Okay, I am now in Amsterdam. Been walking around the streets on Saturday and Sunday which were crowded with weekenders from all over Europe. Nonetheless, it was still nice to walk around just to see the buildings and the crowds. Surprisingly, it has been very cold here with temperatures around ten-ish. At night, it goes down to almost zero. Good thing I brought my jacket.

Today, plans would be to go on a canal cruise. Tomorrow, maybe a trip to the countryside.

Fun days!

Well, I've been to and fro many places. The last being Auckland, and it was nice to be back there after a year. Not much has changed. Walked around the harbour just to enjoy the view and the weather. Despite summer being just around the corner, the temperature was still on the low side. Came back on the 777 so I managed to catch Evan Almighty and The Sixth Sense. Old movie yes, but just to enjoy it.

Looking at everyone spending their money, I also had a sudden urge to splurge my hard-earned cash too. But, maybe it is a good thing, but I am a person who doesn't buy first, think later. I am more of a think first.... and keep thinking type of person. But on my list of things to buy are a handphone, an mp3 player and a camera. My mp3 player is very cranky. Just yesterday I was listening to the FM Radio and it just froze. None of the buttons worked. So, I just had to let it play until it ran out of battery and right now, it is charging again. I am deciding between the iPod and Samsung. The new Sony T200 looks really nice, but just a touch expensive. Maybe the T100 is good enough. Either that or I should stick to the tried-and-tested Canons.

Oh and another one I was thinking of getting is a new laptop. My current one is showing signs of death, and I do not want to be stuck somewhere at the other side of the world when it dies. Looking into either a normal laptop with great graphics (I have deprived myself of computer games for too long) or a simple macbook. Again, decisions.

Tomorrow night I am off to have a four day break in Amsterdam. This time I am really going to break my backpack along with my water bottle, umbrella, cap, etc so that I will be ready for a really good day tour. Heck, if I feel like it, I may even take a train to Paris or Berlin. I mean, four days. Why not?

Ok, I think I will post when I am in Dubai, just before I head over to Amsterdam. Weather should be tolerable now.

I just got back from watching The Lion King. I managed to get the second last ticket in the entire theater last night. It wasn't the one right in the middle that I wanted. Instead, it was the one at the back next to the door costing 175 rands, which is about SGD40. At first I thought they would have been sucky seats but it turned out to be a good one. Definitely won't be able to get a seat like that for SGD40 in the Esplanade.

Conclusion is that the show was superb.

Dinner later with both captains for the first time. Hopefully they will be in.

My laptop is getting very cranky. I hope it lasts the rest of my flight.

First, appologies for disappearing all of a sudden. Actually, I was called up one day and was told that I would be away for 15 days, starting the day after that. So, as usual, the frantic packing started. As well as the laundry which had to be dry by the next day.

I did not have the time to say anything until now from inside the nice, cozy room in Johannesburg. This is my first time here and I actually was planning to go to the safari which is a few hours out of the city. However, it was pouring when I arrived this morning and it still is now. Forecasts say rain, rain, and more rain for the next few days. So, scratch that plan. There isn't anything much around the hotel. Oh, except for a casino. I went to take a look at the place just now after dinner. Looks like any other casino. The play The Lion King is currently being played at the theater nearby too. I feel like catching it on Saturday. The tickets are relatively cheap compared to how much they would cost in Singapore. First class seats are equivalent to 100 Singapore dollars. For that amount in Singapore, the best you can expect would be at the top where, as someone once put it, you see people as thin and tall only.

Oh yes, my comp is crashing.

Mac or PC?

A colleague of mine who travels to Perth often because of HisGirl mentioned that he was going to pay the college a visit soon. When he said that, I almost asked him to say hi to....

Yeah that's the problem. I can't seem to find a name to put into the gap. After I left the college, a host of other instructors left. My two main instructors were among them. One of them actually left the same day that I did. The other left a few months ago only. They seem to be doing well. I am still in contact with one of them, who is actually younger than I am. He is flying further up north in WA together with a few other guys who were instructors in the college too. The other guy is flying for the regional arm of Qantas. He was initially supposed to come up to Singapore but he found it impossible to live in Singapore on a cadet's pay with a family of two kids and another on the way. It must have been difficult for him to abandon his dreams at that time. But looks like things have a strange way of working out.

If I do go back to Perth on a flight, maybe I'll go back there. Just to see how things have changed.

I bougth a Phoenix card from the grocery shop this morning to call home. While talking on the phone a while ago, I noticed that the picture on the card has changed. There used to have a rather happy guy with black hair on it. Now, the guy has blonde hair. Maybe he bleached his hair.

Went back to the simulator yesterday. Was very rusty. Hopefully things will iron out for the big sim day next Friday.

Mum has retired from work. She will be 56 years old tomorrow.

Happy birthday and happy retirement!

Back in Singapore.

On Thursday, I brought TheGirl to Clarke Quay to have dinner. It's been a while since we've eaten at some nice place so I thought to treat ourselves to something nice. So after walking around with empty stomaches, we decided to eat at the first place that looked like serving some decent food, which was RenThai. As are all things in Clarke Quay, the food was overpriced. But the atmosphere was pretty alright. The last time I was in Clarke Quay was during TheGirl's birthday back in 2006 where we had seafood at Jumbo. Then before that, it was during the New Year of 2005 where some other guys, TheGirl and I counted down at Hooters. Counted down to the New Year, not counting down the hooters.

Today, I had a reunion with the rest of my JC classmates. Almost everyone was there. Two were working, one was in Malaysia, one was uncontactable, one is in Manchester, another in Michigan, another in China and I heard that one other guy is recovering from some illness. So, the remaining of us spent a few good hours at one of the girl's place catching up on old times. Everyone pretty much looked the same. Two are married. One is getting married. The rest are still swinging singles. I read on a blog where the writer and her friends met up after a long time and drove over to a friend's place to meet up. The writer remarked that times have changed because they used to take a bus or walk together back during her times in JC. Well, it seems that times have not changed for my class. We met at AMK Hub and took the bus to our friend's place. Only one guy has got a car and that is because he is a property agent. Times sure haven't changed for us.

After that, I rushed off to Vivocity to catch Ratatouille. I was supposed to meet TheGirl at 7PM so I left the party at 6PM. It took one hour to get to Vivocity. From Tanah Merah, it takes maximum 45 minutes. And I thought AMK was more central than Tanah Merah. Maybe it was just the waiting time.

Off to bed.

Where was I?

Doesn't matter. Left Singapore last Sunday, and will be reaching back home after 10 days. A bit longer than expected due to some unforseen changes.

So, in total, I have spent 6 full days in Dubai. If it weren't too hot, I would have gone to the Burj al-Arab or maybe dune bashing. Too bad I can only last a maximum of 5 minutes under the direct sunlight. Do not believe the news when they say the temperature is only oh-39 degrees Celcius or something. It is definitely hotter than that.

Had the chance to visit Brussels this time. And I had company as well, two of my coursemates were there too. They arrived after me and left before me. Like I said, I am on a paid holiday. Now that I am pretty familiar with Brussels, the next time I have some time there, I may take a train to one of the towns outside the city. Or maybe a train to Paris. Sounds like fun.

Bought a new Samsonite suitcase to replace the old softcover one I had which was dying. And on the first trip out with this new suitcase, it just had to be bashed by the handlers. Well, I guess they didn't like the fact that it looked so new. It looks pretty seasoned now.

It is going to be ten years after leaving JC. And our class is having a mini reunion at one of our classmate's place. It should be nice to meet up with all the guys, some of whom I have not met since leaving the school.

Meanwhile, mum is retiring soon. So, mum and dad are going to visit East Europe as a retirement treat. Been giving them some tips on how to handle the east.

Couple more hours till I leave Dubai. Which is, based on number of days I have been to lately, my second home. If I am here anymore, I suspect I may have to pay taxes here. Sadly, KL is way down my "home" list. Way down.

I should go home once in a while...

Last week I spent a couple of days in Amsterdam. During one of the really great summer days, I decided to try the public transportation system there and get myself to the Amsterdam Arena which is home to Ajax Amsterdam. Managed to get there eventually after I succeeded in deciphering the instructions on the walls written in Dutch.

Paid 10 Euros to join the guided tour of the stadium which was pretty impressive. Of course, it is the only stadium I have ever been to (excluding the ones in Malaysia) so it isn't really much of a gauge. Nonetheless, it still was pretty impressive.

So I got back to Singapore last Friday. And guess what? I am still here! One whole week in Singapore. That's rare.

While I was back, I decided to run some errands. Bought blank DVDs. Bought a new samsonite suitcase to replace my dying Polo bag. Bought some socks from GAP (50% off guys. Go get some!). Next on my list would be a pair of slippers. I was walking near Raffles City with my slippers in the rain and I did some breakdancing unintentionally. Been doing that a lot with my slippers especially around my block. Enough of that. I think that's all I need to get.

I reformatted my computer because all the problems it had were really getting on my nerves. It seems to be behaving itself properly now. So far so good.

I was busy surfing Wikipedia and decided to search for my secondary school back in PJ and there really is something about it. Actually, NOTHING about it. All they had was the school song and badge. Quite pathetic. Someone should go and do something about it. Not me. But someone.

Will be going off to Dubai (why am I not surprised) and Brussels next. I was talking to a friend and I mentioned that Singapore is now my first home, followed by Dubai and Amsterdam. KL is somewhere down the pecking order. How sad.

Last night, the captain, a few other crew members and I were having dinner when one of them said that we may be operating into Baku in future. Yes, where in the world in Baku. According to my atlas, it is the capital of a country called Azerbaijan. Yes yes, doesn't answer the question. Where in the world is Azerbaijan? It's just south of Russia, east of Georgia. Apparently, the place is a very challenging place to go to.

Well, I say, bring it on!

Well, Dubai, my second home, is sizzling hot as usual. At night, it is about 38 deg Celcius. Don't bother asking how hot it is during the day.

According to BBC, there will be some meteor showers these few days. Apparently, it is supposed to be one of the best for the next few decades. I watched this while I was in Amsterdam. Initially, I thought that I was going to miss the shower in Amsterdam because I was going to fly to Dubai in the evening. However, little did I know that I was going to have the best seat for the shower: at 35,000 ft in the dark skies. Either the TV commentator was exagerating or the meteor shower was concentrating more towards the UK because yeah, there were quite a number of really large meteorites, but not exactly that spectacular. Was a great view nonetheless, especially without all the light pollution that beseiges Singapore all the time.

So, tomorrow I am going back to Amsterdam. If weather permits, I may just take a trip down to the Amsterdam Arena. They have guided tours throughout the day and hopefully, I will be able to catch a glimpse of the team going through their training routine. If not, it should be a relaxing trip out of the city.

Will be back in Singapore this weekend for... one entire week!

That includes 4 days of reserved duty where I am on standby, but looking at the size of the crew, I am not exactly holding my breath.

King and I was ok. Lots of sexy, beefy male bodies. If you are into those things...

And I am off to Dubai tonight again. Need a break from Singapore. Phew!

Ok, so I couldn't blog in Dubai. I didn't have much time there, and I was totally knackered by the time I reached there.

This trip, I had FOUR long days in Amsterdam. Despite the apparent lousy Dutch weather, I was still able to take a look around this city. First day was a trip to the Anne Frank House. For Euro 7.50, you get to see the house that Anne Frank lived in until her family got captured and thrown into the concentration camps. We spent one hour queuing up to get in, and half an hour actually inside.

Next, we went to the Van Gogh Museum which supposedly houses the most number of the artist's works. We actually spent TWO hours looking at art works. I feel so cultured now.

From the arty farty world of Amsterdam, my next stop was Madras. A totally different world, avoiding huge puddles of water, zipping in between traffic in rickety tuk-tuks and eating unknown food. But, books are cheap here and I helped myself to three novels at the price of 10 Singapore dollars each. What a bargain. Other than that, I stuck to my room and only poked my head out to grab something to munch on.

So I am back in Singapore now. Will be watching The King And I on Wednesday. Hope it will be good. Good thing there won't be Bendul in this version.

Went to catch The Simpsons in the cinemas on Sunday. Was good for laughs, especially with kids everywhere reminding you where to laugh. They only forgot to laugh at one point where Homer said that Maggie was the best mistake that ever happened to him. Just a few nervous laughters from parents were heard.

On Thursday night, I will be off again. Once again, to Dubai. Like I mentioned before, it is officially my second home. Amsterdam will be my third. I think KL would be somewhere around fourth. Almost.

So I was back in Singapore for five (long) days. In between, I ran my errants, met up with TheGirl every day, cleaned up my room and a whole lot. Oh right, the aircond was installed in my room while I was away and so I had quite a bit of cleaning to do when I reached back at midnight. It was almost 4AM when I went to bed. But, everything looks good for now.

In line with the new aircond, I headed down to IKEA to grab some things to spruce up the room. Or rather, to make things a bit neater with boxes and file holders etc. And as I was saying, things look good for now.

Ironically, with the aircond installed, the weather decided to pour some rain on us, which makes the feeling of switching on the aircond just wrong. But nonetheless, it is a good thing. Who knows, with global warming, it may be warm in December. Aircond these days do not emit CFC right?

Tonight, I will be heading back to Amsterdam via Dubai. And I will be flying to Amsterdam via Dubai many, many times for the next two months. I ain't complaining, but it is weird to be going to the same places all the time. Maybe I should make some friends among the hotel staff and get a free room upgrade.

Okay, I shall continue in the sweltering heat of Dubai.

Alright then, so I have three full days in Kuwait with no friends around. Which leaves me with absolutely no excuse to not update my blog. So here goes.

After much harassment (I kid) I decided to see what this whole rss thing is all about. Looks pretty interesting, so I searched for the option in blogger which is supposed to exist. But I can't find it. End of interest.

I was in China and as usual, the air quality was horrible. I am having a little bit of a cough and sniffles and I bet it was due to the air over there. I wonder how the people there survive. Probably with those nose covers that people back home used to laugh at. Ain't no laughing matter anymore.

Next trip was to LA, traveling in ECONOMY class with a stop over at Narita Tokyo. After 19 hours, I pretty much had to peel my knees from my chin before I could get out of my seat. The rest of the crew went ahead except for one of my coursemates who waited for me while I went through the secondary screening (as usual). So, we took a cab to the hotel which was a whopping USD30. Now, to get to town from the hotel I bet it will cost 50 bucks. That would be about the price for renting a pretty decent car for one day. Next time I go there with a long layover, I plan to head over to Vegas. That would be cool.

Then, a couple of stops in Brussels followed by Amsterdam has led me to being in Kuwait right now. That's right, you can pick up your jaws from the floor now. And as you guessed it, there is nothing to see here! Okay, people will argue that there has to be things to do and I am just plain lazy to go explore. Fine, I am lazy. But I being so close to Iraq (we could actually see the lights of Baghdad in the horizon as we came into Kuwait), I don't plan to appear on CNN in orange pullovers with hooded men behind me. No sir. There are better ways to appear on CNN. So, it's now 830AM and I guess I will hit the gym before going for the free breakfast. Time to burn off those pints of Belgian beer.

Till tomorrow, if I have got anything interesting to blog.

So it looks like the three of us homies are going to stay at our bachelor pad for another year. This time, with the addition of aircond! No more hot sweaty nights I say.

Okay, been busy since I got back from Korea. Overall, the trip was okay. As usual, we were rudely woken up every morning at 7AM. Totally unreal for me who is so used to waking up at noon. But the sights were nice and the people don't speak English. And the KAL aircraft did not have personal screens. Lousy.

Got back, and went straight home to KL the next day. First ever Singapore to KL flight. Not really my choice of transport to go back, but it was a family emergency and I had to be back by 9AM that day. I just barely made it.

Then, when I returned to Singapore, I went to work the next day. Had enough time at night to have dinner with TheGirl and I was off again.

And I was working on my birthday. Thanks again to everyone who sent me birthday wishes. I was away when I received the messages (hey, Anchorage has no reception at all) so I didn't have the chance to reply them. Oh, the security guard at the aircraft noticed my birthday on the crew list too. Well, although I wasn't able to celebrate my birthday in Singapore, Hong Kong threw a big celebration with fireworks just for me. Nah, just kidding, it was their 10th anniversary of the handover which coincidentally falls on my birthday. But, the fireworks show was still a treat.

Back in Singapore now to spend three days (wow!) before I go off again.

Busy me.

Okay, since I completed my training, everything has been going at supersonic speed. Being worked till I drop. Just the last couple of weeks, I was in Shanghai, Taipei (twice) and I just got back from Tianjin. I think my Mandarin is improving.

Anyway, time for a break, and I am heading up to Seoul for a holiday. So, no updates for a week or so. Not that it makes any difference. Haha.

But honestly, it has been really busy. I just saw my July and August schedules. Busy times ahead.

Till I get back, toodles.

Okay, I am back from Dubai. Yes, Dubai again. But no dramas this time. I came back on time and in one piece as well.

Will be off again on Saturday which gives me very limited time to do some major shopping. I mean major because I am more or less a once-a-year shopper. And I have got my eyes set on some really great things. All to get tomorrow.

Watched Pirates today, which was quite a long movie which was draggy at times. But, still a good movie to watch. Next movies on my list are Shrek 3, Fantastic Four and Transformers. Transformers is an absolute must to see what Hollywood has done to the best cartoon ever! Okay, not really the best cartoon ever because I believe X-Men gave Transformers a run for its money.

Speaking of movies, I have completed watching tonnes of television shows. The first to finish was Dexter which ran for only eleven episodes. Can't wait for season two. Then, there was Six Degrees which ended prematurely. Can't say I miss it much. Then, Ugly Betty, Survivor: Fiji, Lost, Heroes, 24 and My Name is Earl are finished. All good shows to watch. Now with some time in my hands, I can catch up on some old movies as well as Prisonbreak... season one.

Went to the PC Show today and TheGirl got herself a really great Fujitsu laptop. The screen is really big, and I can testify to that because I am using her laptop to type this blog. I mean, she gave it to me to install programmes into it and how can I be so irresponsible that I don't test blogger on this laptop. Okay, it works good.

I just love the smell of a new laptop. Smells like, a new car. Which at the rate that prices are shooting through the roof, will not be in the near future. I am really tempted to get a new laptop. My laptop pales in comparison next to the new kid on the block. Maybe next year if my laptop has still not recovered from its system problems, I will treat myself to a new laptop.

Gosh look at the time. I better sleep. Or else I won't have the strength to fight the crowds to stock my wardrobe.

To the shopmobile!

Ok, lots and lots of things have happened since my last post, which was really eons ago. So, let's recap.

My final two line checks were done. Weren't spectacular, but enough for me to be checked out. means...

I am now a First Officer and finally bringing in some decent money at the end of every month!

Meanwhile, I have done my first solo flight and it was a turnaround flight to Osaka. Captain was pretty nervous when he found out that it was my first flight. And rightfully so. But, like my first solo on the Cessna, this one was good. Many more flights to prove myself again. Like what many of my friends said, this is where we finally start to learn.

Work aside, I have also:

1. taken bus 3 from Punggol to Pasir Ris where the bus driver took a wrong turn and had to make a huge detour, resulting in me missing the last MRT from Pasir Ris and I had to take a cab.

2. taken bus 3 from Punggol to Pasir Ris where the Scania bus decided to die on us on the highway where we had to wait for the next bus 3 to come along to pick us up, resulting in me missing the last MRT from Pasir Ris and I had to take a cab.

I think that is enough adventures on the bus for a month.

I also went on a credit card application frenzy now that I am a Singapore PR. I got my cards from Citibank, been waiting for my cards from UOB for three weeks, and got rejected by HSBC.

I guess one bank is good enough for now.

Looks like I have wrapped up just about everything.

Okay, I promise to read up on rss guys...

Went to visit Tiger Live on Saturday and we learnt a few useless things. For example, the "i" in Tiger looks like a number 1. The "g" looks like a number 8. And, the tiger is now in front of the palm tree while it used to be under the tree before. This is supposed to show that Tiger Beer is stepping out into the international arena.

We learn something new every day.