I'm looking for:  An international firm that has a reputation for treating their employees well.  A position where I deal with people at least 50% of the time and travel 60% or more.  I'd like a project based job where I go to clients (domestic and international) and help them with a problem for a few weeks or months and then move to the next client.  It has to be an intellectual, as well as socially interactive position.  A lot of autonomy, but a lot of support if needed- mentorship, training, education.

What I don't want:  A crappy company that only focuses on the bottom line, offers poor benefits, sticks me in one location with the promise that I can "work into a traveling position" or sticks me in a back office somewhere that I can't tell if it's raining or sunshine outside.  I am not a person made to be stuck at the bottom.  Now I just have to figure out where at the top I'd like to be.

My first idea in this search is to look up "best international firms to work for".

So... let the job search begin!